WHAT'SNEWIN MASTERCAM2018 FORSOLIDWORKS · forum.mastercam.com,orusetheknowledgebaseatkb.mastercam.com. ContactUs ForquestionsaboutthisorotherMastercamforSOLIDWORKSdocumentation,con-

WHAT'S NEW INMASTERCAM 2018FOR SOLIDWORKS

March 2017

WHAT'S NEW IN MASTERCAM 2018 FORSOLIDWORKS

March 2017© 2017 CNC Software, Inc. – All rights reserved.Software: Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS

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Be sure you have the latest information!Informationmight have changed or been added since this document was published.The latest version of the document is installed with Mastercam or can be obtainedfrom your local Reseller. A ReadMe file (ReadMe.PDF) – installed with each release –includes the latest information about Mastercam features and enhancements.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 7

Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS Resources 7

Contact Us 8

General Enhancements 9

Additional Image Support 9

Analyze Toolpath 10

5-axis vector information 10

Display options 11

Bounding Box Face Points 12

Control Selection of Colinear Lines 13

Isometric Reverse and Trimetric Planes 13

Mastercam Simulator 14

Create bookmarks 14

Create presentation 15

Machine Simulation 15

Nesting Enhancements 17

Create labels 18

New location for temporary files 18

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User-definedmaximum priority 18

Saving Files Workflow 19

Mastercam control definition files 19

Mastercammachine definition files 19

Work Offsets 20

XML Post Text 21

Tool Enhancements 24

Improved Inch andMetric Support 24

New Tool Importers 24

Importing with CoroPlus 25

Importing with Machining Cloud 26

Mill Enhancements 28

Override Arc Feed Rate 28

2D Enhancements 29

Contour enhancements 29

Depth cut direction 32

Depth cut order 32

Finish passes 33

Linking associativity 35

Plunge entry support 36

Spring passes 37

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Stock awareness 38

Undercut support 38

Taper support 38

3D Enhancements 39

Disable undercut tool support 39

Follow containment 40

High speed workflow 40

Smoothing 42

Multiaxis Enhancements 44

Collision Control page 44

Common direction 45

Dropping 46

Line distance from curve 47

Maintain tilt 47

Multiaxis Link Safety Zone 48

Surface edge tolerance 49

Lathe Enhancements 50

Chip Break 50

Groove Enhancements 52

Cut direction options 52

Starting location 52

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Prevent Up Cutting 54

Rough Enhancements 57

Section turning 57

Semi-finish speed and feed 59

Stock Model Support 59

Tool Inspection 59

Router Enhancements 60

Starting up Router 60

Automatic Toolpathing (ATP) 61

Block Drill toolpaths 61

Door and Stair 62

Saw toolpaths 63

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7

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS! Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKSfeatures new functionality focused on delivering speed and efficiency to your machin-ing jobs.

Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS ResourcesEnhance your Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS experience by using the followingresources:

l Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS Documentation—Mastercam installs a number ofhelpful documents for your version of software in the \Documentation folderof your Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS installation.

l Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS Help—Access Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS' helpby selectingMastercam2018, Contents, from the SOLIDWORKS Helpmenu orby clickingHelp Topics in the Mastercam Info center on the SOLIDWORKSTask Pane.

l Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS Reseller—Your local Mastercam Reseller can helpwithmost questions about Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS.

l Technical Support—Our Technical Support department (860-875-5006 [email protected]) is openMonday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to5:30 p.m. USA Eastern Standard Time.

l Mastercam Tutorials—We offer a series of tutorials to help registered usersbecome familiar with basic Mastercam features and functions. Visit our web-site to see the latest publications.

l Mastercam University—Mastercam University, an affordable online learningplatform, gives you 24/7 access to Mastercam trainingmaterials. Take

What'sNew in Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS— Introduction

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advantage of more than 180 videos to master skills at your own pace and helpprepare for Mastercam Certification. For more information onMastercamUniversity, please contact your AuthorizedMastercam Reseller, visitwww.mastercamu.com, or email [email protected].

l Online Communities—You can find a wealth of information atwww.mastercam.com. For tech tips and the latest Mastercam news, follow uson Facebook (www.facebook.com/mastercam), Twitter(www.twitter.com/mastercam), or Google+ (plus.google.com/+mastercam).Visit our YouTube channel to see Mastercam in action(www.youtube.com/user/MastercamCadCam)! Registered users can searchfor information or ask questions on the MastercamWeb forum,forum.mastercam.com, or use the knowledgebase at kb.mastercam.com.

