GEOMETRY CREATION USER MANUAL. Gibbs and Associates 323 Science Drive (805)

Transcription

1 GEOMETRY CREATION USER MANUAL Gibbs and Associates 323 Science Drive Moorpark, FANUC CA PLC Parts (805) March 1999

2 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK PROPRIETARY NOTICE 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 you 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 written permission from a duly authorized representative of Gibbs and Associates. It is strongly advised that you carefully review the license in order that you understand your rights and obligations related to the licensed software and the accompanying user documentation. Use of the computer software and the user documentation has been provided pursuant to a Gibbs and Associates license agreement. Copyright 1996 Gibbs and Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved Acknowledgements: Written by Shannon McConville. Thanks to Tim Alvord, Sean Canterbury, Gary Esser, Bill Gibbs, Charles Haden, Tom Hubina, Pete Jackson, Kristin Kelley, Michael Kelley, Israel Klain, James Moore, Jeff Myers and Robb Weinstein for their input and assistance. Trademarks: Windows NT, Windows 95 and Windows 98 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Printed in the United States of America

3 GFK T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION How to Learn the System iii Balloons and Prompting iii Operating Systems Glossary iii System Overview iii CHAPTER 2: INTERFACE 1 Cursors Actions Objects Shortcuts Selection Colors Clipboard CHAPTER 3: PART SET-UP 13 Document Control Dialog CHAPTER 4: GEOMETRY CREATION 16 Geometry Overview Geometry Creation Palette Geometry Expert Free Form CAD Text Creation Curve Creation Workgroups Shapes and Connectors Edit Menu Modify Menu File Import File Export Workgroup Summary Printing the Part Geometry III FANUC PLC Parts i

4 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK CHAPTER 5: GEOMETRY EXPERT EXERCISES 58 Exercise #1: Shaft Exercise #2: Chassis Exercise #3: Shuttle Exercise #4: Lathe Tutorial Exercise #5: Doodle Exercise #6: Bell Crank CHAPTER 6: FREE FORM CAD EXERCISES 135 Exercise #1: Shapes and Connectors Exercise #2: Mill Tutorial Exercise #3: Lathe Tutorial Exercise #4: Shuttle Exercise #5: Text Creation Exercise #6: Overlapping Features CHAPTER 7: COMBINATION EXERCISES 245 Exercise #1: Loading Shapes Exercise #2: Mill Tutorial Exercise #3: Gear Housing APPENDIX 1: OPERATING SYSTEMS 277 Launching the System Operating Systems Glossary File Compatibility Standard Extensions Post Processor Formats APPENDIX 2: PART PRINTS 280 Part Print #1: Shaft Part Print #2: Chassis Part Print #3: Shuttle Part Print #4: Lathe Tutorial Part Print #5: Doodle Part Print #6: Mill Tutorial Part Print #7: Gear Housing Part Print #8: Bell Crank INDEX 288 ii

5 GFK I n t r o d u c t i o n CHAPTER 1 : Introduction HOW TO LEARN THE SYSTEM Congratulations on purchasing the most productive programming system available! It is recommended that the Geometry Creation Manual be reviewed before moving on to either the Mill or Lathe Module Manuals. The best way to learn the system is to read the reference information and complete the geometry exercises. Then complete the tutorials provided in the module specific manuals. For simple explanations of on-screen items and their purpose, use Balloons and Prompting provided in the Help menu. BALLOONS AND PROMPTING Balloons and Prompting are built-in documentation and training information, also known as CAT (Computer Aided Training). They can be turned on from selections under the Help menu. Balloons provide reference information about any object that the cursor is placed over. Prompting extends certain palettes in the system to provide useful suggestions about how to proceed. They are very useful. OPERATING SYSTEMS GLOSSARY The Windows NT, Windows 95/98 and MacOS operating systems use different terminology for certain common items. A short list has been provided to help eliminate possible confusion. Refer to the Operating Systems Appendix for additional information on the differences between the Windows NT, Windows 95/98 and Macintosh operating systems. EQUIVALENT TERMS file = document program = application directory = folder backspace key (not delete or del) = delete key (not del) OS Operating system symbol : This symbol appears throughout the manual to indicate when there are variations in specific system functions depending on the operating system. FANUC PLC Parts iii

6 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK SYSTEM OVERVIEW This system is designed to be extremely flexible, to allow the user the freedom to create parts in any way that comes naturally. The "modeless" interface allows the user to have geometry creation, tools, machining capabilities and post processing functions available at all times. However, there are certain basic elements required to create a part. There must be geometry, a tool, and a toolpath (an operation) created before post processing. The Top Level palette is organized in a logical manner for building a part. A part does not have to be created in this order, it only serves as a guideline. Create a new file. Create part geometry. Create a tool. Create a toolpath. Change the view. Cut Part Render Post Process. iv

7 GFK I n t e r f a c e CHAPTER 2 : I nterface This system uses a Graphic User Interface (GUI). This simply means that pictures or symbols are used in place of text whenever possible. This section of the manual describes the different interface objects and their uses. CURSORS The cursor is the object moved with the mouse. Its appearance changes depending on its location. The appearance of the cursor dictates its usage. Black Pointer : This cursor is used to select objects and geometry by clicking on them. Zoom by dragging a rectangle around an area on the screen. White Pointer : This cursor functions the same as the black pointer, except it is in multiple selection mode. The white pointer appears when the Shift key is held down or when a geometry sub-palette is open. It allows more than one item to be selected at a time. Mover Tool : This indicates that the cursor is placed on the edge of a palette or in a dialog s title bar. Move the palette or dialog by holding the mouse button down and dragging it to a different location. Pointing Finger : This indicates that the cursor is over a button. Push the button by clicking on it. Hand : This indicates that the cursor is over a draggable object such as a tile. Move the object by clicking on it once and dragging it to the desired location. This cursor is also used to roll the trackball. Spot : The cursor changes to this while rolling the trackball. I Beam : This indicates that the cursor is in a location where text input is accepted. It is a flashing cursor. Area Select FANUC : The cursor changes to this while PLC doing a mouse drag or Parts zooming in on an area. 1

8 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK ACTIONS There are a number of actions used throughout the system. Moving the cursor : The cursor is moved and positioned with the mouse. Click : A quick tap on any mouse button. Double-click : Two quick taps on the mouse button. Type : Using the keyboard. Drag : Position cursor, hold mouse button down, reposition cursor, release mouse button. Shift-click : Hold shift key down while clicking the mouse. Shift-double-click, Ctrl-click, Ctrl-double-click, etc. : Hold down stated key and click (or double-click). OBJECTS There are several interface objects used throughout the system. The Tile Lists and Machining Markers will be described in the machining manuals for the Mill and Lathe modules. Drawing Window Palettes Dialogs Tile Lists Menus Machining Markers Balloons/Prompts Wastecan Menu Bar Drawing Window Tile List Balloon Palette Prompt Dialog Wastecan 2

9 GFK I n t e r f a c e DRAWING WINDOW The drawing window is the full size of the screen. All drawing of geometry, toolpaths, and rendered images appear in the drawing window. It is not moveable. All other interface objects appear in front of the drawing window. PALETTES A palette is a collection of functions grouped together in a logical manner for the user. Some palettes are moveable, others are not. Top Level Palette: This palette is made up of buttons. These buttons can be either on (depressed) or off (raised). Clicking once on a button turns it on and accesses the appropriate dialog or palette. Another click will turn the button off and put any dialogs or palettes away. The top level palette cannot be moved. Geometry Creation Palette: This palette is also made up of a group of buttons. However, when one of the buttons is clicked on, it does not stay depressed. Instead, it brings up a sub-palette or the Geometry Expert Spreadsheet. The Geometry Creation Palette can be moved to any location on the screen. Move the palette by placing the cursor in the title bar of the palette. When the cursor changes to the mover tool, hold the mouse button down and move the palette. This action is called dragging the edge. Mill Machining Palette: This palette is made up of Function Tiles and buttons. The four Function Tiles are moveable objects that can be dragged to the Process List to create operations. The Lathe Machining Palette can be moved to any location on the screen. Render palette: This palette provides control over the cut part rendering process. It allows the user to control rendering speed, the operations that will be rendered, and the way the tool will be displayed. This is also a moveable palette. FANUC PLC Parts 3

10 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK View Control Palette (Trackball) : The View Control Palette allows the user to easily change the current view of the part. The buttons around the outside provide standard view changes, redraws and unzooms. The center ball operates like a trackball and rolls to allow the part to be viewed from any orientation. When the cursor is placed over the ball, it changes into a hand, which indicates that the ball can be rolled. Holding the mouse button down and moving the mouse will roll the trackball. The black outlined box on the ball represents the orientation of the part. The "T" identifies the top surface of the part. The dimensions of the box do not change with the actual part size. Once the desired view is obtained, and the mouse button is released, the part is redrawn in the new view. The ball has four small solid black rectangles around it, inside the ring of buttons (located at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00). These are called ball "handles". Drag these handles for a single axis view change. The trackball is a moveable palette, drag its edge to move it. DIALOGS Dialogs are used when information is needed from the user. This information is conveyed through text boxes, radio buttons, yes/no buttons, and pop-up menus. Text boxes: Items that require keyboard input have a box next to them. If you click once in a text box, a flashing text cursor will appear where you clicked. Any typed input will Text Box begin at the flashing text cursor. To move the text cursor, simply click the desired location. Double clicking in a text box will select (highlight) everything in the text box. Anything typed at this point will completely replace the current contents of the box. To select only portions of the contents of the text box, click before or after the text to be edited, hold the mouse button down and drag. Moving from one text box to another can be accomplished by clicking or double clicking in the desired box, or hitting the Tab key. Hitting the Tab key moves the cursor from box to box, and highlights the entire contents of each box. The contents of all text boxes can be cut, copied and pasted to and from the Clipboard by choosing items from the Edit Menu. Math Input in a Text box: All number input boxes will accept the four standard math function symbols (+ - x / ), as well as a number of special functions, (both * and x are used for multiplication). Hitting the equal key or tab key on the keyboard will display the final value. Special math functions include: r = squareroot s= sine c= cosine t= tangent a= arctangent m= convert from inch to millimeter (x 25.4) i= convert from millimeter to inch (/ 25.4) 4

11 GFK I n t e r f a c e Angle values follow the standard Cartesian coordinate system, as shown below. Negative values are acceptable as input. Radio buttons: Radio buttons come in groups. When one of the buttons in the group is depressed (turned "on"), the other buttons in the group are "off." The button that is depressed displays a small red dot or "light" to indicate that it is "on". Yes/No buttons:yes/no buttons come one per option. Depress the button for yes, pop it up for no. The button that is depressed displays a small red dot or "light" to indicate that it is "on". Pop-Up menus : Pop-up menus provide multiple choices. A pop-up menu looks like a button, but has an arrow indicating that there are more choices available. The menu is accessed by depressing it and dragging the cursor down to scroll through the list. When the desired item is highlighted, release the mouse button to select it. Geometry Dialog : Geometry Dialogs are used for input of specific geometry information when creating shapes. All Geometry Dialogs contains buttons that access the Workgroup Information and Selection Dialogs. FANUC PLC Parts 5

12 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Close box Dialog Name Title Bar Moveable dialogs : Some dialogs may be moved around on the screen. The area at the top of the dialog is called the title bar. The title bar shows the name of the dialog. Drag the title bar to move the dialog. The small box in the upper left corner of the window is the close box. Clicking in this box puts the dialog away. Doubleclicking on the title bar will hide the dialog and leave only the title bar. An additional double-click will restore the dialog. This is useful for conserving screen space. Most of the dialogs in the system can be shrunk to the title bar in this manner. Text Creation Dialog : The Text Creation Dialog contains tabs that allow the user to access the Text, Spacing, and Text Flow windows contained within the dialog. Click on the tabs to access the desired window. The bottom portion of the dialog where text can be entered and the Process button remain available regardless of what window is currently being viewed. 6

13 GFK I n t e r f a c e Open Dialog : The Open Dialog is used to locate, view, and open files. It comes up when Open is selected from the File menu, or the Open button is depressed in the Document Control Dialog. The part dimensions shown in the dialog below are for a mill part. If a lathe part is being opened, the part dimension picture will change accordingly. Current Directory/Folder: displays a list of all available files in the current directory Pop-up menu to access a higher level directory; displays current directory Name of the current disk Part Preview: displays the last rendered image of the part Material Information and Part Comment Button used to access the available drives and disks contained on the system. On DOS, Windows NT an Windows 95 systems, it is the Drive button as OS shown above. On Macintosh systems, it is the Desktop button. Part Dimensions Current Workgroup Workgroup Selection Dialog : The Workgroup Selection Dialog is used to create new workgroups, switch between workgroups and select workgroups to Background Workgroup be viewed as background workgroups. The current workgroup is highlighted in yellow. Double-clicking on an eyeball will change the viewing of a background workgroup. Geometry contained in background workgroups will be drawn in gray, and cannot be edited or selected as a cut shape to create machining FANUC operations. To select multiple workgroups PLC to be viewed as Parts background workgroups, use the Show Selected WG item in the View Menu. Holding down the Shift key will allow more than one eye icon to be selected at a time to be viewed. 7

14 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK MENUS Menu Bar: The menu bar, shown below, is located at the top of the screen. It is available to the user at all times. To access the menu bar, position the cursor over the menu bar title, hold the mouse button down, drag the cursor down until the desired item is highlighted, and release the mouse button. If a menu item is grayed out it cannot be selected. Selecting geometry or some other appropriate item on the screen may change the menu item so that it becomes black and can be selected. Some menu items are grayed out because certain modules of the software are not installed with the system. Keyboard Shortcut Keyboard Shortcuts : Many menu items can also be accessed by the keyboard. The symbol and letter next to the menu item indicate that depressing a modifier key along with the letter will access that menu item. OS The modifier keys used to perform certain shortcuts in the system vary depending on the operating system. The Shortcuts information card or the Shortcuts Appendix provide complete listings of the specific modifier keys used on each operating system. BALLOONS/PROMPTS Balloons and prompts provide on-line reference information about the objects and functions in the system. Balloons: Balloons are turned on in the Help menu. A balloon containing reference information will appear when the cursor is placed over an object on the screen. Prompting: Prompting is also turned on in the Help menu. Prompting extends the geometry and machining palettes to include useful suggestions on how to use the software. Error Balloons: Error balloons alert the user whenever an invalid value has been entered. They are outlined in red and disappear when a valid entry is made. 8

15 GFK I n t e r f a c e SHORTCUTS Button Shortcuts : In some cases, buttons may be depressed by actions other than clicking on them. When a button has a black outline around it, it can be depressed by hitting the enter or return key. Geometry Dialogs give the user a choice of single or multiple feature creation. To create only one feature (a line, for example), click on the single line button. To create more than one line, click on the multiple line button. One of the buttons will always be highlighted. The highlighted button can be depressed by clicking on it, hitting the space bar, the enter key, or the return key. The Process button is found in some dialogs, primarily those found in the Modify menu. It can be depressed by clicking on it, or by hitting the enter or return keys. Palette Shortcuts: There are some keyboard shortcuts for functions other than menu choices in the system. Simply hit the appropriate number to activate the button. Geometry Creation Palette Point Sub-Palette Line Sub-Palette Circle Sub-Palette Auto-shape Sub-Palette The system contains many other shortcuts that are described on platform specific Shortcuts information cards and in the Shortcuts Appendix. FANUC PLC Parts 9

16 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK SELECTION Three classes of objects may be selected in the system: text, geometry features and tiles. Text and geometry can be cut, copied, and pasted to and from the clipboard within the same file by using items in the Edit Menu. Selection techniques are described below. TEXT SELECTION To select text: Click and drag the cursor over some text. The text will become selected. Double-click in a text box. All text in the box will become selected. Hit the tab key to move from text box to another. All text in the box will become selected. GEOMETRY SELECTION To select a single geometry feature: Click on a feature. The feature will become selected. If any other features were selected, they will become deselected. To select multiple geometry features: Shift-click on a feature. If the feature was unselected, it will become selected and added to any other currently selected features. If the feature was selected, it will become deselected and removed from the currently selected group. Holding down the shift key changes the cursor to multiple selection mode which allows more than one geometry feature to be selected at a time. To select an entire connected shape: Double-click on a feature of the shape. All connected features will become selected. To select certain types of geometry: Use the Select items found under the Edit menu. All geometry that matches the selected type will become selected and added to the currently selected group. TILE SELECTION To select a single tile: Click on a tile. The tile will become selected. If any other tiles were selected, they will become deselected. To select multiple tiles: Shift-click on a tile.

17 GFK I n t e r f a c e If the tile was unselected, it will become selected and added to any other currently selected tiles. If the tile was selected, it will become deselected and removed from the currently selected group. Holding down the shift key changes the cursor to multiple selection mode which allows more than one tile to be selected at a time. For additional selection shortcuts, refer to the Shortcuts information card or the Shortcuts Appendix. COLORS The system uses colors to graphically display different items drawn on the screen. The color scheme for geometry, toolpaths and rendering is listed below. GEOMETRY Yellow Dashed Yellow Light Blue Dashed Light Blue Gray TOOLPATHS Dark Blue Solid Orange Dashed Orange Dashed Gray Solid Gray RENDERING Blue Yellow Gray Red Unconnected Geometry Unconnected Rapid Geometry Connected Geometry Connected Rapid Geometry Geometry viewed as a background workgroup Cut Shape; selected area of a shape to be machined Feed Move in a Toolpath Rapid Move in a Toolpath Rapid Move used for positioning moves and tool changes Approach Feed Move Stock Rendering of selected operations, and/or selected tools Rendering of unselected operations and/or unselected tools Tool Interference CLIPBOARD The clipboard is used as a temporary storage place for geometry and text. Using the Cut option from the Edit menu will delete whatever items are selected and replace the contents of the clipboard with them. Using Copy will leave the selected items in their current location and replace the contents of the clipboard with a duplicate of them. Choosing Paste can do two things. If something is selected it will replace that selection with the contents of the clipboard. If nothing is selected the contents of the clipboard will be pasted in either the drawing window or in an active text box depending on whether the clipboard contains text or geometry. The clipboard can only hold one selection at a time. FANUC This means that it can hold either PLC text or geometry, but Parts not both. If text is copied into a clipboard holding geometry, the geometry in the clipboard will be lost. The contents of the clipboard will also be lost, when a file is closed, the software is quit out of, or the computer is shut- 11

18 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK down. It is possible to cut and paste geometry within a part file between different workgroups. However, geometry cannot be cut, copied or pasted between different part files because the contents of the clipboard are deleted when the part file is closed. 12

19 GFK P a r t S e t - U p CHAPTER 3 : P art Set-Up DOCUMENT CONTROL DIALOG Clicking on the Document Control Button will bring up the Document Control Dialog. This dialog is actually a combination of two linked dialogs. The top dialog contains general information about the file and gives the user control over where it is stored on the computer. The top dialog is the same for both the Mill and Lathe modules. All of the items in the top dialog, except for Material information, will be described in this section. The Material database will be outlined in the machining manuals for the Mill and Lathe modules. The bottom dialog changes according to the Machine Type selected in the top dialog. The bottom dialog contains information on stock size, clearance positioning and tool change position. Only the stock size information will be explained in this section, while all information on clearance planes, tool change, and automatic clearance (lathe only) will be described in the appropriate machining manual. Machine Type Material Information File Management Measurement Type Stock Diagram Tool Change Position Comment Clearance Position FANUC PLC Parts 13

20 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Machine Type: Clicking on the Machine Type pop-up menu will produce a list of all machines the system is set up to handle. The available selections depend on which modules of the software that have been installed. There are both horizontal and vertical selections for mills. The shank size on the lathe selections refers to the standard tool holder size on a lathe. These shank sizes are used to limit the number of inserts and holders in the tool database. If the Advanced Milling module is installed, there will also be selections for four and five axis machines. The buttons used for file management, described below, are also available under the File menu. Open Button: Clicking on the Open button will bring up the Open Dialog which allows the user to select which file to open. If a file is currently open, it will be closed and the selected file will be opened. New Button: This button will create a new file by opening a dialog and asking for a file name and a location to save the new file. If there is a file open, it will be closed. Save Button: If there have been any changes made while the file was open, this button will save the changes. Save As Button: This button will open a dialog asking for a file name and a location to save the current file. The changes made since the last Save command will be written into the new file. The original file will not be affected. The new file will become the current, open file. Save a Copy Button: This button is very similar to the the Save As button. The system will create a duplicate copy of the open file. The original file remains the current, open file. The name of the duplicate file can be changed. OS On Macintosh, Windows NT and Windows 95 systems, the word copy will be added at the end of the file name to distinguish it from the original. Close Button: This button closes the current file. If the file has not been saved before clicking on the Close Button, a dialog will come up asking if the file should be saved. Measurement Type: These two radio buttons determine whether values input will be based on an English or metric standard and entered in inches or millimeters. The measurement type used by the post processor is determined by the post processor itself. There are English and metric post processors. If an English post is used on a metric part, the posted numbers will be converted from millimeters to inches. Likewise, metric posts will convert values from inches to millimeters. 14

21 GFK P a r t S e t - U p Lathe Mill Mill Stock Size Diagram: This section of the dialog is used to specify the starting size of the part stock. The numbers will be used to draw the stock outline and origin marker correctly, and to draw the stock during the rendering process. These values will not affect the programming of the part, but it is recommended that they closely correspond to the actual stock being used. Lathe Stock Size diagram: This section of the dialog is used to specify the starting size of the part stock. The stock size entered here will be used by the system to determine positioning moves when the Auto Clearance option is turned on, and toolpath moves when the Material Only option is selected in a process. If a custom stock shape has been created in one of the workgroups, the system will use the custom stock size for toolpath and positioning moves. In that case, the values entered here will only be used to draw the stock outline and origin marker, correctly. The text box for the X dimension will be a radius or diameter value depending on which option is selected for the X Dimension Style. Comment: Any text entered as a part comment will be shown in the part preview section of the Open dialog. THE OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DIALOG, SUCH AS CLEARANCE PLANE VALUES AND TOOL CHANGE POSITION WILL BE DESCRIBED IN THE ACCOMPANYING MACHINING MANUALS FOR THE LATHE AND MILL MODULE. FANUC PLC Parts 15

