Mill-Lesson-12
Mill-Lesson-12
GUIDE
MILL-LESSON-12
SURFACE ROUGH POCKET, FINISH
PARALLEL & LEFTOVER TOOLPATHS
Mastercam Training Guide
Objectives
You will create the geometry for Mill-Lesson-12, and then generate the toolpaths to machine the
part on a CNC vertical milling machine. This Lesson covers the following topics:
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Mill-Lesson-12
MILL-LESSON-12 DRAWING
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Mastercam Training Guide
TOOL LIST
 0.500 diameter bull end mill with a 0.125 corner radius to rough machine.
 0.250 diameter ball end mill to finish machine.
 0.1875 diameter ball end mill to finish machine the corners of the pocket.
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Mill-Lesson-12
Toolpath Creation
TASK 12: Define the rough stock using stock setup
TASK 13: Rough the pocket using Surface Rough Pocket
TASK 14: Semi finish using surface finish parallel
TASK 15: Finish using surface finish leftover
TASK 16: Verify the toolpath
TASK 17: Save the updated MCX file
TASK 18: Post and create the CNC code file
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Mastercam Training Guide
TASK 1:
SETTING THE ENVIRONMENT
Before starting the geometry creation you should set up the grid, toolbars and machine type as
outlined in the Setting the environment section at the beginning of this text:
1. Set up the Grid. This will help identify the location of the origin.
2. Customize the toolbars to machine a 3D part.
3. Set the machine type to a Haas Vertical Spindle CNC machine.
TASK 2:
CREATE GEOMETRY – MATERIAL BLANK 6.0 X 2.875 X .75
X0 Y0 Z0 LOWER LEFT CORNER
 The top of the material is at Z 0. The material has been previously machined to size, 6.0 x
2.875 x .75.
 In this task you will create the geometry that make up the material blank, a box 6.0 x 2.875 x
.75.
1. Select from the pull down menu Create>Rectangular Shapes…
2. The Rectangular Shapes Options dialog box appears and you are prompted to Select
position of base point. Choose the Expand button to view all available options for
rectangle creation method.
3. After selecting the Expand button, Set the following values shown below left:
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Join:
Transforms a copy of the selected entities to a new position in
the graphics window and maintains the position of the original
entities.
13. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature. The completed geometry is shown
above.
14. Click on the Clear Colors at the top right hand corner of the screen .
15. Now select the Fit to screen icon ..
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Mastercam Training Guide
TASK 3:
CREATE THE PROFILE FOR THE SWEEP ON TOP OF MATERIAL
 Create Line #1,#2,#3, Arc #1 and Arc #2
 Create Line #1
1. Select from the pull down menu: Create>Line>Parallel…
2. On the graphics screen you are prompted: Select a line and the Line Parallel ribbon bar
appears.
3. To satisfy the prompt Select a line, move the cursor over the line shown below and select it.
4. To satisfy the next prompt Select the point to place a parallel line through move the
cursor above the line and pick a point.
5. For the Distance input 0.875 then hit enter as shown below:
8. To satisfy the next prompt Select the point to place a parallel line through move the
cursor above the line and pick a point.
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9. For the Distance input 1.5 then hit enter. The line appears as shown below:
 Create Arc #1
11. Select Create>Arc>Arc Polar…
12. On the arc ribbon bar enter 1.5 for the radius and hit enter. Click in the space for the Start
Angle and enter -90 and hit the tab key. Enter a value of 0 for the End angle and hit enter
as shown below:
13. To satisfy the prompt Enter the center point click on the FastPoint icon and input the
values for the center point 1.5 , 0.875+1.5 and hit enter as shown below:
14. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature. The arc is shown below:
 Create Line #3
15. Select from the pull down menu: Create>Line>Endpoint…
16. First click in the space for Length and enter a value of 1.0 and then hit the tab key. In the
space for Angle enter a value of 180-140 and hit enter.
17. On the graphics screen you are prompted: Specify the first endpoint. Note that the
Tangent function is activated.
