Tapers with Fillets

The Taper w/Fillets option allows the user to specify a taper for the wall of a pocket or contour and also automatically add top and bottom fillets. For roughing processes, tapers and fillets can be added to both pocket and island walls. If a contouring process is in the same Process list as a roughing process, a taper and fillets can also be specified for islands in the contouring process.

When Shape Step is selected, an additional parameter called the Ridge Height becomes active. The ridge height is an approximate calculation based on the wall angle and the tool specifications as to how much material will be left on each pass of the tool. The Shape Step and Ridge Height text boxes are interactive in that either value can be entered and the other will be calculated. The smaller the ridge height, the better the finish on the wall.

Tapered Wall Example

We will machine the same shape as the swept shape example. You can either recreate the geometry in a separate file, duplicate the swept surface file, or reopen the swept surface example and make changes to that file.

Create a simple shape like a circle or square within the polygon to act as a boss. Your part geometry should look like this picture.
Create a rough endmill (Rgh EM) with a 20mm diameter and a 1mm bottom corner radius. Create a finish endmill (Fin EM) with a 12mm diameter and a 1mm bottom corner radius.
Create a roughing process using the 20mm Rgh EM. Enter Pocket Stock± and Island Stock± values of 0.5mm. Click the Wall Control button to access the Wall Choices dialog. Select the Taper w/ Fillets option and enter the following values for the Pocket wall: Top Fillet 2, Side Angle 20, Bottom Fillet 2. Enter a Side Angle of 20 for the Island wall. Select User D Step and enter a value of 2. Surface Z and floor Z values must be entered in the entry/exit clearance diagram when using the Taper w/Fillets option. Enter 0 for the surface Z and -12 for the floor Z.
Create a contouring process using the 12mm Fin EM. Click the Wall Control button. Select the Taper w/Fillets option. Because the contouring process is in the same Process list as the pocketing process, there are Island wall specifications. The values for the pocket and island walls should default to the values entered in the roughing process. Select Shape Step and enter a value of 1.
Select the outside pocket wall and the boss; you will need to hold down the Ctrl key to select the island. Click the Do It button to create the toolpath.

Before rendering the part, change to one of the side views to better see the taper and fillets created by the toolpath. The cut part rendered image of the part should look like this picture.

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