22 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK CHAPTER 4 : G eometry Creation GEOMETRY OVERVIEW Geometry must be created in order to machine a part. All part geometry is created using the Geometry Creation palette or imported through the Exchange option. Creating geometry using the Geometry Creation palette can be accomplished in three ways; using the Geometry Expert spreadsheet which combines the creation and connection of all geometry features in one easy to use method, using the free form CAD tools and connecting the independent features together, or using a combination of these two. This chapter details the different functions available for geometry creation and provides detailed explanations of how shapes are created using the system. To gain practical knowledge of the concepts outlined in this chapter, complete the exercises provided in the following chapters. GEOMETRY EXPERT Geometry Expert is a method of geometry creation which facilitates the fast creation of simple parts and the simplified creation of more complex parts, along with being very easy to learn and use. Geometry Expert is designed to create a single, continuous, shape. It allows the user to define, create and connect shape features while following along the path of the part. Geometry Expert has a tabular format which operates much like a standard spreadsheet. Features are defined by entering dimensions into the cells (text boxes) of the feature rows. Each row creates a different feature. Features are defined in the same order as they are encountered along the shape path. Creating a shape using Geometry Expert is akin to walking around the path of the shape, indicating such items as location, direction and the distance being traveled. While this is similar to standard shape creation techniques, Geometry Expert goes one step further. It applies its inherent knowledge of geometric principles and follows a logical course which allows for the creation of complete, connected, geometrically correct shapes, requiring the least amount of input from the user. Geometry Expert, as the name implies, provides the user with a built-in consultant on the rules and principles of geometry. The system makes the creation of simple parts as quick, easy, and painless as possible. At the same time, it makes the creation of more complex parts as simple as possible by calculating, creating and connecting shape features based on whatever part dimensions are provided. The associative capabilities of Geometry Expert make editing any existing shape a very easy process. The system handles the dimension changes while maintaining all the proper connections and relationships between pieces of geometry (eg. intersections and tangencies). Geometry Expert frees the user from needing to understand complex geometrical relationships and calculate feature dimensions. Instead, the user can simply enter the specifications provided on the part blueprint and let Geometry Expert do the rest. 16

23 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n FREE FORM CAD The free form CAD tools included in the system are also very powerful and easy to use. Creating points and features is as easy as clicking on buttons and entering values. Likewise, connecting features to form shapes that can be machined simply involves selecting the intersecting features and clicking on a button. Several different options are provided for creating points, lines, circles, fillets, and chamfers making it possible to create any shape regardless of how the blueprint is dimensioned. The free form CAD tools are particularly useful with parts requiring construction geometry. COMBINATION Using both Geometry Expert and the free form CAD capabilities to create a part shape is a very powerful combination. For example, a simple shaft with chamfers can be created in minutes by using Geometry Expert to create the horizontal and vertical lines, and the automatic fillet/chamfer option in the Geometry Creation palette to create the chamfers. Additionally, Geometry Expert allows for the loading of any shape into its spreadsheet format. Loading an existing shape into Geometry Expert, whether it was created using Geometry Expert, free form CAD, or imported using the Exchange option, is as easy as double-clicking on any part of the shape while the Geometry Expert spreadsheet is open on the screen. All features of the shape are listed and dimensioned in the rows of the spreadsheet where they can be checked and changed. This provides the user with a quick and easy verification method and editing tool. GEOMETRY CREATION PALETTE Title Bar Close Box Line Button Auto-shape Button Fillet-Chamfer Button Workgroup Info Button Workgroup Selection Button Geometry Expert Button Point Button Circle Button Spline Button Connect/Disconnect Button Coordinate System Button (Adv. Milling only) Depressing the Geometry Creation button will bring up the Geometry Creation palette. The Point, Line, Circle, Fillet-Chamfer and Auto-shape buttons access sub-palettes which provide various options for creating the selected type of geometry. The Geometry Expert button accesses the Geometry Expert spreadsheet which allows the user to enter feature information and quickly define a continuous shape. The Connect/Disconnect button allows the user to manually connect or disconnect features. This palette also accesses different workgroups (layers) of the file and creates new workgroups. For more information on workgroups, refer to the Workgroups section later in this chapter. FANUC PLC Parts All buttons in the Geometry Creation palette can be accessed from the keyboard by typing the number of their position in the palette, (eg. type a 1 instead of clicking on the Point button, a 2 for the Line button, etc). The Geometry Creation palette can be moved ( dragged ) to any loca- 17

24 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK tion on the screen by placing the cursor on the title bar of the palette so that the cursor changes to the mover tool. Then, while holding down the mouse button, drag the dotted outline of the palette to a different location, and let go of the mouse button. When a sub-palette is open, the cursor will change to the selection cursor. This means that any geometry that is clicked on will become part of the current selection. If the geometry is already selected when it is clicked on, it will become deselected. This is the same as holding down the shift key when not in a sub-palette. GEOMETRY EXPERT There are four general ways that Geometry Expert can be utilized as a geometry creation tool. First, the creation of simple shapes, containing primarily horizontal and vertical lines, such as shafts, is almost effortless using Geometry Expert. The default settings and automatic angle toggling allow the user to create alternating, intersecting, horizontal and vertical lines in the fastest manner possible. The user only needs to enter one value in order to define the line. Second, the creation of more complex shapes, containing multiple arcs and angled lines, is greatly simplified due to the fact that Geometry Expert constantly applies its built in logic and knowledge of geometry to guide the user through the process. Third, the user can doodle or sketch a rough part outline using the Mouse Line tool, and then load the shape into Geometry Expert to properly dimension it. The associative capabilities of the system will adjust the shape according the the new values entered, while still maintaining all the correct connections and relational data to the other features of the shape. Finally, Geometry Expert is a very powerful editing tool. Feature dimensions can be adjusted by simply changing the values in the spreadsheet. Geometry Expert handles all of the calculations and adjustments to the other features that are affected by the changes. Any shape, regardless of how it was created, can be loaded into Geometry Expert, making it ideal for verifying and adjusting imported IGES and DXF files, old CAD files, or frequently changing part files. HOW GEOMETRY EXPERT WORKS Geometry Expert is set up much like a standard spreadsheet. Feature specifications are entered into cells which are contained in rows. Each row of the spreadsheet defines a feature. Cell Feature Row Scroll Bar Features are defined in the order that they appear along the path of the shape. When the Geometry Expert spreadsheet is open on the screen the user can create fully connected shapes by entering feature specifications in each of the rows. Because Geometry Expert creates connected shapes, each feature is dependent on and aware of the preceding and following features. The feature row that is being worked on at any given time is referred to as the current row. The current row has an upraised frame and is outlined in either yellow or black. When the current row contains adequate information, it is outlined in yellow. The prompt at the bottom of the 18

25 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n spreadsheet, which gives the status of the current row, will indicate what will happen when the row is entered. The current row will be outlined in black if it does not contain enough information. The prompt will indicate what additional information is needed to define the row. If the user attempts to enter a row that does not contain enough information, an error balloon will come up, again indicating what other information is required. When the current feature row contains the appropriate information, the row is entered into the spreadsheet by hitting the enter or return key. Entering a new row moves the cursor down to the next row in the spreadsheet, which will now be the current row. The enter and return keys only move the current row down in the spreadsheet if a new row is being created. Otherwise, the arrow keys or the cursor must be used to maneuver through the rows in the spreadsheet. Each feature is drawn on the screen as soon as the spreadsheet contains the necessary information. Some features cannot be drawn until later features are defined. These are referred to as floating features and are explained later in this section. Creating part geometry with Geometry Expert is accomplished by walking along the path of a shape, and defining features as they are encountered. In this way, all features are automatically connected to the preceding and following features. Because of this methodology, sometimes it is necessary to specify the correct direction of a feature, in addition to indicating its magnitude. For arcs, the selected feature type indicates the direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. For lines, the angle value indicates the direction. For example, a horizontal line can either be defined with an angle value of 0 or 180 ; both will draw the same line, but in the opposite direction. Specifying the correct line direction is only an issue if the previous or next feature is going to be an arc. When that is the case, it is necessary to indicate to the system what direction the line is moving. Again, checking the line direction should only be necessary when the line is being connected to an arc. CREATING SHAPES USING GEOMETRY EXPERT When creating a part using Geometry Expert, the first thing that must be decided is the starting feature and the direction to travel around the part, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. When the spreadsheet is first opened, the first row will default to a line with an angle of 90. The information in this row will need to be added to and/or changed in order to define the first feature. The prompts indicate what additional information can be entered to define the feature. As soon as the first row contains enough information to fully define the feature, the frame of the row will become yellow. When the frame is yellow, the prompting information tells the user how the feature will be created. A yellow frame around the row indicates that the user can press enter without getting an error message. Hitting enter or return will create the feature and start a new row. The reference number of the feature that was created will be placed in the Ref cell in its row. The new row s feature type will default to a line, and the angle will default to either 0 /180 or 90 /270. The angle value of the line will automatically toggle between either 0 /180 or 90 /270. Once again, the prompt will indicate what information can be added to further define the line. In this case, and many others, the frame of the row will be yellow even if the row does not contain enough information to fully define the feature. This is because it is still possible to add information in subsequent rows that will fully define the feature. At this point, information can be added to or removed from the row to define the next feature of the shape as dimensioned on the print. When the information is correct, the feature is created by hitting the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 19

26 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK This process continues until the last feature of the shape is defined. When the last feature of the shape is created it should intersect with the first feature of the shape. At this point the feature must be connected using the Close Shape feature type. Geometry Expert button: The Geometry Expert button is located in the last position in the Geometry Creation palette. Clicking on this button brings up the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, shown below, which allows the user to create connected shapes by entering feature dimensions in the rows of the spreadsheet. Close box Horizontal coordinate of Endpoint (Z in Lathe, X in Mill) Vertical coordinate of Endpoint (Xd/Xr in Lathe,Y in Mill) Horizontal coordinate of Line point/centerpoint (Z in Lathe, X in Mill) Vertical coordinate of Line point/ Centerpoint (Xd/Xr in Lathe,Y in Mill) Reference # Feature Type Current Row Prompt Angle of Line/ Radius of Circle Length of line or chamfer Size box Feature Type: There are seven options available for the feature type. They are (from left to right): line, chamfer, fillet, clockwise arc, counter-clockwise arc, close shape, and macro. Each row must have a feature type selected. To select the feature type, click on the feature type button which will access the possible selections. Drag the mouse to the desired feature so that the button appears depressed, and let go of the mouse button. That feature will now appear as the feature type for the row. In some cases, depending on the previous feature, some of the feature type options may be grayed out to indicate they are not valid selections. Also, depending on the feature type selected, some cells may be grayed out indicating that the selected feature type does not require that dimension. The feature type can also be selected using keyboard shortcuts. Refer to the Shortcuts information card or the Shortcuts Appendix found in the Machining Module Manuals for information on keyboard shortcuts for Geometry Expert. Reference #: Every feature that is created is assigned a reference number by the system. The letter indicates what type of feature it is, L for line, C for circle, and the number indicates the creation order. These reference numbers may change during the course of creating geometry, but will not affect the shape. 20

27 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n NOTE For lathe parts, the horizontal coordinate is a Z value, the vertical coordinate is an Xd or Xr value. For mill parts, the horizontal coordinate is an X value and the vertical coordinate is a Y value. EP Z (X): The number entered in this cell is the horizontal coordinate of the endpoint of the current feature. When a feature is defined with an endpoint, the system will draw the feature and trim it at the specified endpoint. Endpoint specifications are required if the next feature needs a start point in order to be correctly defined. EP Xd/Xr(Y): The number entered in this cell is the vertical coordinate of the endpoint of the current feature. EXAMPLE: The row shown below will create a 45 line with an endpoint drawn at Z -2, Xd 3. The next feature that is defined in the spreadsheet will start at the end point of this feature. Angle/Rad: The number entered in this cell is dependent on the feature type selected. If the feature type is a line, this number specifies the angle of the line. The angle value for a line defaults to either 90 /270 or 0 /180 allowing for the creation of vertical or horizontal lines, respectively. The system toggles between these angle values which makes the creation of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines a very quick and easy process. The user can change the default values by simply entering the new numbers in the cells. If the feature type is a arc or fillet, this number specifies the radius. EXAMPLE: The row shown below will create a fillet between the previous and following feature with a radius of 0.2. Length: The number entered in this cell is the length of the current feature. The length cell is only active if the feature type is either a line or a chamfer. FANUC PLC Parts 21

28 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK LP/CP Z (X): The number entered in this cell is dependent on the feature type selected. If the feature type selected is a line, this number is the horizontal coordinate of a line point (LP). A line point is simply any point that lies somewhere on the line. Line points are only used to draw and calculate the line, they are not part of the shape. Line points are not drawn on the screen. Geometry Expert defaults to the LP/CP cell so it is more efficient when creating lines to use line points whenever possible in order to reduce the number of key strokes necessary. If the feature type selected is a circle, this number is the horizontal coordinate of the centerpoint of the circle. LP/CP Xd/Xr (Y): The number entered in this cell is dependent on the feature type selected. If the feature type selected is a line, this number is the vertical coordinate of a line point. If the feature type selected is a circle, this number is the horizontal coordinate of the centerpoint of the circle. EXAMPLE: The row shown below will create a 90 (vertical) line that goes through the point at X 4. When defining either horizontal (0 /180 ) or vertical (90 /270 ) lines, only one LP coordinate is required. Refer to the section on Half Points in this chapter for more information. EXAMPLE: The row shown below will create a circle with a radius of 2 and a centerpoint at X 2, Y 3. Prompt: The information contained in the prompt indicates the status of the current row. When a feature row is outlined in yellow, the prompt tells the user what specifications have been entered for this feature and what will happen when the row is entered. If the feature row is outlined in black indicating that more information is required, the prompt will tell the user what additional information is required. The prompt also indicates if the system has automatically deleted a cell value because the feature row contained too much information that overdefined the feature. This aspect of Geometry Expert is referred to as the auto delete function which is explained in the Expert Aids section of this chapter. 22

29 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Close box: Clicking in this box will close Geometry Expert and allow the user to use the free form CAD tools contained in the Geometry Creation palette. When Geometry Expert is closed, all information is cleared out of the spreadsheet. When the Geometry Expert button is depressed again, the spreadsheet will come up empty. In order to load or reload a shape into the spreadsheet, simply double click on any feature of the shape while the spreadsheet is open on the screen. Size box: The size box allows the user to adjust the size of the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. To adjust the size of the spreadsheet, click in the Size box and drag the window to the desired size. The width cannot be changed, but the length can be adjusted. Scroll Bar: The scroll bar and arrows allow the user to scroll through the rows contained in the spreadsheet to make adjustments and check the values entered. This is useful if the spreadsheet needs to stay relatively small to fit on the screen, and/or if it contains many features. EXPERT AIDS There are several items built in to Geometry Expert that are designed to guide the user through geometry creation. They include prompting, auto delete, and error balloons. Prompting The prompting information appears across the bottom of the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. The prompt tells the user what actions are being taken by the system based on the information provided by the user. The user should be able to follow the prompts through the creation process to get a good idea of what is happening. Auto Delete The auto delete function of Geometry Expert is intended to reduce errors resulting from features being overdefined because too much information has been entered in the feature row. Geometry Expert is designed so that the user need only enter the minimum amount of information to define a feature. The system will automatically delete the first entry made in the feature row when the feature is overdefined. Auto delete is necessary in order to facilitate the associative capabilities of Geometry Expert. Note that the default values, such as the line angle, are considered the first entry rather than any information entered by the user. The prompt will indicate what information is being deleted. Error Balloons Geometry Expert also contains Error Balloons which appear on the screen whenever a problem occurs. The most common error messages appear when the system requires more information for a feature being entered. For example, if a line needs another value for an end point, an Error Balloon will come up indicating that a V or H value is needed to calculate the end point. The Error Balloons and Prompting use the letters V and H, indicating Vertical and Horizontal, rather than using X and Y (for Mill) or Xd/Xr and Z (for Lathe.) This way the error messages remain the same regardless of what module is being used. Another common error message indicates that the feature being defined cannot intersect with the previous feature. The non-intersecting feature can still be created, but the message indicates to FANUC PLC Parts 23

30 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK the user that the continuity of the shape has been broken and the subsequent features being created will not connect to the existing shape. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Defaults When entering features in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, the system contains defaults for the feature type and line angle. The standard feature type default is a line. When Geometry Expert defaults to a line, it also enters an angle value, either 90 /270 or 0 /180, depending on the angle of the last line entered. Sometimes a line is not a possible feature type option, in which case the system defaults to an arc. This only occurs when the previous feature is a floating line. Geometry Expert dimensions the line according the preceding and following feature specifications. Floating features are not drawn on the screen until the system contains the necessary information. Post Targeting Despite all of its expertise, Geometry Expert can t always know the correct intersection point to use for a connector. When there are two or more, equally valid points of intersection, the system will draw both points. This is referred to as post targeting. When post targeting is required, a dialog will come up that asks the user to select the appropriate point and click on the OK button. Once the user has selected the desired intersection point, Geometry Expert will make the appropriate connection and continue along in the spreadsheet defining and connecting features. The Edit menu contains an item that will change the intersection point selected in a post targeting dialog to the other possible point of intersection. The menu item toggles between Use Intersection #1 and Use Intersection #2, depending on the point selected and where it lies along the path of the shape. This option will be an active item when a feature that required post targeting is selected on the screen. Half Points In certain cases, only one coordinate, either the horizontal or vertical, is required to define the feature. This is referred to as a half point case. Half points are valid when Geometry Expert is able to calculate the other half of the coordinate value from information contained in the spreadsheet. (Either preceding or following features.) When a valid half point is entered, the row will be highlighted in yellow, allowing the user to enter the feature row. If the half point entered is not valid, the row will be highlighted in black and the prompt will indicate what additional information is necessary to enter the row. If an incomplete row is entered, an error ballon will come up indicating what additional information is required. There are three cases where half points are valid. They are listed and explained below. Half Line Point: A half line point is valid only when creating either a horizontal line (angle value = 0 or 180 ) or vertical line (angle value = 90 or 270 ). If creating a horizontal line, a V coordinate must be given for a valid half line point. If creating a vertical line, an H coordinate must be given for a valid half line point. Line points are not part of the shape, but are only used to calculate the position of the line. Half End Point: A half end point is only valid if the line is otherwise completely defined. Given either the vertical or horizontal coordinate of the end point along with the other information that defines the line, the system can calculate the other half of the end point. If a half end point is used in the case of 0 /180 or 90 /270 lines, the half end point will function like a half line point, in that an end point will not be drawn, although the correct line will be created.

31 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Half Center Point: A half center point is valid when a circle has a radius value and is tangent to the preceding feature. (There must be a preceding feature.) Given the radius and the vertical or horizontal component of the centerpoint, the system can calculate the other half of the centerpoint by the assumed tangencies. Floating Features Floating features are features whose defining row does not contain all of the information necessary to draw the feature. Floating feature rows are different from incomplete feature rows. With floating feature rows, the information contained in the current feature row and the preceding rows is inadequate to completely define the feature and draw it. However, subsequent features, defined in following rows, should provide the necessary information to define the floating feature. Floating feature rows are outlined in yellow and can be entered. Incomplete feature rows do not contain enough information to create the feature, and no amount of information entered in following rows will make the feature definable. Incomplete feature rows are outlined in black and cannot be entered without getting error messages. Again, the row outline and the prompting information will indicate if the feature row can be entered, and if it is, how the floating feature will be incorporated into the shape after later features have been defined. Inserting and Deleting Rows The Edit menu contains options for inserting and deleting rows in the spreadsheet. When inserting rows in the spreadsheet, the system will create a new row above the current row. To insert a row, select the row beneath the row to be inserted. Then, select the Insert row option in the Edit menu. When an inserted row is entered, the system will recalculate the shape and attempt to incorporate the new feature into the existing shape, if possible. To delete a row, simply select the row to be removed, and choose the Delete Row option in the Edit menu. When rows are deleted, Geometry Expert will recalculate the shape, and attempt to keep it continuous and connected. If that is not possible, error balloons will appear indicating that features do not intersect and the shape cannot be connected. Arcs vs. Fillets Arcs with only a radius value and fillets appear to be very similar at first glance, but actually use two completely different methods for calculating the circles. A fillet takes a sharp point produced by an intersection between two other features and changes it into a radius. It is created after the intersection between the two features is completed. Because of this, it is dependent on the intersection of the other two features to exist. This means that the system cannot use the fillet to calculate features that follow it in the spreadsheet. As the prompts indicate, Geometry Expert completely ignores fillets (and chamfers) when calculating what information is necessary to define features. When the prompt displays information about the interaction between the current feature and the previous feature, fillets will be ignored. An arc with only a radius value is created tangent to two other features. These two features do not have to intersect. The arc is treated as an actual feature and can be used when calculating other features of the shape. This is particularly FANUC important when dealing with PLC floating lines (lines with Parts limited information) that have specific tangency requirements. Geometry Expert assumes that floating lines are going to be made tangent to the preceding feature. In most cases this is adequate, but sometimes a 25

32 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK floating line is supposed to intersect the previous circle and be tangent to the next circle. This is called a "forward" tangency. In the case of forward tangencies, if there is a radius between the previous circle and the floating line, then an arc, rather than a fillet, must be used in order to allow for the necessary tangency calculation. The line will be made tangent to both the arc used as a fillet and the next arc. A fillet cannot be used in this case because the fillet will be ignored by the system until the intersection is completed, and the correct intersection cannot be created without the arc. If there is no fillet, an arc with a radius of zero will need to be created. This will allow the system to create the line tangent to the following circle, while creating a sharp point at the intersection of the previous feature. For a practical example of forward tangencies, refer to Exercise # 3 in the Combination Exercises Chapter. FREE FORM CAD The free form CAD tools are contained in the Geometry Creation palette. The buttons in the palette access sub-palettes and dialogs that allow the user to enter feature specifications and create shapes. The buttons, sub-palettes and dialogs are described below. Point button: Clicking on this button brings up the Point sub-palette, shown below, which consists of a group of buttons containing the construction tools for creating points. Point sub-palette: This sub-palette contains buttons which allow the user to create points in 3D space in a variety of ways. When each is depressed, a geometry dialog appears on the screen. Geometry dialogs are used for input of specific geometric (numerical) information in the creation of points and features. If two features are selected before the Point button is depressed, the Point sub-palette will be skipped and a dialog providing for the creation of a point between the two features will appear instead. Likewise, once the Point button has been depressed, two features can be selected without depressing a button of the sub-palette, and a dialog will automatically appear allowing for the creation of a point between the two features selected. If only the Lathe module is installed, the Bolt Circle button and the Matrix Point but ton will be grayed out because they have no applications in lathe. XYZ button: Create a point by typing in the coordinate values for the point. For Mill, X,Y, and Z coordinates. For lathe, Xd or Xr (depending on the X Dimension style) and Z coordinates. Polar Point button: Create a point at some angle and distance from an existing point. 26

33 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Bolt Circle Point button: Create a circular pattern of points by entering the appropriate information in the dialog shown below. X Coordinate of Pattern Centerpoint Y Coordinate of Pattern Centerpoint Radius of Circle Pattern Z Depth of Points Creation Order Direction (CCW or CW) Angle to 1st Point # of Points in Pattern Matrix Point button: Create a parallelogram pattern of points by entering the required information in the dialog shown below. Side 1 Change in X Side 1 Change in Y # of points in Side 1 Y Coordinate of 1st Point X Coordinate of 1st point Side 2 Change in Y Side 2 Change in X Z Depth of Points # of Points in Side 2 Centerpoint button: Create a point at the center of an existing circle. Mouse Point button: Create a point wherever the cursor is clicked with a userdefined grid spacing. Return button: This button appears at the far right end of geometry subpalettes and dialogs, and returns the user to the Geometry Creation palette. FANUC It can also be activated by hitting PLC the escape key on Parts the keyboard. 27

34 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Line button: Clicking on this button brings up the Line sub-palette, shown below, which provides for the creation of lines. Line sub-palette: This sub-palette contains buttons which provide different methods to create lines. All buttons in this palette are active choices. If two features and/or points are selected before the Line button is depressed and those points and/or features can have a line created through or tangent to them, the Line sub-palette will be skipped and a dialog asking to create a line between the two features and/or points will appear instead. Likewise, once the Line button has been depressed, two features and/or points can be selected without depressing a button of the sub-palette, and a geometry dialog will automatically appear allowing for the creation of a line between the two features and/or points selected. Point-Angle button: Create a line through an existing point at some specified angle. Tangent-Angle button: Create a line tangent to an existing circle at some specified angle. Parallel Line button: Create a line parallel to an existing line at some specified distance. Perpendicular Line button: Create a line perpendicular to an existing line through a specified point. Parallel to Axis button: Create either a horizontal or vertical line, parallel to an axis, at a specified distance from the axis. Mouse Line button: Create connected lines using the mouse. Endpoints will be made whenever you click on the mouse button, and will snap to a predefined grid of the users choice. Circle button: Clicking on this button accesses the Circle sub-palette, shown below, which provides options for the creation of circles. Circle sub-palette: This sub-palette contains a group of buttons for creating circles. If two features and/or points are selected before the Circle button is depressed and those points and/or features can have a circle created tangent to them, the Circle sub-palette will be skipped and a dialog asking to create a circle tangent to the features and/or points will appear instead. Likewise, once the Circle button has been depressed, features and/or points can be selected without depressing a button of the sub-palette, and dialog will automatically appear allowing for the creation of a line between the two features and/or points selected.