Contact UsFor questions about this or other Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS documentation, con-tact the Technical Documentation department by email at [email protected].

What'sNew in Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS— Introduction

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GENERAL ENHANCEMENTS

Listed below are general enhancements made to Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS.This includes improvements to selection, general toolpath enhancements, and otherfunctions not specific to one product line.

Additional Image SupportSetup sheet can now generate these additional image types:

l JPG

l PNG

l GIF

Choose the desired format in the Setup Sheet dialog box. Also, additional XML tagshave been added to the database for Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS.

What'sNew in Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS—General Enhancements

Analyze Toolpath

5-axis vector informationAnalyze Toolpath now includes XYZ location data corresponding to the mouse locationat the start (green) or end (red) of the toolpath segment. This information is in addi-tion to the feed and speed data that is shown between the start and end of the seg-ment.


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Display optionsYou can choose to display or hide the tool and holder during Analyze Toolpath. Usethe Opacity slider to control their translucency.


Bounding Box Face PointsIn Mastercam 2017 for SOLIDWORKS, Face center points were introduced and weretied to Center points. Now, Face center points and Center points are independent ofeach other.

You can use theMake Center Point option to create a single point in the middle ofthe Bounding Box and/or use theMake face center points option to create points atthe center of each face.


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Control Selection of Colinear LinesYou can now set whether or not selected colinear lines will be automatically joined. Itis enabled by default.

To disable the automatic joining, set Automatically join colinear lines in Chainselection to Disable in the Toolpath Support page of the Mastercam Advanced Con-figuration dialog box.

Isometric Reverse and Trimetric PlanesTwo new standard planes, Iso Reverse and Trimetric, have been added to the CreateRelative Planes dialog box.


Mastercam SimulatorListed below are enhancements made to Mastercam Simulator.

Create bookmarksYou can now create bookmarks in Mastercam Simulator that refer back to variouspoints during Verify, Backplot, or Simulation.

You can add a bookmark, clear a bookmark, or clear all bookmarks. Use AutomaticBookmark to insert bookmarks at certain locations, such as a tool change or oper-ation change. The bookmarks are then displayed on the playback bar. Simply selectany bookmark icon to display the part as it is at that moment. You can also use CreateBookmark on the playback bar to add a bookmark.

If you exit Mastercam Simulator or regenerate the toolpaths, the bookmarks arecleared automatically. They do not persist between sessions.


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Create presentationYou can now create a presentation fromMastercam Simulator. Saving a presentationlets you preserve your settings and layout of your Mastercam Simulator session andcan be used to show a simulation on any computer, even if it does not haveMastercam.

Select Save Presentation on the Home tab to create your presentation.

Machine SimulationA light-weight version of Machine Simulation is now available within Mastercam Sim-ulator. Select Verify from the Toolpaths Manager, and select Simulation on theHome tab to view the machine simulation.


To set options for Machine Simulation inside Mastercam Simulator, select SimulatorOptions on the Toolpaths Manager to display the redesigned dialog box.

Use the Components tab to set up stock and fixtures. Use the Data tab to set tol-erances. Use the Simulation tab to set the machine, position, and tolerance.

If you do not have a machine selected when enteringMastercam Simulator,Mastercam will default to a generic machine or a machine that was selected in theMachine Simulation dialog box for the standalone Machine Simulation.


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Once inside of Simulation, you have access to the same options as you do in Verifymode. You can use clipping planes, save the stock as an STL, or use Collision Check-ing.

Nesting EnhancementsListed below are enhancements made to nesting.


