Version 2003

User Manual

Copyright © 1990-2002, 2003. MachineWorks Ltd.

All Rights Reserved

No part of this documentation may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission
from MachineWorks Ltd. This document contains information about working details of this copyrighted
software and is protected under copyright and trade secret laws. Information in this document is subject to
change without notice.
NC Verify™, NC Verify TrueSolid™ and Virtual Controller™ are trademarks of MachineWorks Ltd. Windows™, Windows NT™ and are
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Any other product names and corporate references herein are registered or proprietary trademarks of
their respective owners.

MachineWorks Ltd
Rutledge House, 78 Clarkehouse Road, Sheffield, S10 2LJ, UK
Ph: +44 114 223 1370 Fax: +44 114 223 1371 www.nc-verify.com
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................1-1

Product Overview .....................................................................................................1-1

Benefits.......................................................................................................................1-1

Product Features.......................................................................................................1-2
Machining operations..............................................................................................1-2
Graphics and visualization......................................................................................1-2
NC Program Input Formats.....................................................................................1-2
Solid Input...............................................................................................................1-2
Simulation ...............................................................................................................1-2
Measurement...........................................................................................................1-3
Outputs....................................................................................................................1-3
Batch processing .....................................................................................................1-3
Tools and Holders ...................................................................................................1-3
User interface and On-line help ..............................................................................1-3

NC Verify Lite ...........................................................................................................1-4

Features included ....................................................................................................1-4
Features not included in Lite version: .....................................................................1-4

Why upgrade from Lite to the full NC Verify product? .......................................1-5

CHAPTER 2 INSTALLATION AND HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS .........2-1

PC Hardware Requirements....................................................................................2-1

Installation .................................................................................................................2-1

Starting NC Verify....................................................................................................2-2
Windows 98/2000/XP and NT 4.0..........................................................................2-2

Uninstalling NC Verify .............................................................................................2-2

Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and later................................................................2-2

CHAPTER 3 OPERATION AND USER INTERFACE ..................................3-1

Invoking NC Verify...................................................................................................3-1

User Interface General Features .............................................................................3-1

User Interface Specifics ............................................................................................3-1

Title Bar ..................................................................................................................3-1
Sample NC Verify Window....................................................................................3-2
Menu Bar ................................................................................................................3-2
Tool Bars.................................................................................................................3-2
Status Bar ................................................................................................................3-6
Camera Bar .............................................................................................................3-6
Control Panel ..........................................................................................................3-6
Error Bar .................................................................................................................3-7
 Inspect Input File ....................................................................................................3-7
Tool tips ..................................................................................................................3-7
Mouse Interactions..................................................................................................3-7

CHAPTER 4 TUTORIAL ..............................................................................4-1

Tutorial #1 .................................................................................................................4-2

Tutorial #2 ...............................................................................................................4-13

Tutorial #3 ...............................................................................................................4-16

Tutorial #4 ...............................................................................................................4-18

TrueSolid Tutorials.................................................................................................4-21

Tutorial #5 ...............................................................................................................4-21

Tutorial #6 ...............................................................................................................4-27

Tutorial #7 ...............................................................................................................4-29

CHAPTER 5 PRODUCT FEATURES.......................................................5-1

File Menu ...................................................................................................................5-1

Open........................................................................................................................5-1
Save Job ..................................................................................................................5-2
Read WIP file..........................................................................................................5-3
Write WIP file.........................................................................................................5-3
Read playback file...................................................................................................5-4
Write playback file..................................................................................................5-4
Write Image file ......................................................................................................5-4
Page Setup...............................................................................................................5-4
Print.........................................................................................................................5-5
Upgrade...................................................................................................................5-5
Exit..........................................................................................................................5-5

