CAM Assist only knows what's in your model, setups, machine and tool libraries. You get the best program by preparing those before you run it, then reviewing and editing the result before you post.
Why does preparation matter?
CAM Assist programs the part exactly as modeled, with the tools you give it. It doesn't know what a programmer would know from the drawing or the shop floor: that a sharp corner will get a radius anyway, that a hole will be drilled undersize and reamed, or that a tool in the library is worn out. If that knowledge isn't in the model or the tool data, CAM Assist can't use it.
Before you run
Model the part as it will be machined
- Give internal vertical corners a radius. A sharp internal corner can't be milled with a rotating tool, so the faces around it can't be fully finished. Model the radius you'd cut.
- Model holes at the size you'll make them. CAM Assist matches holes to the tools in your libraries. If no drill or other hole tool fits, it doesn't make the hole. See CAM Assist didn't drill, tap or ream a hole.
- Fix model problems first. Assessment flags gaps, faces CAM Assist can't read, and surfaces nothing can reach. See The CAM Assist stages.
Set up the job as you'd hold it
- Define each setup, the stock and the workholding in your CAM package. CAM Assist reads them when it starts. See Set up your setups for CAM Assist.
- Select workholding and avoidance geometry so toolpaths stay clear of the vise, clamps and anything else in the way. See Select avoidance geometry and workholding.
- Set workholding security to match how firmly each setup holds the part. See What is workholding security in CAM Assist?
- Choose the machining mode and directions you'd use. On complex 3+2 parts, picking the directions yourself avoids extra orientations. See Choose machining directions for a 3+2 setup.
Give CAM Assist the right machine and tools
- Enter your machine's real limits, including torque, power and rotary axis limits. See Machine details CAM Assist needs.
- Use tool libraries that match what's in your tool crib, with real stick-out and usable length. CAM Assist only uses a tool where it fits as defined. See Edit a tool's geometry in CAM Assist.
- Set each tool's allowed usages and stock materials, so CAM Assist only picks a tool for work you'd use it for. See Set a tool's allowed usages and stock materials.
- Add cutting parameter presets where you have proven feeds and speeds. See What is a cutting parameter preset?
- Check the Tools stage before you run. It shows how many tools in each library CAM Assist can use, and warns about operation types with no usable tools. See The CAM Assist stages.
Tell CAM Assist what to generate
In Setups, clear the Toolpath Types you'll program yourself, or clear Finish full part under Finishing Geometry and select only the faces that need finishing. Stock to leave and finishing options are in the part's configuration: click Configuration at the top of the stage. See Set up your setups and Configuration settings.
After you run
Review the result in Program
- At the top of Program, check how many faces are unfinished. Click Machinability feedback and read the issues. Many issues name a tool change that would help.
- Click operations to see their faces, tools and roughing volumes in the 3D view. See The Program stage.
Edit what you'd do differently
| You want to | Do this |
|---|---|
| Stop roughing an area | Change volume boundaries on the roughing operation. See Change roughing boundaries. |
| Use a different tool | See Change an operation's tool. |
| Drill a hole with a different drill | Click Edit strategy on the operation and tick Select from all appropriate twist drills. See Edit an operation. |
| Change feeds and speeds | See Edit cutting parameters for an operation. |
| Finish faces CAM Assist left | See Change which faces a finishing operation machines. |
| Leave an operation out | Click Leave out on the operation. See Which operations get sent to my CAM package? |
If you change settings after a run, run CAM Assist again: click Regenerate on the Program out of date message.
Some choices come from rules CAM Assist follows, for example how closely a tool may match an internal corner radius. If the result isn't what you'd program, edit it, or change the setting that controls it, such as Allow equal tool and feature radii in vertical corners on the Finishing tab of the configuration.
Check it in your CAM package
After you send the program:
- Backplot or simulate every operation.
- Adjust anything that doesn't suit your machine or shop practice, for example spot drill depths or a tool choice.
- Program any faces CAM Assist didn't finish.
CAM Assist gives you a starting program. It's your responsibility to check and edit it before it runs on a machine.