NX Manufacturing Fundamentals

NX Manufacturing FundamentalsStudent Guide April 2007 MT11021 — NX 5 Publication Number mt11021_s NX 5 Manual History Manual Revision Unigraphics Version Version 16.0 Version 17.0 Version 17.0 Version 18.0 Unigraphics NX Unigraphics NX 2 NX 3 NX 4 NX 5 Publication Date March 1999 January 2001 June 2001 September 2001 September 2002 September 2003 November 2004 January 2006 April 2007 This edition obsoletes all previous editions. Proprietary and Restricted Rights Notices This software and related documentation are proprietary to UGS Corp. © 2007 UGS Corp. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks belong to their respective holders. 2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals mt11021_s NX 5 Contents Course Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Student responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . Layer standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Implementing a layer standard Seed Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to use this manual . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson format . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity format . . . . . . . . . . . . Learning tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . Workbook Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Classroom System Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 11 Basic CAM Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 The NC Programming Sequence . . . . . . . . . Manufacturing toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create the Manufacturing assembly Creating the Manufacturing Setup . . . . . . . Create an Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Specify additional Operation settings . . . . . The Operation Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 . 1-4 . 1-6 . 1-7 . 1-8 1-10 1-11 1-12 1-13 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . Retrieve from Library Activity . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 2-4 2-6 2-8 2-9 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 Creating the manufacturing assembly and parent groups Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cavity Milling overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 3-3 3-4 3-5 3 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals Contents Modify Parent Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choose the Blank and Part in the WORKPIECE Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Additional Cavity Milling topics . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cut Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In-Process Work Piece for Cavity Milling . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cavity Milling Stock options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cutting Parameters – Trim by . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 . 3-7 . 3-8 . 3-9 3-10 3-11 3-12 3-13 3-14 3-15 3-16 3-17 3-18 3-19 The Operation Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 The Operation Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Operation Navigator views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parent Groups, Operations and Inheritance . . . . . The Operation Navigator appearance and columns Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 . 4-4 . 4-5 . 4-7 . 4-8 4-10 Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Absolute Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . Work Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . Machine Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . Saved Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . Absolute Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . Work Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . Machine Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . Reference Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Additional Coordinate System information I,J,K Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rotary Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tool Axis versus ZC Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orientation of the WCS to MCS . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 . 5-3 . 5-4 . 5-5 . 5-6 . 5-7 . 5-8 . 5-9 5-10 5-11 5-12 5-13 5-14 5-15 5-16 5-17 5-18 5-19 Visualization (ISV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 Tool Path Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2 4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Contents Replay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D Dynamic Tool Path display . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Tool Path display options – Edit Display Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7 6-8 6-9 Planar Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1 Planar Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blank boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Check boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trim boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multi-level Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . Depth of cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MILL_BND geometry Parent groups Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction to Profiling . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 . 7-3 . 7-4 . 7-5 . 7-6 . 7-7 . 7-8 . 7-9 7-10 7-11 7-12 7-13 7-14 7-15 Face Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1 Face Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Face Milling Area geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Face Milling geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cut Area and Face Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cut Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Additional Passes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blank Distance, Depth per Cut, Final Floor Stock . . . Boundary Construction from a Face and its Chamfers Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Face Milling and surrounding geometry . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Machining multiple faces in one Operation . . . . . . . . Cutting parameters, Region Sequencing . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Face Milling – Blank Overhang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wall Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2 . 8-3 . 8-4 . 8-5 . 8-6 . 8-7 . 8-8 . 8-9 8-10 8-11 8-12 8-13 8-14 8-15 8-16 8-18 8-19 8-20 8-21 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5 Contents Drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1 Creating Drilling Operations . . . . Drilling Cycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cycle Parameter Sets . . . . . . . . . . Minimum Clearance . . . . . . . . . . . Creating Drilling Tools . . . . . . . . . The Drill Geometry Parent Groups Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Depth Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Optimizing the Tool Path . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2 . 9-3 . 9-4 . 9-5 . 9-6 . 9-7 . 9-8 . 9-9 9-10 9-11 9-12 Text Engraving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1 Text Engraving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2 Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5 Tool Path Information Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1 Output CLSF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Post Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NX POST Execute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manufacturing Output Manager (MOM) Post Processing Using NX POST . . . . . . NX POST Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shop Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shop Documentation dialogs . . . . . . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2 . 11-4 . 11-5 . 11-8 . 11-9 11-10 11-12 11-13 11-14 11-15 11-16 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Index-1 6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Course Overview The NMFcourse teaches the use of the NX Manufacturing application for creating 2–1/2 and 3–axis tool paths. Intended Audience This course is designed for Manufacturing Engineers, Process Planners and NC/CNC Programmers that have the basic knowledge of NC/CNC manual programming of 3–axis positioning and contouring equipment. Prerequisites This is a basic NX manufacturing class that requires you to have basic computer knowledge and experience as an NC/CNC programmer. Objectives After successfully completing this course, you should be able to perform the following activities in NX: • • • • Create Manufacturing assemblies Understand the Master Model concept Create parent group objects that supply information to operations Utilize options and parameters that are common to various operation types Create drilling, milling and subsequent tool paths • ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7 Student responsibilities Student responsibilities • • • • • • Be on time. Be considerate of the needs of other students. Listen attentively and take notes. Ask questions. Practice what you learn. Have fun! Layer standards Parts used in this course were created using layer categories the same as or very similar to those found in the Model template parts. Layers provide an advanced alternative to display management (Show and Hide) to organize data. Layer categories in the Model template parts Layers 1–10 11–20 21–40 41–60 61–80 91–255 Category SOLIDS SHEETS SKETCHES CURVES DATUMS No category assigned Description Solid bodies Sheet bodies All external sketches Non-sketch curves Planes, axes, coordinate systems Implementing a layer standard You may implement or enforce layer standards using some of the methods below: • Create NX Open programs to create a standard part organization and verify it upon release. Use a macro to create layer categories: Tools→Macro→Playback. Your administrator can enforce company standards by providing suitable templates. In this course you may use a layer organization method you anticipate using in your work. • • 8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Course Overview Seed Parts Seed parts are an effective tool for establishing defaults or any settings that are part dependent (saved with the part file). This may include non-geometric data such as: • • • • • • Sketch preferences Commonly used expressions Layer categories User-defined views and layouts Part attributes Various machining attributes Once a seed part is established, it should be write-protected to avoid accidental modification. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 9 How to use this manual How to use this manual The following guidelines describe how you can get the most benefit from your use of the course guide and the accompanying HTML activities. Lesson format The general format for lesson content is: • • • Instructor presentation One or more activities Workbook project Projects allow you to test your new skills without detailed instruction. Consult your instructor for additional information. • Summary Activity format Activities have the following format: Step 1: This is an example of a step. Numbered steps specify the actions you will perform. Action bullets detail how to complete the step. Always read the Cue and Status information while working through activities and as you perform your regular duties. As you gain skills you may need only to read the step text to complete the step. Learning tips • • Ask questions. Confirm important facts by restating them in your own words. It is important to use your Student Guide in the sequence it is written. Workbook Overview The workbook contains a project that requires you to apply the knowledge that you learned in the class and in the student activities. The projects do not contain detailed instructions as do the student activities. 10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Course Overview It is the intent of this project to allow you to apply the skills taught in this course. However, the time constraint of this course is also a factor, at any point when progress is not being made, enlist the help of your instructor. Classroom System Information Your instructor will provide you with the following items for working in the classroom: Student Login: User name: Password: Work Directory: Parts Directory: Instructor: Date: ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11 Lesson 1 1 Basic CAM Fundamentals Purpose This lesson introduces several concepts that you will need to understand and apply in order to effectively use the Manufacturing application of NX. Applying these concepts, prior to creating operations, will save you considerable time in the creation of your program. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • • • Know the six steps of the NC Programming Sequence Recognize and identify the five different Manufacturing toolbars Understand the NX Manufacturing Process Select the CAM Express Role and create the Manufacturing Setup Recognize and identify the differences in creating program, tool, geometry and method parent group objects Recognize and identify the usage differences in operations Understand the meaning of generating a tool path Recognize and use the Operation Navigator • • • ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 1-1 Basic CAM Fundamentals 1 The NC Programming Sequence The normal sequence of steps, in the NC Programming Sequence of the NX Manufacturing Application, is to perform the following: • Create the Manufacturing Setup - creates a manufacturing assembly and adds other data related to your type of part. Establish the Parent Group objects - minimizes the selection of objects for repeated use and establishes the concept of inheritance, where parameters can be passed down to other objects. Create the operation(s) - allows you to assign specific parameters and methods that affect how the tool path is created. Verify the tool paths created - minimizes errors by visualization of the tool path. Post Process the tool paths - formats the data for your particular machine tool/controller combination. Create Shop Documentation - minimizes the effort that shop personnel uses to set up and process the individual job. • • • • • This sequence is shown in the following Manufacturing Process flow chart. 1-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Basic CAM Fundamentals 1 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 1-3 Basic CAM Fundamentals 1 Manufacturing toolbars Five toolbars exist for the Manufacturing application. They are: • Manufacturing Create - allows the creation of operations and groups (program, tool, geometry and method) in your NC program. The four group creation dialogs allows for the creation of groups that define parameters shared among operations. The position of any group may be changed by cutting and pasting above, below, or inside of any other group in the Operation Navigator. • Manufacturing Operations - allows the selection of functions related to the generation and verification of tool paths as well as post processing and the creation of shop documentation. • Manufacturing Objects - allows for editing, cutting, copying, pasting, deletion and displaying of an object. • Manufacturing Workpiece - allows for displaying and saving of a 2D and 3D work piece object. 