In this article, we will introduce a significant upgrade in Mastercam 2023, the Slot Mill toolpath. In previous versions of Mastercam, Slot Mill was only capable of processing very limited shapes. When you selected the Slot Mill toolpath and the chain of the profile to be machined, the oblong chain geometry generated the path with no problems. However, if you tried any of the other similar shapes you would get a warning message that says “Boundary must be closed and include two parallel, straight sides, use Create Rectangle with Rectangular Shape set to Obround.”
With the Mastercam 2023 release, these restrictions have been removed and Mastercam can now process any of the shapes with no trouble at all. There are many benefits to this new capability. The new and improved Slot Mill automatically follows the profile with a ramping entry without needing to select a special start point.
If you look closely at the geometry you can see that the transitions from the center use smooth, looping motion to prevent plunges in the following cuts. This allows you to have the benefit of parallel passes and high-speed transitions without having to pick one or the other.
This new Mastercam enhancement greatly increases the flexibility of an existing toolpath, making it especially useful when working with longer or more narrow shapes that are close to the cutting tool size.
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