35 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Centerpoint-Radius button: Create a circle using a selected point for the centerpoint and defining a radius. Centerpoint-Circumference button: Create a circle by choosing a point for the centerpoint and another as a point on the circumference of the circle. Three Elements button: Create a circle by selecting any combination of three points, lines or circles for the circle to intersect or be tangent to. Auto-shape button: Clicking on this button brings up the Auto-shape sub-palette which provides options for automatically generating shapes including text, rectangles, and polygons. Auto-shape sub-palette: This sub-palette provides options for quickly creating text, rectangles and polygons. Each button in the sub-palette accesses a dialog specific to the type of shape that will be created. Text Creation button: This button accesses the Text Creation dialog which creates spline geometry from any TrueType font. For more information on Text Creation refer to the Text Creation section later in this chapter. Rectangle button: This button accesses the Rectangle dialog which creates rectangles and squares. Rectangle dialog: This dialog specifies the length of each side of the rectangle and the center position of the shape. There is also a radio button at the bottom of the dialog which allows the user to specify a fillet radius which will be added at each corner of the shape. Clicking on the Process button creates the defined shape. FANUC PLC Parts 29

36 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Polygon button: This button accesses the Polygon dialog which creates multisided shapes (polygons). Polygon dialog: This dialog specifies the number of sides, the center position, the distance from the centerpoint to either the flat side or the corder. There is also a radio button at the bottom of the dialog which allows the user to specify a fillet radius which will be added at each corner of the shape. Curve button: Clicking on this button accesses the Curve sub-palette which provides options for creating curves through a series of selected points. Curve sub-palette: This sub-palette provides three different methods for creating curves through a series of predefined points. Those methods include Line Fit, Curve Fit, and Control Point. The Curve sub-palette changes in appearance depending on the selected creation method. For more information on Curve Creation refer to the Curve Creation section later in this chapter. Fillet-Chamfer button: When this button is depressed, the Fillet-Chamfer sub-palette appears on the screen. The options available in this menu can only be used on fully connected points. Normally the button is grayed out, however, when a point(s) is selected, the button becomes black and allows the user to access the sub-palette. If the point is not a connector point the sub-palette will come up on the screen, but no fillets or chamfers will be created. Multiple fillets and chamfers can be created at one time by using this option when multiple points are selected. Fillet-Chamfer sub-palette: This subpalette provides options for creating fillets and chamfers. The first button provides for the creation of fillets. The remaining three buttons allow the user to create chamfers by specifying the chamfer size using different methods of defin ition. The pictures on the chamfer creation buttons clearly display the meaning of the value entered for the chamfer size. 30

37 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Fillet button : Create a fillet by selecting a connector point(s), entering a radius value and clicking on the single circle button. Chamfer-Side button: Create a chamfer by selecting a connector point(s), entering a side value and clicking on the single line button. Chamfer-Depth button: Create a chamfer by selecting a connector point(s), entering a depth value and clicking on the single line button. Chamfer-Length button: Create a chamfer by selecting a connector point(s), entering a length value and clicking on the single line button. Connect/Disconnect button: This button does not access any sub-palettes or dialogs. It becomes an available option (black instead of gray) when a point is selected. To change a plain point to a connector point, the point and the two features that intersect at that point must be selected prior to clicking on this button. To disconnect or break a connection, only the point needs to be selected prior to clicking on the button. Refer to the Shapes and Connectors section in this chapter for details. TEXT CREATION The system contains the capability to generate geometry from any TrueType font. The Text Creation Dialog is accessed from the Auto-shape sub-palette by clicking on the Text Creation Button. Text Creation Dialog : The Text Creation Dialog allows the user to select the typeface, text size, justification, position, spacing between characters, words and lines, and text flow. The Text Creation Dialog contains tabs that access different windows available in the dialog which include Text, Spacing and Text Flow. The Process button and the Text Entry box (bottom portion of the dialog where text is entered) remain available regardless of which tab window is currently being viewed. FANUC PLC Parts 31

38 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Text Tab Window : The specifications entered in this window establish what the text will look like and where it will be positioned on the part. Typeface Pop-Up Menu : This menu designates the typeface that will be used to create the text. Only TrueType fonts (typefaces) can be used to create geometry from text. All TrueType fonts installed on the system will be available in this pop-up menu. Text Size : This value specifies the height (measured in either inches or millimeters) of a capital A in the selected typeface. All other characters will be sized proportionally. Justification : These buttons specify whether the text should be left justified, centered or right justified. If left justified is selected, all text is aligned so the left edge of each line is in the same X location, or if radial is selected, the same angle. If centered is selected, the center of each line of text is calculated and the text is positioned so the centers all share the same X location or angle. If right justified is selected, the text is aligned so the right edge of each line is in the same X location, or if radial is selected, the same angle. Justification will only have an affect if there is more than one line of text. The longest line of text is used to specify the left or right edge, or the center. All text is then aligned based on one of these locations. Straight Text Alignment : Text can either be created in a straight line or along an arc. This is designated in the Text Flow window which is described later in this section. If straight text is created, a rectangular area that will contain the text is used for positioning. The diagram specifies how the text will be positioned within the rectangular text area based on the coordinates of the Alignment Point. For example, if the position highlighted in the diagram shown above is selected, the text will be positioned in the lower left corner of the rectangular text area at the Alignment Point. The bottom of the text will be at the Y value of the Alignment Point and the left edge of the text will be at the X value of the Alignment Point. Clicking on the circular position points selects the different possible alignment locations. 32

39 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Radial Text Alignment : If text is created along an arc, a radial area that will contain the text is used for positioning. The radial text area is created by entering an angle value that specifies where along the arc the text will begin and a radius that specifies the size of the arc. The Center Point coordinates specify the center point of the arc. The diagram specifies how the text will be positioned within the radial text area. Examples with the Radial Text Alignment information and the resulting text are shown below. EXAMPLE 1: Inner Radius/Start on Angle The picture shows the text as well as the arc and line which designate the radial text area and the starting location of the text. The position selected on the diagram will create the text along the outside of the circle beginning at the line specified by the angle. (The circle and line are drawn only to better visualize the example.) EXAMPLE 2: Center Radius/Center on Angle The picture shows the text as well as the arc and line which designate the radial text area and the starting location of the text. The position selected on the diagram will create the text along the centerline of the circle and the center of the line of text will lie along the line specified by the angle. EXAMPLE 3: Outer Radius/End on Angle The picture shows the text as well as the arc and line which designate the radial text area and the starting location of the text. The position selected on the diagram will create the text along the inside of the circle ending at the line specified by the angle. FANUC PLC Parts 33

40 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK ` Text Entry Box: This box contains the text that will be created in the current workgroup according to the specifications entered in the tab windows. The Text Entry Box is always at the bottom of the Text Creation Dialog regardless of what window is open. Multiple lines of text should be separated with a carriage return. Regardless of the typeface selected in the Typeface pop-up menu, the text shown in this box will be displayed in the Chicago typeface. Process Button : Clicking on the Process button will create geometry from the text entered. Spacing Tab Window: The specifications entered in this window allow the user to enter additional spacing distance between characters, words and lines of the text. The system automatically spaces the text and lines. If values are entered in this window, the values entered will be ADDED to the standard spacing. Text Flow Tab Window: The specifications entered in this window designate the text flow, line flow and shape of the text. Text Flow buttons : Text can either be created horizontally or vertically. The first two buttons create text (characters) that will flow along a horizontal line, either from left to right (1st button) or right to left (2nd button). The last two buttons will make the text flow along a vertical line, either from bottom to top (3rd button) or from top to bottom (4th button). 34

41 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Shapes buttons: These buttons designate whether the text will be created in a straight line or on an arc. (These buttons will change in appearance when creating vertical lines of text, but their functionality remains the same). The first button will make the text flow along the arc specified in the Text tab window in a clockwise direction. The middle button creates text in a straight line, and the third button creates text on an arc in a counter-clockwise direction. The selection made for Shapes will affect the Alignment Diagrams in the Text tab window. Lines buttons : These buttons only have an effect if multiple lines of text are being created. (These buttons will change in appearance when creating vertical lines of text, but their functionality remains the same). The first button specifies that the lines flow from bottom to top for horizontal lines of text or from left to right for vertical lines. The second button specifies that horizontal lines of text flow from top to bottom or vertical lines flow from right to left. CURVE CREATION The Curve Button accesses the Curve Creation sub-palette, shown below, which provides three different methods for creating a curve through a series of pre-defined points. Those methods include: Line Fit, Curve Fit and Control Point. Each method is described below. The Curve Creation sub-palette changes in appearance (some items are hidden) depending on the curve method. The curve will travel through the points in the order they were selected. The Sort item in the Modify menu can be used to sort the points in the correct order to create the desired curve. CURVE CREATION SUB-PALETTE Line Fit Button Curve Fit Button Control Point Button Tolerance Close Shape Button Blending Method Pop-up Menu Line Fit: This method creates straight lines between the selected points. If a Tolerance is specified, any points that are co-linear within the specified tolerance will be approximated by a single line, rather than several small lines between the points. If Close Shape is turned on, the system will create a closed shape, meaning that the first and last lines will be connected. The Blending Method Pop-Up Menu is not applicable when using the Line Fit method. Curve Fit: This method creates a B-Spline curve through the selected points. The Tolerance value is FANUC designed to reduce the mathematical PLC complexity of the finished Parts curve and should only be larger than 0 when generating curves from a large number of points. When a 0 tolerance is used the system will create a smooth curve that passes through every selected point. When a value larger than 0 is used, the system uses a different method to produce the curve, and any 35

42 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK points that lie within the tolerance specified will be skipped. Even if no points lie inside the tolerance, a completely different curve will be generated by the system than if a 0 tolerance was used. The curve generated by 0 tolerance will be smoother than a curve generated by a non-zero tolerance. If Close Shape is turned on, the system will create a closed, continuous shape. The Blending Method choices control how the curve will be approximated through the selected group of points. There are an infinite number of possible curves that can be drawn between a series of points. The way the curve is calculated between the points is based on the blending method selected from the Blending Method Pop-up menu. The system provides four options for the blending method. They are Chord Length, Uniform, Foley s and Centripetal. One way to explain the differences between these blending methods is to imagine a point traveling along the curve being created. The difference between methods is how much time the point spends traveling along the curve between the points that define the curve. The Chord Length and Uniform methods are general curve calculation methods. The Foley s and Centripetal methods are based on the Chord Length and Uniform methods and attempt to create a closer approximation of the desired curve. Each blending method is described below. Chord Length: This method creates a curve between points proportional to the distance between points. That is, the farther apart two points are, the "longer time" it spends traveling between them, which is why it creates wider curves. The closer two points are together, the curve flattens out, because "less time" is spent traveling between the points. Uniform: This method attempts to create curves of equal length between points of equal distance from each other. Foley's: This method takes into account the angle between adjacent points. The larger the angle, the "more time" is spent between the points, causing the curve to be less pointed than the Uniform method. Centripetal: This method is based on the Chord Length method. It uses the calculated square root of the Chord Length method to blend the curve between the selected points. This makes for a slimmer curve. 36 Control Point Fit: This method produces a B-spline curve using the selected points as control points. When using control points, only the first and last point must actually lie on the curve. The other points are used to specify the shape and direction of the curve. The Close Shape, Tolerance and Blending Method specifications are not applicable when using the Control Point Fit Method.

43 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n ACCURACY PREFERENCE Accuracy Preference: Preferences are located in the Preferences submenu under the File menu. This preference is used when working with curves. When curves are machined, the toolpath breaks up the curve into line segments that can be cut by the CNC machine. The Machining tolerance specifies how much the line-segmented toolpath can deviate from the true curve. The other specification is used when higher order curves are imported into the system. The system supports and is optimized for the creation of cubic order curves. Higher order curves can be imported. The value in the second box specifies the number for line segments that will be drawn to create the curve. For a smoother curve drawing, enter a larger number. For the curve to be drawn faster, enter a smaller number. This value only affects the drawing resolution of the curve, not the machining. The machining is controlled by the Machining tolerance. WORKGROUPS Workgroups are used as layers to separate different sets of geometry. The user can view more than one workgroup at a time, or only view the current workgroup that is being worked in. The viewing, selection and creation of workgroups is accomplished using buttons in the Geometry Creation palette. The workgroup buttons are explained below. Workgroup Info button: This button is found in the right hand corner of the Geometry Creation palette. When it is depressed, a dialog comes up which allows the user to enter a comment about the workgroup. The text entered for the Comment will appear in the Workgroup Selection dialog next to the number of the workgroup it describes. The comment also appears in the Workgroup Selection pop-up menu, and across the top of the Geometry Creation palette. The picture on the left is the Workgroup Info dialog for the Milling module. If the Advanced Milling module has been installed, the WG machining CS pop-up menu will be black and active, allowing the user to select the machining coordinate system for the current workgroup. If the Advanced Milling module has not been installed, the pop-up menu will be grayed out. The picture on the right is the Workgroup Info dialog for the Lathe module. In addition to entering a comment, the user can specify whether the geometry contained in the selected workgroup is part geometry that will be machined or a custom stock outline. The Fixtures option will be implemented in future versions of the software. If the Part Stock option is selected, the geometry drawn in the workgroup will be used for any calculations that need to look at the stock dimensions, such as Auto Clearance and Material Only. Additionally, the custom part stock will be used when the part is rendered. FANUC PLC Parts 37

44 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Mill Lathe Workgroup Selection button: When this button is clicked on, the Workgroup Selection dialog, shown below on the left, appears on the screen. This dialog lists the workgroups of the file being worked on, and also allows the user to create new workgroups. The name of the current workgroup is highlighted. To switch workgroups, click on the name of the desired workgroup. To create a new workgroup, click on the New Workgroup choice at the bottom of the list. The eye to the left of the workgroup will be open if a workgroup is being viewed. The eye next to the current workgroup is always open. Double-clicking on a closed eye next to another, non-current workgroup will cause that workgroup to be viewed as a background workgroup. Geometry from background workgroups is drawn in gray and cannot be selected. Double-click on an open eye to hide the workgroup. This button also accesses a pop-up menu, shown below on the right, which allows the user to quickly and easily change the current workgroup. The pop-up menu can be accessed by holding the Workgroup Selection button down with the mouse. When the current workgroup is changed, any background workgroups being viewed will stay on the screen as background workgroups. Show Selected WG: This item is found in the View menu and allows for the selection of multiple workgroups to be viewed as background workgroups. The eye icons in the Workgroup Selection Dialog, shown below, are used to view workgroups as background workgroups and to change the current workgroup. 38

45 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Holding down the shift key and clicking on multiple eyes, as shown in the picture above to the left, allows more than one workgroup to be selected. When the desired workgroups are selected, choose the Show Selected WG menu item to have them viewed as background workgroups. All the eyes will be open, as shown in the picture above to the right, indicating that those workgroups will be viewed as background workgroups. Using the Select All item in the Edit menu will select all of the eyes (workgroups). A range of eyes (workgroups) can be selected by holding down the appropriate modifier key and clicking on the first and last eye of the group. All eyes in between will be selected. This item and the Hide Selected WG item are especially useful when working with imported IGES and DXF files with many layers. On Windows NT and Windows 95/98 systems, hold down the Control key to select a range of workgroups. (If Alternate Shortcuts is selected in the Interface Preference, use the Alt key.) On Macintosh systems, hold down the Command (") to select a range of workgroups. Hide Selected WG: This item operates in the same manner as the Show Selected WG item, except that it allows multiple workgroups to be hidden (not drawn on the screen). The same methods of selection used for the Show Selected WG item apply. SHAPES AND CONNECTORS Machining a part using the system requires that part geometry be contained in the part file. In order to drill holes or thread mill, position information (points) must be defined. In order to cut a contour, rough and finish an OD/ID, or cut a thread, a shape (lines and circles) must be defined so that the tool has an outline to follow. To cut a pocket, a closed shape must be defined. There are two types of shapes: open shapes and closed shapes. An open shape is a group of connected features. There is a definite beginning and end to the shape. The two ends may or may not be terminated. A closed shape is a group of connected features in which there is no end or beginning. A circle is the most simple example of a closed shape. Double-clicking on a feature in a closed shape will select all of the features and points in the shape. FANUC PLC Parts Open Shape Closed Shape 39

46 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK There are two classifications of geometry used by the software; features and points. Lines, circles and curves are features. Points are points. POINTS A point has three states. It can either be a plain point, a connector point, or a terminator point. A plain point is used for constructing other geometry or it can be turned into a connector or terminator. Plain points can also be used as positioning information for drilling or thread milling operations. Points are drawn as yellow circles. A connector is used to connect two features together. It is drawn as a blue square. A terminator is used to end a shape. It is drawn as a yellow square. FEATURES A feature is either a line or a circle. A feature also has three states: unconnected, connected but not trimmed, and connected and trimmed. A feature can have a maximum of two connectors and/or terminators attached to it. When the second connection has been added to a feature, it will change colors and become trimmed. Unconnected features are drawn in yellow. They are used either for constructing additional geometry or can be connected to other geometry to form a shape to be machined. Single features (one line or one circle for example), drawn in yellow, can be machined by the system without being connected to any other features or having any connection points. Connected, but not trimmed, features are features that have only one connection to another feature. The feature will not be trimmed until a second connection is added, or it is terminated. It will still be drawn in yellow. Connected and trimmed features are drawn in blue. They have been connected (or terminated) at both ends. Since they already have two connections on them, no additional features can be connected to them. MAKING CONNECTIONS Most connections are made automatically by the software. If the Point button is chosen on the Geometry Creation palette and two features on the screen are selected, the software will automatically create a connector at the intersection or tangency of the two features. If a connection cannot be made automatically, a plain point will be created at the intersection or tangency of the two features. Once a feature has two connectors on it, it is considered fully connected. A connection must be broken on the original shape before another connection can be added to it. If a plain point exists at the intersection or tangent point between two yellow features, that point can be turned into a connector. This is accomplished using the Connect-Disconnect button in the Geometry Creation palette. To change a point into a connector, use the shift key to select the point and the two features that intersect at the point. These should be the only items that are selected. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. The point will turn into a blue square. If one (or both) of the features is already connected to another feature, it will turn blue and trim. The four descriptions listed below explain possible reasons why the Connect-Disconnect button will not perform the desired function. One of the features already has two connections on it. The point is not perfectly tangent to or is not exactly at the intersection of the two features. The wrong geometry is selected, in most cases, too much or too little.

47 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n There are multiple features on top of each other. The best way to tell if there are multiple features on top of each other is to turn on Labels from the View menu. If all of the numbers are clearly visible, there is only one feature at that location. If the numbers are jumbled, there are probably features on top of each other. Try deleting features and re-drawing until there is only one feature left. If the last feature is deleted by accident, use the Undo item from the Edit menu to back up a step. To trim the last feature of a shape, a point needs to be created at the location where the shape is to be trimmed to. The feature must be yellow. Select the point and the feature and click on the Connect-Disconnect button. The point will turn into a yellow square. If the feature already has one connector or terminator on it, it will turn blue and trim. When connecting circles, the shortest side of the circle will be used and the rest will be trimmed away. To use the larger portion of the circle, select the circle after it has been trimmed and use the Reverse Arc choice from the Modify menu. BREAKING CONNECTIONS (DISCONNECTING) It is sometimes necessary to break a connection. If the software automatically creates a connection that was not desired or changes need to be made to the original geometry, then the connection will need to be broken. To break a connection, select the connector or terminator where the connection needs to be broken and click on the Connect-Disconnect button. The connection will be broken. The connector or terminator will turn into a regular yellow circle and the connected features will turn yellow and extend to their original size. The features can then be changed and reconnected to form a new shape. 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. Undo: This 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 a file. This is accomplished using the clipboard, which is a temporary storage place contained in the system. These functions only work within the currently open file because the contents of the clipboard are erased when a file is closed. Refer to the Clipboard section in the Interface Chapter for additional information. Cut: This function will delete any selected items, and copy these items to the clipboard. The item(s) can then be placed in the same file using the Paste function. Copy: This function will make a duplicate of the selected items and copy it to the clipboard. The item(s) can then be pasted in the same file. Paste: This function will place the contents of the clipboard in either the drawing window, if the FANUC PLC Parts clipboard contains geometry, 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. 41

48 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The next four items provide different methods for selecting and deselecting geometry. Select All: This function will select all of the geometry contained in the current workgroup. Select submenu: The items contained in the submenu allow the user to only select certain geometry items. The Points item will select all points, regardless of type. The Connectors and Terminators items will only select the appropriate type of point. The By Radius item brings up a dialog where a radius value is entered. Only circles with the specified radius will be selected. The Feeds item will select all lines, while the Rapids item will only select rapid lines that were created using the Mouse-Line tool. 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. 42 Deselect All: This item will deselect any geometry currently selected. Deselect submenu: The items contained in the submenu will deselect any geometry of the chosen type that is currently selected. The next three items are used with Geometry Expert. Insert Row: This item will insert a blank row in the spreadsheet above the current row selected. 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 deselect 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. Use Intersection #1 (#2): 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 spread sheet 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 counterclockwise direction when placing the features into the spreadsheet. The direction has the potential to affect the angle values of lines and the direction of arcs of the shape. There are times when the system will load the shape in the opposite direction than 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.

