What's New

FeatureCAM 2013 R3

What's New
Copyright © 1995-2013 Delcam plc. All rights reserved. Delcam plc.
All rights reserved.
Delcam plc has no control over the use made of the software
described in this manual and cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage howsoever caused as a result of using the software.
Users are advised that all the results from the software should be
checked by a competent person, in accordance with good quality
control procedures.
The functionality and user interface in this manual is subject to
change without notice in future revisions of software.
The software described in this manual is furnished under licence
agreement and may be used or copied solely in accordance with the
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this manual or portions of this manual for personal use only.
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software may make copies of this manual or portions of this manual
for students currently registered for classes where the software is
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Acknowledgements
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Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States.

FeatureCAM Version: 2013 R3 Date: 22 April 2013 14:43

Contents
What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 1
User interface improvements .............................................................................. 1
Balloon help................................................................................................ 1
Tooling improvements......................................................................................... 2
Never select tool......................................................................................... 3
2.5D: Rounding Mills — Set touch-off point at tip ....................................... 3
New probing tool group .............................................................................. 4
2.5D Milling improvements.................................................................................. 6
NT toolpaths for finishing ............................................................................ 6
3D improvements ................................................................................................ 8
Import surfaces (3D LITE) .......................................................................... 8
Finish axial allowance (3D LITE) ................................................................ 8
Leave axial allowance (3D MX) .................................................................. 9
3D spiral out ............................................................................................... 9
Other important improvements ........................................................................... 9
Part library: 64-bit format .......................................................................... 10
Vertical mill/turn (TURNMILL, MTT, 5AP)................................................. 10
Import improvements ........................................................................................ 11
SolidWorks: Manage associativity ............................................................ 12
Parasolid kernel upgrade to 24.1.............................................................. 12
Turn/mill and 4th-axis improvements ................................................................ 13
Turn/mill & 4th-axis: Change index axis ................................................... 13

What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 15

User interface improvements ............................................................................ 15
Improved background gradient ................................................................. 16
Tool Manager improvements .................................................................... 18
Tool Properties dialog improvements ....................................................... 19
Color improvements ................................................................................. 20
Plunge tab ................................................................................................ 22
Helical Options ......................................................................................... 23
Show/hide all in Setup .............................................................................. 24
Simulation start point buttons ................................................................... 24
File send ................................................................................................... 25
Custom setup sheets ................................................................................ 26
Network database improvements ..................................................................... 28
SQL Server Express now available .......................................................... 28
Simulation improvements.................................................................................. 30
Better 3D simulation performance ............................................................ 30
Round stock display improved.................................................................. 30

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New Contents • i

 2.5D improvements ........................................................................................... 31
Automatically avoid fixtures and clamps ................................................... 31
4-axis wrapping: Easier programming of barrel cams .............................. 33
3D improvements .............................................................................................. 33
All 3-axis finishing operations can use a stock model .............................. 33
Advanced stock model settings ................................................................ 34
Turn improvements ........................................................................................... 37
Side liftoff angle ........................................................................................ 38
Arc lead-in/out for Turn/Bore feature ........................................................ 40
XBUILD: New transfer reserved word ...................................................... 41
Turn/Mill improvements..................................................................................... 41
OD location for features from curves reinstated ....................................... 41
Import improvements ........................................................................................ 42
Export improvements ........................................................................................ 42
XBUILD improvements ..................................................................................... 42

What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 44

General improvements...................................................................................... 44
New selection method .............................................................................. 45
Easier feed and speed unit conversion .................................................... 47
Use STL as a clamp for 3D simulation ..................................................... 48
Snap to STL ............................................................................................. 49
Lengthen Sim Speed slider ...................................................................... 49
Probing: New options for Probing UDF .................................................... 50
XBUILD: New reserved words .................................................................. 50
FeatureMILL 2.5D improvements ..................................................................... 52
Drill/Mill: Continuous spiral for rough endmill............................................ 53
Global Toolpath edits and transforms ....................................................... 54
Zigzag toolpath for Face ........................................................................... 54
FeatureMILL 3D improvements ........................................................................ 56
Stock model operation .............................................................................. 56
New mid-level 3D product ........................................................................ 57
Override default start points (3D MX) ....................................................... 58
Bottom up for Z-level finish (3D MX) ........................................................ 61
Z-level rough area filter (3D HSM) ............................................................ 63
Step cutting (3D HSM).............................................................................. 66
Cusp control for Steep and Shallow strategy (3D HSM) ........................... 70
5-axis improvements ......................................................................................... 71
Positive/negative position (5AP) ............................................................... 72
Override default start points (5AS) ........................................................... 74
5-axis options for more strategies (5AS) .................................................. 76
Smoothing distance (5AS) ........................................................................ 76
Tool axis stabilization (5AS) ..................................................................... 79
Improved tool axis options (5AS) .............................................................. 84
FeatureTURN improvements ............................................................................ 85
Integrated part handling (TURN) .............................................................. 85
Control feed rate on approach moves (TURN) ......................................... 87
Canned cycle support for semi-finish (TURN) .......................................... 90
STL curve of revolution recognition (TURN) ............................................. 91

ii • Contents FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 FeatureTURNMILL improvements .................................................................... 92
B-axis rotary (TURNMILL) ........................................................................ 92
Use Y axis with Points List pattern (TURNMILL) ...................................... 94
Import wizard (TURNMILL)....................................................................... 95
AFR for SolidWorks Holes (TURNMILL)................................................... 95

Index 97

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New Contents • iii

What's New in
FeatureCAM 2013 R3

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 offers all of the original features of

FeatureCAM 2013 R2, but with numerous improvements. The most
significant improvements are detailed in the topics that follow.

FeatureCAM has three major enhancement releases per year

(R1, R2, and R3) issued once every four months. This section
describes what's new for FeatureCAM 2013 R3 and covers
four months of development. To see a year's worth of
development, please also see the What's New topics for the
previous two releases.
 What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 (see page 15)
 What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 (see page 44)

User interface improvements

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes these user interface improvements:
 Additional help information is available to you in the form of
pop-up Balloon help (see page 1).

Balloon help
Starting with the Plunge tab attributes, balloon help will be rolled
out across FeatureCAM attributes, making it easier and quicker for
you to understand how a particular attribute works.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 • 1

 To display balloon help, hover your mouse pointer over the attribute
image on the Plunge tab. A balloon help window is displayed
containing further information, for example:

If you want to disable balloon help, you can deselect Help > Balloon
Help from the menu.

Tooling improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes these tooling improvements:
 The Never select this tool (see page 3) option is available for more
milling tool types.
 You can now set the touch-off point for Rounding Mill (see page
3) tools at the tip of the tool.
 There is a new Probing (see page 4) tool group.

2 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Never select tool
In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, the Never select this tool option, that was
previously available only for End Mill tools, has been added to other
tool types, such as Twist Drill:

If you select Never select this tool, FeatureCAM does not select the
tool automatically, but you can choose the tool manually.

2.5D: Rounding Mills — Set touch-off point at tip

In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, you can set the touch-off point to be the
tip of the tool instead of the shoulder.
There are two new options in the Rounding Mill Tool Properties
dialog:

Tip-To-Shoulder Length — Enter the length between the shoulder

and the tip of the tool. This length is the same as the arc Radius by
default, but you can increase it.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 • 3

 Touch off at the shoulder — Rounding Mill tools touch off at the
shoulder by default. Deselect this option to move the touch-off
point to the tip of the tool.

This example shows the default behavior with Touch off at the
shoulder selected. The toolpath is at the top of the Round feature.
This example shows Touch off at the shoulder deselected. The
tool touches off at the tip. The toolpath is at the bottom of the
Round feature.
This example shows Touch off at the shoulder deselected and a
Tip-To-Shoulder Length that is double the Radius value. The tool
touches off at the tip. The toolpath is below the bottom of the
Round feature.

When Touch off at the shoulder is selected, the Exposed length

value does not include the tip.When it is deselected, the
Exposed length value includes the tip length.

New probing tool group

There is a new Probe tool group in FeatureCAM 2013 R3:

4 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 The Probe Tool Properties dialog works in a similar way to the other
tool groups:

Name — Enter a name that identifies the tool. The name must be
unique among all the tools in the crib.
Measure — This indicates the units that are used for reporting the
tool’s dimensions. Select Inches for inch units or deselect it for
millimeters.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 • 5

 Ball Diameter
Stem Diameter
Overall Length
Shank Length
Lower Shank Length
Upper Shank Length
Taper Length

Taper Shank — Deselect this option to have a shank with a constant

diameter and enter the Shank Diameter instead of Lower Shank Length and
Upper Shank Length.

2.5D Milling improvements

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes these 2.5D milling improvements:
 New technology (see page 6) (NT) toolpaths are available for
finish operations.

NT toolpaths for finishing

In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, NT toolpaths are available for the Finish
pass.

6 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 There is a new NT toolpaths option on the Strategy tab for the Finish
pass. The Finish bottom and Wall pass options have moved.

Select NT toolpaths and Finish bottom to enable the Stepover menu,

where you can select one of the NT toolpaths:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 • 7

 When using NT toolpaths for the Finish pass, the HSM attributes are
available on the Milling tab, and work in a similar way to the Rough
pass HSM attributes:

3D improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes these 3D milling improvements:
 Import surfaces (see page 8) (3D LITE)
 New Finish axial allowance (see page 8) attribute (3D LITE)
 New Leave axial allowance (see page 9) attribute (3D MX)
 3D spiral outwards (see page 9) (3D HSM)

Import surfaces (3D LITE)

You can now import 3D surfaces from .dxf, .dwg, and .iges files if you
have the 3D LITE product.

