Mastercam Instruction 20140206

8/20/2019 Mastercam Instruction 20140206

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Mastercam InstructionsKTH School of Architecture

Digital Fabrication Lab - CNC RouterVersion 2. 1 2014-02-06


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1. Setup in Rhino and Mastercam2. Creating A Drilling Operation3. Creating A Contour Operation4. Creating A Surface Rough Operation5. Creating A Surface Finishing Operation6. Posting Toolpath

AcknowledgementsThese instructions are based on material developed at dFAB of Carnegie Mellon Uni-versity. http://cmu-dfab.org/

CONTENTS:

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1A. Create a 3d model fle

a) The DFL´s preferred modeling programis Rhinoceros. Mastercam will also workwith other modeling programs - Maya,3DS, and Solidwork are all supported.

b) We will begin in Rhino. Please prepareyour model as much as possible to avoidhaving to edit any imperfections later on inMasterCam. While this program providesnumerous possibilities as a CAD/ CAMgateway, simple tasks such as moving apoint from one area to another proves to

be very di cult. With time you will beginto understand how this program works,and you will learn to complete these tasks; but for the time being- stick with what youknow!

Origin Point

The origin point in any program should be

0,0,0. This is a screen shot from Rhinoceros.It displays a rectangle with its upper leftcorner positioned on the origin point. Thisshould also be the case with your model;with it’s upper left most point located atthe origin.

This is very important - all jobs run in the KTHDFL CNC Router should have Top of Stock setto Zero.

Levels/ Layers

Feel free to create geometries on di erentlayers. Mastercam will convert your layersto ‘levels’.- and function very similar. SeeFigure 1.2a and 1.2b

Once you have your le created, save as a.3DM and open Mastercam.

SETUP

INRHINOANDMASTERCAM

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1B Mastercam

a. Once Mastercam is open, we will im-mediately open your le. File/ Open/ andload your Rhino Model. We may have tohit ‘Enter’ afterwards to approve a new‘Machine Group’. Before we even begincreating toolpaths, we will rst select theequipment that will be used.

b. At the top of your screen, please selectMachine Type/ Router/Multicam Generic4x Router MM. Hit ‘Enter’ to accept a new‘Machine Group’; and be sure to deleteyour previous ‘Machine Group’. Feel freeto title these as you please; make sure nospaces are used.

Towards the bottom of your screen you maycontrol your layers. Left click on ‘Level’,and the ‘Level Manager’ will open. Hereyou can control your Layers from Rhino.You must always have a ‘Main Layer’- so

if you are looking to turn o one of yourlayers, and cannot do so; you may have toright clock on another layer and make ityour ‘Main Layer’.

Operations Manager

The ‘Operations Manager’ contains all thetools you will need to create toolpaths,edit, and back-plot. ‘ALT-O’ closes andopens this window. Your ‘Machine Group’contains all the external properties; suchas; stock size and origin, equipment, and

tool settings. We will rst set our stock size.Select ‘Stock Setup’ in your Ops Manager.

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1C Stock Setup

a. Much of Stock Setup is self explanatory.Here you will set up your stock size forsimulation and post processing purposes.You should have a window similar to theone shown in the gures on the right onyour screen.

Stock Size and Origin

In the gray window, insert the dimensionsof your stock. More importantly, set yourorigin. This can be done by clicking thetop left corner (As shown above). Makesure you insert your origin values as wellin the ‘Stock Origin’ area. (0,0,0). We canalso choose how our Stock is displayedwith the ‘Display Options’. Click on the’Display ’ box next, and choose ‘Wire-frame’ or ‘Solid’.

Stock

When you are nished, select the check -mark button at the bottom of the windowto apply the options. If at any point youare confused on certain options, click thehelp button in the bottom of any window.The help menus are very intuitive ! toyour right, you will see a 300 x 321 x 6,5Solid (Display) Stock positioned on thecorrect origin.

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1D Drilling Operations

a. Next, select ‘Toolpath,’ at the top of yourscreen, and choose the ‘Drill…’ option.You will be prompted to assign a ‘ToolpathName’, and ‘NC name’ – please do not usespaces.

