CT

PR

JE

Mill a Standard Part

ESPRIT has very strong capabilies in 2.5D milling, providing

both ease-of-use and a high level of control over every
aspect of a milling operaon.

Remove Excess Material ........... 62

The intent of this project is to teach you the process for

creang standard milling operaons using ESPRITs SolidMill
Tradional machining technology.

Mill and Drill Holes .......................77

Cut the Pockets and Slot ......... 70

Create a Shop Floor Report ... 82

ESPRIT gives you several opons for accessing standard

milling commands.
Menus and Toolbars. Tradional milling commands are
located on the SolidMill Tradional submenu on the
Machining menu. You can also use the SolidMill toolbar.
Process Manager. You can also select SolidMill commands
from a single menu within the Process Manager. The
Process Manager lets you apply several machining
operaons to a single feature at one me.
For this project, you will learn how to use the commands on
the SolidMill Tradional toolbar to create standard milling
operaons and how to create a machining process using the
Process Manager.

The files for this project are available for download from
ESPRITWeb File Library ESPRIT 2009 and from the ESPRIT
CD.
All dimensions in this tutorial are in millimeters. Make sure
System Unit on the Tools menu is set to Metric.
Before you start this lesson, you can review and simulate the
cu"ng operaons in the following file:
Milling - Standard\standard_milling_complete.esp.
Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 61

Remove Excess Material

At the beginning of any milling job, it is crical
to remove as much excess stock as possible
before you begin cu"ng the finish passes.
In this project, the part is cut from standard
rectangular stock. The first thing you need to
do is remove the excess material from the top
and around the sides of the part.
To do this, you will first create a facing
operaon to quickly remove as much stock as
possible from the top of the part. Then you
will create a 3D contour around the island on
the top face. You will finish by roughing and
finishing the outer profile of the part.

Facing
The Facing command is ESPRIT has mulple
opons to make facing as fast and effecve as
possible. You have full control over depths of
cut, opmized cu"ng angle, stock allowance on
floors and walls, and how far you want the tool
to travel when it reaches the edge of the stock.
The Facing operaon also automacally creates
a final pass around any islands. This guarantees
a consistent amount of stock on floors and
walls.

Wire Frame Milling

The Wire Frame Milling command lets you
create a basic 3D milling operaon from simple
2D geometry. The profile of the shape you want
to cut is called the drive curve. This profile is
driven along a path called the basic curve. Each
curve must be created on a separate plane
and the end point of the drive curve must
lie along the basic curve. When construcng
the tool path, the drive curve will be placed
perpendicular to the basic curve at the start
point of the basic curve.

62 |

Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Contouring
The Contouring command creates cu"ng
passes that follow the shape of a selected
feature. You can center the tool on the feature
or offset it to the le% or the right. You can enter
an offset distance or use the radius of the tool.
The Contouring command lets you combine
rough and finish passes in a single operaon
or you can create separate rough and finish
passes. When roughing and finishing passes
are combined in one Contouring operaon,
the same tool is used for both phases of the
operaon. To use different tools, you must
create separate contouring operaons.
It is recommended that you use separate
operaons for roughing and finishing.

Technology Files
Machining technology se"ngs can be easily
saved as a separate file and used over and
over for the machining of similar parts. For this
project, you will load pre-exisng technology
files that are located in the following folder:
Ge"ng Started\Milling - Standard\Technology
A%er loading the technology for an operaon,
you can click on the various tabs to review
the individual se"ngs. For more detailed
informaon, click the Help bu&on located at
the lower right corner of the technology page.

Open t he Par t File

1. Make sure HI mode is enabled.
2. Locate and open the following file: Milling - Standard\standard_milling.esp
3. On the Smart toolbar, click SolidMill Tradional - SolidMill Producon to display the toolbar.
If you completed Project 1: Create Features, these milled features should look familiar to you.

Create a Facing Operat ion

For this facing operaon, there is an island on the face that must be avoided. The Facing
command lets you select and avoid islands and pocketed areas when the Include Islands opon
is set to Yes.This operaon will start slightly below the selected feature and cut at incremental
depths of 8mm in a simple back and forth tool moon. A stock allowance of 0.5mm will remain
on the walls of the island a%er the operaon is complete. No stock allowance will remain on the
floors.
Typically, you would select the feature first and then define the operaon technology. Because
there is an island on the face, you must first define the facing technology and select the Include
Islands opon. ESPRIT will then prompt you to select features for the boundary, any islands and
any pockets you want to avoid. You will select the stock profile feature and the island profille.
You want to face across the tops of the pockets on this part, so you will simply answer No when
ESPRIT prompts you to select pockets to avoid.

