cncKad

Cutting Tutorial

LaserTutEng.2006.85.001

Laser Cutting Tutorial

Copyright 2006

Metalix CAD/CAM.
All Rights Reserved

Limited Warranty
Metalix CAD/CAM Warrants the software will perform substantially in accordance with the
accompanying printed materials. Metalix CAD/CAM does not warrant that the functions
contained in the software will meet your requirements or that the operation of the software
will be uninterrupted or error-free.

Limitation of Liabilities
In no event will Metalix CAD/CAM or its suppliers be liable for direct, indirect, special,
incidental, contingent, consequential or similar damages of any kind resulting from any defect
in the software or documentation, including without limitation, any lost profits or savings.

Metalix CAD/CAM LTD.

Koranit
D.N. Misgav 20181
ISRAEL
Tel: (972) 4-9998436
Fax: (972) 4-9998519
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright 2006

iii

cncKad

iv

Laser Cutting Tutorial

Table of Contents
Laser Cutting Tutorial .................................................................................................... 7
Laser Tutorial Overview and Aims............................................................................. 7
How to use this Tutorial.......................................................................................... 7
A brief explanation about Clicking.......................................................................... 7
1

Exercise 1 Basic Drafting and Cutting ................................................................. 9

1.1 Overview............................................................................................................ 9
1.1.1 What you will learn in this exercise: ............................................................ 9
1.1.2 Tips ............................................................................................................. 9
1.2 Creating a New Part ........................................................................................ 10
1.3 Selecting the Active Machine Model................................................................ 11
1.4 Positioning Holes with Help Lines ................................................................... 12
1.5 Creating the Inner Rectangle........................................................................... 13
1.6 Filleting Contours............................................................................................. 16
1.7 Geometry Checks............................................................................................ 16
1.8 Saving the Part ................................................................................................ 17
1.9 Cutting the Part................................................................................................ 17
1.10 Defining the Sheet Size ................................................................................... 19
1.11 Generating the NC Code ................................................................................. 22
1.12 Simulating the NC Program............................................................................. 23
1.12.1 Running the Simulation ............................................................................. 23
1.13 Summary ......................................................................................................... 24

Exercise 2 Setting Cuts Manually ...................................................................... 25

2.1 Overview.......................................................................................................... 25
2.1.1 What you will learn in this exercise: .......................................................... 25
2.2 Saving a File Under a New Name ................................................................... 25
2.3 Adding a Dimension ........................................................................................ 25
2.4 Stretching the Part........................................................................................... 26
2.5 Deleting Existing Cuts on the Part................................................................... 27
2.6 Setting Auto Cut Definitions............................................................................. 28
2.7 Setting Individual Cuts..................................................................................... 28
2.8 Summary ......................................................................................................... 30

Exercise 3 Advanced Drafting ........................................................................... 31

3.1 Overview.......................................................................................................... 31
3.1.1 What you will learn in this exercise: .......................................................... 31
3.2 Creating Notches and Bend Relief .................................................................. 31
3.3 Trimming Lines ................................................................................................ 34
3.4 Adding a Rectangular Hole.............................................................................. 35
3.5 Chamfering a Corner ....................................................................................... 36
3.6 Filleting Corners and Contour.......................................................................... 36
3.7 Creating a Circular Array ................................................................................. 37
3.8 Creating Rectangular Arrays ........................................................................... 39
v

cncKad
3.9 Adding a Marking Point ................................................................................... 40
3.10 Summary ......................................................................................................... 41
4

Exercise 4 - Advanced Cutting Definitions............................................................ 42

4.1 Overview.......................................................................................................... 42
4.1.1 What you will learn in this exercise: .......................................................... 42
4.2 Cutting a Previously Cut Part .......................................................................... 42
4.2.1 Deleting Cuts ............................................................................................ 42
4.2.2 Replacing Cutting Definitions with Auto Cut.............................................. 42
4.3 What Are Cutting Tables ................................................................................. 42
4.3.1 Cutting Tables Example ............................................................................ 43
4.4 Corner Treatment ............................................................................................ 45
4.4.1 Max Angle ................................................................................................. 45
4.5 The Global Cut Tab ......................................................................................... 45
4.6 Rounding Corners ........................................................................................... 45
4.7 Slowing ............................................................................................................ 47
4.8 Using Loops..................................................................................................... 47
4.8.1 Editing Corner Parameters ....................................................................... 48
4.8.2 Setting Corner Parameters ....................................................................... 48
4.9 Point Marking................................................................................................... 48
4.9.1 Options for Marking................................................................................... 48
4.10 Summary ......................................................................................................... 49

vi

Index ..................................................................................................................... 50

Laser Cutting Tutorial

Laser Cutting Tutorial

Laser Tutorial Overview and Aims
This Tutorial is designed to give the newcomer to cncKad a quick and easy start with
the program, while teaching the use of some of the most common commands. The
exercises are set out so that the user may work with the program in conjunction with
this book.
The exercises are of varying difficulty, each one designed to teach the new user a
different aspect of the program - various drafting techniques as well as utilizing laser
cutting technology. Each exercise is accompanied by detailed steps that allow a new
user to create and learn everything from the easiest to the most complicated
procedures within the program.
Having completed the exercises in this book you will be able to successfully draw
and cut your own sheet metal parts, using many of the commands in cncKad. You
will be able to take the geometry and cuts and create a working NC program that can
be sent to your machine.
This Tutorial should be used in conjunction with the cncKad Drafting & Nesting
Manual and the cncKad Laser Manual. Working with these manuals will give you the
ultimate reference and teaching tool.

