fanuc GFK-1702 User Manual

0 (0)

LEVEL 0

Milling

Gibbs and Associates

5400 Tech Circle

Moorpark, CA 93021

(805) 523-0004

May 1, 1996

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PROPRIETARY NOTICE

This document contains propriety information of Gibbs and Associates and is to be used only pursuant to and in conjunction with the license granted to you with respect to the accompanying Gibbs and Associates licensed software. Except as expressly permitted in the license, no part of this document may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without the prior written permission from a duly authorized representative of Gibbs and Associates.

It is strongly advised that you carefully review the license in order that you understand your rights and obligations related to the licensed software and the accompanying user documentation.

Use of the computer software and the user documentation has been provided pursuant to a Gibbs and Associates license agreement.

Acknowledgements:

Written by Shannon McConville.

Thanks to Tim Alvord, Sean Canterbury, Gary Esser, Bill Gibbs, Charles Haden, Tom Hubina, Pete Jackson, Kristin Kelley, Michael Kelley, Israel Klain, James Moore, Jeff Myers and Robb Weinstein for their input and assistance.

This application was ported to the DOS operating system using Bawamba Software Inc.'s Multiplatform Compatibility Package.

Trademarks:

MS-DOS, Windows NT and Windows 95 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America

G F K - 1 7 0 2		T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s

	CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION	4

How to Learn the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Balloons and Prompting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Operating Systems Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 System Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

CHAPTER 2 : INTERFACE

Cursors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Clipboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

CHAPTER	3	: PART SETUP	18
Document Control Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .			. 18

CHAPTER	4	: GEOMETRY CREATION	21

Geometry Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Geometry Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Point Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Modify Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Workgroup Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Printing the Part Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Geometry Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

CHAPTER 5 : TOOL CREATION

Tool Creation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Tool Creation Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Tool List Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Tool Offset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

CHAPTER 6 : MACHINING

Machining Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Creating an Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Multiple Process Programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

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Modifying an Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Machining Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Process Dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Operation Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Clearance Moves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Machining Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Operation Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Printing the Toolpath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

CHAPTER 7: VIEW CONTROL	75
Viewing the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. . 75
View Control Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 75
View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 76
CHAPTER 8: CUT PART RENDERING	78

Cut Part Rendering Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Cut Part Rendering Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Cut Part Rendering Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Printing the Cut Part Rendered Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

CHAPTER 9: POST PROCESSING	82
Post Processing Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 82
Post Processor Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 82
Post Processor Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 84
CHAPTER 10: COMMUNICATIONS	85
Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 85
Communicating with a CNC Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. 86
CHAPTER 11: TUTORIAL	88

Creating a New Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Creating Part Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Creating a Tool List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Creating Operations With the Process List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Post Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Part Blueprint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

APPENDIX 1: OPERATING SYSTEMS

137

Launching the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Operating Systems Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

File Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Standard Extensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

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APPENDIX 2: PRINTING

139

Printing Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

DOS Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Windows NT • Windows 95 Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

APPENDIX 3 : MENUS

141

File Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

View Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Modify Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Part File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

APPENDIX 4: SHORTCUTS	149
DOS • Windows NT • Windows 95. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. . . 149
Macintosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. . 153
INDEX	155

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CHAPTER 1 : I n t r o d u c t i o n

HOW TO LEARN THE SYSTEM

Congratulations on receiving the most productive programming system available! The best way to learn how to use this software is to do the exercise in the Geometry Creation Chapter and then go through the Tutorial Chapter. For simple explanations of items on screen and their purpose, use Balloons and Prompting provided in the Help menu or the reference information provided in the manual.

BALLOONS AND PROMPTING

Balloons and Prompting are built-in documentation and training information, also known as CAT (Computer Aided Training). They can be turned on from selections under the Help menu. Balloons provide reference information about any object that the cursor is placed over. Prompting extends certain palettes in the system to provide useful suggestions about how to proceed. They are very useful.

OPERATING SYSTEMS GLOSSARY

The MS-DOS®, Windows NT®, Windows 95® and MacOS® operating systems use different terminology for certain common items. A short list has been provided to help eliminate possible confusion. Refer to the Operating Systems Appendix for additional information on the differences between the DOS, Windows NT, Windows 95 and Macintosh operating systems.

EQUIVALENT TERMS

	file	=	document
	program	=	application
	directory	=	folder
	backspace key (not delete or del)	=	delete key (not del)
OS	Operating system symbol : This symbol appears throughout the manual to indicate when
	there are variations in specific system functions depending on the operating system.

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I n t r o d u c t i o n

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

This system is designed to be extremely flexible, to allow the user the freedom to create parts in any way that comes naturally. The "modeless" interface allows the user to have geometry creation, tools, machining capabilities and post processing functions available at all times. However, there are certain basic elements required to create a part. There must be geometry, a tool, and a toolpath (an operation) created before post processing. The Top Level Palette is organized in a logical manner for building a part. A part does not have to be created in this order, it only serves as a guideline. Refer to the Tutorial in this manual for complete step-by-step instructions on part creation.

Create a new file.

Create part geometry.

Create a tool.

Create a toolpath.

Change the view.

Cut Part Render.

Post Process.

