Getting Started with

FeatureCAM 2008
Delcam USA
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written
permission of Delcam USA. The software described in this document is
furnished under a license agreement. The software may be used or copied only
in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

© 1995 – 2008 Delcam USA. All rights reserved.

FeatureCAM, EZFeatureMILL FeatureTURN, EZFeatureTURN,

FeatureMILL3D, FeatureTURN/MILL, FeatureWIRE and FeatureCAM and are
trademarks of Delcam USA in the United States of America and other countries.
Microsoft, MS, MS-DOS, Windows, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows
XP and Windows 95 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All
other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective holders.

Restricted Rights Legend

The Program and Program Materials are provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS.
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to
restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data
and Computer Software Clause at DFARS 252.227-7013, Manufacturer is the
Licensor: Delcam USA.

Permission to Copy for Licensed Users

Delcam USA grants permission for licensed users to print copies of this manual
or portions of this manual for personal use only. Schools that are licensed to use
FeatureCAM may make copies of this manual or portions of this manual for
students currently registered for classes where FeatureCAM is used.

June 2007
Fourteenth Edition
Delcam USA
275 East South Temple, Suite 305
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Fax 801-575-5017
 Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 - INSTALLATION............................................................................ 1
FEATURECAM PRODUCT LINE ............................................................................. 1
INSTALLING THE DONGLE .................................................................................... 2
INSTALLATION PROCEDURES ................................................................................ 3
ENTERING TEMPORARY/EVALUATION CODES ...................................................... 4
Hints on Entering FeatureCAM Registration Codes........................................ 5
REGISTRATION ..................................................................................................... 5
Filling Out Registration Forms ........................................................................ 5
After Receiving Your Code ............................................................................. 6
FEATURECAM MAINTENANCE RELEASES ........................................................... 6
EVALUATING PRODUCTS YOU HAVE NOT YET PURCHASED ................................ 7
INTERNET WEB SITE ............................................................................................ 7
FEATURECAM NETWORK LICENSING .................................................................. 8
FEATURECAM 2008 – WHAT’S NEW ................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 2 - STEPS FOR CREATING A PART ................................................ 9
STARTUP: NEW PART DIALOG BOX ..................................................................... 9
STARTUP: NEW PART DIALOG BOX ................................................................... 10

STEP1: STOCK ......................................................................................... 10

STEP 2: GEOMETRY ................................................................................. 10

STEP 3: CURVES ...................................................................................... 11

Closed Boundary .............................................................................. 11

Open Boundary................................................................................. 11

STEP 5: TOOLPATHS ................................................................................ 13

STEP 6: NC CODE .................................................................................... 15

Optimize Feedrates ........................................................................... 15

i
 Display.............................................................................................. 15

Save .................................................................................................. 16

Remap Tooling ................................................................................. 16

CUSTOMIZE MANUFACTURING ................................................................ 16

Manufacturing Preferences ............................................................... 16

Material Database.............................................................................. 18

Configure Post Processor .................................................................. 18

OPTIONAL STEPS ................................................................................................ 18

Surfaces................................................................................................. 18

Solids .................................................................................................. 18

AFR..................................................................................................... 18
On-line Help .................................................................................................. 19
Reference Section.......................................................................................... 20
What’s New Section ...................................................................................... 20
Context Sensitive Help .................................................................................. 20
WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION............................................................................... 20
CHAPTER 3 - INTERFACE TOUR..................................................................... 21
FEATURECAM INTERFACE COMPONENTS .......................................................... 21
Standard Toolbar ........................................................................................... 22
Menu Bar....................................................................................................... 23
Steps Toolbox................................................................................................ 24
Graphics Window.......................................................................................... 24
Manufacturing Results Window .................................................................... 24
Geometry Dialog Bar .................................................................................... 24
Assistance Bar ............................................................................................... 24
Status Bar ...................................................................................................... 25
Part View Toolbox ........................................................................................ 25
SELECTING GRAPHICAL OBJECTS ....................................................................... 26
OPTIONAL TOOLBARS ........................................................................................ 27

ii
 Advanced Toolbar ......................................................................................... 27
Snap Mode Toolbar and Dialog Box ............................................................. 28
Geometry Toolbar.......................................................................................... 30
Steps Toolbar................................................................................................. 31
WARPING DIALOG BOXES .................................................................................. 32
CUSTOMIZING TOOLBARS................................................................................... 32
Toolbars Tab.................................................................................................. 32
Commands Tab and Misc. Tab ...................................................................... 33
DISPLAY MODE BAR AND SHADING MODE ........................................................... 33
COLORS .............................................................................................................. 35
CHAPTER 4 - MAKING YOUR FIRST 2 ½ D PART ........................................ 37
STOCK PREPARATION ......................................................................................... 37
THE FIRST TIME ................................................................................................. 37
CREATE A PART FILE .......................................................................................... 38
VIEWING ............................................................................................................ 40
TOOLPATHS ........................................................................................................ 40
ORDER OF MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS ........................................................ 41
PART DOCUMENTATION ..................................................................................... 43
CONTROLLING THE AUTOMATION ...................................................................... 44
NC CODE ........................................................................................................... 44
TOOL MAPPING .................................................................................................. 44
CHANGING POST PROCESSORS ........................................................................... 45
SAVING NC CODE .............................................................................................. 45
SAVING THE FEATUREMILL PART ..................................................................... 46
THE NEXT STEP .................................................................................................. 46
CHAPTER 5 - FEATURES FROM CURVES...................................................... 47
SETTING THE SNAPS ........................................................................................... 48
BUILDING CIRCLES ............................................................................................. 48
DRAWING LINES ................................................................................................. 49
CHAINING A CURVE............................................................................................ 50
FEATURE FROM A CURVE ................................................................................... 51
SIMULATE THE PART .......................................................................................... 51
MODIFYING THE BOSS FEATURE TO CONTOUR AROUND THE PART ................... 51
CHANGING THE PLUNGE POINT .......................................................................... 52
THE NEXT STEP .................................................................................................. 53
CHAPTER 6 - INTRODUCTION TO TURNING ............................................... 55
THE FIRST TIME ................................................................................................. 56
CREATE A PART FILE .......................................................................................... 56
MAKING FEATURES ............................................................................................ 58
ORDERING OF OPERATIONS ................................................................................ 61
PART DOCUMENTATION ..................................................................................... 62

iii
 NC CODE ........................................................................................................... 62
CHANGING POST PROCESSORS AND SAVING NC CODE ...................................... 63
SAVING THE FEATURETURN PART .................................................................... 64
THE NEXT STEP .................................................................................................. 64
CHAPTER 7 - ADVANCED TURNING AND MACHINE SIMULATION....... 65
GETTING STARTED ............................................................................................. 66
SETUP MACHINE SIMULATION ........................................................................... 66
ADD A SUBSPINDLE FEATURE ............................................................................ 67
ADD A BAR FEED FEATURE ................................................................................ 68
RUN SUBSPINDLE SIMULATION .......................................................................... 68
SETUP SECOND TURRET ..................................................................................... 70
SYNCHRONIZE OPERATIONS ............................................................................... 70
RUN SYNCHRONIZED MULTI-TURRET SIMULATION ........................................... 71
THE NEXT STEP .................................................................................................. 71
CHAPTER 8 - CREATING A TURN/MILL PART............................................. 73
GETTING STARTED ............................................................................................. 74
CREATING A TURNED FEATURE ......................................................................... 74
CREATING A RADIAL PATTERN ON THE FACE ..................................................... 75
ENGRAVING ON THE FACE .................................................................................. 75
CREATING A PATTERN OF WRAPPED SLOTS ....................................................... 76
SIMULATING A TURN/MILL PART ....................................................................... 77
The Next Step ................................................................................................ 77
CHAPTER 9 - FEATURES FROM 3D CAD MODELS...................................... 79
TOOL CRIBS ....................................................................................................... 80
IMPORTING THE CAD MODEL ............................................................................ 80
SHADE THE PART ............................................................................................... 81
AUTOMATIC FEATURE RECOGNITION ................................................................. 81
RECOGNIZE ALL HOLES USING ANOTHER METHOD .......................................... 82
RECOGNIZING ALL POCKETS AUTOMATICALLY ................................................. 83
CREATE A SLOT FEATURE USING THE PICK SURFACE BUTTON .................. 84
CREATE A SIDE FEATURE ................................................................................... 84
SIMULATE THE ENTIRE PART ............................................................................. 85
THE NEXT STEP .................................................................................................. 86
CHAPTER 10 - INTRODUCTION TO 3D .......................................................... 87
INTRODUCTION TO 3D MODELING ..................................................................... 88
Create the Bottle Surface............................................................................... 89
INTRODUCTION TO 3D MANUFACTURING........................................................... 90
SIMULATING THE ENTIRE PART .......................................................................... 90
THE NEXT STEP .................................................................................................. 91

iv
CHAPTER 11 - ADVANCED 3D MILLING....................................................... 93
IMPORT THE PART .............................................................................................. 93
CREATE THE 3D STRATEGY ................................................................................ 94
SIMULATING THE TOOLPATHS ............................................................................ 95
Clean Up the Fillets ....................................................................................... 96
THE NEXT STEP .................................................................................................. 97
CHAPTER 12 - 5-AXIS SIMULTANEOUS ...................................................... 103
GETTING STARTED ........................................................................................... 103
CREATING SURFACE MILLING FEATURE .......................................................... 104
ADDING FLOWLINE OPERATION ....................................................................... 104
RECOGNIZING HOLES ....................................................................................... 107
RECOGNIZING SIDE FEATURES ......................................................................... 108
NEXT STEP ....................................................................................................... 108
CHAPTER 13 - SOLID MODELING................................................................. 109
GETTING STARTED ........................................................................................... 109
CREATE THE INITIAL SOLID .............................................................................. 110
HIDDEN LINE GRAPHICS ................................................................................... 111
CREATE THE CURVED LOWER SURFACE ........................................................... 112
CREATE CONSTANT AND VARIABLE RADIUS FILLETS ...................................... 113
ADD THICKNESS ............................................................................................... 114
CREATE A MOLD CAVITY ................................................................................. 114
THE NEXT STEP ................................................................................................ 115
CHAPTER 14 - INTRODUCTION TO FEATUREWIRE ................................. 117
GETTING STARTED ........................................................................................... 117
CREATING THE PROFILE ................................................................................... 118
CREATING A WIRE EDM FEATURE................................................................... 118
SIMULATING A WIRE EDM TOOLPATH ............................................................ 119
GENERATING NC CODE .................................................................................... 120
ADD A TAPER ANGLE ....................................................................................... 120
CREATING THE SECOND PROFILE ..................................................................... 121
CREATING A 4-AXIS WIRE EDM FEATURE ....................................................... 121
MODIFYING THE START POINT ......................................................................... 122
MATCHING THE CURVES .................................................................................. 123
SIMULATE THE PART ........................................................................................ 123
THE NEXT STEP ................................................................................................ 124
INDEX................................................................................................................. 125

v
 Chapter 1
Installation
FeatureCAM Product Line
FeatureCAM products include:

• FeatureMILL2.5D – 2.5D design and toolpath generation for 2

and 3-axis mills.

• FeatureMILL3D – 3D surface modeling and 3-axis toolpath

generation.

• Solid Modeling – Solid modeling and tools for creating molds

from solid models.

• FeatureRECOGNITION – 3D surface and solid import and the

recognition of 2.5D features from solid models. Accelerates
making 2.5D and turned parts from solid models.

• FeatureTURN – 2-axis design and toolpath generation for 2-

axis lathes.

• FeatureTURN/MILL – Supports lathes with C and Y-axis

milling capabilities.

• FeatureWIRE – 2 and 4axis wire EDM toolpath creation.

• 5 Axis Positioning – Manufacture 2.5D features from 5-axis

orientations.

• 5 Axis Simultaneous – Manufacture 3D features while

changing the tool axis.

• Tombstone – Multiple part manufacturing for horizontal or

vertical milling machines with indexers.

1
Installation
• Machine Simulation – Modeling and simulation of a CNC
machine.

• Advanced Turn/Mill – Includes support for

FeatureTURN/MILL in addition to support for B-axis (5-axis
positioning) and turret synchronization.

• Network – Flexible product licensing allows sharing

FeatureCAM licenses across a network.

• Native Import Modules – Import Catia, Unigraphics, Pro/E and

STEP files.

Installing the Dongle

A dongle is supplied with FeatureCAM for copy protection. The dongle is a
physical device that attaches to your computer's parallel printer port or a USB
port. FeatureCAM checks to see if a dongle is present before it generates NC
code for your parts or before saving a file. The dongle must remain connected
for the entire time you are running FeatureCAM.

USB Dongle Parallel Dongle

If you downloaded a copy of FeatureCAM over the Internet, or your product box
is marked as Evaluation Copy, you do not have a dongle. You can draw and
simulate designs, but you can’t generate NC code, save, or export any files.

If the side of your product box says Upgrade then you purchased an upgrade
version of FeatureCAM and you must use the dongle you received with your
earlier FeatureCAM purchase.

2
 Installation
If you have a dongle, install it on your computer by inserting it in the parallel
printer port (or USB port if using a USB dongle) and screwing in the
thumbscrews. The dongle is programmed for an initial period (see Registration
below). If you have licensed FeatureCAM, then you are given a code to provide
unlimited use when you register your copy.

You may have multiple devices attached to your parallel port. Many computers
have a printer attached to that port. If you have any devices attached to the port,
you will need to chain the devices in sequence and the FeatureCAM dongle
should be the first in the stack. Note that you may not connect multiple
FeatureCAM dongles to a single parallel port.

The dongle is a pass through device. You can attach your dongle to the computer
and the other devices can hook up to the dongle. You may have to experiment
with the order of devices a bit to find which sequence works best with your
devices. Printers should probably be at the end of the device chain. In general,
try to put the FeatureCAM dongle in as the first or second device in the
sequence.

Installation Procedures
Use the following information to help you install the program and dongle
(software key).

For information on installation issues not covered here, refer to the

README.WRI and RELNOTES.WRI files on the FeatureCAM Installation CD.
These files are also copied to the hard disk in the EZFM directory in a successful
installation.

If you’re upgrading an older copy, you can safely overwrite old versions of
FeatureCAM. When you are prompted for the installation directory, simply use
the same directory you did last time. Your part files and customizations are
preserved and can be used with this version of FeatureCAM.

If you wish to continue to run your older copy of FeatureCAM, then install the
new version in a different directory. Be aware that your old version may not be
able to read files from your new version, but the new version will always be
backwards compatible with older versions of files.

The following instructions are written for a CD ROM that is drive D. Substitute
the actual drive letter where appropriate.

3
Installation
1. Attach the dongle, if you have one, to your printer port.
2. Put the CD in drive D.
3. If installing from CD, the installation screen should automatically
be displayed.
4. If installing from disks or if the installation screen does not
automatically come up, choose Run from the Start menu. Type
d:\setup if installing from CD.
5. Follow the instructions on the installation screens.