How to use this Tutorial

The first page of each chapter shows the part we will create during the exercise.
Throughout the exercise you will find tips that will help you create the draft and then
cut it. These tips will be denoted by the sign, e.g.:

The Shapes commands are quick and easy methods for building
different contours that are typical to the sheet metal industries.
You may want to try creating these parts before looking at the following pages for the
detailed explanation and part creation steps.
This book is written for work in conjunction with version 8 of cncKad. If you have the
DOS version of cncKad please refer to the appropriate books.
If you have a different version of cncKad Windows, while most of the exercises and
commands are compatible, you may find slight discrepancies between the
commands and the procedures as listed here and your software. If such a case,
please consult the user manual that came with your copy of the program or the
update pamphlet.

A brief explanation about Clicking

When working with cncKad, it is important to remember that the basic unit of drafting
is the Entity.
An Entity can be a Line, an Arc, a Circle or a Point.
As you create parts, you will often need to choose a specific Entity or processing
definition for manipulation.
When you click your mouse to choose a specific Entity, it is imperative you remember
that cncKad uses the following rules to interpret your action:
1. Which Entity has been chosen?
2. Which Endpoint of the entity has been chosen? (lines and arcs have 2
Endpoints)

cncKad
3. Which Side of the Entity has been chosen?1
The following example illustrates this interpretation process:

When selecting a processing definition, you must still select the Entity
associated with this definition.
Line A has been cut; if you wish to manipulate this processing (e.g. change Cutting
Speed), you can click on points 1 or 2, but NOT on 3, 4 or 5.

When clicking on an Entity that is in a closed Contour, your click represents a choice of
Inside\Outside for this Contour.

Laser Cutting Tutorial

1 Exercise 1 Basic Drafting and Cutting

1.1

Overview

The aim of this first exercise is to give you the ability to open a new file in cncKad,
create a basic drawing, place cuts on the drawing and simulate the NC code created
from the geometry.
In this exercise we will be creating the following part:

1.1.1

What you will learn in this exercise:

1. Opening a new part file.

2. Selecting the active machine for a workstation.
3. Placing shapes and holes on the part.
4. Creating inner rectangle.
5. Creating fillets.
6. Running geometry checks.
7. Saving a part.
8. Adding laser cuts.
9. Defining the sheet size.
10. Generating NC code.
11. Simulating the NC.

1.1.2

Tips
When the new drawing is opened a rectangle is created this will be the
basis for drawing the part.
The bottom left corner of the draft is placed at coordinate position X=0, Y=0.
You can position the shapes and circles using absolute coordinates.
You can use Help Lines to find a position on the part.

cncKad

1.2

Creating a New Part

1. Double click on the cncKad Icon

to open cncKad.
2. From the File menu (at the top of the screen) select the New => New Part
option, or click the New Part Button
following dialog will be displayed.

from the Standard toolbar. The

The procedure for opening new files in cncKad is the same as for
opening any new file in Windows programs - press the Ctrl+N
combination on your Keyboard.
3. In the File Name box type Exer1 instead of Part1. You can do this by
double-clicking on the name "Part1" and then typing-in the new name. When
you are done, click on the Save button.
4. The following dialog will now be displayed:

10

Laser Cutting Tutorial

Remember that you define the size of the part when you open a new part
and not the size of the sheet.
If you make a mistake while typing the values - use the Backspace key to
erase the value and retype it, and the Tab key to move between fields.
5. This dialog allows you to define the part Size, sheet Material and Thickness.
In Part Size, set the X size to 300 and Y size to 200.
6. Select a material from the drop-down list and define the thickness as 1mm.
Leave all the rest of the options at their defaults. For the time being we will
not fill out the User Data options, so just click on the OK button to confirm
your part definitions.

The User Data tab allows the user to associate certain information with
the part, for instance - Order Number, Drawing Name, Revisions, and
Notes. This information can then be inserted in the Report File.
7. A white rectangle of the defined size will appear on the screen.

1.3

Selecting the Active Machine Model

It often happens that a workstation supports more than one machine model, for
example one (or more) for laser cutting and one (or more) for punching.
Before beginning to draft the part, we should make sure that we are working on a
laser cutting machine.
To select the machine model that will be the active one:
1. Click on the Machine button at the left side of the cncKad window.

11

cncKad
2. A list will open with the models that are installed on this workstation, with the
active one marked by a check mark:

3. To change the active machine, simply click on the one you want.

1.4

Positioning Holes with Help Lines

In this stage we will be placing holes on the drawing and positioning them by
snapping them to intersections of the Help Lines.
We will place these Help Lines on the drawing in order to enable the exact
positioning of the holes.

Help Lines are always displayed as green lines that cross the entire
extent of the screen.
Any position can be located by entering the absolute coordinate, but
sometimes it is easier to use Help Lines to find the position.

1. From the Help Lines toolbar

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

click the

Parallel Help-Line by Distance

button.
In the dialog that appears define a distance of 50 and click on the OK button.
Position the Help Line by clicking the mouse on the inner side of the left
vertical line.
Repeat this for the right vertical line.
Press the Space bar and re-define the parallel distance as 30. Click the OK
button to close the dialog.
Click the bottom horizontal line on its inner side, and then click the top
horizontal line on its inner side. The result should be as shown below:

7. From the Shapes Toolbar

select the Draw Circle button

12

. The following dialog box will be displayed:

Laser Cutting Tutorial

8. Define a diameter of 15 and click on the Apply button.

9. The dialog will disappear and you will be able to move the circle with the
cursor. Click on the Snap=Auto button on the top left side of the screen. A
menu will appear, from this menu select the Snap Intersection option (or
press F7).