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 63

Set Up t he K nowledgeBase
1. On the Smart toolbar, click Common Machining and then click KnowledgeBase Document
Se!ngs.
2. Set Part Type to Milled Part Std - Metric.
3. Set Default Technology to Default Technology - Inch / Metric.
4. Click OK.
5. Click KnowlegeBase Se!ngs.
6. Make sure Apply selected process to all features is checked and click OK.

Create a Process to Mill t he Medium Pocket

To mill the medium pocket, you will first remove as much material as possible as quickly as
possible with a Trochoidal Pockeng operaon. A stock allowance of 0.5mm will remain on the
walls and floors of the pocket. A tradional Pockeng operaon will then be applied to first
finish the walls and then the floors. To remove any material remaining in the corners, you will
then apply a Rest Machining operaon. You will create a machining process to perform all three
operaons.

Step 1
Select the Medium Pocket
feature and then click
Process Manager

Step 2
A process already exists in the
KnowledgeBase. Click New Process
to create your own process.

Step 3
Select SolidMill Tradional Trochoidal Pockeng

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 71

Step 4
Open the file:
5-Pocket1 Trochoidal Pockeng.prc
and click OK

Step 5
Select SolidMill Tradional Tradional Pockeng

Step 6
Open the file:
6-Pocket1 Finish Pockeng.prc
and click OK

72 |

Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Step 7
Select SolidMill Tradional Rest Machining

Step 8
Open the file:
7-Pocket1 Rest Machining.prc
and click OK

Step 9
Click Apply
Do not click Exit yet

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 73

Create a Process to Mill t he S mall Pocket

The process to machine the small pocket is similar to the medium pocket, except that a Rest
Machining operaon is not required.

Step 1
Select the Small
Pocket feature

Step 2
Click New
Process

Step 3
Select SolidMill Tradional Trochoidal Pockeng

Step 4
Open the file:
8-Pocket2 Trochoidal Pockeng.prc
and click OK

74 |

Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Step 5
Select SolidMill Tradional Tradional Pockeng

Step 6
Open the file:
9-Pocket2 Finish Pockeng.prc
and click OK

Step 7
Click Apply

Step 8
Click Exit

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 75

Cut t he S lot
To cut the slot, you will use a tradional Pockeng operaon using a tool with a diameter the
same width as the slot. The tool will enter the material using a long ramping move and then cut
the slot with a single pass.

Step 1
Select the Slot
feature
Step 2
Click SolidMill
Tradional

Step 3
Click Pockeng

Step 4
Open the file:
10-Slot with Ramping.prc
and click OK

76 |

Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Mill and Drill Holes

This part has different types of holes, including a milled hole. For this project, you will create
drilling and spiraling operaons depending on the type and size of the hole.

Drilling
The Drilling command is applied to hole features or point-to-point (PTOP) features. The drilling
order is defined by the path of the PTOP feature. SolidMill Drilling supports several types of
drilling, including drill, tap, peck, and bore. The operaon drills to a specified depth and you have
the opon to include the length of the tool p in the total depth value. You can also use SolidMill
Drilling to spot drill holes to the correct depth based on the diameter of the tool and the chamfer
diameter.

Spiraling
The Spiraling command creates spiral or helical cu"ng passes based on the selecon of a circle
or a feature in the shape of a circle. A spiraling operaon is typically used when you want to mill a
hole that is too large to drill.

Bot tom Up Spiraling

Spiraling passes can be created from the top down or from the bo&om up. Bo&om up spiraling
can be used to avoid having to rotate your part using index milling. Bo&om up toolpath will be
automacally generated when the incremental depth is set to a negave value.
When using bo&om up technology, the tool origin is very important. By default, all ESPRIT tools
have the origin set on the bo&om. The bo&om up technology does not shi% the tool origin, so you
have to be aware of the tool thickness when creang your tool path. However, you can create a
custom tool where the tool origin is set on the top of the cu"ng tool edge.