Model Menu...............................................................................................................5-6
Stock .......................................................................................................................5-6
Fixture .....................................................................................................................5-7
Design Part..............................................................................................................5-8
Translate..................................................................................................................5-8
Rotate ......................................................................................................................5-9
Scale........................................................................................................................5-9
Delete ....................................................................................................................5-10
Reposition toolpath ...............................................................................................5-10
I J K.......................................................................................................................5-12
XY Datum - Z axis................................................................................................5-12
XZ Datum - Y axis................................................................................................5-12
YZ Datum - X axis................................................................................................5-12
Feature Type .........................................................................................................5-12
 Reposition Data.....................................................................................................5-13
Set Type ................................................................................................................5-13

View Menu...............................................................................................................5-15
Select.....................................................................................................................5-15
Orient ....................................................................................................................5-15
Zoom .....................................................................................................................5-15
Enhanced graphics ................................................................................................5-17
Machine type.........................................................................................................5-17
Standard views ......................................................................................................5-18
Fit ..........................................................................................................................5-19
Center....................................................................................................................5-19
Show axes .............................................................................................................5-19
Show tool axes ......................................................................................................5-20
Rotate solid ...........................................................................................................5-20
Flip solid ...............................................................................................................5-20
Move light source .................................................................................................5-21
Shadow..................................................................................................................5-21
Translucent............................................................................................................5-21
Monochrome .........................................................................................................5-21
Reset......................................................................................................................5-22
New View .............................................................................................................5-22
View Input File .....................................................................................................5-22
View Error Log File..............................................................................................5-22

Tool Menu................................................................................................................5-22
Show .....................................................................................................................5-22
Display mode ........................................................................................................5-23
Color .....................................................................................................................5-23
Change color at tool change..................................................................................5-24
Reset model color .................................................................................................5-24
Edit Tool List ........................................................................................................5-24
Defaults .................................................................................................................5-26

Simulate Menu ........................................................................................................5-27

Setup .....................................................................................................................5-27
Simulate ................................................................................................................5-27
Turbo.....................................................................................................................5-27
CL range................................................................................................................5-28
Use all CL .............................................................................................................5-28
Record simulation .................................................................................................5-28
Start .......................................................................................................................5-29
Go to......................................................................................................................5-29
Stop .......................................................................................................................5-30

Inspect Menu ...........................................................................................................5-30

Measure.................................................................................................................5-30
Section...................................................................................................................5-41
Compare with design ............................................................................................5-41
Remove chips........................................................................................................5-42
Remove fixtures ....................................................................................................5-42
 Inspect errors.........................................................................................................5-43
Inspect input file ...................................................................................................5-43

Options Menu ..........................................................................................................5-43

Multi-Axis.............................................................................................................5-43
Write image at tool change ...................................................................................5-43
Write image at error ..............................................................................................5-44
Enhance when writing image................................................................................5-44
Toolbars ................................................................................................................5-44
Reset Toolbars ......................................................................................................5-44
Toolbar type ..........................................................................................................5-44
Status Bar ..............................................................................................................5-45
Control Panel ........................................................................................................5-45
System Defaults ....................................................................................................5-45
Units......................................................................................................................5-51
Other .....................................................................................................................5-51

Window Menu .........................................................................................................5-52

Cascade .................................................................................................................5-52
Tile Horizontal ......................................................................................................5-52
Tile Vertical ..........................................................................................................5-52
Arrange Icons........................................................................................................5-52

Help Menu ...............................................................................................................5-53

Index .....................................................................................................................5-53
Using Help ............................................................................................................5-53
Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................5-53
About NC Verify...................................................................................................5-53
Memory status.......................................................................................................5-53

CHAPTER 6 TOOLS AND HOLDERS .........................................................6-1

Milling Tools..............................................................................................................6-1
Standard APT 7 parameter tools .............................................................................6-1
Special form tools for milling .................................................................................6-3

Turning Tools ............................................................................................................6-4

Standard turning insert tools ...................................................................................6-4
Insert & Holder Thickness ......................................................................................6-6

Holders .......................................................................................................................6-6
Milling Holder ........................................................................................................6-7
Turning Holder........................................................................................................6-8