You can define any Snap position as the default by clicking on the Snap
button at the top left of the screen, and selecting the Snap position from
the menu e.g. Endpoint, Center, and Intersection etc.
Unless defined otherwise a help line will automatically "snap" to the
nearest snap point. This can be an endpoint of a line, a center of a circle
or line and an intersection between two entities.
10. Position the cursor near the intersection of the help lines and click the mouse.
The circle will snap to the intersection. Repeat this for the other three holes.

11. From the Delete toolbar

click the Delete Help-Lines button

12. The Select Option toolbar

will open. Click
the A button (or press the letter A on your keyboard) and press Enter to
confirm the selection.
13. Press Esc and clean the screen by clicking on the Redraw button
press F2). The part should appear as shown below:

1.5

(or

Creating the Inner Rectangle

In this stage we will be creating a rectangle by using the help lines to define the
rectangle corners. We will then draw a line by snapping to the intersections of the
help lines. There are also other methods for creating rectangles - for instance you
could use the Shapes options.

13

cncKad

The Shapes commands allow you to build certain shapes parametrically,

i.e. you define the dimensions and orientation of the shapes, and to place
them on the drawing.
There are eleven types of shapes available (from the Shapes toolbar or
from the Draw => Shapes menu) o Rectangle
o Oval
o Single-D
o Double-D
o Trapeze (Connector)
o Bolt Hole
o Banana Shape
o Ellipse
o Punched Sheet
o Triangle
o Polygon
1. From the Help Lines toolbar click on the Vertical Help Line button
.
2. Click the cursor on the bottom horizontal line, near the middle of the line. A
green, vertical help line will be placed through the midpoint of this line.
3. From the same toolbar click on the Horizontal Help Line button
.
4. Now click the left vertical line near the midpoint. The part should now be
similar to the drawing shown below.

5. From the Help Lines toolbar select the Parallel Help Line by Distance button
. The distance dialog box will appear, enter a value of 100 and click on
the OK button.
6. Click the vertical help line on either its left or right side. A new help line will be
placed 100mm from the original vertical help line.
7. Click the other side of the (vertical) center help line. There should now be
three vertical help lines with a 100mm distance between each of them.
8. Click on the Parallel Help-Line by Distance button again and re-enter the
value as 50. Click the OK button, and click the horizontal help line once on
each side. Now the part should be as on the picture shown below.

14

Laser Cutting Tutorial

9. Click the Line, Auto-Snap button

from the Shapes Toolbar.

The Line, Auto Snap command automatically snaps the cursor to the
nearest Snap position. There is no need to place the cursor exactly at the
desired position. The start and endpoint of the lines will be placed at the
closest snapping positions.
The Line, Auto Snap option is a quick and accurate way of snapping to
intersections created by the help lines.
The user can define any snap position as the default by clicking on the
Snap button at the top left of the screen, and selecting the snap position
from the menu i.e. Endpoint, Center, Intersection etc.
10. With the aid of the cursor click the four intersections of the help lines, as
shown below, and then click the first one again (to close the rectangle).

11. Press the right mouse button. This is the Escape button and closes the
command.
12. From the Delete Toolbar click on the Delete Help Lines button
. Click the
A button and then Enter to delete all the help lines.
13. Click on the Redraw button from the Zoom Toolbar to clean the screen.

The screen can be redrawn any time by using the

button.

Use the Zooming commands to enlarge a portion of the drawing to

enable accurate work.

15

cncKad

1.6

Filleting Contours

In this stage we will be placing fillet radii on the outer and inner contours.

1. From the Edit toolbar

The following menu will appear:

click the Fillet button

The Fillet menu gives you the options of creating one single fillet on a
corner, or of creating the same fillet radius on every corner making up a
closed contour, or of creating fillet radiuses on every corner of the part.
2. Select the second option the Contour command.
3. Click the inner rectangle on one of its lines. When asked if "OK to fillet
selected contour ", press the Yes button.
4. The Radius Definition dialog will be displayed. Define a radius of 10 and
click the OK button. The inner contour will be filleted on all four corners.
5. Click the outer contour. The contour will be highlighted and you will be asked
again if this is the correct contour, click on the Yes button. Define a radius of
20 and click on the OK button. The outer contour will be filleted.
6. The part should now be as shown below:

1.7

Geometry Checks

We will now check the part for any errors or problems.

It is important to execute these checks before entering the cutting stage, so that
cncKad will be able to recognize the part correctly.
These checks not only verify the legality of the existing geometry, but also repair it, if
needed you can choose to delete duplicate entities (e.g. Circles placed on top of
each other), join all the breaks in the geometry, examine the part to see if all the
contours are connected properly.
1. From the View menu (at the top of the screen) select the Check option, or
.
click the Check button
2. The dialog, as shown below, will be displayed. Make sure that the options are
set as shown:

16

Laser Cutting Tutorial

3. Press the OK button, to execute the checks. If there are any gaps in contours
bigger than 1mm, the examination process will stop, a red X will be placed at
that position and you will be allowed to press Enter to continue with the
checks.

Gaps in the contours that are smaller than 1mm will be repaired
automatically. The size of the repaired gap can be set by editing the
Connect Tolerance field.

