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Mill a Standard Part

ESPRIT has very strong capabilies in 2.5D milling, providing Remove Excess Material ........... 62
both ease-of-use and a high level of control over every
aspect of a milling operaon. Cut the Pockets and Slot ......... 70
The intent of this project is to teach you the process for Mill and Drill Holes .......................77
creang standard milling operaons using ESPRIT’s SolidMill
Tradional machining technology. Create a Shop Floor Report ... 82
ESPRIT gives you several opons for accessing standard
milling commands.
• Menus and Toolbars. Tradional milling commands are
located on the SolidMill Tradional submenu on the
Machining menu. You can also use the SolidMill toolbar.
• Process Manager. You can also select SolidMill commands
from a single menu within the Process Manager. The
Process Manager lets you apply several machining
operaons to a single feature at one me.
For this project, you will learn how to use the commands on
the SolidMill Tradional toolbar to create standard milling
operaons and how to create a machining process using the
Process Manager.

The files for this project are available for download from
ESPRITWeb » File Library » ESPRIT 2009 and from the ESPRIT
CD.
All dimensions in this tutorial are in millimeters. Make sure
System Unit on the Tools menu is set to Metric.
Before you start this lesson, you can review and simulate the
cu"ng operaons in the following file:
Milling - Standard\standard_milling_complete.esp.

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 61

Remove Excess Material
At the beginning of any milling job, it is crical Contouring
to remove as much excess stock as possible
The Contouring command creates cu"ng
before you begin cu"ng the finish passes.
passes that follow the shape of a selected
In this project, the part is cut from standard feature. You can center the tool on the feature
rectangular stock. The first thing you need to or offset it to the le% or the right. You can enter
do is remove the excess material from the top an offset distance or use the radius of the tool.
and around the sides of the part.
The Contouring command lets you combine
To do this, you will first create a facing rough and finish passes in a single operaon
operaon to quickly remove as much stock as or you can create separate rough and finish
possible from the top of the part. Then you passes. When roughing and finishing passes
will create a 3D contour around the island on are combined in one Contouring operaon,
the top face. You will finish by roughing and the same tool is used for both phases of the
finishing the outer profile of the part. operaon. To use different tools, you must
create separate contouring operaons.
Facing It is recommended that you use separate
The Facing command is ESPRIT has mulple operaons for roughing and finishing.
opons to make facing as fast and effecve as
possible. You have full control over depths of Technology Files
cut, opmized cu"ng angle, stock allowance on Machining technology se"ngs can be easily
floors and walls, and how far you want the tool saved as a separate file and used over and
to travel when it reaches the edge of the stock. over for the machining of similar parts. For this
The Facing operaon also automacally creates project, you will load pre-exisng technology
a final pass around any islands. This guarantees files that are located in the following folder:
a consistent amount of stock on floors and Ge"ng Started\Milling - Standard\Technology
walls.
A%er loading the technology for an operaon,
you can click on the various tabs to review
Wire Frame Milling the individual se"ngs. For more detailed
The Wire Frame Milling command lets you informaon, click the Help bu&on located at
create a basic 3D milling operaon from simple the lower right corner of the technology page.
2D geometry. The profile of the shape you want
to cut is called the drive curve. This profile is
driven along a path called the basic curve. Each
curve must be created on a separate plane
and the end point of the drive curve must
lie along the basic curve. When construcng
the tool path, the drive curve will be placed
perpendicular to the basic curve at the start
point of the basic curve.

62 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Open t he Par t File
1. Make sure HI mode is enabled.
2. Locate and open the following file: Milling - Standard\standard_milling.esp
3. On the Smart toolbar, click SolidMill Tradional - SolidMill Producon to display the toolbar.
If you completed Project 1: Create Features, these milled features should look familiar to you.

Create a Facing Operat ion

For this facing operaon, there is an island on the face that must be avoided. The Facing
command lets you select and avoid islands and pocketed areas when the Include Islands opon
is set to Yes.This operaon will start slightly below the selected feature and cut at incremental
depths of 8mm in a simple back and forth tool moon. A stock allowance of 0.5mm will remain
on the walls of the island a%er the operaon is complete. No stock allowance will remain on the
floors.
Typically, you would select the feature first and then define the operaon technology. Because
there is an island on the face, you must first define the facing technology and select the Include
Islands opon. ESPRIT will then prompt you to select features for the boundary, any islands and
any pockets you want to avoid. You will select the stock profile feature and the island profille.
You want to face across the tops of the pockets on this part, so you will simply answer No when
ESPRIT prompts you to select pockets to avoid.