Create labelsUse Place label on top of solid to create labels on the top of the solid, instead of atZ zero. This new option is located on the Nesting Configuration dialog box.

New location for temporary filesTemporary nesting files now go into Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS's default tempfolder ( ...\McamForSW2018\common\TEMP) so that you can safely make themread-only if necessary.

User-defined maximum priorityYou can now define the highest maximum priority value for parts and sheets in theNesting Configuration dialog box.


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Saving Files WorkflowWith the release of Mastercam 2017 for SOLIDWORKS, file extensions no longer con-tain version numbers. To ensure that Mastercam does not overwrite your machine,and control definition files, the save file workflow has been changed.

Mastercam control definition filesWhen you open a Mastercam 2017 for SOLIDWORKS control definition file in 2018,Mastercam displays the following warningmessage:

If you choose Yes, a backup of the original file is saved to the following location:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\shared McamForSW2018\CNC_MACHINES\OlderVersions\2017

If you choose No, the Save As dialog box displays, and you can rename the file using aunique name.

Mastercammachine definition filesWhen you open a Mastercam 2017 for SOLIDWORKS machine definition file andmakea change, a backup of the original file is automatically saved to the following location:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\shared McamForSW2018\CNC_MACHINES\OlderVersions\2017


Any changes made to Mastercam X9 or older versionmachine definition files aresaved with their original extension.

Work OffsetsWhen you update a plane's work offset, the Update Plane dialog box now indicateshowmany operations are affected by the change. After selecting an update option,the right side of the dialog box shows which planes will be updated.

You can select different update options and see which operations will be affectedbefore committing the change.


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XML Post TextThe Control DefinitionManager's Text page right-click menu has been enhanced. Youcan now change the text item to display as User text, System column text, or as anXML item tag.

Export Text and Export XML have been changed to only export as XML. You can nolonger output as text.


When importing into the Control DefinitionManager, the Post Text dialog box hasbeen enhanced to now display the Control key and the Language key.


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You can also use the Post Text dialog box to remove control keys, by selectingRemove text section from post from the right-click menu.


TOOL ENHANCEMENTS

Listed below are tooling enhancements made to Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKSMill tools.

Improved Inch and Metric SupportMastercam for SOLIDWORKS now supports mixing inch andmetric tools and holderswhen building tool assemblies in Mill. You can use metric tools in inch part files andinch tools in metric part files. This includes proper tool compensation and scaling inBackplot and Verify.

Note: This does not support scaling operation parameters when changing systemunits.

New Tool ImportersSupport was added for importing tool assemblies from CoroPlus andMachiningCloud. Right-click in the tool list in the Mill Classic Tool Manager, and select Import/-export tools, Import tool data from, and select the appropriate import option.

This launches another dialog box to allow you to select the tools you wish to import.

What'sNew in Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS—Tool Enhancements

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Importing with CoroPlusWhen selecting CoroPlus from the right-click menu, the CoroPlus Tool Importer con-nects to the CoroPlus local host server and displays a list of all the tools that you havein CoroPlus' Assemblies list.

The cloud icon in the second column indicates that the associated tool assembly hasnot been validated.


To bring one or more tools into your Mastercam part or a .tooldb file, you select oneor more items from the list, and select Validate at the top of the CoroPlus ToolImporter dialog box. If the tool assembly passes Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS's val-idation tests, you will see a green checkmark indicating that it can now be saved. Thisalso applies to importing tools fromMachining Cloud (see "Importing with MachiningCloud" below).

If Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS detects problems with the tool, an icon will displayindicating the severity of the problem. A red X indicates that there is a critical issuethat must be resolved first. A yellow exclamationmark indicates a non-critical warn-ing. Use the hyperlink in the description field to review or edit the tool in question.

Importing with Machining CloudWhen selecting Machining Cloud from the right-click menu, the Machining Cloud ToolImporter dialog box displays. The importer does not connect to a server process;instead, you import ZIP files containing your tool assemblies using the Open button.


