How Containment Simplifies Zw3d Machining

By Author: Sanjay Gangal
Total Articles: 2
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For any CAD/CAM system, there are always lots of operations that can be used to meet the manufacturing requirements. Z-level is a popular ZW3D machining operation which is generally used to machine steep surfaces or steep areas of a part. General machining practice dictates that in order to get good surface finish, it's important to choose the correct tool path operation. Sometimes it may be necessary, to restrict or contain the tool path to a particular region of the part.

This article describes how to control and contain tool path for Z-level machining in ZW3D. Here are a few of the available choices:

1. Z direction: You can select the Top and Bottom option to define the machining height or the machining area between two points generally in the Z-axis (Figure 1)

Figure 1

2. XY and Z direction simultaneously: If we only need to machine the vertical outside surface of this Part, we can pick the top profile and the bottom profile and then define them as containment features. As illustrated ...
... in FIG.2.

Figure.2

The resulting tool path is shown in the right of FIG.2

If there is any need to control the machining height, we can contain in using Top and Bottom containment, as mentioned above.

3. Containing tool paths using profiles: As showed in FIG.3, if we need to machine the area between two or more profiles, we simply define them as containment features and then select the part and containment with the results shown in the right of FIG.3

Figure 3

4. Angular containment. In FIG.3, we can see that the flat area at the base of the bottle was also machined, but because of the step, we won't get a good surface finish. We could, of course enable the Equal Cusp Option and ZW3D would automatically add more passes to maintain the desired cusp height and surface finish. In this example though, let's use containment to force ZW3D to only machine the steep areas of the part.

By setting a Minimum Angular limit and Maximum Angular limit, ZW3D only computes tool path in the areas whose angle is between the Min and Max. The tool path in FIG.4 was contained between a minimum 45° and a maximum 90° angles. We could then use a different machining operation, such as Zigzag to finish the flatter areas of the blow mold cavity (minimum1°and maximum 45°)

Figure.4

5. Single surface containment: Sometimes there will be a single surface that needs to be machined on its own. In this case, we just create Tool path for this surface. So we should select the boundary of the surface as a closed profile, and then define it to as a containment feature as follows

Figure.5

Calculate it, the Tool path just as illustrated in FIG.5.

6. Contain the extent of Tool path in XY direction: In FIG.6, we can see the Tool path extends beyond the boundaries of the part. By setting up the option of percentage % offset in containment option of Parameter form, the extent of Tool path in XY direction can be controlled as illustrated in FIG.6

Figure.6

7. Surface Limiting Containment.

For some Parts (Like the Part showed in FIG.7), we want the tool path to be limited to the bottom shape of the part.

Figure.7

Notice that in the case of FIG.7, the tool path would waste time in unnecessary air cuts. Therefore, we can select all the bottom surfaces as a containment surface feature and ZW3D will create the tool path as shown in FIG.8.

Figure.8

About ZW3D
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