Entering Temporary/Evaluation Codes

If you purchased an upgrade to an existing copy of FeatureCAM, your package
will contain temporary codes for activating your dongle until you get a chance to
register. You must enter these codes to run your new version. If you purchased
a new package with a new dongle inside, you do not have to complete these
steps.

Run FeatureCAM.

If the New Part Document Wizard comes up, click Cancel.

If you have any windows open in FeatureCAM, close them.

Select Evaluation Options from the File menu.

Click Next.

Click I have an evaluation code and click Next.

Enter your evaluation code in the space provided and click Finish.

4
 Installation
Hints on Entering FeatureCAM Registration Codes
1. Evaluation codes are a collection of the digits 0-9 and the letters A-
F.
2. There are no letter Os in the codes, only the number zero.
3. The case of the letters does not matter. Spaces are also ignored.

Registration
You must register your new copy of FeatureCAM even if it is an upgrade to an
older version. If you’re not sure whether you purchased an upgrade or not, look
at the side of your FeatureCAM box. If Upgrade is checked, you purchased an
upgrade to your existing copy of FeatureCAM.
1. If FeatureCAM is not already running, run FeatureCAM from the
Start menu.
2. If you purchased a new copy of FeatureCAM, the Registration
dialog box is displayed.
3. If you are updating an existing copy, close all the windows in
FeatureCAM (without closing the application itself) and select
Evaluation Options from the File menu.
4. If you did not purchase an upgrade, you will see Must register in
the Status column of the components you purchased. Your dongle
will initially work for a limited amount of time. You must register
them to remove this limitation.
5. If you did purchase an upgrade, the products that you licensed in
previous versions will have Yes in the evaluating column. Those
components that are already enabled for the version you are
installing will have a status of Fully enabled. These products will
not need to be registered again.
6. Click Next.

Filling Out Registration Forms

Please fill out the registration form included in the FeatureCAM box and follow
the instructions on it. If you do not have a copy of the form please contact our
corporate office at the toll-free number 1-888-393-6455 ext 10, 1-801-575-6021

5
Installation
ext 10 (outside of the United States) or email a request to
[email protected].

After Receiving Your Code

1. Run FeatureCAM.
2. Click Next in the Registration dialog box.
3. Click I have registered and have a code.
4. Select the product(s) that you received codes for. Click Next.
5. Enter code(s).
6. Click OK.
7. You will see the message Thank you for registering FeatureCAM.
Your product is now registered and fully enabled.

FeatureCAM Maintenance Releases

If you have purchased and registered a version of a FeatureCAM product, you
are allowed to install maintenance releases free of charge. A maintenance release
is any product version with the same first number as the product you are licensed
to run. For example Version 13.0.1.36 the first number is 13.

To check to see if a new version of your FeatureCAM product is available:

1. Make sure you are connected to the Internet and select Check for
new version from the Help menu.

2. If a more current version is available you are offered the option of

updating your version of the FeatureCAM.

The first time you run your maintenance release the Registration dialog box may
be displayed. If this happens:
1. Click Next.
2. Click Finish.

6
 Installation
Evaluating Products You Have Not Yet Purchased
Once you are running FeatureCAM, you can evaluate other FeatureCAM
products.
1. Run FeatureCAM.
2. If the New Part Document Wizard comes up, click Cancel.
3. Select Evaluation Options from the File menu.
4. Check the Evaluate checkboxes for the product components you
want to evaluate.
5. Click OK.
FeatureCAM is now running in evaluation mode. You cannot save parts or post,
but you can create part models and generate toolpaths. You can tell
FeatureCAM is in evaluation mode by the word, (evaluation), in the title bar.

The next time you run FeatureCAM, the Registration dialog box is displayed. To
run the program normally:
1. Run FeatureCAM and click Next.
2. Select Run the program and click Finish.
3. If the New Part Document Wizard comes up, click Cancel.
4. Select Evaluation Options from the File menu.
5. Uncheck all the Evaluate checkboxes.
6. Click OK.

Internet WEB Site

The Internet WEB site http://www.featurecam.com contains useful information
for FeatureCAM users including:
1. New product announcements.
2. A comprehensive database of technical tips.
3. Maintenance releases.

7
Installation
4. Evaluation copies of new software.
5. Local dealer information.
6. Tradeshows where FeatureCAM is being exhibited.
There is no charge for accessing this WEB site, so feel free to access the latest
information on FeatureCAM.

FeatureCAM Network Licensing

If you want to have the option of running your licensed FeatureCAM products on
more than one computer, you may be interested in the FeatureCAM Network
Licensing option. If you have licensed this option, see the READMEN.htm file
located in the D:\netlic directory of the CDROM.

FeatureCAM 2008 – What’s New

If you are an existing FeatureCAM user and wish to find out about new
functionality and other changes to FeatureCAM, see the What’s New section of
the FeatureCAM help file.

8
 Chapter 2
Steps for Creating a
Part
The process for creating parts is laid out sequentially in the Steps toolbox. By using
each step, you are guided through the process of creating part programs with
FeatureCAM.

Step 1 - Stock. The Stock Wizard steps you through entering

the shape and dimensions of the stock, the stock material, part
program zero and the coordinate system for modeling.
Step 2 – Geometry. Points, arcs, lines and other shapes are
used to describe the overall shape of parts. Many different
geometry tools are available. Geometry can also be imported
from CAD systems.
Step 3 – Curves. Shapes that involve more than a single line
or arc are described as curves. For FeatureMILL3D customers
there are also Surfaces and Solids step for creating 3D surface
and solid models.
Step 4 – Features. Features are common shop terms like
pocket, or thread. They are created from curves and
dimensions. These objects describe your part in 3D and are
Step 5 – Toolpaths. Toolpaths are generated from collections
of features. You can simulate them in FeatureCAM using
toolpath centerlines, 2D shaded or 3D solid shaded
simulations.
Step 6 – NC Code. Machine-specific G-codes are generated
from the toolpaths. Translators are provided for many
different NC controls and include a program for creating
new translators.
Customize Manufacturing. FeatureCAM automates the entire
part programming process, you can customize all of the system
settings including feed/speed tables, tooling databases or
feature settings.

9
Steps for Creating a Part
Startup: New Part Dialog Box
When you start FeatureCAM, the New Part Dialog Box is the first thing you see.
In this dialog box you can choose to open a new part file, or continue working on
an existing file.

Step1: Stock
The stock is the initial material from which you will cut your part. It can be
rectangular, circular, a more general extruded shape, or a solid model. The stock
shape is used for 3D toolpath simulations and to control the extent of milling
features like bosses. FeatureCAM has embedded feed/speed tables for many
different stock materials, so that feeds and speeds can be automatically
calculated based on the stock material. The Stock Wizard provides step-by-step
instructions for specifying or modifying the general stock shape, specific stock
dimensions, fixture IDs, part program zero, and the origin of your modeling
coordinate system. To navigate through the wizard, enter the desired
information on each page and click the Next button to move to the next page.

After completing this step, if you want to create holes, rectangular pockets, slots,
circular pockets or thread mill features, you can skip to step 4.

Step 2: Geometry
Every part begins with an initial design. You may already have a part drawing, a
part sketch or you may want to use FeatureCAM to draw your part design from
scratch. The geometry step presents you with methods of creating points, lines,
arcs and circles. You can also clip geometry. If you would like to create
multiple objects, check the Create more than one option at the bottom of the
dialog box before selecting the type of object you want to create.

After selecting the type of object you want to create, you are provided
instructions in the yellow Assistance bar at the bottom of the screen. Type any
numeric arguments that are required. Use the TAB key to move to the next field.
For point coordinates you can type the individual X, Y and Z coordinates or use
the mouse to graphically locate them in the Graphics window. As you move the
mouse around the Graphics window, you’ll notice that the cursor will snap to
discrete locations like circle centers or line endpoints. This location can be
controlled by the Snapping dialog, which is discussed in Chapter 3.

10
 Steps for Creating a Part

Step 3: Curves
This step groups arcs and lines into curves by automatically tracing smooth
paths. If you want to make a feature from more than a single line, arc or circle,
you must connect the geometry into a curve.

Closed Boundary
This option creates closed curves (curves that form a loop ) by clicking on one
piece of geometry. An attempt is made to create a closed loop by following
smooth paths. If this method does not result in the correct pieces, click the Clear
pieces button at the bottom of the screen and select the Curves step again and use
the Open boundary command.

Open Boundary
This command creates curves by manually clicking on segments of the curves.
To create an open curve (curves that do not form a loop), click on the beginning
of the curve and then click on the end. If the resulting curve is not correct, click
on a number of intermediate positions to guide the process of creating curves.
Closed curves can also be created with this technique by clicking back to the
initial piece of geometry.

11
Steps for Creating a Part

Step 4: Features
Toolpaths are generated from features. For example, if you want a hole in your
part, choose the Hole feature. If your part has a pocket, choose the Pocket
feature. The Feature wizard walks you through the process of creating features.
One category of features is those that can be created solely from dimensions.
These features include holes, rectangular-shaped pockets, threads and round
pockets (called Step Bores).

Other features require curves to describe their shape. They are listed under the
From Curve category. These features include pockets, bosses, grooves, chamfers,
rounds, sides and faces.

If you want to create a pattern of features, click the Make a pattern from this
feature checkbox. Click Next to step through the wizard.

This wizard steps you through:

• Selecting the feature type • Reviewing the automatically

selected tools

• Optionally entering pattern • Reviewing the automatically

dimensions calculated feeds and speeds

• Positioning the feature • Overriding the tooling and

feed/speed values

• Specifying the manufacturing • Changing manufacturing attributes

strategy

12
 Steps for Creating a Part

To modify a feature either double-click on a feature or select the feature and click the
Properties button to open the Properties dialog box for a feature. This dialog box
presents all the screens of the New Feature Wizard in a single dialog box. The
individual screens are separated into different tabs of the dialog box.

Step 5: Toolpaths
This step displays the Simulation toolbar. This toolbar has two sections,
simulation types and simulation controls. Select the mode of simulation you
would like to run from among the simulation types.
Fast Forward to Region
End of
Stop Play Interest
Center Rapid Single
Line Cut Step Clear
2D 3D Machine Next Tool
Flyout Load

Eject Simulation Type Simulation Controls Speed

Button Control

• Centerline simulation displays lines that represent the center of the

tool.

• 2D shows a color simulation from the top view. Each operation is

displayed in a different color.

• 3D shows a 3-dimensional solid shaded simulation.

• Rapid cut displays the final result without animating the tool.
(FeatureMILL3D only)

• Machine simulation displays the entire machine. (Machine

13
Steps for Creating a Part
Simulation only)

Center line simulation 2D simulation

3D simulation Machine simulation

Once you select a simulation type, use the simulation controls to control the
simulation. Click the Play button to run the simulation. (After pressing the play
button, this button turns into the Pause button. Click this button again to pause
the simulation.) The Single Step button will display one toolpath move. The
Fast Forward to End button, displays all the toolpaths for the part without
animating the results. You can then view the toolpaths for each individual
operation by clicking the Clear button and then clicking on an operation in the
Operation List window.

The Play to Next Operation button will display one complete operation such as a
spot drill or a pocket roughing operation. This button is actually a fly-out menu.
By clicking on the triangle to the right of the button the following additional
options are revealed:

14
 Steps for Creating a Part
• The Next Rapid button will simulate up to the next rapid move.

• The Next Tool Change button will

simulate up to the next tool change.

• Play to Next Zlevel will display the next

Z level of a Z level rough or finish
operation.

Use the Erase button to erase the centerline toolpaths on the screen. The Region
of Interest is used to limit the portion of the part that is simulated for 3D or
Rapid Cut simulations. The Show tool load button indicates whether to display a
graph of the tool load when the next 3D Simulation is performed. The Eject
button removes the toolbar and the simulation from the screen. The speed
control slider controls how fast simulations run. Move the slider to the right to
speed up, or to the left to slow down.

If you see something in the simulation you want to change, you can override any
of the tool choices, operation order, or the feeds and speeds if you wish.
Continue to simulate and fine-tune the part until you have the settings exactly
right.

Step 6: NC Code
You generate NC code in FeatureCAM using this step.

Optimize Feedrates
Use this option to even out the load on the tool by adjusting the feedrate of each
NC block.

Display
This option displays the code in the Manufacturing Results window. You can
also display the tooling lists and operations sheets by clicking the tabs located at
the bottom of the Manufacturing Results window.

15
Steps for Creating a Part

Save
The NC code is saved to disk using this command. You also have the option of
saving additional documentation like tool lists, operations lists and part
databases.

Remap Tooling
This option allows you to change the locations of the selected tools in the tool
changer.

Customize Manufacturing
This step allows you to customize the tooling
databases, feed/speed databases, and the
default system parameters. These options
allow you to fine tune FeatureCAM to your
preferences.

Manufacturing Preferences
Manufacturing preferences, or
attributes, control the way a feature
is manufactured. FeatureCAM has
two different types of attributes,
default and feature. Default
attributes set the default settings for
new features and are accessed by
choosing the Customize Mfg. step
and then selecting the Establish my
manufacturing preferences option.
Indicate your preference for settings

16
 Steps for Creating a Part
including climb milling, step over values, canned cycles or ramping and these
settings will be used for all parts that you create.

Feature attributes apply to specific features and override the default settings. For
example you may set a default setting for climb milling, but override it for bi-
directional roughing for a particular feature. To set feature attributes, pick the

feature graphically and click the Properties button located at the bottom
of the screen.

Tooling
FeatureCAM supports all the tool types in your shop including drills, taps,
reamers, end mills, boring bars, and face mills. Each tool type is described by a
series of dimensions.

Tools are grouped into Tool Cribs. FeatureCAM provides a comprehensive

tooling database and creates a basic tool crib for Inch, or Millimeter tools, or
both. FeatureCAM selects tools from the active tool crib to manufacture the part.
You can pick the tool crib you want to use for each part or machine. You can
also create custom tool cribs with the Tool Manager to reflect the tools owned by
your shop or to exactly represent the tools preloaded in your tool changer.

17
Steps for Creating a Part

Material Database
FeatureCAM comes standard with an integrated materials database. Feeds and
speeds are stored in tables for each material. Each table contains the settings for
different cutting operations. These tables can be customized to change the
values or you can add tables for new materials.

Configure Post Processor

This option is available for customizing post processor settings or selecting a
new post processor.

Optional Steps

Surfaces
This step is available in FeatureMILL3D. This step launches the 3D surface
wizard which steps you though creating surfaces from curves, primitive surfaces,
surfaces from one surface, and surfaces from multiple surfaces.

Solids
This step is available in the Solid Modeling option. The Solids step initiates the
Solids wizard which helps you create solids using numerous techniques.

AFR
This step is available in the FeatureRECOGNITION option. AFR stands for
automatic feature recognition. This step automatically recognizes features from
solid models.

18
 Steps for Creating a Part
On-line Help
FeatureCAM has an extensive on-line help system included with the program.
All documentation other than the Getting Started with FeatureCAM guide is on-
line. This documentation includes product introductions and reference manuals
for all FeatureCAM products.