1-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Basic CAM Fundamentals • Operation Navigator - the Operation Navigator is a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables you to manage operations and operation parameters for the current part. The Operation Navigator allows you to specify groups of parameters that are shared among operations. The Operation Navigator allows you to view objects in the Program Order, Machine Tool, Geometry or Method view, using a tree structure to illustrate the relationships between groups and operations. Parameters may be passed down or inherited from group to group and from group to operation based on the positional relationships in the Operation Navigator. 1 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 1-5 Basic CAM Fundamentals 1 Create the Manufacturing assembly In Manufacturing, Assemblies pertain to the Master Model conceptThis concept protects the design criteria from corruption by other users. When you create a Manufacturing Assembly and add a component, such as a fixture plate or clamping device, application specific data can be generated in a separate part file that will reference the master geometry. This prevents the duplication of model geometry and allows for the concurrent use of the Master Model. 1-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Basic CAM Fundamentals Creating the Manufacturing Setup When using CAM Express templates, the Manufacturing Setup creates a master model assembly where the setup part is the top level assembly. This allows the Programs, Tools, Geometry and Machining Method groups to be created in a separate file than the master model. This is normally the parent of the Manufacturing Assembly. The Manufacturing Setup also includes Manufacturing Templates that are most likely to be used on a specific part type. Setup Templates include the following for inch and metric parts; 1 • DieMold Express • Turning Express • Machinery Express • Multi Axis Express These templates create some basic parent groups for you. These include: • • • • A Program group. A tool Carrier and 30 Pockets An MCS parent group with an empty Geometry group. Method groups The templates also load creation templates for the four parent groups. The templates will match the part type that you selected when you created the Setup ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 1-7 Basic CAM Fundamentals 1 Create an Operation Before you create an operation, you may assign the: Program Geometry Tool and Method Parent Group to the operation. First you select the operation type (Subtype), then the various Parent Group objects and then finally the Name of the operation. Note that if you select the Subtype after the Name, the Name is changed to the default of the Subtype 1-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Basic CAM Fundamentals selected. Once you have made the selection, you choose OK to the dialog box and then the various operation or Subtype dialogs will be displayed. 1 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 1-9 Basic CAM Fundamentals 1 Specify additional Operation settings Additional settings are available in the operation dialogs. These include settings such as; • • • • Cut Pattern Tool Stepover Depth Per Cut Non Cutting Moves Generating the tool path After you specify all the operation settings, you Generate the tool path. Generating the tool path results in use of the specified settings and options for tool path calculation. Verification, Post Processing, and creating Shop Documentation After you are satisfied with the operations and the tool paths that you create, you may use other Manufacturing application features to visually inspect the data. You can post process all of the tool paths so that the data is in the standard format used by NC/CNC machine tool controllers. Finally, you can create the Shop Documentation that describes the data to shop personnel. 1-10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Basic CAM Fundamentals The Operation Navigator The Operation Navigator is a graphical user interface that allows you to manage operations and their parameters in the current part. It allows you to specify groups of parameters that are shared among operations and uses a tree structure to illustrate the relationships between groups and operations. Parameters are passed or inherited from group to group and from group to operation based on the positional relationships in the Operation Navigator. The Operation Navigator is found on the Resource bar and is a primary tool used in the creation and/or modification of operations. 1 Manufacturing application capabilities The Manufacturing Application has extensive capabilities allowing you to generate very simple to extremely complex tool paths. You will be introduced to: • • • • • • The CAM User Interface Creation of Parent Groups and use of the Operation Navigator Specific Drilling, Planar Milling, and Cavity Milling operation types The processes you will use to create milling/drilling operations Tool path generation procedures Visualization, Post Processing, and Shop Documentation procedures ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 1-11 Basic CAM Fundamentals 1 Activity In the Basic CAM Fundamentals section, do the activity: • Creating the Manufacturing Setup 1-12 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Basic CAM Fundamentals Summary This lesson is an introduction to basic CAM concepts. In this lesson, you learned: • • • • The six steps of the NC Programming Sequence The functionality of the five different Manufacturing toolbars The NX Manufacturing Process To recognize and select the proper CAM Setup that determines the types of operations that are made available to you To recognize and identify the differences in the various Manufacturing Create options To recognize the Operation Navigator 1 • • ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 1-13 1 Lesson 2 Tools Purpose Cutting tools perform the material removal process that is crucial to machining. This lesson will teach you how to create and use tools. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • Understand the concept of carriers, pockets and tools Create carriers, pockets and tools Assign tool numbers 2 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 2-1 Tools Tools Cutting tools are grouped according to the type of machining that they perform. For example, drilling tools are listed in the drill type, but not in the mill_planar or mill_contour type. The following chart shows the types and associated tools. Some cutting tools are available in more than one group. Type mill_planar, mill_contour, mill_multi_axis mill_planar, mill_contour, mill_multi_axis mill_planar, mill_contour, mill_multi_axis mill_planar mill_planar, mill_contour, mill_multi_axis mill_planar, mill_contour, mill_multi_axis mill_planar drill drill drill drill drill drill drill mill_contour mill_contour mill_planar Button Description milling tool Usage general milling purposes, available in 5, 7 and 10 parameter configurations applicable for ball-end mill applications. Available in tapered or str. flute config. slab milling applications cutting under overhanging ledges surface contouring applications thread milling applications spot drilling holes drilling holes boring holes for accuracy ream holes to tolerance size counter bored holes counter sunk holes tapped holes spot faced holes represents 7 parameter tool definition represents 10parameter tool definition represents special user defined milling form cutters represents machine carousel which holds cutting tools represents the pocket that cutting tools are stored in 2 ball mill face mill t-cutter barrel cutter thread mill spot drill drill boring bar reamer counter bore tool counter sinking tool tap spot facing tool 7–parameter tool 10–parameter tool user defined milling tool all carrier all pocket 2-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tools all all retrieve from library head retrieve a tool from the cutting tool library represents a tool mounting head Some objects are not actual cutting tools that are listed as part of the Create Tool dialog box. The items are associated with cutting tools and are available with every group object (carrier, pocket, head and retrieve from library). 2 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 2-3 Tools Carrier A carrier represents the tool carousel on the machine tool and can hold a number of tools. The basic purpose of a carrier is to mimic the tool carousel of the machine tool. Use the following steps to create a carrier: 1. Click Create Tool 2. Click Carrier 3. Choose OK. 4. If desired, the carrier can be given a name. 5. Choose OK to create the carrier. Pocket Once a carrier has been created, pockets are placed in the carrier. A pocket represents the individual holding position on the carousel or tool changing device. The purpose of the pocket is to hold individual tools. A pocket can be assigned a number, which can then be inherited by the tool that resides in that pocket. The pocket number will then become the tool number when the NC program is post processed. Note the Carrier/Pocket/Tool relationship in the diagram that follows: . or choose Insert → Tool. 2 Use the following steps to create a pocket: 1. Click Create Tool 2. Click MCT_Pocket 2-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals or choose Insert → Tool. . ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tools 3. Verify that the Parent group is Carrier. 4. Choose OK. 5. Enter the number of the pocket. 6. Choose OK to create the pocket. 2 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 2-5 Tools Retrieve from Library NX CAM is delivered with a library of commonly used cutting tools. This saves you the time of creating each tool individually. Mechanisms for insertion into the tool library are provided for those tools that are not part of the standard library Cutting Tools Cutting tools for modern metal working machines come in many different styles and varieties. Most of these tools are supported in NX and are grouped according to the type of machining that they perform. Cutting Tool Parameters Since each type of cutting tool is different, numerous parameters are available for their definition. Numerous parameters, such as diameter, length and number of flutes are common. Other parameters are unique to each type of tool, such as the point angle of a drilling tool. The Holder Tab In addition to specifying the various parameters of the cutting tool, you may also define the parameters of the tool holder by selection of the Holder tab on the tool definition dialog. 2 The holder is built in a series of steps from the end of the tool upward. For each step, the Diameter, Length, Taper Angle and Corner Radius may be specified. Usually, the first step is smaller than the last step. 2-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tools 2 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 2-7 Tools Activity In the Tools section, do the activity: • Tool Creation 2 2-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tools Summary Cutting tools are crucial to efficient machining of simple to complex parts. The ability to define and use numerous types of cutting tools are critical to the manufacturing process. NX allows this flexibility through the use of carriers, pockets and tools. In this lesson you: • • • Learned about the definition and use of carriers, pockets and tools Learned the definition and use of holders Created carriers, tools and holders and assigned pockets 2 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 2-9 2 Lesson 3 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Purpose This lesson introduces the fundamentals of Cavity Mill operations. Cavity Mill is used in roughing operations involving planar and contoured geometry. You will also create some of the tools required and incorporate their use through the Tool Parent Group object and use the Operation Navigator to observe the method in which operations inherit information. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • Understand the use of Cavity Mill Create and modify various Parent Group objects in Cavity Mill operations Apply the use of Cavity Mill operations to rough geometry from an unfinished to semi-finished condition Create and use Tool objects 3 • ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-1 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Creating the manufacturing assembly and parent groups Creating parent groups before creating the cutting operations can save time and simplify the following operations. The parent groups define the Programs, Tools, Geometry and Methods to be used in the operations. The parameters specified in the parent groups is inherited by the cutting operations. The manufacturing assembly and machining environment will also be selected. The following outlines the procedure 3 • • • • Create the Manufacturing Assembly Select the Manufacturing Environment Specify the parent groups Create the cutting operations 3-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Activity In the Cavity Mill and Parent Groups section, do the activity: • Creating the manufacturing assembly and parent groups 3 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-3 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Cavity Milling overview Cavity Milling is designed for volume removal of material. It works best when used to remove excess amounts of material from blank stock to produce a near-net shape part. • Cavity Milling works with planar and/or contoured geometry and uses a fixed tool axis.. Stock removal is done in levels. At each new level the tool path follows the part contours at that level. Cavity Milling can be used on sheet bodies, wire frame, and solid bodies. Solid bodies are easiest to use 3 • • How Cavity Milling creates Tool Paths In order to efficiently use Cavity Mill, it is important to understand the process that Cavity Milling uses to create tool paths. The process is: • • • Select or define Blank (or stock) material Select Part geometry Top and bottom of the selected geometry is automatically set as the highest and lowest level of cutting Based on the defined Cut Levels, a plane(s) is created that is perpendicular to the tool axis At each Cut Level, a cut pattern is created to remove material from that level • • Plane symbols are used to display the Cut Ranges (the larger symbols) and Levels (the smaller symbols). 