About Virtual Bottom Planes

This sections gives information about defining a virtual bottom plane from a point and the tool axis for Pocketing, Profile contouring, Groove milling, Trochoid Milling, and Facing operations as well as Prismatic Machining Areas and Prismatic Rework Areas.

Related Topics
Defining a Virtual Bottom Plane

Milling Operations Supported

The following operations are supported:


  • Pocketing for Hard Bottom and Soft Bottom,
  • Profile Contouring for modes: Between Two Planes, Hard bottom, and Soft Bottom,
  • Groove Milling for Hard Bottom and Soft Bottom,
  • Trochoid Milling,
  • Facing.

Virtual Bottom Plane

To define the bottom plane in the above mentioned operations, when a planar face or surface are not available, you can select a point.

That point is taken as the relimiting element. A virtual bottom plane, normal to the tool axis, is created at that point. A manipulator shows a virtual bottom plane at the selected point. This manipulator belongs to the operation only and is visible only when the operation is edited.

Note: If you edit the tool axis, the direction of the virtual bottom plane is modified so that it always remains perpendicular to the tool axis. This manipulator helps to identify that the correct tool direction is selected. By default, the tool axis is (0,0,1).

The selected point is persistent and saved when the operation is validated. When you reopen the operation, you can see the virtual bottom plane at the selected point.

Prismatic Machining Area and Prismatic Rework Area

You can also define a virtual bottom plane in Prismatic Machining Area and Prismatic Rework Area features.

The default tool axis is (0,0,1). Once this feature is selected in any Pocketing or Profile Contouring operation, the bottom plane direction is overridden by the tool axis direction of the operation, i.e. the direction of the virtual bottom plane is guided by the operation tool axis and always remains perpendicular to the tool axis. Any change in the tool axis will be reflected in the virtual bottom plane direction.

Note: From then onwards, the direction of the virtual bottom plane in the features will remain as that direction only, no matter the feature is part of the operation or not. This is applicable only if the bottom has been defined from a point as a virtual bottom plane.