Select FeatureCAM Help from the Help menu to display on-line help.

Three different tabs are available.

• Contents tab provides an outline view of the help system. Double

click on a book or a page to open it. From a page, click Help Topics
to return to the outline view.

• Index tab allows you to access the help file using index topics.
Type the topic name in the top box and click the Display button.

• Search tab provides search capabilities for all pages of the help
file. Type the word you would like to find in the top box and then
pick a topic in the bottom box. Click Display to view the page.

Help is a point and click interface to on-line information screens that are linked
together. A link is any green underlined text or any portion of a diagram that
turns the cursor into the pointer cursor. Click on a link to reveal a new screen.

19
Steps for Creating a Part
Reference Section
The Reference section of the on-line help contains in-depth technical descriptions
of FeatureCAM product features. It is organized in books that address major
product topics. For example, the Drawing book contains all the drawing tools
contained in FeatureCAM; the Making features book contains a description of
features broken down by individual products.

What’s New Section

This section keeps you up to date on the latest additions to FeatureCAM.

Context Sensitive Help

While using FeatureCAM you can access the documentation for the current topic
by either:
• Pressing F1 for help on your current activity.
• Clicking Help in the dialog boxes.

• Using the tool bar button, , for context sensitive help. Click this
button and then click on a menu item, button or dialog box to
receive more information.

Written Documentation

Formatted versions of manuals can be accessed from the Help menu and viewed
using Adobe Acrobat. These versions of the documentation are convenient for
searching or printing for viewing off-line.

20
 Chapter 3
Interface Tour
FeatureCAM Interface Components
Menu Bar Standard Graphics Window Manufacturing
Toolbar Results Window

Steps Tabs
Geometry Toolbox Status
Dialog Bar Assistance Simulation Bar
Bar Toolbar
Part View Toolbox

The initial screen provides you with a clean interface for learning FeatureCAM.
You can turn on the display of additional toolbars in the View menu under

21
Interface Tour
Toolbars. You can also control how much space the Graphics window uses
compared to the Manufacturing results window by moving the Sliders from side
to side.

Standard Toolbar
A getting started guide can’t describe every button available in the new interface.
But every button on a tool bar includes a tool tip. To view the tip, hold the cursor
over the button until the tool tip appears. Tool tip describes the function the
button activates. Besides the tool tip, the Assistance bar prompts you for the next
step in the process. It senses your context and helps you design geometry and
features. Refer to the Help system for detailed information.
Context Sensitive
Shaded Undo Select Help

New, Open View & Principal Delete Transform Help

& Save Views
Options

File functions are controlled in the first group of three buttons, such as creating
a new file, opening an existing file, or saving the current file.
View allows you to interactively change the view of the part. Select any of the
options from the viewing fly-out. Your cursor shows the same icon as the
viewing mode you selected. Viewing is performed interactively in FeatureCAM
with the mouse. Rotation, panning and translation are possible. Interactive
viewing is disabled while simulating toolpaths or in select or edit modes. See the
Fly-out Toolbars section below.
Principal Views changes the view of a part to one of seven standard views. See
the Fly-out Toolbars section below.
Shaded allows you to work in shaded mode for solid modeling.
Undo reverses the effect of the previous command. FeatureCAM remembers a
long list of the commands that are performed, so you can select Undo multiple

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 Interface Tour
times to undo multiple commands.
Delete erases the object that is selected on the screen. The object is removed
from the system.
Select puts you in Select mode. You can tell you are in select mode because the
mouse appears as a standard arrow pointer in the part window. In select mode,
you can click objects to select them.
Transform moves or copies the selected entity according to settings you make in
the dialog box.
Context sensitive help accesses on-line help. Click the button, then select the
button, field, dialog box or menu item you have questions about.
Options provides access to all the options settings in FeatureCAM.
Help brings up on-line help.

Fly-out Toolbars
A number of buttons in FeatureCAM toolbars are fly-out toolbars. Any button
with a small black triangle in the lower right corner is a fly-out toolbar. By
clicking on the triangle the menu is revealed. Click again to select a specific
option. The last option you picked from the fly-out menu becomes the current
command and is displayed as a button in the toolbar. To select this option again,
just click on the button in the toolbar.

Current command button

Triangle reveals menu

Fly-out menu

Menu Bar
The menu bar contains all the menus of the system. These menus contain all the

23
Interface Tour
commands available in FeatureCAM.

Steps Toolbox
The Steps toolbox contains an ordered list of steps for creating part programs.
Each step is a wizard that presents a series of dialog boxes for each process.
They are listed in the order in which you will use them during the process of
creating a part program.

Graphics Window
The left-hand window is the graphics window. This window shows the graphical
representation of the part and the graphical toolpath simulations.

Manufacturing Results Window

The right-hand window is the Manufacturing Results window. This window
contains the automatically generated documentation including tooling lists, setup
sheets and the NC part programs. Selecting one of the tabs at the bottom of the
window changes the content of this window.

Geometry Dialog Bar

The geometry dialog box is located under the graphics window and
manufacturing results window. The point locations and parameters for geometry
creation are entered here.

Assistance Bar
The Assistance bar displays step-by-step instructions for the current command.

24
 Interface Tour
Status Bar
The Status bar shows your current drawing units, tool crib, and post processor
settings as well as your keyboard status and information about the simulation
when you run one.

The Status bar is not a toolbar, nor can it be docked. It is the bottom part of the
FeatureCAM window and displays information about the computer, the state of
the program, or information about what your are doing. You can toggle it on or
off in the View menu under Toolbars.

Part View Toolbox

The Part View toolbox provides a hierarchical view of
the part. Each setup is listed with each of the feature of
the setup listed underneath. From this view you can
select, show, hide or modify features. To navigate the
part view:

1. If an object has a “+” in its left margin,

click it to expand the view to reveal objects
that are subordinate. Click on the ”-“ to
collapse the view and hide the subordinate
objects. Double clicking on the object also
performs the same function.

2. Clicking on object in the tree view will select the object in the
graphics window. This selection method is good for distinguishing
between overlapping objects in the graphics window. Make sure
you click on the name and not the check box. See item 4 below.

3. Clicking on an object also reveals the button for that feature.

Clicking on this button brings up menu of actions you can perform
on the object. The actions available are dependent on the object
type. Right clicking on the object in the tree view also reveals this
menu.

4. Features have a checkbox. If you uncheck the object it will be

excluded from the next toolpath generation.

5. By dragging a feature or setup, you can reorder these items.

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Interface Tour
6. Double-clicking on a feature displays its Properties dialog box for
editing.

All objects are represented in the part view with the exception of geometry.

Part icon represents the entire part. The part file name is also displayed in the
tree view.

Stock icon represents the part stock.

Setup icon represents a setup. The features of a setup are listed underneath a
setup. If you click on a setup, it changes the current setup and current UCS.

Feature icon represents features. It can be a 2.5D, 3D or turn feature. The

checkbox next to the feature can be used to exclude it from toolpath generation.
The feature is not deleted; it is just ignored for toolpath generation.

Curve icon represents a curve in the part model.

Surface icon represents surfaces. Surface milling features are classified as

features, not surfaces.

Solid icon represents a solid. Individual design features are listed

underneath.

Turret icon represents a turret on a lathe. Selecting a specific turret displays

the NC code for that turret.

Selecting Graphical Objects

Many commands require you to select object in the Graphics window. To select
object you can:

1. Click the left mouse button on an

object. This selects that object (by
turning it red) and deselects any other
object.

2. Hold down the SHIFT key and click

the left mouse button on an object.
This adds that object to the selected set of objects. This method
allows you to select more than one object.

26
 Interface Tour
3. Click the left mouse button and drag the mouse before letting up on
the button. This method is called box select. As you drag the
mouse, a box is displayed in the Graphics window. All objects that
are completely enclosed in the box are selected. If you hold down
the SHIFT key while selecting, the objects are added to the selected
set of objects.

Note: you must be in Select mode (by clicking the Select button) to perform
a selection.

Optional Toolbars
While the Steps toolbox and the standard toolbar are all that is necessary to run
FeatureCAM, there are additional toolbars that can be displayed by selecting the
Toolbars option from the View menu.

Advanced Toolbar Toggle Geometry

Toolbar
New Feature
Show Fly-out Curve Wizard Wizard Setups
Solid Wizard

UCS
Hide Fly-out Surface Wizard Snap modes

Show Fly-out is a fly-out menu for displaying different categories of objects .

Hide Fly-out is a fly-out menu for hiding different categories of objects. This
does not delete the objects. They are only removed from the display. These
objects can be re-shown using commands in the Show Fly-out.

Curve Wizard provides a centralized interface for curve commands. The

commands available in this wizard are also available in the Curves and Surfaces
toolbar.

Surface Wizard presents step-by-step instructions for 3D surface construction.

27
Interface Tour
The commands available in this wizard are also available in the Curves and
Surfaces toolbar.

Solid Wizard presents solid modeling commands available in the Solid

Modeling option.

Toggle Geometry Toolbar toggles the display of the Geometry toolbar. This
toolbar contains fly-outs for the creation of points, lines, arcs, fillets and
dimensions.

Snap Modes displays the Snap Modes dialog. Use this dialog to set the
locations for point snapping.

New Feature Wizard steps you through the process of creating part features.

UCS opens the User Coordinate System dialog box for creating or changing
existing UCSs.

Setups brings up the Setup dialog box for creating or editing part program zero.

Snap Mode Toolbar and Dialog Box

Entering points by coordinates is exact but not always convenient or feasible.
Picking points with the mouse is not always precise enough. The bridge between
the methods of point selection is snaps. Snapping is a CAD concept that helps
you position lines, points or shapes as you construct the geometry of a part. The
Snap Mode bar or the Snap Mode Dialog box controls where the cursor snaps.
What you have snapped to is displayed in the status bar.
Grid Endpoint Section Center Object Toolpath

Quadrant
Point Midpoint Intersection Tangent
Snap
Discrimination
Dialog

28
 Interface Tour
Grid displays a grid and enables snapping to the grid. Selecting Snapping Grids
from the Options menu controls the spacing of the grid. Grid snaps to a point on
a coordinate system that is laid out on the stock. The grid size can be modified
from the Options menu.

Point snaps to a point object.

Endpoint and midpoint snap to the ends and middle points of finite lines and
arcs. Endpoint also applies to the corners of the stock.

Section snaps equal intervals of a finite line. The number of sections is

controlled by the Sections parameter of the Snapping Grids dialog box.

Intersection snaps to the intersection of lines, arcs and circles.

Center snaps to circle centers. This setting also controls the display of circle
and arc center points.

Quadrant snaps to the four points on a circle corresponding to 0°, 90°, 180° and
270°.

Tangent snaps the point so that the object you are creating will be tangent to the
object you snapped to.

Object snaps to a point on another object. This includes lines of surfaces and is
convenient for snapping points to locations on a surface.

Toolpath snaps to points on a centerline toolpath simulation.

Snap discrimination dialog displays a dialog box if the point you select could
snap to more than one location.

Snapping Feedback
As you snap the cursor changes shape. A small snap icon shadows the cursor
around the graphics window. The snap icon jumps to locations near the cursor.
It also changes shape in relationship to what it snaps to. When snapping to a
circle center, endpoint, midpoint, quadrant or section, the icon is a small box.
When snapping tangent to a circle or arc, the icon is a small circle that can slide
along the circle or arc while maintaining tangency. Snapping to a grid point, the
icon is a small plus sign. When snapping to an object, the icon is a large dot.
The following figure shows the cursors and icons of the Graphics window along

29
Interface Tour
with the messages displayed in the status bar.

Drawing cursor
Tangent to circle “circ1” [0.75,0.75]
Snap Icon

Drawing cursor
Intersection of “circ1” and “ln2” [0.5,0.534]
Snap Icon

You can have more than one active snap mode at a time. With snaps, it’s easy to
create any geometry tangent to circles or arcs, pick the exact center of circles and
so on.

Geometry Toolbar
The Geometry Toolbar has a series of fly-out toolbars shown below.

30
 Interface Tour

Lines Fly-out Circles Fly-out Dimensions Fly-out

Arcs Fly-out Expand/Trim Fly-out Points

Has no fly-out

Fillets Fly-out Pick Fly-out

Steps Toolbar

The Steps Toolbox is also available as a toolbar. It is useful to display this

toolbar if you want to constantly view the Part View while still having the
commands of the Steps Toolbox available. See Chapter 2 for a description of
these buttons.

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Interface Tour
Warping Dialog Boxes
During graphical selections, certain
dialog boxes will warp out of the way so
that the dialog box does not cover the
Graphics window. If you click a button like
the Pick curve button, the dialog box
warps into a single small title bar as shown below.

The cursor changes into a Pick cursor . Select

the object on the screen and the dialog will
reappear. To cancel the pick, click on the red “X” in the small title bar. To
disable dialog warping, uncheck Warp Dialogs in the Options menu.

Customizing Toolbars
The appearance and contents of the toolbars can be customized by selecting
Toolbars from the View menu. The Customize toolbars dialog box is displayed.

Toolbars Tab
This dialog box has three different purposes.

Displaying/hiding toolbars - Check the checkbox in front a toolbar’s name to

display it. Uncheck to hide it.

Changing the display of toolbars. - The appearance of the toolbars can be

either flat or 3D.The size can be either large or small. Large buttons are
recommended for low screen resolutions or touch screens.

Creating/deleting toolbars - The New button will create a new toolbar. The
Delete button will delete the toolbar that is selected in the list. You can only
delete toolbars that you create. The Reset selected button will return the selected
toolbar to its original state. The Default toolbars button will return all the
toolbars to their original state and delete any user-defined toolbars.

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 Interface Tour
Commands Tab and Misc. Tab
Clicking on the Commands tab puts the
interface into a mode that allows you to
rearrange the buttons of the interface.
You can drag buttons from one toolbar to
another or drag a button from a toolbar into
the FeatureCAM window to remove it
from the toolbar.

By clicking on one of the categories,

buttons of that type are displayed. Click
on a button to receive a description. You
can drag one of these buttons onto any
toolbar.

The Misc. tab controls the appearance of the Steps toolbox and the display of the
status bar and assistance bars.

Display mode bar and shading mode

By default, everything that you create in FeatureCAM is displayed as a line
drawing in the graphics window. Objects can also be viewed as a 2D cross
section, 3D shaded or 3D hidden line drawings. See the chart below for the
display modes that apply to specific object types and how to activate each type of
graphics.

Lines Line drawings apply to points, geometry, dimensions, curves,

milling features, turning features, surfaces, solids, stock. It is
the default display mode.

2D view Applies to stock for a turning setup and turning features. This
mode is toggled by clicking the 2D turned profiles button
in the display mode toolbar.

Shaded • 3D shading applies to milling features, turning features,

surfaces, solids. There are a number of ways to shade
and unshade objects.

• Toggle between line drawings and shaded graphics by

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Interface Tour

clicking the Shade button in the Standard toolbar.

• Shade specific objects on the screen by selecting the

object and clicking the Shade selected button in the
Display mode toolbar. This is the only way to shade
features.