Finish axial allowance (3D LITE)

In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, you can set separate axial and radial finish
allowance values for the Z-level rough strategy. There is a new
Finish axial allowance attribute.

8 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Finish axial allowance — Enter the amount of axial (XY) material to
leave on a feature after the Rough pass. If you enter a value for
Finish axial allowance, the value for Finish allowance is applied to
radial (Z) material. If you leave Finish axial allowance blank, the
value for Finish allowance is applied to axial and radial material.

Leave axial allowance (3D MX)

In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, you can set separate axial and radial leave
allowance values for the Z-level finish strategy. There is a new
Leave axial allowance attribute.

Leave axial allowance — Enter the amount of axial (XY) material to

leave on a feature after the Finish pass. If you enter a value for
Leave axial allowance, the value for Leave allowance is applied to
radial (Z) material. If you leave Leave axial allowance blank, the
value for Leave allowance is applied to axial and radial material.

3D spiral out
In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, you can make the 3D spiral strategy move
outwards. Select the new In to out option on the Strategy tab:

The Continuous spiral and Smoothing options have been

moved to this tab.

Other important improvements

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes these other important improvements:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 • 9

  The Part Library (see page 10) is available in 64-bit format.
 There is a new Vertical mill/turn (see page 10) document type.

Part library: 64-bit format

In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, you can create and export a 64-bit format
part library.
The bit-ness of the current library is displayed in the Part Library
dialog:

When you create or export a part library, the Part Library Format
dialog is displayed, where you specify a 64-bit or 32-bit part library.

A 32-bit version of FeatureCAM cannot read a 64-bit part

library, but a 64-bit part library is faster and recommended.

Vertical mill/turn (TURNMILL, MTT, 5AP)

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 supports vertical mill/turn machines such as
Okuma VTM-120YB, Mori Seiki SuperMILLER 400, Mori Seiki
NMV5000 DBC, Mazak Integrex e-800V II (side spindle), Matsuura
CUBLEX-25, and DMG FD Series.

10 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 There is a new Vertical Mill/Turn document type:

When you open a new Vertical Mill/Turn document, two Setups are
created by default:

Setup1 is a turning Setup

Setup2 is a milling Setup

The new Vertical Mill/Turn option in Stock Properties is automatically

selected for a Vertical Mill/Turn document, and the Fixture Location
button is available for the milling part of the document:

There is a new VerticalMillTurnAddin.bas add-in available. Load and

run the add-in to access these two buttons:
The PostMillTurnSetups button combines the
two Setups into a single NC code file.
The SimTurnMillingSetups button combines
the two Setups into one simulation for 3D or
machine simulation.

Import improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes these import improvements:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 • 11

  You can now manage associativity (see page 12) for SolidWorks
files.
 The Parasolid kernel has been upgraded (see page 12) to version
24.1.

SolidWorks: Manage associativity

In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, it is easier to manage the associativity with
SolidWorks files. You can now change the .sldprt file name with
which a FeatureCAM file is associated.
Right-click the name of the solid in the Part View and select Solid
Source File from the context menu:

The Solid Source File dialog is displayed:

If the solid source .sldprt file is renamed or moved, you can set the
new name and/or location here to keep the associativity. Click the
Browse button to find the source file.
If associativity is kept, FeatureCAM displays a warning when the
source file is updated, to ask if you also want to update the .fm file.

Parasolid kernel upgrade to 24.1

This is a major upgrade of the Parasolid kernel for FeatureCAM,
which fixes a number of bugs.

12 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 As a result of the upgrade, there is a new option in FeatureCAM.

In certain cases, the Parasolid kernel does not compute a Stock

curve correctly. If you have problems trying to compute a Stock
curve from a Parasolid file, try selecting the Use new stock curve
finder option on the Misc. tab of Machining Attributes.

This option is deselected by default because the alternative

method is slower.

Turn/mill and 4th-axis improvements

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes these Turn/mill improvements:
 You can now change the index axis (see page 13) for turn/mill
and 4th-axis parts.

Turn/mill & 4th-axis: Change index axis

In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, you can change the index axis for turn/mill
and 4-axis positioning parts. You no longer need to use the STOCK
index axis.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 • 13

 There is a new Index axis UCS option on the Indexing tab of the
Stock Properties dialog:

If you create a new UCS, it is available for you to select in the Index
axis UCS menu.

14 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R3 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

What's New in
FeatureCAM 2013 R2

FeatureCAM 2013 R2 offers all of the original features of

FeatureCAM 2013 R1, but with numerous improvements. The most
significant improvements are detailed in the topics that follow.

FeatureCAM has three major enhancement releases per year

(R1, R2, and R3) issued once every four months. This section
describes what's new for FeatureCAM 2013 R2 and covers
four months of development. To see a year's worth of
development, please also see the What's New topics for the
previous two releases.
 What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 (see page 44)
 What's New in FeatureCAM 2012 R3

User interface improvements

FeatureCAM 2013 R2 has a more modern and attractive user
interface:
 The background (see page 16) is improved and matches your
choice of interface style.
 The Tool Manager (see page 18) and Tool Properties (see page
19) dialogs have many improvements.
 There have been various color improvements (see page 20).
Other user interface improvements include:
 A new Plunge (see page 22) tab grouping all attributes relating
to plunging.
 The machining attributes relating to helical ramping are now in a
new dedicated Helical Ramp Options (see page 23) dialog.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 15

  You can now easily show or hide all features (see page 24) in a
Setup.
 There are new buttons available relating to simulation starting
points (see page 24).
 You can now zip multiple files (see page 25) relating to the
current document, ready to email.

Improved background gradient

The default background gradient has been improved:

If you change the Style of the interface in the Customize Toolbars

dialog, FeatureCAM asks you if you want to change the background
color scheme to one that matches:

16 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Shaded Grey:

Glass:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 17

 Tool Manager improvements
The Tool Manager preview window background now matches the
background (see page 16) of the graphics area:

When you select a tool, the preview image is now much more
detailed. It shows the holder and the shank:

If you move your mouse pointer over the image, the tool is
automatically centered:

To turn off this setting, right-click on the image and deselect

Automatic Center Tool from the context menu.
You can also display a representation of the flutes on end mill tools.
To do this, right-click in the preview window and select Show Flutes
on End Mills in the context menu. The display represents the
number of flutes and the handedness of the tool, for example:

18 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 2 flutes, 4 flutes, 4 flutes,
right-handed right-handed left-handed

Tool Properties dialog improvements

The Tool Properties dialog has been improved in FeatureCAM 2013
R2.
The tool preview window, now on the left of the dialog, is much
larger and separate from the tabs so that it is always visible:

The tool holder is now shown in the preview window, by default. To

hide the tool holder, right-click in the preview window and deselect
Show Tool Holder in the context menu.
The tool shank is also now shown.
The tool, holder, and shank have a dark outline to make them
clearer.
You can automatically center the tool in the preview window by
moving your mouse pointer over the image:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 19

 To turn off this setting, right-click on the image and deselect
Automatic Center Tool from the context menu.
You can also display a representation of the flutes on end mill tools.
To do this, right-click in the preview window and select Show Flutes
on End Mills in the context menu. The display represents the
number of flutes and the handedness of the tool, for example:
2 flutes, 4 flutes, 4 flutes,
right-handed right-handed left-handed

Color improvements
In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, there are new color controls throughout, to
make the software more appealing.

20 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 The default Feature and Sub Spindle Operations colors have been
improved and you can now change the default Tool colors:

There is a new Reset All button in the Default Colors dialog to enable
you to reset the default color of all items at the same time.
Any Custom colors that you define are saved in the settings file and
are available next time you use FeatureCAM.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 21

 Plunge tab
In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, the attributes relating to plunging are
conveniently located together on a new Plunge tab:

Click the Minimum Ramp button to open the new Minimum Ramp
Distances dialog:

22 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 When using Helical ramping, click the Helical Options button to open
the Helical Ramp Options dialog:

Helical Options
The machining attributes relating to helical ramping are now in a
new dedicated Helical Ramp Options dialog:

To open this dialog, select Helical ramping and click the Helical
Options button on the Lead/Ramp tab:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 23

 Show/hide all in Setup
In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, you can easily show or hide all features in
a Setup. There are two new options in the context menu for a Setup
in the Part View:
 Show All in Setup
 Hide All in Setup

Simulation start point buttons

In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, there are two new buttons available:
Set sim results as starting point
Clear starting point
To add these buttons to a toolbar:
1 Select View > Toolbars from the menu.
The Customize Toolbars dialog is displayed.
2 On the Commands tab, select Simulation in the Categories list.
The new buttons are available:

3 Drag the icon you want onto the toolbar you want to add it to.

24 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 File send
In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, you can zip multiple files relating to the
current document, ready to email.
Open the new Send Part Files dialog by selecting File > Send from the
menu.