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Similar to importing with CoroPlus (see "Importing with CoroPlus" on page 25), allassemblies must be validated before they can be used in Mastercam.


MILL ENHANCEMENTS

Listed below are Mill enhancements made to Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS. Thisincludes improvements to the 2D, 3D, andMultiaxis suite of toolpaths.

Override Arc Feed RateYou can now select to override the arc feed rate on the Arc Filter / Tolerance page ofthe following toolpaths:

l 2D Contour

l Slot Mill

l Waterline

As the tool moves through relativity small inside arcs, the perimeter of the tool is mov-ing through the material faster than the center of the tool. When the cutter movesthrough outside arcs, the perimeter of the cutter is moving through the materialslower than the center of the tool, which results in a decreased chipload on the tool.

What'sNew in Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS—Mill Enhancements

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By selectingOverride Arc Feed Rate and entering aMax ID decrease or aMax ODincrease value, Mastercam will adjust the feed rate for inside arcs and increase thefeed rate for outside arcs by using the current motion's arc radius and the cutter sizeto calculate the proper feed rate.

2D EnhancementsListed below are enhancements made to the 2D suite of toolpaths.

Contour enhancementsThe following enhancements apply to the standard 2D Contour toolpath.

Chamfer tool offset

In previous versions, you could only modify the Tip offsetwhen chamfer milling, allow-ing you to control how far past the bottom chamfer rail the tip of the chamfer toolextends.

In 2018, Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS supports options to offset from the top or thebottom of your chamfer rail. Top offset places the full diameter of the chamfer tool ata specified distance above the top rail of the chamfer. Bottom offset amount ensures


the tip of the tool clears the bottom of the chamfer.Width has also been renamed toChamfer width.

You can also now enter 0.0 for the Chamfer width when using a chamfer tool. Thisallows you to chain the top or bottom rail of an existing chamfer and place the cham-fer where you desire using the top or bottom offset value.

Machine finish passes

SelectMachine finish passes after roughing all contours on the Multi Passespage to machine finish passes after all rough cuts and depth cuts have been com-pleted.


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Multi pass order

In Mastercam 2017 for SOLIDWORKS, multi passes were only ordered By contour,meaning it completed one chain before moving on to the next. In 2018, you can nowchoose By contour or By pass on the Multi Passes page.

By pass orders the multi passes by pass number. It will run the first multi pass on allcontours, then the secondmulti pass on all contours, and so on.

Rough pass cut direction

You can now control the cut direction of rough passes on the Multi Passes page.Select either One way or Zigzag. One way causes the roughmulti passes to behaveas they did in past versions. Zigzag will alternate the cut direction between climb andconventional.

Both options respect the Keep tool down option.


Depth cut directionContour, Circle Mill, Pocket, and Facing toolpaths now support a Step up or Stepdown depth cut direction, located on the Depth Cuts page. These options allow you toorder your cuts from top to bottom or from bottom to top.

Depth cut orderSimilar to Contour and 2D Pocket, you can now set the depth cut order By region/Bycontour or By depth on the Depth Cuts page for the following toolpaths:

l Dynamic Mill

l Area Mill

l Dynamic Contour


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By depthmachines at each Z level for all machining regions before stepping down.By contour and By regionmachine eachmachining region to completion before mov-ing to the next.

Finish passesTwo options are now available on the Multi Passes page for Contour and the Finishingpage for Circle Mill toolpaths. In previous versions, you could only machine finishpasses at all depths or at the final depth. Now you can add or remove finish cuts,based on the number of rough depth cuts specified on the Depth Cuts page.

Add between creates a finish pass at all depth cuts and adds a specified amount ofpasses between depth cuts. For example, when set to 2, Mastercam adds two evenlyspaced passes between depth cuts. In the image below, the red lines represent depthcuts and the blue lines represent multi-pass finish passes.


Per number of adds a finish pass only at every specified depth cut. A multi-pass fin-ish pass is always added to the last depth cut. When set to 2, Mastercam adds a finishpass only at every second depth cut, depicted by the blue and red lines togetherbelow.


