& Construction

Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing

Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Organize several Setups into a single group and optimized it for production on a CNC Machine.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
9 min.
Transcript
00:03
In Fusion, the NC Program tool provides a way of organizing toolpaths from several setups into one CNC machine program group.
00:12
It enables you to optimize operations for machines with multiple fixtures and fixture offsets.
00:19
A specific post processor can be assigned to this group.
00:24
In this sample part, there are two setups.
00:28
Setup1 uses fixture offset 1 and machines the top of the part, while Setup2 uses fixture offset 2 and machines the bottom of the part.
00:38
You can post-process them separately and run each program on different machines.
00:43
Also, you can run each program concurrently on the same machine.
00:48
In such cases, you would run all the tops, then reset the machine to run all the bottoms.
00:55
However, sometimes, you might want to run the machine with two fixtures,
00:60
machining the tops on one side of the table and machining the bottoms on the other side.
01:05
This can be more efficient if both sides are using the same tooling.
01:10
If you can rough part 1 and then part 2 without changing the tool, you can reduce the overall cycle time.
01:17
The WCS fixture offset allows you to shift the XYZ zero between the two different fixtures.
01:24
All you need is a way to organize the order of outputting the toolpaths for optimal efficiency.
01:31
This is where the NC Program can help.
01:34
You can keep things organized by renaming the operations to reflect what they are cutting and adding a top or bottom designation to the name.
01:43
To access the NC Program tool, in the Manufacture workspace, Milling toolbar, Setup group, click NC Program.
01:54
In the NC Program dialog, switch to the Operations tab.
01:59
If you had selected any items in the Browser before starting the NC Program,
02:04
they would automatically be selected on the Operations tab.
02:08
Select the checkbox on Setup1, and note that all the toolpaths are moved to the window on the right.
02:15
Repeat for Setup2.
02:17
You can adjust any column width by selecting the divider and dragging it.
02:23
The columns in the table list all information about each operation, including the tool used.
02:30
Initially, all the operations are grouped by Setup.
02:34
Select Reorder to Minimize Tool Changes, and note that the toolpaths are now grouped in a more efficient order.
02:41
The two top operations are both using the two-inch face mill.
02:46
One faces the top, and the other faces the bottom.
02:50
Then, there is a tool change to rough the outside with the half-inch end mill.
02:56
This tool is only used once.
02:59
Other operations are ordered appropriately, based on the tool.
03:04
Fewer tool changes result in better use of the current tool in the spindle.
03:09
If you want to exclude certain operations, deselect the checkboxes next to the setups or individual operations.
03:17
For example, deselect the chamfer toolpath from both setups, and they are removed from the combined operations list.
03:26
If you select them again, they will be put back in the same order.
03:31
Switch to the Settings tab.
03:34
Add a Program Name/number of “1003”, and a Comment of "Combined Intro to 2D Machining".
03:42
Select Post to Fusion Team and choose a location to save your NC file.
03:48
If your setup includes a machine, you can select Use machine configuration to access the post processor defined in the selected machine.
03:58
Otherwise, click the folder icon next to Post to select the desired post processor to use for this project.
04:06
In the Post Library dialog, select Milling in the Capabilities group to limit the types of posts to display.
04:14
In the Vendor drop-down, select Haas Automation.
04:18
In the Fusion library, you can see all the available Haas milling posts.
04:23
Scroll down and select the Haas A-axis configuration, and then click Select.
04:30
If you see a dialog asking to save the post locally, select Copy to My Posts.
04:36
In the Post properties group, you can see several switches that can alter the output of the NC Program.
04:44
If a post does not seem right for your machine, it might be because you have something turned on or off that is affecting the output.
04:52
Not every post will have the same switches.
04:56
You can consult the product help documentation for additional information on these switches.
05:02
For this example, leave them as is.
05:06
Click OK to save this NC Program configuration setting.
05:11
You now see a new item in the Browser under NC Programs.
05:16
Right-click this item and select Duplicate.
05:19
Then, right-click the duplicate and select Edit.
05:24
On the Operations tab, deselect the Chamfer toolpaths from Setup1 and Setup2, and then click OK.
05:33
In the Browser, click on the duplicated NC Program and change the name to "Both setups, No Chamfer".
05:40
Click the first NC Program and change the name to "Both setups complete".
05:46
You can create as many NC Program configurations as you need to accommodate your different output requirements.
05:54
These might be for different NC machines with capabilities that would exclude certain operations.
06:00
For example, if your machine does not have rigid tapping capabilities,
06:05
you could create an NC Program operation that eliminates any tapping operations.
Video transcript
00:03
In Fusion, the NC Program tool provides a way of organizing toolpaths from several setups into one CNC machine program group.
00:12
It enables you to optimize operations for machines with multiple fixtures and fixture offsets.
00:19
A specific post processor can be assigned to this group.
00:24
In this sample part, there are two setups.
00:28
Setup1 uses fixture offset 1 and machines the top of the part, while Setup2 uses fixture offset 2 and machines the bottom of the part.
00:38
You can post-process them separately and run each program on different machines.