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CHAPTER 2 : I n t e r f a c e

This system uses a Graphic User Interface (GUI). This simply means that pictures or symbols are used in place of text whenever possible. This section of the manual describes the different interface objects and their uses.

C U R S O R S

The cursor is the object moved with the mouse. Its appearance changes depending on its location. The different cursor appearances indicate different uses for the cursor.

Black Pointer : This cursor is used to select objects and geometry by clicking on them. Zoom by dragging a rectangle around an area on the screen.

White Pointer : This cursor functions the same as the black pointer, except it is in multiple selection mode. The white pointer appears when the Shift key is held down or when a geometry sub-palette is open. It allows more than one item to be selected at a time.

Mover Tool : This indicates that the cursor is placed on the edge of a palette or in a dialog’s title bar. Move the palette or dialog by holding the mouse button down and dragging it to a different location.

Pointing Finger : This indicates that the cursor is over a button. Push the button by clicking on it.

Hand : This indicates that the cursor is over a draggable object such as a tile. Move the object by clicking on it once and dragging it to the desired location. This cursor is also used to roll the trackball.

Spot : The cursor changes to this while rolling the trackball.

I Beam : This indicates that the cursor is in a location where text input is accepted. It is a flashing cursor.

Area Select : The cursor changes to this while doing a mouse drag or zooming in on an area.

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A C T I O N S

There are a number of actions used throughout the system.

•Moving the cursor : The cursor is moved and positioned with the mouse.

•Click : A quick tap on any mouse button.

•Double-click : Two quick taps on the mouse button.

•Type : Using the keyboard.

•Drag : Position cursor, hold mouse button down, reposition cursor, release mouse button.

•Shift-click : Hold shift key down while clicking the mouse.

•Shift-double-click, Ctrl-click, Ctrl-double-click, etc. : Hold down stated key and

click (or double-click).

O B J E C T S

Several interface objects are used throughout the system.

•Drawing Window

•Palettes

•Dialogs

•Tile Lists

•Menus

•Machining Markers

•Balloons/Prompts

•Wastecan

Menu Bar

Drawing

Window

Tile List

Balloon

Palette	Prompt	Dialog	Wastecan

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DRAWING WINDOW

The drawing window is the full size of the screen. All drawing of geometry, toolpaths, and rendered images appears in the drawing window. It is not moveable. All other interface objects appear in front of the drawing window.

PALETTES

A palette is a collection of functions grouped together in a logical manner for the user. Some palettes are moveable, others are not.

Top Level Palette : This palette is made up of buttons. These buttons can be either “on” (depressed) or “off” (raised). Clicking once on a button turns it on and accesses the appropriate dialog or palette. Another click will turn the button off and put any dialogs or palettes away. The top level palette cannot be moved.

Geometry Creation Palette : This palette is also made up of a group of buttons. However, when one of the buttons is clicked on, it does not stay depressed. Instead, it brings up

the point sub-palette or the Geometry Expert Spreadsheet. The Geometry Creation Palette can be moved to any location on the screen. Move the palette by placing the cursor in the title bar of the palette. When the cursor changes to the mover tool, hold the mouse button down and move the palette. This action is called “dragging the edge”.

Machining Palette : This palette is made up of Function Tiles and buttons. The four Function Tiles are moveable objects that can be dragged to the Process List to create operations. The

Machining Palette can be moved to any location on the screen.

Cut Part Rendering Palette : This palette provides control over the cut part rendering process. It allows the user to control rendering speed, the operations that will be rendered, and the way the

tool will be displayed. This is also a moveable palette.

Text Box

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View Control Palette (Trackball) : The View Control Palette allows the user to easily change the current view of the part. The buttons around the outside provide standard view changes, redraws and unzooms. The center ball operates like a trackball and rolls to allow the part to be viewed from any orientation. When the cursor is placed over the ball, it changes into a hand, which indicates that the ball can be rolled. Holding the mouse button down and moving the mouse will roll the trackball. The black outlined box on the ball represents the orientation of the part. The "T" identifies the top surface of the

part. The dimensions of the box do not change with the actual part size. X is the long axis. Once the desired view is obtained, and the mouse button is released, the part is redrawn in the new view. The ball has four small solid black rectangles around it, inside the ring of buttons (located at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00). These are called ball "handles". Drag these handles for a single axis view change. The trackball is a moveable palette, drag its edge to move it.

DIALOGS

Dialogs are used when information is required from the user. This information is conveyed through text boxes, radio buttons, yes/no buttons, and pop-up menus.

Text Boxes : Items that require keyboard input have a box next to them. If you click once in a text box, a flashing text cursor will appear where you clicked. Anything typed will begin at the flashing text cursor. To move the text cursor, click

at the desired location. Double-clicking in a text box will select (highlight) everything in the text box. Anything typed at this point will completely replace the current contents of the box. To select only portions of the contents of the text box, click before or after the text to be edited, hold the mouse button down and drag.

Moving from one text box to another can be accomplished by simply clicking in the desired box, or hitting the Tab key. The Tab key moves the cursor from one box to another, and highlights the entire contents of each box.

The contents of all text boxes can be cut, copied and pasted to and from the clipboard by choosing items from the Edit Menu.

