Creating a Prismatic Roughing Operation

Prismatic Roughing allows you to quickly rough machine a part in a single operation. This is particularly useful for parts that include drafted pockets or multiple bottom pockets.

This task shows you how to:

Related Topics
Prismatic Roughing

Create the Operation

This procedure shows you how to create a Roughing operation using Prismatic Roughing command.

  1. Activate the Manufacturing Program and click Prismatic Roughing in the Prismatic Machining Operations toolbar. A Prismatic Roughing entity is added to the Manufacturing Program.

    The Prismatic Roughing dialog box appears directly at the Geometry tab . This tab includes a sensitive icon to help you specify the geometry.



    By default, areas of the icon are colored red indicating that this geometry is required.

  2. Still in the Geometry tab.

    See Selecting Geometry

    1. Click the red Part area then select the part to machine in the authoring window.
    2. Click the red Rough stock area in the icon then select the stock in the authoring window.

      The Part and Rough stock are required. All other geometry is optional.

    3. Set Offset on part to 0.1mm.

  3. Select the Strategy tab to set the machining parameters, radial and axial stepover conditions, HSM, and user parameters.




    • If you have selected a Back and forth tool path style, click the arrow in the sensitive icon to modify the proposed tool axis direction, if necessary.
    • If needed, click the tool axis symbol to invert the tool axis direction. See Defining the Tool Axis

  4. Go to the Tool tab to select a tool.

    Only end mill tools can be used in Prismatic Roughing operations.

    See Specifying a Tool Element in a Machining Operation.

  5. Select the Feeds and Speeds tab to specify the feedrates and spindle speeds for the operation.

  6. Select the Macros tab to specify the operation NC Macros (approach and retract motion, for example).

  7. Click Tool Path Replay to check the validity of the operation.

    See Replaying the Tool Path


    • The tool path is computed.
    • A progress indicator is displayed.
    • You can cancel the tool path computation at any moment before 100% completion.


  8. Click OK to create the operation.

Select Planar Surfaces as Imposed Planes

You can use the Search/View contextual command to find all of the planar surfaces in the part or only the planes that can be reached by the tool you are using and use them as imposed planes.

  1. Right-click Imposed in the sensitive icon and select Search/View in the contextual menu.

  2. In the dialog box that appears:

    1. Click either All planes or Reachable planes.

      The dialog box is populated.

    2. Select the required planes using the arrows.

      The planes are highlighted in the authoring window.

  3. Select Offset in the contextual menu and enter a value equal to the machining tolerance plus the offset value on part. To ensure that the imposed planar surface is respected to within the offset and tolerance values:

    • If the machining tolerance is 0.1 mm and there is no offset on part, enter 0.1 mm as offset for the imposed plane.
    • If the machining tolerance is 0.1 mm and the offset on part is 1 mm, enter 1.1 mm as offset for the imposed plane.

  4. When a face is selected as a bottom plane or an imposed plane, select the contextual command Force to machine to impose the computation of the tool path on this face.