3-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Activity In the Cavity Mill and Parent Groups section, do the activity: • Create a Cavity Milling operation 3 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Modify Parent Groups The Operation Navigator — Geometry View Cavity Milling operations (all operations) obtain or inherit some types of information from objects that exist outside the operation that is being created. The ROUGHING_1 operation that you created is shown in the Geometry View, of the Operation Navigator, below. 3 The operation, ROUGHING_1, obtains the PART and BLANK geometry from the Geometry Parent Group WORKPIECE. Above the WORKPIECE Geometry Parent Group, lies the MCS_MILL Parent Group. This Geometry Parent Group contains information about the location and orientation of the Machine Coordinate System and the Clearance Plane. By following the hierarchy, of the parent groups and operations, you see that the MCS_MILL parent is passing information to the WORKPIECE parent. The WORKPIECE parent then passes this information, plus any information that it contains, to the ROUGHING_1 operation. By this method, the ROUGHING_1 operation inherits the geometry information as well as other parameters needed to create a tool path. The Operation Navigator – Machine Tool View If the Operation Navigator were changed to the Machine Tool view, geometry objects would no longer display. Instead, tools that exist in the part would be displayed. Once again, the Operation Navigator displays the ROUGHING_1 operation. However, this time, it displays the operation as it pertains to the cutting tool that is being used. Through the principle of inheritance, information about the tool, including offset register and tool number, are passed to the operation. In the next activity, you will create a new tool. Then you will change the existing operation to use that new tool. 3-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Activity In the Cavity Mill and Parent Groups section, do the activity: • Modify the Machine Tool Parent Group 3 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-7 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Choose the Blank and Part in the WORKPIECE Defining the Part, Blank, and Check geometry in the Geometry Parent Group will allow any operations that are located under it to inherit the geometry object. 3 3-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Activity In the Cavity Mill and Parent Groups section, do the activity: • Parent Groups in an Operation 3 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-9 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Additional Cavity Milling topics Advanced Cavity Milling Topics include: — Cut Levels — Cut Patterns — In-Process Work Piece for Cavity Milling 3 — Cavity Milling Stock Options Cut Levels Cavity Milling cuts geometry in planes or levels. The advantage to this approach is that tool paths remain relatively short, due to minimum tool path movement, which is performed in layers. The disadvantage is that when machining geometry that is close to horizontal more stock may remain than desired. The closer the geometry approaches horizontal, the more stock that remains. Through the use of Cut Level parameters, you can reduce the amount of stock that remains. The Cut Levels dialog box is located under the Cut Levels button in the Cavity Mill dialog box. The Cut Levels dialog box has two primary functions: • • Create and modify Ranges Modify Cut Levels within Ranges To reduce the amount of additional stock, a new range can be added. The Depth per Cut in that Range only is modified. In the next activity, you will use various Cut Level parameters. 3-10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Activity In the Cavity Mill and Parent Groups section, do the activity: • Cut Level parameters 3 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-11 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Cut Patterns The Cut Pattern determines the cut pattern used for cutting. Cut Patterns • Zig-Zag machines in a series of parallel straight line passes. Climb or conventional cut directions are not maintained since the cut direction changes from one pass to the next. Zig always cuts in one direction. The tool retracts at the end of each cut, then positions to the start of the next cut. Zig with Contour also machines with cuts going in one direction. However, contouring of the boundary is added between passes, before and after the cut motion. The tool then retracts and re-engages at the start of the contouring move for the next cut. Follow Periphery offsets the tool from the outermost edge that is defined by Part or Blank geometry. Internal islands and cavities will require Island Cleanup or a clean up Profile pass. Follow Part creates concentric offsets from all specified Part geometry. The outermost edge and all interior islands and cavities are used to compute the tool path. Climb (or Conventional) cutting is maintained. Trochoidial cut pattern uses small loops along a path (resembles a stretched-out spring). This is a useful cut pattern in high speed machining applications when constant volume removal needs to be maintained. Profile follows a boundary using the side of the tool. For this method, the tool follows the direction of the boundary. 3 • • • • • • 3-12 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Activity In the Cavity Mill and Parent Groups section, do the activity: • Zig-Zag Cut Pattern 3 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-13 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups In-Process Work Piece for Cavity Milling To make the various Cavity Milling operations as efficient as possible, you must determine what has been machined in each operation. The material that remains after each operation is executed is referred to as the In-Process work piece or IPW. To use the IPW, certain conditions must be adhered to. Tool path generation must be done sequentially, from the first operation to the last, within a certain geometry group. The tool path must be successfully generated and accepted in all previous operations in the sequence before the IPW can be used for the next operation of the sequence. 3 3-14 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Activity In the Cavity Mill and Parent Groups section, do the activity: • In-Process Work Piece (IPW) 3 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-15 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Cavity Milling Stock options Stock options for Cavity Milling are found on the Cut Parameters dialog box. This dialog box is activated by selecting the Cutting button found on the Cavity Mill operation dialogs. Some of the stock options are as follows: -Part Side Stock adds stock to the individual walls of the part. 3 -Part Floor Stock adds stock to the floor. -Check Stock is the distance that the tool will stay away from the check geometry. -Trim Stock is the distance that the tool will stay away from the trim boundary. -Blank Stock is stock applied to Blank geometry. -Blank Distance applies to Part geometry. This is an offset distance which can be used for a casting or forging. 3-16 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Activity In the Cavity Mill and Parent Groups section, do the activity: • Blank Distance option 3 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-17 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Cutting Parameters – Trim by Trim by enables the Blank geometry to be recognized on core parts when the Blank geometry has not been explicitly defined. The Trim by method provides a Silhouette option to clean up the material which surrounds the Part geometry. 3 This option positions the tool to the outer most edge periphery (silhouette) of the part geometry and then offsets it outside by the tool radius. The silhouette can be consider as a shadow of the part projected along the tool axis. When using Trim by Silhouette, the processor uses the traces at the bottom of the defined part geometry as trim shapes. These shapes are then projected along the tool axis to each cut level and are used to generate machinable regions as trim shapes. 3-18 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Summary Cavity Milling is used to remove large amounts of material in roughing operations. You can use Cavity Milling on planar or contoured geometry. Material removal is performed in levels using a fixed tool axis. In this lesson you: • • Learned how to create a Cavity Milling operation Learned how information passes from Parent Group objects to operations through the concept of inheritance Modified Parent Group objects Changed inheritance by moving operations in the Operation Navigator Used the In Process Workpiece for accurate removal of material using different size cutting tools 3 • • • ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 3-19 3 Lesson 4 The Operation Navigator Purpose This lesson introduces you to the basic use and functionality of the Operation Navigator. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • • • • • • Customize types of data displayed in the Operation Navigator Cut, paste, drag and drop data in the Operation Navigator Recognize the Operation Navigator symbols Rename an operation Manipulate the screen placement of the Operation Navigator Drag and drop multiple objects Activate the Operation Navigator from the resource bar Perform functions by right-clicking 4 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 4-1 The Operation Navigator The Operation Navigator The Operation Navigator is selected from the resource bar after you have initially entered the Manufacturing application. The resource bar contains numerous options designated by tabs with icons, based on preferences that you select and the application which is activated. Double-clicking the Operation Navigator tab allows the Operation Navigator to break away from the resource bar. The Operation Navigator can then be docked wherever you may choose to drag and drop it. When you close the Operation Navigator window, it will return to the resource bar. 4 Objects The objects (Parent Groups) that you create are displayed in the Operation Navigator in one of four different views: • • • • Program Order View Machine Tool View Geometry View Machining Method View Each view displays classes or groups (Commonly referred to as Parent Groups) of information that is relevant to that particular view. For example, an end mill used for milling would fall within the Machine Tool view, since a machine tool uses the cutting tool. Check geometry would fall within the Geometry view since the check geometry is used when machining the part. The Operation Navigator also allows you to: • • • • • • drag and drop objects cut and paste objects delete objects edit objects rename objects edit object parameters Display of the Operation Navigator is also controlled by the Operation Navigator toolbar which is located on the Manufacturing menu bar. 4-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 The Operation Navigator Choosing any of the icons that represent the various Operation Navigator views will determine the view that is displayed. 4 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 4-3 The Operation Navigator Activity In the The Operation Navigator section, do the activity: • Operation Navigator 4 4-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 The Operation Navigator The Operation Navigator views When creating new cutting operations you will choose the appropriate parent groups. This will allow you to use the same programs, tools, geometry and methods for multiple operations. It will also allow you to change the parents for multiple operations without editing each operation individually. The parent groups include the following: • • • • Program Machine Tool Geometry Machining Method 4 These parent groups are separated into the four views of the Operation Navigator. The Program Order view is used to sequence the operations for output to the CLSF or post processor. It also shows which program parent group each operation belongs to. This is the only view in which the order of the operations is relevant. The Machine Tool view arranges operations by cutting tools and can organize cutting tools by the type of tool. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 4-5 The Operation Navigator 4 The Geometry view shows the MCS and machining geometry that operations and or geometry Parent Groups will use. The Machining Method view allows the organization of operations under machining disciplines that share common parameter values such as rough, semi-finish, and finish. 4-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 The Operation Navigator Parent Groups, Operations and Inheritance As mentioned previously, objects (commonly referred to as Parent Groups) and operations that you create are displayed in the Operation Navigator in one of four different views. The Operation Navigator uses a tree structure to show the relationship between the various Parent Groups and operations. Parent Groups may contain other Parent Groups and or operations. Information can be passed down (or inherited) to lower members contained within the group. This information might be a physical cutting tool, part or check geometry, MCS, tolerance or stock values. Any change you make to the Tool, Geometry or Method Parent Group, changes that setting in the operations or other Parent Group contained within that particular group. For example, if you change a Method Parent Group cut feed rate, all operations contained in that Parent Group will have their cut feed rate changed. If you were to cut an operation from within a Parent Group and paste it under another Parent Group (in that same view) the operation will inherit the values of the new Parent Group. Most parameter or objects that can be inherited can be modified so that they are not inherited. In the example that follows of the Geometry View, the Parent Groups are: 4 • Unused Items - Default Geometry group name, sometimes used as a place holder. MCS_MILL - Parent Group containing the MCS. This MCS will be common to all group objects contained within MCS_MILL. WORKPIECE- Parent Group containing the work piece geometry. • • ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 4-7 The Operation Navigator The Operation Navigator appearance and columns Status Icons in columns The Operation Navigator can display both icons and text, icons, or just text in the columns that are displayed. 