Math Input in a Text box : All number input boxes will accept the four standard math function symbols (+ - x / ), as well as a number of special functions, (both * and x are used for multiplication). Hitting the equal key or tab key on the keyboard will display the final value. Special math functions include:

r = squareroot s= sine

c= cosine t= tangent

a= arctangent

m= convert from inch to millimeter (x 25.4) i= convert from millimeter to inch (/ 25.4)

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Angle values follow the standard Cartesian coordinate system, shown below. Negative values are acceptable as input.

(-270°) 90°

180°			0°
180°			0°
(-180°)

270° (-90°)

Radio buttons : Radio buttons come in groups. When one of the buttons in the group is depressed (turned “on”), the other buttons in the group are “off.” The button that is depressed displays a small red dot or “light” to indicate that it is “on.”

Yes/No buttons : Yes/no buttons come one per option. Depress the button for yes, pop it up for no. The button that is depressed displays a small red dot or

“light” to indicate that it is “on.”

Pop-Up menus : Pop-up menus provide multiple choices. A pop-up menu looks like a button, but has an arrow indi-

cating that there are more choices available. The menu is accessed by depressing it and dragging the cursor down to scroll through the list. When the desired item is highlighted, release the mouse button to select it.

Geometry Dialog : Geometry Dialogs are used for input of specific geometric information when creating points. These dialogs contain options for creating single points or multiple points.

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Geometry Expert Spreadsheet:

All part geometry is created using the Geometry Expert Spreadsheet. The feature type buttons on the far left are contained in a pull out graphic menu.

All other geometric information is entered in the feature rows in the various cells of the spreadsheet. This is a moveable dialog that can be positioned anywhere on the screen. For more information on Geometry Expert, refer to the Geometry Creation Chapter.

Close box		Dialog Name		Title Bar

Moveable dialogs : Some dialogs may be moved around on the screen. The area at the top of the dialog is called the title bar. The title bar shows the name of the dialog. Drag the title bar to move the dialog. The small box in the upper left corner of the window is the close box. Clicking in this box puts the dialog away. Doubleclicking on the title bar will hide the dialog and leave only the title bar. An additional double-click will restore the dialog. This is useful for conserving screen space. Most of the dialogs in the system can be shrunk to the title bar in this manner.

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Open Dialog : The Open Dialog is used to locate, view, and open files. It comes up when Open is selected from the File menu, or the Open button is depressed in the Document Control Dialog.

Current Directory/ Folder: displays a list of all available files in the current directory

Pop-up menu to access a higher level directory, displays current directory

		Part Preview:
		Part Preview:
The name of the		displays the last
current disk		rendered image
		of the part

Material Information

and Part Comment

Button used to access the available drives and
disks contained on the system.		Part Dimensions
	On DOS, Windows NT and Windows
OS
	95 systems, it is the Drive button as
	shown above. On Macintosh systems,

it is the Desktop button.

TILE LISTS

Tool Tiles, Process Tiles and Operation Tiles reside in Tile Lists. Tile Lists have numbered positions or locations. These positions can be empty or have a tile in them. Tiles may be selected and dragged to any position in the list. To place a tile between two tiles, drag the new tile to an insertion point between two positions. Or, if you shift-double-click on an insertion point, an empty location is created. Any tiles below the insertion point will be moved down in the list. To move tiles up in the list, shift-double-click on an empty position. Depressing and holding down the scroll buttons located at the top and bottom of the list, scroll the list in order to access tiles higher or lower in the list. To scroll the list a “page” at a time,

Insertion

Point

Location

Number

Scroll

Button

Tile

Empty

Location

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hold down the scroll button and move the mouse in the direction of the arrow. The arrow will turn red when scrolling a page at a time.

Tiles : The four different types of tiles are:

Function Tiles (Machining Palette)

Tool Tiles (Tool List)

Process Tiles (Process List)

Operation Tiles (Operation List)

Although the functionality of each type of tile is different, they have common features. All tiles have a similar appearance, grey and square. Tiles can be dragged to tile lists.

Function Tiles: The four different types of functions are drilling, contouring, pocketing, and thread milling. Function Tiles are dragged to a Process List Location to create a Process Tile.

Tool Tiles : A Tool Tile is created by double-clicking on an empty Tool Tile Location. This brings up a Tool Dialog. A Tool Tile displays a small tool symbol and the tool diameter.

Process Tiles : A Process Tile is created by dragging one Tool Tile and one Function Tile to a Process List Location. A completed Process Tile displays the tool number with a box around it, and a function symbol. When a Process Tile is created, a Process Dialog specific

to the selected machining function will appear on the screen. An incomplete Process Tile displays either the tool number or the function symbol.

Operation Tiles : Operation Tiles are created from Process Tiles by clicking on the Do it button once the appropriate geometry has been selected for the cut shape. Each Operation Tile represents one machining operation which contains the toolpath. An operation can either

drill or thread mill all selected points or circles, contour selected shapes, or pocket as much of the selected geometry as possible without picking up the tool. An Operation Tile displays the tool number and function symbol.

