& Construction
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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing
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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
Explore how toolpath trimming can be used to remove unwanted toolpath areas, decrease machining time, and trim multiple toolpaths so that you are left with the desired toolpath coverage.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
5 min.
Transcript
00:03
Within the Manufacturing Extension,
00:06
the Trim Toolpath function allows you to remove unwanted toolpath areas and trim toolpaths for desired coverage.
00:13
Leveraging this editing feature increases flexibility and improves efficiency in the programming of your toolpaths.
00:20
In the first example, you can see a headlight mold used in the automotive industry.
00:26
The parallel toolpath strategy shown does not account for contact point boundaries.
00:31
One way to solve for this is to edit the strategy to include Touch or Avoid surfaces.
00:37
However, this can lead to delays in surface selection and calculation time, and may not produce an acceptable result.
00:45
Instead, the recommended solution is to trim the toolpath.
00:50
Begin with the project open in the Manufacture workspace and your toolpath active.
00:55
On the Milling tab, Modify group, click Trim Toolpath.
01:00
Here, keep the default Trim Type of Polygon, which enables you to place three or more points to create a boundary to trim the toolpath.
01:09
On the canvas, select the desired view or zoom to the toolpath area you wish to edit.
01:15
Now, click on the canvas to place points and sketch a polygonal boundary around the toolpath segment that requires trimming.
01:24
Once finished, you can see that the sketch of the polygon is created in 3D.
01:29
If you orient the view, notice it is aligned to the view at the point of clicking the Trim tool.
01:35
For a better view of the area you are sketching, click Restore View.
01:40
Once you are happy with the sketched area of the toolpath, in the Trim dialog, select the segments to keep.
01:46
In this case, leave Keep set to the default of Outside.
01:51
This keeps the part of the toolpath outside the boundary and trims any part inside the boundary.
01:57
Click OK.
01:59
Now, you can see the visibly improved toolpath with recalculated leads and links.
02:04
The result is a better surface finish and a more efficient toolpath.
02:09
Note that recalculated leads and links are only applied to trimmed areas, and the remainder of the toolpath remains unchanged.
02:17
If needed, you can easily adjust your toolpath trimming using the global Undo or Ctrl+Z commands.
02:24
Alternatively, in the Timeline, right-click Trim and select Edit.
02:29
This opens the Trim dialog and shows the trim boundary you just sketched.
02:34
Simply click and drag a point to move it.
02:38
You can also use Insert Point Mode or Delete Point Mode to add or delete points.
02:46
Click OK to accept changes and update your trim.
02:53
Looking at a second example, here, the toolpath is excessive,
02:57
as only a small area of this part requires surfacing, and the toolpath should surface in one direction.
03:04
On the canvas, select the toolpath, and then on the toolbar, click Trim Toolpath.
03:10
As before, click to place points for the trim boundary.
03:15
This time, once the boundary is created, in the Trim dialog, change Keep to Inside.
03:22
This retains the part of the toolpath inside the boundary and trims any part outside of the boundary.
03:29
Click OK to view the trimmed toolpath on the canvas.
03:32
Note that if you make changes to the toolpath, the toolpath trim boundary is still recognized,
03:38
as in this example, where the Stepover is adjusted, and a Pass Direction Reference is added.
03:44
Even with these changes, the toolpath trim is acceptable.
03:48
You can also duplicate a trimmed toolpath and mirror it, to both improve uniformity throughout a part and to gain machining efficiency.
03:56
Here, a toolpath is duplicated, a new pattern is added, and construction planes are turned on.
04:04
The pattern is then mirrored, and the toolpath applied to another area of the part.
04:09
This same operation is performed again.
04:12
Then, the trim is removed from the original toolpath setup.
04:16
Now, the machining time for both options can be compared.
04:20
The original toolpath has a machining time of 36:23, versus the trimmed, duplicated, and mirrored toolpath, which has a time of 12:47.
04:33
This is a significant time savings and a more efficient machining process.
