Need Help!- Understanding extension/overlap

[Brian Harris]

Hi people,

In the Profile Operation/Finish window of Solidcam I don't understand the function of
the Extension/Overlap field and can't seem to enter values that make it alter the path.
I thought it might do a finishing pass over the roughing wall offset which would be handy.
Any clues please.

Cheers,

Brian Harris

[Adam Hubert]

Lets say your are machining a closed profile. You start and end at exactly the same location. Sometimes your tool might flex at that point and it leaves what some in America call a witness mark. The extension/overlap value makes it go all the way around one time and keeps going past the starting point by that value.

[Brian Harris]

Thanks for the explanation, Adam.

[mattpatt]

Brian, this is a great tool, and I find myself using it as often as possible.

On one job you could see the witness left by a chamfer tool. I adjusted the lead in and out rads until it was as good as gone, but then overlapped the tool path just 1mm and it was gone completely.

I'm loving Solidcam!

[Brian Harris]

Thanks mattpatt, and yes, Solidcam's great.