MENUS

Menu Bar: The menu bar shown below is located at the top of the screen. It is available to the user at all times. To access the menu bar, position the cursor over the menu bar title, hold the mouse button down, drag the cursor until the desired item is highlighted, and release the mouse button. If a menu item is grayed out it cannot be selected. Selecting geometry or some other appropriate item on the screen may change the menu item so that it is available for selection. Some menu items are grayed out because they are not supported by the Level 0 product. Refer to the Menus Appendix for a listing of these items.

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Keyboard

Shortcut

Keyboard shortcuts: Many menu items can be accessed by the keyboard. The letter next to the menu item indicates what key on the keyboard will activate that item. Refer to the Shortcuts Appendix for specific information on using keyboard shortcuts.

	OS	The symbol next to the letter will be different depending on the operating system
	OS	and the selection made in the Interface Preference.
		and the selection made in the Interface Preference.

MACHINING MARKERS

Machining Markers allow the user to specify the start and end feature and start and end point of the cut shape, the cut direction, and the offset position of the tool. These markers appear on the screen when geometry is selected for contouring processes.

Start Feature : The geometry feature (line or circle) on which the tool will start cutting.

Start Point : The point on the start feature where the tool will start cutting.

End Feature : The geometry feature on which the tool will stop cutting.

End Point : The point on the end feature where the tool will stop cutting.

Cutter Side and Direction : The circles represent where on the geometry the tool will cut: on the outside of the geometry, on the inside of the geometry, or on the centerline. The arrows indicate which direction the tool will travel, making either a climb or conventional cut. Click on the desired circle and direction arrow.

BALLOONS/PROMPTS

Balloons and prompts provide on-line reference information about the objects and functions in the system.

Balloons : Balloons are turned on in the Help menu. A balloon containing reference information will appear when the cursor is placed over an object on the screen.

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Prompting : Prompting is also turned on in the Help menu. Prompting extends the geometry and machining palettes to include useful suggestions on how to use the software.

Error Balloons : Error balloons alert the user whenever an invalid value has been entered. They are outlined in red and disappear when a valid entry is made.

S H O R T C U T S

Button Shortcuts : In some cases, buttons may be depressed by actions other than clicking on them.

When a button has a black outline around it, it can be depressed by hitting the enter or return key.

Geometry dialogs give the user a choice of single or multiple point creation. To create only one point, click on the single point button. To create more than one

point using the selected method, click on the multiple point button. One of the buttons will always be highlighted. The highlighted button can be depressed by clicking on it, hitting the space bar, the enter key, or the return key.

The Process button is found in some dialogs, primarily those found in the Modify menu. It can be depressed by clicking on it, or by hitting the enter or return keys.

The system contains many other shortcuts that are described on platform specific Shortcuts information cards and in the Shortcuts Appendix.

S E L E C T I O N

Three classes of objects may be selected in the system: text, geometry features and tiles. Text and geometry can be cut, copied, and pasted to and from the clipboard within the same file by using items in the Edit Menu. Selection techniques are described below.

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TEXT SELECTION

To select text:

•Click and drag the cursor over some text.

The text will become selected.

•Double-click in a text box.

All text in the box will become selected.

• Hit the tab key to move from text box to another.

All text in the box will become selected.

GEOMETRY SELECTION

To select a single geometry feature:

• Click on a feature.

The feature will become selected. If any other features were selected, they will become deselected.

To select multiple geometry features:

• Shift-click on a feature.

If the feature was unselected, it will become selected and added to any other currently selected features. If the feature was selected, it will become deselected and removed from the currently selected group.

Holding down the shift key changes the cursor to multiple selection mode which allows more than one geometry feature to be selected at a time.

To select an entire connected shape:

• Double-click on a feature of the shape.

All connected features will become selected.

To select certain types of geometry:

• Use the Select items found under the Edit menu.

All geometry that matches the selected type will become selected and added to the currently selected group.

TILE SELECTION

To select a single tile:

• Click on a tile.

The tile will become selected. If any other tiles were selected, they will become deselected.

To select multiple tiles:

• Shift-click on a tile.

If the tile was unselected, it will become selected and added to any other currently selected tiles. If the tile was selected, it will become deselected and removed from the currently selected group.

Holding down the shift key changes the cursor to multiple selection mode which

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allows more than one tile to be selected at a time.

C O L O R S

The system uses colors to graphically display different items drawn on the screen. The color scheme for geometry, toolpaths and rendering is listed below.

GEOMETRY

Color	Meaning
Yellow	Unconnected Geometry
Light Blue	Connected Geometry

TOOLPATHS

Color	Meaning
Dark Blue	Cut Shape; selected area of a shape to be machined
Solid Orange	Feed Move in a Toolpath
Dashed Orange	Rapid Move in a Toolpath
Dashed Gray	Rapid Move used for positioning moves and tool changes
Solid Gray	Approach Feed Move

RENDERING

Color	Meaning
Blue	Stock
Yellow	Rendering of selected operations, and/or selected tools
Gray	Rendering of unselected operations and/or unselected tools
Red	Tool Interference

C L I P B O A R D

The Clipboard is used as a temporary storage place for geometry and text. Using the Cut option from the Edit menu will delete whatever items are selected and replace the contents of the Clipboard with them. Using Copy will leave the selected items in their current location and replace the contents of the Clipboard with a duplicate of them. Choosing Paste can do two things. If something is selected it will replace that selection with the contents of the Clipboard. If nothing is selected the contents of the Clipboard will be pasted in either the drawing window or in an active text box depending on whether the Clipboard contains text or geometry. The Clipboard can only hold one selection at a time. This means that it can hold either text or geometry, but not both. If text is copied into a Clipboard holding geometry, the geometry in the Clipboard will be lost. The contents of the clipboard will also be lost, when a file is closed, the software is quit out of, or the computer is shutdown. Therefore, geometry can not be cut, copied or pasted between different part files because the contents of the clipboard are deleted when the part file is closed.

