Manufacturing > Expert Machinist > Operations > The Operation Tab
The Operation Tab
Set elements for creating an operation using the following tabs:
Parameters–Provide values for following options on this tab:
PARTNO–The part name, output with the PARTNO command, as well as using PPRINT. You can type any name.
Startup File–Type the name of the file you want to be included at the very beginning of the operation CL file (after the PARTNO, MACHIN, and UNITS commands). The file must be located in your current working directory and have the extension .ncl.
Shutdown File–Type the name of the file you want to be included at the very end of the operation CL file. The file must be located in your current working directory and have the extension .ncl.
Output File–The default name for the operation cutter location (CL) data file. You can type any name. Clicking Use Default sets it back to the system default.
Options–Provide values for following options on this tab:
Stock Material–Select a name of the stock material. Click New to add a new stock material name.
Use Rotary Clearance–This option is available for 4-axis machines only. It allows you to define a safe z-level retract height for cutting tools, to ensure safety of table rotations. The Rotation Clearance value specifies the minimum distance by which the NC Model and fixture components will be cleared during table rotations. The default value is 2" (in English units) or 50 mm (in metric units). You can type any positive value. In addition, you can specify a Safe Rotary Point for tools that are too long to be retracted to the Rotation Clearance level. Type the X, Y, and Z coordinate values in the Safe Rotary Point text boxes. In order for a tool to use the Safe Rotary Point instead of Rotation Clearance, you have to mark it as "long" in the Tool Manager, by selecting the Long Tool check box on the Settings tabbed page of the Tool Setup dialog box.
Fixture Setup–This section contains the buttons for creating, modifying, and deleting fixture setups. The drop-down list contains the names of all the fixture setups defined for the operation, with the name of the currently active setup displayed in the list box.
Process– On the Process tab, optionally provide values for the following options:
Click to calculate the machining time for the step. The Calculated Time field is populated automatically with the time.
Actual Time–Specify the actual machining time for the machine step.
On the Properties tab, optionally specify the operation name or comments. The operation name identifies the operation within the manufacturing process. The default operation names have the format OP010 [MILL01], OP020 [MILLTURN02], where the number gets automatically incremented by the system and the text in brackets denotes the work center.
Select one of the following options depending on your requirement:
Click to save the changes.
Click to pause the process of creating the operation and use one of the asynchronous tools.
Click to cancel the changes.