How do you define the stock in Cimco Edit

There are three ways to define the stock 1) Importing an STL 2) Manually Defining it 3) Scanning of the NC Code

1) Importing an external STL

 

Step 1: Open an NC file, select a machine configuration to simulate, and then select either Backplot or Machine Simulation. 

Step 2: Locate the Geometry Manager.



Step 3: Right-click in the Geometry Manager and select 'Add stock'

Add_Stock.png

 

Step 4: Select 'STL'.

 

Step 5: Select the STL file you wish to import and select open.

Step 6: The 'Solid Setup' box will appear. This will allow you to determine the quality. This box will show when using either of the multiple options to add a stock.

  • Move the cursor to 'Low Quality (Fast)' for a fast rendering but of low quality.
  • Move the cursor to 'Medium Quality' for a standard rendering of standard quality.
  • Move the cursor to 'High Quality (Slow)' for a slow but high-quality rendering.

Solid_Setup.png

 

Step 7: The 'Stock' will appear in the Backplot window and Geometry Manager. Select 'Stock' in the Geometry Manager to open its 'Properties'.

'Properties' is located below the Geometry Manager. In the properties section, users can edit the position of the stock by editing the values in 'Translation' and 'Rotation'.

STL_-_Properties.png

 

Step 8: Once the stock is setup correctly, you can save the setup. Right-click in the Geometry Manager and select 'Save Setup'

 

2) Manually Defining the Stock - Box

 

Step 1: Open an NC file, select a machine configuration to simulate, and then select either Backplot or Machine Simulation. 

Step 2: Locate the Geometry Manager.

Step 3: Right-click in the Geometry Manager and select 'Add stock'

Add_Stock_2.png

 

Step 4: Select 'Box'.

 

 

Step 5: Users can then determine whether the stock will be defined using 'Dimensions' or using the 'Min/Max' values.

 

Step 6: A default 'Stock' will now appear in both the Backplot window and Geometry Manager.        Select 'Stock' in the Geometry section to open its properties.

 

'Properties' is located below the Geometry Manager. In the properties section, users can edit the stock dimensions and position by editing the values within 'Translation'.

 

Step 7: If the stock is determined by its Min/Max values, the user must specify where the stock values are relative to by selecting the drop-down menu beside 'Relative To'. The user will have two options, 'Absolute' or 'Toolpath'

Step 8: To edit the stock dimensions the user can edit the values within the 'Lower Corner' and 'Upper Corner'.

Stock_Dimension.png

 

 

Step 9: When changes are made to the stock's dimensions or position, a wireframe stock will appear in the backplot window providing a preview of the newly defined stock.

Wireframe.png

 

 

Step 10: When the stock is setup correctly, locate and select the 'Zoom/Regenerate' solid tab.

Zoom_-_Regenerate.png

 

The fully defined stock will now appear in the backplot window. 

 

Stock.png

 

Step 11: Once the stock is fully defined and the setup is correct, you can save the setup. Right-click in the Geometry Manager and select 'Save Setup'.

 

3) Automatically Scanning a Stock

Step 1: Open an NC file, choose a machine configuration you wish to simulate with and then select either Backplot or Machine Simulation. 

Step 2: 

Input the 'Box - Min/Max' stock scanning command into the NC file using the following format. 

(STOCK MIN   X0   Y0   Z0)

(STOCK MAX  X0   Y0   Z0)

Stock_Scanning.png

 

Input the 'Box - Dimensions' stock scanning command into the NC file using the following format.

( STOCK RECTANGLE X-279.927 Y-232.1 Z-243.6 W=220 L=286 H=160 ORIGIN="TOP" )

Box_-_Dimensions_-_Scanning.png

 

Input the 'Cylinder' stock scanning command into the NC file using the following format.

 

( STOCK CYLINDER X-279.927 Y-232.1 Z-243.6 D=360 H=160 ORIGIN="TOP" AXIS="Z" )

Cylinder_-_Scanning.png

 

Input the 'STL' stock scanning command into the NC file using the following format.

(STOCK STL X-279.0 Y-264.0 Z-343.6 PATH="C:\Users\fletc\Desktop\Haas UMC-750\5X-Demopart_Stock.stl" ORIGIN="TOP" )

Stock_-_STL_-_Scanning.png

 

Step 3: Locate and select the 'Global Setup' tab.

Step 4: Select 'Scanning'.

  • In scanning mode, choose 'Scan active nc file'.
  • In Read/Write settings, tick the box beside 'Read' to read its description from the nc or setup file automatically. Tick the box beside 'Write' to automatically write the description into the NC or setup file if any changes are made.

Stock_Scanning_read_and_write.png

Step 5: The stock will be scanned directly into the backplot window. 

 

Step 6: If you want to make changes to the stock, you can either edit the values in the NC code or the stock dimensions under the properties section by clicking on the 'Stock' in the Geometry Manager. The user can edit the values within the 'Lower Corner' and 'Upper Corner'

 

Step 7: When making changes, locate and select the 'Zoom/Regenerate' solid tab. The fully defined stock will now appear in the backplot window, and the NC code will update the stock definition.