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Mastercam Training Guide
18. To satisfy the prompt Specify the first endpoint move the cursor over the area of the arc
shown below left. Ensure there is no visual cue being displayed and click on this point.
After selecting the arc you will be prompted to Select the line pick the line shown below:
 Please note if the line appears on the other side of the arc hit the undo key and try again,
picking the arc in the position prescribed above.
19. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature.
 Create Arc #2
20. Select Create>Fillet>Entities…
21. On the Fillet ribbon bar enter 1.25 for the radius and hit enter. Ensure the Style of radius
is set to normal and the trim button is depressed to turn the trim on.
22. When prompted to Fillet: Select an entity, select the two lines shown below and the fillet
radius appears. The completed geometry is shown below right:
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TASK 4:
TRIM GEOMETRY FOR THE SWEEP
 In this task you will trim the geometry using Trim 1 Entity and Analyze Entity Properties.
1. Select Edit>Trim/Break>Trim/Break/Extend…
2. The Trim / Extend / Break ribbon bar appears and you are prompted to Select the entity to
trim/extend.
3. Click on the Trim 1 entity icon to activate it as shown above. Ensure the icon is pressed
down to signal that it is activated.
4. For the first prompt move the cursor over line 1 shown below and select it.
5. For the next prompt Select the entity to trim/extend to select entity 2 the arc at the
position shown below:
6. For the next prompt Select the entity to trim/extend select entity 2 the arc again, same
position as before.
7. For the next prompt Select the entity to trim/extend to select line 3.
8. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature.
The trimmed entities are shown above.
 Now you will use Analyze Entity Properties to change the endpoints of a couple of lines.
9. Select Analyze>Entity Properties… or hit the function key F4.
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Mastercam Training Guide
10. Select line 1 as shown below and the Line Properties dialog box appears. Change the X
value of 0 to 0.125 as shown below:
14. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature. The completed geometry is shown
above right.
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TASK 5:
CREATE RIGHT HAND SECTION GEOMETRY FOR SWEEP
 Create right hand side section using Rectangular shapes and Fillet.
1. On the status bar at the bottom of the screen select 2D/3D as shown below to toggle to 2D
construction.
2. On the status bar select Planes and then pick Right (WCS).
3. On the status bar click in the space beside the Z and enter 5.875.
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Mastercam Training Guide
 Create Fillets
10. Select Create>Fillet>Entities…
11. On the Fillet ribbon bar enter .125 for the radius. Ensure the Style of radius is set to
normal and the trim button is depressed to turn the trim on.
12. When prompted to Fillet: Select an entity, select entity 1 and 2 as shown below. Note, you
may have to zoom in. The fillet radius appears at the corner of entities 1 and 2. To
complete the remaining fillet select: entities 2 and 3. The completed geometry is shown
below right:
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TASK 6:
CREATE LEFT HAND SECTION GEOMETRY FOR SWEEP
 Create left hand side section using Rectangular shapes and Fillet.
1. Fit to screen ..
2. On the status bar at the bottom of the screen set the Z value at 0.125.
3. Select from the pull down menu Create>Rectangular Shapes…
4. The Rectangular Shapes Options dialog box appears and you are prompted to Select
position of base point. Choose the Expand button to view all available options.
5. Set the following values shown below:
6. Now you need to Select position of base point. Move the cursor over to the graphics
screen and position the cursor at the endpoint of the line shown below and pick this point.
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Mastercam Training Guide
 Create Fillets
9. Select Create>Fillet>Entities…
10. On the Fillet ribbon bar enter .125 for the radius. Ensure the Style of radius is set to
normal and the trim button is depressed to turn the trim on.
11. When prompted to Fillet: Select an entity, select entity 1 and 2 as shown below. The fillet
radius appears at the corner of entities 1 and 2. To complete the remaining fillet select:
entities 2 and 3. The completed geometry is shown below right:
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TASK 7:
CREATE CENTER SECTION GEOMETRY FOR SWEEP
 Create the user defined construction plane.