Select the files you want to send from:

Part document — The current .fm file.
Milling post — The current Milling .cnc file.
Turning post — The current Turning .cnc file.
Wire EDM post — The current Wire EDM .cnc file.
User interface settings — The .ini file containing your user interface
preferences.
Select how you want to send the files:
As individual files — The individual files are attached to a new email.
As a zip file — The files are zipped and the .zip file is attached to a
new email.
Place on desktop — The files are zipped and the .zip file is saved
to your desktop.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 25

 Custom setup sheets
In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, you can create custom setup sheets for
milling, turning, and turn/mill parts using a new add-in.
The add-in extracts information from the Part Documentation dialog
and enables you to take images for each Setup.
You can use setup sheets to give information to the machine
operator about the manufacturing, tooling, and toolpaths of a part.
To load and run the add-in:
1 Select Options > Add-Ins from the menu.
The Macro Add-ins dialog is displayed.
2 Click the Browse button and browse to the SetupSheet.dll file.
If you installed FeatureCAM in the default location, the file is at
C:\Program Files\Delcam\FeatureCAM\Addins\SetupSheet\SetupSheet.dll.
3 In the Macro Add-ins dialog, in the Add-In Files list, ensure that
the check box to the left of the SetupSheet.dll file address is
selected.
4 Click OK.
The Utilities toolbar is displayed, containing the SetupSheet
button.
5 Click the SetupSheet button to run the add-in.

26 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 The Setup Sheet Options dialog is displayed:

The Title, Author, Note 1, Note 2, and Comments values are copied
from the Documentation tab of the Part Documentation dialog and
you can edit them there.
You can use this dialog to capture an image for each Setup in the
current document, as well as an image to represent the whole
document.
To capture an image for a Setup, select the Setup name in the
Setups list and click the Capture Setup Image button to capture the
current contents of the Graphics window.

First run a simulation only for the Setup you want to capture
by deselecting other Setups in the Part View; then adjust the
view to show a good orientation of the Setup, and open the
Setup Sheet Options dialog to capture the image in the
Graphics window.
You must use a template to create the setup sheets. Click the
Browse Template button to find and set the template you want to
use. There is a template, SetupSheetTemplate.html, in the
Addins\SetupSheet folder.
To create the setup sheets, click the Create Setup Sheets button. The
part is simulated to generate toolpaths and the setup sheet is
displayed in your web browser. You can save the HTML file from
your browser.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 27

 To open the setup sheet in the FeatureCAM Browser, select File >
Open from the menu and browse to the setup sheet HTML file.

Network database improvements

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes this network database improvement:
 You can now use Microsoft SQL Server Express (see page 28) for
your network database.

SQL Server Express now available

In FeatureCAM 2013 R3 you can use SQL Server for your network
database. This gives better performance and reliability for your
network database. There is a new option in the Tool and Material
Setup dialog:

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express is a free edition of SQL Server

that you may use to host your Delcam tools and materials database
used by FeatureCAM. It is available in 32-bit and 64-bit editions and
in these languages:
 Chinese  Japanese
(simplified)  Korean
 Chinese  Portuguese
(traditional) (Brazil)
 English  Russian
 French  Spanish
 German
 Italian

28 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 When using Microsoft SQL Express to host your FeatureCAM tools
and materials you need a server computer to host the SQL Server
software and the tools/materials database. This server computer
should be a different computer from the client workstations where
users are running FeatureCAM.

The database server can host multiple databases. So your

server can contain several different FeatureCAM tools and
materials databases, each from different versions of
FeatureCAM, different departments in your organization, or
for whatever other reasons you require. Generally this isn't be
necessary, but it is possible if you need to do this.

Installation
1 Pick a computer at your facility that you wish to host the
FeatureCAM tools and materials database. We'll call this the
database server. The database server must meet these criteria:
 It must be running Microsoft Windows.
 It must be connected to your network.
 It must be able to run Microsoft SQL Server Express 2012.
 You can see system requirements at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506.aspx
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506.aspx)
2 Find out the hostname of the database server.
3 Download either the Express (Database Only) or Express with
Tools from
http://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/pd/SQLEXPCTAV2/en
us/default.aspx
(http://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/pd/SQLEXPCTAV2/en
us/default.aspx). If your database server is a 32-bit Windows,
then you'll need to download the 32-bit version of SQL Server
Express. If 64-bit, then download the 64-bit version instead.

The bitness of your download must match the bitness of the

database server computer, and has nothing to do with the
bitness of your client workstations. You may download the
language of your choice.
4 Install Microsoft SQL Server Express on your database server.
5 From any client workstation using FeatureCAM 2013 R3, find
INITDB in the Start menu and run it.
6 In the Tool and Material Setup dialog, select On a SQL Server and
enter the hostname of the database server computer as the
Server Name.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 29

 7 After entering the Server Name, you can select an existing
database on the database server in the Database Name menu, or
create a new one.
8 The first time you run of INITDB you can do one of the following:
 Initialize a new database with all the default tools.
 Import tools from another database elsewhere on your
network
 Upgrade an existing database to the latest version of
FeatureCAM and load it with all of the default tooling.
Subsequent client installations default to this choice.

Simulation improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R2 includes these simulation improvements:
 3D simulation (see page 30) is faster.
 Round stock (see page 30) is displayed more accurately.

Better 3D simulation performance

3D simulation performance has been improved in FeatureCAM 2013
R2.
The results of the changes made are very dependent on the
simulation, and also depend to some extent on the graphics card
being used. However, as a general rule for simple simulations being
rendered after every cut, the overall speed (including cutting as well
as rendering) has been improved by 10% to 15%.

For very large tools, performance was often poor because the entire
tool, often consisting of thousands of facets, was being simulated,
when only a small portion of it affected the stock. The changes in
this version mean that 3D simulation will often recognize these
situations and only carry out simulation with the part of the tool
that is close to the stock. This can give big performance
improvements in some situations, and often gives improved quality
for multi-axis simulations.

Round stock display improved

In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, you can make the simulation of round
stock (used by turning and indexing parts) more accurate.

30 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 There is a new Round Stock tab in Simulation Options which includes
the new Roundness tolerance attribute.

Roundness tolerance — Reduce the tolerance to make round stock

appear rounder and less faceted.
Higher Roundness Lower Roundness
tolerance: tolerance:

2.5D improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R2 includes these 2.5D improvements:
 You can automatically avoid fixtures and clamps (see page 31).
 With 4-axis wrapping, it is easier to program barrel cams (see
page 33).

Automatically avoid fixtures and clamps

In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, you can automatically clip or trim 2.5D NT
roughing toolpaths against fixtures and clamps.
These features are supported:
 Boss
 Pocket
 Side

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 31

  Face features created with feature recognition (if the plane of the
face intersects the clamp solids)
When you select an NT roughing toolpath as the Stepover type on
the Strategy tab for one of these features, a new Check surfaces
button is available on the Dimensions tab:

Click the Check surfaces button to open the Select Check Surfaces
dialog:

Use this dialog to select surfaces you want to use to limit

machining.
Check surfaces are surfaces that denote areas that you do not want
to machine. Select surfaces that are more horizontal than vertical. A
check surface acts as a boundary up to which milling occurs.

If you select a vertical check surface the milling may resume

on the other side of it if the surface to be milled extends
beyond the check surface.
1 Select the surface(s) in the list box or click Pick and select a
surface with the mouse. To pick additional surfaces, click Pick
again before selecting each additional surface.
2 Click OK to return to the Feature Properties dialog.

32 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Click OK and Apply to apply your surface selection to the feature
and return to the Feature Properties dialog.Optionally enter the
minimum distance that you want to leave around the check
surface(s), using the new Check allowance attribute on the Milling
tab for the rough operation:

4-axis wrapping: Easier programming of barrel cams

In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, it is easier to program barrel cam features.
This particular feature uses 4-axis milling and takes a centerline of
the cam slot, along with the diameter of the follower, and produces
a toolpath with a tool of a given diameter that may be smaller than
the follower. When wrapped around the X axis, small Y moves are
used in conjunction with adjustments to A in order to get the walls
of the slot to be correct.

3D improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R3 has these 3D improvements:
 All 3-axis finishing operations (see page 33) can now use a stock
model.
 There are now advanced stock model settings (see page 34).

All 3-axis finishing operations can use a stock model

In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, you can use a stock model with all 3-axis
finishing operations:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 33

  Parallel  Between 2
finish curves
 Z-level  Horizontal +
finish vertical
 Isoline  Corner
finish remachining
 2D spiral  Pencil
 3D spiral  Swarf
 Radial  Steep and
 Flowline shallow

The Stock Model option is now available on the Stock tab for these
operations:

Stock models are not yet available for 4-axis and 5-axis
operations.
Use the new Stock Model Options (see page 34) button to access
advanced stock model engagement options.

Advanced stock model settings

In FeatureCAM 2013 R2 there is a new Stock Model Settings dialog
to control roughing and finishing operations that use a stock model.