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Linking associativityYou can use associative points to program your linkingmoves for most 2D toolpaths.These new features are located on the Linking Parameters page.

For example, if the top of a feature should be cleared by a certain amount, you canenter a Clearance amount, select Associative, and then pick a point on the feature inthe graphics window. The Clearance plane will always be the specified incrementalvalue above the point, even if the feature is moved.

The following toolpaths do not use the associative points:

l Point

l Engrave


l All Wireframe toolpaths (Ruled, Lofted, Revolved, Coons patch, Swept)

Plunge entry supportPlunge entry is now supported for Dynamic Mill toolpaths. Set the Entry method toPlunge only on the Entry Motion page. This option allows you to plunge directly intomaterial. Previously, you had to set Entry method toHelix and the Plunge angle to90°.


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Spring passesSpring passes has been added to the Finish Passes, Finishing, Multi Passes, orRough/Finish page of the toolpaths listed below. Spring passes create additional fin-ish passes along the same path as the last finish pass. In other words, use this optionto create additional finish passes with a spacing of zero between the passes. This canused for parts with thinmaterial that may have flexed away from the tool during pre-vious passes.

l Dynamic Contour

l Peel

l Blend

l Contour

l Slot Mill

l Circle Mill


Stock awarenessStock awareness has been added to 2D Drill, ThreadMill, Helix Bore, and Circle Mill.The tool motion can now use the top, bottom, or both values of the stock. All of the link-ing parameters can be set to adapt to changing stock values.

Undercut supportSelectUndercut (undercut tool only) when using an undercut tool to support toolcompensation. This option is available on the Depth Cuts page for Contour, Pocket,Face, and Circle Mill toolpaths.

When a slot mill tool, withUndercut (undercut tool only) and Step up selected,there are the following changes:

l Stock to leave becomes inverted. It becomes a distance in -/+ Z directionfrom the top of stock location.

l Break through becomes inverted. It becomes a distance in -/+ Z directionfrom the top of stock location.

Taper supportCircle Mill toolpaths now support tapered walls. Select Tapered walls on the DepthCuts page to angle depth cuts from the top of the stock to the final depth.


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3D EnhancementsListed below are enhancements made to the 3D suite of toolpaths.

Disable undercut tool supportWhen you select an undercut tool, but do not want to machine the undercut area,select Detect undercuts on the Rough Parameters tab for Surface Rough Pocket andon the Finish contour parameters tab for Surface Finish Contour. Detect undercutsdisables undercutting when using an undercut tool.


Follow containmentFollow containment has been added to the Steep/Shallow page for Waterlinetoolpaths. This option is only available when Contact is set to Tool assembly contact.

Follow containment allows the tool to follow the containment boundary back to thestart of the cut, creating clean closed passes. This also helps to avoid partial cutswhen a containment boundary was directly on top of a vertical surface.

High speed workflowThe workflow for all 3D High Speed toolpaths has been streamlined. You can nowdefine which part geometry to machine and which geometry to avoid. For each geo-metry group you create, you can also assign variable stock to leave values on its wallsand floors.


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When selecting any of the 3D High Speed toolpaths, you first select the necessary geo-metry. Once you clickOK in the Selection panel, you are brought to the Model Geo-metry page in the toolpath dialog box.

Use the Model Geometry page to create different types of geometry groups anddefine their attributes, such as color and the amount of stock to leave.

All of the geometry selection options that were previously located on the ToolpathType page have been removed and relocated to the Model Geometry page or theToolpath Control page.

The Toolpath Control page also includes options that were previously located on theTool Containment page, which has been removed. On this page, you can further refine


your toolpath by setting an Approximate start point, the Strategy, and otheroptions.

SmoothingThe high speed Hybrid toolpath now offers smoothing controls, similar to the Sharpcorner smoothing options for the Finish Scallop toolpath. Select Smoothing on theCut Parameters page to enable these options.