49 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Redo All Ops: This item will reprocess all operations contained in a file. If changes have been made to part geometry, selecting Redo All Ops will automatically reprocess all of the operations and the new toolpaths will reflect the geometry changes. MODIFY MENU The Modify menu contains items that give the user additional methods for creating, positioning and duplicating geometry. The Operation Data item is used with completed operations and is detailed in the machining manuals for both the Mill and Lathe modules. All of the items under this menu, except Operation Data and Move Part Origin, require geometry to be highlighted before their function can be performed. The Operation Data menu item requires an operation to be highlighted. Several of the items have two pictures, one for the Mill module and one for the Lathe module. 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. Each item found in this menu is described below in the order it is found in the menu. Duplicate: This selection copies the selected geometry, in the same location. After this is done, the next appropriate step is to move the duplicated geometry to another location, possibly using another item under this menu. Additionally, Duplicate is useful for making an unconnected feature in the same location as a currently connected feature. Duplicate And: This selection will perform the individual functions Duplicate and then Force Depth, Mirror, 2d Rotate, Scale or Translate at one time. 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. The specific button choices work the same as the items detailed below. If the selected geometry is an open shape and the modify selection matches the terminators, the terminators will be changed to connectors as the geometry is duplicated on the screen. Set Default: Selecting a point and then choosing Set Default will cause the selected points X, Y and Z locations to appear as the default values in any other appropriate Modify menu dialog. This item is useful if a drawn FANUC point is used to mirror around, rotate PLC around, etc. Parts 43

50 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Force Depth: This selection sets the 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. Mill Lathe Mirror: This selection will move the selected geometry to the other side of the axis or axes specified, around an axis point entered in the text boxes. Clicking on the Process button will perform the mirroring function. This dialog can remain on the screen for further use while other functions are performed. Mill Lathe 2D Rotate: This selection will revolve or rotate the selected geometry around the point specified in the X and Y, Z and X 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 Process button will perform the rotating function. This dialog can remain on the screen for further use while other functions are performed. Mill Lathe 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 1, 1 being full size. The inches to mm or mm to inches buttons will change the geometry to the opposite numerical type. 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 Process button will perform the scaling function. This dialog can remain on the screen for further use while other functions are performed. Mill Lathe 44

51 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n Translate: This selection will move the selected geometry, by the specified amount. Clicking on the Process button will perform the translating function. This dialog can remain on the screen for further use while other functions are performed. 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. Once the points 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 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 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 corner; X- Y+ in the upper left 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 selected and then selects the point that is closest. This process continues until all holes have been selected. This option is useful when creating curves. Reverse pattern: FANUC This option reverses the original selection PLC order of the group Parts of points. The last point that was selected is now labeled as the first point and so on. Reverse Arc: A circle can be fully connected either using the less than 180 arc or with the greater 45

52 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK than 180 arc. The system automatically selects the less than 180 arc 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 cause the system to use the other side of the connected arc. Change CS (XYZ): This item is only available with the Advanced Milling module and is explained in that manual. If the Advanced Milling module is not installed, this item will be grayed out in the menu. Change CS (HVD): This item is only available with the Advanced Milling module and is explained in that manual. If the Advanced Milling module is not installed, this item will be grayed out in the menu. Mill Lathe Move Part Origin: This selection will move 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. Clicking on the Process button will move the origin. This dialog can remain on the screen for further use while other functions are performed. Operation Data: This selection is explained in the Machining Chapters in the Mill and Lathe module manuals. FILE IMPORT The Exchange option offers the capability to transfer geometric data from other CAD packages into the system. Geometric data is accepted in three formats, IGES (Initial Graphic Exchange Specification), DXF (Drawing Interchange Format) and points in a Text File. Geometry can be imported into a new file created specifically for imported geometry, or into an existing part file. Either way, a part file must be open. Imported geometry will be placed in additional workgroups, not the current workgroup. The new workgroups will be viewed as background workgroups, so the geometry will be drawn in gray and inaccessible. To work with the imported geometry, the user must switch workgroups. Switching workgroups is accomplished using the Workgroup Selection pop-up menu in the Geometry Creation palette. The part origin will most likely have to be moved so it matches the imported geometry. If there is a point at the desired origin, the easiest way to move the origin is to select the point and choose Set Default from the Modify menu before selecting the Move Part Origin option. This will make the X,Y, and Z values of the selected point the defaults in the Move Origin dialog. The import choice is accessed from the File menu. Selecting the Import option from the File menu will bring up the dialog, shown on the following page. When the Import item is selected from the File menu, the dialog shown below will come up on 46

53 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n the screen. It allows the user to select the type of file to be imported; the options include IGES, DXF Point List and nccad file formats. OS The nccad option is only available on Macintosh Operating Systems. It allows files created in the Gibbs System to be imported into GibbsCAM. A file name and location to save the file is also entered in this dialog. The system will automatically enter an extension on to the file name based on the file format. File extensions are set by the File Extensions Preference which is described at the end of this section. TERMS Following are a list of terms used in the Import dialog that may not be familiar. Feature: A piece of geometry; a point, line, circle, curve, etc. in an imported file. Workplane: The 3D plane in which a specific feature was defined in the imported file; similar to the use of coordinate systems in GibbsCAM. Level/Layer: A grouping of features. IGES files use the term level while DXF files use the term layer ; similar to the use of workgroups in GibbsCAM. Coordinate System: A plane in space with an origin and three axes (horizontal, vertical and depth). Every feature lies in a coordinate system. For example, a point is a location in space defined by three numbers, a horizontal coordinate, a vertical coordinate and a depth coordinate. CS1: The coordinate system or plane where the horizontal, vertical and depth axes correspond to the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively. For the Lathe module, the horizontal axis is still the X axis, but the Z axis is the vertical axis and the depth axis is the Y axis. IMPORT DIALOG FANUC PLC Parts 47

54 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK When an IGES or DXF file has been selected and the Open button has been clicked on, the Import dialog, shown below, will appear. Some options may be unavailable for DXF translations. The File Import dialog controls how an IGES or DXF file is interpreted and graphically represented in the system. Detailed descriptions of the options provided in this dialog follow. Features: This area is used to specify the feature types to be imported into the file. There are check boxes for Points, Lines, Circles, Conic Arcs, Curves and Invisible. The Invisible check box will bring in entities which are flagged in the file as not to be imported. Invisible should only be turned on after an import with it off did not produce the desired results. Importing invisible features may create features that are coincident with other, non-invisible features. Trim Prefs: This area is used to specify how lines will be trimmed and connected. The No Trim option will create unterminated lines and circles. The Trim selection will terminate lines and circles if start and end points are specified in the file being translated. The Connect option, like Trim, will create terminators at start and end points, and in addition will make a connecting pass after all features are translated, connecting those features which have coincident terminators. By default, terminator points within inches (or mm) of each other are considered to be coincident. If this range is found to be inadequate for a particular file (i.e., features you would like connected remain unconnected), the connect range can be overrid- 48

55 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n den by checking the Set Connect Range check box and entering a larger value in the corresponding edit box. If the connect range is made larger than the default, tiny lines are created between terminator points to actually connect the features. The Preferred Plane check box specifies which features should be connected first. If this option is chosen, features which lie entirely in the specified primary plane will be connected with each other first; only if the 2nd Pass (no pref.) box is checked will other features be connected, in a second connecting pass. Grouping: These choices allow the user to specify how the system will display and separate the various geometry elements contained in the imported file. Most IGES and DXF files only have one workplane, meaning that all geometry features are defined in only one workplane. For files with only one workplane, the only grouping item that has any effect is the 1 level/layer per WG option. Combine II Workplanes: When this option is turned on, if there are multiple workplanes in the imported file, the system will take a pre-processing pass through the IGES or DXF file and combine parallel workplanes into a single workplane. All geometry contained in any parallel workplanes will now be defined in only one workplane. If this item is turned off, geometry contained in parallel workplanes will remain in separate workplanes as they were defined in the original IGES or DXF file. The system performs this initial determination pass through the file before looking at any of the other importing selections. 1 level/layer per WG: When this option is turned on, every layer/level in the file to be imported will generate at least one workgroup in the GibbsCAM file. If this option is turned off, the system will combine all layers/levels in one workgroup. Additional workgroups may be created depending on whether the 1 workplane per WG item is turned on. The actual number of workgroups created by the system is based on this item and the 1 workplane per WG item. 1 workplane per WG: When this option is turned on, each workplane in the imported file will be separated into a different workgroup, meaning that only geometry created in the same work plane will be placed in the same workgroup. If turned off, the system will not create any new workgroups to accommodate different workplanes. All features in CS1: This item specifies how the system will handle the geometry features contained in the file to be imported. If the Advanced Milling Option is NOT installed, this item will be grayed out and is always set to the on position, however, the Preserve HVD item is available with or without the Advanced Milling Option. When this item is turned on, all features will be mapped into CS1, which is the plane where the horizontal axis is the X axis, the vertical axis is the Y axis and the depth axis is the Z axis; for lathe, the horizontal axis is X, the vertical axis is Z and the depth axis is Y. When this option is turned off (only possible with Advanced Mill) a separate coordinate system will be created for every workplane and all geometry will be assigned to the appropriate coordinate system. FANUC PLC Parts Preserve HVD: This item is available with all modules, and is an active item when 49

56 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK All features in CS1 is turned on. When Preserve HVD is turned on, every workplane in the imported file will be rotated to lie flat in CS1, and all features will be rotated along with the workplane in which they are defined. If this item is turned off, all features will be retain their true 3D position based on where they were created in the original IGES or DXF file. This will create an accurate 3D wireframe, however, the geometry may not be able to be properly machined as a result. The system will convert all arcs that were not created in the XY plane into curves. For example, if the imported file contains geometry created in the XZ plane, turning Preserve HVD on will rotate the geometry so that it is positioned to lie flat in CS1, as it did in the XZ plane in the original file. NOTE: In DXF files, all geometry is created in the same workplane, except for arcs. If Preserve HVD is turned on, arcs created in a Non-XY planes will be imported as arcs, however they won t necessarily match up positionally with the other features in the file. If Preserve HVD is turned off, arcs will be imported as curves. EXAMPLE An IGES file contains 3 levels. Each level contains geometry in the same three non-parallel workplanes. Combine II workplanes is turned on, but has no effect because there are no parallel workplanes in the file. The next choice that needs to be made is whether the different levels should be combined into one workgroup or separated into 3 workgroups. The 1 level/layer per WG item is turned on. Three workgroups are created, one for each level. The next determination is whether different workplanes should be combined into one workgroup or separated into different workgroups. The 1 workplane per WG is turned on. Each of the three workgroups already created in the file will be separated into another three workgroups because each workgroup contains geometry in three different workplanes. There are now a total of nine workgroups in the GibbsCAM file. All workgroups have been created at this point in the process. Once all the required workgroups have been created according to the previous selections, the features need to be placed in the appropriate position depending on whether the Preserve HVD option is turned on or off. For this example, it will be assumed that only the standard Mill module is installed. The All features in CS1 item is grayed out and automatically turned on. The Preserve HVD item is also turned on so that all geometry is rotated so that it lies flat in CS1. This will allow the geometry to easily be machined in the standard XY plane (XZ plane for Lathe). RECOMMENDED SETTINGS These recommendations are based on separating the imported file into as many workgroups as possible. While it may be desirable to have elements combined into fewer workgroups, it is much easier to manually combine features into one workgroup than it is to separate features into multiple workgroups. It is recommended that Combine II workplanes be turned off to produce the maximum number of workgroups. This also helps to reduce feature overlapping. For the same reason, 1 layer/level per WG and 1 workplane per WG should be turned on to produce the maximum number of workgroups and keep the part file separated into manageable and distinct sections. Preserve HVD should usually be turned on so that geometry features will be rotated to lie flat in CS1. Rotating the geometry to lie flat in CS1 is usually desirable because it makes the geometry machinable in CS1 (for Mill the XY 50

57 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n plane, for Lathe the XZ plane) which is the only plane that can be machined unless the Advanced Milling Option is installed. With the Advanced Milling Option, which provides 4th and 5th axis positioning, in most cases, it is recommended that All features in CS1 be turned OFF, and Preserve HVD would also be OFF. This will maintain the proper positioning of the features in the imported file which can be machined in any plane with the Advanced Milling Option. Keep in mind that if these settings do not produce the desired result, the IGES or DXF file can be re-imported using adjusted import settings. IMPORT TRANSLATION When you are finished entering information in the Import dialog, click on the Process button. The following dialog will appear on the screen to indicate the file is being translated and connected. IGES INFORMATION IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) is supported by many CAD systems and is published by the National Bureau of Standards, US Department of Commerce. The following IGES entities are imported by the system: Entity # Entity Name Feature Equivalent 100 Circular Arc Entity Circle 102 Composite Curve Entity Connected features 104 Conic Arc Entity B Spline 106 Copious Data Entity Connected lines 110 Line Entity Line 116 Point Entity Point 112 Parametric Spline B Spline Curve Entity 126 Rational B-Spline Curve Entity B Spline 130 Offset Curve Entity B Spline DXF INFORMATION FANUC PLC Parts 51

58 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK DXF is the Drawing Interchange File format and was created by AutoDesk. DXF is a commonly used means for exchanging line drawings between CAD systems. The system imports the following DXF entities: Entity Feature Equivalent POINT Point LINE Line 3DLINE Line CIRCLE Circle ARC Circle POLYLINE Connected Lines 3DPOLYLINE Connected Lines POINT LIST INFORMATION This option allows for the importation of a point list. A point list is a simple text file containing X, Y, and Z coordinates. Z coordinates do not need to be included when importing point lists into the Lathe module. The labels X, Y and Z should NOT be included in the list, only the coordinate values. Each coordinate must be separated by either a tab, space or comma, but no combination of any of these. Also the method of separation must be consistent throughout the file. Each point should be on a line by itself. FILE EXPORT The Exchange option also provides the user with the capability to export geometry contained in a part file into either an IGES, DXF or Point List file format. These files can then be opened by any program that can read those file formats. Files are exported using the Export item under the File menu. If the file contains multiple workgroups, those workgroups will be split into different layers in the resulting IGES or DXF files. When the Export item is selected from the File menu, the dialog shown below will come up on the screen. It allows the user to select the type of file to be created. The options include IGES, DXF and Point List file formats. A file name and location to save the file is also entered in this dialog. The system will automatically enter an extension on to the file name based on the file format. File extensions are set in the File Extensions Preference which is described at the end of this section. 52 IGES EXPORT

59 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n When exporting to the IGES file format, once the file has been named and saved, the dialog shown below will come up on the screen. This dialog allows the user to write comments into the header information contained in the IGES file that will be created. Each line can have a maximum of 72 characters. The numbers along the top indicate the number of characters in each line, the last number representing the 72nd character. Multiple lines can be written using carriage returns. The next dialog that will appear also contains header information that will be written into the exported file. The file name will be entered as it was in the first exporting dialog. The File Author and Organization will default to the previous entries made in those fields. The Product ID From Sender and Product ID For Receiver will default to the name of the file. The Generation Date & Time is entered according to the date and time on the computer. Once the header information has been entered, the Export Filter Dialog, shown below will come up. This dialog controls how the file will be created. The Features box allows the user to designate what geometric entities will be exported. Points, lines, circles and curves can be exported. Turning off one of the buttons will cause that category of features not to be written into the exported IGES file. The Units box specifies the measurement system used in the exported IGES file. Metric parts can be exported FANUC with inches as the unit of measure PLC and vice versa. The Parts Suppress Z button is only applicable when exporting DXF files. 53

60 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK IGES Information IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) is supported by many CAD systems and is published by the National Bureau of Standards, US Department of Commerce. The following IGES entities are exported by the system. Entity # Entity Name Feature Equivalent 100 Circular Arc Entity Circle 110 Line Entity Line 116 Point Entity Point 124 Transformation Matrix Entity Coordinate System Information 126 Rational B-Spline Curve Entity Connected lines DXF EXPORT When exporting to the DXF file format, once the file has been named and saved, the Export Filter dialog will come up. The Features box designates which geometric features should be exported into the DXF file. If the Suppress Z button is turned on, the exported DXF file will not contain any Z values, producing a two dimensional drawing. Many CAD packages that use the DXF file format only support 2D drawing of geometry. The Units box is grayed out when exporting to the DXF file format.dxf files do not make any designation to units of measurement. The system will output the geometric values in whatever working units are being used in the file. 54

61 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n DXF Information DXF is the Drawing Interchange File format that was created by AutoDesk. DXF is a commonly used means for exchanging line drawings between CAD systems. The system imports the following DXF entities. Entity POINT LINE CIRCLE POLYLINE Feature Equivalent Point Line Circle Connected lines EXPORT TRANSLATION When all of the necessary information has been entered, click on the Process button to create the IGES file. The Translation Dialog, shown below, will appear on the screen to indicate that the file is being translated. This dialog contains progress bars for translation and connection, and also displays how many of each feature will be translated. POINT LIST EXPORT When exporting a point list, only the name and location to save the file need to be specified. To create the point list text file, click on the Save button. The resulting text file will contain the X, Y, and Z coordinates of any points contained in the current file. Each point will be on a separate line and each coordinate value will be separated by one space. FILE EXTENSIONS PREFERENCE File Extension Preference: Preferences are located in the Preferences submenu under the File menu. This preference indicates the file extensions that the system will use when processing different file formats. The IGES, DXF, and Point List extension settings are used when importing and exporting geometry. When importing, the files extension preferences indicate the type of files the system will recognize that can be imported. When exporting the file extensions entered for this preference will be added to the types of files created by the system. using The defaults are.igs for IGES files,.dxf for DXF files and.txt for Point List files. Any of these extensions can be changed to reflect the user s preference. FANUC PLC Parts 55

62 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK WORKGROUP SUMMARY Selecting Workgroup Summary from the part menu (title of this menu will be the name of the part) 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 a text file 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. 56

63 GFK G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n PRINTING THE PART GEOMETRY After the part geometry has been created, it can be printed. Geometry can either be printed in black and white or color. When the desired geometry is on the screen, choose Drawing from the Print sub-menu under the File menu. To adjust the way the image will print, choose Printing from the Preferences sub-menu in the File menu. The Printing Preferences dialog, shown below, allows the user to specify how the software will handle the background color. If the printer being used is a black and white printer, choose the Black on White option to ensure that all portions of geometry, including those that are a light color, can be seen in the print. OS For specific information regarding printing on the different operating systems, refer to the Printing Appendix found at the end of this manual. FANUC PLC Parts 57

64 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK CHAPTER 5 : Geometry Expert The exercises contained in this chapter are designed to introduce you to the basic concepts of geometry creation using Geometry Expert. Blueprints for these exercises can be found in the Part Prints Appendix and on cards shipped with each order. The first few exercises give step-by-step instructions for creating part geometry, while the later exercises are less detailed. If you only have the Mill module installed, start with Exercise #2. You can do all of the exercises contained in this manual regardless of what modules you have installed. Lathe examples can be done with Mill, and vice-versa. The only differences will be in the document set up. EXERCISE #1:SHAFT In the first exercise, we will create a simple shaft containing only horizontal and vertical lines. Because of the feature type defaults and automatic angle toggling, the creation of a simple shaft can be done in a few minutes using Geometry Expert. Launch the system. The Operating Systems Appendix provides specific instructions on launching the system. Refer to Part Print #1:Shaft for this exercise. Click on the Document Control button in the Top Level palette. 58

65 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t The Document Control button becomes depressed to indicate that it is in use. The Document Control dialog will appear on the screen. This dialog contains file management options, as well as general information about the part, such as machine type, stock measurements, and material information. Click on the New button. Type Shaft in the New File Name box. Click on the Save button. When you save files you want to make sure that you are saving them in the appropriate location on your hard drive. You may need to change drives and/or directories or folders in order to save the file in the correct place. To change drives, Windows users click on the Drive button, Macintosh users on the Desktop button in the save dialog shown above. To change directories or folders, double click on the name of the directory/folder in the current list. The pop-up menu above the list displays the name of the current directory/folder and allows you to access lower level directories/folders. Click on the Machine Type pop-up menu. Drag the cursor until 2A Lathe Shank is highlighted, then release the mouse button. The options available for the Machine Type are dependent on the what modules of the software are installed. The selection made for the Machine Type sets the MDD (Machine Definition Document) for the current part. Selecting the correct MDD is very important because it affects how the part will be drawn and machined. FANUC PLC Parts 59

66 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select inch for the measurement type. Enter the stock values shown below. The stock values entered are slightly larger than the part dimensions so that we can see all of the geometry within the stock outline. Select Diameter for the X Dimension style. Type This is a sample part in the Comment text box. If a comment is entered in this text box, it will appear in the Open dialog when this part is selected. The Material information, Clearance Plane values, Auto Clearance option, and Tool Change Position will be explained in the Lathe module manual. 60

67 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t When all the information about the part has been entered, close this dialog. The information contained in it may be changed (edited) at any time, simply by clicking on the Document Control button and entering the new information. Close the Document Control dialog by clicking twice in the close box in the upper left hand corner of the dialog. Another way to close this dialog is to click on the Document Control button in the Top Level palette again, so that it pops up. A stock outline is drawn with a + that signifies the origin of the part which is located at Z0, X0. Your screen should now look like the picture shown below. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. The Geometry Creation palette will come up on the screen. Click on the Geometry Expert button in the Geometry Creation palette. When this button is depressed, the Geometry Expert spreadsheet will appear on the screen. It may be necessary to move the spreadsheet and size it in order to get a better view of the part. To change the size of the spreadsheet, use the size box and drag the spreadsheet to the desired length. FANUC PLC Parts 61

