To Create a Volume Milling NC Sequence
1. Ensure that you are in a Mill or Mill/Turn workcell.
2. Click
Mill >
Volume Rough.
The Volume Milling tab opens.
|  You can also create or edit a step from the Process Manager. For details, see To Insert a Milling Step. |
3. Select
,
,
, or
for milling on Head 1, Head 2, Head 3, or Head 4.
4. Click
Tool Manager or select
Edit Tools from the tool list box to open the
Tools Setup dialog box and add a new cutting tool. Alternatively, right-click in the graphics window and select
Tools.
| To show tools for the current step and the active head on the machine tool, set the INCLUDE_ALL_TOOLS_IN_LIST option to YES. |
5. To preview the cutting tool and its orientation in the graphics window, click
to the right of the tool list box. The
button becomes available once a tool is selected.
Alternatively, right-click the graphics window and select the Tool Preview option on the shortcut menu. After you select a tool, the Tool Preview option is available on the shortcut menu of the graphics window.
To exit the tool preview, right-click the graphics window and select Cancel tool preview from the shortcut menu.
6. To change the coordinate system that defines the orientation of the step, click the collector adjacent to
and select a coordinate system. If the operation coordinate system differs from the step coordinate system, right-click the collector for the following commands:
◦ Default—Replaces the selected coordinate system with the default reference. The default is the orientation that is copied from the previous step or from the operation.
◦ Information—Displays the information of the selected coordinate system.
| After you specify a coordinate system for an NC sequence, it remains in effect until you change it. |
Alternatively, right-click the graphics window and select Orientation from the shortcut menu.
7. Select the following options on the References tab:
◦ Machining Reference—Activate the machining reference collector and select a milling volume or mill window from the graphics area or Model Tree. All the selected surfaces are machined. Alternatively, right-click the graphics window and select Machining Reference.
◦ Excluded Surfaces—Select surfaces that lie inside the mill volume that you want ignored while machining.
◦ Loops To Close—Select loops to close in the machining area to avoid the tool entering inside the specific opening.
◦ Scallop Surfaces—If you have specified the SCALLOP_HGT parameter, select surfaces to be excluded from scallop computation. For mill window, select surfaces of the reference model and for mill volume select surfaces of the mill volume.
◦ Approach Walls Surfaces—For mill window, select the one or more sides of the mill window. For mill volume, select the mill volume.
◦ Top Surface—Explicitly define the top surfaces, that is, surfaces of a mill volume that can be penetrated by the tool when creating the tool path. Use this option only if some of the top surfaces of the volume are not parallel to the retract plane. If Mill Window is used, this option is not available. The window start plane is used as the top surface.
Alternatively, right-click the graphics window and select machining reference options from the shortcut menu.
8. On the Parameters tab, specify the required manufacturing parameters.
You can also click
to copy parameters from an earlier step or click
to edit parameters specific to Roughing. By default, the required parameters are defined by relations that you can modify from the
Relations dialog box.
Alternatively, right-click the graphics window and select Parameters from the shortcut menu.
9. On the Clearance tab, optionally specify the following:
◦ Retract—Specify the Type, Reference, Orientation, and Value for the retract definition
◦ Start and End Points—Specify the Start point and End Point for the step tool path.
Alternatively, right-click the graphics window and select Retract. You can also select the Start Point and End Point of the cutting tool from the shortcut menu.
10. On the Traverse Plane tab, optionally specify the following:
◦ Reference—Select an intermediate reference plane for the tool to traverse between cuts while machining a volume
◦ Value—Enter the distance of the traverse plane from the selected reference.
11. On the
Options tab, open a part or assembly to use as a cutting tool adapter. Alternatively, click
to copy cutting tool adapter from another step.
12. Select options on the Tool Motions tab to create, modify, and delete tool motions and CL commands for defining cut motions. For details on all the tool motions, see the topics under Related Links.
Alternatively, right-click the graphics window and select Tool Motion Options.
| The Return to Step Options option on the shortcut menu in the graphics window enables you to switch from editing tool motions and editing step references. This option is available only when all references for tool path computation are successfully defined. |
13. Click
to get a dynamic preview of the tool path in the graphics window.
14. On the Process tab, optionally use any of the following options for the machining step:
◦ Calculated Time—Click
to automatically calculate the machining time for the step. The
Calculated Time box shows the time.
◦ Actual Time—Specify the machining time.
◦ Prerequisites—Click
. The
Select Step dialog box opens. Select an existing step that is a prerequisite for the new roughing step. Click
OK.
| The Prerequisites option is available on the Process tab while creating or editing a step from the Process Manager. |
15. On the Properties tab, optionally specify the name or comments for the step.
◦ Name—Displays the name of the step. You can type another name.
◦ Comments—Type the comments associated with the step in the text box or use the following options:
▪ 
—Read in an existing text file containing step comments and replace any current step comments.
▪ 
—Insert the contents of an existing text file of step comments at the cursor location. Preserve any current step comments
▪ 
—Save current step comments in a text file.
▪ 
—Accept the current step comments.
16. After you define the mandatory step elements, the following buttons become available:
◦ To play the tool path, click
.
◦ To perform gouge checking against surfaces of the reference part, click
.
◦ To view the simulation of material removal as the tool is cutting the workpiece, click
. The
Material Removal tab with integrated simulation environment opens.
17. Select one of the following options to complete the sequence:
◦ Click
to save the changes.
◦ Click
to pause the process and use one of the asynchronous tools. Click
to resume.
◦ Click
to cancel the changes.