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Angle is the minimum angle between two toolpath segments that you wantMastercam to consider as a sharp angle. Blend distance is the distance Mastercamwill back away from the sharp corners before and after.

Smoothing off Smoothing on


Multiaxis EnhancementsListed below are enhancements made to the Multiaxis suite of toolpaths.

Collision Control pageThe Collision Control page has been redesigned for 2018. The following list encom-passes the changes made:

l Strategies 3 and 4 have beenmoved to a new Additional Collision ControlStrategies page.

l Items on the Advanced Parameters page have beenmoved to the CollisionControl page.

l The Tool Clearance page has been removed, and its parameters are now onthe Collision Control page.

l Shaft has been renamed to Shoulder.

l Arbor has been renamed to Shank.


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Common directionCommon direction has been added to the Tool Axis Control page, which keeps thetool at a uniform tilt angle to reduce tool andmachine motion. It is available for the fol-lowing toolpaths:

l Morph

l Parallel

l Along Curve

l Triangular Mesh

l Project Curve


Select Common direction and then choose either On all contours or On single con-tour.

DroppingDropping has been added to the 3 to 5 axis toolpath. This option projects the 3 axistoolpath onto the selected surfaces, adjusting the tool vectors to be normal to the sur-face.


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Line distance from curveAn option has been added to the Tool Axis Control page when using Lines for tool axiscontrol for a Curve toolpath. This distance specifies how far from the curve a tool axiscontrol line can be and still affect the tool.

Maintain tiltMaintain tilt keeps the tool tilted during retract and feedmoves in an effort toreduce tool andmachine motion. This option is available when Tool axis control isset to Fixed angle to axis on the Tool Axis Control page.

This option is available for the followingMultiaxis toolpaths:


l Morph

l Parallel

l Along Curve

l Triangular Mesh

l Project Curve

l 3-to-5 axis

Multiaxis Link Safety ZoneThe Multiaxis Link Safety Zone page has been redesigned. The images have beenupdated to better reflect the parameters, and a newDefine Shape button has beenadded.


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Select Define Shape to select the faces and bodies to create a safety zone aroundand clickOK. Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS then displays the appropriate function,such as Block.

Surface edge toleranceSurface edge tolerance has been improved, particularly when creating a Curvetoolpath. If the curve lies on the edge of a trimmed surface or solid face, and the sur-face or solid face is used as the normal to control the tool axis, the toolpath will gen-erate as expected.


LATHE ENHANCEMENTS

Listed below are Lathe enhancements made to Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS.

Chip BreakChip Break, which was introduced in Mastercam 2017 for SOLIDWORKS for standardRough and Contour Rough toolpaths, is now available for Face and Finish toolpaths.Use this option to establish when chip breaks occur.

What'sNew in Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS—Lathe Enhancements

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Chip Break is located on the Finish parameters and Face parameters tabs, respect-ively. Select the checkbox, and click Chip Break to open the dialog box. This option isvaluable when working with stringy materials, such as aluminum or plastic, and allowsyou to set length and time conditions, retract, and dwell options.

Chip Break on

Chip Break off


Groove EnhancementsListed below are the enhancements made to the Groove toolpath.

Cut direction optionsThe Bi-Directional option on the Groove rough parameters tab has been changed toBi-Direction, Alternating. With this option selected, after the toolpath's initialplunge, it alternates between negative and positive directions until the requiredmater-ial is removed.

The following options have also been added to the Cut Direction drop-down:

l Bi-Directional, Positive First: Machines the positive side first and then doesthe negative.

l Bi-Directional, Negative First: Machines the negative side first and thendoes the positive.

l Chain Direction: Machines in the direction of the chain.

Starting locationWhen cutting a face, Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS now calculates the optimal plungepoint so that each side of the tool removes the same volume of material. This bal-


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ances wear between the two sides of the tool. Shown below, the initial plunge point isoffset so that the remaining stock has an equal volume on the X+ and X- side.


Prevent Up CuttingPrevent up cutting defines the orientation of the non-cutting portion of the insert.This option is available on the Dynamic rough parameters tab for Dynamic Roughtoolpaths.