1.8

Saving the Part

It is important to save your part after each important change you make, so that you
will not loose a lot of work if there is a problem. To do this, select the Save button
from the File toolbar.

You can also do this by pressing the Ctrl+S key combination on your
Keyboard.
If you want to change the parts name select Save As from the File menu. The
following dialog will appear:

Type-in a new name for the file and click the Save button. The dialog will disappear
and the part will be saved under the new name.

1.9

Cutting the Part

The parts drawing is now complete, and it is time to cut it.

17

cncKad

The cuts will be presented on the drawing as yellow lines, placed to one
side of the contour (white) lines.
To cut the part we will use the Auto Cut option.
Click the Auto Cut button
open:

on the Common toolbar, and the following dialog will

At this point we will not go into all the options this dialog offers - simply click the Run
button.
The part will be cut automatically (as you will see from the addition of the yellow
cutting lines), and the following message will appear:

Confirm by clicking OK and view your part:

18

Laser Cutting Tutorial

The dotted lines are the Rapid Tool Path. You can turn this feature on
and off from the View menu, or by pressing the Alt+B keyboard
combination.
The Entry into a cut is marked with the circular piercing graphic:

1.10 Defining the Sheet Size

We will now define the size of the sheet, the number of parts that fit on it and the
offsets of the actual parts from the sheets edges.

When defining a sheet size, cncKad will attempt to fit in as many part
copies as possible. These copies are called "multiple parts". The amount
of parts that fit on the sheet is displayed in the Number of Parts fields,
below the Sheet Size definition fields.
1. Click the Set Sheet and Clamps button
from the Common toolbar (you
can also access this dialog from the CAM menu).
2. The following dialog will appear. Go to the Sheet tab and define the Sheet
Size and the Offsets as shown below:

19

cncKad

3. Click on the Part tab and note the Distance between Parts section; here you
can define the distances of each part from the next.

It is important to separate the parts enough to allow for the Entry and
Exit for the cuts of the parts outer contours.

20

Laser Cutting Tutorial

4. Confirm the new definitions by clicking the OK button. Your sheet should now
look like this:

21

cncKad

Remember to Save your work periodically.

1.11 Generating the NC Code

It is now time to convert the parts drawing and cutting definitions into NC code.
1. Click the
button in the Common toolbar, or open the File menu and
select the Post Process option.
2. The User Data dialog will open; at this point we will ignore it. Click the Next
button continue.
3. This dialog shows you for which machine this NC code is being generated
(which post processor is being used).
4. This dialog deals with Laser Optimization. You can leave the definitions as
they are, or set different ordering for the cuts. For now, accept the defaults
and click the Next button.
5. This dialog enables you to add Tool Functions to your cuts. Again, click the
Next button to skip it.
6. This dialog is the Post Processor Options. Here you can define the name
and directory for the NC file, whether or not to create a Report file and various
other options. For now accept the defaults and click the Finish button.
7. The Post Processor will start and when it finishes you will receive a summary
such as the following:

22

Laser Cutting Tutorial

8. Click the OK button and the Simulation program will open showing your
sheet.

1.12 Simulating the NC Program

After the Post Processor finishes, the Simulation program opens showing your sheet:

As you can see, there are two main elements in the Simulations screen:
A graphic representation of the sheet.
The NC code generated for this sheet (on the right side).

1.12.1

Running the Simulation

The simulations running and speed are controlled by the Execute toolbar:

23

cncKad

To run the simulation, simply click the Run button

To Pause or Stop it, use the

and

buttons.

.
To adjust the speed, use the slider
You can also run the NC code line after line:
1. Click the Line button on the left side of screen so that it shows Line=ON.
2. Click the Run button to move from one line to the next one.
To exit the simulation from the File menu select the Exit option.

1.13 Summary
In this exercise we created a simple part, used the Auto Cut feature to process it,
defined a sheet size and created multiple parts, generated NC code for it and run this
code in the Simulation.
You might want to create a few parts on your own and process them to gain some
confidence before continuing to the next exercise, which will be more advanced.

24

Laser Cutting Tutorial

2 Exercise 2 Setting Cuts Manually

2.1

Overview

In this exercise we will use the part we created in Exercise 1 to see how we can
manually set the cuts on our part.

2.1.1
1.
2.
3.
4.

2.2

What you will learn in this exercise:

Adding Dimensions
Stretching
Setting Auto Cut definitions
Editing individual cuts

Saving a File Under a New Name

Because we will now make changes to the part, it is good procedure to save it under
a new name:
1. Select Save As from the File menu. The following dialog will appear:

2. Type-in Exer2 in the File name field and click the Save button.
The dialog will close and the part will be saved under the new name.

2.3

Adding a Dimension

Among the other drafting tools, cncKad enables you to add dimensions on your part:

1. From the Dimension toolbar

Add Dimension button

, select the

25

cncKad
2. The Add Dimension/Text dialog will open. Define the parameters as bellow
and click OK:

3. Click on the parts left side and then on its right side. A Dimension line will be
drawn on the cursor, moving as it moves.
4. Move the cursor above the part and click. The Dimension will positioned and
its size shown:

2.4

Stretching the Part

It often happens that you want to re-size a part, or a section of it:

1. From the Transform toolbar

, select the

Stretch button
.
2. The cursor will change to a cross with a W letter. This indicates that you need
to select a window to perform the Stretch. Click positions 1 and 2 as shown

26

Laser Cutting Tutorial

below:

Entities that are entirely inside the Stretching window will be moved, not
re-sized note the two round holes.
3. This defines the Entities that will undergo the Stretching. The Stretch dialog
will open; set dX value of 50 and click OK:

4. The part will be re-sized as below:

Note that the cutting definitions have been updated, and also that the
Dimension now shows the new size.