34 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Access the Stock Model Settings dialog by clicking the new Stock
Model Options button on the Stock tab, for 3D strategies:

And the Milling tab for 2.5D NT toolpath operations:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 35

 The Stock Model Settings dialog contains several attributes for
roughing and finishing:

Stock model rest roughing

These attributes apply to the rough operation.
Expand area by — Enter a value to expand rest areas by the
specified distance (measured along the surface). A negative value
reduces the size of rest areas.
Detect material thicker than — Enter a threshold value. FeatureCAM
ignores rest material that is thinner than the specified threshold.
Minimum gap length — Enter the gap length, which controls
fragmentation by replacing gaps shorter than this distance with a
toolpath segment. A large value reduces fragmentation, but
increases the length of the toolpath that isn't actually cutting
material. A small value produces shorter toolpaths but increases the
number of toolpath lifts.
A Minimum gap length of 0:

36 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 A Minimum gap length of the default value:

Stock model engagement for finishing

These attributes apply to the finish operation. They reduce tool
wear, improve surface finish, and stop the tool engaging with the
material excessively.
Machine stock only — Select this option to limit the toolpaths to
areas where a minimum amount of stock is being removed from the
stock model.
Detect material thicker than — Enter a threshold value. FeatureCAM
ignores rest material that is thinner than the specified threshold.
Minimum length removed — Enter a threshold value. FeatureCAM
ignores toolpath portions that are shorter than this.
Use depth of cut — Select this option to limit the depth of cut to the
value you enter.

Turn improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R2 includes these turn improvements:
 You can control the liftoff angle with a new attribute (see page
38).
 You can use an arc to lead in and out (see page 40) for the finish
pass of a Turn or Bore feature.
 There is a new reserved word (see page 41) in XBUILD for a
Transfer feature.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 37

 Side liftoff angle
In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, there is a new Side liftoff angle attribute for
turned Groove features, on the Turning tab:

You can also set its default value for the current document on the
Grooving tab of Machining Attributes:

This attribute enables you to lift the tool off the part after each
plunge cut, at the angle you specify.

You must also set the Side liftoff dist.attribute.

Example
This part has a Groove feature, shown in pink:

38 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 The default behavior is for the tool to lift off the part at 90 , shown
by , after each plunge cut. This results in tool contact with the
uncut material, at , when the tool is retracting at a rapid feed
rate along the X axis:

You can avoid this by using the Side liftoff dist. attribute, to move
the tool back along the Z axis , before lifting off. However this
results in the tool rubbing along the remaining material along the Z
axis .

Use the Side liftoff angle attribute, in conjunction with the Side liftoff
dist. attribute to lift the tool off at the specified angle for the
specified distance , and avoid rubbing the tool along remaining
material in any direction:

Side liftoff dist and Side liftoff angle are ignored for the retract move
at the end of the first plunge. The liftoff move is performed at the
plunge feed rate. If the groove is a round-bottomed groove, then
liftoff is not used, even when specified.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 39

 Arc lead-in/out for Turn/Bore feature
In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, you can use an arc to lead in and out for
the finish pass of a Turn or Bore feature. This enables you to finish
large parts in sections.
There is a new Leads tab for the finish operation of Turn and Bore
features, with the new Arc in and Arc out options:

The linear lead options that were previously on the Turning

tab are now here.
This example uses Linear in and Linear out:

This example uses Arc in and Arc out:

40 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 When using Arc in and Arc out with TNR Comp enabled, small linear
moves are added to the toolpath before the arc in and after the arc
out. Compensation is turned on during the linear segments:

XBUILD: New transfer reserved word

There is a new reserved word in XBUILD:
<Z-XFER-COORD> is the Z coordinate of the Transfer feature in setup
coordinates. This takes into account previous bar pulls.

For a Cutoff feature with transfer, there is no concept of

feature location (because the only location is the cutoff
location). In this case the <Z-XFER-COORD> is assumed to be
the location of the work piece coordinate system, plus any
previous bar pulls.

Turn/Mill improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R3 includes this turn/mill improvement:
 The OD location (see page 41) for features from curves has been
reinstated.

OD location for features from curves reinstated

In FeatureCAM 2013 R2, the OD option has been reinstated on the
Location tab for turn/mill features from curves.
This capability was removed from the software long ago, but has
been missed. Specifically the ability to make a pattern of features
has been restored, where the object of the pattern is located in the
XY plane as opposed to in-place, because many users preferred this
original approach.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 41

 Import improvements
 Spatial's InterOp R23 is integrated:
 Pro/E Reader adds support for Creo 2.
 UG NX Reader now supports Unigraphics NX 8.0 version files
 CATIA V5-6 R2013 (R22)

Export improvements
FeatureCAM 2013 R3 has support for export to CAMplete TruePath.

XBUILD improvements
There are two new ways to manipulate strings in XBUILD:
Operator Function Example Result
InStr([start, Returns the [instr Returns 3.0
]string1,stri position of ("abcdef",
ng2[,compare] the first "def")]
) occurrence of
string2
within
string1.

String
indexes
are
0-based.
The
return
value
indicating
"string
not
found" is
-1.

42 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 InStrRev Returns the [instrrev("d Returns 6.0
(string1,stri position of efabcdef","d
ng2[,start[,c the first ef")]
ompare]]) occurrence of
string2
within
string1. The
search begins
from the end
of the string,
but the
position
returned
counts from
the beginning
of the string.

String
indexes
are
0-based.
The
return
value
indicating
"string
not
found" is
-1.
You can use these new operators, for example, to extract parts of tool
names.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R2 • 43

What's New in
FeatureCAM 2013 R1

FeatureCAM 2013 R1 offers all of the original features of

FeatureCAM 2012 R3, but with numerous improvements. The most
significant improvements are detailed in the topics that follow.

FeatureCAM has three major enhancement releases per year

(R1, R2, and R3) issued once every four months.

General improvements
These are the most significant general improvements in FeatureCAM
2013 R1:
 There is a new selection method. Drag Select (see page 45)
enables you to select multiple adjacent entities by dragging the
mouse pointer across the.
 It is now easier to convert feed and speed (see page 47) values.
 You can now snap to STL models (see page 49) and also use
them as clamps (see page 48).
 Controlling simulation speed is now easier because you can
lengthen the simulation speed slider (see page 49) on the
Simulation toolbar.
 You can do global edits and transforms (see page 54) on a
Toolpath feature.
 FeatureCAM now supports the import of Spatial's 3D InterOp R22
SP2, NX 8 files.
 There are new options for the Probing add-in (see page 50).
 There are new reserved words (see page 50) in XBUILD.

44 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 New selection method
There is a new Drag Select option in FeatureCAM 2013 R1. This
method enables you to select multiple adjacent entities by dragging
the mouse pointer across them.
To enter Drag Select mode, click the Drag Select button in the
Select Menu in the Standard toolbar.

Drag Select example

This example part contains different colored faces and geometry:

The existing selection methods do not work well for this part.
For example, if you use the Select by Color/Type dialog, you can
select either the green lines or the gray lines, but not both at the
same time:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 45

 If you use a box selection over the lines in a front view, you can't
select only the lines without selecting some of the surfaces too:

Using the new Drag Select option, you can drag the mouse pointer
over the lines to the left of the stock to select them all:

Drag Select can save time when selecting adjacent surfaces. With
the standard Select mode, to select adjacent surfaces, you must use
a box-select or Ctrl+click each surface. With Drag Select, just move
the mouse pointer over adjacent surfaces. You can hold down the
Ctrl key with Drag Select to add non-adjacent surfaces to the
selection, or after you have released the mouse button, for example
to change the view of the part.

46 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Easier feed and speed unit conversion
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, when you override the feed or speed
value, then change units, FeatureCAM converts the value you
entered to the new units. This works for milling and turning parts.
Previously, when you entered an override value, and changed units,
FeatureCAM returned to the default value for the new units.

Example
1 Create a Slot feature and view the F/S tab in the Slot Properties
dialog:

The recommended speed is entered by default.

2 Enter a different Speed value. The override box is checked
automatically.

3 Change the Speed units:

FeatureCAM remembers the override value entered and converts

it to the new units. Previously, FeatureCAM returned to the
recommended value when you switched units.
The Feed value works in a similar way.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 47

 Use STL as a clamp for 3D simulation
In FeatureCAM 2013 R3, you can use STL files as a clamps for 3D
simulation.
To use STL files as clamps:
1 Select the STLs that you want to use in one of these ways:
 Select the face of an STL (or multiple-select the faces of more
than one STL) in the Graphics window. If the STLs are not
already shaded, click the Shade button to shade them
first.
 Select the names of the STLs in the Part View.
2 Right-click on the selection.
3 Select Use STLs As Clamp from the context menu.

To see if an STL is used as a clamp or not, right-click it and look at

the context menu. If there is a check mark next to the Use STLs As
Clamp menu item, then that STL is currently used as a clamp:

If there is no check mark, the STL is not currently used as a clamp.

To unset a solid as a clamp, click the Use STLs As Clamp menu item
with the check mark. The check mark is removed and the solid is no
longer a clamp.

48 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Snap to STL
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can snap to points on an STL model
using Snap to Object and Snap to End Point:

Lengthen Sim Speed slider

In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can increase the length of the
simulation speed slider on the Simulation toolbar, to make it easier
to control the speed.
To do this:
1 Ensure the Simulation toolbar is displayed.
2 Select View > Toolbars from the menu. The Customize Toolbars
dialog is displayed, but you don't need to do anything in the
dialog.
3 Click on the Sim Speed slider in the Simulation toolbar and it
displays a border.

4 Hover over the border at the right of the button and the mouse
pointer changes to a double arrow icon.

5 Drag the right border out as far as you want.

6 Click OK to save your changes and close the Customize Toolbars
dialog.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 49

 Probing: New options for Probing UDF
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, there are new options that you can set
easily when you start the Probing Add-in.
After starting the Probing Add-in, the Probing Settings dialog is
displayed:

Show Overtravel — Select this option to show a representation of the

overtravel in the preview in the graphics window and during
simulation.
Default Tool Name — By default, the add-in looks for a lollipop tool,
but you can override that here. Enter a tool name.

