This manual helps engineers and manufacturers improve their knowledge of computer-aided manufacturing software (Pro/Manufacture). This manual-intended for those with some familiarity of Pro/Creo Elements or Pro/Engineer and a basic understanding of machining operations such as milling and turning when consulting this manual-includes numerous tutorials to help you improve your skills. The handbook guides the user to start with a part, create stock around the part, add tools to the list, create different machining sequences and in the end obtain G codes for different Computer Numerical Control machines. You will learn more about three-, four-, and five-axis milling along with two-axis turning. The simple, click-by-click procedure and numerous images make directions easy to follow. CAM software is rapidly evolving, and it's becoming more powerful every day. Anyone who wants to work in a CAM area must have a basic understanding of G and M codes to succeed in the field. Hone your skills and keep the process safe, precise and accurate with this detailed guidebook.

Learning Pro/Manufacturing Using Pro/Creo Elements

A Step-by-Step Guide to Learn Computer-Aided ManufacturingBy MUHAMMAD MANSOOR JANJUA

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Muhammad Mansoor Janjua
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-3925-8

Contents

Tutorial 1 (3 Axis Milling - Engraving)................................................6Tutorial 2 (3 Axis Milling - Face Milling).............................................29Tutorial 3 (3 Axis Milling - Volume Rough and Profile Milling).........................47Tutorial 4 (3 Axis Milling - Volume Rough and Surface Milling).........................76Tutorial 5 (3 Axis Milling - Volume Rough and Drilling Cycle)..........................100Tutorial 6 (3 Axis Milling - Volume Rough, Drilling and Tap Cycle).....................127Tutorial 7 (3 Axis Milling - Volume Rough and Threading Cycle).........................165Tutorial 8 (4 Axis Milling - Volume Rough, Drilling and Engraving).....................200Tutorial 9 (5 Axis Milling - Surface Milling)..........................................256Tutorial 10 (5 Axis Milling - Surface and Profile Milling).............................289Tutorial 11 (2 1/2 Axis Milling - Expert Machinist)....................................327Tutorial 12 (2 Axis Turning - Area Turning)............................................374Tutorial 13 (2 Axis Turning - Area, Profile, Groove and Thread)........................399Tutorial 14 (2 Axis Turning - Area, Drilling and Boring)...............................434Tutorial 15 (Milling and Turning)......................................................464Tutorial 16 (2 Axis Wire EDM)..........................................................492Tutorial 17 (Creating Post Processors).................................................507

Chapter One

Tutorial 1 : Engraving

Engraving is used when tool follows a specified trajectory. Some key feature covered in lesson are mentioned below.

? Program zero (Machine coordinate) is created

? Tool is added to the list

? Parameters (feed, spindle speed, etc) are defined

? CL (Cutter location) data and G codes are obtained for a machine

Create a new part file

Type in the name and make sure Part radio button is selected and Select OK

Select Extrude

Go to Placement and Select Define to Select sketching plane

Select Top Datum plane as sketching plane and Right Datum as Orientation Right

Select 2 point centerline and create Horizontal and Vertical centerlines

Select Rectangle

Draw a rectangle of 5.5 by 3.5 as shown

Select check mark to confirm

Give thickness of 0.75 and then check mark to confirm

Select Sketch Pick the Top surface of part as sketching plane and Right Datum plane as orientation Right

Select the Text icon Left click on part face and then left click above it to give height of text

Type in CAM and make sure to change the Font to Cal_alf and press OK

Save the part

Change the dimensions and check mark

Create a new file for manufacturing

Type in the name and make sure Manufacturing radio button is selected and Select OK

Use any of these icons to bring the work-piece in

Or

Select the part and press Open

Part needs to be oriented with ASM Datum planes. Right click on background and select Default Constraint and press Check mark.

Or

Select Default from pull down menu and check mark

(if you choose the drop down menu from insert , select same model in the box)

The reference part has been assembled and for this tutorial no Stock (work-piece) is required because reference part has the same dimensions as stock (Stock will be created in later tutorials).

A co-ordinate system will be created on reference part with respect to which all the machine co-ordinates will be obtained (known as program Zero). The orientation of program zero for 3 axis mill is shown on right

To create Program Zero (Coordinate System) Select Coordinate system

To create the co-ordinate system, select surfaces by holding Ctrl key in the order shown.

This is not correct orientation of Coordinate system in default orientation (Press Ctrl-D together) or

Select Orientation tab to correct the orientation

Z is normal to above surface

X is normal to above surface, But X is positive towards Right so Flip the direction

When the orientation of Co-ordinate system is correct.

Positive X is pointing towards Right, positive Y is pointing above and positive Z is out of reference part. Select OK A new Cooridnate system will be created ACS0

Now, setup the machine for milling process.

Click on this icon to Select type of machine and process (Milling, Lathe ,etc)

Machine type: Mill

Number of Axis: 3

Select OK to confirm the selection of machine

Click on this icon to Select Program Zero (that is the reference coordinate for the part and everything is measured from there)

Select the coordinate system ACS0

Click on this icon to select Retract surface (the tool will move up to this surface after each machining process)

Select top surface of part and give an offset value of 0.5 for Retract plane. Select OK to confirm.