2.5

Deleting Existing Cuts on the Part

1. From the Delete toolbar, click the Delete CAMs button

.
2. Click the A Button (or press the letter A on the Keyboard) and press Enter.
3. From the Zoom toolbar, click the Zoom Part button
As you can see all the cuts have been removed from the part.

(or press F5).

27

cncKad

2.6

Setting Auto Cut Definitions

The changes we make here are reserved for specialized cases usually
the standard setting should be used.

We will now add new cuts, using manual definitions.

1. Click the Auto Cut button
on the Common toolbar, and the Auto Cut will
open.
2. Un-check the Use Technology table for Entry and Exit option, and
Approach and Exit sections will be un-grayed:

3. For the Approach and the Exit, set the Geo-Type and Length parameters
as above, click the Run button, and the part will be cut with the new
definitions.
4. Using the Zoom Window button
section with the Entry and the Exit:

zoom to the inner rectangle, to the

Note that the Entry (marked with the piercing) is much longer and steeper
than the Exit, as per our definitions.

When you set the Auto Cut Approach/Exit definitions, you do it for the
entire part zoom-in to other contours on the part to see this.

2.7

Setting Individual Cuts

We will now see how to change the cutting definitions for an individual cut.

28

Laser Cutting Tutorial

1. From the CAM toolbar

, click the Edit CAM button

You can also press the letter E on your keyboard.

2. Click anywhere near the parts outer contour, and the Edit Contour Cut
dialog will open:

3. Define the Contour Overlap as 5, and click OK. Zoom-in to note the
difference in the cut:
Before:

After:

29

cncKad

4. Click on one of the holes and the Edit Contour Cut dialog will open. For the
Exit, define the Geo-Type as Arc 90, and the Length as 4.
5. Click OK to confirm the new definitions, and the hole should now look like:

6. Do the same for the other three holes and Save your part.

2.8

Summary

In this exercise we learnt how to manually set Auto Cut to create cuts to suit our
needs, and how to edit individual cuts after they have been created.
You may want to play around with these features, to see the effects of various
definitions.

30

Laser Cutting Tutorial

3 Exercise 3 Advanced Drafting

3.1

Overview

In this exercise we will create a more intricate part, using some new commands.
We will also be using commands we have used before, so some of the explanations
are less explicit.
In this exercise we will be creating the following part:

3.1.1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

3.2

What you will learn in this exercise:

Notching.
Bend Relief.
Trimming.
Filleting single corners.
Chamfering corners.
Round and Rectangular Arrays.

Creating Notches and Bend Relief

1. Start a new part, name it Exer3 and give the dimensions X equals 250 and
Y equals 150.

31

cncKad

2. From the Edit toolbar click the Notch button

appear:

. The following menu will

3. Set the parameters as above, click OK, and the part near the bottom left
corner.

A notch can be inner or outer, depending which side of the contour was
selected; so you need to make sure you click the right one.
4. Press the Space bar to re-open the Notch dialog, select the Offset
Rectangular Notch tab, and set the parameters as below:

5. Click OK, and then click inside the bottom right corner, near the bottom line.
6. Use Zoom Window
to zoom in on the corner notch you created, and
then from the Edit menu, select the Bend Relief option.

32

Laser Cutting Tutorial

7. The Bend Relief dialog will open; enter a diameter of 2 and click OK:

8. Click near the corner:

9. Redraw the part with the

button to see the result, and then do the same
for the two corners you created with the rectangular notch.
10. Re-open the Notch dialog, select the Corner Notch tab, and set the
parameters as below:

11. Click near the top right corner, closer to the top line. If your click is nearer the
side line, the Notch will not be created correctly; remember the explanation
regarding clicking at the beginning of this Tutorial.

33

cncKad
12. Your part should now look like this:

3.3

Trimming Lines
Trimming means deleting a section of an Entity.

1. Click the Parallel Help Line by Distance button

and set a distance of
100.
2. Click just above the parts bottom-most line.
3. Press the Space bar to re-open the dialog, set a distance of 20.21, and click
just above the existing Help Line. You should now have:

4. Click the Help-Line by Absolute Angle button

, enter a value of 30
(degrees), and click near the intersection of the bottom Help line with the left
side of the part.
5. Click on the Vertical Help Line button
, and click near the intersection of
the angular Help Line with the upper one.

34

Laser Cutting Tutorial

6. Click the Line, Auto Snap button

1,2 and 3 as shown below:

7. Delete the Help Lines (click

, and click the intersections numbered

, A and then press Enter).

Remember you can clean the screen by clicking on the Redraw button
.
8. From the Edit toolbar, click the Trim button
light blue.

. All the lines will be colored a

When an Entity is colored light blue it indicates it has been selected for
the current action.
9. Click the lines running from a to 1 and from a to 3 in the picture above, and
Redraw the part.
10. Your part should now look like this:

3.4

Adding a Rectangular Hole

1. Click the Parallel Help-Line by Distance button, enter a distance of 30 and

click just inside the parts top horizontal line.
2. Press the Space bar to re-open the dialog, redefine the parallel distance as
66.7, and click on the right side of the vertical line we drew in the last stage
(the line running from 2 to 3 in the illustration).