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CHAPTER 3 : P a r t	S e t - u p

D O C U M E N T C O N T R O L D I A L O G

Clicking on the Document Control button will bring up the Document Control dialog. This dialog is actually a combination of two linked dialogs. The top dialog contains file management selections and also provides measurement type options.

The bottom dialog provides specific information about the part such as stock size, clearance moves and tool change positioning.

File

Management

Measurement

Type

Tool Change

Stock Size Position

Diagram

The buttons used for file management, described below, are also available under the File menu.

Open Button : Clicking on the Open button will bring up the Open Dialog which allows the user to select which file to open. If a file is currently open, it will be closed and the selected file will be opened.

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New Button : This button will create a new file by opening a dialog and asking for a file name and a location to save the new file. If there is a file open, it will be closed.

Save Button : If there have been any changes made while the file was open, this button will save the changes.

Save As Button : This button will open a dialog asking for a file name and a location to save the current file. The changes made since the last Save command will be written into the new file. The original file will not be affected. The new file will become the current, open file.

Save a Copy Button : This button is very similar to the the Save As button. The system will create a duplicate copy of the open file. The original file remains the current, open file. The name of the duplicate file can be changed.

On DOS systems, if the original file name is less than 8 characters, the system will add OS underscores to make the duplicate file's name 8 characters in length. If the original file's name is 8 characters, the system will change the last character to an underscore to distin-

guish the original file and the copy. On Macintosh, Windows NT and Windows 95 systems, the word “copy”will be added at the end of the file name to distinguish it from the original.

Close Button : This button closes the current file. If the file has not been saved before clicking on the Close Button, a dialog will come up asking if the file should be saved.

Measurement Type : These two radio buttons determine whether values input will be based on an English or metric standard and entered in inches or millimeters. The measurement type used by the post processor is determined by the post processor

itself. There are English and metric post processors. If an English post is used on a metric part, the posted numbers will be converted from millimeters to inches. Likewise, metric posts will convert values from inches to millimeters.

Stock Size Diagram : This section of the dialog is used to specify the starting size of the part stock. The numbers will be used to draw the stock outline and origin marker, and to draw the initial stock during the rendering process. These values will not affect the programming of the part, but it is recommended that they closely correspond to the actual stock being used.

Tl Change Pos : If Tool Change Position is on, the turret will be sent to the X and Y dimensions specified before a tool change occurs. This option is used on milling machines without automatic tool changers. It is also useful when the table must be moved to avoid interference during a tool change due to a tall part, fixtures or if a rotary table is being used.

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Clearance Plane : This position is used as a master Clearance Plane for the part. This is the Z position the tool will rapid to and from during a tool change. In addition, the tool will retract to this position between holes for drilling operations, if the second Retract to Z option is selected in the

Drilling Process Dialog. This Clearance Plane is also used for multiple parts in the posted output. Refer to the Machining and Post Processing Chapters for more information on clearance positioning.

Comment : Any text entered as a part comment will be shown in the part preview section of the Open Dialog. In most cases, it will also appear in the posted output.

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CHAPTER 4 : G e o m e t r y	C r e a t i o n

G E O M E T RY O V E RV I E W

Geometry must be created in order to machine a part. All part geometry is created using the Geometry Expert spreadsheet and the Point sub-palette. Geometry Expert combines the creation and connection of all geometry features in one powerful and easy to use method. The Point sub-palette offers several methods for defining points. Once created, geometry can be duplicated and modified using items in the Edit Menu and the Modify Menu. There is an exercise at the end of this chapter that provides detailed instructions on creating part geometry.

G E O M E T RY E X P E RT

Geometry Expert is a method of geometry creation which facilitates the fast creation of simple parts and the simplified creation of more complex parts, along with being very easy to learn and use. Geometry Expert is designed to create a single, continuous, shape. It allows the user to define, create and connect shape features while following along the path of the part.

Geometry Expert has a tabular format which operates much like a standard spreadsheet. Features are defined by entering dimensions into the cells (text boxes) of the feature rows. Each row creates a different feature. Features are defined in the same order as they are encountered along the shape path.

Creating a shape using Geometry Expert is akin to “walking” around the path of the shape, indicating such items as location, direction and the distance being traveled. While this is similar to standard shape creation techniques, Geometry Expert goes one step further. It applies its inherent knowledge of geometric principles and follows a logical course which allows for the creation of complete, connected, geometrically correct shapes requiring the least amount of input from the user.