68 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The spreadsheet is a moveable object, which means it can be placed anywhere on the screen. To move the spreadsheet, place the cursor on the title bar, so that the cursor changes to the mover tool. Then, while holding down the mouse button, drag the dotted outline to a different location and let go of the mouse button. Feature dimensions will be entered in the rows of the spreadsheet to form a shape. The arrow shown below on the left indicates the current row of the spreadsheet. The current row signifies the feature row being worked on. The prompt information always refers to the current row. The current row has an upraised frame and is highlighted in either yellow or black, depending on its status. When the spreadsheet first comes up, the first row, which is the current row, is highlighted in black because the row needs more information in order to define the feature. Current Row Notice that when the spreadsheet comes up, the feature type selected is a line, and the angle value is 90. For this first exercise, we will only create vertical and horizontal lines. Therefore, the only values that we will need to enter are line points because the default settings for the feature type and line angle will be correct for the shape we are creating. As we are going through the exercises, be sure to watch the prompt at the bottom of the spreadsheet. It provides useful information pertaining to the status of the current row. We will begin creating the shape by choosing a feature and walking around the part in a counter-clockwise direction creating the shape feature by feature. The feature we will start with is the vertical line at Z0. 62

69 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row When defining either horizontal or vertical lines, it is only necessary to enter a half point for the line point. Once the line point is entered, the current row becomes highlighted in yellow indicating that it now contains enough information to define the feature. When the current row is highlighted in yellow, the prompting information states what will happen when the user hits enter. Hit the enter or return key. When creating a new row, hitting the enter or return key will create the feature and move the current row of the spreadsheet down one. If you are working on existing rows, entering the row will not move the current row down in the spreadsheet, it will only make the necessary changes. The arrow keys or the cursor must be used to move up and down within existing rows of the spreadsheet. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. FANUC PLC Parts 63

70 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK When the row is entered, the line is drawn on the screen and the current row of the spreadsheet moves down one. The second feature row has a line selected for the feature type and the angle is 180. The system angle defaults toggle between 0 /180 and 90 /270, and places the cursor in the appropriate cell. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. The two lines are connected. Connected features have a blue square (connector point) drawn at their intersection or tangency. When a feature has two connector points, it becomes blue and trims. Geometry Expert automatically connects features as they are drawn. If two concurrent features do not have a point of intersection or tangency, the system produces an error message indicating that the previous feature can not intersect with the current feature. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Notice that the line angle has once again toggled to

71 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Hit the enter or return key. The horizontal line is now fully connected, and as a result turns blue and trims. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row FANUC PLC Parts 65

72 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Hit the enter or return key. Once a feature has been drawn on the screen, a reference number is assigned and entered in the Ref cell of the spreadsheet. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 66

73 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 67

74 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 68

75 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 69

76 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 70

77 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 71

78 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the Close Shape feature type so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. Current Row The Close Shape feature type connects the first feature and the last feature at their point of intersection or tangency by creating a connector point. No information other than the feature type needs to be entered, and therefore all the cells in a Close Shape feature row are grayed out. Closing the shape will usually be the final step when creating a shape using Geometry Expert. The shaft is complete and fully connected. The final shape should look like the picture shown below. 72

79 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t EXERCISE #2:CHASSIS In this exercise, we will create a simple chassis consisting of horizontal and vertical lines with fillets and chamfers. The defaults for the feature type and angle values will make this part very fast and easy. Launch the system. Refer to the Operating Systems Appendix for specific instructions on launching the system. Refer to Part Print #2 : Chassis for this exercise. Click on the Document Control button in the Top Level palette. The Document Control button becomes depressed to indicate that it is in use. The Document Control dialog will appear on the screen. This dialog contains file management options, as well as, general information about the part, such as machine type, stock measurements, and material information. Click on the New button. FANUC Type Chassis in the PLC New File Name box. Parts Click on the Save button. 73

80 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK When you save files you want to make sure that you are saving them in the appropriate location on your hard drive. You may need to change drives and/or directories or folders in order to save the file in the correct place. To change drives, Windows users click on the Drive button, Macintosh users on the Desktop button in the save dialog shown above. To change directories or folders, double click on the name of the directory/folder in the current list. The pop-up menu above the list displays the name of the current directory/folder and allows you to access lower level directories/folders. Click on the Machine Type pop-up menu. Drag the cursor until 3 Axis Vertical Mill is highlighted, then release the mouse button. The options available for the Machine Type are dependent on the modules of the software that are installed. The selection made for the Machine Type sets the MDD (Machine Definition Document) for the current part. Selecting the correct MDD is very important because it affects how the part will be drawn and machined. Select inch for the measurement type. Enter the stock values shown below. 74

81 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t The stock values entered are slightly larger than the part dimensions so that we can see all of the geometry within the stock outline. Type This is a sample part in the Comment text box. The part comment entered in this text box will appear in the Open dialog when this part is selected. A part comment is not necessary, but is often helpful to identify parts. The Material information, Clearance Plane values, and Tool Change Position will be explained in the Machining Chapter and tutorials of the Mill module manual. When all the information about the part has been entered, close this dialog. The information contained in it may be changed (edited) at any time, simply by clicking on the Document Control button and entering the new information. Close the Document Control dialog, by clicking twice in the close box in the upper left hand corner of the dialog. FANUC PLC Parts 75

82 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK A stock outline is drawn with a + that signifies the origin of the part which is located at X0, Y0. Your screen should now look like the picture shown below. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. Click on the Geometry Expert button in the Geometry Creation palette. When this button is depressed, the Geometry Expert spreadsheet will appear on the screen. It may be necessary to move the spreadsheet and size it in order to get a better view of the part. To change the size of the spreadsheet, use the size box and drag the spreadsheet to the desired length. The spreadsheet is a moveable object which means it can be placed anywhere on the screen. To move the spreadsheet, place the cursor on the title bar, so that the cursor changes to the mover tool. Then, while holding down the mouse button, drag the dotted outline to a different location and let go of the mouse button. Feature dimensions will be entered in the rows of the spreadsheet to form a connected shape. The arrow shown in the picture below points out the current row of the spreadsheet. The current row indicates which row is being worked on. The prompt information always refers to the current row. The current row has an upraised frame and is highlighted in either black or yellow, depending on its status. When the spreadsheet first comes up, the current row is highlighted in black because the row needs more information in order to define a feature. 76

83 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Current Row Notice that when the spreadsheet comes up, the feature type selected is a line, and the angle value is 90. The defaults for the line angle automatically toggle between 90 /270 and 0 /180 when creating lines which makes it very useful when creating alternating horizontal and vertical lines. As you go through the exercises, be sure to watch the prompt at the bottom of the spreadsheet. It provides useful information pertaining to the status of the current row. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row When defining either horizontal or vertical lines, it is only necessary to enter a half point for the line point. Once the line point is entered, the current row becomes highlighted in yellow indicating that it now contains enough information to define the feature. Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 77

84 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK When creating a new row, hitting the enter or return key will create the feature and move the current row of the spreadsheet down one. If you are working on existing rows, entering the row will not move the current row down in the spreadsheet, it will only make the necessary changes. The arrow keys or the cursor must be used to move up and down within existing rows of the spreadsheet. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. The line is drawn on the screen and the current row in the spreadsheet moves down one when the row is entered. Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the Fillet feature type (3rd button) so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. The feature type can be selected using keyboard shortcuts. Refer to the Shortcuts information card for specific information on using the keyboard shortcuts. Enter the radius value shown below. Current Row Only a radius value is required when creating fillets. Therefore, the other cells in the row are grayed out. Notice the prompt. This row will create a fillet between the preceding and following features. Fillets and chamfers are entered in the spreadsheet between the two features they connect with. Fillets and chamfers can only be created between two intersecting features at their point of intersection. Refer to the Geometry Expert, Additional 78

85 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Information section in the Geometry Creation Chapter for more information on fillets. Hit the enter or return key. Nothing is drawn on the screen, although the fillet is now entered in the spreadsheet. Fillets and chamfers are not drawn on the screen until the preceding and following features are fully connected because they are completely dependent on the features that they exist between. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. The two lines drawn are connected. Connected features have a blue square (connector point) drawn at their intersection or tangency. When a feature has two connector points, it becomes blue and trims. Geometry Expert automatically connects features as they are drawn. If two concurrent features do not have a point of intersection or tangency, the system produces an error message indicating that the previous feature does not intersect with the current feature. Once both of these lines are fully connected (have 2 connector points), the fillet that was created at their intersection will be drawn. Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the Chamfer feature type so that it becomes FANUC PLC depressed. Release Parts the mouse button. 79

86 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the length value shown below. Current Row Only a length value is required when creating chamfers. Therefore, the other cells in the row are grayed out. Chamfers created in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet are dimensioned according to the picture shown below. The length value entered in the spreadsheet is the distance shown by the arrow. If you need to create chamfers that are dimensioned differently, you can use the free form CAD tools that are found in the Geometry Creation palette. Hit the enter or return key. Again, there is no change on the screen (nothing is drawn), however, the chamfer will be drawn when the features it exists between are fully connected. If the Geometry Expert spreadsheet is closed before fillets and chamfers have been drawn on the screen, they will not be created. If the shape is reloaded into the spreadsheet, the fillet and chamfer rows will no longer be contained in the spreadsheet. Any rows that contain information for features that have not been drawn (fillets, chamfers, floating features) will not be maintained in the spreadsheet if it is closed. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 80

87 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Your screen should look like the picture shown below. The horizontal line becomes blue and trims because it is now fully connected. Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the Fillet feature type so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. The radius value for the fillet will default to the previous radius entered for a fillet. Therefore, you don t need to enter a radius value. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 81

88 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Your screen should look like the picture shown below. The chamfer is now drawn because the preceding and following lines are fully connected. Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the Fillet option so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 82

89 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t The fillet is now drawn on the screen because the preceding and following features now have two connector points. Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the Chamfer option so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. The length value for the chamfer also defaults to the previous value entered. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. While we could continue making fillets and chamfers in this manner, from this point on, we will only create the horizontal and vertical lines in Geometry Expert. Then, we will use the free form CAD tools, specifically the Fillet-Chamfer button in the Geometry Creation palette, to create the remaining fillets and chamfers. The Fillet-Chamfer palette allows multiple fillets and chamfers of the FANUC PLC Parts same size to be created at one time. 83

90 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 84

91 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Once a feature has been drawn on the screen, a reference number is assigned to it and entered in the Ref cell of the spreadsheet. FANUC PLC Parts 85

92 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 86

93 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 87

94 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK If you encounter any problems, or your screen does not look like the screen shots shown in the exercise, there are a few things you can check. First, make sure that the angle values alternate between 90 and 180. Also check that rows with a 90 angle value have the correct X value entered for the vertical line being defined in that row. Check that rows with a 180 angle value have the correct Y value entered for the appropriate horizontal line. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 88

95 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 89

96 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 90

97 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 91

98 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 92

99 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 93

100 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 94

101 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the Close Shape option so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. Current Row The Close Shape feature type connects the first feature and the last feature at their point of intersection or tangency by creating a connector point. No information other than the feature type needs to be entered, and therefore all the cells in a Close Shape feature row are grayed out. Closing the shape is usually the final step when creating a shape using Geometry Expert. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Close the Geometry Expert spreadsheet by clicking in the close box. We will now create the fillets, using the free form CAD tools. FANUC While holding down PLC the shift key, select all of Parts the corners that need fillets, as shown below. 95

102 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK If you accidentally click on something that you didn t want to and it becomes selected, click on it again to deselect it. Holding down the shift key, changes the cursor to a white arrow which indicates multiple selection mode. This allows the user to select more than one point or feature at a time. Click on the Fillet-Chamfer button in the Geometry Creation palette. The Fillet-Chamfer sub-palette will come up on the screen. Click on the Fillet button. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Circle button. The system will create fillets at all of the selected corners and delete the sharp corners that were once there. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. 96

103 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Now, we will create the chamfers. With the shift key depressed, select all of the corners that need chamfers. Click on the Fillet/Chamfer button. Click on the Chamfer-side button and enter the side value shown below. Click on the line button. Your screen should now look like the picture shown below. The Chassis is complete. FANUC PLC Parts 97

104 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK EXERCISE #3:SHUTTLE In this exercise, we will create a slightly more complex shape containing primarily arcs and angled lines. Refer to Part Print #3 : Shuttle for this exercise. Launch the system. Create a lathe file with the following stock size. Select the Radius option for the X dimension style. If you only have the Mill module installed, you should still do this exercise. Because these exercises only involve the creation of geometry, they can be done in either the Mill or Lathe module. In order to do this exercise using the Mill module, you only need to adjust the stock size. If creating a Mill part, enter the stock values shown below. 98

105 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t The screen shots shown in this exercise will be identical for both mill and lathe, however, the Geometry Expert spreadsheet will be slightly different. The numbers are entered in the same location in the spreadsheet, however, the labeling on the spreadsheet is slightly different. If you are working in lathe, the horizontal values are entered as Z coordinates and the vertical values are entered as Xr coordinates. If you are working in mill, the horizontal values are entered as X coordinates and the vertical values are entered as Y coordinates. The spreadsheet pictures shown in this exercise are from the Lathe module. We will start this shape from the arc that intersects the origin, and proceed around the part in a counter-clockwise direction, defining features as they are encountered along the path of the shape. Keep watching the prompts in this exercise because they will give a good indication of what is going on. Click on the Geometry Expert button to open the spreadsheet. Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the Counter- Clockwise Arc so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. The feature type can also be selected using keyboard shortcuts. Refer to the Shortcuts information card for specifics. Enter the radius value and centerpoint coordinates shown below. Enter the row. Current Row FANUC PLC Parts 99

106 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The tab key or the arrow keys move the cursor from one cell to another within any row. The mouse can also be used to change cells by clicking in the desired cell. Enter the angle value and line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row There are two possible points of intersection between the line and the circle, both of which are equally valid. When this is the case, the post targeting dialog, shown below, will appear on the screen. The post targeting dialog requires the user to select the desired intersection point. Once the correct point is selected on the screen, hitting the enter key or clicking on the OK button will create the appropriate intersection between the two features. Select the right hand point as shown. Click on the OK button or hit enter. The point that was selected will become a connector point (blue square) indicating that the circle and the line are now connected. You can now continue creating connected features in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. 100

107 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Your screen should look like the picture below. Enter the endpoint values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Delete the angle value. Enter the row. Current Row Notice the prompt. It explains how the line will be created although no data has been entered: This line will start at the last row end point and be tangent to the next circle. Although this line contains no data other than the feature type, following features will provide the system with the required information to define and draw this line. It will not be drawn on the screen until all necessary information is entered. This is an example of a floating feature. A floating feature row will be highlighted in yellow indicating that it can be entered as is, without the user adding more information. FANUC PLC Parts 101

108 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK If the current row and the previous rows do not contain enough information to define and draw the feature, the feature is referred to as a floating feature. Floating features depend on information entered in following rows of the spreadsheet in order to be fully defined and drawn. The next row s feature type will default to an arc. This is due to the fact that the system cannot calculate the position of the previous floating line without a circle tangency. When a line is not a possible feature type, the system will default to an arc. Enter the radius value and centerpoint coordinates shown below. Enter the row. Current Row When this arc is entered, the previous line and the arc are drawn on the screen. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. 102

109 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the angle value and the end point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row A half end point is valid in this case. As the prompt indicates, the system will calculate the other endpoint coordinate with the information it has and draw the end point on the screen. An end point is necessary on this line because the following arc is not tangent to this line. Anytime a circle is not tangent to the preceding feature, it needs a start point. A start point is given by entering an endpoint for the preceding feature. Also, it is important that the angle value entered indicate the proper vector direction of the line because the next feature is an arc. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the feature type button and drag the cursor to the the Clockwise Arc (fourth option) so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. Enter the radius value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row FANUC PLC Parts 103

110 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK This is another example of a floating feature, this time a circle. The circle will be drawn once we define the next feature. The system uses the information from the previous row, in this case the end point, and the information from the following row, which will provide a tangency point, to draw the arc. Enter the line angle and line point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the angle and line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Close Shape feature type. 104

111 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Again there are two possible intersection points, so the system will ask you to select which intersection point should be used. There is an option in the Edit menu which allows you to change the intersection point chosen in a post targeting dialog, once the connection has been made. This Edit menu item toggles between Use Intersection #1 and Use Intersection #2. Select the right point at the origin as shown. Click on the OK button in the post targeting dialog or hit the enter key. Your final shape should look like the picture shown below. Depress the size box in the bottom right corner of the spread sheet and drag the cursor down to extend the spreadsheet so that all rows are visible. You may need to move the spreadsheet to the top of the screen so that there is enough room to extend it down. To move the spreadsheet, move the cursor to the title bar so it changes to the mover tool. Click on the mouse button, and drag the dotted outline of the spreadsheet to the desired location. Then let go of the mouse button. FANUC PLC Parts 105

112 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click in in the radius cell of the fifth row of the spreadsheet that defines C2 (the arc with a 0.5 radius. ) Notice that the row becomes highlighted and is the current row. Also, the arc that is defined by this row is now selected on screen. Change the radius value to 0.4 and hit the enter key. The system will automatically adjust the radius while maintaining the correct connections to the preceding and following features. You can change other features in the same manner and the system will attempt to adjust the features and maintain the proper connections. Error balloons will appear if the changes cannot be made. EXERCISE #4:LATHE TUTORIAL Make sure that you save this file in a place where you can easily access it, because it will be used in the machining tutorial found in the Lathe module manual. This part is also created in the Free Form CAD Exercises. Refer to Part Print #4 : Lathe Tutorial for this exercise. Create a lathe file and enter the stock values shown below. 106

113 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Select Diameter for the X Dimension Style. Open the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Chamfer feature type and enter the length value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Chamfers are not drawn on the screen until the preceding and following features are fully connected. Therefore, this chamfer will not be drawn until we close this shape at the end of the exercise. Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row FANUC PLC Parts 107

114 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the angle and the line point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the Fillet feature type and enter the radius value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Fillets are similar to chamfers in that they are not drawn on the screen until the preceding and following features are fully connected. Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Fillet feature type. Enter the row. Current Row 108

115 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t The radius value will default to the previous value entered for a fillet. Enter the angle and the line point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Notice that both fillets have been drawn because the preceding and following features are fully connected. Enter the angle and line point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Fillet feature type. Enter the row. Current Row FANUC PLC Parts 109

116 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the angle and line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Fillet feature type. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the angle and the line point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Now, we will create the geometry for the O-ring. Dimensions for the O-ring groove are provided in the detail of the part print. 110

117 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the angle and the line point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Fillet feature type and enter the radius value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the angle and the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Fillet feature type. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the angle and the line point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row FANUC PLC Parts 111

118 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Fillet feature type and enter the radius value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the angle and the line point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row 112

119 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the Fillet feature type. Enter the row. Current Row Enter the end point values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row This line must be defined with an endpoint because the next feature is an arc that requires a start point. Anytime an arc is not tangent to the previous line, the arc needs to have a start point. A start point is created by defining an end point on the previous feature. Notice that when a line is created with an endpoint, the line is trimmed and a terminator point is created. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. FANUC PLC Parts 113

120 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the Clockwise arc feature type and enter the radius value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Notice the prompt. It states that this row will create a circle that will start at the last row s endpoint. Enter the angle and line point value shown below. Current Row An angle value of 0 must be entered for this line because it is connected to an arc, and we must indicate to the system the proper direction of the line. Up until this point, it has not been necessary to worry about the direction of the lines we have been creating. Line direction is determined by the angle value. For example, an angle value of 180 or 0 will create a horizontal line. However, they will travel in the opposite direction. It is important to check the line angle for the correct direction if the line is connected to an arc, as it is in this case. Close the shape by selecting the Close Shape feature type. Current Row The finished shape should look like the picture shown below. Notice that the chamfer we created at the beginning has been drawn because the lines it is between are now fully connected. 114

121 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t EXERCISE #5:DOODLE In this exercise, we will create a rough sketch of the part geometry using the mouse line tool which creates connected shapes with the mouse. Then, we will load that rough shape into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet and adjust the dimensions. Refer to Part Print #5: Doodle for this exercise. Again this part can be done with either the Mill or Lathe module. We have done it using the Lathe module. Create a new part file and enter the stock values for the part. Make sure that you select Diameter for the X Dimension Style if you are creating a lathe part so the pictures will match. Open the Geometry Creation Palette. Click on the Line button. Click on the Mouse Line button. The Mouse Line dialog will come up on the screen as shown below. The Mouse line button allows the user to create connected shapes by dragging lines using the mouse. Points will be made wherever you click on the screen with the mouse button. Connected lines are created between these points. FANUC We will start sketching PLC the part from the horizontal Parts line at Z = Don t worry too much about the coordinates shown in the Mouse Line dialog, the dimensions will be adjusted using the Geometry 115

122 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Expert spreadsheet. Keep in mind that the sketch you create will vary from the pictures that are shown. The screen shots are intended to give you a rough idea of what the part should look like. Do NOT draw the chamfer on the part. We will insert that in the spreadsheet. Click near the location of point 1. Drag the mouse upward and then click near the location of point 2. Drag the mouse to the left and click near the location of point 3. Drag the mouse upward and to the left, click near the location of point 4. Follow the part print and continue around the part. This should be a very quick process because you do not need to worry about the coordinates and dimensions. You only need to approximate the correct shape and make sure that you have the correct number of features (excluding the chamfer). Your should look similar to the picture shown below. 116

123 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Open the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. Once the spreadsheet is open on the screen, any shape can be loaded into Geometry Expert by double clicking anywhere on the shape. Double click on the far left line which should have been the first line you created using the Mouse Tool. (vertical line at approximately Z = -6.25) All connected features will be loaded into the spreadsheet with dimension values. The first feature listed in the spreadsheet will be the feature that you clicked on to load the shape. All the other features will be listed in creation order from that first feature. Use the scroll bar and arrows on the right side of the spread sheet to scroll to the top of the spreadsheet. If you selected the line shown above, the first feature in the spreadsheet should be a line with an angle close to 90 around Z = If your reference numbers don t exactly match those shown in the pictures, don t worry about it. Click in one of the cells in the first row, so that it becomes the current row. Notice that the feature defined by the current row becomes selected on the screen. Change the angle value, if necessary, to 90 and the line point Z value to Enter the row. Current Row The row can either be entered by hitting the enter or return keys, or FANUC moving to another row PLC in the spreadsheet using Parts the arrow keys or the mouse. 117