Drill Point SelectionWith the ‘Drill Point Selection’ windownow open; you have multiple ways to se-lect your geometry. For your Drilling Pur-poses, the ‘Entities’ option, or the ‘WindowPoints’ option will work well. Windowpoints allow you to draw a window overall of the points you would like to select,whereas Entities allows you to select themsingly -or- with a window. You also havethe option of choosing how your pointsare ‘Sorted’- or the order in which they aremilled. Click on the ‘Sorting’ option and browse through the di erent options.

The Mask on Arc option is used when holesto be drilled are modeled as circles (rather

than points). Diameter displays the diam-eter of the arc (circle) selected for the Maskon Arc function. All circles of this diameterwill be automatically selected.

The preferable way to set holes is to lo-cate points as centerpoints already in yourmodelling software.

Sorting‘Sorting’ allows the user to change the or-der in which their geometry is milled. Forlarge complex jobs this may speed up yourmilling time.

DRILLINGOPERATIONS

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After selecting our Drilling points, wemove on to the toolpath menu. (Figure 1.8)Here we will set our parameters for mill-ing. On the far left of the menu are theParameters and Settings; in the center arevisualizations of what you are creating.

For normal operation, one would use the‘Drill’ option as our toolpath type - inwhich the tool diameter must be the sameas the hole. Alternate options would allow“drilling” bigger holes with smaller diam-eter tools.

Tool

Moving on to the ‘Tool’ option, we mustselect a tool to use. We can nd our tools by selecting the ‘Select Library Tool…’ but-ton. Once the tool library window opens, browse the DFL Tool Library by selectingthe ‘New Library’ button located near thetop of the window, and locate ‘KTH AR-

CHITECTURE TOOLS’. Hit ‘ok’ and selectyour tool.

The correct tool library may be available only atthe workstation in the Lab (not in the computerroom). You may later need to select tools andrerun the job in the Lab.

Cut Parameters

Under the ‘Cut Parameters’ area, we canselect how we would like our bit to Drill.In order to save your material and any bitsused, ‘Chip Break’ is a safe method to Drill.This option allows us to drill in ‘pecks’. The bit drills a prede ned increment, and thenanother until we reach our desired depth.As default it is suggested to set ‘1st Peck’,

‘Subsequent Peck’, and ‘Peck Clearance’ to5 mm. All other operations receive a valueof Zero.

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Linking Parameters

‘Linking Parameters’ allows us to de neimportant processing values. ‘Clearance’should be set to ca 50 mm. ‘Retract’ setsthe height in which the tool moves beforethe next tool pass. ‘ Top of Stock’ should beset to Zero. ‘Depth’ is the nal option. Al -lowing us to set the nal machining depth.This should be set to the depth of the stockused.

Home/ Ref. Points and Planes (WCS)

The ‘Home / Ref. Points’ window, gives usthe option of setting a ‘Home Position’, Aspot in the operation where the tool can be-gin from, and nish with. This can be any -where on the table so long as it clears yourstock! X0, Y0, Z5 should work ne. Lastly,select the ‘Planes (WCS)’ window, andmake sure that all planed are set to a ‘TOP’view. Double check your settings, and hitthe checkmark button to apply your set-tings.

• A reference point is a location thatthe tool moves to between the home posi-tion and the start or end of the toolpath.• The home position is typicallywhere the tool moves for tool changes andat the end of the NC program.

You can create separate reference pointsfor approach and retract moves. The nextmove between the reference position andyour part is typically the clearance plane,de ned on the Linking parameters page.

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1E Finalization

a. After applying our settings, we shouldnd a new toolpath created in our Opera -

tions Manager Window. If the icon next to‘Toolpath’ appears to have an ‘X’ over it,you may have to correct a thing or two, notif you have a clean icon- then you are readyto simulate your operation.

