3D Machine Settings

In designing 3D parts you may use one of several processes from the Line | Machine dialog:

Near / Far edge - Each line has a near and far edge. The Near edge is the edge nearest you in the current view and the Far edge is the edge farthest from you. For example, for a blind hole the far edge is at the bottom of the hole while the near edge is at the surface opening of the hole. Choose Straight , Round or Chamfer per the desired shape of the edge and enter the relevant numeric value. Use Chamfer for countersinking holes and Straight for counterboring holes. You may need to change to an opposing view first. For example, if you have a thru hole in the Top view and want to countersink the far edge, select View | Bottom and from the bottom view chamfer the near edge.

Side wall - The side wall angle is the angle of the wall corresponding to a specific line. A simple straight wall is considered to be 90 degrees. For example, a hole normally has a cylindrical wall at 90 degrees to the surface, but you could specify a sloped wall of 100 degrees. If you are designing injection molded or cast parts, you may need to use walls of about 92 degrees to allow your part to be easily removed from the mold.

Grooves - Grooves are recesses cut into a wall. To specify a groove check the checkbox and then click the Parameters button. Specify the desired dimensions and click Add for each needed groove. You can edit existing grooves by clicking the Replace button. You can remove a groove by selecting it in the list and clicking Remove. You can remove all grooves by unchecking Grooves in the main dialog. For non-rectangular grooves use Comments To Machinist or, for turned parts use the Revolve feature.

Tolerance - Use this drop list to select a tolerance tighter than the default tolerance. For example, while the default tolerance for a job might be +/- .005" you might wish to specify a tolerance for a hole of +/- .003".