XBUILD: New reserved words

5-Axis:

<TOUCHOFF-UCS-X> This is the position in X of the touch-off UCS in

relation to the Stock Axis.
<TOUCHOFF-UCS-Y> This is the position in Y of the touch-off UCS in
relation to the Stock Axis.
<TOUCHOFF-UCS-Z> This is the position in Z of the touch-off UCS in
relation to the Stock Axis.
<UCS-XAXIS-X> The X coordinate of the X axis vector of the
current UCS.
<UCS-XAXIS-Y> The Y coordinate of the X axis vector of the
current UCS.
<UCS-XAXIS-Z> The Z coordinate of the X axis vector of the
current UCS.
<UCS-YAXIS-X> The X coordinate of the Y axis vector of the
current UCS.
<UCS-YAXIS-Y> The Y coordinate of the Y axis vector of the
current UCS.

50 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 <UCS-YAXIS-Z> The Z coordinate of the Y axis vector of the
current UCS.
<UCS-ZAXIS-X> The X coordinate of the Z axis vector of the
current UCS.
<UCS-ZAXIS-Y> The Y coordinate of the Z axis vector of the
current UCS.
<UCS-ZAXIS-Z> The Z coordinate of the Z axis vector of the
current UCS.

Turn Part Handling feature:

<FEED-DIST> This is the Feed distance value from a Part

Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<GRAB-DIST> This is the Grab distance value from a Part
Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<SUB-FEED> This is the Subspindle feed rate value from a Part
Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<PULL-DIST> This is the Pull distance value from a Part
Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<CUTOFF-TRT> This indicates which turret has the cutoff
operation. The values are empty (no cutoff),
main upper, main lower, sub upper, sub lower.
<ALREADY-SUP> TRUE if Already Supported is enabled for a Part
Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<LEAVE-SUP> TRUE if Leave Supported is enabled for a Part
Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<TURRET1-LOC> This indicates the Location of turret 1 while the
sub-spindle is moving, taken from the Transfer
Turret Control dialog in FeatureCAM. The values
are None, Home, Escape, or Cutoff Location.
<TURRET2-LOC> This indicates the Location of turret 2 while the
sub-spindle is moving, taken from the Transfer
Turret Control dialog in FeatureCAM. The values
are None, Home, Escape, or Cutoff Location.
<TURRET3-LOC> This indicates the Location of turret 3 while the
sub-spindle is moving, taken from the Transfer
Turret Control dialog in FeatureCAM. The values
are None, Home, Escape, or Cutoff Location.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 51

 <TURRET4-LOC> This indicates the Location of turret 4 while the
sub-spindle is moving, taken from the Transfer
Turret Control dialog in FeatureCAM. The values
are None, Home, Escape, or Cutoff Location.
<PART-CATCH> TRUE if the Part Catcher option is enabled for a
Part Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<PUSH-PRESS> TRUE if Push/Press is enabled for a Part Handling
feature in FeatureCAM.
<OPEN-DWELL> This is the dwell time after opening the spindle,
taken from the Open dwell attribute value for a
Part Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<CLOSE-DWELL> This is the dwell time after closing the spindle,
taken from the Close dwell attribute value for a
Part Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<GRAB-TYPE> Returns the Spindle Action value from a Part
Handling feature in FeatureCAM.
<MAIN-ANGLE> This is the Main Angle value from a Part Handling
feature in FeatureCAM.
<SUB-ANGLE> This is the Sub Angle value from a Part Handling
feature in FeatureCAM.
<P-PULL-DIST> This is the distance that the part was previously
pulled out of the main spindle, before the
current operation.

FeatureMILL 2.5D improvements

These are the most significant 2.5D improvements in FeatureCAM
2013 R1:
 You can now use continuous spiral toolpaths with drill/mill (see
page 53) rough endmill operations.
 You can edit multiple segments (see page 54) in Toolpath
features and transform them.
 You can now select the Stepover type (see page 54) (including
Zigzag), for a Face feature created with Interactive Feature
Recognition.

52 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Drill/Mill: Continuous spiral for rough endmill
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, there is a new Use continuous spiral option
in the Drill/Mill Options dialog in Machining Attributes:

And at feature-level, accessed from the Strategy tab:

You must select one of the Rough with Endmill... options to

access the new option.
The option uses the NT Continuous Spiral toolpath technology to
eliminate nearly all stepovers.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 53

 Use continuous spiral Use continuous spiral
deselected selected

You can use Helical ramping with Use continuous spiral, for example:

Traditional spiral toolpaths can produce spikes in tool load, another

advantage of NT continuous spiral is that the tool load increases
gradually.

Global Toolpath edits and transforms

In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can edit multiple segments of a
Toolpath feature on the Toolpaths tab.
To do this, CTRL+select or SHIFT+select the segments you want to
edit and right-click the selection to view the context menu. You can
set the coolant and feed rates for the selected segments.
You can also transform a Toolpath feature in the same way as other
features. Select Edit > Transform from the menu or click the
Transform button on the Standard toolbar.

Zigzag toolpath for Face

You can now use a Zigzag toolpath for a Face feature.
To do this, you must create a Face feature using Extract with
FeatureRECOGNITION.

54 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 On the Strategy tab, you can select the Stepover type for the Rough
pass:

Example
This part has a boss on the top face:

You can avoid the boss by creating the Face feature using
Interactive Feature Recognition.
The default toolpath type is This is the same example with
Spiral: NT Zigzag selected as the rough
Stepover type:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 55

 FeatureMILL 3D improvements
These are the most significant 3D improvements in FeatureCAM
2013 R1:
 There is a new mid-level 3D product: 3D MX (see page 57) and
the top level 3D product becomes 3D HSM.
 You can select a specific operation when using a stock model for
3D roughing.
 There is a new Bottom up (see page 61) attribute for Z-level
finishing (requires 3D MX).
 You can override the default start points (see page 58) for
certain strategies using a curve (requires 3D MX).
 The new Area Removal options enable you to remove small
toolpath segments when using Z-level roughing and finishing
(see page 63) and to prevent tool damage to non-center cutting
tools (requires 3D HSM).
 Cusp control (see page 70) is now available for the Steep and
Shallow strategy (requires 3D HSM).
 There is a new Step cutting (see page 66) option that reduces
terracing for Z-level roughing toolpaths (requires 3D HSM).

Stock model operation

In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can select a specific operation when
using a stock model for 3D roughing.

56 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 New mid-level 3D product
There is a new mid-level 3D product available in FeatureCAM 2013
R1: 3D MX.
The top level, traditional 3D product is now called 3D HSM and
includes all 3D functionality and Feature Recognition.
The new 3D MX product offers you a 3D product midway between
3D Lite and 3D HSM. With 3D MX, you can machine multiple
surfaces, and it includes Feature Recognition. You can also use the
Z-level finish strategy.
The main differences between the three 3D products are:

3D Lite 3D MX 3D HSM
 Single surface Everything in 3D Lite, Everything in 3D MX,
 Z-level rough plus: plus:
 Parallel rough  Multiple surfaces  Plunge roughing
 Parallel finish  Feature Recognition  Pencil
 Isoline  Z-level finish  Remachine
 2D spiral  Radial  Steep and shallow
 Flowline  3D spiral
 Four-axis
 Horizontal +
vertical
 Between curves
 Swarf

You need 3D MX or 3D HSM to use 5-axis Simultaneous.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 57

 Override default start points (3D MX)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can override the default start point(s)
for these 3D finishing strategy toolpaths, using a curve:
 Z-level finish (3D MX)
 Between 2 curves (3D MX)
 3-axis swarf (3D MX)
 3D spiral (3D HSM)
The start point is moved to the projected intersection of the curve
and the toolpath.
You can use a curve with multiple segments to set multiple start
points for a toolpath, and FeatureCAM uses alternating segments to
set the start points.
There is a new Start point(s) option on the Milling tab, where you
enter the name of the curve:

This attribute applies only to closed toolpaths.

Multiple start points example

This example aerospace part has several open and closed areas:

58 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 This centerline simulation of a Z-level finish toolpath for this part,
shows the locations of the default start points:

To move the default start points, first create curves that intersect
the toolpath where you want the new start points to be.
In the example, the curves are shown in red:

You must use a single curve per toolpath. You can use the Join
constructor to create one curve from multiple curves. To open the
Join Curve dialog, select Construct > Curve > From Curve > Join from
the menu.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 59

 Select the curves and click the Add button to add the curves to
the list in the Join Curves dialog, for example:

Select the Show Preview option to preview the joined curves, for
example:

If the curves are not listed in the correct order, select the curve you
want to move in the list and use the Move item up and Move item
down buttons.
You can also reverse a curve's direction using the Reverse selected
curve button.
Enter a Curve name for the joined curve.

Copy the Curve name to the clipboard so that you can paste it
into the Start point(s) option.
On the Milling tab for the finishing strategy, select the Start point(s)
attribute, enter the name of the curve you created and click the Set
button to save it.

60 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Another centerline simulation shows that the start points have
moved to the intersections of the joined curve with the toolpath,
and the toolpath is more symmetrical:

Bottom up for Z-level finish (3D MX)

There is a new option for Z-level finishing in FeatureCAM 2013 R1.
On the Milling tab of the Surface Milling Properties dialog, select the
new Bottom up option to machine the Surface feature from the
bottom upwards.
Deselect the option to machine the feature from the top downwards.