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 63

 Step 1
Click Facing

Step 2
Right-click inside the
technology page and click
Open

Step 3
Open the file:
Milling - Standard\Technology\1-Facing.prc

Step 4
Click OK

Step 5
In the work area, select the
Stock Profile feature

64 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

 Step 6
Select the Facing Island
feature

Step 7
This is the only island to
avoid, so right-click to
connue to the next step

Step 8
When prompted to select non-cross
pockets, right-click to answer No.
A non-cross pocket designates an open
area where the tool cannot rapid across.

Step 9
When prompted to select cross pockets,
right-click to answer No.
A cross pocket designates an open area
where the tool can rapid across.

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 65

Create a Wire Frame Milling Operat ion
For this operaon, you will use two exisng features. The Wireframe Drive Curve defines the
curved profile for the walls around the island on the face. The Wireframe Basic Curve feature is
located on the top face of the island and defines the path the profile will follow.
For Wire Frame Milling, you first define the machining technology and then select the features.
The Machine Along opon controls which curve is used to control the direcon of the cu"ng
passes. In this case, the tool will follow the direcon of the basic curve.

Step 1
Click Wire Frame
Milling

Step 2
Open the file:
2-Wire Frame Milling.prc

Step 3
Click OK

66 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

 Step 4
In the work area, select the Wireframe
Basic Curve feature located on the top
of the island

Step 5
Select the Wireframe Drive Curve
feature located on the island wall

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 67

Create Rough and Finish Contouring Operat ions
To cut the external profile of the part, you will first rough the profile with a 30mm end mill that
will leave 0.5mm stock on the walls and then finish with a 20mm end mill. Because the roughing
and finishing operaons use very different se"ngs, you will create two separate Contouring
operaons.

Step 1 Step 2
Select the External Click Contouring
Profile feature

Step 3
Open the file:
3-Contouring Rough.prc

Step 4
Click OK

68 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

 Step 5
With the feature sll
selected, click Contouring

Step 6
Open the file:
4-Contouring Finish.prc

Step 7
Click OK

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 69

Cut the Pockets and Slot
The part in this project contains two pockets pockeng operaons with full control over the
and a slot. ESPRIT offers two types of pockeng process.
operaons that you will use to cut each pocket.
Rest Machining
Trochoidal Pocket ing The Rest Machining command is used to
The Trochoidal Pockeng command is used remove material in areas and corners that
to quickly rough parts at a constant material previous operaons le% behind. You can create
removal rate. Trochoidal Pockeng provides rest machining operaons for several parent
mulple levels of control over tool moon operaons at one me or you can create
pa&ern, feedrates, and cu&er load. rest machining operaons for all operaons
Trochoid tool moon is well suited for high- associated with a single feature. The previous
speed machining (HSM) because it uses the operaon becomes the “parent” operaon
biggest possible curve based on the shape of and the rest machining operaon applied to
the pocket, allowing for the fastest possible it becomes the “child” operaon. The child
feedrates. Although developed for high- operaon inherits many of the se"ngs from
speed machining, Trochoidal Pockeng brings the parent operaon, such as total depth,
benefits to any type of machine by providing a stock allowance, clearance se"ngs, and so
more constant tool load and a be&er surface on. If a parent operaon is modified, the
finish. rest machining operaon is automacally
recalculated and updated.
The Trochoid tool moon pa&ern creates
a spiral in the largest area of the pocket to
Machining Processes
maintain a constant level of tool loading. When
the trochoid pa&ern reaches the maximum A machining process is a convenient way to
radius that will fit, the rest of the tool path create and apply several operaons at once.
uses an adjustable curve that adapts to the The Process Manager lets you create any
shape of the pocket. number and type of machining operaons and
apply them to any number of features.
Pocket ing Important: To use the Process Manager,
The Pockeng command removes material your security key must be a&ached to your
within a closed boundary. Within a single computer and you must have a valid license. If
pockeng operaon, you have the opon you are running ESPRIT in demo mode, use the
to create separately definable phases for commands on the SolidMill Tradional toolbar
roughing, wall finishing, and floor finishing to cut the pockets.
passes that each let you use a different tool.
For example, you can use a standard end mill
on the floors to provide the required finish and
use a ball or taper end mill on the walls. If you
do not want all of these phases combined in
a single operaon, you can create each phase
independently. You can choose to create only
roughing passes, only wall finishing or floor
finishing passes, or a combinaon of your
choice. This gives you the flexibility to create