 Create the center section using Rectangular shapes and Fillet.
2. Click on Isometric view , even though the image is already in isometric view,
as it will reset the construction plane to top.
5. To satisfy the prompt Specify the first endpoint move the cursor over the midpoint of the
line shown below left. Ensure the visual cue for midpoint is being displayed and click on
this point.
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Mastercam Training Guide
10. Next click in the space for Length and enter a value of 1.0 and then hit the tab key. In the
space for Angle enter a value of 90 and hit enter.
11. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature.
12. Select the drop down arrow next to the Set plane icon and select Planes by geometry.
13. On the graphics screen you are prompted: Select construction plane by geometry
Cplane by geometry, select line 1 and then line 2 as shown below:
14. Z should be pointing to the right, if not click on the right arrow in the Select view dialog box.
15. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature.
16. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature.
17. On the status bar set the Z value at 0 and press enter.
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18. Holding down the Middle Button or Scroll Wheel on your mouse rotate the view similar to
below: Note; If you don’t have a middle button or scroll wheel click on Dynamic rotation
22. Now you need to Select position of base point. Move the
cursor over to the graphics screen and position the cursor at
the origin shown below and pick this point.
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Mastercam Training Guide
 Create Fillets
26. Select Create>Fillet>Entities…
27. On the Fillet ribbon bar enter .125 for the radius. Ensure the Style of radius is set to
normal and the trim button is depressed to turn the trim on.
28. When prompted to Fillet: Select an entity, select entity 1 and 2 as shown below. The fillet
radius appears at the corner of entities 1 and 2. To complete the remaining fillet select:
entities 2 and 3. The completed geometry is shown below right:
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TASK 8:
CREATE THE SWEPT SURFACE
 In this task you will create a swept surface using the geometry you have just created. The
swept surface will be created using four chains.
 Create Swept Surface.
1. Select from the pull down menu: Create>Surface>Swept …
4. Position the view so it is similar to the image below by using the Middle Button or Scroll
Button on the mouse. Or use the Dynamic Rotation icon.
.
5. On the graphics screen you are again prompted: Swept surface: define the across
contour (2). On the center section select the partial chain by first selecting line 1, ensure the
arrow is pointing downwards and then select line 2.
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Mastercam Training Guide
6. On the graphics screen you are prompted: Swept surface: define the across contour (3).
Select the partial chain by first selecting line 1, ensure the arrow is pointing down and then
select line 2.
10. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature. The completed swept surface is shown
below:
11. Select the Alt key and S key on your keyboard to display the shaded surface.
12. Alt and S to unshade the surface.
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TASK 9:
CREATE FLAT BOUNDARY SURFACE AT ENDS OF SWEEP
 In this task you will create two Flat Boundary surfaces at both ends of the sweep.
 Create Flat Boundary Surface - right hand section.
1. Select from the pull down menu: Create>Surface>Flat Boundary…
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Mastercam Training Guide
7. Click on the OK icon to complete this feature. The completed boundary surfaces are
shown below:
TASK 10:
CREATE FILLET SURFACES
 Create surface to surface fillet .1 radius left and right hand end.
 Note: If you find the next steps complicated, watch the Mill Lesson 12 Task 10 video on the
CD that accompanies this book.
3. Alt and S to shade the surface. This will make it easier to select the surfaces.
4. On the graphics screen you are prompted: Select first set of surfaces and press <Enter>
to continue. Select the sweep surface (1) as shown above and then hit enter. Note: The
surface will change colour when the cursor is over it.
5. For the next prompt Select second set of surfaces and press <Enter> to continue.
Select the flat boundary blend (2) as shown above and then hit enter.
6. You may get this warning shown below. If so select OK, you will sort that out shortly.
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8. The Fillet Surfaces to Surfaces dialog box appears, set the radius to 0.1 and other values
as shown below:
9. Click on the Options button and set the values as shown below:
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Mastercam Training Guide
18. On the graphics screen you are prompted: Select first set of surfaces and press <enter>
to continue. Select the sweep surface (1) as shown above and then hit enter.