Pre-Drill and Mill t he Milled Hole

The milled hole has an upper diameter of 42mm and a lower diameter of 50mm. You will cut this
hole in three steps. First, you will pre-drill the hole with a 30mm drill. Then, you will create a
Spiraling operaon to mill the upper diameter to a depth of 30mm. You will then create a bo&om
up Spiraling operaon using a custom tool to mill the lower hole.

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 77

Step 1
Select the Spiral
Rough feature

Step 2
Click Drilling

Step 3
Open the file:
11-Milled Hole Drilling.prc
and click OK

Step 4
Select the Milled
Hole Upper feature

Step 6
Open the file:
12-Milled Hole Spiraling.prc
and click OK

78 |

Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Step 5
Click Spiraling

Step 7
Select the Milled Hole
Lower feature

Step 8
Click Spiraling

Step 9
Open the file:
13-Milled Hole Bo&om Up Spiraling.prc
and click OK

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 79

A pply E xist ing Processes to Drill t he Holes

The ESPRIT KnowledgeBase provides several standard machining processes. Based on the type
of feature you select, the ESPRIT KnowledgeBase will search for the most appropriate machining
process.
You will select the two hole features and use standard processes in the KnowledgeBase to drill
them. The KnowledgeBase will find one process for the countersink holes and another process
for the counterbore holes. The order in which you select the features controls the order of the
operaons in the operaons list.
To make sure the correct drilling process is created for each feature, you must use KnowledgeBase
Opons to specify that you do not want the same process applied to all features. Otherwise, the
first process found will be applied to all the selected features.
1. On the Common Machining toolbar, click KnowledgeBase Se!ngs.
2. Uncheck Apply selected process to all features.
3. Click OK.

Step 4
Hold down the Ctrl key and select
the Countersink and Counterbore
features

Step 5
Click Process
Manager

Step 6
Click Apply

Step 7
Click Exit

80 |

Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

S imulate

Step 1
On the Smart toolbar, click
Simulaon

Step 2
Click Run to start the
simulaon

Step 3
Click Stop to exit
the simulaon

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 81

Create a Shop Floor Report

The Report Generator creates HTML and PDF reports that detail the tools and operaons for any of
your part files. The preforma&ed reports are an important NC post processing tool and invaluable
shop floor resource. They provide the machining details required to correctly set up a machine and
perform the required machining operaons.
Reports contain informaon about the machine, the tools, the part, operaons, and the NC
program. In addion, each page in the report displays a full-color image showing how the part
should look at each stage of the machining process.
Two types of standard reports are available: Summary and Detailed.

Summar y Repor t
Basic informaon about the machining process is provided on a single summary page. The
summary report contains a header with general informaon about the program and an operaon
list with one row per operaon. Each row displays the main informaon about the operaon like
the operaon name, the tool name, the tool ID, feeds and speed, and so on.

Detailed Repor t
This report provides the same summary page along with detailed pages for each operaon and a
complete tool list. Click on an operaon hyperlink in the summary page to access the operaon
details. Click on a tool hyperlink to access the tool details. Operaon report pages provide detailed
operaon-specific informaon such as the tool details and available cu"ng parameters.

Default Folders for Repor t Files

By default, report files are saved to your user folder under the ESPRIT\Data\ReportGenerator\
Reports directory, but you can change it to any other locaon by clicking the Opons bu&on on the
Report Generator dialog.
Generated reports are saved to a subfolder in the distribuon locaon. The subfolder is always
named the same as your part file. If you regenerate any report, all files in the subfolder, including
any output from a previous report, are deleted. If you intend to save any previous version of a
report, copy it from the distribuon folder before you regenerate the report.
Important: To use the Report Generator, your security key must be a&ached to your computer
and you must have a valid license. If you are running ESPRIT in demo mode, the Create Reports...
command is not available on the File menu.

82 |

Get Started with ESPRIT 2009

Step 1
On the File menu, click
Create Reports...

Step 2
Select Milling-Detailed, then click
Create Reports

It will take several moments to generate a detailed report of all the operaons and tools used in
this part file. A%er the report is generated, Windows Explorer will launch and open to the folder
where the report files were generated.

Step 3
Right-click on OpSummary.htm
and click Open

Project 2: Mill a Standard Part

| 83

Step 4
Click on a hyperlink to view the
operaon or tool details

84 |

Get Started with ESPRIT 2009