Geometry Expert, as the name implies, provides the user with a built-in consultant on the rules and principles of geometry. The creation of simple shapes, containing primarily horizontal and vertical lines, such as shafts, is almost effortless using Geometry Expert. The default settings and automatic angle toggling allow the user to create alternating, intersecting horizontal and vertical lines in the fastest manner possible. The user only needs to enter one value in order to define the line. The creation of more complex shapes, containing multiple arcs and angled lines, is greatly simplified due to the fact that Geometry Expert constantly applies its built in logic and knowledge of geometry to guide the user through the process.

Finally, Geometry Expert is a very powerful editing tool. The associative capabilities of Geometry Expert make editing any existing shape a very easy process. The system handles the dimension changes while maintaining all the proper connections and relationships between pieces of geometry (eg. intersections and tangencies). Feature dimensions can be adjusted by simply changing the values in the spreadsheet. Geometry Expert handles all of the calculations and adjustments to the other features that are affected by the changes. Geometry Expert frees the user from needing to understand complex geometrical relationships and calculate feature dimensions. Instead, the user can simply enter the specifications provided on the part blueprint and let Geometry Expert do the rest.

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HOW GEOMETRY EXPERT WORKS

Geometry Expert is set up much like a standard spreadsheet. Feature specifications are entered into cells which are contained in rows. Each row of the spreadsheet defines a feature.

Cell

Feature Row

Scroll Bar

Features are defined in the order that they appear along the path of the shape. When the Geometry Expert spreadsheet is open on the screen the user can create fully connected shapes by entering feature specifications in each of the rows. Because Geometry Expert creates connected shapes, each feature is dependent on and aware of the preceding and following features.

The feature row that is being worked on at any given time is referred to as the “current row”. The current row has an upraised frame and is outlined in either yellow or black. When the current row contains adequate information, it is outlined in yellow. The prompt at the bottom of the spreadsheet, which gives the status of the current row, will indicate what will happen when the row is entered.

The current row will be outlined in black if it does not contain enough information. The prompt will indicate what additional information is needed to define the row. If the user attempts to enter a row that does not contain enough information, an error balloon will come up, again indicating what other information is required. When the current feature row contains the appropriate information, the row is entered into the spreadsheet by hitting the enter or return key. Entering a new row moves the cursor down to the next row in the spreadsheet, which will now be the current row. The enter and return keys only move the current row down in the spreadsheet if a new row is being created. Otherwise, the arrow keys or the cursor must be used to maneuver through the rows in the spreadsheet.

Each feature is drawn on the screen as soon as the spreadsheet contains the necessary information. Some features cannot be drawn until later features are defined. These are referred to as “floating features” and are explained later in this section.

Creating part geometry with Geometry Expert is accomplished by walking along the path of a shape, and defining features as they are encountered. In this way, all features are automatically connected to the preceding and following features. Because of this methodology, sometimes it is necessary to specify the correct direction of a feature, in addition to indicating its magnitude.

For arcs, the selected feature type indicates the direction, either clockwise or counter-clock- wise. For lines, the angle value indicates the direction. For example, a horizontal line can either be defined with an angle value of 0° or 180°; both will draw the same line, but in the opposite direction. Specifying the correct line direction is only an issue if the previous or next feature is going to be an arc. When that is the case, it is necessary to indicate to the system what direction the line is moving. Again, checking the line direction should only be necessary when the line is being connected to an arc.

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CREATING SHAPES USING GEOMETRY EXPERT

When creating a part using Geometry Expert, the first thing that must be decided is the starting feature and the direction to travel around the part, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. When the spreadsheet is first opened, the first row will default to a line with an angle of 90°. The information in this row will need to be added to and/or changed in order to define the first feature.

The prompts indicate what additional information can be entered to define the feature. As soon as the first row contains enough information to fully define the feature, the frame of the row will become yellow. When the frame is yellow, the prompting information tells the user how the feature will be created. A yellow frame around the row indicates that the user can press enter without getting an error message. Hitting enter or return will create the feature and start a new row. The reference number of the feature that was created will be placed in the Ref cell in its row.

The new row’s feature type will default to a line, and the angle will default to either 0°/180° or 90°/270°. The angle value of the line will automatically toggle between either 0°/180° or 90°/270°. Once again, the prompt will indicate what information can be added to further define the line.

In this case, and many others, the frame of the row will be yellow even if the row does not contain enough information to fully define the feature. This is because it is still possible to add information in subsequent rows that will fully define the feature. At this point, information can be added to or removed from the row to define the next feature of the shape as dimensioned on the print. When the information is correct, the feature is created by hitting the enter or return key.

This process continues until the last feature of the shape is defined. When the last feature of the shape is created it should intersect with the first feature of the shape. At this point the feature must be connected using the Close Shape feature type.

Geometry Expert button: The Geometry Expert button is located in the last position in the Geometry Creation palette. Clicking on this button brings up the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, shown below, which allows the user to create connected shapes by entering

feature dimensions in the rows of the spreadsheet.