70 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Set Up t he K nowledgeBase
1. On the Smart toolbar, click Common Machining and then click KnowledgeBase Document
Se!ngs.
2. Set Part Type to Milled Part Std - Metric.
3. Set Default Technology to Default Technology - Inch / Metric.
4. Click OK.
5. Click KnowlegeBase Se!ngs.
6. Make sure ‘Apply selected process to all features’ is checked and click OK.

Create a Process to Mill t he Medium Pocket

To mill the medium pocket, you will first remove as much material as possible as quickly as
possible with a Trochoidal Pockeng operaon. A stock allowance of 0.5mm will remain on the
walls and floors of the pocket. A tradional Pockeng operaon will then be applied to first
finish the walls and then the floors. To remove any material remaining in the corners, you will
then apply a Rest Machining operaon. You will create a machining process to perform all three
operaons.

Step 1 Step 2
Select the Medium Pocket A process already exists in the
feature and then click KnowledgeBase. Click New Process
Process Manager to create your own process.

Step 3
Select SolidMill Tradional -
Trochoidal Pockeng

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 71

 Step 4
Open the file:
5-Pocket1 Trochoidal Pockeng.prc
and click OK

Step 5
Select SolidMill Tradional -
Tradional Pockeng

Step 6
Open the file:
6-Pocket1 Finish Pockeng.prc
and click OK

72 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

 Step 7
Select SolidMill Tradional -
Rest Machining

Step 8
Open the file:
7-Pocket1 Rest Machining.prc
and click OK

Step 9
Click Apply
Do not click Exit yet

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 73

Create a Process to Mill t he S mall Pocket
The process to machine the small pocket is similar to the medium pocket, except that a Rest
Machining operaon is not required.

Step 1 Step 2
Select the Small Click New
Pocket feature Process

Step 3
Select SolidMill Tradional -
Trochoidal Pockeng

Step 4
Open the file:
8-Pocket2 Trochoidal Pockeng.prc
and click OK

74 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

 Step 5
Select SolidMill Tradional -
Tradional Pockeng

Step 6
Open the file:
9-Pocket2 Finish Pockeng.prc
and click OK

Step 7
Click Apply

Step 8
Click Exit

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 75

Cut t he S lot
To cut the slot, you will use a tradional Pockeng operaon using a tool with a diameter the
same width as the slot. The tool will enter the material using a long ramping move and then cut
the slot with a single pass.

Step 1
Select the Slot
feature

Step 2 Step 3
Click SolidMill Click Pockeng
Tradional

Step 4
Open the file:
10-Slot with Ramping.prc
and click OK

76 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Mill and Drill Holes
This part has different types of holes, including a milled hole. For this project, you will create
drilling and spiraling operaons depending on the type and size of the hole.

Drilling
The Drilling command is applied to hole features or point-to-point (PTOP) features. The drilling
order is defined by the path of the PTOP feature. SolidMill Drilling supports several types of
drilling, including drill, tap, peck, and bore. The operaon drills to a specified depth and you have
the opon to include the length of the tool p in the total depth value. You can also use SolidMill
Drilling to spot drill holes to the correct depth based on the diameter of the tool and the chamfer
diameter.

Spiraling
The Spiraling command creates spiral or helical cu"ng passes based on the selecon of a circle
or a feature in the shape of a circle. A spiraling operaon is typically used when you want to mill a
hole that is too large to drill.

Bot tom Up Spiraling

Spiraling passes can be created from the top down or from the bo&om up. Bo&om up spiraling
can be used to avoid having to rotate your part using index milling. Bo&om up toolpath will be
automacally generated when the incremental depth is set to a negave value.
When using bo&om up technology, the tool origin is very important. By default, all ESPRIT tools
have the origin set on the bo&om. The bo&om up technology does not shi% the tool origin, so you
have to be aware of the tool thickness when creang your tool path. However, you can create a
custom tool where the tool origin is set on the top of the cu"ng tool edge.

