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General Notions

Kind of parts

It is strongly advisable, but not absolutely necessary, that the part to be machined be a perfectly closed solid. It is possible to calculate tool paths for ‘surface’ models with TopSolid'Cam. In other words, models where the healing is not successful, due to a tolerance value which was too low or to holes which were not filled.

Depending on the functions used, and when the model to be generated is not a solid, the user must check the position of the material relative to the faces it is made up of.

TopSolid'Cam naturally positions the tool on the side opposite to the ‘material’ side. This is particularly true for constant scallop height  operations, iso-parametric sweep machining and 3D contouring..

Machining Limitations

It is often necessary to limit a tool path in order to use a machining strategy in the best possible manner. Within TopSolid'Cam, these tool paths are limited with contours and using the following method :

The inside of a contour is machined. When a contour is inside another machinable contour, it is considered as an island. On the other hand, if a contour is inside a contour considered as an island, it is then called machinable.

By default, TopSolid'Cam suggests a machinable area with limits equal to the part’s size, in X, Y and Z, and to which the tool’s radius increased by the thickness value has been added. The user can manually modify these limitations to restrict the area that will actually be machined..

Batch Computing

Since some calculation times can be particularly long, there are a number of operations that can be postponed to be performed during a period of low activity (lunch time, at night)..

Imported files

The following figure shows other flaws likely to be encountered and which are automatically processed by TopSolid'Cam :

1 Curvature Radius Smaller than the Milling Cutter Radius.

2 Interpolation Around a Sharp Angle.

3 Area in Counter-Taper.

4 Hole on the Part, Respecting a Lower Surface.

5 Hole on a Surface.

6 Overlapping Surfaces.

7 Reflex Angle Management.

8 Hole on the Part, Without Respecting a Lower Surface.

9 Disengagement to the Clearance Plane, Following the Previous Case.

10 Hidden Surface. Priority to the Solution Leaving Rest Material.

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