124 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK When you hit the enter or return key, the feature on the screen will change according to the new dimensions entered, and the current row will remain the same. To move down to the next row in the spreadsheet you must use the arrow keys or click the cursor in a cell of another row. The enter and return keys only move down to the next row when creating new rows. When you go to another row in the spreadsheet after making changes using the arrow keys or the cursor, the system will change the feature and change the current row. On some systems, you may need to turn num lock off in order to use the arrow keys on the keypad. Once in the next row, change the angle value, if necessary, to 0 and the line point Xd value to Enter the row. Current Row We will continue to adjust the part dimensions in this manner. Go from row to row, entering dimensions as they are found on the part blueprint. Make sure that the current row selects the correct feature on the screen. You should be able to see the features change to the correct dimensions as you go along. Remember that you will need to manually move to the next row in the spreadsheet by either using the arrow keys or the mouse. Another way to adjust feature information is to select the feature on the screen that you want to change. When you select the feature, the row in the spreadsheet that defines that feature will become the current row. Feature information can be changed in this manner as well. The first ten rows of the spreadsheet should contain the values shown below. 118

125 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t The left half of your part should start to look like the part print. Because of the existing connections and locations of geometry, when you make some of the adjustments it may look like something has gone wrong; the features and overall shape may not look the way it should. Don t worry, keep going through and changing the dimensions and Geometry Expert will adjust the shape correctly. Your screen should look similar to the picture shown below. Notice that one of the angled lines is not connected correctly. That will be fixed as we change the following rows to the correct dimensions. Remember that you need to use the mouse or the arrow keys to move up and down through the rows of the spreadsheet. The last ten rows of the spreadsheet should look like the picture shown below. Notice that the close shape row is already in the spreadsheet. It was entered in the spreadsheet when we loaded the shape because it was a closed shape. FANUC PLC Parts 119

126 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Once all of the rows have been adjusted your shape should look like the picture shown below. Now, we will insert a row in the spreadsheet to create the chamfer. The Edit menu contains options for inserting and deleting rows in Geometry Expert. Select the line at Z = 0, as shown. Current Row When you select the line on the screen, the row that defines that line will become the current row in the spread sheet. When you insert a row, the new row gets placed above the current row in the spreadsheet. Select the Insert row option under the Edit menu. A row with no information other than the feature type, which is a line, will be inserted in the spreadsheet above the current row. Notice the new row is now the current row. 120

127 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Current Row Select the Chamfer feature type and enter the length value shown below in the inserted row. Enter the row. Current Row The chamfer will immediately be drawn because it is being created at the intersection of two features that have already been connected. When rows are inserted in the spreadsheet, the system will scan the shape and attempt to incorporate the feature into the connected shape maintaining all of the necessary intersections and tangencies. If this is not possible, the system will produce error balloons. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Try sketching any shape and adjusting the dimensions. If any problems occur, the error balloons and prompting information should FANUC indicate what needs to PLC be done. Parts 121

128 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK EXERCISE#6: BELL CRANK In this exercise, we will create a simple shape composed of arcs and lines. Geometry Expert takes care of the connecting intersecting features. The part print for this exercise is provided at the end of this section. Launch the system. The Operating Systems Appendix provides specific instructions on launching the system. Click on the Document Control button in the Top Level palette. When the Document Control button is depressed, the Document Control dialog will appear on the screen. This dialog contains file management options, as well as general information about the part, stock measurements and clearance positioning. Click on the New button. 122

129 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t The Save dialog, shown below, will appear on the screen. Type exercise in the New File Name box. Click on the Save button. When you save files you want to make sure that you are saving them in the appropriate location on your hard drive. You may need to change drives and/or directories or folders in order to save the file in the desired place. To change drives, Windows users click on the Drive button, Macintosh users on the Desktop button, in the Save OS dialog shown above. To change directories or folders, double click on the name of the directory/folder in the current list. The pop-up menu above the list displays the name of the current directory/folder and allows you to access lower level directories/folders. Select mm for the measurement type. Enter the stock values shown below. The stock values entered are slightly larger than the part dimensions FANUC so that we can see all PLC of the geometry within Parts the stock outline. 123

130 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Type This is a sample part in the Comment text box. If a comment is entered in this text box, it will appear in the Open dialog when this part is selected. Because we are only creating part geometry in this exercise, the clearance and tool change positioning information does not matter. When all the information about the part has been entered, close this dialog. The information contained in it may be changed at any time, simply by clicking on the Document Control button and entering the new information. Close the Document Control dialog by clicking twice in the close box in the upper left hand corner of the dialog. 124

131 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t A stock outline is drawn with a + that signifies the origin of the part which is located at X0, Y0. Your screen should now look like the picture shown below. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. The Geometry Creation palette will come up on the screen. Click on the Geometry Expert button in the Geometry Creation palette. Current Row We will begin creating the shape by choosing a feature and walking around the part in a counter-clockwise direction creating the shape feature by feature. The feature we will start with is the vertical line at Y0. FANUC PLC Parts 125

132 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row When defining either horizontal or vertical lines, it is only necessary to enter a half point for the line point. Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. When the row is entered, the line is drawn on the screen and the current row of the spreadsheet moves down one. The second feature row has a line selected for the feature type and the angle is 180. The system angle defaults toggle between 0 /180 and 90 /270, and places the cursor in the appropriate cell. Click on the Feature Type button and drag the cursor to the Fillet feature type (3rd button) so that it becomes depressed. Release the mouse button. The feature type can also be selected using keyboard shortcuts. Refer to the Shortcuts Appendix for specific information on using the keyboard shortcuts. 126

133 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Enter the radius value shown below. Current Row Only a radius value is required when creating fillets. Therefore, the other cells in the row are grayed out. Hit the enter or return key. Nothing is drawn on the screen, although the fillet is now entered in the spreadsheet. Fillets and chamfers are not drawn on the screen until the two features they exist between are fully connected. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Notice that the line angle toggled to 180. Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. FANUC PLC Parts 127

134 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the Fillet feature type and enter the radius value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the line point value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Notice the horizontal line turns blue and trims because it now has two connector points. Select the Fillet feature type and enter the radius value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 128

135 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Again there is no change on the screen, but the fillets will be drawn when the lines become trimmed and connected. If the Geometry Expert spreadsheet is closed before fillets and chamfers have been drawn on the screen, they will be lost. Any rows in the spreadsheet that contain information for features that have not been created (eg. fillets, chamfers, floating features) will not be maintained when the spreadsheet is closed. Enter the end point coordinates shown below. Current Row The tab key or the arrow keys move the cursor from one cell to another within any row. The mouse can also be used to change cells by clicking in the desired cell. It is necessary to enter an end point for this line because the following arc is not tangent to this line. Anytime an arc is not tangent to the preceding feature, it needs a start point. A start point is specified by entering an endpoint for the preceding feature. Hit the enter or return key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. FANUC PLC Parts 129

136 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Two of the fillets have now been drawn, and the line defined with an endpoint is trimmed. Once a feature has been drawn on the screen, a reference number is assigned and entered in the Ref cell of the spreadsheet. Select the Clockwise Arc feature type and enter the radius value shown below. Current Row Notice the prompting information at the bottom of the spreadsheet. It states that the circle will start at the last row s end point and be tangent to the next feature, therefore only a radius value needs to be entered. We had to use an arc feature type rather than a fillet because this arc is not tangent to the preceding and following lines. Hit the enter or return key. Because the arc is dependent on the following line for a tangency point, it will not be drawn on the screen until the following line is defined. Enter the endpoint and angle value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. 130

137 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Select the Clockwise Arc feature type and enter the radius value shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Enter the angle and line point values shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 131

138 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the Close Shape feature type. The Close Shape feature type connects the first feature and the last feature at their point of intersection or tangency by creating a connector point. No information other than the feature type needs to be entered, and therefore all the cells in a Close Shape feature row are grayed out. Closing the shape will usually be the final step when creating a shape using Geometry Expert. Notice the fillet we created at the beginning of the exercise has now been drawn. Our shape is now closed, however, we forgot to create the fillet between the first and last feature. We will add this fillet by inserting a row in the spreadsheet. The Edit menu contains items for inserting and deleting rows from the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. 132

139 GFK G e o m e t r y E x p e r t Select the Insert Row item from the Edit menu. Current Row A blank feature row will be added to the spreadsheet above the current row. The inserted row is now the current row. Select the Fillet feature type. The radius value for the fillet will default to the previous radius entered for a fillet. Therefore, it is not necessary to enter a radius value. Current Row The fillet will be drawn immediately because it is being created between two fully connected features. When rows are added to the spreadsheet, the system will scan the existing shape and attempt to incorporate the inserted feature into the connected shape while maintaining all intersections and tangencies. If this is not possible the system will produce an error message alerting the user. Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 133

140 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The shape is now complete and fully connected and should look like the picture shown below. 134

141 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D CHAPTER 6 : Free Form CAD The exercises in this chapter use the Free Form CAD tools contained in the Geometry Creation palette. Exercises 1, 2, and 5 are done using the Mill module, while Exercises 3 and 4 are done using the Lathe module. Again, because these exercises only deal with geometry creation, and not machining, they can be done using either module with simple adjustments to the stock size. EXERCISE #1:SHAPES AND CONNECTORS The first exercise creates a very simple shape to give you an idea of how the free form CAD tools create geometry and how geometry is connected. Click on the Document Control button in the Top Level palette. The Document Control dialog will come up on the screen. This dialog and its functionality will be explained in Exercise #2 : Mill Tutorial and Exercise #3 : Lathe Tutorial that follow in this chapter. Click on the New button. Type Shapes in the New File Name box. Click on the Save button. Click on the Machine Type pop-up menu. Drag the cursor until 3 Axis Vertical Mill is highlighted, then release the mouse button. FANUC PLC Parts 135

142 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter Stock values shown below. Close the Document Control dialog by clicking twice in the close box in the upper left hand corner. Because no machining processes will be applied to the shape created in this exercise, the stock and clearance values input into this dialog are merely to provide a stock outline to contain the shape we will create. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. The Geometry Creation palette will appear on the screen, as shown below. All part geometry is created using this palette. Click on the Line button. The Line sub-palette will appear on the screen. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Vertical Line button. 136

143 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Enter the values shown below. Click on the Multiple Line button. Clicking on this button will create the line specified, and will allow you to continue creating lines using the Parallel to Axis method, without returning to the Geometry Creation palette. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Horizontal Line button. Enter the values shown below. Click on the Single Line button. FANUC PLC Parts 137

144 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Circle button. The Circle sub-palette will appear on the screen. Select the two lines shown. Enter radius value shown below. (R = 0.5) Click on the Single Circle button. All possible circle tangencies will be drawn to allow the user to select whichever circles are necessary to create the required part geometry. If more than one feature is selected, no automatic connection will occur. 138

145 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the upper right-hand circle as shown. Once the desired feature has been selected, the OK button becomes black indicating that it is now an active option and can be selected. Click on the OK button. When the OK button is depressed, the circle trims and becomes a connected arc. The lines are yellow and untrimmed because they each only have one connector. The points created at the intersection of the lines and the arc are graphically shown as blue squares rather than yellow circles. The blue squares are connector points. FANUC PLC Parts 139

146 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Connector points are needed to machine a cut shape because they indicate the next feature the tool will cut on. In this case, connector points were created because the arc was defined by selecting two lines with which it should be tangent. The system will create connector points (blue squares) rather than plain points (yellow circles) whenever possible. Connectors are made when points are created at the intersection or point of tangency between two features, providing those features do not already have two connectors. However, because this is not always possible, plain points can be changed into connector points, and connector points can be changed into plain points. Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. Enter values shown below. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Point-Angle button. 140

147 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Select the point in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Enter angle value shown below. (A = 15) Click on the Multiple Lines button. Enter angle value shown below. (A = 100) Click on the Single Line button. FANUC PLC Parts 141

148 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK In this case, it was necessary to create the point prior to creating the lines because the point was needed to define the lines. Consequently, it was not possible to have the system automatically create a connector point at the intersection or tangency of two existing features. Therefore, we will manually change the plain point at the intersection of the horizontal and angled lines into a connector point. Select the point shown. Then with the shift key depressed, select the lines that intersect at that point. In order to manually create connector points using the Connect- Disconnect button, two features and a point must be selected. To disconnect or break a connection, only the point needs to be selected. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. The point becomes a blue square indicating that it is now connector point. Neither of the lines that intersect at that point trim because each only has one connector point. Click off the part to deselect geometry highlighted as a result of the connecting process. Click on the Point button. Select the two lines shown. Once the Point button has been depressed, we can select two features, in this case two lines, without depressing a button in the Point sub-palette. When the lines are selected a geometry dialog, shown below, will come up allowing for the creation of a point at the intersection of the two lines selected. Click on the Multiple Points button. 142

149 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Your screen should look like the picture shown below. The system created a connector because the point was defined by choosing two intersecting features (lines). The lines become blue and trim because they now have two connector points. Select the two lines shown. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Circle button. FANUC PLC Parts 143

150 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Centerpoint-Radius button. Select the point in the upper right corner of the screen, as shown. Enter radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. The circle is yellow and untrimmed because the lines that it intersects with already have two connector points. We want this circle to be the corner of our shape. Therefore, the point at the intersection of the lines (and the center of the circle) must be disconnected. Select the point at the center of the circle, as shown. To disconnect or break connections, only the point needs to be selected. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. The point changes back to a yellow circle. The lines also change to yellow and are no longer trimmed. 144

151 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Point button. Select the line and circle shown. Click on the Single Point button. All possible points that intersect the selected features will be drawn so that the user can select whichever points are necessary for the part. One or both of the points may be selected to be incorporated into the geometry for the part. Select the left point, as shown. Click on the OK button. FANUC PLC Parts 145

152 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The point drawn is a connector, and the top line becomes blue and trims. Click on the Point button. Select the line and circle shown. Click on the Single Point button. Again, the two possible intersections points are drawn. You can select either or both, to be part of the shape. Select the bottom point, as shown. Click on the OK button. 146

153 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Again, the point drawn is a connector, and the right line becomes blue and trims. The circle trims to a short arc when it gets its second connector point. All circles trim to an arc of less than 180 when they have two connector points. In this case, we want the arc that is greater than 180 so we will use the Reverse Arc option in the Modify Menu. Select the arc, as shown. Select Reverse Arc under the Modify menu. The desired arc is drawn on the screen as shown in the picture below. FANUC PLC Parts 147

154 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK There is a third type of point called a terminator. A terminator is graphically shown as a yellow square. A terminator is a similar to a connector point in that it connects a feature to itself. Terminators are useful in finishing an open shape. Select the arc shown. Click on the Wastecan button. The arc disappears. Its two connector points become plain points. We will change these plain points into terminators to complete the open shape. The two lines turn yellow and become untrimmed because they currently have only one connector each. Select the point shown. Then with the shift key depressed, select the line that intersects the point. In order to create terminators, a point and the feature that goes through that point must be selected. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. 148

155 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D The point becomes a yellow square signifying a terminator point. The line turns blue and trims to signify it is fully connected. We will repeat this procedure on the other point and line. Select the point shown. Then with the shift key depressed, select the line that intersects the point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. You now have a fully trimmed open shape. Terminating the end points of an open shape is recommended because you will get a clear geometry contour, automatic segment connection with the Duplicate And... option in the Modify menu, and easily selectable defaults for the start point and end point when machining. FANUC PLC Parts 149

156 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK EXERCISE # 2:MILL TUTORIAL This exercise creates the geometry for the part we will machine in the tutorial of the Mill module manual. If you do not have the Mill module, Exercise #3 creates the geometry for the lathe tutorial part. Launch the system. Refer to the Operating Systems Appendix for specific instructions on launching the system. Refer to Part Print #6 : Mill Tutorial. Click on the Document Control button in the Top Level palette. The Document Control button appears depressed to indicate that the Document Control dialog is open. Upon selection, the Document Control dialog comes up on the screen. It contains general information on the part, such as machine type, stock measurements, and material information. Click on the New button. Type Mill tut in the New File Name text box. 150

157 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D The name at the top of the dialog is the current folder or directory where the file will be saved. The available lower level folders or directories are contained in the list below the current folder/directory name. To select a lower level folder/directory to be the current one, simply click on it in the list. When the current folder/directory is set to the folder/directory in which you want to save the file, click on the Save button. Once the current folder/directory is selected it will be saved as the default setting. Make sure you save this file somewhere that you can easily access it again, because it will be used in the machining tutorial found in the Mill module manual. Click on the Save button. Click on the Machine Type pop-up menu. Drag the cursor until 3 Axis Vertical Mill is highlighted, then release the mouse button. Select the inch option for the measurement type. Enter the values for the stock size. The stock size values only affect how the geometry of the part is shown on the screen. We will set the stock dimensions slightly larger than the part geometry, FANUC PLC so that all the geometry Parts will appear inside the stock outline, rather than on the edges. 151

158 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Type This is a sample part in the Comment box. If a part comment is entered, it will appear in the Open dialog when the part is selected. The Document Control dialog should look like the picture shown below. When all the information about the part has been entered, close this dialog. The information contained in it may be changed at any time during part creation by simply clicking on the Document Control button and entering the new information. Close this dialog by clicking twice on the small square in the hand corner of the dialog. upper left The preferred process to create the geometry for a particular part is to choose a starting location and work in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction around the part. By using this method, features will become connected at the first opportunity which simplifies geometry creation. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. 152

159 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Depressing this button will bring up the Geometry Creation palette, as shown below. All part geometry is created using this palette. Click on the Point button. Another way to activate the Point button is by typing 1 on the keyboard. In any of the geometry palettes, typing in the locational number of the button will produce the same result as clicking on the button. The Point sub-palette will be displayed. Click on the XYZ button Enter the coordinate values shown below. The tab key on the keyboard moves the cursor from one text box to the next within any dialog. When the field is highlighted, it is active and values can be entered and changed. Also double clicking in any particular field allows values to be entered. FANUC PLC Parts Click on the Multiple Points button. 153

160 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The Multiple Points button allows the user to continue creating lines using the XYZ coordinate method. Clicking on the Single Point button would create the exact same point, and return the user to the Geometry Creation palette. Enter the coordinate values shown below. Click on the Multiple Points button. Enter the coordinate values shown below. Click on the Multiple Points button. Enter the coordinate values shown below. Click on the Multiple Points button. Enter the coordinate values shown below. 154

161 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D The P text box in Point geometry dialogs displays a label when a point is selected while the appropriate modifier key (Alt, Command, or Control, depending on the platform) is depressed. Refer to the Shortcuts information card for specifics on the modifier key. The coordinates of the point are also shown. If the cursor is in the Z text box, only the Z coordinate is given. If the cursor is in the Xd text box, only the Xd coordinate is given. If the cursor is in the P text box, both coordinates are given. Click on the Single Point button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. We will now create circles around each of the points. Click on the Circle button. The Circle sub-palette, shown below, will be displayed. FANUC PLC Parts Click on the Centerpoint Radius button. 155

162 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the point at the origin, as shown. Enter the radius value shown below. The CP text box displays a label identifying the point selected to be the centerpoint of the circle. The system assigns a label to all geometry created. Geometry is defined by a letter, P-point, C-circle, L- line and a number indicating the order of creation. These labels are displayed when the labels option in the View menu is selected. Many geometry dialogs display the label(s) of selected geometry. Select Labels under the View menu. All the points created are labeled. Labels can be turned on anytime without affecting geometry creation, and are especially helpful if you encounter any connection problems. Turn Labels off by selecting it again under the View menu. 156

163 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Multiple Circles button. This button functions the same as the Multiple Points button. Depressing it allows you to create more than one circle using the current definition method. In this case, selecting an existing point to act as the centerpoint, and then entering a radius value. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the point shown. (X = -3, Y = 0, Z = 0) Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Multiple Circles button. FANUC PLC Parts 157

164 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the point shown. (X = -3, Y = -2, Z = 0) The radius is the same for the next three circles, so there is no need to change the value. Click on the Multiple Circles button. Select the point shown. (X = 3, Y = -2, Z = 0 ) Click on the Multiple Circles button. 158

165 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Select the point shown. (X = 3, Y = 2, Z = 0) Click on the Single Circle button. Whenever a feature (line or circle) needs to be created tangent or intersecting two features and/or points previously drawn on the screen, it is not necessary to enter any locational data. Click on the Line button. The Line sub-palette will be displayed. FANUC PLC Parts 159

166 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the two circles shown. A Geometry dialog will appear which contains text boxes that label the features selected. The order of the information in the text boxes is determined by the order the selections were made. Therefore, what appears on your screen may be slightly different than what is shown below. Click on the Single Line button. If two features and/or points are selected before the Point, Line, or Circle button is depressed, the appropriate subpalette will be skipped, and a dialog providing for the creation of the selected feature or point will appear instead. The same dialog will automatically appear if two features and/or points are selected once the Point, Line, or Circle button has been depressed, without selecting one of the options in the sub-palette. Refer to the Geometry Creation Chapter for more information. 160

167 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Your screen should look like the picture shown below. All possible line tangencies between the two circles selected are drawn. The system displays all possible choices so that the user can select any that are necessary for the part. When one or more of the features are selected, the OK button in the box shown below will turn black to indicate that it is an active choice. Select the line shown. Click on the OK button. FANUC PLC Parts 161

168 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK You will notice that the line is blue and only drawn between its tangent points on the two circles. This indicates the the line is connected between two features. The points are connectors, graphically shown as blue squares, rather than yellow dots. The system will make connector points whenever possible. Click on the Circle button. Select the two circles shown. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. All possible circle tangencies between the two circles selected will be drawn so that the user can select any that are necessary for the part. 162 In order to clearly see the circle to be selected, we will zoom in on the area around the smaller circle. To zoom in on an area, make a rectangle with the cursor by depressing the mouse button and dragging the dotted white rectangle around the area you wish to zoom in on.

