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NOTE: This information is supplemental to the information in your application's
reference manual. Be sure to review the instructions contained in it related
to roughing and pocketing before using the tips shown below.
Four Common Problems and their Solutions:
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1. Preventing gouging when transitioning to/from multiple pockets.
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Often the outside profile of your pockets has been drawn on a layer rather
than with a step. In this case the pocket boundary has no clearance value
associated with it, and the tool may not retract to avoid the boundary
wall. You can assign a clearance value to your pocket boundary by doing
the following:
a. Group the pocket boundaries.
b. Do a property change on the pocket boundaries. Choose Edit - Property
Change - Toolpath
c. Change the Clearance Value setting to "ON", and type in the needed
clearance. You do not need to choose a step number or fill in any other
values.
d. Choose "Accept"
e. Create your pocketing toolpath as usual.
f. You may change the Clearance Value settings of your geometry back
if needed.
2. Preventing gouging of island geometry.
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If you have created your island geometry on a layer it has no Clearance
Value assigned to it. Follow the steps outlined above in #1, first grouping
your islands instead of the pocket profile.
3. SmartCAM seems to disregard my profile top and clearance values for
my toolpath and island geometry when generating toolpath. Why?
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In some cases SmartCAM assigns the Clearance value of the Material Boundary
(usually "OFF") to the pocketing toolpath and grouped islands when generating
pocketing passes. Check this by doing an Element Data on both the toolpath
and island geometry. If the Clearance Value has been set to "OFF" on either
of these it can be changed back by:
a. Group toolpath and/or islands.
b. Choose Edit - Property Change - Toolpath.
c. Change the Clearance Value setting to "ON", and type in the needed
clearance. You do not need to choose a step number or fill in any other
values.
d. Choose "Accept".
e. View Show Cut or Show Path to verify changes.
4. Pocketing around a large number of islands.
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When trying to create toolpath around a large number of islands SmartCAM
may not complete the process. The more island profiles grouped the more
taxing the calculation of toolpath will be on your system. If your system's
resources cannot meet the need for the toolpath calculation try splitting
the roughing routine up by roughing only one portion of the cavity at any
given time and connecting all the portions of toolpath later by hand.