• Click the Unshade selected button to return the

selected object to lines or click the Unshade all
button to return all objects to line drawings. These
buttons are in the Display mode toolbar.

Hidden Hidden line graphics only apply to solids so it is best to hide

line all other objects and display only solids while in this mode.
Toggle the Hidden line button in the Display mode
toolbar to clip and remove the hidden lines of a solid.

The following figures show a solid displayed as lines, hidden lines and shaded.

Display mode toolbar

The buttons of Display mode toolbar, control the current display mode.

The Display mode toolbar has the following buttons to help you visualize and
work with surfaces in the model.

Shade selected shades the selected entities. This gives you a solid like view
of the surfaces.

Unshade selected removes shading from the selected entities.

Unshade all unshades everything that is displayed.

Hide shaded isoline is a toggle switch to hide or show the lines of a surface

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 Interface Tour
or solid while it is shaded.

Hidden line mode will display all solids as a hidden line drawing. Note
that only lines within the solid are hidden. It is best to hide everything and show
only the solids to use this mode. Unclick the button to turn off the mode.

Show normals displays the normals for selected surfaces in the model.

Unshow normals hides the normals for selected surfaces in the model.

Turning 2D view toggles the view of a turning stage between 2D or 3D line

drawing view.

Colors
Different colors are different for each object type.
For example geometry is black and objects you
select turn red. You can change the default color
for object types by selecting Coloring from the
Options menu and then selecting Default colors.
The Color menu comes up. Click on the new
color and click OK.

You can also change the color of any object,

regardless of the object type, by selecting
Coloring from the Options menu and then
selecting Change selected.

35
Interface Tour

36
 Chapter 4
Making Your First
2 ½ D Part
NOTE: You must have FeatureMILL2.5D to perform this
tutorial.

This chapter is a step-by-step tutorial for building a simple part and introducing
you to:
• Creating features
• 3D viewing
• Generating toolpaths
• 3D toolpath simulation
• Automatic tool selection, feed/speed calculation
• Dynamically generated setup documentation

Stock Preparation
It is assumed that you have already prepared your stock. If you want to use
FeatureCAM for this task, you will want to use the Face feature to face the top of
the part and use a Side feature with a line as the profile to square an edge.

The First Time

1. Begin FeatureCAM by selecting FeatureCAM from the Start menu.
The first time you run FeatureCAM, the tool database is initialized.
You’ll be prompted for some information concerning your tool
preferences and then the tool information is created based on your
answers.

37
Making Your First 2 ½ D Part

Create a Part File

1. If the New Part Document Wizard is displayed, click New File, and
click Next. Click Milling Setup and click Inch or Millimeter
depending on your preference and click Finish.
2. If the New Part Document is not displayed, click New Part
Document button. Select Milling Setup and click Inch or
Millimeter depending on your preference and click OK.
3. In the Dimensions dialog box, enter 1 (25mm) for thickness,
4(100mm) for width, 5(120mm) for length and click Finish. Next
time you use FeatureMILL it will remember the stock dimensions
that you entered last.
4. Click OK in the Stock Properties dialog box
For reference, here is a dimensioned drawing of the sample part.
English Units Metric Units

4. Click the Features step from the Steps toolbar.

5. Select Hole and click Next.
6. Enter 0.5 (12mm) for the Diameter and click Next.
7. Enter 1.0 (25mm) for the X location of the hole center and 1.0
(25mm) for the Y location. Click Next.
The Strategies page is presented. This page provides control over the
types of operations that will be used to cut the feature. The default
operations for a hole are to spot drill and drill the hole. If the hole had a
chamfer, the default would be to cut the chamfer with the spot drill
operation.

38
 Making Your First 2 ½ D Part
8. Accept the default strategy settings by clicking Next.
The Operations page shows a summary of the operations that will be
created to cut the feature. The names of the tools that have been
automatically selected and the feeds and speeds are also displayed.
9. Click on the triangle next to the Finish button and select the Finish
option.
10. Create a rectangular pocket feature by clicking the Features step

again from the Steps toolbar.

11. Select Rectangular Pocket and click Next.
12. Accept the default dimensions by clicking Next.
13. Enter 0.75 (15mm) for X, 2.5 (60mm) for Y and 0 for Z. Click
Next.
14. The Strategies page indicates that rough and finish operations will
be created. Click Finish to accept.

15. Use the Features step to create a second 0.5 (12mm) diameter
hole at X=4 (95mm) and Y=3 (75mm).

16. Use the Features step to create another pocket just like the
first, except positioned at X=2.5 (55mm), Y=0.5 (15mm).

39
Making Your First 2 ½ D Part

Viewing
1. So far you have been viewing the part from the top view. Click the

Isometric view button from the standard toolbar to get a 3-

dimensional view.

2. The Isometric view button is

actually a menu. Click on the
triangle next to the button. A fly-
out menu is displayed. Click Front
to display the front view. Click
Isometric to return to the isometric
view. See Chapter 3 for more information about fly-out menus.
The sample part is complete. Now the simulation features will be used to see
how the part will be manufactured.

Toolpaths

1. Click the Toolpaths step . The Simulation toolbar is displayed

2. Click the 3D button and click the Play button to start the
simulation.If the Ordering dialog box appears click OK. These
options will be covered later.

3. A solid 3D rendering of the cutting process is displayed.

40
 Making Your First 2 ½ D Part

ALERT! FeatureMILL runs

simulations best in 256 color
mode or higher. Depending on
your video settings, you might
see a warning about this. You
may ignore this warning for this
tutorial.

4. Click the Play to Next

Operation button. The spot drill operation is displayed.
Click this button to view each operation until the entire part is cut.

5. Click Eject. The Simulation toolbar is removed from the screen.

Order of Manufacturing Operations

The Op. list tab on the right side of the window shows all of the operations that
the features are translated into. If you notice that there’s a yellow warning sign
next to an operation, this is FeatureCAM’s way of letting you know that
there might be a problem with that operation. You can ignore the warnings for
now.

Follow these steps to see how to control the order of manufacturing in

FeatureMILL.
1. Notice on the top of the Op. list tab window the Automatic
Ordering radio button is selected. This means that automatic rules
are being applied to order the operations. Click the Ordering

options button.
2. Make sure that Minimize tool changes is the only one checked and
click OK.

3. Click on the Steps toolbox and click the Toolpaths step . Click
the 3D button and click the play button. If the Ordering dialog box
appears click OK. You’ll notice in the simulation that it performs
all the spot-drills, then the drills, and then the rough and finish
milling for the pockets.

41
Making Your First 2 ½ D Part

4. Click the Stop button when simulation is complete to exit

simulation mode.
5. Click the Ordering options button again. Check Do finish cuts last,
uncheck everything else and click OK. Notice that the order of
operations has changed in the Operation List.
6. Click the Play button again. You’ll notice in the simulation that the
finish cuts for the two pockets now are cut last.

7. Click the Stop button when simulation is complete.

8. Click the Ordering options button again. Uncheck everything and
click OK. Now the operations will have the same order as the
features in the Part View.
9. Click on the Part View tab located above the Steps toolbox. This
view shows you a list of all the setups and features you have
created. See Chapter 3 for details on the part view.
10. Click rect_pock2, the last name in the Part View list, and drag it up
ahead of hole2.
11. Click the Play button again. The second pocket is now cut as the
third feature.

12. Click the Stop button when simulation is complete.

So far the order of the operations is determined automatically by a set of
rules. You can also specify an exact ordering of operations.
13. Click the Manual Ordering radio button below the Automatic
Ordering radio button. In the Fixed Operation Ordering dialog box
that appears click OK.
14. Select an operation from the list and drag it either up or down.
15. Click the Play button again. You’ll notice that the simulation now
performs the operations in the order that you had specified.

16. Click the Stop button when simulation is complete.

17. Click the Automatic Ordering radio button and click OK
18. Click the Eject button to erase the simulation and remove the
Simulation toolbar.

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 Making Your First 2 ½ D Part
Part Documentation
Not only did the simulation model the manufacturing of the part, it also
generated complete tool and operations lists. The tools selected are based on the
tool cribs you design so you’re always sure to simulate what you can produce
with the tools at hand. The information is already computerized and can be
printed for use as an operator’s checklist.

1. Click on the Details tab in the Results window. The operation

sheet looks similar to this:
Op: 1 hole1 (spotdrill)
Op: 2 hole1 (drill)
Op: 3 rect_pock1 (rough1)
Op: 4 rect_pock1 (rough2)
Op: 5 rect_pock1 (finish)
Op: 6 rect_pock2 (rough1)
Op: 7 rect_pock2 (rough2)
Op: 8 rect_pock2 (finish)
Op: 9 hole2 (spotdrill)
Op: 10 hole2 (drill)
You can review this list using the scroll bars, or print it by selecting Print from
the File menu. Set the checkboxes for what you want to print and click OK

2. Click on the Tool List radio button at the top of the Details tab to
show the Tooling list. The Tool list contains all of the tools used to
create the part based on the crib you have selected. The Tool list
looks similar to this:

Crib: basic
Summary:
Slot 1: center_5 D 0.1875 in.
Slot 2: TD_05000_1|2:J D 0.5000 in.
Slot 3: endmill0500:reg D 0.5000 in.
Slot 4: endmill0375:reg D 0.3750 in.

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Making Your First 2 ½ D Part
Controlling the Automation
1. Click on the Part View and select hole1 from the list. Click the

Properties button at the bottom of the screen.

2. Click the Strategy tab.
3. Uncheck the Spot Drill checkbox and click OK.

4. Click the Toolpaths step . Click 3D and click the play

button. Notice there is no spot drilling for that hole this time. If
you look through the operations list, notice there is now only one
spotdrill operation listed. FeatureMILL can optimize the part
manufacturing process for you, but you control the level of
automatic optimization you want.
5. Click Eject.

NC Code
The purpose of FeatureMILL is to generate NC code to manufacture parts with
CNC machines. After you have simulated the part, you can generate NC code.
Before you can generate NC code for a part, you have to run a simulation to
calculate toolpaths. If you are starting this part of the tutorial without having just
run the simulation described above, simulate your part now.

3. Click the NC Code step in the Steps toolbar.

4. Click the Display the NC code button in the dialog box to

generate the NC code.

NOTE: If you are running an evaluation copy of FeatureMILL, a dongle, a

device that attaches to the computer printer port, is necessary to
generate NC code, or save or export files and is not available in the
demonstration version. When you purchase FeatureMILL, a dongle
is provided to you.

Tool Mapping

1. Click the NC Code step in the Steps toolbar. Click the Re-

map the tools button from the dialog box. A dialog box is

44
 Making Your First 2 ½ D Part
displayed shows that the tools are in the following order:

TD_0500_1|2:J 1
Endmill0500:reg 2
Endmill0375:reg 3
Center_5 4

2. In this dialog box you can modify the location of the tools in the
tool changer. To move the center drill to the 5th position in the tool
changer, click on Center_5 in the table.

3. Change the Tool from a 4 to a 5 in the Tool number field at the

bottom of the dialog box and click Set.

Note that you cannot change the number directly in the table.

4. Click OK.

Changing Post Processors

1. Follow the remaining steps to change your post processor and save
the NC code.
2. From the Manufacturing menu, select Post Process.
3. Click Browse to view the post processors.
The default directory is c:\Program Files\FeatureCAM\M-lbry\Inch
for English units. If you need a metric post, browse up one
directory level to M-lbry. Then browse the Metric directory.
4. Select your processor and click Open. Click OK in the Post Options
dialog box. Your processor is now selected. Run a simulation of the
part to regenerate the NC code.

NOTE: Clicking Close will not change your post processor.

Saving NC Code

1. Click the NC Code step in the Steps toolbar. Click the Save

NC button from the dialog box.

45
Making Your First 2 ½ D Part
2. Accept the default filename and directory and click OK.

You are ready to machine the part.

Saving the FeatureMILL Part

1. Select the Save button from the Standard toolbar.

2. Select the directory and then type your part name.

The Next Step

You’re done with this tutorial and have seen the basic functions of FeatureMILL.
The next section expands on this part by building a curve around the features.
The curve is created with the layout and drawing tools.

46
 Chapter 5
Features From
Curves
NOTE: You must have FeatureMILL to perform this tutorial.
It is recommended that you complete Chapter 4 before
starting this tutorial.

This tutorial builds on the one you just completed and introduces you to:

1. Creating geometry (lines, arcs, fillets, etc.)

2. Creating irregularly-shaped features

3. Contouring around a part and adjusting where the tool plunges

4. Open your sample part from the last chapter or if you skipped the earlier
tutorial, open the sample2.fm file or the mtrc_gsg.fm file for metric
users. If you installed in the default directory, these files should be in
C:\Program Files\FeatureCAM\Examples\Tutorials\Features from
Curves.

47
Features From Curves
Setting the Snaps
1. Select Snapping Modes from the Options menu.
2. Check if the following buttons are enabled, if not, click on it to
enable them and turn the others off: Grid points, End points,
Intersections, Circle centers, Tangent to objects. A white box will
surround a button when it’s turned on.
3. Click OK.

Building Circles
1. The Principal Views button in the Standard toolbar is a fly-
out toolbar. Click the triangle next to the button and then click on
the Top button in the fly-out toolbar. It is usually easier to draw
geometry in this view. (For more information about the fly-out
toolbar options, refer to Chapter 3, Interface Tour.)

2. Select the Geometry step from the Steps Toolbox. Check the
Create more than one checkbox at the bottom of the dialog box and
click the Circle from Rad, Center button. You can move your
mouse over an icon to read its label.
3. Set R in the dialog bar (below the graphics window) to 0.75 inch
(20mm).
4. Click near the center of one hole. The snap jumps to the grid at the
hole’s center. If you miss the hole center, click Undo (or select
Undo in the Edit menu) and try again.
5. Repeat this action for the other hole. Your part looks similar to the
figure below.

48
 Features From Curves
Drawing Lines
1. Select the Geometry step from the Steps Toolbox. Check the
Create more than one checkbox at the bottom of the dialog box and

click the Line from 2 pts button .

2. For point 1 in the diagram below, click the top of the right circle. If
the Snap Selection dialog box appears, select Tangent to circle and
click OK.

3. For the second point click on the upper left grid point, point 2, as
shown with Xs above.
4. Continue building lines from point 2 to point 3, from point 4 to
point 5, and from point 5 to point
5. The completed lines look like this:

6. Select the Geometry step from

the Steps Toolbox. Check the
Create more than one checkbox at
the bottom of the dialog box and

click the Corner Fillet button.

7. Set R in the dialog bar to 0.75 inch (20mm).

49
Features From Curves
8. Click the point marked near the upper left corner. The diagram
below shows where to click to create the fillets. A corner fillet
appears automatically trimming the lines to fit.

9. Click the point marked near the lower right corner. A corner fillet
appears automatically trimming the lines to fit.

Chaining a Curve
1. Select the Curves step from the Steps Toolbar.

2. Select Chain into a closed boundary and click on the bottom

line as shown.
FeatureMILL automatically chains a closed curve and chooses a
smooth path so you don’t have to chain all curves manually.