04:38
Using toolpath editing features, such as Trim Toolpath,
04:42
enables you to increase programming efficiency and gain greater control and flexibility in creating and adjusting your toolpaths.
Video transcript
00:03
Within the Manufacturing Extension,
00:06
the Trim Toolpath function allows you to remove unwanted toolpath areas and trim toolpaths for desired coverage.
00:13
Leveraging this editing feature increases flexibility and improves efficiency in the programming of your toolpaths.
00:20
In the first example, you can see a headlight mold used in the automotive industry.
00:26
The parallel toolpath strategy shown does not account for contact point boundaries.
00:31
One way to solve for this is to edit the strategy to include Touch or Avoid surfaces.
00:37
However, this can lead to delays in surface selection and calculation time, and may not produce an acceptable result.
00:45
Instead, the recommended solution is to trim the toolpath.
00:50
Begin with the project open in the Manufacture workspace and your toolpath active.
00:55
On the Milling tab, Modify group, click Trim Toolpath.
01:00
Here, keep the default Trim Type of Polygon, which enables you to place three or more points to create a boundary to trim the toolpath.
01:09
On the canvas, select the desired view or zoom to the toolpath area you wish to edit.
01:15
Now, click on the canvas to place points and sketch a polygonal boundary around the toolpath segment that requires trimming.
01:24
Once finished, you can see that the sketch of the polygon is created in 3D.
01:29
If you orient the view, notice it is aligned to the view at the point of clicking the Trim tool.
01:35
For a better view of the area you are sketching, click Restore View.
01:40
Once you are happy with the sketched area of the toolpath, in the Trim dialog, select the segments to keep.
01:46
In this case, leave Keep set to the default of Outside.
01:51
This keeps the part of the toolpath outside the boundary and trims any part inside the boundary.
01:57
Click OK.
01:59
Now, you can see the visibly improved toolpath with recalculated leads and links.
02:04
The result is a better surface finish and a more efficient toolpath.
02:09
Note that recalculated leads and links are only applied to trimmed areas, and the remainder of the toolpath remains unchanged.
02:17
If needed, you can easily adjust your toolpath trimming using the global Undo or Ctrl+Z commands.
02:24
Alternatively, in the Timeline, right-click Trim and select Edit.
02:29
This opens the Trim dialog and shows the trim boundary you just sketched.
02:34
Simply click and drag a point to move it.
02:38
You can also use Insert Point Mode or Delete Point Mode to add or delete points.
02:46
Click OK to accept changes and update your trim.
02:53
Looking at a second example, here, the toolpath is excessive,
02:57
as only a small area of this part requires surfacing, and the toolpath should surface in one direction.
03:04
On the canvas, select the toolpath, and then on the toolbar, click Trim Toolpath.
03:10
As before, click to place points for the trim boundary.
03:15
This time, once the boundary is created, in the Trim dialog, change Keep to Inside.
03:22
This retains the part of the toolpath inside the boundary and trims any part outside of the boundary.
03:29
Click OK to view the trimmed toolpath on the canvas.
03:32
Note that if you make changes to the toolpath, the toolpath trim boundary is still recognized,
03:38
as in this example, where the Stepover is adjusted, and a Pass Direction Reference is added.
03:44
Even with these changes, the toolpath trim is acceptable.
03:48
You can also duplicate a trimmed toolpath and mirror it, to both improve uniformity throughout a part and to gain machining efficiency.
03:56
Here, a toolpath is duplicated, a new pattern is added, and construction planes are turned on.
04:04
The pattern is then mirrored, and the toolpath applied to another area of the part.
04:09
This same operation is performed again.
04:12
Then, the trim is removed from the original toolpath setup.
04:16
Now, the machining time for both options can be compared.
04:20
The original toolpath has a machining time of 36:23, versus the trimmed, duplicated, and mirrored toolpath, which has a time of 12:47.
04:33
This is a significant time savings and a more efficient machining process.
04:38
Using toolpath editing features, such as Trim Toolpath,
04:42
enables you to increase programming efficiency and gain greater control and flexibility in creating and adjusting your toolpaths.
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