Workholding security tells CAM Assist how securely each setup holds the part: the largest sideways cutting force the clamping can take. CAM Assist avoids roughing and facing choices whose cutting force would exceed it. You set it per setup in the Setups stage with the Workholding security slider on each setup card.
The slider values
| Level | Force limit | Meaning shown on the slider |
|---|---|---|
| Very poor (left end) | 50 N | The part could move under light cutting forces. |
| Poor | 200 N | The part is held lightly and could move under moderate cutting forces. |
| Fair | 500 N | The part is held, but could shift under heavy cuts. |
| Moderate | 1000 N | The part is held securely for most cuts. |
| Good (default) | 1500 N | The part is held firmly, for example in a well-tightened vise. |
| Excellent (right end) | 3000 N | The part is held rigidly, for example in a dedicated fixture. |
The current level is shown next to the slider, and the slider shows the force for each position. Hover along the slider to see what each level means.
How CAM Assist uses it
- Roughing: CAM Assist skips a roughing tool and approach if its estimated sideways cutting force is above the setup's limit.
- Facing: CAM Assist leaves out face mills whose estimated sideways cutting force reaches the limit. At Excellent there's no limit for facing.
- Tool choice: larger tools put more force on the part, so a lower setting tends to mean smaller roughing tools and more passes.
- Feeds and speeds: if the part's configuration has Tailor AI-driven cutting parameters to each setup set to Enabled, CAM Assist generates cutting parameters separately for each setup, accounting for its workholding security. See Configuration settings.
What this means for you
- Set the slider to match how the part is really held. Too high and CAM Assist may choose cuts the clamping can't resist; too low and it rules out efficient roughing and facing tools.
- To make feeds and speeds more conservative for the whole part, lower Cutting parameters aggression in the part's configuration. See Configuration settings.
For example, in a two-operation vise job, the first operation might use Excellent (3000 N) and the second, with less grip on the part, Moderate (1000 N).
Videos
These CloudNC Academy videos were recorded with an earlier version of CAM Assist, so some screens may look different.