50
 Features From Curves
Feature from a Curve
1. With the curve still highlighted, click the Features step from
the Steps toolbox.
2. Select Boss and click Next.
3. The curve you selected is already selected in this dialog box. Keep
on clicking Next until you get to the Dimensions page of the dialog.
4. Set the Height to 0.75 (20mm).
5. Click Finish.

Simulate the Part

You are now ready to simulate your part.

1. Click Isometric from

the Principal views fly-out.
1. Click the Toolpaths step

from the Steps toolbar

and click the 3D simulation
button and then the play button.
2. Click OK in the Ordering dialog box and the 3D simulation is
displayed in the graphics window.

3. Click the Eject button to clear the screen.

Modifying the Boss Feature to Contour Around the

Part
If you watched the simulation carefully, you saw that the boss feature performed
both a roughing and finishing operation. To simply contour around the outer
boundary of the part, you’ll need to eliminate the roughing operation. The
operations that are initially created for a feature are specified on the Strategies
page of the New Feature wizard, but you can easily modify the strategy for any
existing feature.

1. Pick the Boss feature and click the Properties button at the bottom

51
Features From Curves
of the screen.

2. The Properties dialog box comes up. This dialog box contains the
pages of the New Feature wizard as separate tabs.

3. Click on the Strategy tab. Notice that the Rough and Finish
checkboxes are checked. Uncheck the Rough checkbox, and click
OK.

4. Simulate the toolpaths again using the Toolpaths step .

Changing the Plunge Point

The tool ramped on and off the part at the location that you chained the curve. In
this case, the tool is plunging on the stock. To change the plunge point for this
operation:

1. Click on the triangle next to the Principal Views button

then click on the Top button in the fly-out toolbar

2. Pick the Boss feature and click the Properties button at the bottom
of the screen.

3. The left-hand side of the dialog box contains the tree view. It
shows the feature with its operations listed underneath. By clicking
on an operation in the tree view, you can modify an operation.

4. Click on the finish operation in the tree view. The tabs of the dialog
box change to represent information specific to the operation. Click
on the Milling tab. This tab
contains the various attributes
for changing the toolpaths that
are generated for the operation.

5. Click on the Plunge point(s)

attribute.

6. Click the Pick location

button that appears at the bottom
of the dialog box.

7. Click at a location below the

52
 Features From Curves
part.

Note that if you pick a location that is too close to the part, the
plunge point is ignored that the toolpaths will remain unchanged.

8. Click OK.

9. Click the Toolpaths step , click the centerline simulation

button and the play button to view the changes in the toolpath.

The Next Step

You have completed this Tutorial.

53
Features From Curves

54
 Chapter 6
Introduction to
Turning
NOTE: You must have FeatureTURN or FeatureTURN/MILL
to perform these tutorials.

If you want to evaluate FeatureTURN:

1. Select FeatureCAM from the Start menu.
2. From the File menu, choose Evaluation Options and make sure
Turning is checked.
3. Click OK.
The example is a simple turned part designed to introduce you to several of the
drawing and machining tools available in FeatureTURN. The tutorial walks you
through creating the part and introduces you to FeatureTURN's automation and
ease of use.

55
Introduction to Turning
The First Time
1. Select FeatureCAM from the Start Menu.
The first time you run FeatureCAM, the material and tool database is initialized.
You'll be prompted for some information concerning your tool preferences and
then the tool information is created based on your answers.

Create a Part File

1. If the New Part Document Wizard is displayed, click New File, and
click Next. Click Turn/Mill and click Inch or Millimeter depending
on your preference and click Finish.
2. If the New Part Document Wizard is not displayed Click New Part
Document button. Click Turn/Mill and the Inch or Millimeter
radio button depending on your preference. Click OK.
3. A Turning setup will default to a round stock. Once in stock
properties set the OD to 4 (100mm), Length to 5 (125mm), and ID
to 0.
4. Click on the triangle next to the
Finish button and select the
Finish and Edit properties and
set Z to 0.0625 (1.5mm) and
click OK.
5. Select Turning input modes from the Options menu. Make sure that
3D is checked.
6. Select Set tool crib from the Manufacturing menu. Click on the
Tools crib and click OK.

7. Click on the triangle of the View fly-out on the Standard tool

bar and choose Center All to bring your entire drawing into view.

8. Select the Geometry step from the Steps Toolbox. Check the
Create more than one checkbox at the bottom of the dialog box and

click the Line from 2 pts button . On the bottom of the

screen, type in these points to create two lines that define the OD
profile: (X=2(50mm), Y=0, Z= -3.5 (-88mm)), (X= 1 (25mm), Y=0,

56
 Introduction to Turning
Z= -3.5 (-88mm)). Press ENTER. Now you should see a line
drawn. Create a second line with the values (X=1 (25mm), Y=0, Z=
-3.5 (-88mm)), (X=1 (25mm), Y=0, Z=0) and press ENTER.

9. Select the Geometry step from the Steps Toolbox and select

Chamfer from the list of Fillet commands. Enter

width=0.25(6mm) and height=0.25(6mm) at the bottom of the
screen and click your mouse close to the chamfer location as shown
in the figure and the chamfer will snap into place. Click your
mouse button to place the chamfer on your drawing. Notice how
the chamfer automatically trims your lines.

10. Select the Geometry step from the Steps Toolbox and click

the Line from 2 pts button . Use the following values:

(X=0.625(16mm), Y=0, Z=0), (X=0.625(16mm), Y=0, Z= -3.75 (-
94mm)). Press the ENTER key.

11. Select the Curves step from the Steps Toolbar. Click the

Chain into open boundary button . Click on locations 1,2,3 as

shown in the figure below. Each line segment will change color
when it is selected. Name this curve "Turn" and press the ENTER
key.

12. Select the Curves step from the Steps Toolbar. Click the

Chain into open boundary button . Chain the Bore ID curve by

57
Introduction to Turning
clicking on locations 4 and 5. Label it "Bore" and press the
ENTER key. Your drawing should look like the one below.

Making Features
The 2D Turned Profiles button is located on the display mode toolbar and
will simplify the screen. Annotations have been added below to show the 7
features that make up the part.

58
 Introduction to Turning

1. Click Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

Note: For Turn/Mill users only, an extra form will pop up asking
the user to choose Turning or Turn/Mill. If this appears
select Turning.

2. On the New Feature form, select Turn and click Next.

3. You will now pick the curve graphically. Click on the Pick Curve
button . The dialog box will warp to reveal the Graphics
window beneath. Click on the curve you named “Turn” earlier.
Since this pick could be either the curve or the line you may see the
Select dialog box. This box helps to clarify a pick. In this case,
select “Turn” from the list and click OK and then click Next in the
New Feature – Curve dialog box.
4. Accept the default strategy settings by clicking Finish.

5. Create a Facing Feature by clicking the Features step from the

Steps Toolbar.
6. Click Face and click Next.
7. Set Outer Diameter to 4 (100mm), Inner Diameter to 0, Thickness
to 0.0625 (1.5mm). Note that a face feature automatically knows
the OD and ID values from the stock properties. Click Finish to
accept the default values for the rest of the dialog boxes.

8. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps Toolbox. The

Simulation toolbar is displayed.

9. Click the 3D button and the Play button. Click OK in the Ordering
dialog if it appears. The following simulation is displayed. Click

59
Introduction to Turning
the Eject button to return to the drawing view.

10. Use the Features step from the Steps Toolbar to create a hole.
On the Dimensions page set the Diameter to 1.0 (24mm), Depth to
3.75 (94mm). Click Next and set Z to 0 and click Finish.
11. Create a bore feature by using the same process you used to create
the turn feature. Use the curve you named “Bore”.
12. Click on the triangle of the Principal views fly-out on the Standard
tool bar and click on the Isometric button from the fly-out to see an
isometric view of your part.

13. Click the Toolpaths button in the

Steps toolbox and view a 3D simulation by clicking the 3D button
and the Play button. Click the Eject button to clear the screen
14. Return to the Principal Views fly-out and select Top to return to the
original view.

15. Click the Features step and select the Groove radio button in
the From Dimensions group. On the Dimensions page set Location
to ID, Orientation to X-axis, Diameter to 1.25 (31mm), Depth to
0.125 (3mm), Width to 0.250(6mm), Leave the other settings at 0.
Click Next and set Z to –3 (-75mm). Click Finish.

16. Use the Features step and select

the Thread radio button in the From
Dimensions groups. On the Dimension
page, check Get the dimensions from a
standard thread, click OD and select
the 2.0000-4.5UNC (M50-15 for
metric) thread. Click Next.

60
 Introduction to Turning
17. On the Dimensions page set Thread to Right Hand, Thread Length
to 1.0 (24mm). Click Finish.

18. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps toolbox and view a 2D
simulation by clicking the 2D button and the Play button. Click the
Eject button to clear the screen.

19. Use the Features step to make a Cutoff Feature. On the

Dimensions page set Diameter to 4(100mm), Inner Diameter to 0,
Width to 0.122 (3mm), Click Next and set Z to -4.5 (-112mm).
Click Finish.
The sample part is complete. Watch a 2D simulation followed by a 3D
simulation to view the finished part.

Ordering of Operations
You can control the ordering of operations by modifying the Turn Operation
Template. This template lists the manufacturing order of the various turning
features.

1. Click the Ordering option button on the Op. List tab in the
Results window.

2. The Automatic ordering option dialog box comes up. Click on the
Use template radio button and click the Edit template button.

3. The default order is shown on the left. Click on Rough OD Turn

and click the down arrow until it is located under the Finish ID
Turn operation. Click on Finish OD TURN and click the down
arrow until it is located under Finish ID Turn. Click OK twice.

61
Introduction to Turning

4. Simulate the toolpaths and you’ll notice that the OD roughing and
finishing now happen after the hole is drilled.

Part Documentation
FeatureTURN will automatically generate a Manufacturing Operation sheet and
a Tool list. The Manufacturing Operation sheet appears by default in the Results
window. It contains information such as machining time, tools selected, feeds
and speeds, and horsepower requirements for the various operations. A Tool list
is also created that gives all the specification and slot assignments for the tools
used to manufacture your part.

1. Click on the Details tab at the bottom of the Results window. Each
operation of the process plan is listed in order.

2. Click on the Tool List radio button at the top of the Details tab.
Now the tool list is presented in the Results window. This
document provides a summary of all the tools required for the job
as well as details of each tool.

You can print this documentation by selecting Print from the File menu.

NC Code
After you have simulated the part, you can generate NC code. FeatureTURN
comes with many post processors and the ability to create custom post processors
as well.

62
 Introduction to Turning
Before you can generate NC code for a part, you have to run a simulation to
calculate toolpaths. If you are starting this part of the tutorial without having just
run the simulation described above, simulate your part now.

1. Click the NC code step in the Steps toolbar.

2. Click the Display the NC code button in the dialog box to

generate the NC code.

NOTE: If you are running an evaluation copy of

FeatureTURN, a dongle, a device that attaches to the
computer printer port, is necessary to generate NC
code, or save or export files and is not available in the
demonstration version. When you purchase
FeatureTURN, a dongle is provided to you.

Changing Post Processors and Saving NC Code

1. If you are running FeatureTURN, default post processor is for a
Bridgeport machine. Follow the remaining steps to change your
post processor and save the NC code.
2. From the Manufacturing menu, select Post Process.
3. Click Browse to view the post processors.
4. The default directory is c:\Program Files\FeatureCAM\T-lbry\Inch
for English units. If you need a metric post, browse up one
directory level to M-lbry. Then browse the Metric directory.
5. Select your processor and click Open. Click OK in the Post Options
dialog box. Your processor is now selected. Run a simulation of the
part to regenerate the NC code.

NOTE: Clicking Close will not change your post processor.

6. Click the NC code step in the Steps toolbar. Click the Save

NC button from the dialog box.

7. Accept the default filename and directory and click OK.
You are ready to machine the part.

63
Introduction to Turning
Saving the FeatureTURN Part

1. Select the Save button from the Standard toolbar.

2. Select the directory and then type your part name and click OK.

The Next Step

You have completed this tutorial.

64
 Chapter 7
Advanced Turning
and Machine
Simulation
NOTE: You must have FeatureTURN, Multi-turret Turning
and Machine Simulation to perform this tutorial.

This chapter introduces you to:

• Creating subspindles

• Using Machine simulation

• Setting up a second turret

• Synchronizing operations

65
Advanced Turning and Machine Simulation
Getting Started
All files for this tutorial are located in \Examples\Tutorials\Multi-turret
Turning\ where you installed FeatureCAM. If you installed the program in the
default directory, these files should be in C:\Program
Files\FeatureCAM\Examples\Tutorials\Multi-turret Turning\.

1. Open the tutorial file twinturret_tutorial.fm

Setup Machine Simulation

1. Select Toolbars from the View menu. Make sure that Advanced
option is checked and click OK. Click the Setups button from
the Advanced toolbar.

2. Select Setup1 from the drop-down list and click Edit. Keep
clicking Next until you get to the Setup - Simulation information
page.

3. Select the Always use this one radio button.

4. Click the Browse button and locate

TURNING_INDEX_G200.md (for file location see note in the
Getting Started section above).

5. Select the file and click Open and then click Finish.

6. Repeat steps 1-5 for Setup2. When done, click Close in the Setups
dialog box. Now both Setup1 and Setup2 should have the machine
simulation design file set.

7. From the Manufacturing menu, select Post Process.

8. Click Browse to view the post processors.

9. Select the Moriseiki with Mitsubishi Mill-turn upper and lower

example.CNC processor and click Open (for file location see note
in the Getting Started section above).

10. Enter X = 18 and Z =0 for the Tool Change Location. Click OK.
Your processor is now selected and the tool change location is set.

66
 Advanced Turning and Machine Simulation

11. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps Toolbox to bring up the
simulation toolbar.

12. Click the Machine simulation button and then click the
Single Step button. Click OK if
the Ordering dialog box appears.
You should now see the machine
displayed on your screen.

13. Click the right mouse button in the

graphics window to bring up the
View fly-out menu. Use the viewing
options to get a good view of the machine.

14. Click the Play button. You should now see the machine parts
moving and cutting the part.

You can use the options in the View fly-out menu during the simulation to get a
better view without pausing the simulation.

15. Click the Eject button.

Add a Subspindle Feature

So far we have been dealing with a single spindle. Now we’ll introduce a second
spindle, or a subspindle, to our setup.
1. Click on the Part View above the Steps Toolbar.
2. Notice that we have a number of spindle features already created:
main_off
sub_off
sub_open_and_drop
sub_pos_in
sub_close
main_on_sync
sub_on_sync

67
Advanced Turning and Machine Simulation
3. Select Setup1 from the list.

4. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

5. If the New Feature – Type dialog box is displayed, select Turning
and click Next.
6. Select Subspindle and click Next.
7. Select Sub Spindle and Position the spindle radio buttons and click
Next.
8. Check the Send the subspindle home checkbox and click Finish. If
the Sub Spindle Properties dialog box appears click OK.
9. Click on Part View and notice the new subspindle feature added to
the end of the list under the label Setup1.
10. Select the new subspindle feature from the Part View list and right
click. Select Rename and type in “sub_home” as the new name.
Now all the subspindle moves are complete.