Back plotting and Verifcation

If we left click on ‘Toolpath’ in our Opera-tions Manager, we can view our toolpathsthat we have just created parameters for.You can simulate the entire operation bydoing so. However, if you would like amore realistic simulation, you can rightclick on ‘Toolpath’, and a ‘Verify’ windowappears. You may simulate your operationwith your stock displayed. Both of thesesimulation options will also regenerateyour toolpaths. So if you happen to havea ‘Dirty Operation’ – this may be a quickway to solve it. Finally we post our opera-

tion by selecting the ‘G1’ icon at the top ofyour Op. Manager. Congratulations, youmay now run your le!

Post

Post your operation by selecting the ‘G1’icon at the top of your Operations Manag-

er. This step and onwards can only be done onthe workstation in the DFL CNC Lab!

CLEAN OPERATION

DIRTY OPERATION

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Post processing

Make sure that the settings in the Post pro-cessing window follow the image to theright. Make sure to set extension to .CNC!

When you save the NC- le, make sure thatyou save to C://DncFiles. When you do,the output code will be immediately avail-able to the Router.

This step and onwards can only be done on theworkstation in the DFL CNC Lab!

Post processing

Once this window opens, you can continueat the CNC Router.

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Contours

It is important that you understand what Mas-tercam considers a ‘contour’. Contours can be‘3D Lines’ or ‘2D Lines’. 2D lines typically areused for cutting pro les; where their Z-axislocation remains constant, whereas 3D lineswork on the X.Y and Z-axis instead.

The following instructions are partially based on the set up done in the previousinstruction - Drilling Operation.

ToolpathsSelect ‘Toolpath’ from the Menu bar at thetop of your screen, and select ‘Contour…’

Select a name for your toolpath WITHOUTspaces; and begin chaining your geometry.

CONTO

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2B Chaining

Chaining is Mastercam’s way of grouping‘Entities’. Entities are any type of geometrythat you bring into Mastercam. In general,when you are prompted to ‘Chain’ yourgeometry; you will be using lines or points.

Chaining

When you are prompted to chain your ge-ometry, Mastercam gives you multiple op-tions to do so. Because Mastercam is used

for such a wide array of applications, a lotof these options will not appeal to yourneeds. You may simply select each line sin-gly, or you can choose the ‘Window’ op-tion; which allows you to drag a windowover all of your lines. After drawing yourwindow, you may be prompted to select astart point; this option is used for sorting,and gives Mastercam an idea of where to begin milling. Choose wisely!

Setting Contour Options

Once you have selected your geometry,select the ‘Check Mark’ box located in the bottom of the Chaining Dialogue Box. Youwill begin setting parameters for your Mill-ing operation; you will also notice that theset up is much like the previous DrillingOperations from your rst project. Set your‘Toolpath Type’ to ‘Contour’ and selectyour bit from the tool Menu.

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2C Contour Parameters

Cut parameters features di erent optionson how the bit will mill through your oper-ation; but more importantly- it allows youto determine what type of lines you will be milling. It should automatically discov-er that these lines are 3D Contours, but ifnot please select ‘3D’ from the drop downmenu in the top right.

Please note that the Max Depth parameter isonly available if 3D curves are present in themodel le!

Depth Cuts

Max rough step sets the maximum amountof material removed in the Z axis with eachrough cut. Mastercam will calculate equalrough cuts no larger than the maximumrough step until it reaches the nal Z depth.The value is calculated as a percentageof the tool diameter if you select the Usetool’s step, peck, coolant option in the Toolsettings tab, Machine Group Properties di-alog box.

Finish cuts sets the number of nish cutsfor the toolpath. This number multiplied by the nish step value equals the totalamount of stock cut by the nish passes.Setting the number of nish cuts to 0 cre -ates no nish cuts.

Finish step sets the amount of material re-moved in the Z axis with each nish cut.This number multiplied by the number of

nish passes equals the total amount ofstock cut by the nish passes. The value iscalculated as a percentage of the tool diam-eter if you select the Use tool’s step, peck,coolant option in the Tool settings tab, Ma-chine Group Properties dialog box.

Keep Tool Down - use only when you haveclosed toolpaths, with an end point similarto the start point.

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Linking Parameters

For this operation we will set our clearanceat an Absolute height of 50 mm. Retract can be set to 10 mm Incrementally; and the feedPlane is set to 0.1 Incrementally. It is im-portant that you create your ‘Top of Stock’at an Absolute Height of 0 mm - as your‘Depth Cuts’ will rely on this number.

