Filter linear moves — This automatically removes unnecessary points in the toolpath while maintaining tolerance. The points are not equispaced because unnecessary points are deleted.
Filter linear moves and convert arcs to linear — This is similar to the first option except that all arcs are replaced by straight line segments. This option is suitable for machine tools which do not handle arcs well.
Redistribute points after filtering linear moves. Convert arcs to linear — This option allows the insertion of new points. This ensures a constant distance between points, only inserting extra points if they are necessary to keep tolerance. This option may increase toolpath creation time, but reduce time on the machine tool. This option is suitable for machine tools that can handle large numbers of equispaced points.
Preview — Click this button to display the points of the toolpath in the graphics window.
Approximate linear moves with arcs and lines — Select this option to create an arc line approximation for toolpaths that are contained in the XY, YZ, and XZ plane. This allows 3D programs to be smaller and to result in smoother surface finishes for certain types of parts.
Arc/line approximation applies to the following 3D techniques:
- X-parallel and Y-parallel roughing or finishing with
Parallel Angle
set to
0.
- Z-level roughing and finishing.
- Isoline finishing where the toolpaths line in a plane.
More about output options
A toolpath is made up of a series of point connections that lie within a tolerance of the surface to be machined. Toolpaths with a low
Tolerance value usually have more points to follow the surface more closely.
A toolpath's point distribution controls the number of points in the toolpath. There are a number of options that can influence the output, which you can change depending on how the controller handles the points. Older controllers struggle to deal with a large number of points as they cannot handle the large amounts of information being fed to them from the NC code. Newer controllers often have a much better capacity for point handling, but require more evenly distributed points to achieve smoother machine kinematics.
Notes on point distribution:
- The
Tolerance value relates to how closely the redistributed toolpath follows the original toolpath tolerance. For example a toolpath, calculated with an original
Tolerance of
0.01, which is redistributed with an
Output filter tolerance % of
50, has a final toolpath tolerance of between 0.005 and 0.015 (that is, the final toolpath tolerance = original toolpath
Tolerance +/- (original toolpath
Tolerance *
Output filter tolerance %)).
- For newer Heidenhain (such as TNC 530) and Siemens (such as 840D) controllers, we recommend you use the
Redistribute option, with the
Limit linear moves selected (that is, points are inserted and limited to a maximum gap between points) and a
Maximum length of
0.3
mm (0.012in). This inserts points into the toolpath to ensure a constant distance between points with a maximum gap of 0.3 mm. This process inserts extra points only if they are needed to keep tolerance. This is generally for the more simple '2.5D-type' 3D toolpaths such as Parallel, Z Level Roughing, and so on.
- For newer Fanuc controllers such as 31i, the same as above applies but with a larger gap of
0.5 mm. Though these controllers can handle more points than the normal toolpath output, they are generally slower than the Heidenhain and Siemens equivalent, and as a result need a bigger separation gap. This is generally for the more simple '2.5D-type' 3D toolpaths such as Parallel, Z Level Roughing, and so on.
- For
3D Spiral type toolpaths, we recommend that you still use
Redistribute, but that you deselect
Limit linear moves. This also goes for older machines with the previously mentioned '2.5D-type' 3D toolpaths.
- For really old machines we recommend the
Filter linear moves option, which automatically removes unnecessary points in the toolpath while maintaining tolerance. The
Filter linear moves and convert arcs to linear option is similar to
Filter linear moves except that all arcs are replaced by straight line segments (polylines). This option is suitable for machine tools which don't handle arcs well.
- The
Approximate linear moves with arcs and lines option produces toolpaths with arcs inserted wherever possible. This option is suitable for machine tools which handle arcs well, but is only available for 3-axis toolpaths (that is, none of the true 2.5D toolpaths).
- The
Surface triangle tolerance % defines the size of the mesh relative to the machining tolerance. The smaller the value, the finer the mesh, and consequently the toolpath takes longer to calculate, but it is more accurate.