Contour Manager (NC) > NC Parameters

The NC Parameters section is the middle part of the Contour Manager dialog.

When picking curves to create the NC contours, this section enables you to define certain machining parameters specific to the picked boundary or contour. The parameters that are displayed here may vary and are specific to the picked boundary or contour.

Boundaries:	Contours - 2.5X: Pocket Procedures	Contours - 2.5X: VoluMill Pocket, Profile Open Contour:	Contours - 2.5X: Profile Closed Contour:	Contours - Surface Milling: Profile Closed Contour:

The following parameters may be displayed:

Use Z Values from each Contour

Define the Z limits of machining motions.

The Use Z Values from each Contour parameter is equivalent to the Z Values Source parameter in the Tool Trajectory parameter grid. Changing it in one place influences the other.

When this checkbox is marked , the Z values are defined for each contour in the Contour Manager.
Z Values Source = From Each Contour.

When this checkbox is OFF , the Z values for all contours are defined in the Z Limits parameter grid.
Z Values Source = General Values, which defines where the Z values are defined (Z-Top, Z-Bottom, Reference Z).
Default = OFF

Milling Side

See Open Section below.

Cutting Mode

This option enables you to define the direction of the cutter movement. The following options are available from the dropdown list:

Climb
Conventional

Direction

This option enables you to define the milling direction. The following options are available from the dropdown list:

Chaining Order	The milling direction is the same direction as the chaining order of the curves selected to create the NC contour.
Opposite to Chaining Order	The milling direction is the opposite direction of the chaining order of the curves selected to create the NC contour.

Open Section

This option enables you to define open sections on closed contours. Cimatron prevents air milling motions for open segments, so the toolpath is created only on the part's walls, avoiding the open segment.

In the image below, the contour was selected by clicking the floor and indicating the open segment. The result is automatic profiling of the walls only. See additional examples below.	The following parameters are displayed:	Right-click to display the popup menu with additional options:

This option is displayed in the following 2.5X procedures (see the notes below):
VoluMill Pocket
Profile Open Contour.

The following parameters are displayed:

Define by Segments	Pick the segments of the closed contour that are to remain as open sections.
Single	This is a toggle option Single / Chain, that enables you to either pick single segments or a chain of segments. Default = Single.
By Criteria	Pick the segments using criteria. See Creating Sets By Criteria for additional information on the By Criteria method.

Popup Menu

Right-click during the Open Section operation to display the following popup menu:

Options:

Define by Segments Single Chain	The active selection modes are highlighted.
Select Segments by Criteria	Pick geometry by criteria. This enables you to pick segments based on colors, sets, etc.
Reset Segments by Criteria	Reset (clear the selection of) all segments selected by criteria.
Reset Segments Not by Criteria	Reset (clear the selection of) all segments not selected by criteria.
Reset All (Segments and Points)	Reset (clear the selection of) all segments and points.
Finish Definition	Ends the selection mode, closes the popup menu and screen parameters, and redisplays the Contour Manager dialog.

Examples:

Closed contour:	Selection of open segment:	Resulting contour:

Notes:

The participating NC contours are from the current Contour Manager session.
Open Sections can be defined on existing closed and open NC contours.
When NC contours of the VoluMill Pocket procedure are transferred to the 2.5X Profile Open Contour procedure, they maintain the correct milling side and their "Open Sections" (if they are defined).
The open sections are displayed as dotted lines.

NC Parameter Section Buttons

The following buttons are displayed in this section:

Reset the NC Parameter values to their defaults (for example, cutter location, offset). This also includes the Z-Top, Z-Bottom and Reference Z values that the system automatically identifies when defining the automated machining of vertical walls.

Save the currently defined NC Parameter values for later use.

When values are changed and no contour has been selected, the only way to exit the Contour Manager is by clicking Cancel. This way the changed values are not saved. By clicking the Save icon, the values are saved for this procedure only, and only appear when you re-enter the Contour Manager.

Apply the currently defined NC Parameter values to NC contours that you subsequently pick. This applies to newly picked contours or to re-picked contours (contours that have previously been selected and are re-picked to apply the new parameters to them).

When this button is pressed, it remains in "pressed mode" until you re-press it to disable it.

Some functionality may be dependent on the product package. Contact your Reseller if you require a license.