Common Reference

Guide
GibbsCAM 2006
May 2006

ProprietaryNotice
This document contains propriety information of Gibbs and Associates and is to be used only pursuant to and in conjunction with the license granted to the licensee with respect to the accompanying
Gibbs and Associates licensed software. Except as expressly permitted in the license, no part of this
document may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into
any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, magnetic, optical,
chemical, manual or otherwise, without the prior expressed written permission from Gibbs and Associates or a duly authorized representative thereof.
It is strongly advised that users carefully review the license in order to understand the rights and obligations related to this licensed software and the accompanying documentation.
Use of the computer software and the user documentation has been provided pursuant to a Gibbs and
Associates licensing agreement.
2001-2006 Gibbs and Associates. All rights reserved. The Gibbs logo, GibbsCAM, GibbsCAM
logo, Virtual Gibbs, Gibbs SFP, MTM, SolidSurfacer, and Powerfully Simple. Simply Powerful.
are either trademark(s) or registered trademark(s) of Gibbs and Associates in the United States
and/or other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and other countries. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
Acknowledgements:
Written by Will Gaffga
Thanks to Bill Gibbs and the entire Gibbs Development Team for their input and assistance.
Printed in the United States of America

Gibbs and Associates

323 Science Drive
Moorpark, CA 93021
Modified: May 31, 2006 8:32 am

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION

What is in this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

THE FILE MENU

File Menu Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Display Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Cut Part Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Appearance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Grid Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Other Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Interface Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Window Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Other Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Machining Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
File Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Post Processor Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Communication Set-Up Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Material Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Flash CPR Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

THE EDIT MENU

43

Data Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Undo, Cut, Copy & Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Select & Deselect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deselecting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geometry Expert Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Insert, Delete, Change and Reverse Rows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Operation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Redo All Ops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45
45
45
45
48
48
49
49
49
49
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Table of Contents

THE VIEW MENU

51

Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
View Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Geometry & Screen Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Other Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

THE MODIFY MENU

57

About the Modify Menu Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Item Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Duplicate Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

THE PROCESSES MENU

67

Pre-Defined Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Save, Load & Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Managing a Large Number of Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

THE SOLIDS MENU

73

Menu Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Tools sub-menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Validity Checks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Correcting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Operation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Geometry and Solids Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

THE WIZARDS MENU

79

Stock Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Hole Wizard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Hole Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

THE WINDOW MENU

83

About the Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Window Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
SummarY Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Workgroup Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Tool List Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Operation Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

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Table of Contents

THE PLUG-INS MENU

91

THE HELP MENU

97

Electronic Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
HTML and PDF Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Built-In Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Other Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
About the Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Default Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Java Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Trouble Shooting the Online Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

APPENDIX

107

Video Cards and Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A Discussion About OpenGL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing Video Card Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Known Issues and Fixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INDEX

109
109
109
110
111

113

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Table of Contents

iv

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 : Introd u c t i o n
WHAT IS IN THIS MANUAL
Welcome to the Common Reference Guide. This guide documents all of the items found in the Menu
Bar at the top of your GibbsCAM software. This manual is purely a reference guide that functions
across all GibbsCAM products. If you have a question about a function found in the Menu Bar, no
matter what GibbsCAM product you are using, this is the place to look. Because the items found in
the Menu Bar can apply to many different software options, the logical thing to do is put the reference
for these items in one manual, rather than repeating the same information over and over again in
various manuals, or worse, having an item described in only one manual, but you may not know
which manual to look in to find what you need. That is why we have this one reference manual for the
Menu Bar items.
It is recommended that you read the other manuals that came with your software before jumping into
this manual, starting with the Getting Started Guide. This manual will be most effective when used
along with the other manuals and their tutorials.
Each menu, such as the File, Edit and Modify menus, has a chapter of this guide devoted to that menu
and its contents. Each item or function found in a menu is detailed in the menus chapter. The order of
the chapters follows the order the items are found in the Menu Bar. The order in which the items are
presented varies. Typically the items are listed in the order found in the menu, but other times the
items are listed alphabetically or grouped by function.

Please note that there are some options or third-party packages that create their own Menu Bar entry.
These packages are not covered in this manual.

Introduction

THE FILE MENU

The File Menu

CHAPTER 2 : The Fi l e M en u
FILE MENU ITEMS
The File menu is where you find the basic functions to handle
and manipulate files and basic system behaviors.
New: This item will create a new file. A dialog will appear asking
for a file name and a location to save the new file.
Open: This item will open a previously saved file or an import type

in a new workspace. If a file is currently open, you will be

prompted to save the changes.
Close: This item will close the current file.
Close Window: This item will close the current, active window or

dialog.
Save: This item will save the current changes.
Save As: This item will save the current file with a different name

and retain any previously saved version of the file. The previous
file will not be overwritten if saved.
Save a Copy: This item will save the current file under a different

name or version and let you continue working with the original
file the original file will remain open. Previous system
versions are available to save the type to an older version. Please
note that saving a file to an older version may cause the part to lose capabilities or functions not
available in the older version.
Save Special: This allows saving the Workgroup Summary, Tool List
Summary,

and Operation Summary to a text file. The summaries must

be open for this function to work. More on the summaries may be
found in the The Window Menu Chapter starting on page 83.

Preferences: The Preferences item opens a dialog that allows you to set all the preferences and behaviors

for GibbsCAM. This includes covering communications with a CNC, establishing default file
extensions, details on how to save files and set up the display output as well as handle interaction with
the mouse or digitizer. Changing the way GibbsCAM works in the different interface levels is also
accessed here. The Hole Wizard preferences control how the Hole Wizard works as well as creating
default hole types. All the preference settings are described in Preferences on page 9.
7

The File Menu

Materials: This choice opens the Materials dialog which allows you to view, add and modify material

properties and cutting speeds. See Materials on page 36 for a full description of this function.
Communication: The Communication dialog which

allows the user to send and receive text or VNC files

to and from the machine control. The
Communication dialog can also be accessed from
the Post Processing dialog. More information on
the use of this dialog and Post Processing can be
found in the Getting Started Guide as well as the
Mill or Lathe manuals.
Import/Export: The Import and Export dialogs allow

a variety of file types to be exchanged into and from

the current file. Each of the import types can be
directly opened through the File > Open command. For specific information on how each file will be
interpreted and translated, see the Data Exchange manual.
Print: The Print sub-menu contains a list of the different items that

can be printed. The summaries can only be printed when they are
open on the screen. The Post item becomes active when a file has
been post processed. Posted output can also be printed from the
Post Processor dialog. Selecting the Drawing item (Ctrl+P) will
print the geometry, toolpath and the rendered image as they
currently appear on the screen. The exact output will vary
depending on the settings in the Printing preference. See Printing
on page 19.
Recently Used Files: The Recent Files

sub-menu keeps a shortcut to the

16 most recently used VNC files on
your system so they can quickly
and easily be opened. Simply select
one of the files and it will open. If a
part is currently open, you will be
prompted to save the current file
before the system opens the
selected recent file. Attempting
to open a file that has been moved
from its original location will generate an error and the file will be removed from the Recent Files list.
Exit: This will exit the program. If the file has been modified since the last time it was saved, a dialog

will come up asking if the file should be saved.

8

The File Menu

PREFERENCES
The Preferences dialog contains six tabs, each of which covers a basic area of the system. The tabs
include Display, Interface, Machining Prefs, File, Post Processor Comments and Com Set-Up.

DISPLAY PREFERENCES
The Display preferences affect what you see on screen or what you print out.

Cut Part Rendering

The Cut Part Rendering section specifies preferences for the display when a part is being virtually
machined, including how tools are displayed.
Smooth Shading: The Smooth Shading setting generates smoother looking tools and arc moves when

rendering the part. Slower machines could benefit from turning this option off.

The File Menu

Auto Tool Size: Auto Tool Size is on by

default. This modifies the length
of some tools to maximize the
visibility of Cut Part Rendering.
Very long tools may be shortened
and short tools are lengthened to
just above the stock to ensure
visibility. Thus a short tool will not
be hidden inside a pocket when
being rendered. When Auto Tool
Size is disabled the system will
display tools as they actually look.
This is particularly useful for lathe
threading and grooving operations
and some milling operations.
Activate Auto Tool Size if you have
an older computer or are not
concerned with tool length as this
will increase Cut Part Rendering
speed.

Enabled

Disabled

Figure 1: Auto Tool Size enabled and disabled examples.

Check Holder: By default the Check Holder option is off. When Check Holder is off, the system will not
display any interference between the holder and the part. When Check Holder is on the system will
display any gouges or crashes caused by the tool holder. Both of the Show Tool Holder and Check Holder
options require greater system resources. If you have a slow system or desire maximum speed you
should turn these options off.
Tool Drawing Enabled: The Tool Drawing Enabled checkbox allows the user to specify whether tools are

displayed as visible, transparent or invisible. Disabling this option completely turns off the display of
tools when running Cut Part Rendering.
Flash CPR: When selected, the system may use Flash CPR instead of standard cut part rendering. Flash
CPR is an OpenGL based rendering option. Flash CPR is a non-view dependant option meaning
that the part can be rotated, zoomed and panned during the cut part rendering. There are several
other capabilities that go along with Flash CPR including the Rapid Cut option that displays only the
end condition of each operation, resulting in a much faster rendering, but at a lower display
resolution. Flash CPR is activated and deactivated by right-clicking on the Render button in the Top
Level palette and choosing the Flash CPR option. The Flash CPR option uses the same Render Control
palette as the traditional rendering engine. More information on Flash CPR See Flash CPR Settings
on page 40.
Edit Flash CPR Settings: Clicking the Edit Flash CPR Settings button opens the Flash CPR Preferences

dialog which allows you to define how Flash CPR should look and act. This includes the quality and
10

The File Menu

appearance of the rendering, how collisions should be handled and various OpenGL options. See
Flash CPR Settings on page 40.

Appearance
The Appearance settings directly affect the look of the GibbsCAM workspace. Beyond just the look
of the workspace, these settings can directly affect the systems performance. There are three
categories which can each have different settings.
Display: The Display category affects the immediate workspace and solids.
Flash CPR: The Flash CPR category affects how Flash CPR will look and behave.
Simulation: The Simulation category affects how Machine Sim will look and behave.

There are several presets you may choose from including GibbsCAM 2005 No OpenGL, GibbsCAM 2006, ...
and GibbsCAM 2005 OpenGL. Display, Flash CPR and Simulation can each have different settings than
display or you may set them to use the exact same settings as the Display by choosing Display from
the drop down list.
GibbsCAM 2005 No Open GL uses the legacy GibbsCAM rendering and behavior. Older system may
work best under this setting. Note that Flash CPR still works if you choose this option, it simply looks
a lot like the legacy rendering. GibbsCAM 2005 OpenGL has the legacy look but uses OpenGL to
accelerate solids and Flash CPR. GibbsCAM 2006 is the standard display. GibbsCAM 2006 CR and
GibbsCAM 2006 SW are variations on the standard appearance.
Edit Appearance Settings... Clicking this button opens a dialog which lets you create your own appearance

setting and choose options which may help speed up the system display.

Appearance Settings Dialog

Configurations: This list shows the available presets. A red

arrow is next to the preset the display is currently set.

These presets cannot be changed but you may choose
one, duplicate it and modify the duplicate. It is
recommended that you change the name of your custom
preset by double clicking the new preset and changing the
name to something you prefer. The items discussed in this
section affect the appearance and performance of
GibbsCAM. There are other factors that can have an effect
on performance and appearance. Please see the
Appendix section begining on page 107 for more
information on video cards, video drivers and various
recommendations.

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The File Menu

Common Tab: The items in this tab control

very basic elements of the interface,

which apply to all parts of the system.
Enable OpenGL Acceleration: This

item
turns OpenGL on and off. Most of
the system (from display to toolpath
to rendering) is accelerated by
OpenGL so unless you have an older
or low end computer and video card
that does not handle OpenGL well,
this item should remain on.

Activate Dialog on RMB: When

this
option is active you can bring up the
Appearance preferences dialog by
pressing and holding the right mouse
button when the mouse is positioned
over an empty area of workspace, i.e.
not over solids, toolpath or geometry.

Unzoom on View Change: When this item is active the system will automatically unzoom the part

when you change views using any of the trackball buttons or keyboard shortcuts for the standard
views. The system will not unzoom if you perform a pan or rotate.
View Animation Speed: This item controls how fast the transition is between standard views.
Plane Opacity: This item controls how solid the CS plane is. The CS plane fills in the grid of the

current coordinate system. The plane can be toggled on and off using the Show CS button in the
Taskbar.

12

The File Menu

Lights Tab: The model is lit by up to four

lights. Each lights position around the

part can be controlled through XYZ
vector values varying from 1 to 1.
Alternatively, you can control the
direction by dragging the light across the
preview, Each light has a color defined by
RGB (Red Green Blue) values ranging
from 0 to 255. Alternatively, you may
click on the color button and select a light
color from the color picker. The color
picker is described in Color Selection
on page 19.
Here you see an example of a body lit
with four lights and the Faux Shadows
option is active.

Solids Tab: You may control the display of

solids and surfaces. You may specify the
color of Stock bodies, standard Part bodies,
Fixture bodies, the color of Edges and the
color of Surface bodies. The color picker is
described in Color Selection on
page 19.

The Material Properties of bodies can be

modified as well. This is what kind of
material a body looks like. By controlling
Specular, Ambient light and Shininess
values a body may look like plastic or
aluminum or stainless steel.

13

The File Menu

Specular: The Specular value is the amount of reflectivity bodies have and color of the reflections. A

low value (color) means that the surface is dull while a high value (a brighter color) means the
surface is very reflective. You can select a color or define the RGB values for this attribute.
Ambient: The Ambient value is color of the non-directional lighting on the part. You can select a

color or define the RGB values for this attribute.

Shininess: Shininess is the size or intensity of
reflections. This is a value from 0-255. Low values
create larger highlights (which are less intense)
while high values create smaller, very intense bright
spots. Here you see two examples of a part with
low shininess and high shininess. The lower
shininess settings create larger, less intense
reflections while the high values create small,
intense reflections.
We have included two different lighting modes to
show you how the different lighting can affect the
shininess. The models have two different settings
for the part color. The top two bodies are based on
the default settings while the bottom two bodies
have a lower specular value and four light sources.
CPR/Sim Tab: The items in the Colors tab
allow you to define the color of the
various items displayed by Flash CPR.
You may change the default color of
rendered objects by setting the RGB
values or by clicking on the appropriate
color button and selecting a color.
Separate colors may be applied to the
Stock, selected bodies (Target), Fixtures,
toolpath (Op), interference (Clash), the
primary color of the cutting tool (Tool),
the Shank of the cutting tool, and the
color of wireframe drawing (Edge). The
color picker is described in Color
Selection on page 19.