Horizontal (X) Coordinate	Vertical (Y) Coordinate	Horizontal (X) Coordinate	Vertical (Y) Coordinate
of Endpoint	of End Point	of Line Point/Centerpoint	of Line Point/Centerpoint
Close Box
Reference #
Feature Type
Current Row
Prompt	Angle of Line/	Length of Line	Size Box
	Angle of Line/	Length of Line	Size Box
	Radius of Circle	or Chamfer

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Feature Type: There are seven options available for the feature type. They are (from left to right): line, chamfer,

fillet, clockwise arc, counter-clockwise arc, and close shape. Each row must have a

feature type selected. To select the feature type, click on the feature type button which will access the possible selections. Drag the mouse to the desired feature so that the button appears depressed, and let go of the mouse button. That feature will now appear as the feature type for the row. In some cases, depending on the previous feature, some of the feature type options may be grayed out to indicate they are not valid selections. Also, depending on the feature type selected, some cells may be grayed out indicating that the selected feature type does not require that dimension. The feature type can also be selected using keyboard shortcuts. Refer to the Shortcuts information card or the Shortcuts Appendix for information on keyboard shortcuts for Geometry Expert.

Reference #: Every feature that is created is assigned a reference number by the system. The letter indicates what type of feature it is, L for line, C for circle, and the number indicates the creation order. These reference numbers may change during the course of creating geometry, but will not affect the shape.

EP X: The number entered in this cell is the horizontal or X coordinate of the endpoint of the current feature. When a feature is defined with an endpoint, the system will draw the feature and trim it at the specified endpoint. Endpoint specifications are required if the next feature needs a start point in order to be correctly defined.

EP Y: The number entered in this cell is the Y or vertical coordinate of the endpoint of the current feature.

EXAMPLE: The row shown below will create a 45° line with an endpoint drawn at X -2, Y 3. The next feature that is defined in the spreadsheet will start at the end point of this feature.

Angle/Rad: The number entered in this cell is dependent on the feature type selected.

If the feature type is a line, this number specifies the angle of the line. The angle value for a line defaults to either 90°/270° or 0°/180° allowing for the creation of vertical or horizontal lines, respectively. The system toggles between these angle values which makes the creation of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines a very quick and easy process. The user can change the default values by simply entering the new numbers in the cells. If the feature type is a arc or fillet, this number specifies the radius.

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EXAMPLE: The row shown below will create a fillet between the previous and following feature with a radius of 0.25.

Length: The number entered in this cell is the length of the current feature. The length cell is only active if the feature type is either a line or a chamfer.

LP/CP X: The number entered in this cell is dependent on the feature type selected. If the feature type selected is a line, this number is the X or horizontal coordinate of a line point (LP). A line point is any point that lies somewhere on the line. Line points are only

used to draw and calculate the line, they are not part of the shape. Line points are not drawn on the screen. Geometry Expert defaults to the LP/CP cell so it is more efficient when creating lines to use line points whenever possible in order to reduce the number of key strokes necessary. If the feature type selected is a circle, this number is the horizontal coordinate of the centerpoint of the circle.

LP/CP Y: The number entered in this cell is dependent on the feature type selected.

If the feature type selected is a line, this number is the Y or vertical coordinate of a line point. If the feature type selected is a circle, this number is the horizontal coordinate of the centerpoint of the circle.

EXAMPLE: The row shown below will create a 90° (vertical) line that goes through the point at X 4. When defining either horizontal (0°/180°) or vertical (90°/270°) lines, only one LP coordinate is required. Refer to the section on Half Points in this chapter for more information.

EXAMPLE: The row shown below will create a circle with a radius of 0.5 and a centerpoint at X -3, Y 2.

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Prompt: The information contained in the prompt indicates the status of the current row. When a feature row is outlined in yellow, the prompt tells the user what specifications have been entered for this feature and what will happen when the row is entered. If the feature row is outlined in black indicating that more information is required, the prompt will tell the

user what additional information is required. The prompt also indicates if the system has automatically deleted a cell value because the feature row contained too much information that overdefined the feature, this aspect of Geometry Expert is referred to as the “auto delete” function which is explained in the Expert Aids section of this chapter.

Close box: Clicking in this box will close Geometry Expert. When Geometry Expert is closed, all information is cleared out of the spreadsheet. When the Geometry Expert button is depressed again, the spreadsheet will come up empty. In order to load or reload a shape into the spreadsheet, double click on any feature of the shape while the spreadsheet is open

on the screen. All connected feature dimensions will be entered into the spreadsheet.

Size box : The size box allows the user to adjust the size of the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. To adjust the size of the spreadsheet, click in the Size box and drag the window to the desired size. The width cannot be changed, but the length can be adjusted.

Scroll Bar: The scroll bar and arrows allow the user to scroll through the rows contained in

the spreadsheet to make adjustments and check the values entered. This is useful if the spreadsheet needs to stay relatively small to fit on the screen, and/or if it contains many features.

EXPERT AIDS

There are several items built in to Geometry Expert that are designed to guide the user through geometry creation. They include prompting, auto delete, and error balloons.

Prompting

The prompting information appears across the bottom of the Geometry Expert spreadsheet. The prompt tells the user what actions are being taken by the system based on the information provided by the user. The user should be able to follow the prompts through the creation process to get a good idea of what is happening.

Auto Delete

The auto delete function of Geometry Expert is intended to reduce errors resulting from features being overdefined because too much information has been entered in the feature row. Geometry Expert is designed so that the user need only enter the minimum amount of information to define a feature. The system will automatically delete the first entry made in the feature row when the feature is overdefined. Auto delete is necessary in order to facilitate the associative capabilities of Geometry Expert. Note that the default values, such as the line angle, are considered the first entry rather than any information entered by the user. The prompt will indicate what information is being deleted.