4 The Name column In the Name column, operations are preceded by a status symbol which represents Complete, Regenerate, or Repost. The icons and their representation are: Complete indicates the tool path has been generated and output has been created (post processed or CLS output). The path has not changed since the output was generated. Regenerateindicates the tool path has not been generated or the tool path is out of date. In the Operation Navigator, use Right–click →Objects → Update List to display an Information window to see what has changed and is causing the tool path to be regenerated. Repost indicates the tool path has never been output or the tool path has changed since it was last output. In the Operation Navigator, use Right–click → Objects → Update List to display an Information window to see what has changed and is causing the repost status. This information window displays the prompt Need to Post. Click Output CLSFon the toolbar to repost and update the status. The Toolchange column Displayed only in the Program View. The icons displayed are based on the type of the tool used. If a drill tool is being used, the button for a drill tool is displayed. The Tool Number column Displays actual tool number which is passed on to the post processor. 4-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 The Operation Navigator The Carrier Number column Displays Carrier number. The Pocket Number column Displays Pocket number. The Path column Represents the status of the tool path. The status can be: Generated indicates that the tool path has been created. It may or may not contain actual tool movement. None indicates the tool path has either been deleted or not generated. Imported indicates that the tool path is a Cutter Location Source File (Tools → CLSF → Import). It can be replayed, post processed or edited with the graphical tool path editor (Right–click → Tool path → Edit). Edited indicates the tool path has been changed with the graphical tool path editor (Right–click → Tool path → Edit). Suspect indicates that questionable geometry was encountered when the tool path was generated. The path may or may not be valid and needs to be examined by using either Right–click→ Object → Display or Right–click → Object → Information which will show diagnostics with a description of the condition encountered. Transformedindicates the tool path is from a transformed operation (Right–click → Object → Transform). The In-Process Workpiece (IPW) column The IPW column indicates that an In-Process Workpiece has been saved by use of the Visualize Dynamic Material Removal option. The icons displayed are: Generated indicates the IPW has been generated and is current. None indicates that an IPW does not exist. Out of Date indicates the IPW is not current. It is updated if the next operation uses the IPW or if the operation is generated by the Dynamic Visualize option. This button will appear in the IPW column for all the operations below the operation that is out of date. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 4-9 4 The Operation Navigator Summary In this lesson you: • Became familiar with the functionality and views of the Operation Navigator. Selectively changed the data displayed in columns on the Operation Navigator. Used the cut, paste, drag and drop functions of the Operation Navigator. Moved an operation in the Operation Navigator to use a different tool and inherit its values. • • • 4 4-10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Lesson 5 Coordinate Systems Purpose This lesson will explain the different coordinate systems that are used in the Manufacturing application, including the purpose and function of each one. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • Understand the use and functionality of the various coordinate systems. Create and move the Machine Coordinate System (MCS). 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-1 Coordinate Systems Coordinate Systems A coordinate system can be viewed as a marker in 3-D model space to which other objects are referenced. There are five coordinate systems that Manufacturing uses. They are: • • • • • Absolute Coordinate System Work Coordinate System Machine Coordinate System Reference Coordinate System Saved Coordinate System 5 5-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Absolute Coordinate System The Absolute Coordinate System is fixed in model space, and cannot be moved.This coordinate system is invisible to the user. It is most useful as a reference for large assemblies. Frequently, users will design large scale machines composed of many different components. It is easy to find their relative position to being absolute since the components are located in reference to one another. 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-3 Coordinate Systems Work Coordinate System The Work Coordinate System (WCS) has several modeling and some manufacturing functions as well. The WCS is a moveable coordinate system, which increases its usefulness. Not only can the WCS be moved in model space, but its orientation can change as well. The WCS is a visible coordinate system, and is represented as the following: Notice that each leg of the WCS is followed by a "C". This is a visual indication that it is the WCS. The WCS is used in creating geometry. Most important to manufacturing users, it is also used when establishing I,J,K vectors. I,J,K vectors are used to establish the tool axis, cut direction and geometric entities. 5 5-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Machine Coordinate System The Machine Coordinate System (MCS), like the WCS, is also a moveable coordinate system. Notice that the MCS has an M at the end of each leg to distinguish it from the WCS. Also, the legs of the MCS are longer than the WCS. In the following figure, both the WCS and MCS are shown together, to emphasize this difference. The MCS references the NC/CNC program origin or simply 0,0,0, since the location of the MCS is the zero reference point for all tool path output. If the MCS moves, so does the zero point of all tool paths that use it. Another important function of the MCS is contained in the Z-axis. The default tool axis is the same as the Z-axis of the MCS. It is important to remember that if a tool axis is established using I,J,K vectors, that tool axis is actually based on the orientation of the WCS. If the default tool axis is used, it is based upon the orientation of the MCS. The MCS is only visible when in the Manufacturing application. 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-5 Coordinate Systems Saved Coordinate System An additional coordinate system that you sometimes refer to is known as the Saved Coordinate System. The Saved Coordinate System is a marker, or place holder, to designate a position in model space. You can move the WCS or the MCS to this saved location. The following is an example of a Saved Coordinate System: 5 5-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Summary of Coordinate Systems 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-7 Coordinate Systems Absolute Coordinate System • • • • Fixed in model space Cannot be displayed unless assigned to WCS or MCS User may save coordinate system to mark location Useful as a reference in large assemblies 5 5-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Work Coordinate System • • • • • Referred to as the WCS Displayed in graphics area with C after each leg Moveable and changeable Used heavily in modeling I,J,K Vectors are based on orientation of WCS 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-9 Coordinate Systems Machine Coordinate System • • • • • Referred to as the MCS Displayed in graphics area with M after each leg Moveable and changeable Zero (0,0,0) location for tool path output Default tool axis, Z-axis is referenced by this coordinate system 5 5-10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Reference Coordinate System • • Referred to as the RCS Eliminates re-specification of parameters by allowing the retrieval and mapping of stored parameters 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-11 Coordinate Systems Activity In the Coordinate Systems section, do the activity: • Changing the MCS Position 5 5-12 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Additional Coordinate System information The following additional information pertains to coordinate systems. 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-13 Coordinate Systems I,J,K Vectors A vector can be thought of as a line between two points, has magnitude and direction. The first point of the vector is always assumed to be 0,0,0. The second point is the one you define. A temporary line between these two points is created to establish a vector. The letters I,J,K correspond (parallel) to the X,Y,Z axes of the Work Coordinate System. • • • I - relates to - X J - relates to - Y K - relates to - Z When a value is given for each axis, the second point is computed creating the vector.: 5 5-14 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Rotary Vectors When programming, it is not uncommon for some machine tools to support 4 and 5-axis movement. There are rules for naming the rotary axes on machine tools. These rotary axes are given the letter designation A, B, or C. The letter A designates a rotary axis about the linear X. To determine positive rotation, form your hand into a thumb’s-up gesture (right hand rule), and point your thumb in the positive X direction. Your curled fingers show positive A axis rotation. The letter B designates a rotary axis about the linear Y. To determine positive rotation, form your hand into a thumb’s-up gesture and point your thumb in the positive Y direction. Your curled fingers show positive B axis rotation. The letter C designates a rotary axis about the linear Z. To determine positive rotation, form your hand into a thumb’s-up gesture and point your thumb in the positive Z direction. Your curled fingers show positive C axis rotation. 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-15 Coordinate Systems Tool Axis versus ZC Axis It is commonly assumed that 3-axis machining can only be performed with the tool axis at the same orientation as the machine tool’s Z-axis. This assumption is incorrect. On 4-axis machining centers, it is possible to perform 3-axis milling with the rotary axis at a different orientation than the MCS Z-axis. 5 5-16 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Orientation of the WCS to MCS Orient WCS to MCS allows the WCS to position and orient to the operation or group object when either is edited. This is a toggle button found in the Manufacturing Preferences dialog box. When editing milling, drilling or hole making operations, Orient WCS to MCS will place the WCS at the active MCS. The active MCS for any single operation will be the MCS defined in the parent Mill Orient Geometry Group of the operation being edited. The next activity will demonstrate a simple way to perform 3-axis milling with the tool axis at a different angle than the MCS Z-axis. 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-17 Coordinate Systems Activity In the Coordinate Systems section, do the activity: • Changing the Tool Axis 5 5-18 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Coordinate Systems Summary The ease of manipulation of the Machine Coordinate System affords the flexibility of performing various types of machining operations. The following functionality is used in defining coordinate systems and vectors that control machine tool output: • • • When defining vectors, the values are entered with respect to the WCS. Machine tool output coordinate output is controlled by the MCS. The default tool axis is the same as the MCS Z-axis. 5 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 5-19 5 Lesson 6 Visualization (ISV) Purpose This lesson introduces you to the Visualization options that are part of the Integrated Simulation Verification (ISV) module. Visualization allows you to verify tool paths with options allowing the display of material removal, control of tool display, IPW creation and collision checking. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • Use Visualization to inspect single and multiple tool paths Display the tool as it removes material in one or more tool paths Change Tool Path display options 6 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 6-1 Visualization (ISV) Tool Path Visualization Tool Path Visualization provides graphical tool path display for all machining operations. Visualization also includes detecting unacceptable conditions such as gouging. There are three methods of Verification: • Replay - displays the tool or tool assembly, positioning to each point within the tool path, allowing for gouge checking 3D Dynamic - displays the tool as it moves along the tool path(s), showing the path(s) with the material removed 2D Dynamic - processes faster than 3D but doesn’t allow for part rotation during replay. • • The 3D Dynamic verification method requires that you define the Blank in the WORKPIECE Parent Group object. You can access the Tool Path Visualization dialog box by choosing: • The Toolpath Verify button toolbar from the Manufacturing Operations 6 • • Toolpath →Verify, from the Operation Navigator Tools →Operation Navigator →Toolpath →Verify, from the menu bar. • Toolpath Verify button within an operation 6-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Visualization (ISV) Replay You also have the option to select a single tool path or a series of tool paths for verification purposes. Replay is designed to provide a quick method of viewing the tool path by displaying the cutter location at each GOTO point. This is the quickest method of verification. The Replay options allow you to: • • • • Replay all tool paths Replay by current cut level Replay a specified number of tool motions Replay displaying warnings and collisions (gouges) 6 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 6-3 Visualization (ISV) Activity In the Visualization (ISV) section, do the activity: • Replay Verification 6 6-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Visualization (ISV) 3D Dynamic Tool Path display 3D Dynamic displays the cutter as it follows a tool path and removes material. You can also use the 3D Dynamic option to generate a faceted model from the In-Process Work piece (IPW). If material is encountered at RAPID moves, these areas are highlighted in red as a warning. If you are using multiple tools, each tool will display in a different color. 3D Dynamic Material — generates a 3D display. Rotate, Zoom and Pan options are available. 