For this newsletter we will take a look at some of the common questions asked where answers are not so obvious. During the training courses, many of these questions are explained but for those who were unable to attend....

Kinematic Simulation - How do I display the tool holder ?

All types of machining (2D, 3D and 5axis) will work with a tool holder in the simulator. The most important point is to set the tool correctly within the tool holder.

In the tool holder tab of the tool definition, when you add the tool holder, a blue line that represents the back of the spindle is displayed. This blue line must be at the back of the tool holder to display correctly within the kinematic simulation. When a tool holder is added to a tool, the default is to leave the blue line at the back of the tool and not automatically adjust or the tool holder. This will result in the tool holder not being displayed correctly within the kinematic simulation.

Using the "up & down" arrow icons on the left hand side of the screen, move the blue line to the back of the spindle. The result will be the correct tool and tool holder representation within the kinematic simulation.

DNC Manager Backup

A new option has been added to DNC Manager to allow you to export your DNC configurations for backup purposes or to configure another PC. Simply highlight the configuration to be exported and left mouse click on the export option. A save as box will allow the configuration selected to be saved as a *.REG file.  i.e. Fanuc0M.reg. Simply repeat the process for all configurations.

To install these an a different PC simply copy all the *.REG files to the PC and double click on each one. It is important to make a backup of all the DNC communications settings because if the hard disk fails all the settings will be lost. Please keep these settings safe (not on the PC on which DNC manager is installed) to enable any configuration to be quickly re-instated.

The export option is only available on later versions of DNC Manager, if you are using an earlier version that does not have the export facility then please copy all the DNC settings and upgrade to the latest install.

How can I change the hatch pitch within the plotview ?

A new option was added to V15 to allow the system to calculate the pitch of the hatching based on the area of the geometry being hatched. If this is set, the ability to edit the hatch pitch is de-activated. To enable this option it is necessary to set the hatching parameter to "Fixed Division".

Super Fast Line Trimming

If you are working with 2D geometry and need to trim two lines to one another, the simplest and fastest solution is to use WIREFRAME > CIRCLE/ARC > FILLET and use a radius value of 0 (zero). Please note that the geometry selection position will determine which side of the segment remains.

Command Finder

VISI 15 introduced a new 'command finder' within the main interface. At the base of the user interface, you'll find a small text entry box. This allows you to quickly type in a search string and a dynamic menu will be displayed with all of the commands that match the string. For example, typing BLE will present all of the blending commands. This tool should be very useful for casual users or those looking to expand their knowledge beyond their everyday use.

If you have any tips or tricks that you would like to share, please email me with a description (marc@vero.co.uk) and I will add them to a future Vero Newsletter.

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