We will use the resulting intersection to position our rectangle. This is an

easy and precise way to positions shapes.

35

cncKad

3. Click the Draw Rectangle button

below:

and define the settings as shown

4. Click OK and then click on the intersection we made with the Help Lines.

Note that the Rectangles outline is ghosted around the cursor, moving
as you move it.
5. Delete the Help Lines and Save your part.

3.5

Chamfering a Corner

1. From the Edit toolbar, click the Chamfer button

parameters as below:

, and define the

The 1st value sets distance (from the corner) along the first line where
the chamfering line will start. The 2nd value is the distance (from the
corner) along the second line where it will terminate.
2. Click the vertical line of the top right notch, and then click the parts top-most
horizontal line.
3. Redraw the part and compare how the corner has been chamfered with the
order in which you clicked the corners lines.

3.6

Filleting Corners and Contour

1. Click the Fillet button

and select the second option Contour.
2. Click the inner rectangle on one of its lines. When asked if "OK to fillet
selected contour ", press the Yes button to confirm the selection.
3. The Radius Definition dialog will be displayed. Define a radius of 6 and click
the OK button. The rectangles contour will be filleted on all four corners.

36

Laser Cutting Tutorial

4. Click the Fillet button again, and this time select the first option Single.

To Fillet a single corner, you must select the two lines that comprise it.
5. Note that the Radius is set to 6 from before, and zoom-in to the parts top left
area:

6. Click the lines marked above in the following sequence 1 then 2, 2 then 3, 3
then 4. When you finish, Redraw the part.
7. Click the Fillet button again, and again select the Single option.
8. Set the Radius to 10 and zoom-in to the parts top right area:

9. Click the lines marked above in the following sequence 1 then 2, 2 then 3.
10. Redraw the part, and its upper section should now look like this:

Do not forget to Save your part periodically.

3.7

Creating a Circular Array

1. Click the Parallel Help-Line by Distance button, set a distance of 52.5 and
click the parts bottom most horizontal line.
2. Press the Space bar and set the value to 62.5 and click the parts left most
vertical line. You should now have two Help Lines whose intersection marks
the center of the circular array we will build.
3. Press the Space bar, redefine the distance as 22.5, and click the vertical help
line on its left side.
4. From the Shapes Toolbar select the Draw Oval button
. The Oval dialog
will be displayed. Enter the definitions as shown below and then click on the

37

cncKad
OK button:

5. Click the intersection of the left Help Line with the horizontal one and the oval
will be positioned with its center on the intersection.
6. Zoom-in to the new oval, and from the Transform toolbar

click the Array button

.
7. The Select toolbar will open and you should click the Window selection
button

, and make a window that contains the entire oval.

When using the Window selection, the first click opens the window and
the second sets its size.
8. Press Enter to confirm the selection and the Array dialog will open. Define
the parameters as below and click OK:

9. Now, you must select the center of the array; click the intersection of the right
Help Line with the horizontal one and the array will be drawn around it.

38

Laser Cutting Tutorial

10. Delete the Help Lines and Redraw your part. It should now look like:

3.8

Creating Rectangular Arrays

1. Place a Parallel Help Line at a distance of 10 on the right of the left vertical
side of the rectangular notch:

When you want to place the same type of Help Line and at the same
distance setting, simply click where you want to put it you do not have
to re-click the button
2. Place another Help Line parallel at a distance of 10 from this notchs
horizontal line.
3. Press Space bar to re-open the Parallel Help Line at Distance dialog, set a
distance of 15 and click above the horizontal Help Line you just placed.
4. Your part should now look like this:

5. From the Shapes toolbar, click the Draw Circle button

of 4, and click the bottom intersection of the Help Lines.

, set a Diameter

6. Click the Draw Rectangle button

, set the Length and Width to 10, and
click the top intersection of the Help Lines.

39

cncKad
7. Click the Array button, click the new circle and press Enter to confirm your
selection; set the parameters as below, and then click OK:

8. Now, use the Window selection to select the new square, confirm with Enter,
set the parameters as below, and then click OK:

9. Delete the Help Lines.

3.9

Adding a Marking Point

We will now add a marking on the part to help later in bending it to shape.
1. Create a parallel Help Line inside the right side of the part, at a distance of 2.
2. Create another parallel Help Line at a distance of 12.5, from inside of the
parts bottom line.
3. Put a Circular hole with a diameter of 0.30 at the intersection of these Help
Lines.
4. Delete the Help Lines and Save.

40

Laser Cutting Tutorial

5. Your part should now look like this:

3.10 Summary
In this exercise we learnt new drafting techniques, including Notching, Chamfering,
Trimming and different kinds of Arraying.

41

cncKad

4 Exercise 4 - Advanced Cutting Definitions

4.1

Overview

In this exercise we will go over some of the options you can use to set the way parts
are cut.

4.1.1
1.
2.
3.
4.

4.2

What you will learn in this exercise:

What Cutting Tables are
How Cutting Tables relate to Sheet Material and Thickness
Corner Treatment
Point marking

Cutting a Previously Cut Part

In this chapter we will often re-cut our part, to see the different treatments available.
To begin with, open the part we created in the previous chapter and run Auto Cut on
it.
When we want to re-cut a part, we have two options:

Deleting the previous cuts and cutting again.

Running Auto Cut and thereby automatically replacing the cuts.

4.2.1

Deleting Cuts

To delete a cutting definition from an Entity, simply click the Delete CAMs button
on the Delete toolbar, and use the Selection options to select one, some, or all the
cuts on the part.