Add a Bar Feed Feature

1. Select Setup1 from the Part View and select the Features step
from the Steps Toolbar.

2. If the New Feature – Type dialog box is displayed, select Turning

and click Next.

3. Select Bar Feed and click Next.

4. Enter 3.0 for Diameter and 4.2 for Feed Amount. Click on the down
arrow next to the Finish button and select the Finish and Edit
Properties option.

5. Enter –4.2 for the Z location and click OK.

Run Subspindle Simulation

1. Click on Part View and check all the boxes that are unchecked in
all the setups. All the checkboxes in the Part View should now be
checked.

2. Click on the Op List tab at the bottom of the Results window.

68
 Advanced Turning and Machine Simulation
3. Point your mouse over the Operations column header and click the
right mouse button. This will bring up a fly-out menu.

4. Check the Show Setup option. This will display a new column in
the Operation List called Setup Name. This column lets you know
which spindle will be used to run an operation.

Notice that all the features listed under Setup1 in the Part View have the setup
name of Main spindle in the Operation List. These features will be cut on the
main spindle of the machine. Features listed under Setup2 will be cut on the
subspindle.

5. Hold down the CTRL key and select the last two operations in the
Operation List. While still holding down the CTRL key, drag the
lines up and place them right below the cutoff operation.

6. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps Toolbox. Click the

Machine simulation button and click Play. You should now

see the machine parts moving and cutting the part on both the main
spindle and the subspindle.

Notice that the operations were simulated twice. This is done to show how
production turning works. This feature will become more apparent at the end of
this tutorial.

7. Click the Eject button.

69
Advanced Turning and Machine Simulation

Setup Second Turret

1. Click on the Op List tab in the Results window.

2. Point your mouse over the Operations column header and click the
right mouse button. Check the Show Turret option. This will
display the turret number to the left of the tool name.

3. Shift select all the operations in the Operations List that are on the
Sub Spindle (select the first subspindle operation, hold down the
SHIFT key and select the last operation).

4. Click the right mouse button and select the Set opers to ‘Lower
turret’ option. Notice that now the turret number for those
operations has changed from P1 to P2. These operations will now
run on the machine’s second or lower turret.

5. Click the Turrets tab in the Results window. Here you can see the
turret and spindle that each operation is associated with and the
total time for cutting the part.

6. Click on the Timeline that appears at the top of the Turrets window
and drag it left and right while holding down the left mouse button
to make it shorter or longer.

Synchronize Operations
1. Select the last hole drill operation block in the Sub Spindle section
(You may need to extend the timeline to view the operation).

2. Hold down the CTRL key and select on the main_off operation
block in the Main spindle section ( You can move your mouse over
an operation block to display the name of the operation)

3. Click the right mouse button and select the option Set sync for
‘radial_pattern1.hole2.drill’ before ‘main_off.Main spindle off’.

70
 Advanced Turning and Machine Simulation
4. Notice that now the operations have been shifted and a new
synchronization point is set.
The main_off operation will
now happen after the drill
operation.

5. Select the bore2 finish

operation in the Main spindle
section.

6. Hold down the CTRL key

and select the bore1 rough
pass 1 operation block in the Sub Spindle section.

7. Click the right mouse button and select the option Set sync for
‘bore2.finish’ before ‘bore1.rough pass 1’.

Now there should be a total of two synchronization points set.

Run Synchronized Multi-Turret Simulation

1. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps Toolbox. Click the

Machine simulation button and click Play.

2. Notice that now both turrets are running in a synchronized fashion

based on the synchronization points that we set earlier.

3. Click the Eject button

The Next Step

You have completed this tutorial.

71
 Chapter 8
Creating a Turn/Mill
Part
NOTE: You must have licensed the Turn/Mill option to run
this tutorial.

This tutorial is only available in inch units.

In this tutorial you will learn to:

• Create parts for lathes with milling capabilities

• Mix turning and milling features

• Create milling features on the OD and face of the part

• Accurately simulate a turn/mill part

The following part will be created in this tutorial:

73
Creating a Turn/Mill Part
Getting Started
1. Start FeatureCAM.

2. Click New Part Document button.

3. Click on Turn/Mill, click Inch and click OK.

4. In the stock dialog enter 3 for the OD, 2 for the Length and 0 for
the ID and click Finish. (if this dialog box does not display
automatically, click the Stock step from the Steps toolbox). Click
OK in the Stock Properties dialog box if it appears.

5. From the Options menu select Turning Input Modes and check
Diameter.

Creating a Turned Feature

1. Select the Geometry step from the

Steps Toolbox and click the Connected
Lines button . .

2. On the bottom of the screen, type in

these points to create two lines that
define the OD profile: (D1=2.5, Z1=
0), (D2=2.5, Z= -1.5). Press ENTER.
Type the values (D2=2.75, Z= -1.5).
Press ENTER. Type (D2=2.75, Z=-
2.0) and press ENTER.

3. Select the Geometry step from the

Steps Toolbox and click the Corner
fillet button .

4. Enter 0.125 as the radius at the bottom

of the screen and click at the location
labeled as Corner radius in the figure.

5. Select the Curves step from the

Steps Toolbar. Click the Chain into

74
 Creating a Turn/Mill Part

open boundary button . Click on the locations labeled 1 and 2

in the figure. Click ENTER.

6. Select the Features step from the

Steps Toolbar.

7. Click Turning and click Next.

8. Click Turn and click Finish.

9. Click Isometric from the

Principal Views fly-out.

10. Click the 2D turned profiles button in the display mode

toolbar to turn on 3D line drawing view. For details on the Display
mode toolbar, see (Chapter 3, Interface Tour).

Creating a Radial Pattern on the Face

1. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

2. Click Turn/Mill and click Next.

3. Click Hole and Make pattern from this

feature and click Next.

4. Enter 1.0 for the Depth, 0.0 for the

Chamfer and 0.25 for the Diameter and
click Next.

5. Click Radial and click Next.

6. Enter 3.0 for the Number, 2.0 for the Diameter, 120 for the Spacing
Angle, 60 for the Angle and click Axial for the Feature Orientation
and click Finish.

Engraving on the Face

1. Select the Curves step from the Steps Toolbar and select the

75
Creating a Turn/Mill Part

Create curves using curve wizard

button.

2. Click Other methods, click Text and click

Next.

3. Enter TURNMILL as the Text, click

Linear as the Type. Enter (0.0, -0.045
,0.0) as the X, Y and Z locations. Enter –90 as the Angle. Enter
Center as the Justification, Enter 0.4 and
0.4 as the X and Y Scaling.

4. Click Font and select Machine Tool

Gothic for the font type and 72 for the
font size. Click OK and then Finish.

5. Select the text string in the graphics

window and click the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

6. Select Turn/Mill and click Next.

7. Select Groove and click Next until you get to the Dimensions page
of the dialog box.

8. On the Dimensions page, enter 0.0625 as the Width, click Simple

and Face, and enter 0.02 as the Depth.

9. Click Finish.

Creating a Pattern of Wrapped Slots

1. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

2. Click Turn/Mill and click Next.

3. Click Slot and Make pattern from this feature and click Next.

4. Set Length to 1.0, Width to 0.5, Depth to 0.25 and click Next.

5. Select Radial and click Next.

6. Set Number to 3, Diameter to 2.5, Spacing Angle to 120, Angle to

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 Creating a Turn/Mill Part
120 and Feature Orientation to Radial. Click Next.

7. Set Z to 0.25.

8. Click the triangle located in the Finish button and click Finish and
Edit Properties. This brings up
the properties dialog box for the
pattern and allows us to change
some additional attributes.

9. Click Wrap feature around Z axis and click OK.

Simulating a Turn/Mill Part

1. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps

Toolbox. The Simulation toolbar is
displayed.

2. Click the 3D simulation button and

click Play . Notice how the toolpaths
are accurately simulated including the part rotations.

3. Click Eject at the completion of the simulation

The Next Step

You have completed this tutorial. If you want to see other examples of turn/mill
parts, look in the examples/turnmill directory.

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 Chapter 9
Features from 3D
CAD Models
NOTE: You must have FeatureMILL with the
FeatureRECOGNITION option or FeatureMILL3D to
perform this tutorial.

This tutorial is only available in metric units. The part will be recognized twice,
first using the AFR wizard and second using other feature recognition
techniques.

In this tutorial you will learn to:

• Import 3D models

• Dynamically shade 3D models

• Create features directly from 3D solid models using both automatic

feature recognition and more interactive methods.

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Features from 3D CAD Models
Tool Cribs
You must have metric tooling loaded to perform this tutorial. If you do not have
metric tools in your database:

1. Exit FeatureCAM by selecting Exit from the File menu.

2. Click on the Start menu. Click on Programs (or All Programs).

Select InitDB from the FeatureCAM program group. Or you can
run Initdb.exe from the program directory where FeatureCAM is
installed.

3. Select On my local computer and click Next.

4. Select Both and click Next.

5. Answer the questions of the wizard and click Finish at the end.

Importing the CAD Model

1. Start FeatureCAM.

2. Click New Part Document button.

3. Click on Milling Setup, click Millimeter and click OK.

4. In the Dimensions dialog box, click Finish. Click OK if the Stock

Properties dialog appears.

5. Select Import/export options from the File menu. Check Import

SAT, SLDPRT, MOD, DXF & X_T as solids. Check Center stock
automatically and click OK.

6. Select Import from the File menu and browse to C:\Program

Files\FeatureCAM\Examples\Tutorials\3D models.

7. Select files of type ACIS and select Tutor9.sat and click Open.

8. Select Use the wizard option in the Import Results dialog box and
keep clicking Next until you get to the Stock Dimensions page.

9. Select Compute stock size from the size of the part and click Finish.
The stock is now resized.

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 Features from 3D CAD Models
10. Click on the Part view. Click on the “+” next to the Solids
category. Notice that solid1 is listed. This is the solid model you
just imported. Click back onto the Steps toolbox.

11. Click Isometric from the Principal Views fly-out. You’ll

notice that the stock has been resized but the setup is located at the
center of the stock.

12. Click the Setups button from the Advanced toolbar.

13. Click Edit and click Next.

14. Select Align to Stock Face and click Next.

15. Click the button on the lower left end of the stock picture.

16. Click Finish and click Close. The stock has now been aligned to the
stock face.

17. Select Set tool crib from the Manufacturing menu. Click on the
tools crib and click OK. Notice at the bottom of the window, in the
Status bar the current tool crib has been changed to tools.

Shade the Part

1. Click the Shade button.

2. This shaded view makes it easier to see the cavities in the model.
Remember, at this point the part model contains only surfaces.

3. Toggle the Shade button to turn off the shading.

Automatic Feature Recognition

This entire part can be automatically recognized using the automatic feature
recognition (AFR) wizard.

1. Click the AFR step from the Steps Toolbar.

2. Click the Next button twice.

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Features from 3D CAD Models
3. The features that were just recognized are listed. Click the Finish
button.

4. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps Toolbox. The Simulation

toolbar is displayed.

5. Click the 3D simulation button and click Play . If the

Ordering dialog box appears, click OK.

6. Click the Eject button.

Note that all features of the model were automatically recognized and the
part is ready to cut. With many parts automatic feature recognition is all
you need to program your part, but with others, you may need to use some
of the other feature recognition techniques.

For the sake of demonstration you will remove the features you just created
and reprogram them using additional feature recognition techniques.

7. Click the Undo button to remove the features you created so

far.

Recognize All Holes Using Another Method

1. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

2. Click Hole and Extract with

FeatureRECOGNITION and click
Next.

3. Click Recognize and construct

multiple holes and click Next.

4. The holes that are automatically

recognized are shown on the screen.
Three holes were recognized along
with the circular pocket in the middle.
We want to ignore the center pocket, so select the three other holes
with the mouse and click Finish.

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 Features from 3D CAD Models
5. Click OK if the Pattern Properties dialog box appears. The three
holes have now been recognized.

6. Click the Ordering options button

in the Op. list tab.

7. Click on Cut higher operations first,

Minimize tool changes and Minimize
rapid distance. Click OK.

8. Click the Toolpaths step in the

Steps Toolbox. The Simulation toolbar is
displayed.

9. Click the 3D simulation button and click Play

10. Click the Eject button.

Recognizing All Pockets Automatically

1. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

2. Click Pocket and Extract with FeatureRECOGNITION and click

Next.

3. Click Automatic recognition and click

Next.

4. Click Select all and click Finish.

5. Click the Toolpaths step in the

Steps Toolbox. The Simulation toolbar is
displayed.

6. Click the 3D simulation button and

click Play .

7. Click the Eject button.

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Features from 3D CAD Models

Create a Slot Feature Using the Pick Surface

Button

1. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

2. Click Slot and Extract with FeatureRECOGNITION.

3. Click Next.

4. Click the Pick surface button

and click on location 1. If the
Select dialog box comes up, select
the name that corresponds to the
surface at location 1 and click OK.
(The surfaces are highlighted in the
graphics window as you select the
names.)

5. Click the Pick surface button again and click on location 2. Select
the surface from the Select dialog box and click OK.

6. Click Next and review the extracted slot dimensions and click
Finish.

Create a Side Feature

1. Select Top from the Principal Views fly-out.

2. Drag-select the region shown below.

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 Features from 3D CAD Models
3. Select Isometric from the Principal Views fly-out.

4. Click the Shade button to turn on shading. The shaded view

will make it easier to select faces on the surface.

5. Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the side of the hole pattern
that is selected as shown in the image.
This will remove the hole pattern from
the selected group.

6. Select the Features step from the

Steps Toolbar.

7. Click Side and Extract with

FeatureRECOGNITION and click
Next.

8. Click Select side surfaces and click Next.

9. Click Next.

10. If the blue arrow is pointing to the inside of the part, click the
Reverse side button until the blue arrow points to the outside of
the part.

11. Click Finish.

Simulate the Entire Part

1. Click the Toolpaths step in the

Steps Toolbox. The Simulation toolbar
is displayed.

2. Click the 3D simulation button

and click Play .

3. Click Eject at the completion of the simulation.

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Features from 3D CAD Models
The Next Step
The features for the entire part have been created directly from the surfaces of
the solid model. Using FeatureCAM’s feature-based manufacturing automation,
this part can be created quickly and easily.

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 Chapter 10
Introduction to 3D
NOTE: You must have FeatureMILL3D to perform the
examples in this chapter. These examples are only
specified in inch units. You must have the basic tool crib
installed.

This example introduces:

• Modeling 3D surfaces
• Manufacturing surfaces using surface milling features
• Manufacturing operations
• Tool selection
• 3D manufacturing attributes
In this example you will model and create manufacturing toolpaths for
the following part.

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Introduction to 3D
Introduction to 3D Modeling
1. Start FeatureCAM.

