More About Tool Path Replay
Tool Path Replay Considerations
- If the operation has been deactivated by means of the
Deactivate
command, it cannot be replayed. If you want to replay the
operation, you must reactivate it using the
Activate
command.
Similarly, if the manufacturing program has been deactivated,
it cannot be replayed. If you want to replay the program,
you must reactivate it.
- If a Profile Contouring operation
was created with the cutter profile output option, both
the cutter profile and tip trajectory will be displayed
in the replay.
- If a user-defined tool representation is related to
the operation, that tool will be displayed in the replay.
- You can also access the Replay capability directly from
the machining operation editor or from the Manufacturing
Program dialog box.
- You can select several machining
operations in the specification tree in order to simultaneously
replay the tool paths associated to these operations.
- When replaying large tool paths, you can control the
animation speed using the Animation speed slider:
- in the first half of the slider, speed goes from
one point to 10 points
- in the second half of the slider, speed goes from
10 points to N/10 (where N is the total number of points).
Partial Tool Path Replay
Behavior
By default, the partial tool path replay positions are always
displayed. Using the input boxes and selection push buttons,
you can specify the Start, Current and End positions of the
tool path replay.
The Current and End positions displayed are based on the
activity being replayed.
Default values for partial tool path replay positions of any
operation are:
- Start position is first point of the tool path
- Current and End positions correspond to the last point
on the tool path.
Partial tool path replay can be used for a single machining
operation. Replay on Manufacturing Program is also possible
and the partial replay positions are for the current operation
being replayed. The inputs can be given with respect to the
current operation by pausing the replay on Manufacturing Program.
Partial tool path replay is not available for multiple machining
operations or auxiliary operations like tool change, transition
paths, COPY Operator, machine rotation, and material removal
simulation. For any unsupported activity, the replay positions
are grayed out.
The information (feed rate, tool path point and tool axis,
machining and total time) displayed at the bottom of the tool
path replay panel, is consistent with the currently displayed
tool path, even if it is partial
Visualization mode and color modes can be specified for partial
tool path replay.
Partial tool path replay is not available in Plane by Plane,
Feedrate by Feedrate and By Sectioning modes. If you switch
to one of these modes, the positions are restored to full tool
path and the editor boxes are grayed out. The behavior of these
replay modes is then the same as for the complete tool path.
During continuous replay of partial tool path, the Current
position spinner box is grayed out and once the replay is completed,
the spinner box is updated with the Current position of the
tool.
The Start position is always less than the End position.
The Current position specified must be between the Start and
End positions. The End position cannot be greater than the last
tool path position. In case of input position error, the last
valid position is retained.
If Start and/or End positions are modified and are both higher/lower
than the Current position, the current position is reset to
the End position.
All of the replay positions can be re-set to originally displayed
values for the current operation by using the contextual menu
on the position editor boxes.
Collision
Checking
If the Activate Collision Checking check box is
set in the Part Operation
dialog box, then points and areas in collision are displayed.
When you move the cursor onto a collision point, the maximum
collision depth and the intersection between the tool and the
part are shown.
Collisions checks are done at each point and between points
of the tool path.
- If the tool is in collision at a point of the tool path,
a red cross is displayed at that point.
- If the tool is in collision on at least a part of a
segment of the toolpath, the whole segment is displayed
in red.
![](images/ReplayCollisionExample01.gif)
Using and Customizing Tool
Path Colors
Same Color
When Color mode is set to Same Color
in the Tool Path Replay dialog box, the tool path will be displayed
in a single color. This color is decided by the setting in
Color combo in the Graphic tab of the
machining operation's Properties dialog box.
![](images/ReplayTPColorExample01.gif)
In the example below, the tool path will be displayed in
green because green is selected in the Color combo
of the Properties dialog box and Color mode is set
to Same Color in the Tool Path Replay dialog box.
If you want to change the tool path color, you must select the
new color in the Properties dialog box.
![](images/ReplayTPColorExample02.gif)
Different Colors
When Color mode is set to Different Colors
,
the tool path will be displayed in various colors depending
on the feedrates.
These colors are decided by the settings in the Color
of feedrates combos in the
Tools > Options > Machining > General tab. These settings
will override the setting in the machining operation's Properties
dialog box.
In the example below, the colors for approach, machining,
and retract feedrates are set to yellow, burgundy, and blue
in the Tools > Options dialog box.