14

Low Shininess

High Shininess

Figure 2: An example of shininess, using custom

light settings.

The File Menu

You may set the transparency level for the stock,

fixtures and tools. A value of 0 turns the transparency
off (the item is solid) while the maximum value of 255
makes the item completely transparent. Whether the
stock and/or fixture is transparent is controlled by the
right-mouse menu of the Render Control palette. The
tool transparency is set using the Invisible, Transparent
and Solid buttons on the Render Control palette.

Figure 3: An example of a transparent fixture.

Background Tab: The

items
in
the
Background tab allow you to define the
colors of the cut part rendered
background. Both the single color
background (defined by the Color setting)
and the gradient background may be
customized. The gradient consists of up
to four colors, one per corner of the
workspace.
Gradient: This option switches the

single color workspace to a gradient,

making it easier for you to distinguish
between standard rendering and the
OpenGL rendering modes, which
may be slower. The colors of the
background may be customzed, as
seen here, by changing the default
colors.
Draw Axis: This option enables the
display of a small Red (horizontal),
Green (vertical) and Blue (depth) axis
marker in the lower left corner of the
workspace. This marker can help you
visualize the parts orientation.
Faux Shadows: This item enables the drawing of shadows for bodies. The shadows are not created

from light sources but are instead just to the Bottom, Back or Side of the model. The shadow can
help with part orientation but can slow the display.
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The File Menu

System Tab: These options normally do not

need to be modified. The items found in

this tab can help improve the
performance of Flash CPR depending on
your CPU, the amount of memory
available, the video card, the type of
monitor and its display. Some
experimentation may be necessary to
determine the optimal settings for any
given computer. As a general rule those
with higher quality/faster cards will not
need to change these options.
Display Lists: This
is
a
speed
optimization. It is recommended to
turn this on if you have a fast video
card with 128+MB of memory. This
option outputs solid geometry to
OpenGL display lists. Using display
lists can improve the performance of Flash CPR and Machine Sim and, on some graphics
adaptors, provides performance improvements for rendering all solids. Generally, newer cards
with hardware geometry acceleration will take advantage of Display Lists. Using this option can
require large amounts of video adaptor memory. There are two instances where turning off
Display Lists may be useful.

1. If you find that Flash CPR or Machine Simulation crashes with some regularity (this is a
MachineWorks/graphics card manufacturer data management issue).
2. Sometimes using display lists can result in fairly slow rendering. This situation is hard to
gauge but it has to do with inefficient display list management inside the graphics card
manufacturer's OpenGL implementation, typically where the card shares video RAM with
the computers memory. A good example is rendering a large contouring pass will be slower
with display lists than without. This is because certain video card manufacturers OpenGL
implementations are bad at managing display list memory. All the tiny changes to contoured
stock and the data added to the display lists can adversely effect the simulation speed through
inefficiencies.
Partial Updates: This is a speed optimization. Partial Updates lets the system redraw only sections of

the display that have been modified. Among newer video cards that use Display Lists, some will
benefit from Partial Updates, others will not. Partial Updates is particularly useful in optimizing
display updates in Machine Sim/Flash CPR during animations and especially when the Steps Per
Update is smaller and animation runs more smoothly. Please note that some video cards dont

16

The File Menu

support partial update behavior. The trade-off of using Partial Updates is that on some video cards
there may be situations where a part of the display is not drawn correctly.
Vertex Arrays: This option structures solid topology as an efficient point-reduced mesh and uses

optimized OpenGL functions to send data to the graphics adaptor. This option requires additional
memory to store meshes and additional processor bandwidth to pre-calculate the meshes. This
can be a big speed improvement on systems with a adequate video card, i.e. a lot of memory.
Soft Shadows: Applies a blurring filter to the projected shadow. In some parts with extreme
bounding volume aspect ratios (like MTM), soft shadows may eliminate all projected feature
details. On some video cards this can have a large impact on solid rendering performance.
Driver: Select the type of OpenGL rendering that will be used in the next graphics session either
the next part that is opened or the next GibbsCAM session that is launched. The options are:
Hardware: This is fully accelerated OpenGL. This option uses OpenGL to render all geometry,

which includes solids and toolpath. This mode requires a redraw whenever an overlapping
window is moved over the geometric window.
Software OpenGL: This is a software simulation of OpenGL. This is a standard implementation

across all Windows hardware platforms so it should work the same on every machine, but
provides no acceleration. This mode does not support shadows and uses the non-OpenGL
method for rendering non-solid geometry. This option does not require a redraw whenever
an overlapping window is moved over the geometric window. This option provides for a more
compatible result but sacrifices speed and power. This option should only be used if your
video card has poor or no OpenGL support, or if you experience unacceptable graphical
issues.
P-Buffer: This is a partially accelerated OpenGL. This option uses accelerated OpenGL to
render solid geometry and shadows but, like the Software mode, uses the non-OpenGL
method for rendering non-solid geometry and does not require a redraw whenever an
overlapping window is moved over the geometric window. This mode isnt supported on all
graphics adaptors but appears to work well on NVIDIA. This option provides for a highly
compatible rendering system but sacrifices speed.
Facet Body Opacity: This item sets the visibility of faceted bodies. Faceted bodies are created from
STL files. See the Mill manual for more information.

17

The File Menu

Driver Info: : This item opens a dialog that displays the currently available OpenGL drivers on the

machine, their supported extensions, and the amount of currently used and available graphics
memory.

Total Video Memory: This is the amount of memory that your card has available after the
operating system takes what it needs to run.
Free Video Memory: This item shows the amount of memory your video card has available. Each
instance of GibbsCAM will take some memory. The size of the window, the chord height of
your solids and the rendering quality of Flash CPR and Machine Sim will all affect how much
memory is available. When your card is running out of memory the system will display a
message and will stop using hardware accelerated OpenGL and will go to software rendering,
which will let you continue with your multiple sessions of GibbsCAM.
Test Frame Rate: This item tests the number of times per second that the current display is redrawn.

18

The File Menu

Color Selection
The Rendering Preferences allows the selection of a
color from forty standard choices. Clicking the Default
Color button is the same as hitting Escape in that the
dialog will close and the color selection will not 1 - Standard
change.
Colors
2 - Custom Colors

The color mixer at the bottom of the dialog allows 3 - Color Mixer
the approximate specification of a color from the 4 - Saturation
Level
visual gamut. To create a custom color, click near the
5
Add Custom
color you wish to use, adjust the slider to select the
Color
saturation of the color and click on one of the two
6 - Use Custom
buttons to the right of the color mixer and slider. The
Color
upper color button (Add Custom Color) selects the
specified color and adds it to the current custom palette. The lower color button (Use Custom
Color) selects the color but doesnt add it to the custom colors palette.

Printing
Geometry, bodies, toolpath and rendered images
can all be printed by selecting the Drawing item in
the Print submenu. The Printing Preferences
dialog allows the user to specify how the system
will handle the background color and the colors
of the image.
Separate options are available for printing the geometry and toolpath and for the rendered part.
Selecting Screen will print the drawing exactly as it appears on the screen, with a black background
and the colors as they appear on the screen. Selecting Screen on White will print the image in color, but
on a white background. Selecting Black on White will convert all the colored items to black and print
them on a white background. If the printer being used is a black and white printer, the Black on White
option should be selected to ensure that all portions of geometry, including those that are of a light
color, can be seen in the print. If a color printer is being used, any option may be used.

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The File Menu

Bodies
The Bodies section of this preference contains settings that affect the graphic display of bodies and
sheets.
Wire Drawing: Bodies

and
sheets can be displayed as
rendered solid objects or as
wireframe drawings. The
Render/Wire Frame button
(found in the
Taskbar)
determines
whether bodies and sheets
will be rendered as objects or
wireframe drawings. The
Figure 4: Edges and Facets in Wire Frame mode.
wireframe drawings of the
solids or sheets will be
displayed as either Edges or Facets depending on the selection made for Wire Drawing.

Chord Height: A chord is a straight line that joins any two points

Chord Height

on an arc or circle. The chord height is the distance from the

chord to the arc or circle. This setting determines the faceting
resolution when bodies and sheets are rendered. The smaller
the chord height, the closer the facet will be to the arc or circle, resulting in a better rendered image.
When the setting is very tight, the on screen drawing of bodies and Boolean operations can become
slow. A setting of 0.01 inches or 0.25mm is recommended for most systems.

Grid Brightness
The Grid Brightness option is for the Level 2 interface only. This slider controls the brightness of the
coordinate system grid in the stock diagram. The brightness can be adjusted by moving the slider.
Clicking on the Apply button in the Graphics Preference dialog will apply the changes. This does not
effect system performance, and is only a personal preference.
The Graphics preference contains numerous options for how items are presented on screen. This
includes geometry, bodies (solids and sheets) and rendering options. Note that these settings are
graphical only and do not affect the output. To make the changes, click on the Apply button before
closing the preference dialog.

Other Items
Lines drawn for high degree curves: This setting is used when higher-order splines are imported into the

system. The value specifies the number of line segments that will be drawn to create the spline. For a
smoother spline drawing, enter a larger number. For the spline to be drawn faster, enter a smaller
number. This value only effects the drawing resolution of the spline, not the machining tolerance.
20

The File Menu

INTERFACE PREFERENCES
The items found on this tab affect the basic interactions of GibbsCAM, including its look-and-feel.
The items on this tab let you set base size of GibbsCAM, the interface you will use, how dialogs
behave and selection behavior among other things.

Window Size
This option determines whether the application will occupy all of your monitor ( Start Maximized) or
will be in windowed mode when you launch the application. Selecting the Enable Caption will leave the
blue bar visible (the caption bar shows the name of the application and has a Close box), while
deselecting this will hide the bar so that the menu bar is at the top of your screen. When the
application is not maximized it may be resized by dragging an edge.

Dialogs
Transparent Dialogs: Enabling this option allows for each dialog to be set to have a custom transparency

setting. A default transparency setting can be specified for all dialogs. When active the Title bar of the
dialogs includes this icon
. Click the icon to bring up a slider that lets you set the desired
transparency for the dialog. If this option is disabled the icon is hidden and the dialogs are solid.
Window Snap Positioning: Enabling this option will cause windows and dialogs to snap to nearby

windows. This allows for easy and neat arrangement of windows.

Dialogs Roll-up: Enabling this option will cause dialogs to automatically roll up to show only their
Title bar when the mouse leaves the dialog. When the mouse enters the Title bar the dialog will unroll
to show its contents. This is useful when you keep many dialogs open but want to save space or

21

The File Menu

minimize visual clutter. This option adds an icon to the Title bars. When the pushpin is down
dialog does not roll up. When the pushpin is up , the dialog can roll up.

the

Dialogs Follow Application: Selecting this option causes all windows and dialogs to follow the application

window if it is moved.
Lock Solid/Surface Palettes: This option affects the Solid Modeling and Surface Modeling palettes, the

sub-palettes and their dialogs. Enabling this option will cause the sub-palettes and dialogs to follow the
Solid Modeling and Surface Modeling palette. When the parent palette is moved all palettes and
dialogs accessed from this palette will move as well.

Level
The Interface preferences allow users to toggle between the Level 1 and 2 interfaces. While the user
should use the interface that best suits their needs and knowledge, using the Level 2 interface is
recommended. This is due to the fact that the Level 2 interface is a more refined and optimized
interface, providing a richer environment for the user. New Part lets you specify the default level
interface the system should use. Open Part lets you designate whether the system will open an existing
part with the interface level that the part was originally created in or the interface level that the system
is currently running.
Level 1: This interface provides full functionality to the production Mill and Lathe modules,

utilizing the seven-button Top Level palette as well. The full functionality of Level 1 does not,
however, encompass Advanced Milling, Tombstone Management System, Multi-Task Machining,
Solids Import, 2.5D Solids, SolidSurfacer and Machine Sim capabilities.
Level 2: The Level 2 interface gives users the most advanced set of features, including a 16-button

Top Level palette and a Taskbar. The Level 2 interface is necessary for Mill/Turn, Rotary Mill,
MTM, Advanced Milling, Solids Import, SolidSurfacer, Machine Sim and TMS customers, but is
also available to other users.
Current: This option will create a new file with the part set to the interface level currently in use.

Selection
Targeting pixel tolerance: This setting specifies how accurate or inaccurate you may be when selecting

geometry. The default setting is 5 pixels. That means that the geometry selected when clicking the
mouse may be up to 5 pixels away from the cursor. The system will of course select the closest
geometry if more than one element is within range.
Floor/Wall Angle Tolerance: This item is used with the face selection options found when right clicking on

a solid. Any face that falls within the tolerance specified in this dialog will be selected. For example,
when selecting wall faces with the default setting of 10, any face that is 80-100 of the selected face
will become selected.

22

The File Menu

Geometry
The Geometry section specifies settings for geometry. The system supports, and is optimized for the
creation of cubic order splines but higher-order splines can be imported. The system is optimized for
cubic order splines (four control points) so that no matter how much you zoom in the chord height
will not be visible.

Other Items
Alternate Keyboard Shortcuts: The Keyboard option specifies the keyboard shortcut and hotkeys

functionality. The Windows Shortcuts option uses the standard Windows shortcuts while the Alternate
Shortcuts option emulates the older Macintosh version of this software.
Digitizer Calibration: This preference allows a user
to set the functionality of a tablet. The default
setting is Tablet as a mouse.

When the Tablet as a digitizer setting is selected,

calibration points may be entered. Any three
points on the part print may be used for this
purpose. A part, either new or existing, must be
open. Place the cursor in a text box, select a
point on the part with the digitizer puck and
enter the X and Y values. Repeat this process for
two more points.
The digitizer works in 3 places: 1) Calibration 2)
Mouse Point, 3) Mouse Line
Network Licensing Options: This preference is only

available to users of the Network Licensing

option. This preference allows users to specify
the licensing options to be checked out from the license server. Select the options you wish to use and
click Check Out. If the options you desire to use are available you may then click OK otherwise you will
need to select other product options. This is useful when a full compliment of product options are not
available or not needed. For example, if your company has 5 Mill, 5 Advanced Mill and 3 SolidSurfacer

23

The File Menu

seats and three other users are currently using SolidSurfacer, you may still check out a Mill and
Advanced Mill seat as there are 2 open seats for each option.

24

The File Menu

MACHINING PREFERENCES
The Machining Preferences contains several settings for the systems behavior when generating
toolpath.