For example, you can use Bottom up to cut this glider mold part:

After a Z-level rough and a 2.5D finish, a Z-level finish strategy is

used, with Scallop height to control the shape of the toolpath.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 61

 This is a 3D simulation with Bottom up deselected:

This is the previous and default behavior.

The Ball End Mill tool (shown in yellow) starts at the top in the
middle cutting outwards and so is cutting with the center of the
tool:

This is the result with Bottom up selected:

The tool starts at the bottom outside of the slope and mills upwards
and inwards towards the center so that the side of the tool is used,
which has a better cutting surface.

62 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Z-level rough area filter (3D HSM)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can remove small toolpath segments
when using the Z-level roughing and finishing strategies, to prevent
tool damage when using non-center cutting tools.
There is a new Area Removal section on the Strategy tab of the
Surface Milling Properties dialog:

Remove unsafe areas — This removes small toolpath segments to

prevent tool damage when using non-center cutting tools. When
machining into small pockets, removing small segments stops the
central, non-cutting underside of the tool from hitting
non-machinable material. Unsafe segment removal filters out the
machining of confined areas with small movement of the cutting
tool.
Remove area less than — This removes segments that are smaller
than the entered percentage of the tool's diameter, unless they
surround a Boss feature.
Closed areas only — Select this option to remove segments, in
enclosed areas, that are smaller than the Threshold value.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 63

 Z-level rough area removal example
This headlamp mold has a couple of cavities that work their way
down into very small pockets:

This is a cutaway view of a 3D simulation with Remove unsafe areas

deselected:

This is the previous and default behavior.

The bottom of the pockets are barely bigger than the tool diameter,
and the tool hardly moves in these areas. The non-center cutting
region of the tool can't cut the material at the very bottom of the
pockets.
This is the simulation with Remove unsafe areas selected and
Remove area less than set to 80 % of the tool diameter:

The two smaller pocket regions are removed from the toolpath. This
protects the tool and prevents damage.

64 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Z-level finish area removal example
This cavity part has a small pocket (shown in red):

After using a Z-level rough on the part, this is a cutaway front view
of a 3D simulation of a Z-level semi-finish with Remove unsafe areas
deselected:

This is the previous and default behavior.

The bottom of the pocket is barely bigger than the tool diameter,
and the tool hardly moves in this areas. The non-center cutting
region of the tool can't cut the material at the very bottom of the
pocket.
This is the simulation with Remove unsafe areas selected and
Remove area less than set to 80 % of the tool diameter:

The small pocket region is removed from the toolpath. This protects
the tool and prevents damage.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 65

 Step cutting (3D HSM)
You can now reduce terracing when creating Z-level roughing
toolpaths with large stepdowns, using the new Step Cutting option.
There is a new Remachining button on the Strategy tab:

Click the Remachining button to open the Z-Level Rough Remachining

Options dialog.

Select Step cutting to enable step cutting.

This option machines the terraces that would otherwise remain in a
Z-level rough toolpath, with the same tool in the same toolpath. The
terraces are machined from bottom to top. FeatureCAM increases
the feed rate of the intermediate slices as the depth of cut gets
progressively smaller, which enables a constant volume removal
rate.

66 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 A Z-level rough toolpath with no remachining:

The same toolpath with step cutting:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 67

 The main slices extend over the whole part, but the step-cutting
slices extend only as far as they are needed to remove terracing.

The first pass is a main slice.

The next pass is the lowest step-cutting slice.
The next pass is the next to lowest step cutting slice and so on
up the part (shown by ) until the previous main slice is reached.
The next main slice.
The main slices are cut from top to bottom as normal. The
intermediate slices are cut from bottom to top. This is possible
because the depth of cut is always less than the depth of cut (or
Stepdown) for the main slice. This is the most efficient way of
cutting the part as it reduces the number of passes and increases
the depth of cut of each pass.
The attributes available to control step cutting are:
Stepup — Enter the distance between intermediate cutting levels.

Stepdown of the main slice.

Stepup of the intermediate slice.
The main slice clears the majority of the material. The intermediate
slices remove the terraces remaining after the main slice.
Detect material thicker than — Enter a threshold value. FeatureCAM
ignores rest material that is thinner than the specified threshold.

68 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Expand area by — Enter the distance by which to expand the rest
areas, measured along the surface. Use with the Detect material
thicker than value to reduce the areas to be machined to the details
(for examples, corners), and then to offset these areas slightly to
ensure that all the detail (for example, on the corners) is machined.

— model
— thickness
— true rest material (outlined in pink)
— actual rest material detected (blue hatched area)
— amount you need to expand the area by to include all the rest
material
— undetected material (black area)
— tool
— reference tool
Use the Expand area by option to increase the rest area (the blue
hatched area) and eliminate the undetected area (the black area).
Increase feed on intermediate steps — Select to increase the Feed rate
of the intermediate slices. Because the stepdown of the
intermediate slices is less than that of the main slice, you can
increase the feed rate of the intermediate slices while maintaining
the tool load. Each intermediate slice can have an increasing feed
rate as the depth of cut gets progressively smaller.
Maximum feed increase (%) — This is the maximum allowable cutting
feed rate for the intermediate slices as a percentage of the normal
feed rate. This value must be larger than 100%. A value of 300
means the cutting feed rate of the intermediate slices can be up to
three times faster than for the main slices.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 69

 Cusp control for Steep and Shallow strategy (3D HSM)
You can now control the Z-level (steep) portion of the Steep and
Shallow strategy with the Scallop stepover option. Enable Scallop
stepover to access the Min. Z increment and Scallop height attributes.

With Scallop stepover enabled, spacing of the toolpaths is calculated

along the surfaces to give a uniform surface finish. These are
surfaces cut without using Scallop stepover:

This image shows the same surfaces cut with Scallop stepover:

Scallop height — This is the absolute scallop height between passes

for isoline milling, projection milling finishing passes, and Z-level
finishing. This distance is measured along the surface and
represents the maximum cusp height between neighboring passes
as shown here.

70 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Stepover
Scallop height

Min Z increment — This attribute is used with Scallop height for

Z-level finish. The Scallop height attribute specifies the the
maximum cusp height between neighboring passes. However, if the
calculated value is smaller than the Min. Z increment, it is set to Min.
Z increment.

5-axis improvements
These are the most significant 5-axis improvements in FeatureCAM
2013 R1.
5-axis positioning (5AP):
 You can now specify a positive or negative orientation (see page
72) for 5-axis positioning.
5-axis simultaneous (5AS):
 You can override the default start points (see page 74) for 5-axis
toolpaths.
 Tool axis options (see page 76) have been added to Pencil,
Corner Remachine, and Between two curves strategies.
 A new Smoothing distance (see page 76) option eliminates
sudden tool changes.
 You can now smooth the Elevation and Azimuth axes
independently with tool axis stabilization (see page 79).
 Existing tool axis options (see page 84) have been improved and
you have more control when using Lead and Lean.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 71

 Positive/negative position (5AP)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can specify positive or negative
orientation for 5-axis positioning.
There is a new option in the Five-Axis dialog in XBUILD:

You can set Positive or Negative as the Preferred orientation of the

primary rotary axis.
In FeatureCAM, there is now a 5-axis position menu. As well as
Standard and Alternate (previous behavior), you can now select Use
Post Preference, to use the orientation that you set in XBUILD.
This menu is available in the Machining Attributes dialog:

72 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 The Setup dialog:

And the Feature Properties dialog:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 73

 Override default start points (5AS)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can override the default start point(s)
for 5-axis trim and 5-axis swarf toolpaths, using a curve.
The start point is moved to the projected intersection of the curve
and the toolpath. You can use a curve with multiple segments to set
multiple start points for a toolpath, and FeatureCAM uses
alternating segments to set the start points.
There is a new Start point(s) option on the Milling tab, where you
enter the name of the curve:

5-axis start points example

This example uses a 5-axis swarf and two 5-axis trim strategies.

Viewing a centerline simulation from the top, you can see that the
default start point for the 5-axis swarf operation is at the lower right
of the part.

74 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 The default start point for the upper trim operation is at the lower
left:

And the default start point for the lower trim operation is at the
lower right:

To override the default start points, you must create a curve that
intersect the toolpaths where you want the new start points to be.
In this example, the curve is shown in blue:

On the Milling tab for each strategy, select the Start point(s)
attribute, enter the name of the curve you created and click the Set
button to save it.
A centerline simulation of all three operations shows that the start
points are now aligned along the curve:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 75

 5-axis options for more strategies (5AS)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, there are tool axis options for Pencil,
Corner Remachine, and Between two curves strategies.
The 5-Axis tab is now available for these strategies:

Previously, this tab was available only for Z-level finish, Parallel
finish, 3D Spiral, Swarf, Isoline, Flowline, Horizontal + Vertical, and
5-axis trim strategies.

Smoothing distance (5AS)

In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, there is a new Smoothing distance
attribute:

76 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Smoothing distance eliminates sudden tool axis changes.