6 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 6-5 Visualization (ISV) Activity In the Visualization (ISV) section, do the activity: • 3D Dynamic removal 6 6-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Visualization (ISV) Setting Tool Path display options – Edit Display The tool path display options are used to control the display of the cutting tool and the tool path. You can define the setting in the Method Parent Group or within an operation. Within the Method Parent Group, the settings will apply to all operations that are located below it (inherited). Within the operation, the settings apply to just that operation. Individual operation display settings override settings from the Parent Group. To edit the tool path display options within an operation, you use the Edit Display button. The Process Display Parameters Examine the tool path Display Options. Display Cut Regions Pause After Display Refersh Before Display Suppress Tool Path Display Displays the cut area before processing the path. Pauses after the cut region and/or the cutter path is displayed. The screen is refreshed before the next cut. The path is not displayed You can toggle the options on and off as needed. For example, you may want to see the Cut Regions as you start to develop the tool path. Later, when you may only need to look at the cutter path, the cut region display can be turned off. 6 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 6-7 Visualization (ISV) Activity In the Visualization (ISV) section, do the activity: • Edit Display options 6 6-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Visualization (ISV) Summary In this lesson, you learned how to verify operations and tool paths using the Replay and 3D Dynamic options of the ISV module. In this lesson you: • • Replayed single and multiple operations Used the 3D Dynamic Replay option to examine material removal in an operation Replayed operations step by step for visualization purposes Used the Edit Display features to change the tool display in an operation • • 6 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 6-9 6 Lesson 7 Planar Milling Purpose This lesson introduces you to the interaction and usage of Planar Milling. You use Planar Milling for roughing and finishing operations using boundary geometry. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • • Create Planar Mill operations Create Part and Blank boundaries in a MILL_BND Parent Group Create Planar Milling tool paths that cut multiple levels Utilize Profile cut pattern 7 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7-1 Planar Milling Planar Milling Planar Milling allows you to define an area to be machined where the geometry is applicable for 3-axis milling while the Z-axis remains fixed. For example, a part having a pocket to be machined, where the walls are perpendicular to the floor, would be typical of Planar Milling. Planar Milling guidelines: • • • Planar Milling can be used to rough and/or finish Planar Milling uses a fixed tool axis. Planar Milling multiple levels can be done only when the boundary and floor planes are parallel. Planar Milling does not use solid geometry to determine cut regions; instead it uses boundaries. Planar Milling can perform single and multi-level cutting • • 7 7-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Planar Milling Boundaries Planar Milling is controlled by boundaries. The tool will cut inside or outside of the boundary depending upon whether you are cutting pockets or islands. Boundaries are created by selecting a face or a series of edges, curves, or points to define a profile. Boundaries can be created: • • in a MILL_BND geometry Parent Group within an operation The MILL_BND geometry Parent Group method is preferred when a boundary is used by several Planar Milling operations. This allows you to define geometry once that can be used in several operations. 7 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7-3 Planar Milling Part boundaries Part boundaries are used to define the part geometry. 7 7-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Planar Milling Blank boundaries Blank boundaries are used to define the material within which the part is located. This boundary type is very useful for parts that have protruding features that are above the overall topology of the part. For example, if a boss is located on the top of the part and you need to machine all the material around it, you will need to define the area for machining by selecting a Blank boundary. As shown in the figure above, the Blank boundary defines the excess stock to remove. The tool will enter from outside the Blank boundary and remove material until it encounters the part boundary. 7 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7-5 Planar Milling Check boundaries Check Boundaries are used to identify areas you do not want the tool to violate. An example of check geometry would be clamps, fixture components or specific areas of a part that does not get cut. 7 7-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Planar Milling Trim boundaries Trim boundaries are used to control specific areas for cutting/non cutting purposes. When creating boundaries you can select planar faces, edges, curves and points. 7 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7-7 Planar Milling Multi-level Cutting To successfully perform multi-level cutting in Planar Milling, some rules need to be followed. These rules pertain to best practices for boundary creation, and setting the depth per pass. They are: • Planar Milling ignores all boundaries until the tool is below the level of that boundary; each boundary needs to be at the top of the geometry that it represents The part can contain an unlimited number of boundaries You can cut sides and tops of islands You can specify the depths of cut or the maximum and minimum cut depths If you have islands within the pocket, cut levels are created at the top of these islands; if a level cannot be generated at the top of an island and remains within the cut depth constraint, you can specify an optional pass to cut the top face of the islands • • • • 7 7-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Planar Milling Depth of cut You define the cut levels for your multi-level tool path using the Depth of Cut Parameters dialog box which is activated by the Cut Depths button from the main PLANAR_MILLING (or like type operation) dialog box. When there are islands in the part, and the maximum and minimum depths of cut are defined, the tops of the islands will be one of the cut depths. This is subject to the number of islands defined and the specified maximum and minimum cut depths. Use the Top Off Islands option to ensure that they are cut even if the Minimum depth value bypasses an island top. There are five types of Cut Levels available under the Type label: • User Defined - You can set the Maximum, Minimum, Initial, and Last depths of cut Floor Only - Generates a single cut level at the Floor plane Floor & Island Tops - Generates one cut level at the Floor plane and then generates a cleanup cut at the top of each island Levels at Island Tops - Generates a cut level at the top of each island Fixed Depth - Generates cut levels at a constant depth, using the Maximum field • • • • 7 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7-9 Planar Milling Activity In the Planar Milling section, do the activity: • Select a Boundary within an Operation 7 7-10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Planar Milling MILL_BND geometry Parent groups When an area of a part is machined using many different operations, it may be desirable to create Geometry Parent Groups. vThis allows you to select geometry once that can be used in many different operations. MILL_BND is one type of Geometry Parent Group that is used in Planar Milling operations that allows you to define boundary geometry once and reuse it numerous times. Creating MILL_BND Parent Groups To create a Geometry Parent Group, click Create Geometry from the main menu bar. Choose the MILL_BND . MILL_BND Geometry Parent can be used by the following operation types: • • • • • • • • PLANAR_MILL PLANAR_PROFILE ROUGH_FOLLOW ROUGH_ZIGZAG ROUGH_ZIG CLEANUP_CORNERS FINISH_WALLS FINISH_FLOORS 7 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7-11 Planar Milling Activity In the Planar Milling section, do the activity: • Geometry Parent Groups 7 7-12 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Planar Milling Introduction to Profiling This portion of the lesson introduces Profiling. Follow Periphery, Follow Part, and Zig-Zag are designed for milling areas. Generally, they use closed boundaries. Profiling typically uses an open boundary. Profile follows a boundary using the side of the tool. For this method, the tool follows the direction of the boundary. The following activity will demonstrate the creation of an open boundary followed by the creation of an operation using the Profile cut method. 7 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7-13 Planar Milling Activity In the Planar Milling section, do the activity: • Profile Cut Pattern 7 7-14 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Planar Milling Summary Planar Milling operations offer diverse methods of roughing and finishing planar or 2D geometry. The flexibility of these operations allows for roughing, semi-finishing and finishing, using a multitude of options to achieve the desired results. In this lesson you: • • • Defined boundary geometry inside of an operation Created an operation to rough and finish a pocket Selected and used boundary geometry in a MILL_BND Geometry Parent Group Edited a MILL_BND Geometry Parent Group Created a Planar Milling operation to remove material in multiple cuts Edited boundary members and data within an operation • • • 7 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 7-15 7 Lesson 8 Face Milling Purpose This lesson is an introduction to Face Milling which is used in cutting one or more planar faces. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • • Create Face Milling operations Cut single and multiple faces Avoid cutting open areas on a face Use various Cut Methods in face milling operations 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-1 Face Milling Face Milling Face Milling is designed to help you quickly and easily create milling tool paths for planar faces. It uses Cut Area or Boundary geometry to define the limits of the machining area. Face Milling requires the selection of a face or faces. The faces must be both planar and perpendicular to the tool axis. The tool axis is defined by the MCS as a Z-axis vector. Since Face Milling removes material in planar levels with respect to the tool axis, the normal of a face boundary plane must be perpendicular with the tool axis. If not, the face will be ignored during tool path generation. Face Milling requires geometry, a cutting tool and various parameters to generate a tool path. For each selected cut area or boundary to be cut, traces are created from geometry, regions are identified and then cut without gouging the part. Geometry used in Face Milling Face Milling requires Part and Face geometry. 8 The cut area for FACE_MILL_AREA operations is determined by selecting solid faces. The cut area for FACE_MILL operations is created using boundaries. 8-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Face Milling Area geometry • Part Geometry – Part Geometry is selected using bodies that represent the finished part. Cut Area – Cut Area geometry is used to contain the tool path. Cut Area will not place limitations on types of faces allowed. Tool paths are generated for faces that are flat and normal to the tool axis. Cut Area faces are a subset of Part geometry. You can select the entire part as Cut Area geometry and all of the flat faces normal to the tool axis will be used. Wall geometry Wall geometry is based on Cut Area faces. For each face/floor in the Cut Area, walls will start with faces that are adjacent to the floor and form a concave angle or curve up relative to the material side of the floor. The walls will continue upward, including faces that are tangent, concave, or slightly convex. Check Body– Check bodies can be selected as areas to avoid while machining, clamps and other holding devices are typically selected as check bodies. • • • 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-3 Face Milling Face Milling geometry Face Mill geometry varies slightly from Face Mill Area geometry. Face Mill geometry operations use the following geometry types; • • Part Geometry – You can select bodies that represent the finished part. Face Boundary – geometry consists of closed boundaries with inside material indicating the areas to be cut. A face boundary can be created by selecting one or more of the following – – Planar faces Curves and/or edges When a face boundary is created from a face, the body associated to the selected face boundary is automatically used as part geometry to avoid any gouging of the part. A face boundary created from curves, edges or points does not have this association. All members of a face boundary have tanto tool positions. At least one face boundary must be selected to generate a tool path. The normal of a face boundary plane must be parallel with the tool axis. • Check Body – Check bodies can be selected as areas to avoid while machining, clamps and other holding devices are typically selected as check bodies. Check Boundary – Check boundaries are similar to check bodies except that they are generated from faces, edges or curves. • 8 8-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Cut Area and Face Geometry You can use Cut Area, or Face Geometry (blank boundaries) to define the blank containment for a Face Milling operation. Cut Area is the preferred method. Some of the differences between using Face Geometry and Cut Area include the following: Cut Area Wall geometry is allowed Non-planar geometry is ignored Geometry faces must be a subset of the part geometry Always ignores holes, chamfers will be off Face Geoemtry Wall geometry is not allowed Non-planar geometry is not allowed Geometry can be created from faces, curves, edges or points You specify Ignore Holes and Ignore Chamfer options 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-5 Face Milling Cut Pattern Cut Pattern determines the tool path pattern used to machine cut regions. The following cut patterns are available; • • • Zig-Zag, Zig, and Zig with Contour produce variations of parallel linear cutting moves. Follow Periphery produces a sequence of concentric cutting passes that progress inward or outward. Follow Part creates a cut pattern by forming an equal number of offsets from all specified Part geometry. Follow Part offsets from Blank geometry only when there is no defined Part geometry to offset from. Trochoidal cut pattern feature is used when you need to limit excess step over to prevent tool breakage when the tool is fully embedded into a cut and when you want to avoid cutting excess material. Most cut patterns generate embedded regions between islands and parts during the engage as well as in narrow areas. The use of Trochoidal Cut pattern eliminates this problem by creating a trochoidal cut offset from the part. The tool path cuts along the part, and then uses a smooth follow pattern to cut the regions inward. Trochoidal cutting can be described as a method of milling where the cutter moves in a circular looping pattern while the center of the circle moves along a path. This is similar in appearance to a stretched-out spring. • 8 • • – – (1) Stepover (2) Path Width Profile produces a single cutting pass that follows the cut region contour. Profile is designed to finish the walls of a part. Mixed allows you to select different cut methods at each region to ensure the most efficient machining for various regions of the part. If you decide that the predetermined automatic cut patterns are not efficient, you can choose to use Manual Cut Pattern and create your own or select Omit for no cutting at all. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 8-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals Face Milling Additional Passes Additional Passes are available only when using a Profile cut method. It allows the removal of material in multiple passes. Additional Passes represents the number of passes in addition to the single pass along the boundary. 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-7 Face Milling Blank Distance, Depth per Cut, Final Floor Stock Blank Distance defines the total thickness of material to be removed and is measured above the plane of the selected face geometry along the tool axis. Blank Distance is used with Final Floor Stock and defines the thickness of material that is left uncut above the face geometry. The total thickness of material to be removed is the distance between the Blank Distance and the Final Floor Stock. Depth Per Cut equally subdivides the total thickness of material to be removed into numerous levels. 8 8-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Boundary Construction from a Face and its Chamfers Ignore Chamfers determines whether or not adjacent chamfers, fillets, and rounds will be recognized when creating boundaries from selected faces. When Ignore Chamfers is toggled off, boundaries are created on the edges of the selected faces. When toggled on, boundaries are created to include chamfers, fillets, and rounds adjacent to selected faces. If other objects are to inherit these boundaries, you would use Blank boundaries in a MILL_BND Geometry Parent Group. 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-9 Face Milling Activity In the Face Milling section, do the activity: • Face Milling – Basics 8 8-10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Face Milling and surrounding geometry You can machine faces inside of a part. The Face Mill option will determine which faces to cut or avoid without gouging other geometry. The following activity will show some of the strengths of Face Milling’s ability to determine the use of surrounding geometry. 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-11 Face Milling Activity In the Face Milling section, do the activity: • Face Milling – Interior Geometry 8 8-12 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Machining multiple faces in one Operation In some cases it may be advantageous to machine several faces in a single operation and to specify a separate cut pattern for each face. This can be accomplished by using the Mixed cut pattern. Here are the steps required for using this option: • • • • Create a new Face Milling operation Select the Faces to be machined Set the Cut Method to Mixed Generate the tool paths 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-13 Face Milling Cutting parameters, Region Sequencing The Cutting Parameter, Region Sequencing, uses four methods of automatically and manually specifying the order in which cut regions are machined. The four methods are: Standard — allows the processor to determine the order in which cut regions are machined. The order in which cut regions are machined can be arbitrary and inefficient when using this option. Optimize Follow Start Points and Follow Predrill Points — orders the machining of cut regions based on the order in which Cut Region Start Points or Pre-Drill Engage Points were specified. The following activity will guide you through the process of machining multiple faces in one operation. 8 8-14 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Activity In the Face Milling section, do the activity: • Face Milling – Utilize Mixed Cut Pattern 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-15 Face Milling Face Milling – Blank Overhang Blank Overhang allows you to control the distance that the cutting tool will travel beyond the edge of a face. Blank Overhang is the distance from the leading edge of the cutter to the edge of the face that is being cut. 8 Setting the Blank Overhang parameter to a value smaller than the cutter diameter minimizes tool motion. 8-16 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Blank Overhang is not the same as Blank Stock. There is a distinct difference between the two parameters. Blank Stock applies additional stock to a finished face while Blank Overhang is the distance that the leading edge of the cutter extends beyond the edge of the face. Use of these parameters, either individually or in combination, can greatly minimize the amount of time that is spent cutting air. 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-17 Face Milling Activity In the Face Milling section, do the activity: • Face Milling – Utilize Blank Overhang 8 8-18 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Wall Geometry Wall Stock and Wall Geometry in Face Milling Area Operations. Use Wall Stock and Wall Geometry to override the global Part Stock for walls related to the machined faces on a Part Body. With Wall Stock and Wall Geometry in Face Milling operations, you can select faces on the Part body (other than the faces being machined) as Wall Geometry and apply a unique Wall Stock to those faces in place of Part Stock. Walls can be defined automatically or selected manually. Automatic Wall detection allows Face Milling operations to recognize and apply wall stock to faces that are adjacent to selected Cut Area faces. The following illustrates how automatic walls are selected. For more information please see the technical documentation. Automatic Wall Limitations: Automatic Wall detection will not apply if Face Geometry (blank boundaries) is used to define blank containment. In cases where the wall faces extend below the Cut Area floor face(s), Automatic Wall may select more wall faces than is appropriate. In these cases you will need to select the wall geometry manually. 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-19 Face Milling Activity In the Face Milling section, do the activity: • Wall Geometry and Wall stock 8 8-20 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Face Milling Summary This lesson was an introduction to Face Milling. Face Milling’s flexibility and ease of creating specific operations for milling faces of a part affords you increased productivity and efficiencies in the machining of your parts. In this lesson you: • • • • • • Cut single and multiple faces Used the Traverse option to move the tool quickly over void areas of a face Used the ignore holes option to minimize the time cutting air Used different cut patterns when cutting multiple faces on the part Used the Blank Overhang option to minimize cutter travel Used the Run-Off and various helical engagement options to maximize tool life by controlling engagement into the part 8 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 8-21 8 Lesson 9 Drilling Purpose Drill Operation types are used to create tool paths for drilling, tapping, boring, counter boring and reaming operations. Numerous parameters are used to control depths and features that are associated with various types of holes. Associated with drilling operations are drill geometry parent groups which contain the geometry necessary to create various drilling type operations. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • • • • • • Create Drill Geometry Parent Groups Specify drill geometry Specify and edit drill geometry from within an operation Optimize drilling tool paths Create cycles and cycle parameter sets Create drilling tools Create operations for Spot Drilling, Drilling, and Reaming Use various options to control drilling operations 9 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 9-1 Drilling Creating Drilling Operations The process of creating a drilling operation, select the following; • • • • • • Operation Type Operation Subtype Program Tool Geometry Machining Method After the selections are made the operation is created and generated. 9 9-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Drilling Drilling Cycles A cycle describes the machine tool movements necessary to perform point to point machining functions, such as drilling, tapping or boring. Through post processing, cycle statements are normally output as canned cycle codes. However, some machines do not have canned cycles. In those cases, only GOTO points are output. Cycle Characteristics Types • The cycle type of No Cycle, Peck Drill, and Break Chip do not output CYCLE/ commands in the tool path; the motion is simulated with GOTO points Standard Cycle options will output a CYCLE/ command at each of the specified CL (Cutter Location) points ‘Drill’, ‘Drill Deep’ and ‘Drill, Break Chip’ output canned cycles and are the equivalent of ‘No Cycle’, ‘Peck Drill’ and ‘Break Chip’ which output simulated motion generate code for all the tool motions in a CYCLE/ operation to be executed by the machine tool, or generate GOTO/ command statements to define each of the tool motions and machine functions which simulate the desired cycle • • • • After you choose one of the cycle options other than No Cycle, Peck Drill and Break Chip, you must specify how many parameter sets you intend to define for that cycle operation. 9 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 9-3 Drilling Cycle Parameter Sets Cycle Parameter Sets are machining parameters such as depth, feed rate, dwell times and cutting increments. If all the point to point positions in a tool path have the same cycle parameter values, you will use one Cycle Parameter Set. If you want to vary any of the cycle parameter values, for example the depth (when not using model depth) , you will create a Cycle Parameter Set for each hole or group of holes with different depths. You can have up to five parameter sets per cycle. The following is a summary of the different cycle parameter options: • CAM - is a number that specifies a preset CAM stop position for tool depth for machine tools with no programmable Z axis Csink Diameter - is the diameter of a countersunk hole Depth - is the depth of cut Dwell - is the delay of tool at the depth of cut Entrance Diameter -is the outside diameter of an existing hole that is to be enlarged by a countersink operation Feedrate - is the cutting feed rate Increment - is the dimensional value of one of a series of regular consecutive cuts to progressive depths used in Peck and Break Chip drilling operations Option- is used to activate machining characteristics that are unique to a particular machine and is usually post processor dependent (this function includes the word OPTION in the CYCLE/ statement) RTRCTO - is the cycle retract distance Step Values - is the dimensional value of one of a series of regular consecutive cuts to progressive depths used in Standard - Drill, Deep and Standard - Drill, Brkchp operations • • • • • • • • • 9 9-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Drilling Minimum Clearance The Minimum Clearance distance determines how the tool is positioned before entering the material. If a Clearance Plane has not been set, the tool will position to the next hole at the rapid feed rate directly to the specified Minimum Clearance distance above the part surface. If a Clearance Plane is specified, the tool will move at the rapid feed rate from the Clearance Plane to the specified Minimum Clearance. 9 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 9-5 Drilling Creating Drilling Tools The Setup that you specify becomes the Type shown in the Create dialog box. Select the Drill Type on the Create Tool dialog to create drilling tools The Subtype determines the drilling tool to be created.. 9 9-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Drilling The Drill Geometry Parent Groups Geometry Parent Groups contain the geometry that is used in an operation(s). The Geometry Parent Groups that are used for Drill operation types are: MCS –The MCS is used to define the origin for subsequent tool path data based on the Machine Coordinate system. WORKPIECE – The WORKPIECE is typically used to assign Part and Blank material. It is also used in tool path verification. DRILL_GEOM – The DRILL_GEOM geometry parent is used to define hole geometry used in drilling operations. 9 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 9-7 Drilling Activities In the Drilling section, do the activities: • • • • Create Drill Geometry Parent Groups Create a Spot Drilling Operation Create a Drilling Operation Create a Reaming Operation 9 9-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Drilling Depth Offset The Depth Offset options are used in conjunction with the depth you set in the Cycle Parameter Sets. Depth Offset options are: • Blind Hole - Defines the amount of material that will remain above the bottom of a blind hole using the tip of the tool Thru Hole - Defines the distance that the drill will move past the break out of a thru hole • 9 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 9-9 Drilling Optimizing the Tool Path In some cases the tool path that is generated may not be the most efficient tool path in terms of motion. Optimize allows you to rearrange the tool moves into a more efficient order. To summarize the Optimize dialog box: • Shortest Path - arranges the points in the order required to minimize total machining time Horizontal Bands and Vertical Bands -are used for confining the tool path; these bands are used for other machining constraints, such as clamp locations, machine travel limits, table size, etc. Repaint Points -repaints all the points after each optimization if toggled to Yes • • Shortest Path options To summarize Optimization Parameters dialog box: • Level Standard or Advanced - Refers to the process of analysis that you want to use in determining the shortest tool path; advanced increases machine time efficiency at a maximum Based On - Distance is the only option for a fixed axis tool path; variable axis tool paths can take the tool axis into account when determining machining efficiency Start Point - controls the start point of the tool path End Point - controls the end point of the tool path Start Tool Axis - is for variable axis tool paths only and controls the tool axis at the beginning of the cutting motion End Tool Axis - is for variable axis tool paths only and controls the tool axis at the end of the cutting motion Optimize - initiates the optimization process • • • • • • 9 9-10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Drilling Activity In the Drilling section, do the activity: • Optimize a Tool Path 9 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 9-11 Drilling Summary Drilling operation types allows for tool path creation for various types of holes. Numerous options which are available to you allow the control of depths, type of cycles generated and quality of the hole that is being created. In this lesson, you learned how to: • • • • Create DRILL_GEOM Parent Groups Retrieve tools from the standard tool library Optimization functionality Create the necessary tools used for spot drill, drilling, and reaming operations Specify the options to define Cycle Parameter sets Set the tool depth and defined the tool offset to prevent the tool from gouging the bottom of a blind hole Set the Minimum Clearance Distance for tool positioning • • • 9 9-12 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Lesson 10 Text Engraving Purpose This lesson will show you how to generate tool paths for Text Engraving on planar and contour surfaces. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • Create drafting notes to be engraved Create tool paths for planar text from drafting notes Create tool paths for contour text from drafting notes 10 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 10-1 Text Engraving Text Engraving There are numerous occasions that you may want to engrave part information or identification on to a planar or contoured surface.Text Engraving allows you to generate a tool path that engraves text from drafting notes using Planar Milling or Fixed Axis Surface Contouring operation types. Use this operation type when engraving text (drafting notes) onto a part. The tool will make one pass following the strokes of the font of the text object in an on condition. To use this feature you must select an existing drafting annotation or create the desired text selecting Insert → Annotation from the main menu bar. You can then select the note for cutting in either Planar Milling or Surface Contouring. Enter the text string that you wish to engrave in the text box. Create your text without a leader. Insert the text onto your part by clicking the left mouse button on the desired area. To create a group of text, click Create Geometry, select mill_planar (1) as the Type (or mill_contour for contoured text), and then click MILL_TEXT (2). Notes pertaining to text creation: • Several fonts use multiple strokes to fill in solid areas on a character. If a cutter with a very small tip diameter is used for these fonts, the areas between the strokes may not be cut. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 10 10-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals Text Engraving • If you set the text depth/part stock so that the tool cuts below the part surface, gouge checking reports the moves as gouges. Check and Trim Boundaries are ignored in tool path generation. Create text in a plane parallel to the floor plane. For tool path creation, the text is project along the tool axis to the floor plane. For contour text creation that use ball tools. Do not use a depth greater than the radius of the ball tool. In Surface Contouring, tool paths are not reliable if the negative floor stock (part stock - text depth) exceeds the lower radius of the tool. A warning is generated when such conditions occur. The default tool axis is the +ZM axis. • • • • • • 10 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 10-3 Text Engraving Activities In the Text Engraving section, do the activities: • • • Planar and Contour Text Engraving Create a Contour Text operation Create a Planar Text operation 10 10-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Text Engraving Summary This lesson introduced you to Text Engraving operations In this lesson you: • • • Created drafting notes. Engraved a text string using Contour Text operation types. Engraved a text string using Planar Mill Text operation types. 10 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 10-5 10 Lesson 11 11 Tool Path Information Output Purpose This lesson introduces several ways that tool path data can be output as data and text. You will learn how to use NX POST to post process your program. Once you successfully post the program you can then create the shop documentation that can be used on the shop floor. Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: • • • Output a CLSF Post process with NX POST Create Shop Documentation ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11-1 Tool Path Information Output 11 Output CLSF Cutter Location Source Files, also referred to as CLSF, are output formats that can be used for input into numerous post processing systems, including legacy GPM and other 3rd party systems. Output CLSF - is used to create a CLSF. Types of output are: • CLSF_STANDARD - standard APT (Automatic Programmed Tools) type output, with GOTO and post processors statements CLSF_COMPRESSED - outputs only the START and END-OF-PATH statements CLSF_ADVANCED - automatically generates Spindle and Load Tool commands based on operation data CLSF_BCL - represents Binary Coded Language which is a specific controller language developed in conjunction with the US Navy CLSF_ISO - represents a cutter location source file based on ISO standards CLSF_IDEAS_MILL - represents an IDEAS compatible cutter location source file for milling CLSF_IDEAS_TURN - represents an IDEAS compatible cutter location source file for turning • • • • • • 11-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tool Path Information Output 11 If you have legacy data that you need to post using the GPM, you would use the CLSF_Standard format. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11-3 Tool Path Information Output 11 Post Processing Tool paths consist of GOTO points and other information that controls the movement of a tool with respect to the part. This unmodified tool path usually needs to be specifically formatted for a particular machine tool/controller combination. Differences are based on character formats, tool change requirements, type of machine, number of controlled axis of motion, etc. The tool path must be formatted to match the unique characteristics of the machine tool/controller combination. The procedure of modifying this generic tool path to a form that can be understood and used by the machine tool controller is called post processing. Two elements are required for post processing. They are: • • Tool path - A NX internal tool path Post processor - this is a program that reads, converts and reformats tool path information for a particular machine tool/controller combination 11-4 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tool Path Information Output NX POST Execute NX provides a post processor, NX POST, which utilizes NX tool path data as input and outputs machine controller readable NC/CNC code. NX POST is customized through the use of user created Event Handler and Definition files. These files, in conjunction with NX POST, are used to generate output for the simplest to the very complex of machine tool/controller combinations. The NX POST processor is highly scalable and can be used to generate output for simple milling machines and lathes to ultra complex multi-axis (4+ axis) machining and production centers (a production center is considered to be a milling/turning type machine). The flexibility of NX POST is achieved through the scripting language Tcl and the use of the NX concept of Definition files. The following flowchart illustrates the steps required to process (post process) tool path data in an acceptable format for a machine tool/controller using the NX POST post processor. 11 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11-5 Tool Path Information Output 11 11-6 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tool Path Information Output The NX POST execute module consists of the following components: • Event Generator - sends Events to NX POST when you post process; an Event is a collection of data which is processed by NX POST, creating data which causes a specific action(s) by the machine tool/controller Event Handler - is a file containing a specific set of instructions, written in the Tcl scripting language, dictating how each event type is to be processed Definition file- is a file containing specific information about machine tool/controller format Output file- is a file generated by NX POST, passed to the machine tool/controller, that executes specific instructions 11 • • • The Event Generator, Event Handler, and the Definition file are interdependent and together convert the internal tool path into a set of instructions that can be read and executed by the specific machine tool/controller combination. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11-7 Tool Path Information Output 11 Manufacturing Output Manager (MOM) The Manufacturing Output Manager, commonly referred to as MOM, is a utility program used by NX POST for generating output based upon data that is stored within the internal tool path. Functionally, NX POST uses the Manufacturing Output Manager to start, add data and specify functions to the interpreter, and to load Event Handlers and Definition files. 11-8 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tool Path Information Output Post Processing Using NX POST The NX POST post processor is activated by selecting Post Process from the Manufacturing Operations toolbar. 11 Post processors are added to the Post Process dialog box by modifying the template_post.dat file located in the /mach/resource/postprocessor directory. This file specifies the location of the Definition and Event handler files used for your particular post processor. Output File Name allows you to specify where you want the posted output to go. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11-9 Tool Path Information Output 11 NX POST Builder The NX POST mechanism, as mentioned earlier, uses Tcl (Tool Command Language) scripts and numerous files to post process information. These files are used to extract information from the part file, process this information according to defined rules, format the information for output and then output the data to a file which is later used by the machine control for machining a part. These files may be customized and require the knowledge of the Tcl scripting language. To ease the process of creating these files and knowing Tcl, the NX POST Builder was developed. NX POST Builder provides an interactive graphical User Interface for building post processors. The design intent of the NX POST Builder is to create all the necessary files needed for post processing without the knowledge of file structure or Tcl. The NX POST Builder is very flexible and allows for the definition of various types of output blocks and word addresses. Sequence of output in the NC output file is very easy to control for blocks involving the start of program, start of operation, end of operation, end of program, tool changes and canned cycles. NX POST Builder currently configures post processors for the following: • • • • • • • 3-axis milling machines 4-axis milling machines with a rotary table or a rotary head 5-axis milling machines with dual rotary heads or dual rotary tables 5-axis milling machines with rotary head and rotary table 2 and 4 axis lathes Mill-Turn centers (lathes with a live milling spindle) 2 and 4 axis Wire EDM machines The following flowchart illustrates the process of building a post processor using the NX POST Builder. 11-10 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tool Path Information Output 11 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11-11 Tool Path Information Output 11 Activity In the Tool Path Information Output section, do the activity: • Post Processing with NX POST 11-12 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tool Path Information Output Shop Documentation Shop Documentation allows you to generate customized information in the form of reports that can aid in the manufacturing processes of creating a part. This information includes data concerning: • • • • • • tools and material control geometry machining parameters post commands tool parameters tool path information 11 Output can be either ASCII text or HTML format. Generic templates are provided or customized templates can be created and used to create very detailed output that can be incorporated into the manufacturing environment. ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11-13 Tool Path Information Output 11 Shop Documentation dialogs Shop Documentation is activated by clicking Shop Documentation from the Manufacturing Operations toolbar. The Shop Documentation dialog box lists the Available Templates which are used to format the output. These customized templates create various formatted output in both ASCII text and HTML for: • • • • • operation and tool list operation list by method tool list by program advanced operation list web page listings You can add your own custom templates to the dialog box by modifying the shop_doc.dat file located in the /mach/resource/shop_doc directory. This file specifies the location of the template and event handler files used for your shop documentation. 11-14 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Tool Path Information Output Activity In the Tool Path Information Output section, do the activity: • Create Shop Documentation 11 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals 11-15 Tool Path Information Output 11 Summary The flexibility of the post processing and shop documentation options that are available allows you to post process data and generate customized shop documentation for your specific needs. In this lesson you: • Used the NX POST post processor to create output for a 3-axis milling machine Created Shop Documentation for providing information for set-ups and manufacturing processes in both ASCII text and HTML formats • 11-16 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved mt11021_s NX 5 Index A Absolute Coordinate System . . . . . . 5-3 B Blank Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5 Boundaries in Planar Mill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3 C Cavity Mill Blank Geometry . . . . . . . . . . Cut Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cut Patterns Cut Pattern . . . . . . . . . . How to create a tool path . . . In-Process work piece . . . . . . Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . Cavity Milling cut parameters trim by . . . . . . . . . . . . . Check Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . CLSF Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . CLSF Compressed . . . . . . . . . . CLSF Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . Coordinate System Absolute Coordinate System . I, J, K Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . Machine Coordinate System . Rotary Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . Saved Coordinate System . . . Work Coordinate System . . . Creating a MILL_BND Parent Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cut Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cut Method Face Mill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 . . . 