19. For the next prompt Select second set of surfaces and press <Enter> to continue.
Select the flat boundary blend (2) as shown above and then hit enter.
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20. You may get this warning shown below. If so select OK.
24. After selecting the Flip normal button you will be prompted to Click surface to flip normal.
Press <Enter> when done. Click on the green arrows to flip, both arrows should be
pointing into the pocket as shown above, when done hit enter.
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Mastercam Training Guide
25. Select the OK button to complete this function The completed fillet is shown below:
TASK 11:
SAVE THE DRAWING
1. Select File.
2. Select Save as.
3. In the File name box, type Mill-Lesson-12
4. Save to an appropriate location.
5. Select the green check mark button to save the file and complete this function.
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Toolpath Creation
TASK 12:
DEFINE THE ROUGH STOCK USING STOCK SETUP
1. Select the plus in front of Properties to expand the Toolpaths Group Properties. Alt-O will
Show/hide Operations Manager pane.
2. Select Stock setup in the toolpath manager window.
3. Select the Bounding box button.
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Mastercam Training Guide
8. Select the Tool Settings tab and change the parameters to match the Tool Settings
screenshot below. To change the Material type follow the instructions below:
12. Select the OK button again to complete this Stock Setup function.
13. Now select the Fit to screen icon.
 Your part should look similar to the screen shot below. With X0 Y0 at the left side and Z
zero on top of the stock.
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TASK 13:
ROUGH THE POCKET USING SURFACE ROUGH POCKET
 In this task you will use a 0.5 diameter end mil with a 0.125 corner radius to rough out the
pocket. Rough pocket toolpaths remove a lot of stock quickly by creating a series of planar
cuts (or constant Z), which is the preferred cutting method for many roughing tools.
4. The Select All dialog box appears on the left of the screen.
5. Click on the OK icon to complete and exit this feature.
6. To move onto the next step you now need to pick the End Selection icon .
7. Select the OK button to exit the Toolpath/surface selection dialog box.
8. In the lower left corner of the Toolpath parameters page select the Select library tool…
button. Disable Filter active if required.
9. Use the slider bar on the right of this dialog box to scroll down and locate a 0.5 diameter
bull end mill with a 0.125 corner radius. Select the end mill by picking anywhere along its
row.
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11. Make changes to the Toolpath parameters page as shown below. Set coolant on.
12. Select the Surface parameters page and make changes to this page as shown below.
Stock to leave on drive is set to 0.015.
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13. Select the Rough parameters page and click on the Total tolerance button and make
changes as shown below. Filter: Off. Select the OK button when complete.
14. On the Rough parameters and make changes to this page as shown below:
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15. Select the Cuts depths button make the necessary changes.
Cut depths specify the placement
of Z-axis cuts for all rough surface
toolpaths and for finish contour
toolpaths.
Incremental cut depths
Incremental cut depths are
measured from the top and bottom
of the part for most rough surface
toolpaths and for finish contour
toolpaths.
Keep top cut at max stepdown
Available only for rough pocket
toolpaths. Forces the tool to make
the first cutting pass at the max
cut depth instead of the top of the
part.
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TASK 14:
SEMI FINISH USING SURFACE HIGH SPEED TOOLPATHS
 In this task you will use a 0.25 diameter Ball end mill to finish the pocket.
Surface high speed toolpaths are a set of machining strategies that are specially designed to
produce the smoothest, most efficient tool motions when machining surface models (or solid
faces).
Before you start the toolpath operation a boundary curve will have to be created around the
edges at the top of the pocket. This will be used as a containment boundary for this toolpath.
To do this you will use a C-Hook supplied with Mastercam called Silhouette Boundary.
This C-Hook simplifies the creation of tool containment boundaries for machining.
It prompts you to select surfaces or solids, and upon selection, it produces entities that can be
used for a tool containment boundary.