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Error Balloons

Geometry Expert also contains Error Balloons which appear on the screen whenever a problem occurs. The most common error messages appear when the system requires more information for a feature being entered. For example, if a line needs another value for an end point, an Error Balloon will come up indicating that a V or H value is needed to calculate the end point. The Error Balloons and Prompting use the letters V and H, indicating Vertical and Horizontal.

Another common error message indicates that the feature being defined cannot intersect with the previous feature. The non-intersecting feature can still be created, but the message indicates to the user that the continuity of the shape has been broken and the subsequent features being created will not connect to the existing shape.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Defaults

When entering features in the Geometry Expert spreadsheet, the system contains defaults for the feature type and line angle. The standard feature type default is a line. When Geometry Expert defaults to a line, it also enters an angle value, either 90°/270° or 0°/180°, depending on the angle of the last line entered. Sometimes a line is not a possible feature type option, in which case the system defaults to an arc. This only occurs when the previous feature is a floating line. Geometry Expert dimensions the line according the preceding and following feature specifications. Floating features are not drawn on the screen until the system contains the necessary information.

Post Targeting

Despite all of its expertise, Geometry Expert can’t always know the correct intersection point to use for a connector. When there are two or more, equally valid points of intersection, the system will draw both points. This is referred to as post targeting. When post targeting is required, a dialog will come up that asks the user to select the appropriate point and click on the OK button. Once the user has selected the desired intersection point, Geometry Expert will make the appropriate connection and continue along in the spreadsheet defining and connecting features.

The Edit menu contains an item that will change the intersection point selected in a post targeting dialog to the other possible point of intersection. The menu item toggles between Use Intersection #1 and Use Intersection #2, depending on the point selected and where it lies along the path of the shape. This option will be an active item when a feature that required post targeting is selected on the screen.

Half Points

In certain cases, only one coordinate, either the horizontal or vertical, is required to define the feature. This is referred to as a half point case. Half points are valid when Geometry Expert is able to calculate the other half of the coordinate value from information contained in the spreadsheet. (Either preceding or following features.)

When a valid half point is entered, the row will be highlighted in yellow, allowing the user to enter the feature row. If the half point entered is not valid, the row will be highlighted in black and the prompt will indicate what additional information is necessary to enter the row. If an incomplete row is entered, an error ballon will come up indicating what additional information is required. There are three cases where half points are valid. They are listed and explained below.

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Half Line Point: A half line point is valid only when creating either a horizontal line (angle value = 0° or 180°) or vertical line (angle value = 90° or 270°). If creating a horizontal line, a V coordinate must be given for a valid half line point. If creating a vertical line, an H coordinate must be given for a valid half line point. Line points are not part of the shape, but are only used to calculate the position of the line.

Half End Point: A half end point is only valid if the line is otherwise completely defined.

Given either the vertical or horizontal coordinate of the end point along with the other information that defines the line, the system can calculate the other half of the end point. If a half end point is used in the case of 0°/180° or 90°/270° lines, the half end point will function like a half line point, in that an end point will not be drawn, although the correct line will be created. Half Center Point: A half center point is valid when a circle has a radius value and is tangent to the preceding feature. (There must be a preceding feature.) Given the radius and the vertical or horizontal component of the centerpoint, the system can calculate the other half of the centerpoint by the assumed tangencies.

Floating Features

Floating features are features whose defining row does not contain all of the information necessary to draw the feature. Floating feature rows are different from incomplete feature rows. With floating feature rows, the information contained in the current feature row and the preceding rows is inadequate to completely define the feature and draw it. However, subsequent features, defined in following rows, could provide the necessary information to define the floating feature. Floating feature rows are outlined in yellow and can be entered.

Incomplete feature rows do not contain enough information to create the feature, and no amount of information entered in following rows will make the feature definable. Incomplete feature rows are outlined in black and cannot be entered without getting error messages.

Again, the row outline and the prompting information will indicate if the feature row can be entered, and if it is, how the floating feature will be incorporated into the shape after later features have been defined.

Inserting and Deleting Rows

The Edit menu contains options for inserting and deleting rows in the spreadsheet. When inserting rows in the spreadsheet, the system will create a new row above the current row. To insert a row, select the row beneath the row to be inserted. Then, select the Insert row option in the Edit menu. When an inserted row is entered, the system will recalculate the shape and attempt to incorporate the new feature into the existing shape, if possible.

To delete a row, simply select the row to be removed, and choose the Delete Row option in the Edit menu. When rows are deleted, Geometry Expert will recalculate the shape, and attempt to keep it continuous and connected. If that is not possible, error balloons will appear indicating that features do not intersect and the shape cannot be connected.

Arcs vs. Fillets

Arcs with only a radius value and fillets appear to be very similar at first glance, but actually use two completely different methods for calculating the circles. A fillet takes a sharp point produced by an intersection between two other features and changes it into a radius. It is created after the intersection between the two features is completed. Because of this, it is dependent on the intersection of the other two features to exist. This means that the system cannot use the fillet to

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