Editing CAM machine settings

Machine Settings

The settings in this tab control general operative properties and visualization. You can use them to edit a particular machine. This tab provides a virtual representation of the real CAM machine that you would use to produce CAM samples. "CAM machine" stands for the predefined general and custom properties of the physical machine. The settings you define are reflected in the NC file. When you generate NC code, the NC generation process uses the respective machine and its NC script (the predefined NC script file assigned to the machine here), depending on the currently CAM template.

In this tab, after selecting a machine, you can edit it, define its NC script output file, set, add and delete custom properties, define machine visualization, as well as bridge orientation, roller support and splitter direction:

Name	Sets the name of the current machine.
NCS File	The NC script (NCS) file to run the machine. An EngView installation comes with a set of predefined NC scripts written to run the most commonly used CAM machines. If you need a script for a machine that is not included in the list of machines, contact Technical Support or write your own script.
Estimate File	The file used for making a job estimation. For output data based on this file, check out the Job Estimation tab of the tabular area.
Table Visualization	Settings for visualizing the machine
Default	To use the default visualization of the machine, click this option. It corresponds to the size of each machine. The initial size is represented in Table Length, Table Width, Work Area Length and Width. Use these boxes to edit the existing machine or set the dimensions of a new machine.
Table Length	Sets the overall length of the machine table.
Table Width	Sets the overall width of the table.
Control Panel	Sets the position of the machine's control panel. Use the list to select a position.
Custom	To use your own visualization, click this option. Click the Browse button and, in the dialog box that appears, navigate to your file to add it to the database. You can then work on the newly added file. When done, save it as an .evd file.
Bridge Orientation	Sets the orientation of the bridge, depending on the machine that you are using. Two options are available: Vertical and Horizontal. The bridge orientation affects the options (described below) available for the splitter direction and the roller position.
Roller	Sets whether the current machine has a roller. If it has, you can define the roller's position depending on the bridge orientation. If the bridge orientation is: Vertical, the roller position options are Right and Left. Horizontal, the options are Top and Bottom.
Splitter direction	Sets the splitter direction of the current machine. Also dependable on the bridge orientation. If the bridge orientation is: Vertical, the splitter direction options are Right and Left. Horizontal, the options are Top and Bottom.
Work Area	The dimensions of the work area as part of the machine's table.
Length, Width	The end-to-end length and width.

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In the MCS and Alignment

You can set the default display and alignment for the machine's coordinate system and the design's bounding rectangle.

Alignment Options	Options for visualizing the current coordinate system. These options do not position the coordinate system.
Logical Coordinate System	Select this option if the machine has a logical coordinate system.
Position	Positions the coordinate system axes with respect to the work area.
Horizontal	Sets the horizontal offset of the design's bounding rectangle with respect to the work area borders. Depending on the position of the coordinate system, the offset may affect either coordinate axis: the offset is set to lie horizontally with respect to the nearest work area border, ignoring the position of the coordinate system.
Vertical	Sets the vertical offset of the design's bounding rectangle with respect to the work area borders. Depending on the position of the coordinate system, the offset may affect either coordinate axis: the offset is set to lie vertically with respect to the nearest work area border, ignoring the position of the coordinate system.
Align by design origin	When the check box is selected, the origin of the machine's coordinate system is aligned to that of the design. NOTE: The CAM drawing must be refreshed for the changes to take effect. IMPORTANT: Offsets set for the machine's coordinate system in Horizontal and/or Vertical have preference.
Align Markers	Select this option if the machine has align markers.
Show coordinate system	Available when the machine has align markers. Visualizes the coordinate system in the graphical area.
Coordinate System Position	The coordinate system's position over the machine's work area. Four positions cover the possible cases.
Design Bounding Rectangle Offset	Offset options for the visualization of the bounding rectangle on the work area.
Horizontal	Sets a horizontal offset with regard to the coordinate axes. Depending on the coordinate system position, the offset may derive from either axis, since it is set to always lie horizontally.
Vertical	Sets a vertical offset with regard to the coordinate axes. Depending on the coordinate system position, the offset may derive from either axis, since it is set to always lie vertically.
Start & End Position	Determines the position of the start and end points, displayed on the screen as thick green and blue dots , respectively. By default, the dots are positioned at the origin of the coordinate system.
Start Position	Horizontal, Vertical. Set the horizontal/vertical offset of the start point in respect to the coordinate axes, thus defining the start position of the generated tool path. Depending on the coordinate system position, the offsets may originate from either axis, as they are set to lay always in a horizontal, respectively, vertical direction.
End Position	Horizontal, Vertical. Set the horizontal/vertical offset of the end point in respect to the coordinate axes, thus defining end position of the generated tool path. Depending on the coordinate system position, the offset may originate from either axis, as they are set to always lay in a horizontal, respectively, vertical direction.

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The Property Sets tab...

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Machine Custom Properties

NOTE: The two tabs that follow — Machine Custom Properties and Tools Custom Properties — are identical, as are their descriptions.

Machine Custom Properties. Settings for a particular machine. For example, if the current machine does not support arc manipulation, you can define an option for decomposing all arcs into straight segments.

Machine Custom Properties. Create or modify properties for the tools of each machine.

Name	The name of the property
Value	The default value of the property. NOTE: Normally, the values are numerical, but you can type non-numerical ones too. To do so, in Name, prefix the property name with $ — for example, $MaterialSetup. Then in Value type a non-digit value — for example, n/a. Later, in the production phase, the $MaterialSetup property will be referenced by its value: n/a.
Units	The default units
Visible	The status of the property — Yes/No. If the status is Yes, the property is visible in the CAM Tools tab.
Script access	Sets how the script will handle the tool's value setting. The options are: Read-only. The script uses the value of the property as it is defined in the CAM template, making no changes to it during the CAM job. Local Only. During the job, the script dynamically makes changes to the value of the property. These are lost when the CAM job is complete. Committable. During the job the script dynamically makes changes to the property value. When the CAM job is completed, the changes are saved into the CAM template and are taken into account when the next job is started.
Comment	Notes about the property
Add	Creates a new property entry.
Delete	Removes the selected property entry.
Move Up/Down	Moves a selected entry up/down one row across the list.
Tool Width Units	(Tools Properties Only) The units for measuring the tool's width

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