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For example, in the image below, you can see the tool shank crashing into the mater-ial as it tries to cut the toolpath.


When Prevent up cutting is selected and Angle is set to 0 degrees, Mastercam forSOLIDWORKS generates a toolpath that cuts only with the lower portion of the toolinsert.


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Rough EnhancementsListed below are enhancements made to the standard Rough toolpath.

Section turningLathe Rough now has a Section turning option, located on the Rough parameterstab, that lets you cut stock inmultiple sections. You can choose to break the toolpathinto equal sections, into sections of exact distance with one section being theremainder, or equal sections based on the given distance.


Section turning off

Section turning on (Set to Exact length)


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Semi-finish speed and feedYou can now set different feeds and/or speeds for the semi-finish pass in the Semi Fin-ish Parameters dialog box for a standard Rough toolpath. To access this dialog box,select the checkbox, and select Semi Finish on the Rough parameters tab.

Stock Model SupportThe Stock Model operation now supports Lathe part-handling operations. After thepart handling operations complete, the stockmodel will end up with the stock bound-ary.

Tool InspectionYou can now perform a tool inspection at the end of a standard Rough toolpath. Addi-tionally, Tool Inspection has been added to the Face toolpath on the Face para-meters tab.


ROUTER ENHANCEMENTS

Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS introduces support for Router, including Sawtoolpaths, Block Drilling toolpaths, and drawing door and stair geometry.

Note: Youmust have a Mastercam Router license to runMastercam for SOLIDWORKSRouter.

Starting up RouterTo activate Router, youmust select a Router Machine from the Tools,Mastercam2018, Router Machinesmenu.

You can have Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS default to the Router product on start-upby setting Startup Product to Router on the Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS page inSystem Configuration.

All specialized Router toolpaths are available through the menus once you activate aRouter machine. Mill toolpaths are also available to Mastercam for SOLIDWORKSRouter users with the appropriate license level.

What'sNew in Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS—Router Enhancements

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Automatic Toolpathing (ATP)Automatic Toolpathing (ATP) is now available for Mastercam 2018 for SOLIDWORKS.ATP automates the process of assigning toolpaths to geometry for recurrent partsusing a machining strategy. A machining strategy contains one or more level namesthat are associated or mapped to Mastercam operations.

The familiar process that is used in Mastercam is repeated in Mastercam forSOLIDWORKS. Create your operations library, read your part files, create yourstrategy, pick your cutlist, and then begin creating your toolpaths. Access ATP throughthe Toolpath Utilities menu.

Block Drill toolpathsUse Block Drill toolpaths to take advantage of the capabilities of a drill block or gangtooling. During a Block Drill operation, Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS selectively dropsdifferent drills depending on the holes that need to be drilled.

l Use the different drills on the drill block to automatically drill several holes atthe same time.


l Mount different size drills in the block and have Mastercam for SOLIDWORKSdrop the proper drill for each hole.

Unlike other drilling operations where you can select point entities or other locations,Block Drill toolpaths require that you select arcs. Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS usesthe arc diameter to determine which drills to drop for each hole. You can select holesof different diameter. Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS drills a hole only if it finds a drill ofmatching size in the block. When creating the toolpath, you can specify a matching tol-erance.

Block Drill is located under the Point/Circle Toolpathsmenuwhen a Router machineis active.

Door and StairYou can also create door and stair geometry by selecting Create Door or CreateStair from the CAD Functionsmenu on theMastercam2018 tab.


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Saw toolpathsSaw toolpaths are used to drive a saw blade cutting along a straight line. You can pro-grammultiple saw cuts using a single tool plane (for example, TOP) in a single oper-ation.

Typically, the axis of rotation of the saw blade is parallel to the sheet. Use the MachineDefinitionManager to define a right angle aggregate for the machine definition usedwith this toolpath.

When selecting chains for a Saw toolpath, you indicate a kerf direction (cut side).


Saw is located under the 2D Toolpaths menu when a Router machine is active.


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