Tool Definition in APT-CL files...............................................................................6-9

Milling Tools ..........................................................................................................6-9
Turning Tools..........................................................................................................6-9

General Information.................................................................................................6-9
Inch & Metric form tools & holders .......................................................................6-9
Tool Set Length.......................................................................................................6-9
 Default Tool dimensions.......................................................................................6-10
Turning Tools........................................................................................................6-10

CHAPTER 7 OTHER FEATURES................................................................7-1

User Defined Colors..................................................................................................7-1

Setting parameters in the NCVERIFY.INI file......................................................7-1

InterruptResponseTime...........................................................................................7-2
ProcessFirstCutterOnly ...........................................................................................7-2
ComparisonMode....................................................................................................7-2
ZoomViewWidth/ZoomViewHeight ......................................................................7-2
UseXYTurning........................................................................................................7-2
RotablDirection.......................................................................................................7-3
ToolNoAdjust .........................................................................................................7-3

NC Verify command line arguments.......................................................................7-4

CHAPTER 8 MAXIMIZING NC VERIFY™ PERFORMANCE ......................8-1

Maximizing speed......................................................................................................8-1
Computer System Memory .....................................................................................8-1
Turbo Mode ............................................................................................................8-1
Graphics resolution .................................................................................................8-1
Multiple Views........................................................................................................8-1
Tool display ............................................................................................................8-1
Tool Height .............................................................................................................8-1
Stock Solid size on the screen.................................................................................8-2
Running many applications.....................................................................................8-2
Tool Holder.............................................................................................................8-2

Other considerations.................................................................................................8-2
Choosing an Optimal View.....................................................................................8-2
Accuracy .................................................................................................................8-2
Model complexity ...................................................................................................8-2
Multiple View Windows.........................................................................................8-2

Minimizing Memory requirements .........................................................................8-3

Graphics resolution .................................................................................................8-3
Multiple Views........................................................................................................8-3
Stock Solid size on the screen.................................................................................8-3
Running other applications .....................................................................................8-3
New session ............................................................................................................8-3
Tool Holder.............................................................................................................8-3

CHAPTER 9 INPUT DATA...........................................................................9-1

ISO NC G and M code format .................................................................................9-1

Word codes .............................................................................................................9-1
G codes....................................................................................................................9-1
 Job Files ..................................................................................................................9-2
Virtual Controller Overview ...................................................................................9-9

APT-CL Input Format ...........................................................................................9-10

