From Pro/E Model to a CNCed Part

[Lahav]

Hi. OK I searched before nothing with CNC comes up. A small company my friend works with needs someone to reverse engineer one of their parts so they could find a new vendor to CNC produce it. I have some pro/e experience and I said I'll give it a shot. I know I need to save the part file as an .igs file. But from there on I am a little lost.

Does anyone know what is generally required by CNC metalshop places to produce a part? Do I need to provide them with a complete tool paths etc? Or can i just export the model file as an .IGS?

Thanks a lot!
-Lahav

 

[Guest0527211403]

Generally, you should give the tool shop the IGES file or a STEP file (whichever they prefer), as well as a drawing so that they can check critical dimensions, etc.

I can't see the tool shop asking you for toolpaths. That's ususally best left up to them to work out from the file that you send them. They are the ones who will be making the part so they should do the CNC programming as well, since they know their machinery best.

Mark

 

[Heckler]

I'd like to add one other thing......some shops with high CAM software can use native models from Pro/e, SWx, and most other MCAD packages. We use STEP and find that file type to be more stable then iges.

Best Regards,

Heckler

"Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups" John Kenneth Galbraith

 

[peglor]

One thing I've had to do to get parts CNC'd is to export a number of igs files with various export options turned on (Solids, surfaces only, quilts (For the particular CNC system I was dealing with I had to create a quilt that copied the surfaces of the solid I needed to get machined) etc.) send them on and ask the CNC guys which one works. Then you can send on everything with the right options for future work.

 

[cadcamguy]

It really depends on how complex the part is as to what you need to supply to the shop.
If it is fairly simple, profiles, pockets, tapped holes etc.
You can give them dimensioned sketch or even just the part itself. But if it has any free form type shape to it than they should have a file, iges, step or Pro. Then like said above they will need to have supporting software to read it in, and there will be the standard translation problems of what particular flavor the format needs to be in.
They will assign the cutters paths because each cnc speaks it's own version of G and M codes.

 

[Heckler]

Adding to this:

After generating tools paths in MasterCAM or CAM software of choice then it needs to be run through a post processor. What this post processing generates is the G & M Codes, tool offsets, and tool wear comp. for the specific machine being used to make the part. Each CNC machine manufacture has its own flavour of G & M code. For the most part the generic codes are the same. They vary when it comes to canned cycles.



Best Regards,

Heckler

"Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups" John Kenneth Galbraith