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Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Use part alignment to improve the location of a part on a CNC machine tool for a finishing operation.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
7 min.
Transcript
00:03
The Part Alignment feature helps automate the setting up of complex, free-form parts on a CNC machine for things such as castings,
00:11
forgings, and near net shapes.
00:14
Using surface inspection results,
00:17
Fusion calculates a part alignment to compensate for any misalignment or imprecise fixturing of the part on the CNC machine.
00:25
It then adjusts the WCS on the machine controller so that the parts can be machined accurately.
00:31
Part alignment can be especially useful in scenarios where there is not a flat edge that can be clocked with a dial indicator,
00:38
such as with this example.
00:41
Traditionally, you might align this kind of part so that the top is as flat as possible, and the sides are square to the X and Y axes.
00:49
This could be accomplished by tapping on the part with a mallet or packing from underneath.
00:54
Alternatively, you can rotate your B and C axes manually to achieve the same result.
01:01
However, both manual methods can be time-consuming, especially if the part is part of a production run.
01:07
Instead, this can be automated in Fusion.
01:11
In the Manufacture workspace, begin with the part assembled onto a fixture and a vice.
01:17
On the toolbar, click the Inspection tab.
01:20
Then, click the Probing menu and select Part Alignment.
01:25
This opens the Part Alignment contextual environment.
01:29
In the Part Alignment dialog, specify the Method by selecting which axes are free to be transformed in the part alignment.
01:37
Choose a method that is supported by your machine and post processor.
01:41
In this case, 5 axis is selected.
01:45
This enables translation along and rotation about all axes.
01:50
Click OK.
01:52
In the Part Alignment contextual environment,
01:55
you can generate an Inspect Surface operation to specify which points to probe on the surface of the part.
02:01
The results of the surface inspection are used to calculate the part alignment
02:06
and update the WCS on the machine controller for the remaining operations in the setup.
02:11
On the toolbar, click Inspect Surface to open the Inspect dialog.
02:16
On the Tool tab, click Select.
02:20
In the Select Tool dialog, select a probe, and then click Select.
02:25
Back in the Inspect dialog, open the Geometry tab.
02:29
Confirm that Positions is active.
02:31
Then, on the canvas, zoom in and click the model to specify the points you want to be inspected by the probe.
02:39
Try to place a spread of points over the part to lock the translation and rotation axes and restrict the six degrees of freedom.
02:47
You can select your named views in the Browser as well, to select probe points all around the part.
02:53
If you need to edit the selection, you can click and drag the probe points using the manipulators.
02:59
To deselect points, press and hold Ctrl as you click the points you want to deselect.
03:05
Back in the Inspect dialog, in the Surface Tolerances group, specify the tolerance band.
03:11
Enter the values for the Upper Tolerance and Lower Tolerance.
03:16
Then, review the other tabs in the dialog to adjust the optional settings, such as the clearance.
03:22
When you are finished, click OK.
03:25
Next, simulate the inspect surface toolpath.
03:29
From the Browser, right-click the toolpath and select Simulate.
03:34
Play the simulation.
03:37
In this example, an error occurs.
03:41
If this is the case, exit the simulation.
03:45
From the Browser, right-click the toolpath and select Edit.
03:49
The Inspect dialog opens again.
03:52
Adjust the toolpath.
03:55
In this instance, one of the points is adjusted, and from the Geometry tab, for the Order,
04:01
Optimize the XY travel is selected to speed up the process.
04:06
After adjusting, re-simulate the toolpath and review it to make sure there are no more errors.
04:13
When you are finished, exit the simulation.
04:18
Now, you can post to the machine.
04:21
On the toolbar, click Post for Alignment.
04:25
In the NC Program dialog, enter a descriptive File name for the program, navigate to the appropriate output folder,
04:33
and change the necessary post properties.
04:36
Click Post.
04:38
Fusion notifies you that the NC successfully posted, so now you can run it on the actual machine.
04:45
The machine will generate a results file, which must be imported back into Fusion.
04:52
On the toolbar, click Get Results.
04:55
The Import Inspection Results dialog opens.
04:59
In the File group, adjacent to Results File, click Select.
05:04
In the Results File Browser, navigate to and open your results file.
05:09
The canvas updates with the results from the machine.
05:13
In this instance, there are a few points that are out of tolerance,
05:17
under tolerance and over tolerance, as indicated by the color of the cylinders.
05:23
Click OK.
05:26
To see the data, on the toolbar, click Show Part Alignment Information.
05:31
The Part Alignment graph opens.
05:34
Here, you can review the results for both before and after the alignment by placing your pointer over the individual points.
05:41
Or, you can select the cylinders and see where they are on the graph.
05:46
You can also view a table of results.
05:49
Review the deviation after alignment, or deselect Display results after part alignment to review the deviation prior to the alignment.
05:58
Again, selecting the cylinders on the canvas highlights the associated results in the table.
06:04
Close the table and the graph.
06:07
Finally, you can post with alignment.
06:10
On the toolbar, click Post with Alignment.
06:14
In the NC Program dialog, change any Post properties as needed.
06:20
Next, click the Operations tab to see that the part alignment has not been selected,
06:25
while all other subsequent operations have been selected.
06:29
Click Post.
06:31
A message indicates that the code was successfully posted.
06:35
Click View NC Code.
06:37
Notice in the code that there is a slight tilt in the B axis
06:41
and quite a large tilt in the C axis to help ensure that the part is flat when the first operation is facing.
06:48
To achieve this, because the machine is not perfect, there is a bit of a rotation calculated in the code.
06:55
Now, simulate the toolpaths with the machine after the alignment.
06:59
Select all appropriate toolpaths from the Browser, then right-click and select Simulate with Machine.