2. Click New Part Document button.

3. Click on Milling Setup, click Inch and click OK.

4. In the Dimensions dialog box, click Block and set Width to 3,

Length to 6.25 and Thickness to 2.0.

5. Click Finish.

6. Select Toolbars from the

View menu. On the
Toolbars tab, make sure
that Geometry and
Advanced are checked
and click OK.

7. Click on the lines fly-out

menu and select Vertical.

8. On the bottom of the

screen, type in 1.0 for
X, 0.0 for Z and press
the ENTER key.

9. Create two more lines at

X= 5.25 and X = 6.0.

10. Click on the lines fly-

out and select
Horizontal. Create horizontal lines at Y= 0.5, 1.125, and 1.5.

11. Click on the lines fly-out menu and select Line at Angle thru Pt..
Type 30 as the angle and click at the intersection labeled Pt Angle
Location in the figure.

12. Click on the arc fly-out menu and select Arc from Radius, 2Pts.
Enter 0.5 as the radius and click on locations 1 and 2.

13. Create another arc of radius 1.0 and click at location 3 and 4.
Create another arc of radius 1.0 at locations 5 and 6.

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 Introduction to 3D

14. Select the Curves step from the Steps Toolbox. Select Chain

pieces into an open… button. Click at the locations 7 and 8.

Create the Bottle Surface

1. Click the Surfaces step from

the Steps Toolbox.

2. Click Surface of Revolution and

click Next.

3. Click the Pick curve button

and select the curve you chained.

4. Enter 0.0 for Start angle, and 180 for End angle.

5. Click the Pick line button and select the top horizontal line (the
one at Y=1.5).

6. Click Finish.

7. Click Isometric from the Principal Views fly-out.

To control how the part is displayed you can change the values in the Viewing
Options dialog box.

8. Select Viewing… from the Options menu.

9. Uncheck the Show surface boundaries only checkbox and hit

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Introduction to 3D
Apply. You should now see your part drawn with lines in the
interior of the surface. For large models, this option will make the
display of the part slower.

10. Enter 20 for Wireframe and hit Apply. The surface will now be
drawn with more lines. Decreasing the value of Surface fineness
will improve the display quality but can slow down the graphics.

11. Select Hide All Geometry from the Hide fly-out.

Introduction to 3D Manufacturing
1. Click on the Select button.

2. Select the surface.

3. Click the Features step .

4. Select the Surface Milling radio button.

5. Click Next twice to get to the New Strategy page of the dialog box.

6. Click Choose rough, semi finish, and finish … and click Next.

7. Click Z level rough and click Next.

8. Select None and click Next.

9. Select Isoline and click Finish and Edit.

10. Click on Z level in the tree view.

11. Select the Strategy tab and check Classify slices as pocket.

Simulating the Entire Part

1. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps Toolbox. The

Simulation toolbar is displayed.

2. Click the 3D simulation button and click Play .

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 Introduction to 3D

3. Click Eject at the completion of the simulation

The Next Step

You have completed this tutorial and can move to the next chapter for more
advanced 3D manufacturing techniques.

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Introduction to 3D

92
 Chapter 11
Advanced 3D Milling
NOTE: You must have FeatureMILL3D to perform this
tutorial.

In this example you will import a 3D IGES surface model and create 4 different
types of toolpaths for manufacturing the part.

Import the Part

1. Click the New Part Document button.

2. Click Milling Setup, Inch, and click OK.

3. Click Finish in the Dimensions dialog box. If the Stock Properties

dialog box appears click OK.

4. Select Import/Export Options from the File menu.

5. Check Center stock automatically and click OK.

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Advanced 3D Milling
6. Select Import from the File menu.

7. Select IGES as Files of type.

8. Open the file phone.igs. If you installed in the default directory, the
file should be in C:\Program Files\FeatureCAM\Examples\3D.

9. Click No in the pop-up window.

10. Select the Use the wizard option in the Import Results dialog box
and keep clicking Next until you get to the Stock Dimensions page.

11. Click Compute stock size from the size of the part, and click Finish.

Create the 3D Strategy

1. Click on the Isometric button from the Principal views fly-

out.

2. Select Select all from the Edit menu.

3. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

4. Click Surface Milling and click Next twice.

5. Click Choose rough, semi finish, and finish … and click Next.

6. Click Z level rough.

7. Check Flat surface support and click Next.

8. Select Z Semi and click Next.

9. Select Z Level and click on the triangle next to the Finish button
and select the Finish and Edit Properties
option.

10. Select the second z-level operation in the

list.

11. Check the Interleave spiral paths checkbox

and click OK.

12. Click on Manufacturing and select Post Process.

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 Advanced 3D Milling
13. Change the Tool Change Location Z to be 2.0

14. Press OK.

Simulating the Toolpaths

1. Click the Toolpaths step in the Steps Toolbox. The Simulation

toolbar is displayed.

2. Click the Centerline simulation button and click Play .

3. Click the Erase button to temporarily clear the screen.

4. Click on the Op List tab in the Results window.

5. Select the first operation in the Operations List and double click it.
This will open the feature Properties dialog.

6. Click the Preview button.

7. Click the Play Selected button from the simulation toolbar to

see the toolpath for this operation.

8. Click on the different operations and click the Play Selected button
to see the different simulations.

Z Rough

95
Advanced 3D Milling

Z Semi Finish

Z Level Interleave

Clean Up the Fillets

1. Click on the Part View and right-click the srf_mill1 feature to bring
up a fly-out menu. Select the Properties option.

2. Click the Process tab.

3. Click the Add new operation button. Click Pencil and click
Finish.

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 Advanced 3D Milling

4. Click on the finish process for the pencil operation in the Tree
View. See the diagram to the right.

5. Click on the Tools tab and then select a 0.25

diameter Ball endmill.

6. Click the OK button at the bottom of the dialog

box.

7. Click on the Op List tab in the Results window.

8. Select the pencil operation in the Operations List and click the

Preview toolpaths button in the Operations List portion of

the Manufacturing Results window. The dialog box will warp.

9. Click the Play selected

button in the simulation toolbar.
A single toolpath is created
along the fillet. Note that this
operation takes some time to
calculate.

10. Click the Stop button.

The Next Step

You have completed this tutorial. In addition the machining strategies used
above, FeatureCAM has the following finishing strategies:

ƒ Parallel Machining

ƒ Radial and Spiral Machining

ƒ Flowline Machining

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Advanced 3D Milling
ƒ Isoline Machining

ƒ Four Axis Machining

Parallel Machining
The Parallel machining strategy machines the part in a series of parallel passes at
a specified angle and stepover. A second perpendicular pass can be applied to
improve surface finish in steep areas.

Parallel machining

Radial and Spiral Machining

The Radial machining strategy machines a part with a series of passes which
radiate from a center point. Spiral machining machines the part with a single
continuous spiral pass. In the example to the right the outer area has been
machined with the Radial strategy, the center area using Spiral.

Radial machining

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 Advanced 3D Milling
Flowline Machining
In this strategy a control surface is used to guide the direction of machining. This
enables the production of toolpaths with an exceptional level of control over
surface finish. With suitable cutters it is possible to use the flowline strategy to
machine undercuts without the use of a 5 axis machinetool.

Flowline machining of a blowmold part

Flowline machining of an undercut feature

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Advanced 3D Milling
Isoline Machining
In this strategy each surface on a part is machined in a user defined direction.
This gives a great level of control over the surface finish and tool loading. The
example below shows a jug mold which has been machined using the Isoline
strategy. Note how the cutting direction on each surface has been chosen to give
the best finish.

Isoline machining

Four Axis Machining

FeatureCAM rotary machining allows the user to generate four axis toopaths for
finish machining. The tool moves in 3 axes whilst the workpiece rotates around a
rotary axis. Rotary moves may be indexing or continuous.

Four axis machining

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 Advanced 3D Milling
For further information about all of the above strategies please download the
advanced 3D machining tutorials from our website:

www.featurecam.com

101
Advanced 3D Milling

102
 Chapter 12
5-Axis Simultaneous
Note: You must have the 5 Axis Simultaneous and FeatureMill3d to perform
this tutorial.

This tutorial is only available in metric units. In this tutorial you will learn to:

• Tilt the tool axis while cutting a 3d surface milling feature.

• Recognize and drill 5-axis holes in a single setup.

Getting Started
1. Click the New Part Document button.

2. Click Milling Setup, Millimeter, None and click OK.

3. Set the toolcrib to ‘tools’. From the Manufacturing menu, click on

‘Set Tool Crib’ and select tools from the crib list. Click OK.

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5-Axis Simultaneous
Creating Surface Milling Feature
1. Select Import from the File menu.

2. Select ParaSolids as Files of type.

3. Open the file “myjayfilledholes_untrimmed.x_t”. If you installed in

the default directory, the file should be in C:\Program
Files\FeatureCAM\Examples\5axis simul.

4. Click Next until the Stock Dimensions page appears. Choose

Compute stock size from the size of the part, and allow 3 extra
millimeters in +Z and then click Finish.

5. Click Cancel in the Automatic Feature Recognition dialog if it

appears.

6. Select Select all from the Edit menu.

7. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

8. Click Surface Milling and click Next twice.

9. Click Choose a single operation and click Next.

10. Click Z level in the Roughing Strategies group and click Next until
you reach the Default Tool page.

11. Select the I want to search for another tool or make a new one
option and click Next.

12. Choose the largest flat endmill tool possible (50mm diameter tool if
you are using the tools tool crib. Since the part is roughly 85mm
deep, you may wish to edit the 50mm tool to make it “longer”. For
the purposes of this part, use an exposed length of 100mm).

13. Click Finish to finish creating the Surface Milling feature.

Adding Flowline Operation

1. Import the IGES file “myjayfilledholes_gsg.igs”. It contains some
useful construction geometry. ”. If you installed in the default
directory, the file should be in C:\Program
Files\FeatureCAM\Examples\5axis simul.

104
 5-Axis Simultaneous
2. Click No in the pop-up window.

3. Select the Accept the imported data ‘as is’ and exit the wizard in
the Import Results dialog and click Finish.

4. Click on the stock in the Part View and click on Properties of

‘stock1’ at the bottom of the screen.

5. Choose the Indexing tab. Select 5th Axis positioning and click OK.

6. Click on Part View. Select srf_mill1 from the list and click the

Properties button at the bottom of the screen

7. Click the Process tab.

8. Click the Add new operation button. Click Flowline and click
Finish.

9. Edit the attributes of the flowline finish

operation by selecting finish2 under the
flowline operation in the list.

10. Click the Milling tab and change the

Stepover to be 3mm.

11. Switch to the Tools tab and click on the

New Tool button as shown in the diagram below to create a new
tool.

12. Create a large bullnose tool with a diameter of 40mm and end
radius of 4mm.

105
5-Axis Simultaneous

13. Answer “Yes”, when the system asks, “Set the new tool as
override?”

14. Click on the operation level (the word ‘flowline’ in the left hand
pane shown above).

15. Click on the 5-Axis tab. Select Use lead and lean and click Apply.

Note: Using a lead/lean strategy keeps the tool normal to the cutting
surfaces and will allow us to take large stepovers while leaving a good
quality finish.

16. Uncheck the checkbox “Retract to cylinder” if it is checked (since

that will retract in X and Y and we wish to retract along the Z
vector).

17. Choose the Surface Control tab. In the drop-down list, select the
surface <ig_srf2> as the flowline guide surface (the surface name
may have a different number in your file).

18. Click the Set isoline row/col button until the value in the Start
Curve column is set to First Col and then click OK.

19. Click the Toolpaths step from the Steps toolbar and click the

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 5-Axis Simultaneous
3D simulation button and then the Play button.

Note: The 3d-simulation of 5-axis simultaneous parts can be rather

slow. The 3d-simulation uses a larger default wrapping tolerance
(Options->Simulation->2d/3d Shaded tab) than does the posting
procedure (under Manufacturing -> Machining Attributes -> Milling ->
Misc) to speed up the simulation. It will speed up simulation to use a
large Tool cutting tolerance (Options->Simulation->2d/3d Shaded tab.
Turn/mill angular interpolation and Tool visual tolerance in the same
dialog also affect simulation speed to some extent). Using the graphics
hardware to accelerate the graphics will also help – See Options-
>Surface Shading -> Use graphics hardware checkbox.

Recognizing Holes
1. Import the finished ParaSolids part “myjayfilledholes_gsg.x_t”. If
you installed in the default directory, the file should be in
C:\Program Files\FeatureCAM\Examples\5axis simul.

2. Check the Use the same alignment as last import checkbox in the
Import Results dialog and click Finish.

3. Click on Part View and notice that

there are three solid parts listed under
Solids. Select the solid part that
contains holes (this should be the
second solid in the list).

4. Hide everything except the part you selected. From the View menu
select Hide -> Hide Unselected.

5. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar.

6. Select Hole and check the Extract with FeatureRECOGNITION
checkbox. Click Next.

7. Select the Along a specific vector radio button.

8. Check the Recognize all holes checkbox and keep clicking Next
until you get to the Hole Recognition Options page.

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5-Axis Simultaneous
9. Click Select All and click Finish.

Recognizing Side Features

1. Return to the New Feature wizard and this time create side features
using Extract with FeatureRECOGNITION.

2. Click on Part View and select the

solid part that contains the pocket
(this should be the second solid in the
list).

3. Hide everything except the part you

selected. From the View menu select Hide -> Hide Unselected.

4. Select the Features step from the Steps Toolbar

5. Select Side and check the Extract with FeatureRECOGNITION

checkbox. Click Next.

6. Select the Automatic recognition option and click Next.

7. Click Select All and click Finish. You should now see two side
features listed in the Part View.

8. Click on Part View and select the first side feature from the list and

click the Properties button at the bottom of the screen.

9. Click the Strategy tab and uncheck the Rough checkbox. Since this
is the ‘outer’ side feature, it does not need to be roughed. Click OK.

10. Click the Toolpaths step from the Steps toolbar and click the
3D simulation button and then the Play button.

Next Step
You have completed this tutorial.

108
 Chapter 13
Solid Modeling
Note: You must have the Solid Modeling Option to perform this tutorial.

This tutorial introduces you to the solid modeling capabilities of FeatureCAM by

creating a model of the simple computer speaker shown below. The tutorial is
available only in metric units and introduces you to:

• Extrude design features

• Hidden line graphics

• Loft design features

• Filleting solid models

• Core/cavity separation of a solid

model

• Creating manufacturing features from solids

Getting Started
1. Click New Part Document button.

2. Click on Milling Setup, click Millimeter and click OK.

3. Click Finish in the Dimensions dialog box.

4. If the stock dialog box is displayed, click OK.

5. Turn on the necessary toolbars by selecting Toolbars from the View

menu. Check the Steps, Display Mode and Solid checkboxes on the
Toolbars tab and click OK.

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Solid Modeling

Create the Initial Solid

1. Click on the Curves step from the Steps Toolbar and click on the
Curve wizard .

2. Select Other methods as the method and Rectangle as the

constructor. Click Next.