![](images/ReplayTPColorExample03.gif)
The approach, machining and retract paths will be displayed
in these colors because Color mode is set to
Different Colors in the Tool Path replay dialog box.
![](images/ReplayTPColorExample04.gif)
Color of Transitions Paths between Operations
A transition path from operation A to operation B is represented
by a dashed line whose color depends on the feedrate.
Color Coding after APT Import
When the tool path replay is done on a machining operation
after an APT Import, color feedrate codes are not respected.
This is because there is no information about the trajectory
type (approach, machining , retract, and so on) in the APT file.
In the case, the trajectory with smallest feedrate value
is arbitrarily assigned the machining feedrate color, the trajectory
with next higher feedrate value is assigned approach feedrate
color, and the trajectory with the next higher feedrate is assigned
the retract feedrate color.
Tool Path Computation when Hidden Geometry
is Present
Computation depending on the Hide/Show status of selected
elements
The following rules summarize the tool path computation behavior
depending on the Hide/Show status of selected elements.
- Rule 1: If you select a Body or OpenBody, and use it
as Part, Check or Fixture in a machining operation, the
tool path will use the Body or OpenBody, regardless of whether
it is in Show or Hide status.
- Rule 2: If you select a Body or OpenBody, and use faces
(which are sub-elements of this Body or OpenBody) as Part,
Check or Fixture in a machining operation, then only the
sub-elements which are in Show status will be used during
tool path computation. Hidden sub-elements will be ignored
in the computation.
- Rule 3: If you select explicitly a set of faces and
use them as Part, Check or Fixture in a machining operation,
the tool path will use these faces, regardless of whether
they are in Show or Hide status.
Influence of selecting 'By boundary of faces' or 'By belt
of faces' option
A surface can be selected (both in Hide and Show modes) from
the PPR tree using the 'By boundary of faces' option. However,
selection from the PPR tree using the 'By belt of faces' option
is not possible: selection must be done in the 3D viewer.
The reason for this difference in behavior is described below.
In all cases, the toolpath computation algorithm supports
only a contour of edges.
Then, a contour must be retrieved from the selected faces. This
contour is not created by the same way according to the 'By
belt of faces' or 'By boundary of faces' mode.
By boundary of faces:
The edge contour is the external boundary of selected faces.
However, all faces must be topologically connex (they share
their adjacent edges). The edges used by the toolpath computation
algorithm exist in the design.
By belt of faces:
This situation is more complex because:
- the contour has to be a belt of faces: each face has
to be adjacent to only one other face of the belt (except
one if the contour is closed).
- the faces have to be ruled only the same axis (tool
axis)
- the faces have to be topologically adjacent
- the order of the faces contribute to the stability of
the material side in the case where the belt of face is
not closed (for Profile Contouring).
The edges used by the toolpath computation algorithm do not
exist in the design. To get the contour of edges and the boundary
of faces, it is projected onto the bottom plane of the bounding
box of the belt, and the wireframe elements (including free
vertices) are deleted.
When you select an object in the tree, you don't select the
faces but the complete feature whose result can include more
than one face. Those faces are not necessary built as a belt
of faces. Moreover, the number and position of the faces included
in the feature can be modified by the user. In this case, it
may not be possible to compute the operation.
Conclusion:
Selection from the PPR tree using the 'By belt of faces'
option is not possible. Selection must be done in the 3D viewer.
Material Removal Simulation
You can use the Photo commands to
simulate the material removed by machining operations in Photo
mode (this is a P2 functionality).
You can use the Video commands to
simulate the material removed by machining operations in Video
mode (this is a P2 functionality).
Machine Accessibility
You can use
Check Reachability to check the accessibility of
the part on a machine.
Please refer to Accessibility on a
Generic Machine (this is a P2 functionality).
Start Machine Simulation
If the NC Machine Tool Simulation product is installed, you
can use Starts Machine Simulation to switch to the
NC Machine Tool Simulation workbench. Please refer to the
NC Machine Tool Simulation User's Guide for more information.
Note: The Starts Machine Simulation icon
is not available if the too path replay is launched during machining
operation edition. This is to ensure that simulation is available
only if the operation definition is complete.
When the tool path replay is launched directly on a machining
operation, then the Starts Machine Simulation icon
is available.
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