For a cut through of the material, set Depthto material thickness, in this example - 7.0mm. This indicates the maximum depththe tool will go into the material. Incremental values are relative to the chained

geometry - not to the Top of Stock! Clearence,

Retract and Feedplanes are measured from Topof Stock in incremental mode.

Retract sets the height that the tool moves up tobefore the next tool pass. Select the checkbox toactivate the retract plane, then click the buttonand select a point on the geometry or enter avalue. This option is o by default. The retractheight should be set above the feed plane. If youdo not enter a Clearance height, the tool will

move to the retract height between operations.In multiaxis toolpaths, Retract is an incremen-tal distance from the current tool position.

Lead In/Out

This direct how the tool will approach thegeometry to be cut.

Enter setting as per image. You can enterthe left side parameters, then click the rightarrow to copy to right side.

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Home/ Ref. Points and Planes (WCS)

The ‘Home / Ref. Points’ window, gives usthe option of setting a ‘Home Position’, Aspot in the operation where the tool can be-gin from, and nish with. This can be any -where on the table so long as it clears yourstock! X0, Y0, Z5 should work ne. Lastly,select the ‘Planes (WCS)’ window, andmake sure that all planed are set to a ‘TOP’view. Double check your settings, and hitthe checkmark button to apply your set-tings.

• A reference point is a location thatthe tool moves to between the home posi-tion and the start or end of the toolpath.• The home position is typicallywhere the tool moves for tool changes andat the end of the NC program.

You can create separate reference pointsfor approach and retract moves. The nextmove between the reference position andyour part is typically the clearance plane,de ned on the Linking parameters page.

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3A Prerequisites

Please note that this tutorial was createdin coordination with ARCH 48-532 “Digital

Tectonics – Robotic Fabrication”. You mustread and attempt the ‘Contour Operations’Tutorials before continuing.

Toolpaths| Surface Rough| Parallel

Begin by opening Mastercam and openingyour model. Turn on the rendered view tobe abel to examen your model. If the geom-etry look strange in anyway it has probably

been some kind of conversion problem. Thefor now best solution is to go back to Rhinoand mesh your geometry and then reopenin Mastercam. Next, you will create a Par-allel Roughing Surface Toolpath by select-ing ‘Toolpath’ from the Mastercam MenuBar; ‘Surface Rough’; and lastly ‘Parallel’.

Surface Selection | Boss/ Cavity

You will immediately be prompted by pro-moted to choose whether your geometryresembles a ‘Cavity’ or a ‘Boss’ object. Ingeneral, Boss objects tend to be extrudedparts of geometry surrounded by a cavity.Best to think of them as ‘islands’. For themost part you will usually be using sub-tractive processes.

Next, create your NC Name and selectyour ‘Drive Surface’. Your ‘Drive Surface/s’is the Surface/s you would like to mill. Afteryou select your Drive Surface/s, you mayhit ‘Enter’, and a new window appears.

You now have the option of selecting‘Check Surfaces’ and ‘Containment’ geom-etries. Check Surfaces are any surfacesyou would not like to be milled, while Con-tainment offers you an option to Mill within

a selected 2D Closed Line. These will beimportant features when Robotic Milling.

CREATINGASURFACEROUGHOPERATION

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3B Parametersa. Once we continue, we will nd that our‘Parameters Window’ is a little differentthan our 2.5 Axix Options. Get familiar with

this new appearance; as it will be a tem-plate for Robotic Milling in the future.

Toolpath ParametersBy now, you should be apt in guring your‘Toolpath Parameters’. Be sure to selectyour tool of choice; reset the tool num-ber, set your ‘Feed’, ‘Plunge’, and ‘SpindleSpeed’ accordingly. Lastly, you may setyour own ‘Retract Rate’, or simply select

the ‘Rapid Retract’ box option right belowit. Our Retract motions and speeds depicthow our tool moves from point to point be-tween operations. Rapid Retract will ref-erence the ‘Post Processor’ for the maxspeed allowed. (500 is always safe) Beforeyou continue, be sure to set your ‘HomePosition’; 0,0,5 is always safe. Also, ndthe ‘Planes’ box; select, and make sure allplanes are set to ‘TOP’.Recommended settings:FEED: max. 2500 for wood, 5000 for foamSPINDEL SPEED:about 10 000 with a smal toolabout 8000 with a thicker tool (e.g. 16mm)See separate sheet for more detailes.