4.2.2

Replacing Cutting Definitions with Auto Cut

We can also run Auto Cut and have it automatically replace existing cutting
definitions.
To do this, we must enable the Delete old before running options in the Auto Cut
dialog .
Note that there are two of these options:
In the Holes section this will affect only the holes in a part.
In the Parts section this will affect the contours of parts.

4.3

What Are Cutting Tables

Cutting Tables are charts that cover all aspects of cutting a material which Gas to
use, what the Feed Rate is, the Approach and Exit definitions for different sized
Entities, how to pierce the material and many other parameters.
These Tables are specific for both material type and thickness the table for
Aluminum 1mm is different from the one for Steel 1mm, but also from the one for
Aluminum 5mm.
Also, the Tables are specific for machines the Tables for Trumpf are different than
the ones for Amada or Bystronic.

cncKad comes with standard Tables appropriate for the machine model
you installed, but in any case where these clash with the definitions from
your machines manufacturers recommendations you should follow
these recommendations.

42

Laser Cutting Tutorial

Because the Cutting Tables are machine-specific, we will not give any in-depth
examples.

Once you are familiar with your machine and the manufacturer
recommendations you may wish to study this matter on our own.
To view the Tables, click the Cutting Table button

from the Cut toolbar -

.
A dialog will open, showing data such as the following:

As discussed before these tables are machine-specific, Trumpf 6030 in

this case, so your tables may show different values.
Try changing the Thickness, and note that the parameters in the chart at the bottom
change for each value, and the same if you change the Gas, Head or Lens (if you
have more than one value available for these).
For now, set the Material to Steel and the Thickness to 2, and close the dialog.

4.3.1

Cutting Tables Example

We will now see an example of how the Cutting Tables affect the cuts placed on a
part.
1. Click the Set Sheet and Clamps button
to open the dialog, go to the
Sheet tab and set the Material List to 0 Steel with Sheet Thickness as 2
(or a close value).

At this point you can also set the Sheet Size.

43

cncKad

2. Open the Cutting Table the Cutting Table by clicking on the button
, go to
the Geometry tab, and note the Approach Path Min/Max parameters:

As noted before this table is machine-specific, Trumpf 6030 in this case.

3. Close this dialog and run Auto Cut. Make sure that all the options called Use
Technology Table are enabled.
4. If your table is close to mine, the square holes in the array will be cut in the
following manner:

5. The entry to the cut was made just beside the hole's center point (the white X,
which is 5mm from the holes edge). Note in the Table above that the
Approach Path Maximum is set as 4.5 for the Large category.
6. Now, open the Set Sheet and Clamps dialog, set the Sheet Thickness as 6
(or a close value), close this dialog and re-open the Cutting Table.
7. The Geometry table has changed, and now the Approach Path Maximum is
set as 6.5 for the Large category:

8. Close this dialog and run Auto Cut. Now the square holes are cut like this:

9. You can tell from its position relative to the holes center that the Entry is now
longer than before, as per the parameters in the Table.
This is a simple example of the way the Cutting Tables affect the way a part is cut.

44

Laser Cutting Tutorial

As mentioned before, each machine manufacturer provides different

recommendations for these tables to allow for the machines attributes,
and unless you are sure they are inadequate you should follow these
recommendations.

4.4

Corner Treatment

Cutting corners is often problematic they can be easily damaged without careful
handling, leading to scrapping the entire part.
cncKad has several strategies to handle this problem, of which we will review three.

Rounding

Slowing

Loops

Before we discuss strategies, we must understand the concept of Max Angle, and
the role of the Global Cut tab in the Set Sheet and Clamps dialog.

4.4.1

Max Angle

When we look at the corners of a part, the way we want to cut them often depends
on a corners angle an acute angle will require special treatment, while an obtuse
one can be left alone.
The Max Angle parameter defines the maximum angle that a corner can have so
that it will be subject to treatment.
For example:
In our part we have two types of angles:

Straight angles -

Obtuse ones If we set the Max Angle as 90, only the straight (and smaller) angles will be affected,
while those with an angle greater than 90 will be left unaffected.

4.5

The Global Cut Tab

To get to this tab, click the Set Sheet and Clamps button

The definitions in this tab set an overall (i.e. global) cutting strategy for the sheet on
which you are currently working.

This means that any definitions you set for the current part will not be
saved for the next part you create.
For now, set the Max Angle to 90, make sure all the Active checkboxes are not
enabled, and close the dialog.

4.6

Rounding Corners

Run Auto Cut with the following settings:

45

cncKad

Make sure that in the Corner Treatment section, the Use Technology Table option
is not enabled, and that the Delete old before running options are indeed enabled.
Now zoom-in to corners of the part, and they should look as follows:
The Bend Relief

The Notch outer corners

The Chamfered corners

If your corners look like this:

Toggle the Full Cut Tool Width option in the View menu. You can also
use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+B.
We will now add Rounding to the corners. Open Auto Cut again, go to the Global
Cut tab and set the parameters as follows:
Max Angle 90

46

Laser Cutting Tutorial

Rounding, Active enabled
Rounding, Size 0.5
Run Auto Cut again, and look at the corners:
The Bend Relief

The Notch outer corners

The square holes corners

Note that in each case the cutting line is an arc instead of a straight angle.

