JEPR CT O Mill a Standard Part ESPRIT has very strong capabili es in 2.5D milling, providing both ease-of-use and a high level of control over every aspect of a milling opera on. The intent of this project is to teach you the process for crea ng standard milling opera ons using ESPRIT’s SolidMill Tradi onal machining technology. ESPRIT gives you several op ons for accessing standard milling commands. • Menus and Toolbars. Tradi onal milling commands are located on the SolidMill Tradi onal submenu on the Machining menu. You can also use the SolidMill toolbar. • Process Manager. You can also select SolidMill commands from a single menu within the Process Manager. The Process Manager lets you apply several machining opera ons to a single feature at one me. For this project, you will learn how to use the commands on the SolidMill Tradi onal toolbar to create standard milling opera ons and how to create a machining process using the Process Manager. 2 Remove Excess Material ........... 62 Cut the Pockets and Slot ......... 70 Mill and Drill Holes .......................77 Create a Shop Floor Report ... 82 The files for this project are available for download from ESPRITWeb » File Library » ESPRIT 2009 and from the ESPRIT CD. All dimensions in this tutorial are in millimeters. Make sure System Unit on the Tools menu is set to Metric. Before you start this lesson, you can review and simulate the cu ng opera ons in the following file: Milling - Standard\standard_milling_complete.esp. Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 61 Remove Excess Material At the beginning of any milling job, it is cri cal to remove as much excess stock as possible before you begin cu ng the finish passes. In this project, the part is cut from standard rectangular stock. The first thing you need to do is remove the excess material from the top and around the sides of the part. To do this, you will first create a facing opera on to quickly remove as much stock as possible from the top of the part. Then you will create a 3D contour around the island on the top face. You will finish by roughing and finishing the outer profile of the part. Contouring The Contouring command creates cu ng passes that follow the shape of a selected feature. You can center the tool on the feature or offset it to the le or the right. You can enter an offset distance or use the radius of the tool. The Contouring command lets you combine rough and finish passes in a single opera on or you can create separate rough and finish passes. When roughing and finishing passes are combined in one Contouring opera on, the same tool is used for both phases of the opera on. To use different tools, you must create separate contouring opera ons. It is recommended that you use separate opera ons for roughing and finishing. Facing The Facing command is ESPRIT has mul ple op ons to make facing as fast and effec ve as possible. You have full control over depths of cut, op mized cu ng angle, stock allowance on floors and walls, and how far you want the tool to travel when it reaches the edge of the stock. The Facing opera on also automa cally creates a final pass around any islands. This guarantees a consistent amount of stock on floors and walls. Technology Files Machining technology se ngs can be easily saved as a separate file and used over and over for the machining of similar parts. For this project, you will load pre-exis ng technology files that are located in the following folder: Ge ng Started\Milling - Standard\Technology A er loading the technology for an opera on, you can click on the various tabs to review the individual se ngs. For more detailed informa on, click the Help bu on located at the lower right corner of the technology page. Wire Frame Milling The Wire Frame Milling command lets you create a basic 3D milling opera on from simple 2D geometry. The profile of the shape you want to cut is called the drive curve. This profile is driven along a path called the basic curve. Each curve must be created on a separate plane and the end point of the drive curve must lie along the basic curve. When construc ng the tool path, the drive curve will be placed perpendicular to the basic curve at the start point of the basic curve. 62 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 you must first define the facing technology and select the Include Islands op on. any islands and any pockets you want to avoid. No stock allowance will remain on the floors. A stock allowance of 0. Make sure HI mode is enabled. You will select the stock profile feature and the island profille. You want to face across the tops of the pockets on this part. click SolidMill Tradi onal .esp 3. Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 63 .5mm will remain on the walls of the island a er the opera on is complete. there is an island on the face that must be avoided. you would select the feature first and then define the opera on technology. Because there is an island on the face. these milled features should look familiar to you.This opera on will start slightly below the selected feature and cut at incremental depths of 8mm in a simple back and forth tool mo on. Create a Facing Operat ion For this facing opera on. If you completed Project 1: Create Features. Typically. ESPRIT will then prompt you to select features for the boundary.Open t he Par t File 1. so you will simply answer No when ESPRIT prompts you to select pockets to avoid.SolidMill Produc on to display the toolbar. On the Smart toolbar.Standard\standard_milling. The Facing command lets you select and avoid islands and pocketed areas when the Include Islands op on is set to Yes. Locate and open the following file: Milling . 2. select the Stock Profile feature 64 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 .Step 1 Click Facing Step 2 Right-click inside the technology page and click Open Step 3 Open the file: Milling .prc Step 4 Click OK Step 5 In the work area.Standard\Technology\1-Facing. A non-cross pocket designates an open area where the tool cannot rapid across. right-click to answer No. Step 9 When prompted to select cross pockets. so right-click to con nue to the next step Step 8 When prompted to select non-cross pockets. A cross pocket designates an open area where the tool can rapid across. Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 65 .Step 6 Select the Facing Island feature Step 7 This is the only island to avoid. right-click to answer No. the tool will follow the direc on of the basic curve. you will use two exis ng features. The Wireframe Drive Curve defines the curved profile for the walls around the island on the face. The Machine Along op on controls which curve is used to control the direc on of the cu ng passes. Step 1 Click Wire Frame Milling Step 2 Open the file: 2-Wire Frame Milling. you first define the machining technology and then select the features.Create a Wire Frame Milling Operat ion For this opera on.prc Step 3 Click OK 66 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 . The Wireframe Basic Curve feature is located on the top face of the island and defines the path the profile will follow. For Wire Frame Milling. In this case. select the Wireframe Basic Curve feature located on the top of the island Step 5 Select the Wireframe Drive Curve feature located on the island wall Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 67 .Step 4 In the work area. 5mm stock on the walls and then finish with a 20mm end mill. you will create two separate Contouring opera ons.prc Step 4 Click OK 68 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 . Step 1 Select the External Profile feature Step 2 Click Contouring Step 3 Open the file: 3-Contouring Rough.Create Rough and Finish Contouring Operat ions To cut the external profile of the part. you will first rough the profile with a 30mm end mill that will leave 0. Because the roughing and finishing opera ons use very different se ngs. prc Step 7 Click OK Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 69 . click Contouring Step 6 Open the file: 4-Contouring Finish.Step 5 With the feature s ll selected. The Rest Machining command is used to remove material in areas and corners that previous opera ons le behind. such as total depth. Rest Machining Trochoidal Pocket ing The Trochoidal Pocke ng command is used to quickly rough parts at a constant material removal rate. You can create rest machining opera ons for several parent opera ons at one me or you can create rest machining opera ons for all opera ons associated with a single feature. The Trochoid tool mo on pa ern creates a spiral in the largest area of the pocket to maintain a constant level of tool loading. your security key must be a ached to your computer and you must have a valid license. you can use a standard end mill on the floors to provide the required finish and use a ball or taper end mill on the walls. you have the op on to create separately definable phases for roughing. Trochoidal Pocke ng provides mul ple levels of control over tool mo on pa ern. Although developed for highspeed machining. Important: To use the Process Manager. you can create each phase independently. Within a single pocke ng opera on. Machining Processes A machining process is a convenient way to create and apply several opera ons at once. the rest of the tool path uses an adjustable curve that adapts to the shape of the pocket. Trochoid tool mo on is well suited for highspeed machining (HSM) because it uses the biggest possible curve based on the shape of the pocket. The previous opera on becomes the “parent” opera on and the rest machining opera on applied to it becomes the “child” opera on. and so on. If you are running ESPRIT in demo mode. The child opera on inherits many of the se ngs from the parent opera on. Pocket ing The Pocke ng command removes material within a closed boundary. If a parent opera on is modified. clearance se ngs. Trochoidal Pocke ng brings benefits to any type of machine by providing a more constant tool load and a be er surface finish. stock allowance. and cu er load. When the trochoid pa ern reaches the maximum radius that will fit. pocke ng opera ons with full control over the process. The Process Manager lets you create any number