Surface ParametersIn the ‘Surface Parameters’ tab we set ourLinking Parameters; and a few other op-tions gives us a little more versatility with

how our part is milled.

Stock to leave on ...If we seek a better nish for our part, wemay choose to leave a tiny portion of ma-terial left on our part for the Finishing Passto mill. We also have this option for our‘Check Surfaces’.

Tool Containment

If we have selected a 2D Closed Line forour ‘Containment’ –or- ‘Region’; we can sethow our bit interacts with this line. Is thebit limited to its TCP? (Tool Center Point)We can choose, different options and seewhat will best for our part. 17


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Rough Parallel Parameters

Finally we reach the ‘Rough Parallel Pa-rameters’ tab. Here we can set a variety

of options. First and foremost, our stepover and step down. Your ‘Max Step over’should not exceed a value half of your bitdiameter. ‘Max Step down’ should not beso large that it creates and excessive loadon the bit. Recommended for wood is max-imum 5 mm. For foam it is a lot more. Foamis a very forgiving material.

Machining Angle

Our ‘Machining Angle’ is relative to the ‘XAxis’; where a value of ‘0 Degrees’ createstoolpaths parallel with the ‘X Axis’.

Other options…

Our ‘Cutting Method’ usually works a littlefaster f we run in a ‘Zig-Zag’ motion. Un-less we are cutting a material with a grain,‘Zig-Zag’ is a preferred method. The nameshould give you an idea of what type oftoolpaths this option outputs. We can alsoselect options like ‘Allow Negative/ PositiveZ motion Along Surface’. All ‘Spiral Bits’have a Z Cutting Direction. ‘Down Spiral’Bits push material downward, while ‘UpSpiral’ pulls material up and out. Deselectthe ‘Negative Z’ option if you do not havea bit that cuts Downward; and vice versa.

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3C Finishing Toolpaths

a. After we have Back plotted and Veri edour Roughing Operation; we will mimic all

instructions thus far and created a ‘SurfaceFinishing Toolpath’. Please select Toolpath| Surface Finishing | Parallel from the menubar at the top of your screen.

Finishing Parallel Parameters

We select our ‘Driving Surfaces’, just asbefore; and being setting up our FinishingOperation. All instructions remain nearlyidentical until we arrive at the ‘Finish Paral-lel Parameters Tab.

Other Options…

For the most part, this tab is self-explan-atory; we set our ‘Max Stepover’ to ourdesired value, our ‘Cutting Method’; andlastly our ‘Machining Angle’. However,we must set our nal option to its correctvalues. Select the checkbox next to the‘Depth Limits’ option. You’ll nd it is muchlike the ‘Depth Cuts’ option from our ‘sur-face Rough’ operation. Set these valuesaccordingly and use the checkmark boxesto make your way back to the MastercamInterface. Backplot, Verify, then Post !

CREATINGASURFACEROUGHOPERATION

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Operations must be run through a postprocessor in order to be usable by yourmachine. This process is commonly re-ferred to as posting. This lesson will guide

you through selecting and posting all ofyour operations. Communicating the post-ed code to your machine is the last step ofthe toolpathing process in Masercam.

1. In the Toolpath Manager, click the SelectAll Operations button.

2. Click the Post Selected Operations but-ton. The post processing dialog box opens.

3. Set the post processing options asshown.

4. Click OK. The ‘Save As’ dialog boxopens.

5. Click Save to save the NC le in the de -fault location with the recommended lename.

Note: Producing the correct NC code foryour machine and application dependson properly con guring the machine de -nition, control de nition, and .PST le. Fordetailed information on machine de nition,control de nition, and posting, please see

Mastercam Help.

P O S T I N G T O O L P A T H

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Documents

Mastercam Instruction 20140206