Spline Machining Tolerance: This item is a curve accuracy. It is used when working with splines. When
splines are machined, the toolpath breaks up the spline into line segments that can be cut by the CNC
machine. The Spline Machining Tolerance specifies how much the line-segmented toolpath can deviate
from the true spline.
Entry Line Approach: This provides an option for the toolpath generated when using a line and 90 radius

value for the entry and exit of a finish pass in Pocketing and Contouring operations. Tangent Entry Line
will create a line tangent to a 90 radius while Normal Entry Line to Arc will create a line that is
perpendicular to the 90 arc. This is illustrated below. Normal Entry Line to Arc is particularly useful
when CRC Type is set to Tool Edge. This will help to ensure that the code generated by the system will
not inadvertently cause a tool to crash into a part in certain circumstances, such as when the tool is
to Arc

25

The File Menu

nearly as large as the pocket being machined. When using this option, please be sure to set the line
length to be equal to or greater than the tool radius.

Tangent Entry Line To Arc

Normal Entry Line To Arc

A potential tool error is avoided with approach set to Normal Entry Line to Arc

T
I
P

Contour processes have two entry styles, 90 Line or Line and

90 Radius. The 90 Line style is automatically a 90 line from
the start and end features. The Line and 90 Radius style
creates a line that is either 90 from the arc or tangent to the
arc, depending on your Machining Preferences setting. What
is not obvious is that there is a third option. Entering a
radius value of 0 in the Line and 90 Radius will generate a
tangent line approach. The line will be tangent to the start
and end features. This applies to all three CRC types ( Tool
Center, Tool Edge and Finish Profile).
WARNING: The system does a much better job offsetting the tool than the majority of controls currently

available. Regardless of the setting made in this preference, all toolpath drawing and Cut Part Rendering
will be calculated and displayed using the systems offsetting mechanism. Therefore, it is possible for the
rendered image produced by the system to look good, while the tool, cutting according to the posted code, will
26

The File Menu

not cut well. If the controls offsetting mechanism is less advanced than the systems, it is possible that when
the control produces the offset values, errors and interference will result.
CRC Type: This option allows you to set the default behavior of Cutter Radius Compensation in

Contour and Thread milling operations. The CRC Type options include Tool Center, Tool Edge and
Finish Profile. The toolpath displayed on-screen will not change with each selection, but the posted
output will vary according to your selected preference. Additionally, if you convert an operations
toolpath to geometry, the resulting geometry will be reflective of the CRC Type used.
Tool Center: This is the default setting. The toolpath is rendered on-screen this way regardless of

which CRC type option is selected. With this option the toolpath is calculated to the center of the
tool including any stock settings.
Tool Edge: With this option the toolpath is calculated to the edge of the tool including any stock

settings. CRC offset settings on the control should be set to the tool size.

You cannot enter negative line lengths in Tool Edge CRC approach/exits. This means
there is no way to have an arc only approach. With tool center you simply set the line
length to 0. With tool edge you have to enter line length equal to -tool radius.

Finish Profile: With this option the toolpath is calculated to the finish geometry of the part and does

not include stock. The G-code output is essentially a blueprint of your part. CRC offset settings on
the control should be the tool size, plus any stock allowance. This option supports Rough Bore,
Finish Bore, Contouring and Offset Pocketing operations. For pocketing and rough bore
operations the Cut Width must be greater than the tool diameter otherwise tool center is output in
the code. This option is meant to be used as a finish pass.
What exactly is meant by arc radius and line length in
CRC? The arc radius is to tool centerline for all CRC types.
Line length is the distance you want the tool edge to start
away from the geometry start point.

Process dialog Line value

Machining
Marker

With Tool Center the line length and arc radius are tool 90 degree Line Approach
centerline distances, meaning that a 90, 9mm radius tool
centerline arc will bring the tool edge down 9mm from the finish wall.

27

The File Menu

Tool Edge

CRC defines the line length and arc radius in

Tool Edge to part = centerline radius
terms of edge position. If you specify 0 for the line
length, the tool edge starts on the geometry and a tool
radius-long line will be output in the G-code for CRC to
turn on. This results in no move. If a line-arc entry is
used you have to visualize the equivalent finish geometry
approach radius that will result from the arc radius
specified. The line length is measured from this finish Tool Edge Entry
geometry arc start point.

Please note that the toolpath for 0 length approach/exit

Turn on CRC move
lines are drawn incorrectly. The output toolpath appears
to be correct. You can check the output toolpath by Resulting Tool
Entry radius
edge arc
converting an operation to geometry. The orange toolpath
line drawn is not the output toolpath, but rather a Finish geometry
prediction of actual tool motion from turning CRC on/
to G-code
off. If you set the preferences to Tangent Entry Line to Arc,
and Tool Edge, it is easy to see how these values work. The Tool Edge G41 start
very first move is an angled line. The tool positions at a
finish geometry equivalent position at the start point of the entry line. We assume G41 will be applied
on the first move, and the orange line angles over to the start point of the centerline toolpath. This
stays centerline until CRC off on the last line.
CRC Entry Line Validation: This option will validate the CRC Entry Line. This option will also check to

make sure the line has a greater that 0 length.

Omit Small Chord Arcs: The Omit Small Chord Arcs checkbox will eliminate

small arc moves when machining. If a toolpath arcs chord height is less
than 0.0001 the toolpath will be generated as a line move. The following
image illustrates the chord height of an arc. If this arc were less than
0.0001, the arc would be omitted and the move would follow the dashed
line.

Chord Height

Allow Mill Material Only: The Allow Mill Material Only checkbox must be

checked for the Material Only machining option to be available in Roughing Process dialogs. When the
item is checked, the system tracks and stores remaining material conditions. If the Material Only option
is not going to be used in operations it is strongly recommended that this option be deselected.
When this preference is on, the system will perform the calculations needed for a Material Only
operation even if the calculations will not be applied. This information will also be saved with the part
file. Though the difference in the size of the part file is quite small, the additional processing power
that can be gained by turning this option off when not used is significant.

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The File Menu

Use Spun Outline for Lathe Profile: Using this option will create a spun outline of a solid for lathe profiles,

resulting in a maximum material condition. If this item is off the system takes the profile of a solid as it
lays in the ZX plane to determine the profile. If a solid has a boss or other element that does not lay on
the ZX plane it will not be noticed.
Holder Class Menu Items: This item allows you to select which mill holders show up in the Document
Control dialog. Most users wont have all classes of back ends available so this item helps you
minimize an otherwise long list of items.
Hole Wizard : The Hole Wizard section contains buttons to access the preferences for Hole Data. These

preference settings control the behavior of the Hole Wizard. In addition a predefined list of bolts and
tap definitions can be accessed here. The Bolt Table and Tap Table dialogs are spreadsheets that contains
standard data and user entered definitions of bolts and tap holes. These items are fully described in the
Wizards Guide.

29

The File Menu

FILE PREFERENCES
The items found in the File tab affect the information going into and out of GibbsCAM.

File Extension: These preferences set the extensions that will be added to different types of files that are
created by the system. The Post extension is added to the text file generated by the system when a part
file is post processed, the default extension is NCF. The IGES, DXF, and Point List extensions are used
when importing and exporting geometry. The Parasolid, SAT, STL, SolidEdge, SolidWorks, Catia and VDA
extensions are used for importing and exporting solids files.

Each entry in the dialog may contain more than one extension for a type of file. For example,
Parasolid files may have the extension X_T or XMT depending on the application that saved the file.
Multiple entries must be separated by a comma and a space.
Auto Save: This option tells the system to automatically save your part file at a specified time interval.

With Auto Save enabled, you can opt to have the system create a backup file as well. When enabling
the As Backup File option, the system will ask the user for a prefix which will be placed before your file
name in the backup. The file will be created automatically in the same directory as the part file and
will persist unless manually deleted. With backup on, Auto Save has no effect on the original file,
allowing users to close files without saving changes if the need to return to an earlier version of the
part arises.
Save Size: This preference lets you control the size of the files that have solids. The files can be saved as

a Large or Minimal (without facets) file. Saving without facets creates a smaller file, but will require more
30

The File Menu

time to regenerate the facets when the file is opened. On slow systems this regeneration may be quite
long, depending on the size and number of solids.
Alert When Overwriting Post Output File: This option will present an alert if you overwrite an existing NCF
file when generating a post. This option will also open a Save dialog, allowing you to select a different
name for the new post, protecting the older file.
Launch New Application on File: This option dictates how the system will respond when a VNC file is

opened. If Launch New Application on File is selected, a new instance of GibbsCAM will open with the
selected file. If this option is not selected, the file will be opened in the current instance of GibbsCAM.
If a file is already open, you will be prompted to save the open file if necessary.
Cutdata Path: By default the system looks for the CutDATA database file ( Material.txt) in the
application folder. If you have purchased the material database or have created a custom list you may
wish to keep the file in a more central or convenient location such as the My Documents folder or the
desktop. Clicking the Browse button lets you define where the system should look for your
Material.txt file.
Set Font Directory: This preference allows you to manually set the font directory that will be used in the
Text Creation dialog. Some users may designate a different folder for engraving fonts to make selecting
a font easier than sifting through a listing of all available fonts on a system. The system automatically
determines the location of the operating systems Fonts folder so for most users, this preference may
be ignored. However, if the fonts that will be used for engraving are not kept in the default system
fonts folder (C:\WINDOWS\Fonts) this preference will be necessary. Simply highlight the target
folder that has the engraving fonts and click on OK. Please note that only TrueType fonts can be used
with the systems Text Creation function.

31

The File Menu

POST PROCESSOR PREFERENCES

The Post Processing preference
allows the user to specify
comment data that is output in
the NCF file generated by the
system. If an item is checked,
that data will be output. At the
end of this section is a simple
program that shows most of
these options in use.
Extended Characters: Selecting this

option will allow characters

beyond the ASCII 1-128
character set to be output in the
post. Your machine should
support non-English character
sets to use this option.
Program Name: This

item will
output the name of the part file
at the beginning of the program.

Program Comment: This item will output any comment entered in the Document Control dialog

Comment section. The comment will be placed in the program header.

Format Code: This option will output the ID number of the post processor that was used to generate the

program. The ID number will be placed in the program header.

Format Name: This option will output the exact name of the post processor that was used to generate
the program. The name will be placed in the program header.
Date and Time: This option will place the date and time the program was created in the header.
Absolute or Incremental: The program will include in the header whether the output is absolute or

incremental.
Number of Parts: This outputs the number of parts being posted in the program header.
Starting Tool State: This option outputs whether the post processor expects the first tool to be in the
spindle or tool changer.

32

The File Menu

Special Functions: By default this option is off. When active the post outputs an explanation of Utility

Data commands that are available with this post. This is potentially a lot of text.
Operation Number and Type: With each new operation in the program the operation number and type will

be output.
Operation Comment: This option will output any comment associated with the operation at its start in the

program.
Workgroup Comment: This option outputs the workgroup name at the start of each operation.
Tool Number and Type: This option outputs the tool number and type at the start of each operation.
Tool Comment: If there is a comment associated with a tool it will be output at the start of the operation.
Length in Characters: This option will output the program length in characters in the program footer.
Length in Feet: This option will output the program length in feet in the program footer.
Length in Meters: This option will output the program length in meters in the program footer.
Sub Number: In operations that have sub-routines the sub-routine number will be output as a comment.
%
O1( PROGRAM: POSTEXAMPLE.NCF )
( THIS IS FROM THE DOCUMENT CONTROL DIALOG. )
( FORMAT: FANUC 6M [VG] M001.19M.PST )
( 3/21/06 AT 3:57 PM )
( OUTPUT IN ABSOLUTE MILLIMETERS )
( PARTS PROGRAMMED: 1 )
( FIRST TOOL NOT IN SPINDLE )
N1G17G40G80
N2T1
N3M6
( OPERATION 1: HOLES )
( DRILL A SINGLE 13MM HOLE )
( DRILLING WORKGROUP )
( TOOL 1: 13. DRILL )
( 13MM DRILL )
N4G54
N5S3000M3
N6G90G0X20.Y20.
N7G43Z50.H1
N8M8
N9Z2.5
N10G81G99X20.Y20.Z-53.906R2.5F250.
N11G80G0Z2.5
N12M9
N13G91G28Z0.
N14M5

Program Name
Program Comment
Format Name
Date and Time
Absolute or Incremental
Number of Parts
Starting Tool State

Operation Number and Type

Operation Comment
Workgroup Comment
Tool Number and Type
Tool Comment

33

The File Menu

N15M30
%
( FILE LENGTH: 502 CHARACTERS )
( FILE LENGTH: 4.46 FEET )
( FILE LENGTH: 1.43 METERS )
Figure 5: A simple program showing most of the available post options in use.

Length in Characters
Length in Feet
Length in Meters

COMMUNICATION SET-UP PREFERENCES

In order to send a post file to the CNC machine, the parameters for data transfer must be set up in the
File > Preferences > Communication Set-Up dialog. This dialog is used to set up two-way
communications between a control and workstation for sending and receiving data. Different controls
have different protocols or parameters. Refer to the machine controls manual for the protocol
specifications.

Adding a Protocol: To add a new communication protocol, enter the name of the new protocol, change

the settings to match those of the CNC machine and click the Add button. The new protocol will
appear in the list.

34

The File Menu

Changing a Protocol: To change protocol information, select the

protocol from the list and change the information. The changes are
automatically saved when the dialog is closed or when a different
protocol is selected in the list.
Removing a Protocol: To remove a protocol, simply select the desired

protocol from the list and click on the Remove button.

35

The File Menu

MATERIALS
The Material Database
dialog, which can also
be accessed from the
Process dialogs is used
for storing and quickly
retrieving feeds and
speeds for various
types of materials. All
Material
Database
information must be
entered by the user
unless the CutDATA
material library has
been purchased. To
access the database,
click on the Materials
button in any of the
Process dialogs.
The database is set up
in
a
hierarchical
format.
Families
contain alloy groups.
Alloy groups contain
materials. Materials are
further broken down
into hardness ranges
and cut types. Each
alloy group has a text
field that lists all of the
alloys that fall into the
alloy group. Shown
here is a picture of the
Materials dialog. This is
used for both creating
and editing materials as
well as placing feed and
speed information into
Process dialogs.

36

Figure 6: The Material Database with and without CutDATA.

The File Menu

Family: Families contain alloy groups. The dialog above shows some of the different families that come

with the CutDATA database. When a family is selected, the alloy group list will fill up with the
groups in the family. If a family is the only thing selected, the buttons at the bottom of the dialog will
read Edit Family and New Family.
Alloy Group: An alloy group contains a list of all the alloys that fall into the group and can be machined

with the same parameters. When an alloy group is selected, the material list will fill up with materials
and the alloys box will fill up with alloys. If a family and an alloy group are the only things selected,
the buttons at the bottom of the dialog will read Edit Alloy and New Alloy as shown above.
Alloys: This is a large text edit box containing all of the alloys in the alloy group. The information in this

box is available when an alloy is selected. The information in this text edit box can be changed to add
new alloys to the list.
Material List: The materials in this list are grouped together by cut type, hardness, and tool material.