3-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 . 3-4 3-14 . 3-4 . 3-8 Cut Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 Cycle Parameter Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 D Definition file . . . . . . . . . . . Depth of Cut in Planar Mill . . . . . . . . . DRILL_GEOM . . . . . . . . . . Drilling Cycle Parameter Sets . . . Cycle Types . . . . . . . . . . Cycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Depth Offset . . . . . . . . . . Geometry Parent Groups Minimum Clearance . . . . Optimizing . . . . . . . . . . . Tool Types . . . . . . . . . . . Dynamic Tool Path Visualization . . E . . . . . . 11-7 . . . . . . . 7-9 . . . . . . . 9-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 9-3 9-3 9-9 9-7 9-5 9-10 . 9-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18 7-6–7-7 . . 11-2 . . 11-2 . . 11-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 5-14 . 5-5 5-15 . 5-6 . 5-4 Edit Display Tool Path Display Options . . . . . . . 6-7 Event Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7 Event Handler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7 F Face Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Face Mill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Additional Passes . . . . . . . . . . blank overhang . . . . . . . . . . . . difference with blank stock Cut Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Face Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . Multiple Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . Part Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . Stock Parameters . . . . . . . . . . NX Manufacturing Fundamentals . . . 7-11 . . . 3-10 . . . . 8-6 . . . 8-2 8-3–8-4 . . . 8-7 . . 8-16 . . 8-17 . . . 8-6 . . . 8-4 . . 8-13 . . . 8-4 . . . 8-8 Index-1 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved Index G General Milling Enhancements In-Process Workpiece for fixed axis milling applications how to use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14 Geometry Parent Groups DRILL_GEOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7 Drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7 MCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7 WORKPIECE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7 Geometry View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6 I I, J, K Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14 L language Tcl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-10 M Machine Coordinate System . . . . Machine Tool View . . . . . . . . . . . Manufacturing Output Manager Method Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MILL_BND Parent Group . . . . . Creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MOM Post processing . . . . . . . . . . . . Multi-Level Cutting in Planar Mill . . . . . . . . . . . . . N NX Post Builder . . NX POST Builder Flow Chart . . . . NX POST Execute Flow Chart . . . . Post processing . O Operation Navigator . . . . . . . . 1-11, 4-2 Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8 Index-2 NX Manufacturing Fundamentals Geometry View . . . . . Machine Tool View . . Method Views . . . . . . Program Order Views resource bar . . . . . . . Tool View . . . . . . . . . Views . . . . . . . . . . . . Optimizing Tool Paths . . . . . . . . Output CLSF . . . . . . . . CLSF Advanced . . . . CLSF BCL . . . . . . . . CLSF Compressed . . CLSF Ideas . . . . . . . CLSF ISO . . . . . . . . . CLSF Standard . . . . Output File . . . . . . . . . P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6, 4-6 . . . 4-5 . . . 4-6 . . . 4-5 . . 1-11 . . . 3-6 . . . 4-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10 11-2 11-2 11-2 11-2 11-2 11-2 11-2 11-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5 . 4-5 11-8 . 4-6 7-11 7-11 . . 11-8 . . . 7-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5 Parent Groups . . . . . . . . . . Geometry Parent Group . Inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . MILL_BND . . . . . . . . . . Operations . . . . . . . . . . . WORKPIECE . . . . . . . . . Part Boundaries . . . . . . . . . Part Geometry . . . . . . . . . . Planar Mill . . . . . . . . . . . . Blank Boundaries . . . . . . Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . Check Boundaries . . . . . . Depth of Cut . . . . . . . . . . Multi-Level Cutting . . . . Part Boundaries . . . . . . . Profile Cut Method . . . . . Post processing . . . . . . . . . definition of . . . . . . . . . . MOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NX Post Builder . . . . . . . NX POST Execute . . . . . Post processor NX Post Execute . . . . . . . Process Display Parameters Tool Path Display Options Program Order Views . . . . ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7 . . 3-8 . . 4-7 . 7-11 . . 4-7 . . 3-8 . . 7-4 8-3–8-4 . . . 7-2 . . . 7-5 . . . 7-3 7-6–7-7 . . . 7-9 . . . 7-8 . . . 7-4 . . 7-13 . . 11-4 . . 11-4 . . 11-8 . 11-10 . . 11-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5 . . . . . . . 6-7 . . . . . . . 4-5 mt11021_s NX 5 Index R Replay Tool Path Visualization . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Rotary Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15 S Saved Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . 5-6 Shop Documentation . . . . . . . . . . 11-13 T Tcl Post processing . . . . . . . . . . Tool Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tool Path Display Options Edit Display . . . . . . . . . . . . Process Display Parameters Tool Path Visualization Dynamic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5 Replay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Tools Drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6 V Vectors I, J, K Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14 Rotary Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15 W . . . 11-10 . . . . 5-16 . . . . . 6-7 . . . . . 6-7 Work Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . 5-4 WORKPIECE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7 Z ZC Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16 ©UGS Corp., All Rights Reserved NX Manufacturing Fundamentals Index-3 This page left blank intentionally. UGS Education Services offers a blend of training solutions for all of our product lifecycle management products. Our Online Store “Learning Advantage” was developed to provide our customers with “just in time training for the latest in application developments. Here are some of the Learning Advantages: Customers have direct access Self-paced course layout Online Assessments Just in time training for the latest release L E A R N I N G A D V A N T A G E To learn more about the “Learning Advantage” visit our website http://training.ugs.com or email us at training @ugs.com This page left blank intentionally. STUDENT PROFILE In order to stay in tune with our customers we ask for some background information. This information will be kept confidential and will not be shared with anyone outside of Education Services. Please “Print”… Your Name Course Title/Dates Hotel/motel you are staying at during your training Planned departure time on last day of class U.S. citizen / thru Yes No Employer Your title and job responsibilities Industry: Auto Aero Consumer products / Location Machining Tooling Medical Other Types of products/parts/data that you work with Reason for training Please verify/add to this list of training for Unigraphics, I-deas, Imageware, Teamcenter Mfg., Teamcenter Eng. (I-Man), Teamcenter Enterprise (Metaphase), or Dimensional Mgmt./Visualization. Medium means Instructor-lead (IL), On-line (OL), or Self-paced (SP) Software From Whom When Course Name Medium Other CAD/CAM/CAE /PDM software you have used Please “check”! your ability/knowledge in the following… Subject CAD modeling CAD assemblies CAD drafting CAM CAE PDM – data management PDM – system management None ß ß ß ß ß ß ß Novice ß ß ß ß ß ß ß Intermediate ß ß ß ß ß ß ß Advanced ß ß ß ß ß ß ß Platform (operating system) Thank you for your participation and we hope your training experience will be an outstanding one. This page left blank intentionally. NX Manufacturing Fundamentals Agenda Wednesday Morning Lesson 1. Lesson 2. Lesson 3. Afternoon Lesson 3. Lesson 4. Lesson 5. Cavity Mill and Parent Groups (continued) Operation Navigator Coordinate Systems Basic CAM Fundamentals Tools Cavity Mill and Parent Groups Thursday Morning Lesson 6. Visualization Workbook Project: Setting the Machining Environment, Set the MCS, Part, Blank, Check Geometry and Mill Method, Create a Cavity Milling Operation, Visualize and Verify Lesson 7. Planar Milling Afternoon Lesson 7. Lesson 8. Planar Milling (continued) Face Milling Friday Morning Workbook Section 9 Assembly Completion Lesson 9. Drilling Lesson 10. Text Engraving Lesson 11. Tool Path Information Output Afternoon Workbook Project: Face Milling, Drilling, Post Processing and Shop Documentation This page left blank intentionally. Accelerators The following Accelerators can be listed from within an NX session by choosing Information Custom Menubar Accelerators. Function File New... File Open... File Save File Save As... File Plot... File Execute Grip... File Execute Debug Grip... File Execute NX Open... Edit Undo Edit Cut Edit Copy Edit-Paste Edit Delete... Edit Selection Top Selection Priority - Feature Edit Selection Top Selection Priority - Face Edit Selection Top Selection Priority - Body Edit Selection Top Selection Priority - Edge Edit Selection Top Selection Priority - Component Edit Selection-Select All Edit Show and Hide Show and Hide...(by type) Edit Show and Hide Hide Edit Show and Hide Invert Shown and Hidden Edit Show and Hide Show... Edit Show and Hide Show All Edit Transform... Edit Object Display... View Operation Zoom... View Operation Rotate... View Operation Section... View Layout New... View Layout Open... View Layout Fit All Views View Layout Fit View Visualization High Quality Image... View Information Window Hide or show the current dialog box View Reset Orientation Insert Sketch... Insert Design Feature Extrude... Accelerator Ctrl+N Ctrl+O Ctrl+S Ctrl+Shift+A Ctrl+P Ctrl+G Ctrl+Shift+G Ctrl+U Ctrl+Z Ctrl+X Ctrl+C Ctrl+V Ctrl+D or Delete F G B E C Ctrl+A Ctrl+W Ctrl+B Ctrl+Shift+B Ctrl+Shift+K Ctrl+Shift+U Ctrl+T Ctrl+J Ctrl+Shift+Z Ctrl+R Ctrl+H Ctrl+Shift+N Ctrl+Shift+O Ctrl+Shift+F Ctrl+F Ctrl+Shift+H F4 F3 Ctrl+F8 S X Insert Design Feature Revolve... Insert Trim Trimmed Sheet... Insert Sweep Variational Sweep... Format Layer Settings... Format Visible in View... Format WCS Display Tools Expression... Tools Journal Play... Tools Journal Edit Tools Macro Start Record... Tools Macro Playback... Tools Macro Step... Information Object... Analysis Curve Refresh Curvature Graphs Preferences Object... Preferences Selection... Start Modeling... Start All Applications Shape Studio... Start Drafting... Start Manufacturing... Start NX Sheet Metal... Start Assemblies Start Gateway... Help On Context... Refresh Fit Zoom Rotate Orient View-Trimetric Orient View-Isometric Orient View-Top Orient View-Front Orient View-Right Orient View-Left Snap View R T V Ctrl+L Ctrl+Shift+V W Ctrl+E Alt+F8 Alt+F11 Ctrl+Shift+R Ctrl+Shift+P Ctrl+Shift+S Ctrl+I Ctrl+Shift+C Ctrl+Shift+J Ctrl+Shift+T M or Ctrl+M Ctrl+Alt+S Ctrl+Shift+D Ctrl+Alt+M Ctrl+Alt+N A Ctrl+W F1 F5 Ctrl+F F6 F7 Home End Ctrl+Alt+T Ctrl+Alt+F Ctrl+Alt+R Ctrl+Alt+L F8 Evaluation – Delivery NX 5 NMF, Course #MT11021 Dates thru SOMEWHAT DISAGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE Please share your opinion in all of the following sections with a “check” in the appropriate box: If there were 2 instructors, please evaluate the 2nd instructor with “X’s” Instructor: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. …clearly explained the course objectives …was knowledgeable about the subject …answered my questions appropriately … encouraged questions in class …was well spoken and a good communicator …was well prepared to deliver the course …made good use of the training time …conducted themselves professionally …used examples relevant to the course and audience …provided enough time to complete the exercises …used review and summary to emphasize important information …did all they could to help the class meet the course objectives T Comments on overall impression of instructor(s): Overall impression of instructor(s) Suggestions for improvement of course delivery: Poor Excellent What you liked best about the course delivery: Class Logistics: 1. The training facilities were comfortable, clean, and provided a good learning environment 2. The computer equipment was reliable 3. The software performed properly 4. The overhead projection unit was clear and working properly 5. The registration and confirmation process was efficient Hotels: (We try to leverage this information to better accommodate our customers) 1. Name of the hotel Best hotel I’ve stayed at YES NO 2. Was this hotel recommended during your registration process? 3. Problem? (brief description) SEE BACK AGREE Instructor: R DISAGREE Evaluation - Courseware NX 5 NMF, Course #MT11021 : SOMEWHAT DISAGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE DISAGREE Please share your opinion for all of the following sections with a “check” in the appropriate box Material: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The training material supported the course and lesson objectives The training material contained all topics needed to complete the projects The training material provided clear and descriptive directions The training material was easy to read and understand The course flowed in a logical and meaningful manner Too short Too long Just right 6. How appropriate was the length of the course relative to the material? Comments on Course and Material: Overall impression of course Poor AGREE Excellent Student: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. I met the prerequisites for the class (I had the skills I needed) My objectives were consistent with the course objectives I will be able to use the skills I have learned on my job My expectations for this course were met I am confident that with practice I will become proficient Name (optional): Location/room Please “check” this box if you would like your comments featured in our training publications. (Your name is required at the bottom of this form) Please “check” this box if you would like to receive more information on our other courses and services. (Your name is required at the bottom of this form) Thank you for your business. We hope to continue to provide your training and personal development for the future.