C-Hooks are add-in applications or utilities that customize, enhance, or extend Mastercam's
functionality.
They can be created by individual users, resellers, third-party application developers, or by CNC
Software itself. C-Hooks are written in C/C++.
8. Now pick the End Selection icon and the curve is created around the top of the pocket.
9. Now select the Fit to screen icon ..
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 Toolpath creation
10. From the menu bar select Toolpaths>Surface High Speed…
11. You are first prompted to Select Drive surfaces, select the All button on the General
Selection ribbon bar as shown below:
12. The Select All dialog box appears on the left of the screen. Click on the OK icon to
complete and exit this feature.
13. To move onto the next step you now need to pick the End Selection icon .
14. Select the Containment button in the Toolpath/surface selection dialog box.
15. On the screen you will now see the Chaining dialog box with Chain set and in the graphics
screen a prompt to Chain 2D tool containment boundary #1. Activate C-plane and select
the line as shown below:
16. After the boundary has been successfully chained select the OK button .
17. Select the OK icon in the Toolpath/surface selection dialog box.
18. Click on Toolpath Type from the list on the left, activate Finishing and select Raster.
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19. Select Tool from the list on the left hand side.
20. Select the Select library tool… button. Disable Filter active if required.
21. Use the slider bar on the right of this dialog box to scroll down and locate a 0.25 diameter
ball end mill. Select the end mill by picking anywhere along its row.
22. Select the OK button to complete the selection of this tool.
23. Make changes to the Tool values page as shown below:
24. Select Cut Parameters from the list on the left and make changes as shown below:
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25. Select Transitions from the list on the left and make changes as shown below:
26. Select the Arc / Filter Tolerance from the list on the left and make changes as shown
below. Filter ratio 2:1 Total tolerance 0.001.
27. Select Coolant from the list on the left and turn the coolant on.
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TASK 15:
FINISH USING SURFACE FINISH LEFTOVER
 In this task you will use a 0.1875 diameter Ball end mil to finish the corners of the pocket
which have the .1 fillet radii.
The finish leftover toolpath removes remaining stock that Mastercam calculates based on the
dimensions of a roughing tool.
Finish leftover uses a smaller tool than the roughing tool. Mastercam looks at the part,
calculates where the roughing tool could not fit, and creates tool motion to remove stock from
these areas.
4. The Select All dialog box appears on the left of the screen. Click on the OK icon to
complete and exit this feature.
5. To move onto the next step you now need to pick the End Selection icon .
6. Select the OK icon in the Toolpath/surface selection dialog box.
7. In the lower left corner of the Toolpath parameters page select the Select library tool…
button. Disable Filter active if required.
8. Use the slider bar on the right of this dialog box to scroll down and locate a 0.1875 diameter
ball end mill. Select the end mill by picking anywhere along its row.
9. Select the OK button to complete the selection of this tool.
10. Make changes to the Toolpath parameters page as shown below:
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11. Select the Surface parameters page and make changes to this page as shown below:
12. Next on the Finish leftover parameters page make changes to this page as shown below:
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13. Select the Leftover material parameters page and make changes to this page as shown
below: This identifies the size of the previous tool used.
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TASK 16:
VERIFY THE TOOLPATH
1. In the Toolpath Manager pick all the operations to verify by picking the Select All icon .
2. Select the Verify selected operations button circled below:
3. Adjust the Verify speed to midway along the speed control bar.
4. Select the fast forward button to speed up the verification of the toolpaths.
TASK 17:
SAVE THE UPDATED MCX FILE
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TASK 18:
POST AND CREATE THE CNC CODE FILE
1. Ensure all the operations are selected by picking the Select All icon from the Toolpath
manager.
2. Select the Post selected operations button from the Toolpath manager.
3. Please Note: If you cannot see G1 click on the right pane of the Toolpath manger window
and expand the window to the right.
4. In the Post processing window, make the necessary changes as shown below:
9. Select the in the top right corner to exit the CNC editor.
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MILL-LESSON-12 EXERCISE
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