When the dialog is accessed from a process and a material is selected, the SFPM and ipr/ipt values from
the material will be placed in the SFPM and ipr text boxes.
Edit Material (Family, Alloy) button: When this button is clicked, the Edit Material (Family, Alloy) dialog will
appear (see following image). This is the same dialog as the New Material dialog except that when the
dialog is closed, the information for the selected material will be changed.
New Material (Family, Alloy) button: When this button is clicked, the New Material (Family, Alloy) dialog will
appear (see following image). This is the same dialog as Edit Material except that when the dialog is
closed a new material is created.
Suggest button: This button is only available when the dialog is accessed through a Process dialog.

Clicking on this button will tell the software to select the material in the list that most closely
represents the cut condition of the open Process dialog. First it will try to match the cut type. Then it
will match hardness, depth of cut and tool material.
Calc RPM button: This button is only available when the dialog is accessed through a Process dialog. This

button calculates an RPM value and places it into the Process dialog.
Calc Feed button: This button is only available when the dialog is accessed through a Process dialog. This

calculates a feed value and places it in the Feed boxes in the Process dialog.
Comment: If a comment has been given for the material being used, it will be displayed here.

37

The File Menu

MATERIAL DIALOG
The New/Edit Material dialog
shown below is used for
creating and editing all
materials in the database.
The contents of the dialog
changes depending on the
button used to open the
dialog.
Family: The text box will only
be editable if the Edit/New
Family button is used to open
the dialog. This is the text
displayed in the family list in
the Materials dialog.
Alloy: This text box will only be editable if the Edit/New Alloy button is used to open the dialog. This is
the text displayed in the alloy group list in the Materials dialog.
Hardness: This text box (and all others to follow) will only be available if the Edit/New Material button is

used to open the dialog. The text in this field is used to set up different hardness ranges that can all be
machined with the same settings for a specific material.
Condition: This is the condition of the material. It is related to the hardness value. It is only used for
reference and will not affect any calculations.
XY Depth: This box is used to enter the depth that the tool will be buried into the material. The axes

change depending on the cut type selected. When the Suggest button is clicked, the software will try
to match this number with the depth of cut taking place in the Process dialog.
Tool Size: This is the diameter of the tool. When the Suggest button is depressed, the software will try

to match this number with the diameter of the tool being used in the process.
Tool Matl: This pop-up menu is a list of the available materials for tools. When the Suggest button is

clicked, the software will try to match the selected tool material to the tool being used in the process.
Cut Type: This pop-up menu is a list of the different cut types available in the database. When the
Suggest button is clicked, the software will try to match the selected cut type to the type of

cut being

used in the Process dialog.

SFPM: The value in this box will be used as the suggested Surface Feet Per Minute (or SMPM for

metric) when a material is selected.

38

The File Menu

ipr/mmpt: The value in this box will be used as the suggested Inches Per Revolution (or mmpt for

metric) when a material is selected.

Comment: This box allows an additional comment to be displayed when the material is selected in the
Materials dialog.

Please note that once a material has been edited or added to the database it cannot be deleted, only
further edited.

39

The File Menu

FLASH CPR SETTINGS

Cutting: The cutting options section allow you to

control the quality and responsiveness of Flash

CPR. Please note that the Flash CPR preferences
are stored with the part. This means that if you
change the preferences but open a part that has
an older set of preferences, it will override the
changes you have made.
Steps Per Update: Steps per Update specifies the

maximum number of CPR features to render

before updating the display. Large numbers
will increase the rendering speed but will
result in a rougher rendering animation.
With large numbers the tool may appear to
jump ahead of rendering, which will
suddenly snap to the tool. This may be jerky,
but can be rather fast. A low number
provides a smooth animation, but may be
slow.

Cut Part Chord Height: This setting is the resolution for the cut part
displayed in Flash CPR. There are separate settings for inch and metric
tools. The smaller the value, the higher quality of the display and the
more resources needed by the system, resulting in a slower rendering.

Chord Height

Body Chord Height: This option determines the resolution of bodies (part, stock and fixtures) in Flash
CPR. There are two ways this can be set, either by the Chord Height (which is setting a specific
value), or by the % of Bodys Chord Height option. This second option uses the value set in the
Properties dialog. A setting of 100% will use the bodys Chord Height while a setting of 10% will is
1/10th of the bodys Chord Height while 1,000% is 10 times the body chord height. Any
percentage between 1 and 100,000 is acceptable. As the percentage is set higher the body will
appear rougher but the display will be faster and lower percentages mean higher quality but

40

The File Menu

slower response. Note that this setting does not affect the quality of machining shown on the
screen.

Collision: The items found in the Collision section of the dialog provide control over how the system

reports machining errors while rendering. A collision in Flash CPR occurs when the tool rapids into
the stock or touches a fixture or if a holder touches anything. Any combination of the four available
alert methods may be used.

Please note that the Collision Checking option (found by right-clicking the Render
Control palette title) must be activated for the system to check for collisions.

Alert Types: The Beep option provides an audible alert, Log To Display will output an error in a
collision log window and Stock Flash provides a visual alert to the error by flashing the rendered
stock. Stop Animation will cause the rendering to stop when a collision is detected.
Tolerance: The Tolerance setting allows a different value for metric and inch parts. Any collision

within the specified tolerance will generate a collision alert.

Figure 7: The Clash Console output showing a tool clashing with the stock and a fixture.
Slider: This item affects the responsiveness and quality of the rendering. The Angle values can have a
very large impact on the rendering speed versus quality, especially on rotary operations. A low
number will create very small angles in rotations, resulting in a smooth image while a high number
can create a rendered part that is not smooth but s very fast. Please note that this does not affect
toolpath, only the rendered part.

41

The File Menu

Circular Threads: This option renders circular threads rather than proper spiraled threads. Enabling this

option will render threads much more quickly.

Statistics: When this option is enabled a window opens when
you activate Flash CPR. The window logs the current
framerate for your machine as well as any logged errors for
the CPR session.

42

THE EDIT MENU

The Edit Menu

CHAPTER 2 : The Ed i t M en u
This chapter details the Edit menu. The Edit menu contains items that allow the user to adjust and
select items contained in the file. Each item found in this menu is described below in the order it is
encountered in the menu.

DATA MANIPULATION
UNDO, CUT, COPY & PASTE
The first four items in this menu are the standard methods for
removing and inserting text and features.
Undo: (Ctrl+Z) Selecting the Undo item will undo the last action

performed. Some actions cannot be undone. When Undo is grayed out

in the menu, the previous action cannot be undone.
The Cut, Copy and Paste functions allow selected items (geometry or
text) to be duplicated and/or moved in and between files. This is
accomplished using the clipboard, which is a temporary storage space
contained in the system.
Cut: (Ctrl+X) This function will cut away any selected text, geometry
or bodies and copy these items to the clipboard. The item(s) can then
be placed in the same file or a separate file using the Paste function.
Copy: (Ctrl+C) This function will make a duplicate of selected text,
geometry or bodies and copy them to the clipboard. The item(s) can
then be pasted within the same file or a separate file.
Paste: (Ctrl+V) This function will place the contents of the clipboard in either the drawing window (if

the clipboard contains geometry or bodies) or an active text box (if the clipboard contains text). If
another item is selected when pasting, that item will be deleted and replaced by the contents of the
clipboard.

SELECT & DESELECT

Selecting
Select All: (Ctrl+A) This function will select all of the geometry contained in the current workgroup as
well as all bodies in the Workspace and all bodies in the Body Bag if it is open.
Select: The items contained in the Select submenu allow the user to be more precise when selecting
groups of items.

45

The Edit Menu

Select By Geometric Features

Points: The Select Points sub-menu has

three options. All Points will select all

points in the current workgroup.
Connectors will select all points used to
connect geometry in the current
workgroup. Terminators will select all
points used to terminate open geometry
in the current workgroup.
Lines: The Select Lines sub-menu has three options. All Lines will select all lines in

the current workgroup. Feeds will select all lines designated as Feed in the
current workgroup. Rapids will select all Rapid lines in the current workgroup.
See the Modify menu section of this document for more information on Feed &
Rapid geometry.
Circles: The Select Circles sub-menu has three options. All Circles will

select all circles in the current workgroup. Full, Radius and Full, Dia.
Range will bring up the following dialog boxes.
Full, Radius: This dialog allows the user to select all full, unterminated
circles in the current workgroup with a radius equal to the value
entered in the text box.

Full Diameter Range: This dialog allows the user to select all full,

unterminated circles in the current workgroup whose

diameter is equal to or between the value range entered in
the text boxes.
Curves: This option will select all splines or curves in the current

workgroup.
Dimensions: This item will select all dimensioning annotations made in the current workgroup.
Text: This item will select all textual annotations made in the current workgroup

46

The Edit Menu

Select By Properties

The By Depth, By Reference, By Body Name and By Body Comment

items are various methods for selecting geometry and/or
bodies. These items are discussed below.

By Depth: To select features By Depth, the user must input From and To

depth data to define the maximum and minimum parameters for the
selection. When the Select button is clicked any feature that lies within
the range (wholly or partially) will be selected. If a section of connected
geometry falls within the selected range, only those features will be
selected. None of the connection points or other features outside of the
range will be selected.
By Reference: To select a feature By Reference, the user must input the
Reference number that corresponds to the desired selection. Reference

numbers are assigned by the system to every geometric feature

created. They can be viewed by turning on Labels from the View
menu. Likewise, to complete this task, click the Select button.
By Body Name: To select features By Body Name, the user must
input some data in the Name box to define the parameters for the
selection. All bodies have names either automatically
generated (such as Sphere 35) or given by the user. When Full
name is selected only bodies whose names are exactly the same as
what was entered will be selected. When Match case is selected,
capitalization of words is taken into account. Thus if rounded
was entered and the part in question is labeled Rounded, the
body will not be selected.
By Body Comment: To select (or deselect) bodies by

comment, simply enter the search criteria in the By

Comment dialog and click on Select. This will select all
bodies whose Comments field contains the search
criteria. Searches can be very specific, such as a name
given to the body, or the search may be very simple,
such as selecting all bodies with the letter s in the
comments. When Full Comment is selected only bodies
whose comments are exactly the same as what you
entered will be selected. When Match Case is selected,
capitalization of words is taken into account. Thus if
rounded was entered and the part contained
47

The Edit Menu

Rounded as a comment the body will not be selected. If the entry is left blank, all bodies with no
comment will be selected.

Select By Type of Solid

Bodies: The Bodies item will select all bodies in the Workspace
and Body Bag if it is open.
Sheets: The Sheets item will select all sheets in the Workspace

and open Body Bag.

Edges: The Edges item will select all edges of selected bodies and
sheets that are in the Workspace. Performing this action will activate the Edge Selection item in the
task bar. Any edge the user does not wish to select must be manually deselected.

Other Select Options

Walls From Selected Edges: Any walls connected to selected edges will be selected.
All Profiles: Any profile shapes will be selected.
Faces From Selected Profiles: Faces that are bound by the current

profile will be selected.

Current CS: The Current CS item provides a quick way to select all

geometry and bodies in the current coordinate system.

Geometry or bodies defined in coordinate systems other than
the currently active CS will not be selected.
Mouse Drag: When the Mouse Drag item is selected the user can drag the cursor around an area and all
the geometry contained in that area will become selected. This is equivalent to holding down the
Shift key when click-dragging the mouse.

Deselecting
Deselect All: This item will deselect any geometry, bodies and annotations currently selected.

Deselect submenu
The items contained in this sub-menu will deselect any geometry or bodies of the chosen type. The
Deselect sub-menu has the same criteria as the Select sub-menu. Refer to the Select section begining
on page 45 for a description of each item.

Other Selections
Invert Selection: This function will select all geometry and bodies in the Workspace and Body Bag that

are not currently selected when the Invert Selection item was chosen and deselect the items that are
selected. For example, a user has three shapes on the screen with only one of them selected. Upon
48

The Edit Menu

choosing Invert Selection, the system will select the other two shapes and deselect the one originally
selected. This feature can also be used in conjunction with the features available in the Select and
Deselect sub-menu.

GEOMETRY EXPERT COMMANDS

INSERT, DELETE, CHANGE AND REVERSE ROWS
These four items are used with Geometry Expert.
Insert Row: This item will insert a blank row in the spreadsheet above

the currently selected row. When an inserted row contains the

necessary information and is entered, the system will recalculate the
shape and attempt to incorporate the inserted feature into the
existing shape, if possible.
Delete Row: This item will delete the selected row from the spreadsheet. As soon as the row is deleted,
the system will adjust the remaining shape to maintain the appropriate connections, if possible.
Change Intersection: This item will toggle between Use Intersection #1 and Use Intersection #2 in the
menu. This option enables the user to select different intersections between concurrent features in the
spreadsheet. This option is available when the feature defined by the current row intersects the feature
defined by the following row in two places. This item will change the point of intersection selected in
a previous post targeting dialog to the other possible choice.
Reverse All Rows: This item is only active when the Geometry Expert spreadsheet is open. When

selected, it will reverse the order of the rows in the spreadsheet which will change the direction of the
shape as it is loaded in Geometry Expert. This is useful when loading a shape that was imported or
created using the Free-Form CAD tools. When a shape that was not created using Geometry Expert is
loaded into the spreadsheet, the system decides whether to go in a clockwise or counter-clockwise
direction when placing the features into the spreadsheet. Shape direction has the potential to affect the
angle values of lines and the direction of arcs. There are times when the system will load the shape in
the opposite direction than the one desired. When the shape has been loaded into the spreadsheet,
select the Reverse all rows item to reverse the order of features. This item is only available when the
spreadsheet contains feature rows.

OPERATION COMMANDS
REDO ALL OPS
This item will reprocess all operations contained in a file. If changes have been made to part geometry
or solids, selecting Redo All Ops will automatically reprocess all of the operations and the new toolpath
will reflect the changes.
49

The Edit Menu

50

THE VIEW MENU

The View Menu

CHAPTER 2 : The V i ew M en u
This chapter details the View menu. The View menu provides access to commands that affect the
display and how things are viewed. This includes the Workspace, items within the Workspace,
geometry, solids, workgroups and coordinate systems.

