Machining configurations

A configuration is a collection of machining attributes. The defaults for values such as for stepovers, ramping, canned cycle use, or operation ordering are all stored as default machining attributes. Default attributes are stored in collections called configurations.

Select Features & Manufacturing tab > Options panel > Machining Configurations to open the Machining Configuration dialog.

This dialog lists all of the available configurations. Configurations are listed with the following icons:

File (f) — Configurations for files that are currently open.

Personal (p) — Configurations that are independent of a particular file and are stored only on your PC.

Workgroup (w) — Configurations that are independent of a particular file and are stored on a network for sharing with colleagues.

Note: Selecting a configuration from the Available configurations list does not have any affect unless you then select one of the actions below.

New — Click this button to open the New Configuration dialog.

Use this dialog to create a new configuration that is independent of any part file.

Enter the name of the new configuration.

Select an existing file to copy and base the new configuration on.

Select the Configuration type.

Note: To create a Workgroup configuration, you must first enter a valid network path on the Database page of the FeatureCAM Options dialog.

Configurations are saved in a file called EZFM_mfg.ini.

If you have several Personal configuration files that you want to share as Workgroup files, you can copy your local EZFM_mfg.ini file to the network location specified on the Database tab in the FeatureCAM Options dialog.

Rename — Click this button to rename a configuration that is independent of a part file.

Copy — Click this button to copy attributes from one configuration to another. Select the configuration you want to copy to in the Available configurations list before clicking the Copy button. You are then prompted for the configuration to copy from.

Delete — Click this button to delete the selected machining configuration. You can remove only configurations that are not associated with an open file. You are not allowed to delete the last configuration that is independent of opened files.

Import — Click this button to import a .cdb configuration file into FeatureCAM.

Note: These attributes are not applied to a file unless they are copied or unless these attributes are used as an initial configuration for a document.

Export — Click this button to export configurations to a .cdb file. A dialog is displayed in which you can select the configurations to export and to specify the name of the file to be exported.

Edit — Select a configuration from the list of Available configurations and then click the Edit button to modify the attributes of the configuration.

Tip: To modify the attributes of the current document, it is easier to select Features & Manufacturing tab > Options panel > Machining Attributes.

Initial configuration for new documents — Select the default configuration to use for new documents. This configuration is used for documents created in the New Part Document Wizard, and it is selected by default in the New Part Document dialog.