3. Click the Use corner, width and height radio button and enter 0.0
and 0.0 for the X and Y Corner coordinates.

4. Set Width to 100 and Height to 65. Check Create as arcs and lines
and click Finish.

5. Click on the vertical line on the right

and click the Delete button.

6. Select Snapping modes from the

Options menu. Make sure the End
points button is pressed and click OK.
(A pressed button will have a
white square around it)

7. Select the Geometry step from the Steps toolbar. Click the Arc
from Radius, 2 Pts button.

8. Enter a Radius of 105 and click on the two open end points where
the deleted vertical line connected.

9. Select the Curves step from the Steps Toolbar.

10. Select Chain into a closed boundary and click on the arc you
just created. Click the Create button at the bottom of the screen.

11. Click the Solid Wizard button from the Advanced toolbar.

12. Click Define a custom shape and click Next.

13. Select From curves as the method and Extrude as the constructor
and click Next.

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 Solid Modeling

14. Enter –50 as the Vector Z coordinate and –5 as the

Draft Angle and click Finish.

15. Click on the Part view on the left side of the screen.
The Solid category now has a “+” next to it. Click
on the “+” to reveal the solid, called solid4. That is
the name of the solid we are creating. The number
following the solid name may be different for you.

16. Click on the “+” next to solid4. This reveals the

features that make up the solid. There is only one feature called extbase1, a
base feature is the initial feature for a solid.

Hidden Line Graphics

With solids there are additional graphics options
available. By default, you are in line drawing mode.
With solids, hidden line graphics are available.

1. Click the Isometric button from the Principles

Views Flyout.

2. Select Hide stock from the Hide fly-out in the Advanced toolbar.

3. The default view of your solid model is shown in the top figure. In this
figure it is impossible to tell if there is a top on the solid.

4. Click the Hidden Line button. It is located in the Display toolbar. The
graphics shown in the bottom figure are displayed.
In this figure it is clear that there is a top on the
solid.

5. While hidden line mode provides nice graphics, it is

considerably slower than simple line drawings and
sometimes hides portions of the model you need to
pick, so click the Hidden Line button again to
toggle the line drawing mode.

Note that hidden line graphics are only available for solids.

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Solid Modeling
Create the Curved Lower Surface
1. Select Show stock from the Show fly-out in the Advanced toolbar.

2. Double-click on the stock and click the Resize… button.

3. Click Compute stock size from the size of the part, and click Next.
Click Move stock and click Finish.

4. Select the Front button

from the Principal Views flyout.

5. Select the Geometry step

from the Steps toolbar. Click the
Arc from Radius, 2 Pts
button.

6. Set the Radius to 400. Set X1 to 120, Y1 to 0 and Z1 to –20. Set X2

to –10, Y2 to 0 and Z2 to –40, and click the Create button.

7. Create a second arc by entering 160 as the Radius and clicking on

the right and left endpoints of the first arc. If your arc curves up
instead of down, click on the arc and click the Options button at the
bottom of the screen.

NOTE: If the cursor is still in the arc create mode, click on the Select
button in the Standard toolbar. Now you are able to click on and select
the arc.

8. Select the top arc (the one you created first) and click the
Transform button.

9. Click Translate and the Copy radio button. Enter 70 in the Y

coordinate of XYZ distance and click OK.

10. Select the bottom arc and click the Transform button.

11. Click Translate and the Move radio button and transform it 35 in
the Y direction and click OK.

12. Select Isometric from the Principal views fly-out.

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 Solid Modeling
13. Click the Solid Wizard button from the Advanced toolbar.

14. Select From curves as the method and Lofted as the constructor and
click Next.

15. Since we want to use this design

feature to remove material, click the
As Cut radio button and click the
pick curve button.

16. Select the arcs in the order shown in

the figure. If the selected arcs appear
out of order in the curve list, use the
arrows to move the arcs up or down.
Click Finish.

17. The curves are used to create a lofted surface and then the surface
is used to cut the solid. Note that an additional design feature,
called loftcut1 is now listed in the part view.

Create Constant and Variable Radius Fillets

1. Click the Solid Wizard button from the Advanced toolbar.

2. Select Shape Modifiers as the method and Fillet Edges as the

constructor and click Next.

3. Enter 5 as the Radius, click the Pick curve button and pick the
edges 1-4 shown in the figure.

4. Click Variable and enter 5 as the

Begin radius and 10 as the End radius
and pick the edges 5-8 in the figure.
This will create a variable radius fillet
on these edges. As you click each edge
an arrow is displayed to show the edge
direction. The first radius will be
applied to the tail of the arrow and the
second to the head of the arrow.

5. Click Finish. Note that the selected edges are filleted and the

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Solid Modeling
surrounding surfaces have been trimmed. The corners where the
fillets meet are automatically filleted.

Add Thickness
1. Click the Solid Wizard button from the Advanced toolbar.

2. Select Shape modifiers as the method

and Shell as the constructor and click
Next.

3. Enter an Offset distance of -2 and click

the Pick surface button.

4. Click on the top surface as shown in the figure. This surface will
not be offset. If the Select dialog box comes up, pick the name that
corresponds to the top surface. (The
surfaces are highlighted in the graphics
window as you select the names.)

5. Click Finish.

6. All faces of the solid except the top

surface are now offset by 2 mm to
provide thickness to the part. Use
hidden line graphics to display the graphics shown on the right.

At this point, the solid model of the speaker is complete.

Create a Mold Cavity

Now the challenge is to create a mold from the solid model. For parts that can be
created with two mold halves, FeatureCAM’s core/cavity feature is a useful tool.

1. Click the Solid Wizard button from the Advanced toolbar.

2. Select Manufacturing as the method and Select Core/Cavity as the

constructor and click Next.

3. Click the Bottom radio button.

4. Click the Make solid from result. This will create a new solid that

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 Solid Modeling
contains the cavity faces.

5. Click Finish. Note that a new solid, called sheet1, is listed in the
part view.

6. Right click on the solid1 in the parts view and select Hide Selected.
You can now see the cavity.

The Next Step

You have completed this tutorial.

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 Chapter 14
Introduction to
FeatureWIRE
NOTE: You must license FeatureWIRE to perform this
tutorial.

In this tutorial you will learn the basics of creating wire EDM toolpaths using
FeatureWIRE. This tutorial is only available in inch units. Specifically you will
learn how to:

• Set up your material and wire thickness.

• Create wire EDM features.

• Specify a wire EDM cutting strategy.

• Simulate wire EDM toolpaths.

Getting Started
1. Begin FeatureCAM by selecting FeatureCAM from the Start menu.

2. Click New Part Document button.

3. Click on Wire EDM Setup, click Inch and OK.

4. Set the stock Width and Length to 4.0 and the thickness to 0.5 and
click Finish.

5. If the Stock Properties dialog box appears click OK.

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Introduction to FeatureWIRE
Creating the Profile

1. Click the Curves step from the Steps toolbox.

2. Click the Create curves using the Curve wizard button.

3. Click Other methods and click Rectangle and click Next

4. Click Use corner, width and height.

5. Set the corner point to 1,1,0.

6. Set the corner radius to 0.5 and set the Width and Height to 2.0.
Click Finish.

Creating a Wire EDM Feature

1. Click the Features step from the Steps toolbox.

2. Click the Die radio button in the 2 Axis group and click Next.

3. Click the Pick curve button and select the curve you just
created. Click Next until you get to the Dimensions page.

4. Enter 0.5 as the Thickness and click Next twice to get to the
Strategies page.

5. Select Retract as the operation and check the Cutoff and Contour

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 Introduction to FeatureWIRE
checkboxes.

6. Click Finish. If the Die properties page appears click OK.

Simulating a Wire EDM Toolpath

1. Click the Toolpaths step. The Simulation toolbar is displayed.

2. Click the 2D simulation button in the Simulation toolbar.

Move the speed control slider to the middle so that the

simulation is slowed down.

3. Click the Play to Next Operation button. You’ll notice that

the Retract operation makes two passes. If you need to slow down

the simulation, drag the Sim Speed control to the left.

4. Click the Play to Next Operation button again. The Cutoff

operation now takes two passes. (Slow down the simulation if you
need to).

5. Click the Play to Next Operation button once more. The

final contour operation is now simulated.

6. Click the Eject button.

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Introduction to FeatureWIRE
Generating NC Code
1. Click the NC Code step in the Steps toolbar.

2. Click the Display the NC code button in the dialog box to

generate the NC code.

Add a Taper Angle

1. Click on the Part View. Select the die1 feature from the list and click

the Properties button at the bottom of the screen.

2. Click the Constant radio button. Select Left

as the taper type and enter 10 as the taper
angle in the deg. field and click Apply.

3. Click the Isometric view button from the

Standard toolbar to get a 3-dimensional
view.

4. Set the taper type to Right and click Apply. View the new shape in
Isometric view.

5. Change the taper type back to Left and

click OK.

6. Click the Toolpaths step. Click

3D and click the Play button.

Since this is a die feature, it is assumed that the region inside of the curve
will be discarded.

7. Click the Select button from the

Standard toolbar.

8. Click on the stock in the region inside

of the curve. FeatureCAM will now
delete that part of the stock.

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 Introduction to FeatureWIRE

9. Click the Eject button.

10. Click on the Part View and right-click the die1 feature to bring up a
fly-out menu. Select the Hide Selected option. Now the feature will
not be displayed on the screen.

Creating the Second Profile

1. Click the Top button from the Principal Views fly-out.

2. Click the Curves step from the Steps toolbox.

3. Click the Create curves using the Curve wizard button.

4. Click Other methods and click Rectangle and click Next.

5. Click Use corner, width and height and set the corner point to
0.5,0.5 ,0.0

6. Set the Width and Height to 3.0. Click Finish.

Creating a 4-axis Wire EDM Feature

1. Click the Top button from the Principal Views fly-out.

2. Click the Features step from the Steps toolbox.

3. Click the Die radio button in the 4 Axis group and click Next.

4. Click the Pick curve button and select the curve that you just
created. Click Next.

5. Click the Pick curve button and

select the curve that you created first.
Keep clicking Next until you get to the
Dimensions page.

6. Enter 0.50 as the Thickness and click

Finish. If the Die properties page appears

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Introduction to FeatureWIRE
click OK.

The feature is twisted because the start points were not set.

Modifying the Start Point

1. Click on Part View. Select the die4x1 feature from the list and click

the Properties button.

2. Click on the Start tab.

3. Click the Pick location button for

the Upper Curve Start/End Point.

4. In the graphics window, click on a point

in the center of the stock.

5. Click on the bottom horizontal line of

the outer curve. You should notice a green line between the point
and the edge of the curve.

6. Click the Pick location button this

time for the Lower Curve Start/End
Point.

7. Click in the center of the stock and click

on the bottom horizontal line of the
inner curve.

8. Click OK. The feature now should no longer be twisted.

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 Introduction to FeatureWIRE
Matching the Curves
1. Click on Part View. Select the die4x1 feature from the list and click

the Properties button.

2. Click the Dimensions tab and click the Match Curves… button.

3. Click the Pick lower curve point button.

4. Select the point on the lower curve at

location 1 then select the point on the
upper curve at location 2. You should
see a green line between the two points.

5. Hold down the shift key and select the

other point on the lower curve at
location 3 then select again the corner
point at location 4. Now you have
matched both points on the lower curve to the single point on the
upper curve.

6. Click Apply and then OK in the Match Curves dialog box.

7. Click OK in the Die Properties dialog box.

Simulate the Part

1. Click on the Part View and uncheck the box next to the die1
feature. When it’s unchecked the feature will not be shown in the
simulation.

2. Click the Isometric view button from the Standard toolbar.

3. Click the Toolpaths step.

Click 3D and click the play
button.

4. Click the Select button from

the Standard toolbar.

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Introduction to FeatureWIRE
5. Click on the region inside of the curve on the die feature.

6. Click the Eject button.

The Next Step

You have completed this tutorial.

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 Index
2 E
2D simulation, 13 Engraving, 75
Evaluating FeatureCAM, 7
3
F
3D milling, 93
Pencil milling, 105 Feature recognition, 79, 103
3D simulation, 13 FeatureCAM product line, 1
3D solid simulation, 13 FeatureRECOGNITION, 79, 103
3Dmilling roughing, 94 Features
2.5D milling, 38
A 2.5D milling from curves, 47
3D Milling, 93
Arcs fly-out, 30 Editing, 44
Recognizing, 79, 103
B Turn/mill, 75
Block preparation, 37 Turned, 58
Features step, 12
C FeatureTURN, 55, 65
FeatureTurn/Mill, 73
Centerline simulation, 13 Feed optimization, 15
Chaining, 50 Fillets, 113
Circles, 48 Fly-out toolbars, 23
Circles fly-out, 30
Curve wizard, 27 G
Curves step, 11
Geometry step, 10
D Geometry toolbar, 30
Graphics window, 24
Default attributes, 16 Grooves
Design OD Turned, 60
Solids, 109 Turned face, 75
Surface, 89
Dimensions fly-out, 30 H
Display mode toolbar, 34
Dongle, 2 Help
Context sensitive, 20
On-line, 19
Hidden line, 34

125
Index
Hide fly-out menu, 27 Selecting, 45
Holes
Recognizing, 82 R
Turn/mill, 75
Region of interest, 13
Registration, 5
I
Remapping tooling, 16
IGES import, 93, 103
Import S
IGES, 93, 103
SAT, 80 SAT import, 80
Solid, 80 Saving NC code, 45
Installation, 3 Security key, 2
Selecting Graphical Objects, 26
Setups button, 28
L
Shading, 33
Lines, 49 Show fly-out menu, 27
Lines fly-out, 30 Simulation Toolbar, 13
Live tooling, 73 Snap discrimination dialog, 49
Snap feedback, 29
M Snap mode toolbars, 28
Snap modes, 28
Manufacturing preferences, 16 Solid wizard, 28
Manufacturing results window, 24 Standard toolbar, 22
Steps
N Curves, 11
NC code Features, 12
Generating, 44 Geometry, 10
Saving, 45 NC code, 15
NC code step, 15 Stock, 10
Toolpaths, 13
O Steps toolbar, 31
Stock preparation, 37
Optimize feedrates, 15 Stock step, 10
Order of operations, 61 Surface modeling, 89
Surface wizard, 27
P
Part view toolbox, 21, 25 T
Pencil milling, 105 Text, 75
Plunge point, 52 Threads, 60
Pockets Tool load, 13
Recognizing, 83 Tool mapping, 16, 44
Post processor Tool numbers, 16
Editing, 18 Tool pockets, 16

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 Index
Tool slots, 16 U
Toolbars
Undo, 22
Customizing, 32
Display mode, 34
Fly-out, 23 V
Geometry, 30 Variable radius fillets, 113
Simulation, 13
Snap mode, 28 W
Standard, 22
Steps, 31 Window
Toolpaths step, 13 Graphics, 24
Trademark information, iv Manufacturing results, 24
Transform, 23 Wizards
Trial versions, 7 Curve, 27
Turn/mill, 73 Solid, 28
Turning, 55, 65 Surface, 27

127