WORKSPACE
VIEW ORIENTATION
Top View: (Ctrl+E) This is the standard, default view of the XY

plane.
Front View: (Ctrl+F) This a view of the XZ plane.
Side View: (Ctrl+G) This is a view of the YZ plane.
Isometric View: (Ctrl+I) This is a world view. The part is drawn
such that the part dimensions are all foreshortened equally.
Home View: (Ctrl+H) This is an option for Mill/Turn, Multi-Task

Machining, Advanced Mill, SolidSurfacer and products that build

on these products. Home View is equivalent to the Top View for
2-axis mill or lathe parts. For any part with multiple coordinate
systems, Home View rotates the view of the part to a view
normal (3D perpendicular) to the current coordinate system.
The Home view always displays the part with the positive depth
axis projecting out of the screen. This has the effect of showing
the part rotated into the position it will be in when it is
machined.
Unzoom: (Ctrl+U) Also known as no zoom. This sets the scale of
the stock diagram to the maximum size that the monitor will
allow and still contain the entire stock diagram. The actual size is
based on the stock size and the current view.
Redraw: (Ctrl+R) This item refreshes the screen image allowing the user to get a better indication of

what is currently drawn on the screen. Geometry, toolpaths, or the rendered part image can be
redrawn using this item.
Previous View: (Ctrl+K) This item changes the current view to the last view that was worked in.

53

The View Menu

Zoom In: (Ctrl++) This item increases the scale of the view so the drawing gets bigger by 25% each

time it is selected.
Zoom Out: (Ctrl+) This item decreases the scale of the view so the drawing gets smaller by 25% each

time it is selected.

GEOMETRY & SCREEN ELEMENTS

Labels: (Ctrl+L) If this item is turned on, labels will be drawn next to every geometry feature. Circles

will be labeled C#, Lines L#, and Points P#. The # is determined by the order the points and features
were created in. It corresponds directly to the information shown in the Workgroup Summary.
Draw Points: (Ctrl+J) If this item is turned off (not checked), all pointsplain points, connectors, and
terminators will not be shown.
Extend Lines: When this item is turned on, all unconnected lines will extend to the edge of the stock. If it
is turned off, lines will only extend to the features they were created between.
Show Stock & Origin: If this option is turned off, the gray outline of the stock and the origin marker will

not be drawn.
Show Geometry: (Ctrl+[) This item redraws only points, lines and circles. It will draw geometry over

the rendered image of the part.

Show Dimensions: This item toggles on screen annotations on and off.

OTHER ITEMS
Shrink Wrap: (Ctrl+) When this item is selected, the software will examine the geometry in all of the

workgroups and adjust the stock size to show all the geometry on the screen without excess blank
space. This is especially useful when working with imported files.

54

The View Menu

Mouse Position: The Mouse position dialog may also be

accessed from the geometry context menu. The top

section of the dialog allows the user to view the absolute
two-dimensional (X and Y) or three-dimensional (X, Y
and Z) location of the cursor. As the cursor is moved, the
values are updated. The lower section of the window
displays the incremental distance between two selected
points, the relative distance between a selected point and
the cursor and the angle of a straight line between two
selected points or a point and the cursor.
By selecting two points with the mouse, the Mouse
Position dialog will display the distance between the two
chosen points as an incremental value. Each point
selected will be confirmed by a red marker on the ruler within the dialog. When one point is selected,
the system will display the distance (and angle) between the selected point and the cursor.
Dimensions Palette: The

Dimensions
palette provides the user with the
ability to add dimensioning and text to
a part file. This palette is fully detailed
in the Geometry Creation manual.

55

The View Menu

56

THE MODIFY MENU

The Modify Menu

CHAPTER 3 : The Mo d i fy M en u
This chapter details the Modify menu. The Modify menu has numerous commands for changing the
state of geometry and bodies, including the duplication, repositioning and reorientation. The stock
dimensions may also be modified from this menu.

ABOUT THE MODIFY MENU ITEMS

The Modify menu contains items that give the user additional
methods for creating, positioning and duplicating geometry
and/or bodies. All of the items under this menu, except for
Move Part Origin, require geometry or a body to be selected
before their functions can be performed.
Several of the items have multiple pictures, one for the Mill
module and one for the Lathe module and in some cases one
for Mill/Turn. The functionality of each of the items is
identical for both the Mill and Lathe modules; however, the
dialogs differ slightly due to the different axes designations.
Visible WGs: This item is found in several of the functions
accessed from the Modify menu. The functions can be applied to
entire workgroups as well as to any selected features. This
function is accomplished by checking the Visible WGs checkbox
and clicking on the Do It button. Visible workgroups include all
workgroups that are displayed in the Workspace, including
background workgroups. The Reverse Arc, Change CS (XYZ) and
Change CS (HVD) items in the Modify menu do not have dialogs
associated with them. These three functions can also be applied
to all items in Visible WGs by selecting the item from the WG
List Context menu, accessed by performing a right-mouse click
on the Workgroup list.

Each item found in the Modify menu is described below in the

order it appears in the menu.

59

The Modify Menu

ITEM DESCRIPTIONS
DUPLICATE COMMANDS
Duplicate: (Ctrl+D) This selection copies the selected geometry or body to

the same location. After this is done, the next step is to move the duplicated
item to another location, possibly using another item under this menu.
Additionally, Duplicate is useful for creating an unconnected feature in the
same location as a currently connected feature.
Duplicate And... This item will Duplicate and perform the specified action.

Force Depth, Mirror, 2d Rotate, Scale or Translate the selection. First, the
selected geometry will be duplicated. Then, depending on the option
selected, the selected geometry is moved to one or more new locations
based on the number typed in the times text box.

ACTIONS
Force Depth: This selection sets the absolute Z value of all selected

geometry to the Z value entered. This option is unavailable when

working in the Lathe module and therefore the item is grayed out in the
menu.
Mirror: This selection will move the selected geometry or bodies to the

other side of the axis or axes specified around an axis point entered in the

60

The Modify Menu

text boxes. Clicking on the Do It button will perform the mirroring function. This dialog can remain
onscreen for further use while other functions are performed.

Mill

Lathe

Mill/Turn

Absolute 2D Rotate: This selection will rotate selected geometry or

bodies at an absolute angle around a specified point. That is to say
the geometry will be rotated from an angle to another angle
around the point specified in the X and Y (in mill) or Z and Xr (in
lathe) text boxes. The angle of a geometric element can be
determined by interrogating the feature. Clicking on the Do It
button will perform the rotating function. This dialog can remain
onscreen for further use while other functions are performed.

2D Rotate: This selection will revolve or rotate the selected geometry or

bodies around the point specified in the X and Y (in mill) or Z and Xr (in
lathe) text boxes. The selected feature will be rotated by the amount
specified in the Angle text box, in either a CW (clockwise) or CCW
(counter-clockwise) direction depending on the selection made.
Clicking on the Do It button will perform the rotating function. This
dialog can remain onscreen for further use while other functions are
performed.

61

The Modify Menu

Scale: This selection will change the size of the selected geometry by
the amount specified. The value typed in the Amount box is a ratio of
one, one being full size. The inches >> mm or mm >> inches buttons
will change the units of measurement accordingly. The Mill module
has an Include Z option. If the Include Z option is turned on, the Z
values of the selected geometry will be included in the scaling process.
Include Z will not have an affect if the selected geometry is at Z0.
Clicking on the Do It button will perform the scaling function. This
dialog can remain onscreen for further use while other functions are
performed.

Absolute Translate: This selection will move the selected

geometry or bodies from a position to a new position.
This is an absolute move by a certain value. Clicking on
the Do It button will perform the translating function.
This dialog can remain onscreen for further use while
other functions are performed. Please note that you do
not need to use a value directly associated with the
geometry or body. That is to say that you can move an
element from its position to a new location based on
relative numbers. For example a sphere centered at
X20Y20 can be moved to X40Y40 using a FromPos value
of X0Y0 and a ToPos value of X20Y20.
Translate: This selection will move the selected geometry or bodies by

the specified amount. Clicking on the Do It button will perform the

translating function. This dialog can remain onscreen for further use
while other functions are performed.

62

The Modify Menu

Segment Spline: Segmenting

splines
means converting a smooth curve (a
NURBS) into a series of line or arc
segments that approximate the shape
of the curve. The features, or segments,
may consist of lines or arcs. When
converting the spline to segments the
Accuracy must be set. The Accuracy
value is the chord height used to
designate how closely the segments
will approximate the spline. The
tighter the accuracy, the more
segments that will be created to
approximate the spline.

Segmenting splines into Arcs is

generally preferable over segmenting
into Lines. Arcs will provide smoother
toolpath and less G-code output.
The series of images illustrate the
differences between segmenting a
spline into lines versus arcs at two
different accuracy settings. As you can
see, even a loose accuracy with arcs is
smoother
and
more
accurate
compared to the same accuracy used
with lines.

Figure 1: An example of various spline segmentation settings.

63

The Modify Menu

Sort: This

selection is only
available in the Mill module. It
provides the user with a method
for sorting the selection order of
a selected group of points and
unconnected circles. Once the
points or circles are sorted, the
reference numbers (labels) are
changed to match the new order.
This is particularly useful when
performing drilling operations,
because the system drills holes in
the order they are selected. There
are three possible sorting options:

S pattern (Zig Zag), Closest Hole next, and Reverse pattern. The different options are described below.

S pattern (Zig Zag): This option allows the user added control over how the points or circles will be

selected. When using S pattern, the system creates a rectangle around the selected group points
like the picture shown in the dialog. This rectangle is broken down into definite sections (like a
grid) by creating scan lines and grid squares. The grid will be created starting with the point in the
farthest upper right-hand corner contained in the selected rectangle.
The user designates what corner of the rectangle to select the first point by using the Start Corner
radio buttons. For example, selecting X+ Y+ will start the selection order in the upper right-hand
corner; X- Y+ in the upper left-hand corner, and so on. Selecting a Main Axis (X or Y) and entering
a Scan Height value will create scan lines, either horizontal or vertical, depending on the main axis
selection. The Max. Gap value breaks up the scan lines into grid squares that can be scanned for
points. The Scan Height and Max. Gap values create the scan lines and squares which break the area
up in a grid-like fashion where all the selected points are contained in a specific, defined area of
the rectangle.
The system will select the point closest to the start corner (regardless of what scan line it is in) as
the first point, and then proceed to the next closest point in that section of the grid. If no other
points are contained in that area, the system will move to the next closest section and select the
next group of points. The system always looks at the scan line first and then looks across or down
the square for the next point. This continues until all selected points in the group are found and
labeled.
Closest hole next: This option is fairly self explanatory. The system starts with the first point or circle
selected and then selects the point or circle that is closest. This process continues until all holes
have been selected. This option is useful when creating curves.

64

The Modify Menu

Reverse pattern: This option reverses the original selection order of the group of points or circles.

The last point that was selected is now labeled as the first point and so on.
Shrinkage: The Shrinkage function is designed to be used when

creating molds to compensate for shrinkage factors

encountered in the manufacturing process, compensating for
the rate at which an injection substance will shrink in a mold
cavity. The Shrinkage item allows users to perform uniform
or axial reductions or enlargements on selected bodies. The
Shrinkage range is -10% to 10%. A selected body can be
reduced or enlarged up to 10% of its original size.
Final Size = (100 - Shrinkage%) * Start Size /100
Reverse Arc: (Ctrl+T) A circle can be fully connected either

using the less than 180 arc or with the greater than 180 arc.
The system automatically selects the less than 180arc as the fully connected feature. If the other arc is
needed, select the connected arc and the Reverse Arc item. In other words, selecting Reverse Arc will
tell the system to use the other side of the connected arc.
Toggle Feed Status: Toggle

Feed

Status

allows the user to

toggle the status of geometry
from a Feed line to a Rapid
line. This is particularly useful
in roughing operations as
illustrated in the Mill Tutorial
where mouse lines are drawn,
depths are changed and Feed
or Rapid is designated.

Start Point
Begin Rapid

Start Point
Begin Rapid
Begin Feed

Begin Feed

Begin Rapid

This image shows a series of

tool moves. The dashed lines
indicate Rapid moves and
solid lines indicate Feed
moves. Note that we are
Begin Rapid
rapiding into the part. In the
second image we have
toggled the lines from Rapid to Feed where the tool moves down onto the part.
Toggle Sheet Side: The Toggle Sheet Side item will flip the inside and outside of a sheet. This item is useful

when solidifying sheets into bodies using the Offset solidify option. When sheets are converted into
bodies by offsetting, the offset must be calculated from one side of the sheet or the other. The Max and
65

The Modify Menu

Min offset values are referenced from one side of the sheet. To offset the sheet from the other side,
select the sheet and then select the Toggle Sheet Side item.
Toggle Wall/Air: This option toggles geometry between wall features (light blue) and air features (red).

This is used for pocketing, particularly for open sided pockets. Tools will not cross wall geometry but
can cut across air features. See the Mill manual for more information.
Change CS (XYZ): When Change CS (XYZ) is used, all selected geometry will be assigned to the current

coordinate system. The geometry will stay in its same location in 3D space. It will change color to
reflect the fact that it is now in the current coordinate system. All selected arcs will be segmented
(changed into line segments), if the coordinate system they are being changed into uses a different
plane than their original coordinate system. If the Advanced Milling module is not installed, this item
will be grayed out in the menu.
Change CS (HVD): (Ctrl+\) When Change CS (HVD) is used, all selected geometry will be assigned to

the current coordinate system, and the HVD values of the geometry will be preserved. This means
that the geometry will be modified to be planar to the new CS location preserving the relative
position. If the Advanced Milling module is not installed, this item will be grayed out in the menu.
Unwrap Geometry: Selecting this item returns the display of wrapped geometry to flat geometry and

takes dialogs out of radial mode.

