If you are working with a curve that has been wrapped around an axis and you want to unwrap the curve into a planar curve, use Curve unwrap. Wrapped features in FeatureCAM require a planar curve, so this function is helpful if you want to generate toolpaths from data that is already wrapped.
To construct a curve using Unwrap:
- Select Construct tab > Curves panel > From Curves > Unwrap to display the Unwrap Curve dialog.
- Optionally enter a curve name in the Name field, or leave the default name.
- Select the curve you want to use from the
Curve menu, or click the
Pick Curve
button and select it in the graphics window.
- Select the Axis that the curve is wrapped around. This setting defaults to the wrapping axis specified in the Stock wizard.
- The Tolerance controls the accuracy of the unwrapped curve. All unwrapped curves are piece-wise linear, so the smaller the tolerance, the more points your curve has.
- The Radial offset should normally be set to 0 because the curve is unwrapped in place. If you have extracted the curve at the bottom of the feature, then you need to set the Radial offset to the depth of the feature to offset the curve to the top.
- Select Project to UCS plane if you are creating a 2D feature, or deselect it if you want a 3D curve.
- Select Reduce/Smooth if you want to reduce the number of points in your curve.
- Click OK.