ARCDAT ..............................................................................................................9-10
ARCMOV .............................................................................................................9-10
BOX ......................................................................................................................9-10
BREAK (Not available in Truesolid.) ............9-10
CALL/CIRMAC (Not available in Truesolid.)..............9-10
CBOX ...................................................................................................................9-11
CIRCLE, MOVARC.............................................................................................9-11
CONT....................................................................................................................9-11
COOLNT ..............................................................................................................9-11
CUTCOM/LEFT...................................................................................................9-11
CUTCOM/ON.......................................................................................................9-12
CUTCOM/RIGHT ................................................................................................9-12
CUTCOM/OFF .....................................................................................................9-12
CUTTER ...............................................................................................................9-12
CYCLE .................................................................................................................9-12
CYL.......................................................................................................................9-12
END (Same as FINI).............................................................................................9-13
ENDTWIN (TrueSolid Only) ...........9-13
ENVECT (Not available in Truesolid.) .....9-13
FBOX (Not available in Truesolid.) ....9-13
FCBOX .................................................................................................................9-13
FCYL (Not available in Truesolid.)......9-13
FEDRAT ...............................................................................................................9-13
FINI.......................................................................................................................9-13
FPROF (Not available in Truesolid.)....9-14
FPPROF (Not available in Truesolid.)......9-14
FROM ...................................................................................................................9-14
GODLTA (Not available in Truesolid.)........9-14
GOHOME .............................................................................................................9-14
GOTO, MOVE, CONT.........................................................................................9-14
GOTO/MULTIPLE GOTO & CONT ..................................................................9-14
GOTO / <point x, y, z>, <I, J, K>..................................................................................9-15
INCLUD ...............................................................................................................9-15
LOADTL, TURRET .............................................................................................9-15
MACHIN (Not available in Truesolid.).............9-15
MULTAX .............................................................................................................9-15
NSIDES (Not available in Truesolid.) ..............9-16
OPSKIP (Not available in Truesolid.) ...............9-16
PARTNO (Not available in Truesolid.) ...............9-16
PAINT (Not available in Truesolid.) ...............9-16
POSTN (Not available in Truesolid.) ...............9-16
PPRINT.................................................................................................................9-16
PPRINT BREAK (Not available in Truesolid.).................9-16
PPRINT COLOR (Not available in Truesolid.)..................9-16
PPRINT FORM ....................................................................................................9-17
PPRINT HOLDER NAME...................................................................................9-17
 PPRINT IMAGE (Not available in Truesolid.) .......9-17
PPRINT / SKIP_MOTION (Not available in Truesolid.) ........9-17
PPRINT / TURN...................................................................................................9-17
PPRINT TRUEC (or PPRINT TRUE C)..............................................................9-18
PPRINT WIP NAME (Not available in Truesolid.) .........9-18
PPRINT / USE_XY_MILLTURN (Not available in Truesolid.) ........9-18
PPRINT / USE_XY_TURNING ..........................................................................9-18
RAPID...................................................................................................................9-18
REMARK .............................................................................................................9-18
REMARK NCV DRAFT ON ...............................................................................9-19
REMARK NCV DRAFT OFF..............................................................................9-19
REMARK NCV MILL .........................................................................................9-19
REMARK NCV TURN ........................................................................................9-19
RETRCT (Not available in Truesolid.)........9-19
REWIND (Not available in Truesolid.) .......9-19
ROTABL (Not available in Truesolid.) ........9-19
SKIPROTABL (Not available in Truesolid.) ........9-19
$$...........................................................................................................................9-20
SPINDL.................................................................................................................9-20
SPROF ..................................................................................................................9-20
SPPROF ................................................................................................................9-20
STVECT (Not available in Truesolid.).9-20
STOP (Not available in Truesolid.) .9-20
THREAD (Not available in Truesolid.)..9-20
TLAXIS (Not available in Truesolid.)..9-21
TLDATA...............................................................................................................9-21
TOOLNO (Not available in Truesolid.)....9-21
TMARK, GOHOME, STOP, SEQNO (Not available in Truesolid.) ........9-21
TRANS .................................................................................................................9-21
TURRET ...............................................................................................................9-21
TWINTURRET (TrueSolid Only) ............9-22
UNITS...................................................................................................................9-22
Other Keywords ....................................................................................................9-22
CYCLE Statements...............................................................................................9-23
CYCLRET/INIT ...................................................................................................9-25
Sample NC Verify APT-CL File ..........................................................................9-25

Solid Input (STL/SLA file format) ........................................................................9-28

Sample Stock Definition in NC Verify File..........................................................9-29
Box........................................................................................................................9-29
Cylinder.................................................................................................................9-30
STL or SLA solid model.......................................................................................9-30

CHAPTER 10 NC VERIFY TRUESOLID™..............................................10-1

Starting NC Verify TrueSolid................................................................................10-1

Manufacturing applications...................................................................................10-1

Modes of operation .................................................................................................10-2

 SuperTurbo mode..................................................................................................10-2
Simulation mode ...................................................................................................10-2

Product User Interface Features ...........................................................................10-3

File Menu .................................................................................................................10-3

Open......................................................................................................................10-3
Edit Job .................................................................................................................10-3
Save Job ................................................................................................................10-3
Read WIP file........................................................................................................10-4
Write WIP file.......................................................................................................10-4
Print.......................................................................................................................10-5
Print Preview.........................................................................................................10-5
Page Setup.............................................................................................................10-5
Write Image File ...................................................................................................10-5
SuperTurbo ...........................................................................................................10-5
Exit........................................................................................................................10-5