Wrap Geometry: Selecting this menu item will wrap

all geometry in any Rotary Milling workgroup and

switch Geometry dialogs to radial mode.
Geometry will be wrapped around the part at
the radius or depth at which it was defined. This
item is most useful in the Level 1 interface or as an
alternative to the Wrap Geometry button found in
the Taskbar of the Level 2 interface.
Move Part Origin: This function can save the trouble of

recalculating the values of stock definition in the

Document Control dialog if the parts origin needs
to be modified. This selection will move the part
origin relative to ALL the geometry in EVERY
workgroup incrementally by the values typed in the
appropriate axis text box. In other words, the current
location of X0, Y0, Z0 or Z0, X0 will change
incrementally by the values in this dialog and a new
X0, Y0, Z0 will be established. When using MTM
you can choose which spindle will be modified. Clicking on the Do It button will move the origin. This
dialog can remain onscreen for further use while other functions are performed.
66

THE PROCESSES MENU

The Processes Menu

CHAPTER 4 : The Pro c es s es M en u

PRE-DEFINED PROCESSES
This chapter details the Processes menu. This menu provides the ability to save and load preset Process
Groups to make creating operations easier. A Process Group is the collection of Process tiles
contained in the Process list at any one time. A Process Group contains all of the tooling and
machining information to generate a specific set of operations.
A Process Group can be saved as an external file that can then be loaded into other part files. This
capability allows a user to access and reuse common machining and tool data for multiple part files
quickly and easily without having to recreate tools and processes. There are some default Process
Groups included on the installation CD.
When a Process Group is loaded into a part file, any yellow highlighted Process Tiles currently in the
Process list will be removed and replaced by the loaded Process Group (if this removes Process tiles
that were needed, simply select Undo from the Edit menu). If the Tool List contains Tool Tiles, those
tools will become deselected but not removed from the list. The system will search through the
existing Tool List to find the necessary tools for the loaded Process Group. First, the system will search
for an exact tool match. If an exact match is not found, the system will search for a close match which
would be a tool with a longer tool or flute length. Failing to find an exact match or a close match, the
necessary tools for the loaded Process Group will be created and added to the Tool List in the first
available positions. Added tools will be highlighted.
Once the Process Group is loaded into the Process List, select the appropriate geometry to act as the
cut shape and click on the Do It button to create the operation and toolpath.

SAVE, LOAD & SET

Save: This item allows Process Groups to be saved as external files that can

be loaded into any part file. When the Process list contains the completed
Process tiles that will compose the group, select the Save item and enter a
file name and location to save the file.
Load: This item allows Process Group files to be loaded into any part file.
Once the Process Group is loaded, select the cut shape geometry and click on the Do It button to
create the operation.

69

The Processes Menu

Set Directory: Another way to load process

groups is by choosing a directory that
contains Process Group files. The Set
Directory item allows the user to select a
directory that contains Process Group
files. When a directory is set, all the
Process Group files contained in that
directory and all sub-folders will appear in
the lower half of the Processes menu.
Selecting a Process Group from the list will
automatically load that group into the
current part file.

When Set Directory is selected a window

will come up. Navigate through this
window to the highest level folder that
contains processes. In the image, the My
Documents folder is selected. The system
will search through the selected folder to
locate all processes.
Once the directory is specified, the Processes menu will display a hierarchical list of processes and all
folders in the directory that contain processes. This provides a quick and easy way to get to your saved
processes. Please note that the user must create the folder structure. The following image shows all
processes in the current user folder and any folders within that directory that contain processes.

70

The Processes Menu

MANAGING A LARGE NUMBER OF PROCESSES

When you set a directory that has a
large number of processes (more than
2500) or folders (more than 500), the
system stops displaying the directories
in the Process menu. Instead the
Process menu shows an item called
the Process Manager. The Process
Manager is a separate window that
shows the base directory set for your
processes and has a collapsible
hierarchy of the folders within the
directory. This lets you quickly and
easily get to the processes you need to
access. There is a browse button
in the top right corner of the Process
Manager that lets you reselect the
base directory for your processes.

71

The Processes Menu

72

THE SOLIDS MENU

The Solids Menu

CHAPTER 5 : The S o l i d s M en u
This chapter details the Solids menu. The Solids menu provides a number of tools for verifying the
validity of bodies and toolpath. Most of the items in this menu are system development tools that may
not be of much use however it was decided to leave them available to end users as a method of
diagnosing issues with solids.

MENU ITEMS
Rebuild: This command will update any solids if changes have been

made in the parts history. This command is also accessed by

right-clicking on a body and is often used in conjunction with the
Recreate command. This function is not undoable.
Check Self-Intersect Loops: It is recommended that this option is left

on for optimal 3D toolpath generation. Turning it off will not save any system resources.

TOOLS SUB-MENU
The systems arsenal of tools for diagnosing problematic solids
can be found in this menu. These options are miscellaneous
tools to check and correct bodies as well as report and output
data. Each item is described below under the category to
which it belongs.

Validity Checks
These items do not fix any errors or problems you may be
experiencing, but are simply a means to determine whether
the body you are using is valid or not. This may aid in
troubleshooting any problems you are experiencing with
machining solids.
Check Body Validity: When this item is selected, the system
checks to ensure that all selected entities are valid. If a sheet is
not valid, it will be deselected once the check is complete,
allowing the user to identify the problem. An error message
identifying the specific problem will also be displayed for each
invalid entity.
Check Face Validity: This item runs a face validity check on the selected sheets. This function can also be

performed by clicking on the Face Check button in the Stitch Utils dialog, and is useful for when
stitching has failed to identify problem areas before attempting to stitch again.
75

The Solids Menu

Check Trimmed Surface Polyline: This item verifies the validity of trimmed surface polylines to ensure

proper machining. Check Trimmed Surf. Polyline is only necessary when using the Gen 2 Engine in
surfacing operations.
Check Trimmed Surface Edges: This item verifies the validity of trimmed surface edges to ensure proper

machining. Check Trimmed Surf. Edges is only necessary when using the Gen 2 Engine in surfacing
operations.
Machining Face Check: This item checks the validity of selected faces to see if they can successfully be
machined. Machining Face Check is only necessary when using the Gen 2 Engine in surfacing
operations. After validating the face(s), the system will display a message with information on the
face(s) if the check passed or an error message on each of the bad faces.
Multi-Pass Stitch: Multi-Pass Stitch is a setting used with the Solidify function. When Multi-Pass Stitch is
active, the Solidify function will perform successive attempts to solidify sheets, starting at the
tolerance specified. Sheets that do stitch at the specified setting will be stitched; any sheets that do not
stitch at that tolerance will be attempted at a looser tolerance. This will be attempted a third time at a
still looser tolerance. Multi-Pass Stitch is on by default.

Correcting Tools
Remove Unneeded Topology: This

command will inspect selected

bodies or faces for any
unneeded elements. If two
items
share
the
same
underlying surface, the body
will be simplified. In this
example we have a sphere and
a
cuboid.
The
sphere
(consisting of surfaces) shares a
common underlying surface
with another sheet. The extra
sheet will be removed from the model when running this command. One edge of the cuboid actually
consists of two intersecting lines. The lines will be modified to be a single edge.
Simplify: This function attempts to convert NURBS surfaces into analytic surfaces within a given

tolerance amount. Often times when surface files are imported, analytic surfaces are converted to
NURBS; this function will convert those NURBS back into analytic. The geometry of a body is
simplified wherever possible. A body will be defined by lines, circles, spheres, cubes, cylinders and tori
instead of b-splines.

76

The Solids Menu

Operation Commands
Check Op Gouges: The system will perform a check to see if a

selected operation gouges a selected body. A gouge is defined as

being off by greater than 50% of the machining tolerance. This
command only works with ball endmill tools. If the operation
gouges, two lines will be drawn from the tool to show the gouge.
The first line runs from the tool center to the tip, and the second
line runs to the point of the gouge. This is illustrated in the
image to the right.

Selected Op to Screen Points: This command creates points at

the beginning and end of each feature of a selected
operation. Any type of operation on a solid may be used
with this command. The Selected Op to Screen Points
command is useful for dimensioning toolpath. The image
on the right shows a lace cut operation composed of line
segments. Note the many points created by Selected Op to
Screen Points. If the lace cut was defined by arcs or splines,
the points would be different.
Selected Op to Splines: This command creates a spline
between sharp corners of any surfacing operation. For the
Selected Op to Splines command to work the curves
dialog must be open. The tolerance of the splines
generated from the toolpath is determined by the settings
in the curves dialog. This image illustrates splines
generated from a lace cut operation defined by line
segments.

Selected Op to Lightwork File: This command outputs the selected operation to a Lightwork file.
Selected Op to Text File: This command will output a text file of the toolpath. The text provides the

position of all features. A line feature includes the start and end X, Y and Z dimensions. Arcs include
start and end point X, Y and Z values, the arcs radius and the arcs direction.

77

The Solids Menu

Geometry and Solids Commands

Print GE to Text File: Geometry Expert must be open to use this function. Selecting this command will
output the Geometry Experts contents to a text file named GEDump.txt. The file is created on the
Desktop.
Clear Bodies History: This option will remove the History of any selected bodies, making the body an
atomic body. This is not undoable.

78

THE WIZARDS MENU

The Wizards Menu

CHAPTER 6 : The Wi z a rd s M en u
This chapter details the Wizards menu. The Wizards menu provides access
to two time and energy-saving tools, the Hole Wizard and the Stock Wizard.
The Hole Wizard quickly creates hole operations for you from the available
tools and geometry. The Stock Wizard creates custom stock shapes. While
these items are designed to be very easy to use, they are fully detailed in the
Wizards Guide.

STOCK WIZARD
The Stock Wizard helps to create a rectangular or cylindrical stock definition with or without a single
hole, rather than manually creating it. The hole may be a rectangular or circular shape. The hole in
the stock may be a blind hole (a pocket) or a through hole. This is all accomplished in four easy steps.

Figure 2: An example of defining stock with the Stock Wizard

81

The Wizards Menu

HOLE WIZARD
The Hole Wizard automates the process of making holes. The Hole Wizard can make a single drill
hole or it can make a pattern of tap holes using multiple tools on any number of holes. The Hole
Wizard does all of this in four easy steps and guides you through them.

Figure 3: Two of the Hole Wizard steps

HOLE MANAGER
The Hole Manager allows identification of
holes in a model, specifying geometry,
creating groups and quickly defining the
features. You can use the Hole Wizard to
create operations and the list of tools that
are needed to create holes. The Hole
Manager is intended for models with a large
numbers of holes that are primarily solids.
Users without the solids functionality will
find the sorting and grouping of holes very
useful.

82

THE WINDOW MENU

The Window Menu

CHAPTER 7 : The Wi n d o w M en u
ABOUT THE WINDOW MENU
This chapter details the Window menu. This menu provides control
over windows and dialogs and also provides access to part summaries
including workgroup data, the contents of the tool list and a
summary of the parts operations.

WINDOW CONTROLS
Close All: This option will close all dialogs, windows and lists that are currently open.
Cascade: This option will cause all open

dialogs to be stacked on top of each

other so that their title bars can be
seen and easily selected.

Minimize: This option will cause

any dialog that is currently open
to be minimized and sent to the bottom of the application window. Selecting the Minimize option a
second time will maximize all of the dialogs and put them back where they were.

85

The Window Menu

SUMMARY REPORTS
Workgroup Summary
Selecting Workgroup Summary from the Part menu will bring up the Workgroup Summary dialog which
provides information (in spreadsheet form) about all features and points contained in the current
workgroup. When the Workgroup Summary is up on the screen, the information can either be saved as
text or printed out. To save the summary as a text file, select Workgroup Summary from the Save Special
sub-menu in the File menu. To print the summary, select Workgroup Summary from the Print sub-menu
in the File menu.

Points
The Points category of the Workgroup summary describes numerous attributes that can be associated
with a point. The definitions of the point data follows.
Pt#
CS#
Type

The point number. This is seen when Labels are viewed.

The number of the coordinate system that the geometry is in.
The type of point, i.e. how it was created. Explc is an explicit and a GE Pt was created by
Geometry Expert
Location The XYZ coordinates of the point.
Angle
If the point is created from another geometric feature, this is the angle from the feature.
Con
Is the feature connected to another?
Dist
If the point is created from another geometric feature, this is the distance from the feature.
PtRef1 If the point is created from another geometric feature, this is the features ID.
ItemRef1 The 1st item the point is connected to.
ItemRef2 The 2nd item the point is connected to.
86

The Window Menu

Lines
The Lines category of the Workgroup summary describes numerous attibutes that can be associated
with a line. The definitions of the line data follows.
Ln#
CS#
Type

The line number. This is seen when Labels are viewed.

The number of the coordinate system that the geometry is in.
The type of line, i.e. how it was created. Explc is an explicit and a GE L was created by
Geometry Expert
End Points The XYZ positions of the line's endpoints.
Angle
The angle at which the line lays.
Con
Is this feature connected to another?
Dist
ConRef
ItemRef
TanRef

The start and end points the line is connected to. This is related to the End Points positions.
If the line is created from another geometric feature, this is the features ID.
If the line is defined as being tangent to another feature, this is the features ID.

Circles
The Circles category of the Workgroup summary describes numerous attibutes that can be associated
with a circle. The definitions of the circle data follows.
Cr#
CS#
Type
Center
Point
CptRef
Radius
Dir
Con
ConRef
ItemRef
TanRef

The circle number. This is seen when Labels are viewed.

The number of the coordinate system that the geometry is in.
The type of circle, i.e. how it was created. Explc is an explicit and a GE Cc was created by
Geometry Expert
The XYZ position of the circle's centerpoint.
If the circle was defined using an existing point, this is the points ID.
The radius of the circle.
Which direction in which the circle flows, CW (clockwise) or CCW (counter clockwise).
Is the feature connected to another?
The point the circle is connected to.
If the circle is created from another geometric feature, this is the features ID.
If the circle is defined as being tangent to another feature, this is the features ID.

87

The Window Menu

Tool List Summary

Selecting Tool List Summary from the Part menu will bring up the Tool List Summary dialog which
provides information (in spreadsheet format) about each tool contained in the Tool List. This
information can either be saved as a text file, which can be opened in any word processing program,
or printed. To save the summary as a text file, select Tool List Summary from the Save Special sub-menu
in the File menu. To print the summary, select Tool List Summary from the Print sub-menu in the File
menu.

#
ID#
Type
Diam
C.Rad
CRC#
Len#
Spin
Length
FLen
Tip
Shank
Draft
#Flts
Mtrl

88

The tile # of the tool.

The tool's ID # (can be different than tile#).
The type of tool, e.g. Drill, RghEM (Rough Endmill), FinEM (Finish Endmill), SpotD (Spot Drill).
The diameter of the tool.
The bottom corner radius of the tool.
The tools cutter radius compensation #.
This is the Tool Length Offset # set in the Tool dialog.
The direction in which the tool turns, CW (clockwise) or CCW (counter clockwise).
The overall length of the tool.
The cutting (flute) length of the tool.
The angle of the tip of the tool.
The diameter of the tool's shank or non-cutting area.
The tool's draft angle.
The number of flutes the tool has.
The material the tool is made of.

The Window Menu

Operation Summary
Selecting Operation Summary from the Part menu will bring up the Operation Summary dialog which
provides information (in a spreadsheet format) about each operation in the program, including
estimated cut times and the distance traveled by the tool. The information in the dialog can either be
saved as a text file or printed out. To save the summary as a text file, select Operation Summary from the
Save Special sub-menu in the File menu. To print the summary, select Operation Summary from the Print
sub-menu in the File menu.

