Workholding is the vise, clamps or fixture that hold the part. Avoidance geometry is any other body the tools must stay clear of. CAM Assist keeps toolpaths away from both. You set them per setup in the Setups stage.
Before you start
- The bodies must be in the part in your CAM package. You can only pick bodies CAM Assist loaded.
- Workholding comes from your CAM package's setup. Check it, and change it only if it's wrong.
Select the bodies
- In the Setups stage, open the setup's card.
- Under Geometry, click Select next to Workholding or Avoidance geometry. The row shows how many bodies are selected now, for example 1 body selected.
- Click bodies in the 3D view to select them. Clear All deselects everything.
- Click Confirm. Wait while the button shows Validating.... Click Cancel to discard your changes.
A body can't be both workholding and avoidance geometry, and can't be the part or stock. If you click one that's already used, CAM Assist tells you, for example "You cannot select a body for both avoidance geometry and workholding".
Avoidance geometry is hidden in the 3D view by default. To see it, click the Avoidance geometry chip at the bottom left of the viewer and choose Show or Semi-transparent. See Viewer controls.
In Mastercam, add the body as workholding in the Machine Group. In the Setups stage, deselect it under Workholding, then select it under Avoidance geometry.
Videos
These CloudNC Academy videos were recorded with an earlier version of CAM Assist, so some screens may look different.