Overview

Welcome to the 3 Axis Surface Machining User's Guide!
This guide is intended for users who need to become quickly familiar with the product.

This overview provides the following information:

3 Axis Surface Machining in a Nutshell

3 Axis Surface Machining is a new generation product that defines and manages NC programs. 3 Axis Surface Machining is dedicated to the machining of 3D geometry work parts with 3-axis machining techniques. It is particularly adapted to the needs of mold, die and tool makers  and prototype manufacturers in all branches and at all levels of industry.

3 Axis Surface Machining offers easy-to-learn and easy-to-use shopfloor-oriented tool path definition for 3-axis Machining. 3 Axis Surface Machining is based on industry-recognized, leading-edge technologies which offer the tightest integration between tool path definition, verification and instant cycle updates. 

3 Axis Surface Machining covers full design-to-manufacture processes offering functions for:

  • defining the areas you want to machine,
  • rough machining either by vertical or horizontal planes,
  • roughing rework,
  • sweeping,
  • ZLevel machining,
  • pencil operations,
  • contour-driven operations,
  • profile contouring,
  • drilling,
  • detecting residual material,
  • defining areas to rework,
  • visualization of the result of the Manufacturing Program,
  • the production of shopfloor documentation.

3 Axis Surface Machining gives you the freedom to choose the working methods that best suit your needs.

Before Reading this Guide

Prior to reading the 3 Axis Surface Machining User's Guide, you are recommended to have a look at the Infrastructure User's Guide for  information on the generic capabilities common to all products.

  

Getting the Most Out of this Guide

3 Axis Surface Machining is a versatile application, fully adapted to your needs and your working methods whether they are machining area-oriented or operation-oriented. You can either define the machining areas on your part and then assign an operation to each of them or you can define your machining process as a series of operations with an area to machine for each operation.
A machining area can be:
  • the whole part (for example, in roughing),
  • a subset of the faces on the part,
  • a subset of faces on the part with a limiting contour. 

The Getting Started chapter contains two sections, one which demonstrates operation-oriented machining and another which demonstrates area-oriented machining.

Before starting work with Surface Machining, please ensure that you have an open file (CATPart or CATProduct) and that you are in the Surface Machining workbench (Start > Machining > Surface Machining).

Here is a suggested order for operations in a Manufacturing Program:

  • rough machining operations,
  • (semi-)finishing operations,
  • detection of unmachined areas,
  • reworking of unmachined areas,
  • generation and output of documentation.

 

Area-oriented methodology is useful when you have a complex part to machine and you know in advance what kind of operation you are going to apply to each separate area. 

This approach is of great use when, for example, you are going to machine a "family" of similar parts and when you have dedicated machines for mass production. 

You define the areas on one part, you assign an operation to each area, and then you machine. At the end you have a program that you can apply to all of the "members" of the "family" at least working cost because:

  • the machining strategy has already been defined (chosen operations),
  • the tool has already been defined,
  • only the area need be redefined,
  • you know exactly what kind of output you require,
  • and as a result the computation can be run in batch to further reduce time loss.

  1. Define all of the separate areas to machine on your work piece. 

  2. Select the area or areas you want to machine with a particular operation. 

  3. Click  the appropriate icon (for example, sweeping).

  4. Change the parameters in that operation (if required). 

The only mandatory data for a operation is the area to machine (with the exception of roughing which requires a rough stock too) and all of the other parameters have default values. 

We recommend that you use the default parameters first unless you are sure of the values you wish to enter.

Compute the operation. If the results are satisfactory, repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 for all of the other areas to machine.

 

Use operation-oriented machining when you want to progressively define your Manufacturing Program operation-by-operation sequentially. Each operation has the area it deals with defined as part of its data.

This approach is useful for single or limited part production because it allows you to define your requirements step-by-step. 

  1. Choose the operation you want to use.

  2. Click the "part" area in the geometric components of the operation.

  3. Select the area(s) to machine either as the whole part with the contextual menu or as a face or group of faces with the face selection wizard.

  4. Change the other parameters in the operation (if required). 

The only mandatory data for a operation is the area to machine (with the exception of roughing which requires a rough stock too) and all of the other parameters have default values. 

We recommend that you use the default parameters first unless you are sure of the values you wish to enter.

Compute the operation. If the results are satisfactory, continue defining the remaining operations for your Manufacturing Program.

  

Accessing Sample Documents

To perform the scenarios, sample documents are provided all along this documentation. For more information about this, refer to Accessing Sample Documents in the Infrastructure User's Guide.