Press OK on Operation Setup box to confirm the changes made.

New Icons will appear and part is ready to be machined. These icons can also be accessed from Steps menu.

Tools can be created now or in machining sequence. To create tool now select any of the two options listed below

or

Change Tool type to Grooving and diameter to 0.1 and Apply. If additional tools are needed, select File >> New Once required number of tools have been added select OK to exit

To select Engraving process. Click

Or

If this option is selected, program will ask to input Name for machining sequence

If this option is selected, program will ask to select a coordinate system for program Zero , otherwise it will by select the default one which is ACS0 .

When Start and End options are selected, tool move to this point before doing machining and when machining is done tool moves to an end point. Points can be created using point icon

Only Select Tool, Parameters and Datum Curve and Press Done.

The options that are selected, program will ask for more information when Done is pressed.

Select the tool 1 for machining operation and select OK

Speed tool moves in part

Material removed in each pass

Total groove depth

Spindle Speed

See below

When values have been changed, Press OK to confirm and exit

Clear Dist (Clearance distance) is the distance when tool starts to follow the feedrate command (G01), all tool motions before Clear dist are in rapid mode (G00) Make sure Clear Dist is less than the height of Retract plane (that was selected earlier and for this tutorial is 0.5).

Select the CAM sketch and Select Done/Return.

To see tool path, Select Play Path and Screen Play

To play the tool motion

To slow down the tool motion

Too motion

Screenplay only give tool motion. To see the material removal NC Check should be used. To access NC Check, one option needs to be activated

This process needs to be carried out anytime after Pro/Creo Elements is started

Select Tools >> Options

Type in nccheck_type in Option and nccheck in Value. Press Add/Change and Close the window

To see material removal, Select NC Check

Press Run to see the Material removal animation (Step size can be selected to slow down the animation)

Material Removal

If anything needs to be changed in machining seq. Right click on Grooving seq in model tree and select Edit definition

Done Seq

Select Done/Return

Select Seq Setup to change any of the Machining parameters.

When modification is done. Done Seq will store the new values.

Now obtain Cutter location (CL) data and G codes

This process is standard for any machining sequence, more discussion of post processors (machine specific codes) will be done in tutorial 16.

Go to Edit >> CL Data >> Output

Select Operation and OP010

Select File CL File and Interactive are checked Done

Type in new name and Save it in working directory and press OK

A file with .ncl extension will be created in Working directory.

Done Output

Now G codes will be obtained for specific machine from internal data base. How to setup a new machine will be discussed in tutorial 17.

Select File name with .ncl extension and Open

Make sure Verbose and Trace and checked Done

Select the machine UNCX01.P12 from Database. (Machine is 4 axis) It will only give G codes in 3 axis as there is no fourth axis Involved in engraving

Close the window

It shows time to run and any warnings in program.

A TAP file has been created in working directory. Open that file outside of Creo Elements with notepad.

Select engraving file and Right click to select Open with Notepad and press OK

These are G codes (commands) that machine will follow.

Tutorial 2 : Face Milling

Face milling normally used to clear out any excess material on top of workpiece. Some key feature covered in this lesson are mentioned below.

? Stock (work-piece) is created around reference model using automatic workpiece command

? Program zero (Machine coordinate) is created

? Tools is added to the list

? Face milling sequence is created

Final machined part (reference part) can be downloaded from https://sites.google.com/site/janjua/cam or email to janjua@gmail.com to get the parts

Create a new file for manufacturing

Type in the name and make sure Manufacturing radio button is selected and Select OK

Use any of these icons to bring the final machined part in

Select the part and press Open

Part needs to be oriented with ASM Datum planes. Right click on background and select Default Constraint and Press Check mark.

(if you choose the drop down menu from insert , select same model in the box)

This is final machined piece. The original stock size could have completely different shape and size. Automatic workpiece command will be used to create the stock.

Use any of these icons to create work-piece (Stock)

or

Change Y

Axis X,Y and Z are referenced from Default Coordinate system

Press Check mark to create stock

Stock has been created and reference part (final machined part) is inside the stock. To get to final part, different machining operations are created depending on complexity of part.

A new co-ordinate system will be created on workpiece (stock) with respect to which all the machine co-ordinates will be obtained (known as program Zero).

Select Coordinate system

To create the co-ordinate system, select surfaces by holding Ctrl key in the order shown.

This is not correct orientation of Coordinate system, select Orientation tab

Z is normal to above surface

X is normal to above surface, But X is positive towards Right so Flip the direction

When the orientation of Co-ordinate system is correct. Positive X is pointing towards Right, positive Y is pointing above and positive Z is out of reference part. Select OK A new Cooridnate system will be created ACS1

Select ACS1 and Right click to select Rename Change name to MC1

Renaming is not necessary it just helps to track all the machine coordinates. Usually for 3 axis machine there is only one coordinate system but for 4 and 5 axis machines, there can be multiple coordinate systems

Now, setup the machine for milling process. Steps >> Operation

Click on this icon to Select type of machine and process (Milling, Lathe, etc)

Machine type: Mill

Number of Axis: 3

Select OK to confirm the selection of machine

Click on this icon to Select Program Zero (that is the reference coordinate for the part and everything is measured from there)

Select the coordinate system MC1

Click on this icon to select Retract surface (the tool will move up to this surface after each machining process)

Select top surface of reference part and give an offset value of 0.2 for Retract plane. Select OK to confirm.