Smoothing distance example

This example part has a vertical surface, shown in red, with two
tabs at the top:

This is the surface in more detail:

Using an Isoline strategy, with Tool axis smoothing enabled and a

Tilt axis of Lean then lead with no Smoothing distance value, the tool
has sudden changes in direction. For example, it machines the area
below the first tab in a tilt position:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 77

 Then returns to a vertical position between the tabs:

Then returns to the tilt position to machine the area below the
second tab:

With a Smoothing distance value entered that is long enough to

cover the area between the two tabs, the tool stays tilted when
machining between the tabs:

78 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Tool axis stabilization (5AS)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1 you can smooth the Elevation and Azimuth
axes independently. Stepped stabilization smoothing locks the
rotary axis movement by maintaining a fixed tool axis as much as
possible within an angular range. This toolpath results in a series of
3+2-axis segments with 5-axis transitions between them. The
transitions can be done on the surface or with a lift.
There is a new Axis Smoothing tab:

You must select the Tool axis smoothing option on the 5-Axis
tab and click the Apply button to display the Axis Smoothing
tab.
Elevation — Select how to smooth the elevation angle of the tool
axis. An elevation of 90 aligns the tool with the Z axis, and an
elevation of 0 means the tool is in the XY plane.
None — Select this option to have no smoothing. The tool axis
orientation moves as and when it needs to move.
Smoothed — Select this option to enable the tool axis angle to
change smoothly over the Smoothing distance. The change in angle
will not be more than the Maximum angular correction unless the
angle of the unsmoothed toolpath varies by more than the Maximum
angular correction in less than Smoothing distance. In such regions,
the angle may change by more than the Maximum angular correction
to give a smooth result.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 79

 Stepped on surface — Select this option to enable the tool axis angle
to change by up to the Maximum angular correction to form steps of
constant value. To avoid sharp tool axis movements, a smooth
transition between steps is made starting at the Smoothing distance
away from the possible ends of adjacent steps. The tool always
remains in contact with the surface.
Stepped with links — Similar to Stepped on surface, select this option
to enable the tool axis angle to change by up to Maximum angular
correction to form steps of constant value. In this case, the toolpath
segments are subdivided at the end of each step, and link moves
are inserted so the tool axis changes when the tool is not in contact
with the model. This means that tool axis angle of each toolpath
segment is constant.

Original toolpath, no smoothing

Smoothed toolpath
Maximum angular correction limits
Azimuth or elevation
Toolpath distance
Maximum angular correction — Enter the maximum angle the
smoothed axis may deviate from the initial in the elevation
direction. Changes in angle will not exceed this value unless the
angle of the initial toolpath varies by more than the Maximum
angular correction in less than the Smoothing distance. In such
regions, the angle may change by more than the Maximum angular
correction to give a smooth results.
Azimuth — Select how to smooth the azimuth angle of the tool axis.
Azimuth is the angle between the X axis and the projection of the
tool in the XY plane.
None — Select this option to have no smoothing. The tool axis
orientation moves as and when it needs to move.

80 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Smoothed — Select this option to enable the tool axis angle to
change smoothly over the Smoothing distance. The change in angle
will not be more than the Maximum angular correction unless the
angle of the unsmoothed toolpath varies by more than the Maximum
angular correction in less than Smoothing distance. In such regions,
the angle may change by more than the Maximum angular correction
to give a smooth result.
Stepped on surface — Select this option to enable the tool axis angle
to change by up to the Maximum angular correction to form steps of
constant value. To avoid sharp tool axis movements, a smooth
transition between steps is made starting at the Smoothing distance
away from the possible ends of adjacent steps. The tool always
remains in contact with the surface.
Stepped with links — Similar to Stepped on surface, select this option
to enable the tool axis angle to change by up to Maximum angular
correction to form steps of constant value. In this case, the toolpath
segments are subdivided at the end of each step, and link moves
are inserted so the tool axis changes when the tool is not in contact
with the model. This means that tool axis angle of each toolpath
segment is constant.

Original toolpath, no smoothing

Smoothed toolpath
Maximum angular correction limits
Azimuth or elevation
Toolpath distance

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 81

 Maximum angular correction — Enter the maximum angle the
smoothed axis may deviate from the initial in the azimuth direction.
Changes in angle will not exceed this value unless the angle of the
initial toolpath varies by more than the Maximum angular correction
in less than the Smoothing distance. In such regions, the angle may
change by more than the Maximum angular correction to give a
smooth results.
Smoothing distance — Enter the distance over which to smooth the
tool axis movement. When using Stepped on Surface, or with sudden
changes in direction in the original toolpath (such as a right-angled
corner), you get rapid changes of orientation of the tool axis which
leaves dwell marks. To prevent this, the Smoothing distance blends
the change in orientation and gives a much improved surface finish.

Original toolpath, no smoothing

Smoothed toolpath
Maximum angular correction limits
Azimuth or elevation
Toolpath distance
Override smoothing UCS — Select this option to use a different UCS
to the UCS used to generate the toolpath to define elevation and
azimuth for smoothing.
UCS — Select the UCS to use when smoothing.

82 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Stepped on surface example
This car door part uses a trimming toolpath around the edge:

With no smoothing, the rotary table has a rocking motion and

sudden direction changes can leave witness marks.
In some areas of the model, it is impossible to avoid the rotation,
such as when the tool makes its way around the corners and the
wheel arch. However, it is areas such as on this long edge of the
door, where the machine table is rocking backwards and forwards,
that you can avoid this using the Stepped on surface options:

With Stepped on surface enabled for both Elevation and Azimuth,

with a Max. angular correction of 80, the table does not rotate while
cutting this area:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 83

 Stepped with links example
This example part uses the Pencil strategy to cut the bottom fillet:

Enabling Stepped with links for both Elevation and Azimuth reduces
the tool movement.
A centerline simulation shows the links that FeatureCAM inserts
links so that it can change direction while not in contact with the
surface:

Improved tool axis options (5AS)

The tool axis options on the 5-Axis tab have been improved:

For Use Lead and Lean, you can now select where the lead and lean
angle is measured from.

84 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

  Contact normal — Select this option to lead and lean from the
surface normal at the contact point.
 Vertical — Select this option to lead and lean from the Setup's Z
direction.
 Travel dir — Select this option to lead and lean from the
perpendicular to the direction of movement
 Legacy — Select this option to use the lead and lean style used in
FeatureCAM 2012 R3.
For Other, the From point, To point, From line, To line, From curve,
and To curve options are now more accurate.

The old options are still available as From point (old-style), To

point (old-style), From line (old-style), From curve (old-style), and
To curve (old-style).

FeatureTURN improvements
These are the most significant Turn improvements in FeatureCAM
2013 R1:
 Part transfers are now fully integrated into FeatureCAM with a
new Part Handling (see page 85) feature.
 You can control the feed rate (see page 87) on approach moves.
 You can now recognize a turned profile (see page 91) from an .stl
file.
 Canned cycles (see page 90) are now supported for a semi-finish
pass.

Integrated part handling (TURN)

Part transfers are fully integrated into FeatureCAM 2013 R1. These
transfer types are available:
 Slug transfer  Part support on
 Reverse slug transfer  Part support off
 Bar pull
Post and simulation are supported.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 85

 There is a new Part Handling feature in the turn New Feature wizard:

Select Part Handling and click Next to open the New Feature -
Dimensions page:

Select the type of Part Handling feature you want and enter the
dimensions. Click Next to open the New Feature - Strategies page:

Set the attributes for the Part Handling feature, for example:
Part catcher — Select this option if you want to instigate the part
catcher.
Already Supported — Select this option to indicate that the part is
already supported.
Sub Angle — Enter the angle that you want the sub-spindle to rotate
to before it moves to collect the part.

86 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Click Finish to save the Part Handling feature.
In the same way as for other features, the Part Handling feature
name is displayed in the Part View and on the Op List tab, and you
can edit the feature in the Part Handling Properties dialog:

There is also a new Transfer format type in the XBUILD menu:

Control feed rate on approach moves (TURN)

In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can set a start curve as a feed move
for these operations:
 Turn  Face
 Bore  Drill
 Groove  Cutoff
 Thread

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 87

 There is a new Feed from start point or curve option on the
Feed/Speed tab at feature level:

Feed from start point or curve — Select this option to use a feed
move from the Start point or the end of the Start curve set on the
Turning tab, to the beginning of the toolpath:
 Rapid on curve — Select this option if you are using a Start curve
and want to use a rapid move along it.

Selecting Feed from start point or curve and Rapid on

curve, is the equivalent of selecting the Feed from start
option on the Turning tab in previous versions of
FeatureCAM.
 Feed on curve — Select this option if you are using a Start curve
and want to use a feed move along it. Enter the feed rate
value(s). You can set the feed move as a single value, or use a
comma separator to enter multiple values, for example 200, 100,
50. If you enter multiple values, the feeds are applied to the
curve segments in reverse order. So with these values, the last
segment has a feed rate of 50, the second last has a feed rate of
100 and any remaining segments have a feed rate of 200. If you
do not enter any feed rate values, FeatureCAM uses the default
feed rate.

88 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 You can also set the default value for this option in Machining
Attributes, on the Misc. tab:

Start curve as feed move example

This example turned part has a Turn, Hole, and Groove feature:

A 3D simulation with 3/4 view shows that the tool has to pass
through a narrow channel to access the Groove feature:

To control the movement of the tool through that narrow channel,

you can create curves and set them as Start point and End point on
the Turning tab.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 89

 A Centerline simulation of just the Groove feature, shows the
approach move in green, which is a rapid move:

On the Feed/Speed tab, select Feed from start point or curve and Feed
on curve. Enter the feed value(s) and click Apply.
The Centerline simulation now shows the approach move in purple,
a feed move:

Canned cycle support for semi-finish (TURN)

In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can use a finishing canned cycle with a
semi-finish pass. The Semi-finish pass option is now available when
the Use canned cycle option is selected, on the Strategy tab:

90 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 STL curve of revolution recognition (TURN)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can recognize a turned profile from an
.stl file using the Polygonal method:

The Polygonal method uses the simulation engine to triangulate the

file and create a profile curve, based on the Tolerances set.
This example balustrade part is an imported .stl file.