00:43
Also, you can run each program concurrently on the same machine.
00:48
In such cases, you would run all the tops, then reset the machine to run all the bottoms.
00:55
However, sometimes, you might want to run the machine with two fixtures,
00:60
machining the tops on one side of the table and machining the bottoms on the other side.
01:05
This can be more efficient if both sides are using the same tooling.
01:10
If you can rough part 1 and then part 2 without changing the tool, you can reduce the overall cycle time.
01:17
The WCS fixture offset allows you to shift the XYZ zero between the two different fixtures.
01:24
All you need is a way to organize the order of outputting the toolpaths for optimal efficiency.
01:31
This is where the NC Program can help.
01:34
You can keep things organized by renaming the operations to reflect what they are cutting and adding a top or bottom designation to the name.
01:43
To access the NC Program tool, in the Manufacture workspace, Milling toolbar, Setup group, click NC Program.
01:54
In the NC Program dialog, switch to the Operations tab.
01:59
If you had selected any items in the Browser before starting the NC Program,
02:04
they would automatically be selected on the Operations tab.
02:08
Select the checkbox on Setup1, and note that all the toolpaths are moved to the window on the right.
02:15
Repeat for Setup2.
02:17
You can adjust any column width by selecting the divider and dragging it.
02:23
The columns in the table list all information about each operation, including the tool used.
02:30
Initially, all the operations are grouped by Setup.
02:34
Select Reorder to Minimize Tool Changes, and note that the toolpaths are now grouped in a more efficient order.
02:41
The two top operations are both using the two-inch face mill.
02:46
One faces the top, and the other faces the bottom.
02:50
Then, there is a tool change to rough the outside with the half-inch end mill.
02:56
This tool is only used once.
02:59
Other operations are ordered appropriately, based on the tool.
03:04
Fewer tool changes result in better use of the current tool in the spindle.
03:09
If you want to exclude certain operations, deselect the checkboxes next to the setups or individual operations.
03:17
For example, deselect the chamfer toolpath from both setups, and they are removed from the combined operations list.
03:26
If you select them again, they will be put back in the same order.
03:31
Switch to the Settings tab.
03:34
Add a Program Name/number of “1003”, and a Comment of "Combined Intro to 2D Machining".
03:42
Select Post to Fusion Team and choose a location to save your NC file.
03:48
If your setup includes a machine, you can select Use machine configuration to access the post processor defined in the selected machine.
03:58
Otherwise, click the folder icon next to Post to select the desired post processor to use for this project.
04:06
In the Post Library dialog, select Milling in the Capabilities group to limit the types of posts to display.
04:14
In the Vendor drop-down, select Haas Automation.
04:18
In the Fusion library, you can see all the available Haas milling posts.
04:23
Scroll down and select the Haas A-axis configuration, and then click Select.
04:30
If you see a dialog asking to save the post locally, select Copy to My Posts.
04:36
In the Post properties group, you can see several switches that can alter the output of the NC Program.
04:44
If a post does not seem right for your machine, it might be because you have something turned on or off that is affecting the output.
04:52
Not every post will have the same switches.
04:56
You can consult the product help documentation for additional information on these switches.
05:02
For this example, leave them as is.
05:06
Click OK to save this NC Program configuration setting.
05:11
You now see a new item in the Browser under NC Programs.
05:16
Right-click this item and select Duplicate.
05:19
Then, right-click the duplicate and select Edit.
05:24
On the Operations tab, deselect the Chamfer toolpaths from Setup1 and Setup2, and then click OK.
05:33
In the Browser, click on the duplicated NC Program and change the name to "Both setups, No Chamfer".
05:40
Click the first NC Program and change the name to "Both setups complete".
05:46
You can create as many NC Program configurations as you need to accommodate your different output requirements.
05:54
These might be for different NC machines with capabilities that would exclude certain operations.
06:00
For example, if your machine does not have rigid tapping capabilities,
06:05
you could create an NC Program operation that eliminates any tapping operations.
Manufacture > Setup > Create NC Program
NC Program can organize several Setups into a single NC program output. Used for cases when multiple faces of a part will be machined in one machine cycle, on the same table, in different fixtures. Select which Setups you want to combine and optimize the order of the operations by Setup or by Tool. Generally each Setup should have a unique Work Coordinate Systems (WCS) fixture offset.
One common example would be to have two vises on the table, where vise 1 machines the top of the part using a G54 fixture offset and vise 2 machines the bottom of the part using a G55 fixture offset. If both faces have an operation that requires the same tool, NC Program can output the path for vise 1 and then vise 2, eliminating a tool change.
How to buy
Privacy | Do not sell or share my personal information | Cookie preferences | Report noncompliance | Terms of use | Legal | © 2025 Autodesk Inc. All rights reserved
Sign in for the best experience
Save your progress
Get access to courses
Receive personalized recommendations
May we collect and use your data?
Learn more about the Third Party Services we use and our Privacy Statement.May we collect and use your data to tailor your experience?
Explore the benefits of a customized experience by managing your privacy settings for this site or visit our Privacy Statement to learn more about your options.