Press OK on Operation Setup box to confirm the changes made.

New Icons will appear and part is ready to be machined. These icons can also be accessed from Steps pull down menu.

Tools can be created now or in machining sequence. To create tool now select any of the two options listed below

Change the type to End Mill and diameter of tool to 0.25 Click Apply to add the tool

If tool has a different offset number, then go to setting tab and change tool offset number (usually CNC operators keep the same offset number as tool number)

To access Face Milling, select Face icon

Or

Make sure Tool, Parameters and Mach Geom are selected and then press Done.

All Check mark entities will need to be defined

Tool >> Allows to select the tool from tool list

Parameters >> Many parameters can be defined in this option e.g feed rate, material removal for each pass, spindle speed etc.

Mach Geom >> Define the surface upto which machining will be done

Select Tool 1 and OK

Scan type as Type_1 (Type_1 will also remove Material from top if there is cavity below, other scan type might leave material on top of cavity

Insert these parameters and OK

Select Reference Model surfaces from Pull down menu (upper right corner)

Select top surface of the reference part and press Check mark

To see tool path, Select Play Path and Screen Play

To play the tool motion

To slow down the tool motion

Tool motion has been shown

Each pass removed 0.05 inches of material

Lets change step depth Select Seq Setup

Select Parameters and Done

Change some of the parameters and select OK

Play

Select Play Path

Now each step removed 0.04 but total distance to be removed was 0.1. Last step adjusted to remove only 0.02

Screenplay only give tool motion. To see the material removal NC Check should be used. To access NC Check, one option needs to be activated

This process needs to be carried out anytime after Pro/Creo Elements is started

Select Tools >> Options

Type in nccheck_type in Option and nccheck in Value. Press Add/Change and Close the window

To see material removal, Select NC Check

Press Run to see the Material removal animation (Step size can be selected to slow down the animation)

Material Removal

Done Seq to finalize the machining seq (Make sure to do this step otherwise sequence won't be created)

Select Done/Return

Now to obtain CL (cutter location) data and G codes, follow steps from tutorial 1

Tutorial 3 : Volume Rough (using Mill Volume) and Profile Milling

Volume rough can be used either with mill volume or mill window. Normally volume rough is used when lot of material needs to be removed from stock. Volume rough is a 2.5 axis process. Some key feature covered in this lesson are mentioned below.

? Stock is created around reference part using automatic workpiece

? Program zero (Machine coordinate) is created

? Tools are added to the list

? A new volume is created in manufacturing and that volume is removed during machining by Volume Rough

? Profile milling is used to clean out vertical surfaces (also used with casting parts when machining operation only need to clear out vertical or slanted surfaces

? Cutter location (CL) data is obtained for all sequences

Final machined part (reference part) can be downloaded from https://sites.google.com/site/janjua/cam or email to janjua@gmail.com to get the parts

Create a new file for manufacturing

Type in the name and make sure Manufacturing radio button is selected and Select OK

Use any of these icons to bring the final machined part in

Select the part and press Open

Part needs to be oriented with ASM Datum planes. Right click on background and select Default Constraint and Press Check mark.

(if you choose the drop down menu from insert, select same model in the box)

This is final machined piece (reference part). The original stock size can have completely different shape and size. Automatic workpiece command will be used to create the stock.

Use any of these icons to create work-piece (Stock)

or

Stock size is Shown

Axis X,Y and Z are referenced from Default Coordinate system

Select Check mark to create stock

A new co-ordinate system will be created on workpiece (stock) with respect to which all the machine co-ordinates will be obtained (program Zero). Coordinate system can be created anywhere but for most of this book it will be on upper left corner Select Coordinate system

To create the co-ordinate system, select surfaces by holding Ctrl key in the order shown.

This is not correct orientation of Coordinate system, select Orientation tab

Z is normal to above surface

X is normal to above surface, But X is positive towards Right so Flip the direction

When the orientation of Co-ordinate system is correct. Positive X pointing towards Right, Positive Y pointing above and Positive Z out of workpiece. Select OK A new Coordinate system will be created ACS1

Select ACS1 by right click to select Rename Change name to MC1

Renaming is not necessary it just helps to track all the machine coordinates. Usually for 3 axis machine there is only one coordinate system but for 4 and 5 axis machines, there can be multiple coordinate systems

Now, setup the machine for milling process. Steps >> Operation

Click on this icon to Select type of machine and process (Milling, Lathe, etc)

Machine type: Mill

Number of Axis: 3

Select OK to confirm the selection of machine

Click on this icon to Select Program Zero (that is the reference coordinate for the part and everything is measured from there)

Select the coordinate system MC1

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Learning Pro/Manufacturing Using Pro/Creo Elementsby MUHAMMAD MANSOOR JANJUA Copyright © 2011 by Muhammad Mansoor Janjua. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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