Pre-Drill and Mill t he Milled Hole

The milled hole has an upper diameter of 42mm and a lower diameter of 50mm. You will cut this
hole in three steps. First, you will pre-drill the hole with a 30mm drill. Then, you will create a
Spiraling operaon to mill the upper diameter to a depth of 30mm. You will then create a bo&om
up Spiraling operaon using a custom tool to mill the lower hole.

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 77

 Step 1 Step 2
Select the Spiral Click Drilling
Rough feature

Step 3
Open the file:
11-Milled Hole Drilling.prc
and click OK

Step 4 Step 5
Select the Milled Click Spiraling
Hole Upper feature

Step 6
Open the file:
12-Milled Hole Spiraling.prc
and click OK

78 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

 Step 7 Step 8
Select the Milled Hole Click Spiraling
Lower feature

Step 9
Open the file:
13-Milled Hole Bo&om Up Spiraling.prc
and click OK

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 79

A pply E xist ing Processes to Drill t he Holes
The ESPRIT KnowledgeBase provides several standard machining processes. Based on the type
of feature you select, the ESPRIT KnowledgeBase will search for the most appropriate machining
process.
You will select the two hole features and use standard processes in the KnowledgeBase to drill
them. The KnowledgeBase will find one process for the countersink holes and another process
for the counterbore holes. The order in which you select the features controls the order of the
operaons in the operaons list.
To make sure the correct drilling process is created for each feature, you must use KnowledgeBase
Opons to specify that you do not want the same process applied to all features. Otherwise, the
first process found will be applied to all the selected features.
1. On the Common Machining toolbar, click KnowledgeBase Se!ngs.
2. Uncheck ‘Apply selected process to all features’.
3. Click OK.

Step 4 Step 5
Hold down the Ctrl key and select Click Process
the Countersink and Counterbore Manager
features

Step 6
Click Apply

Step 7
Click Exit

80 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

S imulate

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

On the Smart toolbar, click Click Run to start the Click Stop to exit
Simulaon simulaon the simulaon

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 81

Create a Shop Floor Report
The Report Generator creates HTML and PDF reports that detail the tools and operaons for any of
your part files. The preforma&ed reports are an important NC post processing tool and invaluable
shop floor resource. They provide the machining details required to correctly set up a machine and
perform the required machining operaons.
Reports contain informaon about the machine, the tools, the part, operaons, and the NC
program. In addion, each page in the report displays a full-color image showing how the part
should look at each stage of the machining process.
Two types of standard reports are available: Summary and Detailed.

Summar y Repor t
Basic informaon about the machining process is provided on a single summary page. The
summary report contains a header with general informaon about the program and an operaon
list with one row per operaon. Each row displays the main informaon about the operaon like
the operaon name, the tool name, the tool ID, feeds and speed, and so on.

Detailed Repor t
This report provides the same summary page along with detailed pages for each operaon and a
complete tool list. Click on an operaon hyperlink in the summary page to access the operaon
details. Click on a tool hyperlink to access the tool details. Operaon report pages provide detailed
operaon-specific informaon such as the tool details and available cu"ng parameters.

Default Folders for Repor t Files

By default, report files are saved to your user folder under the ESPRIT\Data\ReportGenerator\
Reports directory, but you can change it to any other locaon by clicking the Opons bu&on on the
Report Generator dialog.
Generated reports are saved to a subfolder in the distribuon locaon. The subfolder is always
named the same as your part file. If you regenerate any report, all files in the subfolder, including
any output from a previous report, are deleted. If you intend to save any previous version of a
report, copy it from the distribuon folder before you regenerate the report.
Important: To use the Report Generator, your security key must be a&ached to your computer
and you must have a valid license. If you are running ESPRIT in demo mode, the Create Reports...
command is not available on the File menu.

82 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

 Step 1
On the File menu, click
Create Reports...

Step 2
Select Milling-Detailed, then click
Create Reports

It will take several moments to generate a detailed report of all the operaons and tools used in
this part file. A%er the report is generated, Windows Explorer will launch and open to the folder
where the report files were generated.

Step 3
Right-click on OpSummary.htm
and click Open

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 83

 Step 4
Click on a hyperlink to view the
operaon or tool details

84 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009