4.7

Slowing

This time we will use the Slowing strategy to process the corners.
Open Auto Cut again, go to the Global Cut tab and set the parameters as follows:
Max Angle 90
Rounding, Active disabled
Slow, Active enabled
Slow, Distance Before Corner 8
Slow, Distance After Corner 5
Slow, Under Radius 0
Run Auto Cut again.
In order to see the difference in the speed of the cut, toggle the Colored Tool Path
by Speed option in the View menu.
After you enable the coloring, the regular speed cuts are colored yellow, while the
slow ones are orange:

To see this more clearly, toggle the Full Cut Tool Width option.
Note that the Chamfered corners are still cut with the regular speed.
Re-open Auto Cut, go to the Global Cut tab, set the Max Angle to 160, and re-cut
the part.
Now the Chamfers obtuse angles (153 and 115) are included in the angle value
governing the Slow processing:

4.8

Using Loops

We will now see two ways to set individual corner processing parameters:
Selecting a corner and then setting parameters for it (click then set).
Setting parameters and then selecting one or more corners (set then click).

47

cncKad

The procedure we will use for using the Corner Parameters dialog to
create Loops can also be used for defining the other cutting strategies for
corners Slowing, Cooling and Rounding.

4.8.1

Editing Corner Parameters

1. Click the Edit Corner Parameters button

from the Cut toolbar.
2. Now you must select a corner. Click the bottom left corner, and the Corner
Parameters dialog will open.
3. In the Loops section, select Yes from the Active drop-down menu, set Size
to 3 and click OK.
4. Zoom-in to this corner and note the loop that was added on it.

Note that the Slow cutting definition has been removed from this corner
no need for slowing when you are cutting the loop.
You can now click on a different corner and set the parameters for it, but we will not
do this at this point.

4.8.2

Setting Corner Parameters

1. Click the Set Corner Parameters button

from the Cut toolbar.
2. The Corner Parameters dialog opens immediately; In the Loops section,
select Yes from the Active drop-down menu, set Size to 2 and click OK and
the dialog will close.
3. Click on the left corner of the rectangular notch at the bottom, and a loop will
be added on it.
4. Click on this notchs other corner, and again a loop will be added to the
corner.

4.9

Point Marking

As you will recall, we put a 0.30 hole on the part. Zoom-in to this hole and look how it
has been cut.
As you can see, it is marked in blue. This means that it will be engraved, instead of
being cut.
1. The reason that this particular hole has been marked in this way is because
of its size: Open the Cutting Table, go to the Geometry tab.
2. Note the Min Diameter value for the first entry. Anything below this diameter
is considered an Undersized Hole.
3. Now, open the Auto Cut dialog and go to the Technology tab. Here you will
find an item called Action for undersized holes, with a drop-down menu to
select the action.

4.9.1

Options for Marking

By default, the undersized hole was marked with a point, but you can define for
yourself what kind of Marking will be used.
Click the Set Sheet and Clamps button
and go to the Cutting Parameters tab,
and find the section called Point Marking.
Here you can select the Marking type and its size:

48

Laser Cutting Tutorial

4.10 Summary
In this chapter we have gone over some of the ways in which you can define the way
your part will be cut. We have seen ways to do this on three levels:
For the entire workstation the Cutting Technology Table.
For an entire part from the Set Sheet and Clamps dialog.
For specific items in a part individual corner treatment.
This three-tier system is often found in cncKad, because some definitions you want
to be permanent, some just for the current part, and other for individual items in the
current part.
Whenever you change a definition, it is important to be sure you are working at the
correct level dont change workstation definitions when all you want is a small
correction on a part.

49

cncKad

5 Index
Global Cut Tab...............................................39
A brief explanation about Clicking
Laser ............................................................ 1
Adding a Marking Point ................................34
Adding a Rectangular Hole ...........................29
Advanced Cutting Definitions.......................36
Advanced Drafting.........................................25
Auto Cut Definitions......................................22
Basic Drafting and Cutting
Laser ............................................................ 3
Chamfering a Corner .....................................30
Corner Treatment...........................................39
Creating a Circular Array ..............................31
Creating a New Part......................................... 4
Creating Notches and Bend Relief ................25
Creating Rectangular Arrays .........................33
Creating the Inner Rectangle ........................... 7
Cutting a Previously Cut Part ........................36
Cutting Tables................................................36
Cutting Tables Example ................................37
Cutting the Part ..............................................11
Defining the Sheet Size .................................13
Deleting Cuts .................................................36
Deleting Existing Cuts on the Part ................21
Dimension ......................................................19
Editing Corner Parameters.............................42
Filleting Contours ..........................................10
Filleting Corners and Contour .......................30
Generating the NC Code................................16
Geometry Checks...........................................10

50

How to use this Tutorial

Laser.............................................................1
Laser Cutting Tutorial......................................1
Laser Tutorial Overview and Aims .................1
Loops ..............................................................41
Max Angle......................................................39
Options for Marking.......................................42
Overview ....................................... 3, 19, 25, 36
Point Marking.................................................42
Positioning Holes with Help Lines ..................6
Replacing Cutting Definitions with Auto
Cut..............................................................36
Rounding Corners ..........................................39
Running the Simulation .................................17
Saving a File Under a New Name .................19
Saving the Part ...............................................11
Setting Corner Parameters .............................42
Setting Cuts Manually....................................19
Setting Individual Cuts ..................................22
Simulating the NC Program...........................17
Slowing...........................................................41
Stretch.............................................................20
Summary ..................................... 18, 24, 35, 43
Tips ...................................................................3
Trimming Lines..............................................28
What you will learn in this exercise:3, 19, 25, 36