Model Menu.............................................................................................................10-5
Stock .....................................................................................................................10-5
Fixture ...................................................................................................................10-7
Design Part............................................................................................................10-7
Tolerances .............................................................................................................10-7
Translate…..........................................................................................................10-10
Rotate… ..............................................................................................................10-10
Scale…................................................................................................................10-11
Delete Stock(s)....................................................................................................10-11
Delete Fixture(s) .................................................................................................10-11
Delete Design Part ..............................................................................................10-11
NC to Solid .........................................................................................................10-11

View Menu.............................................................................................................10-12
New View ...........................................................................................................10-12
Camera Palette ....................................................................................................10-12
Standard views ....................................................................................................10-12
Render .................................................................................................................10-13
Backplot Toolpath...............................................................................................10-14
Fit ........................................................................................................................10-14
Zoom Region ......................................................................................................10-14
Reset View ..........................................................................................................10-14
Zoom Up .............................................................................................................10-14
Zoom Down ........................................................................................................10-14
Show Axis...........................................................................................................10-14
Enhanced Zoom ..................................................................................................10-14
Translucent..........................................................................................................10-15
3/4 View (Turning) .............................................................................................10-15
Display ................................................................................................................10-15

Simulate Menu ......................................................................................................10-15

Rewind ................................................................................................................10-15
Start .....................................................................................................................10-15
 Stop .....................................................................................................................10-15
Single Step F2 ....................................................................................................10-15
Fast Forward .......................................................................................................10-16
Inspect Menu.......................................................................................................10-17
Measure...............................................................................................................10-17
Remove Chips.....................................................................................................10-18
Solid Section .......................................................................................................10-18
Section.................................................................................................................10-19
Comparison .........................................................................................................10-19
Inspect Input file .................................................................................................10-20
Inspect Error........................................................................................................10-21
View Flute and Shank Lengths ...........................................................................10-22
View Control Panel.............................................................................................10-22

NCOptimizer .....................................................................................................10-22
Options Menu ........................................................................................................10-22
Color ...................................................................................................................10-22
Units....................................................................................................................10-23
Software render...................................................................................................10-23
System Defaults ..................................................................................................10-23
STL Solid Preprocess..........................................................................................10-25
Calculate flute and shank lengths .......................................................................10-26

Window Menu .......................................................................................................10-26

Cascade ...............................................................................................................10-26
Tile ......................................................................................................................10-27
Arrange Icons......................................................................................................10-27

Help Menu .............................................................................................................10-27

Help Topics.........................................................................................................10-27
About NC Verify TrueSolid................................................................................10-27
Whose Rendering? ..............................................................................................10-27

Toolbar Buttons ....................................................................................................10-28

CHAPTER 11 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS &

TROUBLESHOOTING ...............................................................................11-1

Performance, Memory Requirements, Graphics Cards .....................................11-1

Tools .........................................................................................................................11-1

Stock .........................................................................................................................11-2

Files...........................................................................................................................11-2

Simulation................................................................................................................11-2

Other ........................................................................................................................11-3
CHAPTER 12 BATCH PROCESSING .....................................................12-1

Overview ..................................................................................................................12-1
Example Batch file................................................................................................12-1

Batch File Command Syntax .................................................................................12-2

Chapter 1 Introduction

NC Verify™ is a software product that graphically simulates the material removal

process by updating the stock shape as the tool moves along the toolpath and produces
the final part. NC Verify is an extremely valuable tool for all NC programmers and
operators. It significantly reduces the need for the physical verification process and
those related costs.

Product Overview

NC Verify accepts standard NC programs as input to simulate the machining process.

