Roughing the Part

In the following section of the tutorial we will generate a Roughing NC program. In order to select the roughing operation the below described steps must be performed.

You can watch the related video for this part of the tutorial here:

Creation of Roughing Toolpaths

Ensure the file type (NC Format) for our roughing example program is ISO Turning.

Then select the feature Roughing Turning by clicking on the Roughing Turning icon in the Turning Operations toolbar.


This will open the Roughing Turning pane to the left of the drawing area. Now insert the values shown in the dialog below.

  • Comment: This comment will be shown in the final NC-Program. It is always good to include a comment in order to distinguish the various operations in the final program.
  • Retract Point Z: This is the Z value to where the operation will retract the tool after completion.
  • Retract Point X: This is the X value to where the operation will retract the tool after completion.
  • Radial Min: This is the lower machining limit for the operation in the X direction.
  • Radial Max: This is the upper machining limit for the operation in the X direction.

The roughing operation works on a contour, and in order to generate a toolpath we must select that contour. This is done by clicking on the contour as indicated in the picture below.

When the selection is made the contour is selected until the end. This is OK for this operation but we really do not want any work done on the leftmost face, so in order to exclude this click the Back button once. This will deselect the leftmost face.

Now your drawing should look something like the one below.


Click on the button Parameters in the Roughing Turning pane to open the parameters dialog. Enter the following values into the parameter dialogs shown below.

Tool Tab

Configures settings for tool, work orientation and compensation type used for the operation.


Cuts Tab

Configures cutting parameters for the operation.


Entry/Exit Tab

Configure how the tool approaches and leaves the part.


After entering the values, close the parameters dialog with OK. To show the generated toolpath on the drawing click on Show Toolpath button in the Roughing Turning pane.


Try experimenting with the various parameters and see how they change the generated toolpath.

Exporting the Toolpath and Backplot in the Editor

Click on Export Clipboard in order to generate the actual program. The program is now in the computer's clipboard and is ready to be inserted into the CNC program.

Change the window to the NC program and move to the very end by pressing Ctrl+End. Insert the text from the clipboard, either by pressing Ctrl+V, or selecting the icon Paste from the Edit toolbar in the Editor tab.

Now the NC program should look like the following screen.


To verify the generated toolpath, we must simulate it using the integrated Graphical Backplot.

To open the backplot window, click on the Backplot tab at the top of the Ribbon and then on the Backplot Window icon in the File toolbar.

Now a window like the one below will appear.