169 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Drag a rectangle around the area around the small circle to zoom in on it. Select the circle shown. Click on the OK button. Click on the View Control button. Depressing this button brings up the View Control palette, also referred to as the Trackball. It has buttons around the center ball which will change the view. It also contains an Unzoom button, which will redraw the screen at its original scale. Click on the Unzoom button. Click on the View Control button again. Clicking on this button again will put away the trackball. Like other palettes, it can be left on the screen or put away at any time. We have chosen to keep the screen as uncluttered as possible. FANUC PLC Parts 163

170 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Your screen should look like the picture shown below. You will notice that the 4" radius circle and the 2" radius circle are both blue and drawn only between their connector points. Click on the Circle button. Click on the Centerpoint Radius button. Select the point shown. (X = -3, Y = -2, Z = 0) Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. 164

171 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Your screen should look like the picture shown below. While holding down the shift key, select the point and circle shown. In order to select more than one feature, the shift key must be depressed while clicking on the features. The shift key turns on the multiple selection capabilities. When the shift key is depressed, the cursor changes from black to white to indicate that multiple selection is activated. When creating geometry, you can click on the Point, Line or Circle button and then click on the appropriate features. This is the method we will use throughout the majority of this tutorial. Another option, explained here, is to select the two features needed, and then click on the Point, Line or Circle button. Click on the Line button. A dialog providing for the creation of a line between the point and circle selected will come up. FANUC PLC Parts Click on the Single Line button. 165

172 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the left line, as shown. Click on the OK button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel Line button. Select the line shown. Enter the distance value shown below. Click on the Single Line button. 166

173 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D The two possible lines that adhere to the specifications entered will appear on the screen. The user can select one or both of the lines. Select the left line as shown. Click on the OK button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Point button. FANUC Select the line and circle PLC shown. Parts 167

174 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Single Point button. The two points that intersect the selected features will be drawn so that the user can select whichever points are necessary for the part. One or both of the points may be selected to be incorporated into the geometry for the part. Select the bottom point as shown. Click on the OK button. The circle will trim to an arc and become blue because it now has two connector points. Click on the Point button. Click on the line and circle shown. 168

175 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Single Point button. Select the arc shown. Select Duplicate under the Modify menu. The Duplicate option will redraw the geometry selected in the same location it had been drawn before. The 2" radius circle, previously drawn and connected, is needed again to draw the bottom half of the part. It is important when one feature needs to be connected in two different locations, that it be fully connected (have two connector points) in the first location before drawing and connecting the feature in the second location. FANUC PLC Parts 169

176 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Line button. Select the two circles shown. Click on the Single Line button. Select the line shown. 170

177 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the OK button. Click on the Circle button. Click on the two circles shown. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. FANUC PLC Parts 171

178 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the bottom circle, as shown. Click on the OK button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Line button. 172

179 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Select the two points shown. Click on the Single Line button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Point button. Select the line and circle shown. Click on the Single Point button. Select the point shown. FANUC PLC Parts 173

180 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the OK button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the arc shown. Whenever a circle is connected, the arc that will be drawn will be the one that is less than 180. This is the side of the circle most frequently needed in the creation of geometry. In this particular case, we want the arc greater than 180 so we will use the Reverse Arc option under the Modify menu. Select Reverse Arc under the Modify menu. 174

181 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Anytime you do not want a feature(s) highlighted, click in any empty area in the drawing window. Click off the part geometry to deselect the arc. Click on the Circle button. Select the line and circle shown. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. Select the bottom right circle, as shown. FANUC PLC Parts 175

182 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the OK button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Double click on the geometry shown. Whenever you double click on a feature that is connected to other features, all the connected features will become selected. Click on the wastecan. The selected geometry will be thrown away. The outside portion of the geometry is now complete. The only thing that remains is to create the geometry for the center boss. Click on the Point button. Click on the Polar Point button. Select the point at the origin, as shown. Enter the distance and angle values shown below. 176

183 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Angle values follow the standard Cartesian coordinate system, as shown below. Negative values are acceptable as input. (-270 ) (-180 ) (-90 ) Click on the Single Point button. This creates a point one inch from the selected point at an angle of 15, as shown below. Click on the Circle button. FANUC PLC Parts Click on the Centerpoint-Radius button. 177

184 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the point at the origin, as shown. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Multiple Circles button. Select the point shown. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. 178

185 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Line button. Select the two circles shown. Click on the Single Line button. Select the two outside lines, as shown. FANUC PLC Parts 179

186 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the OK button. Select the arc shown. Select Reverse Arc under the Modify menu. The geometry for this part is now complete. Make sure that you save this on your computer somewhere it can be easily accessed. We will machine this part in the Mill module manual. 180

187 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D EXERCISE #3:LATHE TUTORIAL This exercise creates the geometry for the part we will machine in the tutorial of the Lathe module manual. If you don t have the lathe module, the geometry creation for the mill tutorial is outlined in the previous exercise. Launch the system. Refer to the Operating Systems Appendix for specific instructions on launching the system. Refer to Part Print #4 : Lathe Tutorial. Click on the Document Control button in the Top Level palette. The Document Control button appears depressed to indicate that it is in use. Upon selection, the Document Control dialog shown on the following page, will come up which contains general information on the part, such as machine type, stock measurements, and material information. Click on the New button. Type LatheTut in the New File Name text box. FANUC PLC Parts 181

188 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The name at the top of the dialog is the current folder or directory where the file will be saved. The available lower level folders or directories are contained in the list below the current folder/directory name. To select a lower level folder/directory to be the current one, simply click on it in the list. When the current folder/directory is set to the folder/directory in which you want to save the file, click on the Save button. Once the current folder/directory is selected, it will be saved as the default setting. Make sure you save this file somewhere that you can easily access it again, because it will be used in the machining tutorial found in the Lathe module manual. Click on the Save button. Click on the Machine Type pop-up menu. Drag the cursor until 2A Lathe- 1.0 Shank is highlighted, then release the mouse button. Select the inch option for the measurement type. Enter the values for the stock size and clearance planes, shown below. The stock size will be used to draw the stock outline and origin marker on the screen. Also, when machining parts using the Lathe module, the system will use the stock size dimensions to calculate tool moves when the Auto Clearance and/or Material Only options are used. These options will be described in the Lathe module manual. 182

189 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Select the Diameter option for the X Dimension style. Type This is a sample part in the Comment box. The part comment, if one is entered, will appear in the Open dialog when the part is selected. The Document Control dialog should look like the picture shown below. The Clearance options and Tool Change positioning will be described in the tutorial contained in the Lathe module manual. When all the information about the part has been entered, close this dialog. This information may be changed (edited) at any time by clicking on the Document Control button and entering the new information. Close this dialog by clicking twice on the small square in the upper left hand corner of the dialog. Typically, the best way to create part geometry is to choose a starting location and work in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction around the part. By using this method, features will become FANUC connected at the first PLC opportunity simplifying Parts geometry creation. In this particular example, we will begin in the lower right hand corner, and proceed in a counter clockwise direction. Turning parts are symmetrical about the X axis. Therefore, the sys- 183

190 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK tem only requires you to draw the top side of the part. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. Depressing this button will bring up the Geometry Creation palette, shown below. All part geometry is created using this palette. Click on the Point button. Another way to activate the Point button is by typing 1 on the keyboard. In any of the geometry palettes, typing in the locational number of the button will produce the same result as clicking on the button. The Point sub-palette will be displayed. Click on the XYZ button Enter the values shown below. (Z = 0, Xd = 1.6) 184

191 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D The tab button moves the cursor from one text box to the next within any dialog. When the field is highlighted, it is active and values can be entered and changed. Also double clicking in any particular field allows values to be entered. Click on the Single Point button. The Single Point button should already be highlighted (shown in yellow) to indicate that it is the active choice. When the desired selection is highlighted, instead of clicking on the button, simply hit the enter or return key on the keyboard and that function will be performed. The point defined will be drawn on the screen. Also, clicking on this button will return you to the Geometry Creation palette. Your screen should now look like the picture below. Click on the Line button. The Line sub-palette will be displayed. FANUC PLC Parts 185

192 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Vertical Line button. The button will appear depressed to show that it is the selected choice. Enter the value shown below. (Z = 0) Click on the Multiple Lines button. The Multiple Lines button allows the user to continue creating lines using the Parallel to Axis method. Clicking on the Single Line button would create the exact same line, but return the user to the Geometry Creation palette. Click on the Horizontal Line button. Enter value shown below. (Xd = 2.25) Click on the Single Line button. 186

193 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Now, we will use the Point button to create a connector at the intersection of these two lines. Connectors allow the tool to proceed from one geometric feature to another. While holding down the shift key, select the two lines shown. (Z = 0, Xd = 2.25) In order to select more than one feature, the shift key must be depressed while clicking on the features. The shift key turns on the multiple selection capabilities. When the shift key is depressed, the cursor changes from black to white to indicate that multiple selection is activated. When creating geometry, you can click on the Point, Line or Circle button and then click on the appropriate features. This is the method we will use throughout the majority of this tutorial. Another option, shown here, is to select the two features needed, and then click on the Point, Line or Circle button. Select Labels under the View menu. All of the geometry that has been created will be defined by a letter indicating the type of geometry, ie. P-point, C-circle, L-line, and a number indicating the creation order. FANUC PLC Parts 187

194 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Point button. A Geometry dialog will appear on the screen. The order of the information in the text boxes is determined by the order the lines were selected. Therefore, what appears on your screen may be slightly different than what is shown below. Click on the Single Point button. You will notice that the point you just created (P2) is a connector, graphically shown as a blue square, rather than a yellow dot. The system will make a connector point whenever possible. While the point is a connector, the line does not change from yellow to blue (blue being the connected shape color) because it does not yet have two connector points. Turn Labels off by selecting it again under the View menu. 188

195 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. Enter the values shown below. (Z = , Xd = 2.25) The P text box in Point geometry dialogs displays a label when a point is selected while the appropriate modifier key (Alt, Command, or Control, depending on the platform) is depressed. Refer to the Shortcuts information card for specifics on the modifier key. The coordinates of the point are also shown. If the cursor is in the Z text box, only the Z coordinate is given. If the cursor is in the Xd text box, only the Xd coordinate is given. If the cursor is in the P text box, both coordinates are given. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Point-Angle button. Select the point you just created. (Z = , Xd = 2.25) FANUC PLC Parts 189

196 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the angle value shown below. (A = 45) Click on the Single Line button. Your screen should now look like the picture below. Now using the Connect-Disconnect button, we will connect the two lines at the point where they intersect. In order to connect geometry, one point and two features must be selected. In this case, we will select the point at Z = -.975, Xd = 2.25, and the two lines that intersect at this point. When performing connections, it is good protocol to first click off the part to be sure that all geometry is deselected. Then, proceed to select the features you wish to connect. Select the point. Then, while holding down the shift key, select the lines that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click anywhere off the part geometry to deselect geometry highlighted by the connection process. The point will change to a blue square, and the line will become blue because it now has two connector points. 190

197 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Horizontal Line button. Enter value shown below. (Xd = 1.6) Click on the Single Line button. Your screen should look like the picture below. Click on the Point button. FANUC PLC Parts Click on the XYZ button. 191

198 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the values shown below. (Z = -2.2, Xd = 2.8) Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Point-Angle button. Select the point just created. (Z = -2.2, Xd = 2.8) Enter the angle value shown below. (A = -63) 192

199 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Angle values follow the standard Cartesian coordinate system, as shown below. Negative values are acceptable as input. (-270 ) (-180 ) (-90 ) Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. Select the two lines shown. (Xd = 1.6 and angled line) FANUC PLC Parts 193

200 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Multiple Points button. A connector point is created at the intersection, and the line becomes blue. Select the two lines shown. (Xd = 1.6 and angled line) Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. 194

201 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Enter the values shown below. (Z = -2.5, Xd = 2.8) Click on the Single Point button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Line button. Select the points shown. (Z = -2.2, Xd = 2.8 and Z = -2.5, Xd = 2.8) Click on the Single Line button. FANUC PLC Parts 195

202 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Now, we will connect the lines through the point at Z = -2.2, Xd = 2.8. Select the point. Then, with the shift key depressed, select the lines that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click off the part geometry. If problems are encountered with connections, for example, the point selected does not turn into a connector (blue square), a few problems may be at work. Make sure that no other geometry is selected on the screen except those necessary for the connection. Another possible problem is that there is overlapping geometry. To check if there are any overlapping features, turn on Labels in the View menu. When this item is turned on, every feature drawn on the screen will be labeled. Turning on Labels will produce a picture like the one shown below. In order to clearly read all of the labels, you may need to zoom in on the part. Zooming in on an area is accomplished by depressing the mouse button and dragging a rectangle around the area you wish to enlarge. 196

203 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Anywhere the label cannot be clearly read, there is more than one piece of geometry in the same location. If this is the case, click on the labeled geometry, and hit delete on the keyboard or click on the wastecan. Then perform a Redraw. This process deletes one piece of geometry. If the label is still unclear, repeat the process until the label can be clearly read. Click on the Line button. Click on the Point-Angle button. Select the point shown. (Z = -2.5, Xd = 2.8) Enter the angle value shown below. [A = (-90-24)] In this case, the value of 24 is used because we divided the angle FANUC value of 48 (shown on PLC part diagram) in half. Parts 197

204 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK All number input boxes will accept and perform mathematical functions. Hitting either the equal key or the tab key on the keyboard will display the final value. For a complete list of the functions and symbols accepted by the system. Refer to the Interface Chapter for more information. Click on the Single Line button. Now, we will connect the lines through the point at Z = -2.5, Xd = 2.8. Select the point. Then, with the shift key depressed, select the lines that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click off the part geometry. 198

205 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Horizontal Line button. Enter the value shown below. (Xd = 1) Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. Enter the values shown below. (Z = -3.8, Xd = 2.8) Click on the Single Point button. FANUC PLC Parts 199

206 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Line button. Click on the Point-Angle button. Select the point shown. (Z = -3.8, Xd= 2.8) Enter angle value shown below. [A = (-90+24)] Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Circle button. 200

207 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D The Circle sub-palette will be displayed. Select the lines shown. (Xd = 1 and angled line) Enter the radius value shown below. (R = 0.2) Click on the Multiple Circles button. All possible circle tangencies between the two lines selected will be drawn. The system displays all possible choices so that the user can select any that are necessary for the part. When one or more of the features are selected, the OK button in the box shown below will turn black to indicate that it is an active choice. Select the upper left hand circle as shown. FANUC PLC Parts 201

208 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the OK button. The same process will now be repeated for the other two lines. Select the lines shown. (Xd = 1 and angled line) The radius should still be defined as 0.2, therefore no editing is necessary. Click on the Single Circle button. Select the upper right hand circle as shown. Click on the OK button. 202

209 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Horizontal Line button. Enter the value shown below. (Xd = 2.8) Click on the Single Line button. Now, we will connect the lines through the point at Z = -3.8, Xd = 2.8. Select the point. Then, with the shift key depressed, select the lines that FANUC intersect at that point. PLC Parts 203

210 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click off the part geometry. Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. Enter the values shown below. (Z = 4, Xd = 2.8) Click on the Multiple Points button. 204

211 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Enter the values shown below. (Z = -4.15, Xd = 2.8) Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Point-Angle button. Select the point as shown. (Z = -4, Xd = 2.8) Enter the angle value shown below. (A = 85 ) Click on the Multiple Lines button. FANUC PLC Parts 205

212 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the point as shown. (Z = -4.15, Xd = 2.8) Enter the angle value shown below. (A = 95 ) Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Enter the value shown below. (Xd = 2.52) 206

213 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Single Line button. Now, we will create connector points at the corners of the O-ring groove. First, we will manually connect the lines through the point at Z = -4, Xd = 2.8. Select the point shown. Then, with the shift key depressed, select the lines that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click off the part geometry. Click on the Point button. Select the lines shown. FANUC PLC Parts 207

214 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Multiple Points button. You ll notice that the point created is already a connector point. Select the lines shown. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. 208

215 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Enter the value shown below. (Xd = 2.8) Click on the Single Line button. To complete the O-ring, we will connect the lines through the point at Z = -4.15, Xd = 2.8. Select the point. Then, with the shift key depressed, select the lines that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. FANUC PLC Parts Click on the Vertical Line button. 209

216 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the value shown below. (Z = -4.9) Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. Select the two lines shown. (Z = -4.9, Xd = 2.8) Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. 210

217 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Horizontal Line button. Enter the value shown below. (Xd = 0.8) Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. Select the lines shown. (Z = -4.9 Xd = 0.8) Click on the Single Point button. FANUC PLC Parts 211

218 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. Enter the values shown below. (Z = -2.6, Xd = 0.8) Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Point-Angle button. Select the point you just created. (Z = -2.6, Xd = 0.8) Enter the angle value shown below. (A = 45) Click on the Single Line button. 212

219 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D We will now connect the lines through the point at Z = -2.6, Xd = 0.8. Select the point. Then, with the shift key depressed, select the lines that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click off the part geometry. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Enter the value shown below. (Xd = 1.4) FANUC PLC Parts 213

220 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. Select the two lines shown. (Xd = 1.4 and angled line) Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. 214

221 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Enter the values shown below. (Z = -1.1, Xd = 1.4) Click on the Single Point button. Select the line shown. (Xd = 1.6) Select Duplicate under the Modify menu A yellow, horizontal line will appear on the screen at the same Xd location as the connected line we selected. The duplicate line will be drawn over the original line, and will not affect the original line. Click on the Circle button. Select the point shown. (Z = -1.1, Xd = 1.4) Because the line is already selected as a result of the duplicating process, you do not need to select it again. Enter the value shown below. (R = 0.2) FANUC PLC Parts 215

222 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Single Circle button. Select the right circle as shown. Click on the OK button. The circle selected will be drawn and a connector point will be created between the circle and the line at Xd = 1.4. When features are created tangent to each other, the system will always try to create connector points if possible. Now, we will manually connect the line and circle through the point at Z = -1.1, Xd = 1.4. Select the point. Then, with the shift key depressed, select the line and circle that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click off the part geometry. 216

223 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D The arc will trim because it has two connector points. Finally, we will connect the lines through the first point made at Z = 0, Xd = 1.6. Select the point. Then, with the shift key depressed, select the lines that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Click off the part geometry. Now we will create the fillets and chamfer specified on the print. With the shift key depressed, select the 4 points that require 0.2" fillets, as shown. Click on the Fillet-Chamfer button in the Geometry Creation palette. The Fillet-Chamfer button can only be used when a point(s) is selected. Further, unless the points selected are connectors, the Fillet- FANUC Chamfer selections will PLC have no effect. Parts 217

224 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Fillet button. Enter the radius value shown below. (Radius = 0.2) Click on the Single Circle button. With the shift key depressed, select the 2 points of the O-ring that require 0.015" fillets, as shown. Click on the Fillet-Chamfer button in the Geometry Creation palette. Click on the Fillet button. Enter the radius value shown below. (Radius = 0.015) Now, we will create the final chamfer. Select the point shown. (Z = 0, Xd = 2.25) Click on the Fillet-Chamfer button. Click on the Chamfer-Side button. 218

225 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Enter the side value shown below. (Side = 0.2) Click on the Single Line button. The geometry for this part has now been completed. Make sure that you save this on your computer somewhere it can be easily accessed. We will machine this part in the tutorial in the Lathe module manual. EXERCISE # 4:SHUTTLE Refer to Part Print # 3 for this exercise. Create a new lathe part. Make sure that the Radius option is selected for the X Dimension style. Click on the Geometry Creation button. Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. FANUC PLC Parts 219

226 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the coordinate values shown below. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Circle button. Click on the Centerpoint-Radius button. Select the point just created. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Line button. 220

227 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Horizontal Line button. Enter the value shown below. Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. Select the line and circle as shown. Click on the Single Point button. The two possible points of intersection between the selected line and circle will be drawn and the dialog, shown below, will come up on the screen asking the user to select the desired features. Select the right point as shown. Click on the OK button or hit enter. FANUC PLC Parts Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Notice the point created is a blue square indicating a connector point. 221

228 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Vertical Line button. Enter the value shown below. Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. Select the two lines as shown. Click on the Single Point button. 222

229 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Again the point created is a connector point and the horizontal line trims and becomes blue because it now has two connectors. Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. Enter the coordinate values shown below. Click on the Multiple Points button. The Multiple Points button will create the desired point and allow the user to continue creating points using the same method, in this case, by entering coordinates. Enter the coordinate values shown below. Click on the Single Point button. Zoom in on the area shown by dragging a square with the mouse. Because some of the points are very close together, we will zoom in on the area. Enlarging the area on the screen will make the necessary geometry selections much easier. Click on the Circle button. FANUC PLC Parts Click on the Centerpoint-Radius button. 223

230 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the uppermost point as shown. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. Click on the Line button. Select the circle and point shown. Click on the Single Line button. Select the bottom line shown. Click on the OK button or hit enter. The point created between the line and the circle is a connector point. However, the point that was used to create the line remains a plain yellow point. We will need to manually connect that point so that the shape is connected. Select the point shown. Then with the shift key depressed, select the lines that intersect at that point. 224 Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. The point becomes a connector point, drawn as a blue square and the

231 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D lines that intersect at the point are now trimmed and blue. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the Unzoom option from the View menu. This will return the drawing on the screen to the standard size. You can also perform an unzoom by clicking on the Unzoom button in the View Control palette or using the keyboard shortcuts. Refer to the Shortcuts information card for more information. Click on the Line button. Click on the Tangent-Angle button. Select the circle shown. Enter the angle value shown below. Click on the Single Line button. FANUC Select the bottom line PLC as shown. Parts 225

232 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the OK button or hit enter. In order to create the next point with the information provided on the blueprint, we will need to create a horizontal line to find the intersection point. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Click on the Horizontal Line button and enter the value shown below. Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. Select the two lines as shown. Click on the Single Point button. The point created is a connector point and the angled line is trimmed. Select the horizontal line as shown. Delete this line by clicking on the wastecan. The point will change to a plain point, and the angled line will change to yellow and become untrimmed. 226

233 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. Enter the coordinate values shown below. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. Click on the Point-Angle button. Select the point just created as shown. FANUC PLC Parts 227

234 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Enter the angle value shown below. Click on the Single Line button. Zoom in on the area in the upper left corner of the screen as shown. Click on the Circle button. Select the angled line just created and the point shown. (Make sure you do not select the point at Z -3, Xr 2. You want to select the lower point). Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. Select the upper left circle as shown. Click on the OK button or hit the enter key. One of the points created is a connector point. We will need to manually connect the other plain point. 228

235 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Select the plain point shown. Then with the Shift key depressed select the line and circle that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. The point will become a connector point and the line and circle should trim and become blue. Unzoom. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click off the part geometry. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button Click on the Vertical Line button and enter the value shown below. FANUC PLC Parts 229

236 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Single Line button. Select the point shown. Then with the shift key depressed, select the two lines that intersect at that point. Click on the Connect-Disconnect button. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel to Axis button. Select the Horizontal Line button and enter the value shown below. Click on the Single Line button. Click on the Point button. 230

237 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Select the two lines as shown. Click on the Multiple Points button. Select the line and circle as shown. Click on the Single Point button. Select the right point at the origin as shown. Click on the OK button or hit the enter key. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. FANUC PLC Parts 231

