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spectraCAM Lathe

Assignment

spectraCAM Lathe

spectraCAM is a Computer-Aided-Manufacturing (CAM) program that can rake a drawing file from a CAD program and, with your help, turn it into NC code. You can then use the NC code to machine parts on a mill or other machine tool. The CAD drawing file must be in a special format called DXF (data exchange format). If the drawing file is not in the DXF format, spectraCAM can not use it.

Assignment: Peg

Setting Parameters

From the Setup Menu , choose Stock and then Select...
When the Select Stock dialog box appears, click on 2 x 0.75 Aluminum in the stock window, and then on the Select button to select it.

The stock in the drawing area will change size.
Next set the grid size. This will help keep the drawing accurate.
From the Setup Menu, select Snaps.
In the Set Snaps box, choose Grid/Space in the Constraints window, and enter 0.0625 in the size field.
Click on OK to save your changes.

Draw the Arc

Now that you have the drawing parameters set, you can begin the CAD portion of the process. The first operation is to draw the arc at the end of the part.

Click on the Radius Arc button on the draw toolbar, or select Radius Arc from the Draw menu.
The cursor will change, indicating that an operation is in process
Click the cursor on the point (2.0, 0.0)
Move the cursor to the point (1.75, 0.25) and click.
A line joining the two points appears, and the Quick Entry toolbar changes, allowing you to enter a radius. You can either move the cursor to the radius box, or simply begin typing. Enter 0.25 in the radius box, and click on Apply
Move the cursor back to the drawing area so that the arc looks like the one shown here, and click in the drawing.
Press the Escape button on the keyboard to end the operation.

Drawing Lines

After the Arc is drawn the next step is to draw lines.

Select the Line button from the Draw toolbar, or Line from the Draw menu.
The cursor changes. Select the end point of the arc as the start point for the line. Move the cursor to the point (1.625, 0.25) and click. spectraCAM draws the line.
The endpoint of the first line becomes the start point for the next line.

Move the cursor to the point (1.25, 0.3125) and click.
Move the cursor up to the Quick Enter Bar and enter the following coordinates in the Z and X boxes: (1.2, 0.35), and press the Enter key. A line appears from the last point you clicked on to a new point. The new endpoint is between points on the grid. Even if you had turned off the Snap to Grid function, it would have been hard to draw the line to the exact point. Entering the coordinates is much more accurate, and faster.
Again select the Z and X boxes on the Quick Enter bar, enter the points (0.875, 0.35) and click Apply .
Move the cursor back into the drawing area and click on the point (0.875, 0.375). Press the Escape key to end the Line operation.

Save the Drawing

From either the File menu or the Standard toolbar, select Save.
The Save As dialog box appears the first time you save a file. Type a name for your file (Sample 1 will do for this exercise), and choose a directory in which to save it. The default directory is the samples folder in the program directory.

spectraCAM saves the file as a Session file, for use in the second part of the CAD/CAM/CNC process.

Generating Toolpath

The next step is to turn your drawing into toolpaths the tool will follow when it cuts the part. Again, there are operation parameters that need to be set before creating the toolpaths.

From the Setup menu select Post Processor . The Post Processor window appears, allowing you to select from a number of post processor files. Choose the one appropriate for the machine you will be turning on, such as the spectraLIGHT Turning center.

On the Dialog Bar, Layer _0 should be displayed as the current layer. If not, click on the down arrow next to the Layers window and select Layer_0.
Click on the Select button next to the Layers window. The part outline will appear dashed indicating everything on that layer is selected.
In the Operations toolbar click on the Rough button. A bracket appears, with an outline of a tool, showing the intended toolpath.

The Quick Enter Bar also changes, showing other parameters for the operation. The Tools window allows you to select the tool used. Be sure Tool 1 is selected.
Step Size and Finish Amount should be set to 0.015.
Click on the Generate Toolpaths button on the Operations toolbar. The toolpaths appear on the screen, along with a dialog box asking if you want to accept the toolpaths. Click on Yes.
If you are using the split screen, you will see the toolpath code information in the NC Edit window, and a graphic verification will take place in the Verify window.

Save as an NC File

After you have seen the verification, save the session. Then you will generate the NC file that will be read by the CNC Lathe when turning the part.

From the File menu select Save NC.
A dialog box appears, prompting you to name the file, and select a directory to store it. The default directory is the WCAMT folder, however you may choose to store it in any directory.
When you are satisfied with the location, click on Save.

Congratulations! You have just completed the first two steps of the CAD/CAM/CNC process!

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spectraCAM Lathe

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