About the PLAY PATH Dialog Box

When you display a tool path, the system opens the PLAY PATH dialog box. The collapsible upper portion of this dialog box lists the cutter location (CL) data for the NC sequence or operation. You can save this CL data in a CL file or an MCD file directly from the PLAY PATH dialog box, by clicking the appropriate option on the File menu.

Button	Name	Description
	Play Back	Display the tool motion going back from the current position of the tool.
	Stop	Stop displaying the tool path.
	Play Forward	Display the tool motion going forward from the current position of the tool.
	Go To Previous CL Record	Go to the previous CL record in the file.
	Rewind	Rewind to the start of the tool path.
	Fast Forward	Fast forward to the end of the tool path.
	Go To Next CL Record	Go to the next CL record in the file.

The Tool Clearance button lets you access the Measure functionality, to compute tool interference, and clearance. If a solid tool model is used, its geometry can be selected for measuring. If the tool is defined by parameters, it will be temporarily converted into a "dummy" part, with geometry based on the appropriate tool parameters.

The

Position Cutting Tool button lets you select a point on the tool path to position the cutting tool. To position the cutting tool at a certain CL data line, click NCL File > Position Tool.

The

button lets you measure the distance between two points on the generated toolpath. The measured distance is displayed in terms of the sequence Csys and respective difference of distance along X,Y, and Z axes. The distance is displayed on the status bar.

At the bottom of the dialog box, there is a slider to adjust the display speed. Moving the slider to the right makes the display faster; moving it to the left slows the display.

When displaying the tool path, you can make the tool stop at certain points by adding break points. You can also insert customized CL commands, such as the specific post-processor words required for correct NC output, at desired locations within the CL file. When you save the CL data, these commands will be output to the CL file. If you add a tool motion command, the corresponding motion will be also shown in the tool path display on the screen.