Choose which operations CAM Assist may use a tool for (its allowed usages) and which stock materials it may cut. CAM Assist only picks a tool for an operation the tool allows, on a material the tool allows.
Set them for one tool
- Open the tool in the tool assembly editor and click the Tool tab.
- Under Allowed usages, click each operation the tool may do to turn it on or off.
- Under Allowed stock materials, click Specify material and pick the materials.
- Click Save.
For a quick change, click the tool's row in My Shop > Tool libraries and click usages under Allowed usage in the details pane, then Save in the bar at the bottom.
To change many tools at once, see Edit several tools at once in a tool library.
Fix them from your part
In the Tools stage, click a tool that shows Not for this material to open its details:
- Under Applicable stock material, click Allow and the material name to add the part's material to the tool.
- Under Toolpath types, click a usage to turn it on or off.
These changes are made to the tool in its library, so they apply to every part that uses the library. See Add or remove tool libraries for a part.
Usages each tool type offers
| Tool type | Usages |
|---|---|
| End mill | Adaptive roughing, Pocketing, Flat finishing, Wall finishing, Freeform, Helical boring |
| Ball mill | Flat finishing, Wall finishing, Freeform, Deburring |
| Chamfer mill | Deburring, Chamfering |
| Face mill | Face finishing, Face roughing |
| T-slot mill | Undercutting |
| Twist drill | Drilling |
| Spot drill | Spot drilling |
| Reamer | Reaming |
| Cutting tap | Tapping |
| Thread mill | Thread milling |
With Wall finishing allowed, CAM Assist can pick a ball mill for wall finishing operations ("Finishes vertical walls and steep faces to their final quality."). A ball mill that comes in with no usages, for example from your CAM session or an import, gets every usage in its row, including Wall finishing.
If you don't pick any stock materials
A tool in a CloudNC or Custom library that lists no stock materials isn't used for any material: in the Tools stage it shows Not for this material. Pick at least one material for each tool you want CAM Assist to use.
Session tools from your CAM package are the exception: a session tool that lists no materials may cut any material. And if your part's material comes from your CAM session rather than My Shop, every tool may cut it.
Presets can add usages and materials
When you save a preset whose usage or material the tool doesn't allow yet, CAM Assist adds that usage or material to the tool's allowed lists. See Add or edit cutting parameter presets.