07:07
You can see that the C-axis tilts and the toolpaths have been updated accordingly.
Video transcript
00:03
The Part Alignment feature helps automate the setting up of complex, free-form parts on a CNC machine for things such as castings,
00:11
forgings, and near net shapes.
00:14
Using surface inspection results,
00:17
Fusion calculates a part alignment to compensate for any misalignment or imprecise fixturing of the part on the CNC machine.
00:25
It then adjusts the WCS on the machine controller so that the parts can be machined accurately.
00:31
Part alignment can be especially useful in scenarios where there is not a flat edge that can be clocked with a dial indicator,
00:38
such as with this example.
00:41
Traditionally, you might align this kind of part so that the top is as flat as possible, and the sides are square to the X and Y axes.
00:49
This could be accomplished by tapping on the part with a mallet or packing from underneath.
00:54
Alternatively, you can rotate your B and C axes manually to achieve the same result.
01:01
However, both manual methods can be time-consuming, especially if the part is part of a production run.
01:07
Instead, this can be automated in Fusion.
01:11
In the Manufacture workspace, begin with the part assembled onto a fixture and a vice.
01:17
On the toolbar, click the Inspection tab.
01:20
Then, click the Probing menu and select Part Alignment.
01:25
This opens the Part Alignment contextual environment.
01:29
In the Part Alignment dialog, specify the Method by selecting which axes are free to be transformed in the part alignment.
01:37
Choose a method that is supported by your machine and post processor.
01:41
In this case, 5 axis is selected.
01:45
This enables translation along and rotation about all axes.
01:50
Click OK.
01:52
In the Part Alignment contextual environment,
01:55
you can generate an Inspect Surface operation to specify which points to probe on the surface of the part.
02:01
The results of the surface inspection are used to calculate the part alignment
02:06
and update the WCS on the machine controller for the remaining operations in the setup.
02:11
On the toolbar, click Inspect Surface to open the Inspect dialog.
02:16
On the Tool tab, click Select.
02:20
In the Select Tool dialog, select a probe, and then click Select.
02:25
Back in the Inspect dialog, open the Geometry tab.
02:29
Confirm that Positions is active.
02:31
Then, on the canvas, zoom in and click the model to specify the points you want to be inspected by the probe.
02:39
Try to place a spread of points over the part to lock the translation and rotation axes and restrict the six degrees of freedom.
02:47
You can select your named views in the Browser as well, to select probe points all around the part.
02:53
If you need to edit the selection, you can click and drag the probe points using the manipulators.
02:59
To deselect points, press and hold Ctrl as you click the points you want to deselect.
03:05
Back in the Inspect dialog, in the Surface Tolerances group, specify the tolerance band.
03:11
Enter the values for the Upper Tolerance and Lower Tolerance.
03:16
Then, review the other tabs in the dialog to adjust the optional settings, such as the clearance.
03:22
When you are finished, click OK.
03:25
Next, simulate the inspect surface toolpath.
03:29
From the Browser, right-click the toolpath and select Simulate.
03:34
Play the simulation.
03:37
In this example, an error occurs.
03:41
If this is the case, exit the simulation.
03:45
From the Browser, right-click the toolpath and select Edit.
03:49
The Inspect dialog opens again.
03:52
Adjust the toolpath.
03:55
In this instance, one of the points is adjusted, and from the Geometry tab, for the Order,
04:01
Optimize the XY travel is selected to speed up the process.
04:06
After adjusting, re-simulate the toolpath and review it to make sure there are no more errors.
04:13
When you are finished, exit the simulation.
04:18
Now, you can post to the machine.
04:21
On the toolbar, click Post for Alignment.
04:25
In the NC Program dialog, enter a descriptive File name for the program, navigate to the appropriate output folder,
04:33
and change the necessary post properties.
04:36
Click Post.
04:38
Fusion notifies you that the NC successfully posted, so now you can run it on the actual machine.
04:45
The machine will generate a results file, which must be imported back into Fusion.
04:52
On the toolbar, click Get Results.
04:55
The Import Inspection Results dialog opens.
04:59
In the File group, adjacent to Results File, click Select.
05:04
In the Results File Browser, navigate to and open your results file.
05:09
The canvas updates with the results from the machine.
05:13
In this instance, there are a few points that are out of tolerance,
05:17
under tolerance and over tolerance, as indicated by the color of the cylinders.
05:23
Click OK.
05:26
To see the data, on the toolbar, click Show Part Alignment Information.
05:31
The Part Alignment graph opens.
05:34
Here, you can review the results for both before and after the alignment by placing your pointer over the individual points.
05:41
Or, you can select the cylinders and see where they are on the graph.
05:46
You can also view a table of results.
05:49
Review the deviation after alignment, or deselect Display results after part alignment to review the deviation prior to the alignment.
05:58
Again, selecting the cylinders on the canvas highlights the associated results in the table.
06:04
Close the table and the graph.
06:07
Finally, you can post with alignment.
06:10
On the toolbar, click Post with Alignment.
06:14
In the NC Program dialog, change any Post properties as needed.
06:20
Next, click the Operations tab to see that the part alignment has not been selected,
06:25
while all other subsequent operations have been selected.
06:29
Click Post.
06:31
A message indicates that the code was successfully posted.
06:35
Click View NC Code.
06:37
Notice in the code that there is a slight tilt in the B axis
06:41
and quite a large tilt in the C axis to help ensure that the part is flat when the first operation is facing.
06:48
To achieve this, because the machine is not perfect, there is a bit of a rotation calculated in the code.
06:55
Now, simulate the toolpaths with the machine after the alignment.
06:59
Select all appropriate toolpaths from the Browser, then right-click and select Simulate with Machine.
07:07
You can see that the C-axis tilts and the toolpaths have been updated accordingly.
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