Op
Type
WG
CS
Tool
Type
Diam
CRC#
Len#
ZDepth
ZStep
#Cuts
Stock
SStock
EFeed
CFeed
RPM
TP Inch
CutTime
Grp

The tile # of the operation.

The process type used to create the operation.
The workgroup the operations geometry is in.
The machining coordinate system used for the operation.
The tool # used in the operation.
The type of tool used in the operation.
The diameter of the tool used in the operation.
The CRC# of the tool (see above) used in the operation.
This is the Tool Length Offset # set in the Tool dialog.
Any extra depth of cut used in the operation.
The step each cut takes in the operation.
The total # of passes by the tool per z step.
The amount of stock left behind on purpose.
The amount of surface stick left purposely behind on a solid.
Entry Speed.
Contour Speed.
The tools revolutions per minute.
The total number of inches the tool will travel in this op.
The amount of time to cut the operation.
Multi-process operations are given a group identification number. Operations created at the
same time will have the same Grp number.

89

The Window Menu

90

THE PLUG-INS MENU

The Plug-Ins Menu

CHAPTER 8 : The Pl u g - In s M en u
Plug-Ins

are modular functions that are

built onto the system to provide
enhanced functionality. One large
advantage of plug-ins is that third
parties can create software that
integrates with GibbsCAM. Another
strength is the rapid development of
plug-ins, allowing clients needs to be
met quickly. Each plug-in will interact
with either geometry, solids, toolpath,
the rendered part or some combination
of these items. The actual contents of
your Plug-Ins menu depends on your
system and specific plug-ins installed.
For a full description of each Plug-In
provided by the software installation,
see the Plug-Ins Guide. The Plug-Ins
documentation is also provided with
the installation disk.
Except for a few exceptions, the plug-ins are arranged in a pre-sorted hierarchical structure that
groups the plug-ins by general function. The groups include Create Geometry, Inspection, Machine
Simulation, Modify Geometry, Posting, Reporter and Toolpath. Each folder will contain two or more plugins.
Folder

Plug-In Name

DLL Name

Geometry

Clean Up
Create D-Hole
Create Spiral
Create Tapered Thread
Custom Macros
GeoTools
Helix Builder

CleanUp.dll
DHole.dll
Spiral.dll
TaperThread.dll
Macros.dll
GeoTools.dll
HelixBuilder.dll

HSM

Change Feeds and Speeds

Helix Bore
HSM Plug-in
Offset Contour
Trochoidal Toolpath
Z Ramp Contour

FeedSpeedChange2.dll
HelixBore4.dll
HSM.dll
MultipleContour.dll
Trochoid.dll
SpiralContour.dll
93

The Plug-Ins Menu

94

Folder

Plug-In Name

DLL Name

Lathe-MTM

MTM Add G-Code

Pinch Turning

AddGCode.dll
Pinch Turning.dll

Mach.Sim.-TMS

Build Machine
Import VNC
Machine Sim
TMS

BuildMach.dll
ImportVNC.dll
MachineSim.dll
MultiPart.dll

Misc

3D Control Manager
Custom Process Manager
Import Material
Pathfinder
Granite Info

3DControllerMgr.dll
CustProcMgr.dll
MatImport.dll
PathFinder.dll
ReadProE.dll

Posting

Setup Post Editor

PostEdit.dll

ProAXYZ 5as

Contour 5
Pocket 5
ProAXYZ 4as Posting Options

Contour5.dll
Pocket5.dll
ProAXYZPost.dll

Reporter

Reporter 97
Reporter 2000
Reporter XP

Reporter.dll
Reporter2k.dll
ReporterXP.dll

Solids

Auto CS Create
Create Plunge Rough Process
Get Draft Angle
Model Associativity
Multi Body Booleans
Project Onto Solids
Rotary Rough
Show Face Normals
Solids Alignment
Solid Inquiry

AutoCS.dll
PlungeRough.dll
GetDraftAngle.dll
ModelAssociativity.dll
MultiBodyBooleans
ProjectLine.dll
RotaryRough.dll
ShowSurfaceNormals.dll
AlignModeless.dll
SolidInq.dll

Plugins (root folder)

Find Ops
Machine Info
Mirror Ops
Show Position
Transform Toolpath

FindOps4.dll
MachineInfo.dll
MirrorOps3.dll
ShowPos.dll
TPTrans.dll

The Plug-Ins Menu

Folder

Plug-In Name

DLL Name

-non-menu

The items in this folder should

not be moved or modified as
they
provide
functions
elsewhere.

BasicUtilOps.dll
GetCatV5.dll
GLPreferences.dll
HelpBrowser.dll
ImportFacetBody.dll
MessageHandler.dll
OpListMgr.dll
Preferences.dll
ReadInventor.dll
ReadSEAsm.dll
ReadSW.dll
RealDWG.dll
ToolHolders.dll

The contents of the Plug-Ins menu can be customized to display the

plug-ins in any order (by renaming the file) and can also be grouped
into sub-menus. To accomplish this, go to the PlugIns folder inside
the GibbsCAM install directory. Any of the DLLs found in this folder
may be renamed. The Plug-Ins menu in GibbsCAM displays the
plug-ins alphabetically, based on the plug-in DLL name. You may
create folders in the Plug-ins directory and place the DLLs in the
folders as you prefer. The next time you start the system, the PlugIns menu will reflect your changes.

There are several exceptions to the guideline that plug-ins

may be moved to another folder. The items in the folder non-menu must remain there and the folder must not be
renamed. Additionally, the files OpListMgr.dll and ReadSW.dll
must remain in the root of the PlugIns folder. Moving any of
these items can cause system functions to fail.

The plug-ins and their menu structure is fully detailed in the Plug-Ins Guide.

95

The Plug-Ins Menu

96

THE HELP MENU

The Help Menu

CHAPTER 9 : The Hel p M en u

ELECTRONIC HELP
This chapter details the Help menu. The Help menu contains items to
help you use the system and provides additional information about the
application.

HTML AND PDF DOCUMENTS

The items within this section of the Help menu provide access to
electronic documentation.
Contents: Selecting this item will activate the systems online help. A

window will open in which you can browse for or search for
information. The sections correspond to the systems manuals, e.g.
Geometry Creation, Lathe, Mill, Wizards, SolidSurfacer, etcetera.

The online help has two distinct versions the Default Help version and a more powerful Java Help
version which uses the Java 2 Runtime Environment both of which are automatically installed
with GibbsCAM. The difference between the two types of help is the frame on the left side where the

99

The Help Menu

help topics (Contents), the Index and Search functions are found. The system will automatically use
the Default Help system unless you have enabled Java Help, which requires additional software.

Default Help

Java Help

Aside from functionality, the two systems have slightly different response times. The Default Help
system launches faster than the Java Help system (this is because the Java Help needs to pre-load a lot
of data). The Java Help system responds faster than the Default system, particularly when loading
pages and searching (this is because it is largely pre-loaded and the Default system has to constantly
run scripts to provide you with your requests). See About the Online Help on page 103 for more
information about online help, the differences between the two versions, trouble shooting the online
help and acquiring the Java Runtime Environment.
On Item: This item is the same as clicking the On Item help button

found in the toolbar. Once

active, the cursor changes to the On Item Help cursor

. Clicking on a dialog, palette or window in
GibbsCAM will then open the online help to the section that is relevant to what you clicked on. This is
known as context-sensitive help.
Getting Started: Selecting this option will launch Adobe Reader and open the GibbsCAM Getting

Started manual.
Whats New: Selecting this option will launch Adobe Reader and open the GibbsCAM Whats New

guide.

BUILT-IN AIDS
Balloons: This item will turn on the computer aided help built into the system. When this item is

checked, balloons containing reference information will come up on the screen whenever the cursor is
placed over an object.
Prompting: When this item is checked, the Geometry Creation palette and the Machining palette are

extended to provide useful suggestions on how to proceed with creating geometry and toolpath.

100

The Help Menu

Tooltips: This option brings up the Tooltips dialog. Tooltips will show
the name of a button or item the mouse is held over. The Tooltips
dialog allows the user to set whether tooltips are shown and to set
the delay before tooltips are shown. The delay before a tooltip is
displayed is set using the Tick Delay option. Each tick is 1/60th of a
second. The IDs item is not of any real use to end-users, as it will
display the identifying number of a dialogs components, rather
than a description. It is a development tool.

This image provides an example of a

tooltip. Here the cursor is held over a
button in the Geometry Creation palette.
The name of the button and the
corresponding sub-palette is displayed in a
white box next to the cursor.
Modifier Buttons: Selecting this item will open a palette in

the lower right-hand corner of the Workspace next to the

Trashcan. This palette has four buttons that mimic
holding down a modifier key. Selecting a button causes any mouse-click to behave as if the selected
key were held down.

101

The Help Menu

OTHER ITEMS
Shortcuts: There is a Shortcuts
dialog accessible in the Help
menu which displays the
shortcut
keystrokes.
In
addition, the shortcuts can be
printed by clicking on the Print
Shortcuts button and can be
searched by entering a
keyword. Users can also scroll
through the list on the left side
of the dialog and select topics
on which information is
desired.

About GibbsCAM: The About dialog

provides information about your

GibbsCAM software as well as
phone numbers and e-mail
contacts should the user have any
questions or problems.

102

The Help Menu

ABOUT THE ONLINE HELP

Default Help
You do not have to do anything more than install GibbsCAM to get the Default Help system. This
system provides three tools for working with the Online Help. There is the Contents tab which
provides a hierarchical listing of the Online Help topics. The Index provides a list of topics that can be
found in the Online Help and the Search function lets you search for a term. Any topics that contain
the term you searched for will be displayed. Please note that this version requires that JavaScript be
enabled on your operating system, which it is by default.

103

The Help Menu

Java Help
The Java Help system is a more powerful option that requires additional software to be installed. Java
Help uses the Java Runtime Environment to provide the extra functions. Java Help has a more
powerful and complete Index, a more robust Search function and a Favorites feature, which allows you
to bookmark topics for convenient access. The Java Help system is recommended to all users.

Activating the Java Help System

To use the Java Help system you must install the J2SE Java Runtime Environment ( JRE). The installer
may be found at the Sun Microsystems Java Technology page. Simply download and install the JRE
(not the SDK - Software Development Kit.) Also, please be sure to review the installation instructions.

Trouble Shooting the Online Help System

Resetting the Help Systems
The Online Help system sets a preference (a cookie in your system) for
which system to use. The first time online help is run your system is
polled. If the JRE is installed the online help will use this version. If the
JRE is not found the system will use the Default Help. You can view
what the current settings are by activating the reset.htm file (found
in the directory Program
Files\GibbsCAM\<#>
\Help\wwhelp\wwhimpl\common\html\reset.htm)
and
clicking Show for All or Implementation. Additionally, you may reset the preference to the defaults by
104

The Help Menu

clicking Reset. The next time you launch the online help your system will be polled again to
determine which version to use. If you installed the JRE then Java Help will be used.

Accessibility is an option that the Online help does not use.

Favorites is a setting that stores your Java Help Favorites. (see Java Help).

Implementation

shows which Help system is currently being used. Clicking Reset will cause the
Online Help to determine which system to use when it is next launched. This is commonly used
after installing the JRE.

Changing the Text Size

The size of the Help windows text is determined by the
size of the text set for Internet Explorer. If the GibbsCAM
Help text is too large or too small you can use IE to
change the size.

Close GibbsCAM.

Launch Internet Explorer.

Change the size of the text from the View menu.

Relaunch GibbsCAM to apply the new text size.

After Installing the JRE

Depending upon
the security settings
for your operating
system you may receive an alert warning you about Active Content. This is generated because of the
installation of the JRE. You can easily disable this warning and safely enable the JRE.

Clicking on the warning brings up a menu. Select Allow Blocked

Content...

105

The Help Menu

You will receive a

Security Warning.
Click
Yes
to
continue.

To avoid this error

message in the future
open
the
Internet
Properties
Control
Panel.

Select the Advanced tab

and scroll down to the
Security section (it is at
the bottom of the list.)

Select the Allow active

Click Apply and then

click OK.

106

content to run in files on

My Computer.

APPENDIX

Appendix

CHAPTER 10 : A ppen d i x
VIDEO CARDS AND SETTINGS
A DISCUSSION ABOUT OPENGL
OpenGL enables several graphic features and provides enhanced rendering of solids. If you have a
fast video card with ample memory it can improve rendering performance because the rendering is
being done by hardware and software (the driver) on the video card and not your machines CPU.
Every make and model of video card is different. Performance, display quality and display behavior
will vary from card to card. In general if you have a graphics problem when using OpenGL you have
three options on how to proceed.
1.
2.
3.

Use the software driver setting, eliminating the video card hardware and driver use. This will use
the generic Microsoft OpenGL implementation.
Disable OpenGL, which uses the GibbsCAM display software entirely for rendering. This may be
your only option when all else fails.
Leave OpenGL enabled and try a different combination of OpenGL and/or driver settings to see
if the display issues can be resolved.

RECOMMENDATIONS

We recommend that you run your monitor at 1024x768 or higher and set the color quality to 32
bit. It is possible to run the system under 16 bit color but it is not recommended.

In general we recommend NVIDIA-based video cards since we have had good results with most
of the models we have tested in-house. Other video cards will work and may also have good
results.

Be sure to install the latest video drivers from your video cards manufacturer. They are easily
downloaded from the Support section of the manufacturers website. Having the latest drivers can
ensure you get the greatest compatibility, speed and quality from your video card.

Modifying some of the Advanced Appearance options can adversely affect the display of GibbsCAM.
In particular, changing the title bar size and the associated font can make items illegible. We
recommend that you not change these items.

109

Appendix

CUSTOMIZING VIDEO CARD SETTINGS

In addition to the OpenGL settings discussed in the Appearance Settings Dialog section you can
modify the settings of your video card. Most of these settings will have little impact with high-end
cards but if you are experiencing performance or quality issues this can be worth looking at. Please
note this discussion is focused on NVIDIA video cards.

Right-click on your desktop and choose Properties. Select the Settings tab from the Display
Properties dialog and click the Advanced button. The resulting dialog will have several tabs. Choose
the tab that has the name and model of your video card. Click on the Performance & Quality Settings
item on the fly-out page.