238 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The geometry for the part is now complete and fully connected. If you have not already done so, you should create this part using Geometry Expert as outlined in Exercise #3 in the Geometry Expert Exercises Chapter, to note the differences in geometry creation using the two methods. EXERCISE #5:TEXT CREATION In this example, we will create text on a part. Only geometry creation will be covered in this example. For an exercise on engraving text, refer to the Mill Module Manual. Create a new part with the following stock specifications: X+ = 4, X- = -4, Y+ = 3, Y- = -3, Z = 0, Z- = -1. Open the Geometry Creation Palette and click on the Auto-shape Button. Click on the Text Creation Button. This will bring up the Text Creation Dialog. Enter the information shown on the following page in the Text Creation Dialog. The font pop-up menu should contain all TrueType fonts available on the system. The font called Moorpark is a TrueType font created by Gibbs and Associates that is shipped with each order. Click on the Process button at the bottom of the dialog. The text will be drawn in the lower right hand corner of the screen as shown below. 232

239 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Turn off the Draw Points item under the View menu. This will make the text easier to read. The lines on the screen are drawn at X = and Y = -2 to illustrate the text alignment according to the align point and the position selected on the Alignment Diagram. The text starts in the upper left corner of the rectangular text area. Select Undo from the Edit menu to erase the text. Click on the Spacing tab in the Text Creation Dialog to switch to the Spacing tab window. Enter 0.1 for the tracking amount (space) between characters, 0.25 for the tracking amount (space) between words and 0.25 for the spacing between lines of text. Remember when you enter positive numbers for spacing the amounts are added to the normal spacing used by the system. Negative numbers can also be used to reduce the amount of space between characters, words or lines. Click on the Text tab. Click on the Center Justified button, enter the alignment point and select the center position on the Alignment Diagram, as shown below. FANUC PLC Parts 233

240 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Process button to create the text. The text should appear as it does below. Again, lines are drawn at X = -.2 and Y = -2. The text is positioned in the center of the text area and is centered according to the longest line of text. Delete the text by either selecting Undo from the Edit menu or selecting all the geometry and clicking on the wastecan. The delete or backspace key may not work to delete the geometry while the Text Creation Dialog is open because using the key will attempt to delete items in the dialog. Now we will create vertical text. Click on the Text Flow tab to access the Text Flow Window. Click on the buttons shown below. 234 These selections will make vertical text where the characters flow from top to bottom in a straight line, and the lines of text flow from

241 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D left to right. Click on the Spacing tab and enter the values shown below. Click on the Text tab and enter the information shown below. Click on the Process button to create the text. The text should appear on your screen as shown below. The text is aligned in the upper right corner of the text area as specified by the Alignment Diagram. Delete the text. Now we will create text on an arc. FANUC PLC Parts 235

242 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click on the Text Flow tab. Click on the buttons shown below. These selections will create text along an arc in a clockwise direction; characters flowing from left to right, lines flowing from top to bottom. Click on the Spacing tab and enter the values shown below. Click on the Text tab. Enter 0.35 for the text size and select center justification. Notice the Alignment Diagram is different and a radius and angle value must be entered. The Radius specifies the size of the arc and the Angle specifies the position on the arc that the text will begin. Also, a center point for the arc must be entered rather than an alignment point. Enter the radius and angle values and select the location on the Alignment Diagram as shown below. The text should appear as shown below. The circle and line are drawn to illustrate the radial text area specified with the Angle, Radius and Center Pt. values entered. The text is positioned along the outside of the circle and is positioned along the center of the line specified by the angle. 236

243 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D EXERCISE #6:OVERLAPPING FEATURES Connections link two features (lines and/or circles) together at a known point. This point is called a connector point. This connection capability allows the system to create contours to be machined. A good understanding of connections and connector points is necessary to become proficient with the system. While connecting a shape is simple process, this exercise details how to create a connected shape when individual features overlap one another. Below is a simple shape. It consists of six circles and no lines. There are three.5" radius circles and three 2.0" radius circles. In the system, each circle (or line) only exists between its two connection points. While the three 2.0" circles have the same centerpoint and radius, they are still three separate circles in the system. Most importantly, each of the three 2.0" circles must be fully connected (have two connector points) before the next 2.0" circle can be FANUC PLC Parts drawn. (The following pictures have the Labels function of the system turned on in order to make things more clear. This is for demonstration purposes only). 237

244 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Launch the software, set up the program name and stock size. Create P1 (point 1) at X0Y0. Use the Bolt Circle button to create the other three points on a two inch radius. Create three.5 circles around P2, P3, and P4. Create one 2.0 radius circle around P C4 is one of the three 2.0 radius circles needed. Putting two more circles on top of C4 makes it difficult to tell which one you are clicking on. The best approach for all shapes, is to work around the shape in a specific direction (CW or CCW), adding features and connections as you go. In this example, you can use C4 as any one of the three circle segments (or arcs). The key idea is to fully connect C4 before adding another 2.0 circle to the workgroup. Starting with C1, at the top, we ll proceed CW around the shape.

245 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D Let s put C4 between C1 and C2. Use the Point button to find the intersection between C4 and C1. Select the point shown below. P5 is the connection point between C1 and C4. Now connect C4 to C2. Use the Point button again. Since we are putting C4 between C1 and C2, select the point shown below. FANUC PLC Parts 239

246 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The new point is P6. It connects C4 to C2. It is the second connection for C4. No feature may have more than two connections. Now that C4 is fully connected, you can add the next 2.0 radius circle. 240

247 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D C5 is a full circle, has no connections, and it completely overlaps C4, which has two connections. If you click on C5 where it overlaps C4, only C4 will be selected and highlighted. This is because the system selects the oldest numbered feature from your last mouse click. If you click on C5 where it does not overlap C4, C5 will be selected and highlighted, as a full circle. To continue creating this shape in a CW direction, you want to connect C5 to C2. Use the Point button again to perform this task. P7 is the connection point between C2 and C5. It is the second connection for C2. Now use the point button to connect C5 to C3. P8 connects C3 to C5. This is the second connection for C5. As you can see, the picture is unclear. When a circle side is selected, the system erases the full circle, and redraws only the circle side you select. In this case, when it erased the full circle C5, it also erased FANUC C4 because they overlapped. PLC Parts 241

248 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK To clean up the unclear picture, click on the Redraw button. You can use the Redraw button as much or as little as you please in all your drawings. Now you need to add the third 2.0 radius circle. 242

249 GFK F r e e F o r m C A D C6 is the final circle. As you can see, the system put the label for C6 too close to the label for C5. As we connect C6 to C3 and C1, the problem will correct itself. Remember that you do not normally program with the Labels feature enabled. Now connect C6 to C3. P9 connects C6 to C3. Now connect C6 to C1. FANUC PLC Parts 243

250 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK P10 connects C6 to C1. Now you are finished with the shape. Turn Labels off for a clearer view. Remember that the directions and methods used in the system to create a shape, have no effect on how you machine the shape. You can start the cut anywhere, stop the cut anywhere, and cut in any direction you choose. The tool can cut outside, inside, or on the shape. You can also use almost any size tool. Following a shape in a specific direction (CW or CCW), creating and connecting features as you go, is always a good idea to help reduce confusion and allow for connections at the earliest possible point. 244

251 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s CHAPTER 7 : Combination Exercises The exercises contained in this chapter use both Geometry Expert and the free form CAD tools to create part geometry. The first exercise demonstrates the loading of any shape into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. In the first exercise, we have chosen a particular part to load, but you can select any shape contained in a part file, regardless of how it was created, to load into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. In the second exercise, we will create the Mill Tutorial part using primarily Geometry Expert, but we will need to use the free form CAD tools to create some construction geometry. Exercise #3 is a more advanced example, and should be done once you feel comfortable with both Geometry Expert and free form CAD. EXERCISE #1:LOADING SHAPES In part A of this exercise, we will load the Mill Tutorial part. If you did not create the Mill Tutorial part, the Lathe Tutorial part is loaded in part B of this exercise. A. MILL TUTORIAL In this exercise, we will reload the Mill Tutorial part that was created in Exercise #2 in the Free Form CAD Exercises Chapter. Once loaded in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, we will adjust the dimensions of the shape. This will demonstrate the associative capabilities of Geometry Expert. Launch the system. Open the Mill Tutorial part. Under the File menu there is an Open item which allows the user to open part files from within the system. When Open is selected, the Open dialog will appear on the screen. This dialog allows the user to select part files to be opened and gives information about the part that is selected. There are additional methods for opening part files depending on the platform being used. Refer to the Operating Systems Appendix for other ways to open files. FANUC PLC Parts 245

252 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Before changes are made to the part, we will make a copy of the file. Because we are going to use this part geometry for the machining tutorial in the Mill module manual, we need to keep a file that will not be changed. It s always a good idea to make duplicates of your part files for backup purposes. Select the Save a Copy option under the File menu. The dialog shown below will come up on the screen. This dialog allows you to name the file and choose the location where the file will be saved. The File Name text box will contain some variation of the name of the current file. OS On Macintosh, Windows NT and Windows 95 systems, the word copy will be added after the original file name. Click on the Save button. Once the part geometry is displayed on the screen, it can be loaded into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. Click on the Geometry Expert button. The Geometry Expert spreadsheet will come up on the screen. Double click on the outside wall of the shape on the feature shown. 246

253 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Any shape can be loaded in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, whether it was created using the free form CAD tools, Geometry Expert, or an imported IGES or DXF file. To load an existing shape into Geometry Expert, simply double click on any feature of the shape while the spreadsheet is open on the screen. The features of the connected shape will be loaded into the spreadsheet. Only features that are part of the connected shape that is selected will be loaded. Notice that when you double click on the shape, the rows of the spreadsheet become filled with feature information. If the shape being loaded was created (or edited) using Geometry Expert, the shape will load into the spreadsheet with the same first and last feature as when it was last contained in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, regardless of what feature is selected to load the shape. If the shape was imported or created with the free form CAD tools, Geometry Expert will attempt to use the feature selected to load the shape as the first feature. The first feature in the spreadsheet must be completely defined. If the feature selected to load the shape is not fully defined, Geometry Expert will start with the first fully defined feature after the feature that was selected. Each feature will be on a separate row of the spreadsheet, with the appropriate dimensions. Geometry Expert attempts to enter the information that was originally used to define the features in the spreadsheet. In this example, the spreadsheet does not contain the features that make the boss because that is not part of the connected shape that was selected. The spreadsheet shown below is extended so that all the rows can be seen. You may not have room on your screen to view the spreadsheet like this. Instead use the scroll bar and arrows to view the rows. FANUC PLC Parts 247

254 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Click in the first row of the spreadsheet. You may need to scroll up to the first row, if your spreadsheet is a reduced size. If you selected the correct feature to load the shape, the first row should define a counter-clockwise arc with a radius of 2 and a centerpoint of 0,0. Change the radius of the circle to 3. Current Row When you select the row, the feature that is defined by that row will be selected on the screen. Hit the enter or return key. When you enter the row, the part geometry drawn on the screen should change according to the new dimensions entered. 248

255 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Your screen should look like the picture shown below. The features that are connected to the arc that we changed are both dependent on the arc in that they were created tangent to the arc. Notice that these features adjust as necessary with the new dimensions and stay connected with the shape. Click on the line as shown. Current Row. Notice that the row in the spreadsheet that defines the feature selected is now the current row. You can either select the row, which in turn will select the feature it defines, or select the feature which will select the row. Either method allows for the shape to quickly and easily be edited. Change the angle value as shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. FANUC PLC Parts 249

256 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The feature changes according to the new dimension entered. Your screen should now look like the picture shown below. Both of the changes we have made here have maintained the continuity of the shape. In other words, the system could make the adjustments without breaking the shape. Shapes are broken when concurrent features do not have any points of intersection or tangency. When this is the case, Geometry Expert produces error messages to indicate that the previous features can not connect to the current feature. Click on the arc shown below. Change the radius value as shown below. Enter the row. Current Row When you attempt to enter the row, an error message will come up in the spreadsheet indicating that the previous feature cannot intersect. The arc will be re-drawn with the new radius value even though it cannot connect. Notice that it is now drawn in yellow, indicating that it is not a connected feature. 250

257 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Change the radius back to its original value (Rad = 0.5 ). The shape will become re-connected and will again be drawn entirely in blue, indicating a connected shape. Any shape contained in a part file can be loaded into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. Once in the spreadsheet, the part dimensions can easily be checked and changed. As changes are being made, Geometry Expert will make the necessary adjustments to the shape, maintaining all connections. If that is not possible the system will produce error messages to alert the user. B. LATHE TUTORIAL In this exercise, we will reload the Lathe Tutorial part that was created in Exercise #3 in the Free Form CAD Exercises. Once loaded in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, we will adjust the dimensions of the shape. Launch the system. Open the Lathe Tutorial part. Under the File menu there is an Open item which allows the user to open part files from within the system. When Open is selected, the Open dialog will appear on the screen. This dialog allows the user to select part files to be opened and gives information about the part that is selected. There are additional methods for opening part files depending on the operating system. Refer to the Operating Systems Appendix for additional information. FANUC PLC Parts 251

258 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Before changes are made to the part we will make a copy of the file. Because we are going to use this part geometry for the machining tutorial in the Mill module manual, we need to keep a file that will not be changed. Anytime you are going to edit a file it is a good idea to make a duplicate copy so that you always have backups for your part files. Select the Save a Copy option under the File menu The dialog shown below will come up on the screen. This dialog allows you to name the file and choose the location where the file will be saved. The File Name text box will contain some variation of the name of the current file. OS On Macintosh, Windows NT and Windows 95 systems, the word copy will be added after the original file name. Click on the Save button. Once the file is open and the part geometry is drawn on the screen, it can be loaded into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. Click on the Geometry Expert button. The Geometry Expert spreadsheet will come up on the screen. 252

259 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Double click on the line shown. Any shape can be loaded in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, whether it was created using the free form CAD tools, Geometry Expert, or an imported IGES or DXF file. To load an existing shape into Geometry Expert, simply double click on any feature of the shape while the spreadsheet is open on the screen. The features of the connected shape will be loaded into the spreadsheet. Only features that are part of the connected shape that is selected will be loaded. Notice that when you double click on the shape, the rows of the spreadsheet become filled with feature information. If the shape being loaded was created using Geometry Expert, the shape will load into the spreadsheet with the same first and last feature as when it was created (or edited), regardless of what feature is selected to load the shape. If the shape was imported or created with the free form CAD tools, Geometry Expert will attempt to use the feature selected to load the shape as the first feature. The first feature in the spreadsheet must be completely defined. If the feature selected to load the shape is not fully defined, Geometry Expert will go to the first fully defined feature and load the shape from there. Each feature will be on a separate row of the spreadsheet, with the appropriate dimensions. Geometry Expert attempts to enter the information that was originally used to define the features. Use the scroll bar to scroll up to the beginning of the spreadsheet. Click in the first row of the spreadsheet If you loaded the shape by selecting the feature shown, the first row should define a 270 line with a LP Z of FANUC PLC Parts 253

260 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Current Row Change the line point of the line to Current Row Hit the enter or return key. When you enter the row, the part geometry drawn on the screen will change according to the new dimensions entered. The line that we changed is now drawn according to the new values entered, and the lines that are connected to that line also change to maintain the proper connections. Select the arc shown. Current Row 254 Notice that the row in the spreadsheet that defines the feature selected is now the current row. You can either select the row, which in turn will select the feature it defines, or select the feature which will select the row. Either method allows for the shape to quickly and easily be changed.

261 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Change the radius value as shown below. Current Row Hit the enter or return key. Again, the shape will change to the new dimensions entered. Both of the changes we have made have maintained the continuity of the shape. In other words, the system could make the adjustments without breaking the shape. Shapes are broken when concurrent features do not have any points of intersection or tangency. When this is the case, Geometry Expert produces error messages to indicate that the preceding and/or following features can not be connected. Click on the arc shown. Change the radius value as shown below. Enter the row. Current Row When you attempt to enter the row, an error message will come up in the spreadsheet indicating that the previous feature cannot intersect. FANUC PLC Parts 255

262 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The arc will be re-drawn with the new radius value even though it cannot connect. Notice that it is now drawn in yellow, indicating that it is not a connected feature. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Change the radius back to its original value (Rad = 0.2 ). The shape will become re-connected and will again be drawn entirely in blue, indicating a connected shape. 256 Any shape contained in a part file can be loaded into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. Once in the spreadsheet, part dimensions can easily be checked and changed. As changes are being made, Geometry Expert will make the necessary adjustments to the shape, maintaining all connections. If that is not possible, the system will produce error messages to alert the user that the shape is no longer connected.

263 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s EXERCISE #2:MILL TUTORIAL Refer to Part Print #6 : Mill Tutorial for this exercise. Create a new mill part. Enter the stock values shown below. Close the Document Control dialog. Click on the Geometry Creation button in the Top Level palette. Click on the Geometry Expert button. In this exercise it will be very important that the direction of the lines and the circles that we create follow the path of the shape correctly. We will start with the 0.5 radius circle in the upper right corner and proceed around the part in a counter-clockwise direction. Make sure that you pay close attention to the feature type selections made and the values entered. Select the Counter-Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the radius and centerpoint values shown below. Current Row FANUC Hit the return or enter PLC key. Parts 257

264 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK The circle will be drawn on the screen because it is fully defined. The first feature in the spreadsheet must be fully defined. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. The only information provided on the part print about the next line is that it is tangent to the circles it is connected to. Delete the angle value in the second row so that it contains no information other than the Line feature type. Enter the row. Current Row As the prompt indicates, this line will be created tangent to the previous and following circles. It will not be drawn on the screen until the following feature is created. This is an example of a floating line. The feature type for the next row will default to an arc because the previous line had no information entered. In order for the system to calculate the correct location for the floating line, the following feature must be an arc. However, the default is the clockwise arc feature type and we need a counter clockwise arc. To figure out the correct directions for the arcs, visualize walking around the part and drawing the features as they are encountered along the path of the shape. 258

265 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Select the Counter-Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the angle and centerpoint values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Both the circle and the line will be drawn on the screen. Select the Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the radius value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row This circle is another example of a floating feature because it is dependent on the following feature. This arc will be drawn on the screen when we create the following circle by using the tangency point. Select the Counter-Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the radius and centerpoint values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row FANUC PLC Parts 259

266 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK A centerpoint must be entered for this circle because the preceding feature is a floating arc and depends on this circle for its creation. Therefore, this feature must be fully defined. At this point we need to use the free form CAD tools to create the next line because construction geometry is required. We will create the geometry necessary using free form CAD, and then reload the shape into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet to complete the shape. Close the Geometry Expert spreadsheet by clicking in the close box in the upper left hand corner. Click on the Point button in the Geometry Creation palette. The Point sub-palette will come up on the screen. Click on the XYZ button. Enter the coordinates shown below. 260

267 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Click on the Single Point button. Clicking on the Single Point button will draw the point on the screen and return you to the main Geometry Creation palette. Click on the Circle button. Click on the Centerpoint-Radius button. Select the point just created as shown. Enter the radius value shown below. Click on the Single Circle button. Click on the Point button. Click on the Centerpoint button. This option creates a point at the center of a selected circle. FANUC PLC Parts 261

268 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the circle shown. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Line button. Select the point and circle as shown. Click on the Single Line button. All lines that go through the selected point and are tangent to the selected circle will be drawn on the screen. The dialog, shown below, will appear on the screen, which asks the user to select any or all of the possible features that are drawn to be incorporated into the shape. Select the line shown. Click on the OK button or hit enter. 262

269 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Click on the Line button. Click on the Parallel Line button. Select the line just created as shown. Enter the distance value shown below. (D =.15 ) Click on the Single Line button. Select the left line as shown. Click on the OK button or hit enter. FANUC Click on the Point button. PLC Parts 263

270 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the line and circle as shown. Click on the Single Point button. Select the bottom point as shown. Click on the OK button or hit enter. Double click on the line shown. By double clicking on a feature, all features that are connected to the feature clicked on will become selected. Click on the wastecan in the bottom right corner of the screen. This will delete the features that are selected. Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Now we will load the shape back into the Geometry Expert spreadsheet to create the remaining features. 264

271 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Click on the Geometry Expert button to bring the spreadsheet back up on the screen. Double click on any feature of the shape to load it into the spreadsheet. Because this shape created using Geometry Expert, it will be reloaded in the same order as when it was created. The spreadsheet will contain all of the features of the shape as shown below. The line we just created will be the last feature in the spreadsheet. The system will enter the dimensions for the line. Select the Counter-Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the radius and centerpoint values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Delete the angle in the row. Current Row This is another example of a floating line with no information other than the feature type. This line will be drawn when we create the FANUC following circle. PLC Parts 265

272 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the Counter-Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the radius and centerpoint values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Select the Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the radius value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the Counter-Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the radius and centerpoint values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row 266

273 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Enter the angle and the line point value shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Select the top point as shown. Click on the OK button or hit enter. Select the Clockwise Arc feature type. Enter the radius value shown below. Enter the row. Current FANUC Row PLC Parts 267

274 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK Select the Close Shape feature type. The outside wall of the shape is complete and should look like the picture shown below. In order to create the center boss, we will need to close Geometry Expert and start a new shape because the boss is not connected to the outside wall of the shape. The boss will also be created using a combination of free form CAD and Geometry Expert. Click on the Point button. Click on the XYZ button. Enter the coordinates shown below. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Point button. Click on the Polar Point button. 268

275 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Select the point at the origin. Enter the angle and distance values shown below. Click on the Single Point button. Click on the Geometry Expert button. Select the Clockwise Arc feature type and enter the radius and centerpoint values shown below. Enter the row. Current Row Delete the angle of the row. Enter the row. Current Row FANUC PLC Parts 269

276 G e o m e t r y C r e a t i o n U s e r M a n u a l GFK We will enter the coordinates of the centerpoint of the next arc by using a keyboard shortcut. If you click on a feature or point while holding down the Alt or Control key (depending on the selection made for Shortcut preferences) on or NT systems or the Command key on Macintosh systems, the appropriate value for the active cell will be entered in the spreadsheet. Enter the radius value shown below. Move to the LP/CP X cell, so that it is the active cell. Current Row While holding down the appropriate modifier key, click on the point shown. On Windows NT and Windows 95/98 systems, hold down OS the Control key while selecting the point. The modifier key used depends on the setting selected for the Interface Preference. If the Control key does not work, use the Alt key and check the Interface Preference. On Macintosh systems, hold down the Command key while selecting the point. The X coordinate for that point will be entered in the spreadsheet. Current Row Move to the LP/CP Y cell so that it is the active cell. Enter the Y coordinate of the centerpoint by clicking on the point again while holding down the appropriate modifier key for your operating system. Current Row Enter the row. 270

277 GFK C o m b i n a t i o n E x e r c i s e s Your screen should look like the picture shown below. Delete the angle of the next row. Current Row Select the Close Shape feature type. Current Row Your finished part geometry should look like the picture shown below. FANUC PLC Parts If you haven't already created and saved the geometry for this part, make sure you save this somewhere it can be easily accessed. We will machine this part in the tutorial of the Mill module manual. 271