Strategy Manager Enhancements

• New Strategy Manager run-only license -  useful for machines/users that only need to view and run strategies.

• Strategy updating facility
  Use Options menu ► Update Processes to add newly introduced command dialog modifiers to your corresponding processes. (Previously you would have had to re-paste in a new process, and transfer over your modifier settings from the old process.) Use this to add the new toolchange modifiers below.

• New toolchange modifiers

  • Insert Reach. Note that this modifier is not an actual ToolStore parameter, but is derived from F-Distance - Shank Width. Note that F-Distance is also new. Can be used for bore tool selection, in combination with RecessDepth (below).

  • Modifiers corresponding to the new Roughing and Finishing ToolStore checkboxes (see details), allowing you to make tool selections based on these machining capabilities.

  • Holder Type. This can be used to select tools compatible with the holder type - see details. Also see related Code Wizard and Code Generator changes.

  • Minimum Bore, Bore Reach, F-Distance for greater control of tool selection, to aid collision avoidance.

  • Reverse Cut Direction (not a toolchange modifier). This corresponds to a new checkbox in the Finish Turning cycle (see more details). This is needed because strategies cannot reverse the cut direction by changing the profile start and end points (as you can when manually creating the cycle).

• New attributes

  • Feature.Turn.Bore.RecessDepth. Use this for tool selection in combination with InsertReach (above).

  • Feature.Turn.Bore.BoreDepth. Full depth of bore (not to the end of the feature). Use for determining the depth for pre-drilling.

  • Feature.Turn.Bore.MaxDrillSize. Maximum diameter drill that can be fed down the bore.

  • Feature.Turn.Bore.EndAngle. Angle of the last element in a blind bore.

  • Feature.Turn.Bore.BoreDepth. Depth of groove from top to bottom.

  • Turn feature cutting angle attributes: Feature.Turn.Geometry.MinimumCutAngle, Feature.Turn.Geometry.TurnRecessMaxBackAngle, Feature.Turn.Geometry.FaceRecessMaxBackAngle. See details.

  • Job.Stock.Main.InternalDiameter. This is the minimum diameter of the centreline through hole in the In Process stock assigned to the Main spindle (0 if no hole). Similarly there is Job.Stock.Sub.InternalDiameter for the Sub spindle.

  • Feature.Turn.Geometry.ElementCount stores the number of items in the Turn feature elements list.

  • Machine.Turret1(or 2).HolderType attribute (see related Code Wizard and Code Generator changes).

• Selecting tools compatible with turret's holder type (see an overview). Match up these items:

  • New Machine attribute - see above.

  • New toolchange instruction modifier - see above.

• New functions for accessing PCI variables.

  • For accessing the value of an Edgecam PCI variable:

    • GetPCIVar(variable_name). This always returns a string value - reals are converted.

      For example: User.partname=GetPCIVar("&PARTNAME")

    • GetRealPCIVar(variable_name). This always returns a real value - strings are converted.

      For example: User.systemtolerance=GetPCIVar("&SYSTOL")

      The variable_name input can be a direct string literal or an expression returning a string value (perhaps simply a string user attribute storing the name).

  • GetExistsPCIvar(variable_name) for checking if a PCI variable is defined (1 = defined, 0 = undefined). You need to use this as attempting to retrieve the value of an undefined variable (see above) may halt the strategy run.

    For example: User.isnumsolidsdefined=GetExistsPCIvar("&NUMBEROFSOLIDS")

• More flexible toolchange filter control

  	Previously toolchange instruction modifier settings acted as filters to select from ToolStore. These filtering modifiers are marked as shown on the left. However you can now disable the filtering by double-clicking the modifier...
  	...as shown here. Now the modifier setting will not act as a filter, but will be output as an override to the ToolStore value. (Leave blank for no override.)

  Note that to use overrides, you need to make sure you will not be outputting the toolchange with 'Associative' checked. This would immediately 'override your overrides' setting them back to the ToolStore values.

• Simplified sub-strategy path specification
  There have been changes to make sub-strategy path specification simpler and more consistent. If you have problems with sub-strategy location, please check your strategy paths are correctly set in Options menu ► Preferences.

• Enhanced tool search scope
  
  
   

• Parameterisation of selection list type modifiers
  For a selection list type modifier (such as Tool Type, where the list is Drill, Ream, Tap and so on), you can now type in a string expression, as a alternative to selecting from the list. This provides flexibility in that you can insert a string user variable, so the output can vary through the strategy run. (Previously you would have had to output one of several versions of the process, each having a different 'hard coded' setting.)