About Conventional Milling
Conventional milling NC sequence generates a tool path where:
• The tool completely machines the selected surfaces. If a surface is not bounded by walls on the outside, the tool straddles, that is, overruns the surface boundary by a half diameter.
• Any inner protrusions, as well as the outer walls extending up from the surface, are avoided, automatically. The stock allowance, if any, applies to the side walls as well.
• If a surface is selected from model, any slots or holes on the surface are patched, that is, the tool path is generated as if they were not there.
• If you want to eliminate negative Z moves of the tool (for example, when machining hard materials), use the ALLOW_NEG_Z_MOVES parameter. It is applicable for 3 Axis NC sequences only.
• If you want to remove material in depth increments, use the ROUGH_STEP_DEPTH parameter. It is applicable for 3 Axis NC sequences only.
The following illustration shows handling inner loops and outer walls for Conventional milling:
1. Select this surface
2. Outer walls are avoided
3. Inner protrusion is avoided
4. Inner slot is ignored
5. Free outer edges are straddled
 | If an inner protrusion is surrounded by a slot, it will not be avoided automatically. Use Check Surfs to generate the correct tool path. |
For 3-Axis Conventional milling, you can control the start point and direction of machining the surface by using a combination of CUT_TYPE, SPINDLE_SENSE, and CUT_DIRECTION parameters (see the following table ). The LACE_OPTION parameter must be set to NO.
Parameter Settings | Tool Path |
|---|---|
CUT_TYPE CLIMB SPINDLE_SENSE CW CUT_DIRECTION STANDARD |  |
CUT_TYPE UPCUT SPINDLE_SENSE CCW CUT_DIRECTION STANDARD | |
CUT_TYPE UPCUT SPINDLE_SENSE CW CUT_DIRECTION STANDARD |  |
CUT_TYPE CLIMB SPINDLE_SENSE CCW CUT_DIRECTION STANDARD | |
CUT_TYPE CLIMB SPINDLE_SENSE CW CUT_DIRECTION REVERSE |  |
CUT_TYPE UPCUT SPINDLE_SENSE CCW CUT_DIRECTION REVERSE | |
CUT_TYPE UPCUT SPINDLE_SENSE CW CUT_DIRECTION REVERSE |  |
CUT_TYPE CLIMB SPINDLE_SENSE CCW CUT_DIRECTION REVERSE |
You can select any type of end mill, including flat and radius end mills, for Conventional milling of convex surfaces. The gouge avoidance will be calculated automatically.