Create Stock : Contours

Access: Open this function from one of the following locations:

Select the toolpath for which the stock will be created, and then create the stock in one of the following ways:

Select NC Process > Process > Stock from the menu bar.
Select in the NC Guide Toolbar.

Define a stock by defining contours. See the example of stock creation by Contours.

The following dialog is used for stock creation by contours.

Pick the contours to define the stock.

There are several ways to pick contours:

Manually: Pick contours one by one.

By criteria: To pick contours based on colors, sets, etc., right-click and select By Criteria from the popup submenu. The Criteria dialog opens and you can create a criteria group.

See the dialog Parameter definitions below for more information.

Procedures will update the stock immediately after their calculation or only when needed, depending on the relevant setting in the Preferences > NC > General Preferences.

Parameters

Micro Milling

When this checkbox is marked ,this defines the stock procedure as Micro Milling—If the procedure is located in the Micro Milling toolpath (TP) folder, the checkbox is ON by default; otherwise it is OFF.

Changing the checkbox in an existing stock from Normal to Micro Milling will invalidate all relevant stock calculations of subsequent procedures (after a warning).
Changing the checkbox in an existing stock from Micro Milling to Normal does not result in any other changes.

When calculating stock, the tolerance is considered as Micro Milling in either of the following circumstances;

If the relevant stock is defined as Micro Milling.
If the procedure itself is Micro Milling (that is, it is located in the Micro Milling TP folder).

Transparency

Control the hide/show state, transparency, and color of the stock.
See the Stock Display Options for the relevant detailed parameter explanations.

Ref. Stock Size

The reference stock size based on the entities you have selected. This area shows the size of the stock. The values are for reference only and cannot be changed in this dialog. The Z distance is the difference between the Max. Z and Min. Z values (in the Selected Geometry section of this dialog).

Stock Parameters

Define the stock parameters.

Z-Top

Define the top contour of the stock using one of the following methods:

Entering the Z level in the dialog.
Using the adjacent arrow in the dialog ( - Pick Z-Top), pick the top point of the stock.
Using the Maxpz relation (setting the value as a mathematical function of the relation; e.g., Maxpz/2).
To use the relation:

Press the REL button.	Select the Maxpz or a previously entered relation.

Z-Bottom

Define the bottom contour of the stock using one of the following methods:

Entering the Z level in the dialog.

Using the adjacent arrow in the dialog ( - Pick Z-Bottom), pick the bottom point of the stock.

Using the Minpz relation (setting the value as a mathematical function of the relation; e.g., Minpz/2).

To use the relation:

Press the REL button.	Select the Minpz or a previously entered relation.

Parameters for contour n

Number of contours used for defining the stock. Use the arrows to highlight each contour in turn.

Select Contours

Pick the contours that will be used to define the stock box. The Contour Manager dialog is displayed.

Contour Offset

If required, for each contour define the contour offset.

Example offsets:

Positive OffsetPositive Offset

In this example, an offset of 10 results in:

Negative OffsetNegative Offset

In this example, an offset of -10 results in:

Number of picked contours

This section displays the number of contours picked manually, picked by criteria, and also the total number of contours picked.

Reset Selection

Reset: Reset all values and settings to the system defaults.

When finished, press one of the approval options.

	OK: Accept the changes, perform the operation, and close the current dialog/task. The stock/part is calculated.
	Apply: Accept the changes, perform the operation, and keep the current dialog/task open. The stock/part is calculated.
	Save: Save the settings. Suspend and calculate later.
	Cancel: Cancel all changes and close the dialog/task without saving the settings.

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