SmartCAM V18 Core Milling Improvements: Rest-Milling Roughing

Several new capabilities have been introduced to all SmartCAM V18.0 milling applications which allow material remaining from previous roughing processes to be easily and quickly identified and re-machined with a more efficient strategy than before.

New Region Element

A new Region element type has been added to the system. A region is a special profile with additional information attached to it, and is typically created by another SmartCAM function. The additional information assigned to the region allows subsequent tool path generation processes to make decisions on how to best machine the area.

New Restmill Region Creation

A new Restmill Region geometry tool has been added to a new Create - Regions toolbox. The Restmill panel generates a set of region elements representing uncut material remaining from a previous operation.

The regions are generated from a set of open or closed input part profiles along with the specified previous and cleanup tools. The resulting regions can be machined using the new Region Rough process described below.

     Rest Mill regions generated by the new Rest Mill geometry tool.

New Region Rough Process

A new Region Rough process has been added to the Process - Rough toolbox. The Region Rough process can be used to create tool path to machine a group of input region elements, for example regions representing remaining material from a previous operation.

Depending on the region type, the tool path pattern can automatically switch between pocketing and open profiling. This new process makes it extremely fast and easy to re-machine using progressively smaller tools.

Region Rough toolpath machines Rest Mill regions using Pocketing and Profiling strategies.

New Region Marking Display

A new Region Marking option has been added to the Display Modes dialog box. When Region Marking is enabled the standard line style defined by the Layer is ignored, and segments of the region that are classified as "barrier" (originating from the part profile) are displayed as a solid lines, and segments classified as "passable" (originating from open stock) are displayed as broken lines.

This option helps identify the open regions where the Region Rough process can apply profiling toolpath.

Region Marking used to display open region segments using dashed line style. Pocket and Profile toolpath enter from open side.

Region Output from Solid Pocket / Planar Rough

A new Output option available in the Parameters dialog box of Solid Pocket and Planar Rough allows layer regions to be output instead of step toolpath. The output process element can then be modified and the individual regions unpacked and re-sequenced in the desired machining order, using Order - Path - Sequence Move - By Group Selection Sequence.

Once regions are ordered, the new Region Rough process can be used to machine them. This capability allows regions to be machined in any order, for example "depths first" where they would otherwise be machined "breadth first."