We will now discuss some of the settings that affect GibbsCAM and provide some
recommendations. You should note that most of the items found in this dialog have absolutely no
effect on GibbsCAM (Screen Adjustment, Display Mode and Timing, Color Correction, Video Overlay
Settings, Tools, NV Rotate, Temperature Settings and Desktop Overlap and Edge Blending affect your
monitor) but you may nonetheless find useful or interesting. Please note that the dialog may not
show some of these items or it may have more. These options are dependant on which video card
you have and the driver version you are using. Some of the options discussed here are not used by
GibbsCAM. We have included descriptions of them for your knowledge.
110

Appendix

Antialiasing settings: This option causes one or more extra passes when rendering 3D. Each extra

pass smoothes the image. This can produce a higher quality image but at a significant
performance cost. We recommend that this option be turned off or at the least set to Applicationcontrolled. Please note that if you are using Application-controlled there is a chance that the
antialiasing will be applied to GibbsCAM if another application is using antialiasing.
Anisotropic filtering: This is another smoothing function and is unused by GibbsCAM.
Image setting: This is an obsolete grouping of functions that are now available individually. If you
have this option set it to High Performance.
Vertical sync: This option locks OpenGLs refresh rate to the monitors refresh rate. Turn this

option off as it can cause a system slowing or can lead to skipping frames.
Force mipmaps: This option affects multi-texturing and has no affect on GibbsCAM. Turn it off or set

it to None. Currently the only textures used by the system are for the part shadow. Most options
affecting textures can be disabled.
Conformant texture clamp: This option affects multi-texturing and has no affect on GibbsCAM. Turn it

off or set it to None.

Extension limit: This item limits the number of bytes used by OpenGL extensions. Turn this item

off.
Hardware acceleration: This item is available if you have more than one monitor and is largely
machine dependent. In general we recommend Multi-display performance mode. If you experience
undesirable issues you can try setting this to the Multi-display compatibility mode.

KNOWN ISSUES AND FIXES

When dragging dialogs or windows there can be a smearing or after-images of the dialog. This
is a normal effect of Windows settings and OpenGL. If you find this effect undesirable it is easy
to fix by turning off the Show window contents while dragging option. We recommend this to all
users.

Right-click on the desktop and select Properties.

Select the Appearance tab and click on the Effects button.

Deselect the Show window contents while dragging option and click OK.

If your system has an ATI video card moving the display trackball can cause the display to flicker.
This is an issue with ATI drivers and the operating system.

111

Appendix

112

INDEX

Index

SYMBOLS
#, tool data: 88
#Cuts, operation data: 89
#Flts, tool data: 88
% of Bodys Chord Height: 40

NUMERICS
2D Rotate: 61

A
About Virtual Gibbs: 102
Absolute 2d Rotate: 61
Absolute or Incremental, in post: 32
Absolute Translate: 62
Activate Dialog on RMB: 12
Active Content: 105
Air geometry: 66
Allow Mill Material Only: 28
Alloy Group: 37
Alloys: 3738
Ambient: 14
Ambient, Material Properties: 14
Angle, 2D Rotate: 61
Angle, line data: 87
Angle, point data: 86
Angular Resolution: 41
Arc segments: 63
Auto Save: 30
Auto Tool Size: 10
Axis Marker in Flash CPR: 15

B
Background Tab, Appearance Settings: 15
Backup: 30
Balloons: 100
Bodies (Graphics): 20

Bodies, Select: 48
Body Chord Height: 40
Bolt Table: 29

C
C.Rad, tool data: 88
Calculate
Feed: 37
RPM: 37
Cascade Dialogs: 85
Center Point, circle data: 87
CFeed, operation data: 89
Change CS (HVD): 59, 66
Change CS (XYZ): 59, 66
Change Intersection, Geometry Expert: 49
Check
Body Validity: 75
Face Validity: 75
Op Gouges: 77
Self-Intersect Loops: 75
Trimmed Surface Edges: 76
Trimmed Surface Polyline: 76
Check Holder: 10
Check Out, NLO seats: 23
Chord Height: 20, 40, 63
Circles, Select: 46
All Circles: 46
Circular Threads: 42
Clear Bodies History: 78
Close: 7
Close All Dialogs: 85
Close Window: 7
Closest Hole Next, sort: 64
Collision: 41
Alert Types: 41
Collision, Tolerance: 41
Color Button: 19
Colors tab: 14
Comment: 37, 39
Comment, select by: 47
Common Appearance Settings: 12
115

Index

Communication dialog: 8
Communication Set-Up: 34
Protocols: 34
Change: 35
Remove: 35
Communications: 8
Con, circle data: 87
Con, line data: 87
Con, point data: 86
Condition: 38

Configurations, system display option: 11

ConRef, circle data: 87
ConRef, line data: 87
Contents, Help: 99
Contents, online help: 100, 103
Context Sensitive Help: 100
Contouring: 27
Copy: 45
CPR/Sim Appearance Settings: 14
CptRef, circle data: 87
Cr#, circle data: 87
CRC Entry Line Validation: 28
CRC Type: 25, 27
CRC#, operation data: 89
CRC#, tool data: 88
CS#, circle data: 87
CS#, line data: 87
CS#, point data: 86
CS, operation data: 89
Current CS, Select: 48
Current Interface Level: 22
Curve Accuracy: 25
Curves, Select: 46
Custom Color: 19
Cut (geometry, text, etc.): 45
Cut Part Chord Height: 40
Cut Part Rendering: 9
Cut Type: 38
Cut Width: 27
Cut XY Depth: 38
CutDATA: 3637
Cutdata Path: 31
Cutter Radius Compensation: 27
116

CutTime, operation data: 89

Cutting: 40

D
Date and Time, in post: 32
Default Color: 19
Default Help: 99100, 103104
Delete Row: 49
Depth, select by: 47
Deselect All: 48
Deselect Submenu: 48
Diagnosing problems in solids: 75
Dialogs Follow Application: 22
Dialogs Roll-up: 21
Dialogs, control over: 85
Diam, operation data: 89
Diam, tool data: 88
Digitizer Calibration: 30
Dimensions Palette: 55
Dimensions, Select: 46
Dimensions, Show: 54
Dir, circle data: 87
Display Lists: 16
Display Settings option: 11
Dist, line data: 87
Dist, point data: 86
Do It: 59
Draft, tool data: 88
Draw Axis: 15
Draw Points: 54
Drawing
Print: 8
Drill Hole: 82
Driver Info...: 18
Driver, OpenGL Settings: 17
Duplicate: 60
Duplicate And: 60
2d Rotate: 60
Force Depth: 60
Mirror: 60
Scale: 60

Index

Translate: 60

E
Edges: 20
Edges, Select: 48
Edit Appearance Settings...: 11
Edit Material: 37
Edit menu: 45
EFeed, operation data: 89
Enable Caption: 21
Enable OpenGL Acceleration: 12
End Points, line data: 87
Engraving fonts: 31
Entry Line Approach: 25
Exit Command: 8
Extend Lines: 54
Extended Characters, in post: 32

F
Facet Body Opacity: 17
Facets: 20
Family: 38
Family, Material: 37
Favorites, online help: 104
Feed Status, Toggle: 65
File Extension: 30
File Launch Behavior: 31
Finish Bore: 27
Finish Profile: 27
Flash CPR: 10
Appearance of Material: 13
Lighting: 13
Options: 1019
Flash CPR Display Options: 19
Flash CPR Display Settings option: 11
FLen, tool data: 88
Floor Angle Tolerance: 22
Force Depth: 60
Format Code: 32

Format Name, in post: 32

Framerate: 42
Free Video Memory: 18
FromPos: 62
Front View: 53

G
G-code: 27
G-Code Output: 32
Gen 2 Engine: 76
Geometry (graphics): 23
Geometry Expert: 49, 78
Geometry, Show: 54
Getting Started: 100
Gradient Background: 15
Grid Brightness: 20
Grp, operation data: 89

H
Hardness: 38
Hardware OpenGL: 17
Help Button: 100
Help menu: 99
History: 78
Holder Class Menu Items: 29
Hole Data: 29
Hole Manager: 82
Hole Wizard: 29, 8182
Home View: 53

I
ID#, tool data: 88
IDs: 101
Import: 8
Inches to mm: 62
Index, online help: 100, 103104
Insert Row: 49
117

Index

Interface
Level 2: 20
Preferences: 22
Invert Selection: 48
IPR: 39
Isometric View: 53
ItemRef, circle data: 87
ItemRef, line data: 87
ItemRef1, point data: 86
ItemRef2, point data: 86

J
Java Help: 99100, 104105
Java Runtime Environment: 99, 104105
JavaScript: 103

K
Keyboard Preference: 23
Keystrokes: 102

L
Labels: 47, 54, 64, 8687
Launch New Application on File: 31
Len#, operation data: 89
Len#, tool data: 88
Length in Characters, in post: 33
Length in Feet, in post: 33
Length in Meters, in post: 33
Length, tool data: 88
Level 1 Interface: 22
Level 2 Interface: 22
Lights Appearance Setting: 13
Line segments: 63
Lines drawn for high degree curves: 20
Lines, Select: 46
Ln#, line data: 87
Load Process: 69
118

Location, point data: 86

Log, Flash CPR: 42

M
Machining Face Check: 76
Machining Preferences: 25
Material Database: 36
Material List: 37
Material Only: 28
Material Properties: 14
Material, part: 36
Menu Bar: 3
Minimize Dialogs: 86
Mirror: 60
MM to inches: 62
Modifier Buttons: 101
Modify menu: 59
Mouse Drag, Select: 48
Mouse Position: 55
Move Part Origin: 66
Mtrl, tool data: 88
Multi-Pass Stitch: 76

N
Name, select by: 47
Network Licensing Option: 23
Network Licensing Options: 23
New Material: 37
New Part Interface Level: 22
New, Part or File: 7
Normal Entry Line to Arc: 25
Number of Parts, in post: 32
NURBS: 63, 76

O
Offset: 27
Omit Small Chord Arcs: 28

Index

On Item, help: 100

Online Help: 99
Op, operation data: 89
Open dialog: 7
Open Part Interface Preference: 22
Open, Part or File: 7
OpenGL: 16
Operation Comment, in post: 33
Operation Number and Type, in post: 33
Operation Summary: 7, 89
Options button: 10

P
Palettes, lock: 22
Partial Updates: 16
Paste: 45
P-Buffer Open GL: 17
Performance, Rendering: 16
Plane Opacity: 12
Plug-Ins Guide: 93, 95
Pocketing, Offset: 27
Points, Select: 46
Post File Overwrite: 31
Post Processing Preference: 32
Posted Output: 32
Preferences: 7
Previous View: 53
Print: 8
Black on White: 19
GE to Text File: 78
Post: 8
Screen: 19
Summary: 8
Printing Preferences: 19
Process Group: 69
Process Manager: 71
Processes menu: 69
Program Comment, in post: 32
Program Name, in post: 32
Prompting: 100
Pt#, point data: 86

PtRef1, point data: 86

R
Radial: 66
Radius, circle data: 87
Rapid Geometry: 65
Rebuild Solid: 75
Recent Files: 8
Redo All Ops: 49
Redraw: 53
Remove Unneeded Topology: 76
Rendering Options: 16
Reverse All Rows: 49
Reverse Arc: 59, 65
Reverse pattern, sort: 65
Rough Bore: 27
RPM, operation data: 89

S
S pattern sort: 64
Save: 7
A Copy: 7
As: 7
Processes: 69
Special: 7
Save Size: 30
Save Special: 8889
Scale: 62
Search, online help: 100, 103104
Segment Spline: 63
Select: 45
All: 45
By Body Comment: 47
By Body Name: 47
By Depth: 47
By Reference: 47
Circles by Full Diameter Range: 46
Circles by Full Radius: 46
Invert: 48
119

Index

Lines, All: 46
Lines, Feeds: 46
Lines, Rapids: 46
Mouse Drag: 48
Selected Op to
Lightwork File: 77
Screen Points: 77
Splines: 77
Text File: 77
Self-Intersect Loops: 75
Set Directory, Process Group: 70
Set Font Directory: 31
Set Process Directory: 70
SFPM: 38
Shank, tool data: 88
Sheet Side, Toggle: 65
Sheets, Select: 48
Shininess: 14
Shininess, Material Properties: 14
Shortcuts: 102
Show
Stock & Origin: 54
Shrink Wrap: 54
Shrinkage: 65
Side View: 53
Simplify: 76
Simulation Display Settings option: 11
Slider: 41
Smooth Shading: 9
Soft Shadows: 17
Software OpenGL: 17
Solids Appearance Setting: 13
Solids menu: 75
Sort, points and circles: 64
Special Functions, in post: 33
Specular: 14
Specular, Material Properties: 14
Spin, tool data: 88
Spiral Threads: 42
Spline: 25
Machining Tolerance: 25
Splines: 63
SStock, operation data: 89
120

Start Maximized: 21
Starting Tool State, in post: 32
Statistics: 42
Steps Per Update: 16, 40
Stitch Utilities: 75
Stock Wizard: 81
Stock, operation data: 89
Sub Number, in post: 33
Suggest: 37
Summary
Print: 8
System, Appearance Settings: 16

T
Tablet: 23
Tangent Entry Line to Arc: 25
TanRef, circle data: 87
TanRef, line data: 87
Tap Table: 29
Targeting pixel tolerance: 22
Test Frame Rate: 18
Text, Select: 46
Threads: 42
Tick Delay: 101
Tip, tool data: 88
Toggle Wall/Air: 66
Tolerance: 41
Tool
Material: 38
Size, relating to material: 38
Tool Center: 27
Tool Comment, in post: 33
Tool Drawing Enabled: 10
Tool Edge: 27
Tool Edge, CRC option: 25
Tool List Summary: 7, 88
Tool Number and Type, in post: 33
Tool, operation data: 89
Toolpath Display: 27
Tools sub-menu: 75
Tooltips: 101

Index

Top View: 53
ToPos: 62
Total Video Memory: 18
TP Inch, operation data: 89
Translate: 62
Transparency, Flash CPR Material: 15
Transparent Dialogs: 21
Type, circle data: 87
Type, line data: 87
Type, operation data: 89
Type, point data: 86
Type, tool data: 88

Workgroup Comment, in post: 33

Workgroup Summary: 7, 86
Wrap Geometry: 66

Z
ZDepth, operation data: 89
Zoom: 54
ZStep, operation data: 89

U
Undo: 45
Unwrap Geometry: 66
Unzoom: 53
Unzoom on View Change: 12
Use Spun Outline for Lathe Profile: 29

V
Vertex Arrays: 17
View Animaiton Speed: 12
View menu: 53
Visible WGs: 59

W
Wall Angle Tolerance: 22
Wall geometry: 66
Walls From Selected Edges, Select: 48
WG, operation data: 89
Whats New: 100
Window Size: 21
Window Snap Positioning: 21
Wire Drawing: 20
Wire Frame: 20
Wizards menu: 81
121

Index

122