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razmosis13-Aquamarine
13-Aquamarine
December 11, 2017
Question

Getting started with 4 axis Surface Milling in Creo 4

  • December 11, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 6248 views

Hello,

I am trying to put together a tool path for a Makino A71 with the part rotating about the B axis while surface milling.  I have a pretty good understanding / experience with using this machine with sequences that reference individual coordinate systems that result in the B Axis being locked in different rotations under the same operation.  What I'd like to do is surface mill around a part that actively rotates while milling.

 

I've dabbled with some theoretical parts that were simple and everything appears to work OK in Vericut.  The part I'd like to machine has a very irregular surface and cannot be cut with a helical or trajectory path.  There doesn't seem to be much guidance available on this, through PTC, this site or youtube.  I am certain that there are PTC users out there that can do this with their machines.  If I accomplished it, it'd be a first for a user at my company.

 

Does anyone have any advice on how to make this sort of situation work, or can you point me to a good tutorial?

 

Thank You,

Matt

2 replies

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razmosis13-AquamarineAuthor
13-Aquamarine
December 13, 2017

I am to a point where things look OK in Moduleworks.  Vericut tells another story though.  The Roughing looks OK in Vericut, but the finish Surfacing reduces the workpiece down from a roughed out irregular part to a smooth spindle looking thing that a lathe might cut.  I suppose it may be possible something is not quite right with the Vericut control file, but I have never had an issue with it before.

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KenFarley21-Topaz II
21-Topaz II
December 14, 2017

Have you found any useful tutorials or other information about this? I, too, was looking for info on how to do the programming and post-processor writing for a 4th axis. I wasn't too successful, mostly because the "official" sources only want to write the post-processor(s) for me and didn't want to give me any info on how I could write them myself. The programming I was doing was only what you described as your previous experience, the "rotate axis, lock, do sequences, move to next axis angle, lock, etc." We couldn't attempt to do any actual simultaneous 4-axis motions, because doing so requires one to have a 5-axis license, which we don't.

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razmosis13-AquamarineAuthor
13-Aquamarine
December 14, 2017

No good leads yet.  Are you saying that I would need a 5 axis post processor to use the simultaneous motion on a 4 axis machine?  That would explain why the roughing sequences work for me and the finishing does not.  I am hoping that the Post Processor is not the issue.

 

Like I mentioned prior, things do look OK in play path / Module Works and the roughing looks good in Vericut, so it might make sense to think that the post processor is my issue.

 

Thank you,

Matt

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KenFarley21-Topaz II
21-Topaz II
December 14, 2017

They seemed to imply that if I wanted to do actual simultaneous 4-axis milling I'd need to have 5-axis capabilities in the manufacturing module. This was Creo 2.0, maybe it is different now?

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