Expert Machinist > Machining Features > To Mimic a Tool Path
To Mimic a Tool Path
Use the Mimic Toolpath functionality when you have an existing tool path and want to use the same settings on a similar type feature.
1. Click Machining > Mimic a Toolpath.
2. Select the Tool Path feature name in the Select Feature dialog box. Click OK.
3. Select the feature name in the Select Feature dialog box (only features of the same type as the one machined by the selected tool path are listed). As you place the cursor over a feature name in the dialog box, the appropriate geometry is highlighted on the screen. Click OK.
The system opens the appropriate machining dialog box, with all the settings in this dialog (except the cutting tool name) copied from the original Tool Path feature.
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Expert Machinist uses the concept of a modal tool; that is, once you specify a cutting tool, all subsequent machining features will use this tool until you explicitly change it. (Look in the Index for details on other modal settings in Expert Machinist.) Therefore, when you mimic a tool path, the system does not copy the tool information from the Tool Path feature that you mimic; instead, it uses the modal tool.
4. Change the cutting tool and the selected options, and modify the parameters, if needed.
5. Click Play Path at the bottom of the dialog box to display the currently defined tool path.
6. Click OK to complete machining the feature. Once the new tool path is created, it is completely independent from the original tool path.
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