Curve unwrap

If you are working with a curve that has been wrapped around an axis and you want to unwrap the curve into a planar curve, use curve unwrap. Wrapped features in FeatureCAM, require a planar curve, so this function is helpful if you want to generate toolpaths from data that is already wrapped.

To complete this dialog:

1. Name the curve in Curve name field.

2. Select the curve in the drop down list box or click and select the source curve with the mouse.

3. Select the axis that the curve is wrapped around. This setting will default to your current wrapping axis that you specified in the stock wizard.

4. The tolerance will control the accuracy of the unwrapped curve. All unwrapped curves are piece-wise linear, so the smaller the tolerance, the more points your curve will have.

5. The radial offset should normally be set to 0 since the curve is unwrapped in place. If you have extracted the curve at the bottom of the feature, then you will want to set the radial offset to the depth of the feature to offset the curve to the top.

6. Project to UCS plane should be check if you are creating a 2D feature. The only time it should be unchecked is if you want a 3D curve to result.

7. Check Smooth/reduce to try and reduce the number of points in your curve. This is recommended.