and type of machining opera ons and apply them to any number of features.Cut the Pockets and Slot The part in this project contains two pockets and a slot. ESPRIT offers two types of pocke ng opera ons that you will use to cut each pocket. You can choose to create only roughing passes. only wall finishing or floor finishing passes. This gives you the flexibility to create 70 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 . and floor finishing passes that each let you use a different tool. or a combina on of your choice. allowing for the fastest possible feedrates. use the commands on the SolidMill Tradi onal toolbar to cut the pockets. feedrates. If you do not want all of these phases combined in a single opera on. the rest machining opera on is automa cally recalculated and updated. For example. wall finishing. Click OK. On the Smart toolbar.Set Up t he K nowledgeBase 1. To remove any material remaining in the corners. 3. A tradi onal Pocke ng opera on will then be applied to first finish the walls and then the floors.Inch / Metric. 4. you will then apply a Rest Machining opera on. you will first remove as much material as possible as quickly as possible with a Trochoidal Pocke ng opera on. Step 3 Select SolidMill Tradi onal Trochoidal Pocke ng Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 71 . 2. click Common Machining and then click KnowledgeBase Document Se ngs. Set Part Type to Milled Part Std . You will create a machining process to perform all three opera ons.5mm will remain on the walls and floors of the pocket. Create a Process to Mill t he Medium Pocket To mill the medium pocket. Click KnowlegeBase Se ngs. Make sure ‘Apply selected process to all features’ is checked and click OK. Set Default Technology to Default Technology . 5. A stock allowance of 0.Metric. Step 1 Select the Medium Pocket feature and then click Process Manager Step 2 A process already exists in the KnowledgeBase. Click New Process to create your own process. 6. prc and click OK 72 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 .prc and click OK Step 5 Select SolidMill Tradi onal Tradi onal Pocke ng Step 6 Open the file: 6-Pocket1 Finish Pocke ng.Step 4 Open the file: 5-Pocket1 Trochoidal Pocke ng. Step 7 Select SolidMill Tradi onal Rest Machining Step 8 Open the file: 7-Pocket1 Rest Machining.prc and click OK Step 9 Click Apply Do not click Exit yet Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 73 . except that a Rest Machining opera on is not required.prc and click OK 74 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 . Step 1 Select the Small Pocket feature Step 2 Click New Process Step 3 Select SolidMill Tradi onal Trochoidal Pocke ng Step 4 Open the file: 8-Pocket2 Trochoidal Pocke ng.Create a Process to Mill t he S mall Pocket The process to machine the small pocket is similar to the medium pocket. Step 5 Select SolidMill Tradi onal Tradi onal Pocke ng Step 6 Open the file: 9-Pocket2 Finish Pocke ng.prc and click OK Step 7 Click Apply Step 8 Click Exit Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 75 . Step 1 Select the Slot feature Step 2 Click SolidMill Tradi onal Step 3 Click Pocke ng Step 4 Open the file: 10-Slot with Ramping. you will use a tradi onal Pocke ng opera on using a tool with a diameter the same width as the slot. The tool will enter the material using a long ramping move and then cut the slot with a single pass.Cut t he S lot To cut the slot.prc and click OK 76 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 . the tool origin is very important. You will then create a bo om up Spiraling opera on using a custom tool to mill the lower hole. Then. For this project. all ESPRIT tools have the origin set on the bo om. The opera on drills to a specified depth and you have the op on to include the length of the tool p in the total depth value. When using bo om up technology. Drilling The Drilling command is applied to hole features or point-to-point (PTOP) features. you will create drilling and spiraling opera ons depending on the type and size of the hole. Bo om up toolpath will be automa cally generated when the incremental depth is set to a nega ve value. SolidMill Drilling supports several types of drilling. However. so you have to be aware of the tool thickness when crea ng your tool path. including a milled hole. peck. including drill. Pre-Drill and Mill t he Milled Hole The milled hole has an upper diameter of 42mm and a lower diameter of 50mm. and bore. you can create a custom tool where the tool origin is set on the top of the cu ng tool edge. A spiraling opera on is typically used when you want to mill a hole that is too large to drill. you will pre-drill the hole with a 30mm drill. The drilling order is defined by the path of the PTOP feature. You can also use SolidMill Drilling to spot drill holes to the correct depth based on the diameter of the tool and the chamfer diameter. Bot tom Up Spiraling Spiraling passes can be created from the top down or from the bo om up. Bo om up spiraling can be used to avoid having to rotate your part using index milling. Spiraling The Spiraling command creates spiral or helical cu ng passes based on the selec on of a circle or a feature in the shape of a circle. First. Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 77 . You will cut this hole in three steps. tap.Mill and Drill Holes This part has different types of holes. By default. you will create a Spiraling opera on to mill the upper diameter to a depth of 30mm. The bo om up technology does not shi the tool origin. Step 1 Select the Spiral Rough feature Step 2 Click Drilling Step 3 Open the file: 11-Milled Hole Drilling.prc and click OK 78 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 .prc and click OK Step 4 Select the Milled Hole Upper feature Step 5 Click Spiraling Step 6 Open the file: 12-Milled Hole Spiraling. prc and click OK Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 79 .Step 7 Select the Milled Hole Lower feature Step 8 Click Spiraling Step 9 Open the file: 13-Milled Hole Bo om Up Spiraling. you must use KnowledgeBase Op ons to specify that you do not want the same process applied to all features. Based on the type of feature you select. On the Common Machining toolbar. The KnowledgeBase will find one process for the countersink holes and another process for the counterbore holes. Step 4 Hold down the Ctrl key and select the Countersink and Counterbore features Step 5 Click Process Manager Step 6 Click Apply Step 7 Click Exit 80 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 . Click OK. You will select the two hole features and use standard processes in the KnowledgeBase to drill them. The order in which you select the features controls the order of the opera ons in the opera ons list. click KnowledgeBase Se ngs. Uncheck ‘Apply selected process to all features’. To make sure the correct drilling process is created for each feature. 2. 3. the first process found will be applied to all the selected features.A pply E xist ing Processes to Drill t he Holes The ESPRIT KnowledgeBase provides several standard machining processes. the ESPRIT KnowledgeBase will search for the most appropriate machining process. 1. Otherwise. S imulate Step 1 On the Smart toolbar. click Simula on Step 2 Click Run to start the simula on Step 3 Click Stop to exit the simula on Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 81 . Each row displays the main informa on about the opera on like the opera on name. the tools. copy it from the distribu on folder before you regenerate the report. If you are running ESPRIT in demo mode. If you intend to save any previous version of a report. opera ons. the tool ID. report files are saved to your user folder under the ESPRIT\Data\ReportGenerator\ Reports directory. Two types of standard reports are available: Summary and Detailed. Opera on report pages provide detailed opera on-specific informa on such as the tool details and available cu ng parameters.Create a Shop Floor Report The Report Generator creates HTML and PDF reports that detail the tools and opera ons for any of your part files. If you regenerate any report. Detailed Repor t This report provides the same summary page along with detailed pages for each opera on and a complete tool list. feeds and speed. but you can change it to any other loca on by clicking the Op ons bu on on the Report Generator dialog.. Important: To use the Report Generator. each page in the report displays a full-color image showing how the part should look at each stage of the machining process. command is not available on the File menu. including any output from a previous report. the Create Reports. the part. your security key must be a ached to your computer and you must have a valid license. Reports contain informa on about the machine. are deleted.. the tool name. and so on. 82 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 . Summar y Repor t Basic informa on about the machining process is provided on a single summary page. Click on an opera on hyperlink in the summary page to access the opera on details. The preforma ed reports are an important NC post processing tool and invaluable shop floor resource. Default Folders for Repor t Files By default. The subfolder is always named the same as your part file. In addi on. and the NC program. all files in the subfolder. They provide the machining details required to correctly set up a machine and perform the required machining opera ons. Generated reports are saved to a subfolder in the distribu on loca on. The summary report contains a header with general informa on about the program and an opera on list with one row per opera on. Click on a tool hyperlink to access the tool details. Step 3 Right-click on OpSummary. Windows Explorer will launch and open to the folder where the report files were generated. then click Create Reports It will take several moments to generate a detailed report of all the opera ons and tools used in this part file.. click Create Reports.htm and click Open Project 2: Mill a Standard Part | 83 .Step 1 On the File menu. A er the report is generated.. Step 2 Select Milling-Detailed. Step 4 Click on a hyperlink to view the opera on or tool details 84 | Get Started with ESPRIT 2009 .