SmartCAM V17 Planar Roughing From Solid Models
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SmartCAM V17.0: Planar Roughing From Solid Models

An all-new process for automated roughing toolpath generation directly from a solid model is introduced in SmartCAM Advanced Milling, Advanced Turning and FreeForm Machining V17.0

 

New Planar Rough From Solids

The new Planar Rough process generates toolpath for rough machining from a solid or surface model using a stock volume.

SmartCAM's new Planar Roughing Process generates toolpath to rough a solid model from stock
SmartCAM's new Planar Roughing Process generates toolpath to rough a solid model from stock.

Planar Rough is extremely versatile, allowing the solid model to consist of any combination of core and cavity features, with open or closed, blind or through pockets, and containing any number of shelves or islands. It can be used for roughing either simple, prismatic parts or complex molds and dies, and supports straight and tapered flat, bull, and ball endmills.

The resulting toolpath is held in a regenerable container, capturing all the parameters and settings used to create the toolpath, making it simple to specify any required changes, or to experiment with new settings before regenerating new toolpath.

 

Planar Rough - Core/Cavity/Open Region Machining - New in V17.0

The new Planar Rough process includes all the functionality contained within the Solid Pocket process. Planar Rough can be freely applied to any combination of part features including closed cavities, closed cores, or open profiles, and automatically closes open profiles to the stock boundary to form machinable regions.

Roughing toolpath applied to open pocket feature.
Roughing toolpath applied to open pocket feature.

 

Planar Rough - Pocket/Profile Pattern Switching - New in V17.0

The primary machining strategies include Spiral, Zigzag, and Linear pocketing patterns. Spiral pattern directions can be optionally reversed for open regions, allowing a spiral-out toolpath for cavities, and a spiral in for cores and island tops. This allows the most efficient toolpath strategy to be applied to the various regions of a part in a single process.

SmartCAM Planar Roughing switching between Spiral and Profiling toolpath in a single process
SmartCAM Planar Roughing switching between Spiral and Profiling toolpath in a single process.

Additionally, open profile regions can be optionally machined using a unidirectional or bidirectional Open Profile method, providing further machining strategies to ensure efficient toolpath.

 

Planar Rough - Stock Model Defined from Multiple Stock Profiles - New in V17.0

Planar roughing supports stock definitions based on extruded profiles which represent either stock volumes or voids. The roughing toolpath is created only for those regions containing stock.

SmartCAM model with inner bore, open pockets, and closed pockets to be machined from stock containing an inner void
SmartCAM Model with inner bore, open pockets, and closed pockets to be machined from stock containing an inner void.

Planar Rough correctly considers the stock void inside the bore and creates toolpath to machine only where material exists. In the below example, a spiral pocketing pattern is applied to the center bore, and a series of profile cuts to the open slot features.

Using SmartCAM's new Planar Rough process, toolpath to machine all the part features in a single process was created in minutes
Using SmartCAM's new Planar Rough process, toolpath to machine all the part features in a single process was created in minutes.

Additionally, the outer region is cut using an outside-in spiral pattern, and the inner bore and pockets use spiral-out. The open pocket areas are cut using climb cut profile passes.