With surface shading turned off, you can see the triangles that
make up the .stl file:

To create the turned profile, select Construct > Curve > From Surface
> Revolved Surface Boundary from the menu.
1 In the Revolved Surface Boundary dialog, select Polygonal method.
2 Optionally click the Tolerances button to change the default
Triangle tolerance and Arcline approx. tolerance values.
3 Click the Preview button to see the boundary highlighted in dark
blue in the Graphics window:

FeatureCAM has found the correct profile height of the revolved

square ends of the balustrade.
4 Click OK to create the curve.
You can use this curve to create a Turn feature.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 91

 FeatureTURNMILL improvements
These are the most significant Turn/Mill improvements in
FeatureCAM 2013 R1:
 You can now set the tool used on a rotary Surface Milling feature
to a fixed B angle (see page 92).
 FeatureCAM now recognizes Hole features (see page 95) from
imported SolidWorks parts.
 The Import wizard is now available when importing turn/mill
solids.
 You can now use the Y axis with a Points List pattern (see page
94).

B-axis rotary (TURNMILL)

In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, there is a new method in B-axis turn/mill
that enables the tool used on a rotary Surface Milling feature to be
set at a fixed B angle.

To use this method you need the 3D, Turn/Mill and Advanced
Turn/Mill components. You do not need the 5-axis
Simultaneous component.
Set the B Angle on the Tool Axis tab:

92 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Turn/Mill B-axis rotary example
This example cast part has a 3D Surface feature, shown in red:

The shaft on the front of the part makes it difficult to machine with
the default angle.
Using a 4-axis rotary strategy with the default angle, the head of
the machine collides with the chuck, at the point marked with a pink
arrow:

Using a fixed B-angle tool axis of 45 degrees, the tool tilts over and
avoids any collisions:

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 93

 Use Y axis with Points List pattern (TURNMILL)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, there is a new Cut feature using Y Axis
coordinates option when cutting a point list pattern on the Z face of
a turn/mill part:

Previously, you could only Now you can make use of your
rotate around the C axis, for turn/mill machine's ability to use
example: the Y-axis.

Select Cut feature using Y Axis coordinates and optionally enter a C

Angle.

94 • What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

 Import wizard (TURNMILL)
In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, the Import wizard is available when
importing turn/mill solids. In previous versions of FeatureCAM, the
only alignment option was to pick a surface of revolution. Now there
are many more options, similar to the import wizard for milling
parts.
The Import Results dialog now displays when you import a solid and
you have the option to use the import wizard to align the part.

AFR for SolidWorks Holes (TURNMILL)

In FeatureCAM 2013 R1, you can recognize Turn/Mill Hole features
from an imported SolidWorks part. FeatureCAM recognizes both
holes on the face and around the index axis in one setup. It also
recognizes patterns.

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New What's New in FeatureCAM 2013 R1 • 95

Index

Arc out • 40
Arc-in angle • 40
. Arc-out angle • 40
.sldprt • 12 Area removal (3D HSM) • 63
.stl files • 48, 49, 91 Associativity • 12
Automatic Center Tool • 18
Avoid clamps • 31
< Avoid fixtures • 31
Axis smoothing (5AS) • 79
<Z-XFER-COORD> • 41 Azimuth (5AS) • 79

2 B
2.5D improvements • 31 Background gradient • 16
Balloon help • 1
Bar pull (TURN) • 85
3 Barrel cams • 33
3D MX • 57 Bottom up • 61
3D products • 57
3D simulation performance • 30
3D spiral out • 9 C
CATIA V5-6 R2013 (R22) • 42
Check allowance (2.5D) • 31
5 Check surfaces (2.5D) • 31
5-axis position (5AP) • 72 Clamps • 31
5-Axis tab (5AS) • 76 Closed areas only (3D HSM) • 63
Contact normal (5AS) • 84
Continuous spiral (Drill/Mill) • 53
6 Convert units (feed, speed) • 47
Creo 2 • 42
64-bit part library • 10 Cusp control (3D HSM) • 70
Custom colors • 20
A
Arc in • 40
Arc leads • 40

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New Index • 97

D L
Detect material thicker than • 34 Leave axial allowance (3D MX) • 9
DMG FD Series • 10 Left-hand tool • 19
Drag select • 45 Linear approximation • 22, 23

E M
Elevation (5AS) • 79 Machine stock only • 34
Expand area by • 34 Main angle (TURN) • 85
Matsuura CUBLEX-25 • 10
Maximum angular correction (5AS) • 79
F Maximum ramp angle • 22
Feature color • 20 Maximum ramp distance • 22
Feed distance (TURN) • 85 Mazak Integrex e-800V II • 10
Feed from start point or curve (TURN) • Min. Z increment (3D HSM) • 70
87 Minimum gap distance • 34
Feed on curve (TURN) • 87 Minimum length removed • 34
File send • 25 Minimum ramp • 22
Finish axial allowance (3D LITE) • 8 Minimum ramp distance • 22
Finish bottom • 6 Minimum Z ramp distance • 22
Finish NT toolpaths • 6 Mori Seiki NMV5000 • 10
First step • 22 Mori Seiki SuperMILLER 400 • 10
Fixtures • 31 Multiple start points • 58
Flutes • 19
N
G Network database improvements • 28
Glass style • 16 Never select this tool • 3
Grab distance (TURN) • 85 NT toolpaths for finishing • 6
Graphics area • 16
O
H OD location (TURNMILL) • 41
Hand • 19 Okuma VTM-120YB • 10
Handedness • 19 Override (feed, speed) • 47
Helical options • 22, 23 Override smoothing UCS • 79
Helical ramping • 22, 23 Override start points • 58, 74
Hide all in Setup • 24
Hide features • 24
P
Parasolid kernel 24.1 • 12
I Part catcher (TURN) • 85
In to out, 3D spiral (3D HSM) • 9 Part handling (TURN) • 85
Index axis UCS • 13 Part library • 10
InStr • 42 Part library format • 10
InStrRev • 42 Part support (TURN) • 85
InterOp R23 • 42 Plunge clearance • 22

98 • Index FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

Plunge feed override • 22 Snap to STL • 49
Plunge points • 22 Solid source file • 12
Plunge tab • 22 SolidWorks associativity • 12
Polygonal method • 91 SQL Server Express • 28
Positive/negative position (5AP) • 72 Start curve • 58, 74
Post processor • 50 Start point • 22
PostCutoff (TURN) • 85 Start point(s) (3D MX) • 74
PreCutoff (TURN) • 85 Stepped on surface (5AS) • 79
Preferred orientation (5AP) • 72 Stepped with links (5AS) • 79
Probe tool group • 4 STL as clamp • 48
Probe tool properties • 4 STL curve of revolution (TURN) • 91
Probing tools • 4 STL files • 48, 49, 91
Stock curve finder • 12
Stock model operation • 56
R Stock model options • 34
Ramp angle • 22 Stock model rest roughing • 34
Ramp distance • 22 Stock model settings • 34
Rapid on curve (TURN) • 87 Sub angle • 85
Remove area less than (3D HSM) • 63 Sub spindle operations color • 20
Remove unsafe areas (3D HSM) • 63 Supported (TURN) • 85
Reserved words • 50
Reset all colors • 20
Retract point • 22
T
Reverse slug transfer (TURN) • 85 Tip-to-shoulder length • 3
Revolved surface boundary • 91 Tool axis smoothing (5AS) • 79
Right-hand tool • 19 Tool Manager background • 18
Round stock • 30 Tool Manager improvements • 18
Rounding mill improvements • 3 Tool shank • 19
Roundness tolerance • 30 Toolpath edit • 54
Touch-off at the shoulder • 3
Touch-off point, rounding mill • 3
S Transfers (TURN) • 85
Scallop height (3D HSM) • 70 Transform (Toolpath feature) • 54
Semi-finish pass (TURN) • 90 Turn improvements • 37
Send part files • 25
Shaded grey style • 16
Show all in Setup • 24
U
Show features • 24 Unigraphics NX 8.0 • 42
Show Flutes on End Mills • 19 Unit conversion (feed, speed) • 47
Show tool holder • 19 Use axial depth of cut • 34
Side liftoff angle (TURN) • 38 Use canned cycle (TURN) • 90
Sim. speed slider • 49 Use continuous spiral • 53
Simulation improvements • 30 Use depth of cut • 34
Simulation performance • 30 Use new stock curve finder • 12
Simulation speed slider • 49 Use STL as clamp • 48
Simulation start point buttons • 24 User interface improvements • 15
Slug transfer (TURN) • 85
Smoothed (5AS) • 79
Smoothing distance (5AS) • 76

FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New Index • 99

V
Vertical mill/turn • 10
VerticalMillTurnAddin.bas • 10

X
XBUILD • 50

Z
Z ramp clearance • 22
Zip part files • 25

100 • Index FeatureCAM 2013 R3 What's New

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