The user can reproduce the complete NC machining environment by interactively
setting up stocks and fixtures, or by importing complex components from other CAD
systems. Users can then “run” the NC programs and watch the material removal
process as on the real machine. The “as manufactured” part can then be visually
compared against the “as designed” part model.

NC Verify is very fast and simulates NC programs in far less time than it takes on the
real machine. It continually displays relevant information pertaining to the machining
process. Tool paths for different tools can be distinguished by different colors for easy
verification. At any time during the simulation, users can measure point, thickness and
distance information on the current work-in-process (WIP) model.

Benefits
• Identifies rapid and bad cuts, collisions and other program errors.
• Eliminates expensive and time-consuming proofing and dry runs on the NC
machine.
• Provides visual comparison of “as designed” with “as manufactured” part
models.
• Significantly reduces the cost of producing error-free NC programs.
• Increases machine tool utilization.
• Serves as an excellent training tool for new NC programmers and operators.

1-1
Product Features
The following are some of the main features of NC Verify.

Machining operations
NC Verify supports the following NC machining operations:
• 3-5 axis milling.
• Turning.
• Mill Turn.
• 2-4 axis wire EDM.
• Punching.

Graphics and visualization

• Supports powerful and dynamic graphics (dynamic rotate, pan, zoom etc.)
• Supports multiple views of the material removal process.
• Displays full color shaded images of the material removal process.
• Supports easy toolpath transformation between two subsequent setup
operations.
• Allows rotation and sectioning of the stock during simulation for more
detailed viewing.
• Highlights gouges and undercuts.
• Supports chip removal for better visualization of the final part.
• Supports accurate solid zoom
• Supports dynamic solid zoom
• View input file and error log file.

NC Program Input Formats

• Accepts NC G Code files via Virtual Controller
• Accepts APT-CL (standard and various CAM outputs)
• Accepts Surfcam INC files.

Solid Input
• Accepts box, cylinder and profile sweeps.
• Accepts STL files for part, stock and fixture models.

Simulation
• Simulates complex multi-axis tool motions (e.g., 3 - 5 axis milling, turning,
EDM and plate cutting operations).
• Distinguishes multiple toolpaths by different colors.
• Features flexible and easy-to-use record and playback capabilities.
• Supports selective simulation by defining a range of CL points or by
graphically highlighting a region on the stock.
• Supports the following simulation options: simulate to end of program, next
CL point, next tool change, specific CL number, next error etc.

1-2
Measurement
• Provides accurate measurements on point, thickness, distance, radius, etc.
• Supports feature based inspection and measurement.
• Measures volumes.
• Identifies the tool and CL point responsible for a particular cut.
• Measures time.

Outputs
At any point during the simulation:
• Stock and fixture models can be stored in WIP files.
• Errors can be displayed in an error output window.
• Screen images can be captured to a file.
• Messages pertaining to rapid and bad cuts, tool collisions with stock and
fixtures and other NC program errors can be displayed on the screen or logged
to a text file.
• Machining information is displayed with current feedrates, spindle speed,
coolant, tool and machining time information.

Batch processing
NC Verify supports batch processing. The batch files should have a “.bch” extension.
This is an ASCII text file with commands to run a series of batch jobs. Each job to be
run in batch mode should be specified between "Begin" and "End" job lines, as
follows:
BeginJob

EndJob
Users can setup the job, select a view, set output details and run the job. The job files
can be made up of APT-CL or NC G code or any other file type. Any number of jobs
can be defined in a batch file and the system will run them sequentially, without any
need for user interaction. A sample .bch job file is provided with the product.

Tools and Holders

• Supports APT 7 parameter tools.
• Supports most form tools and holders.
• Supports most standard turning tools.

User interface and On-line help

• Standard windows point and click user interface.
• Context sensitive online help.

1-3
NC Verify Lite
Features included
• Read any one input format (APT/CL (or) CAM Vendor file or G-Code).
• Support dynamic rotation, pan and zoom capabilities (in setup mode).
• Complete graphics management in setup (axis, fit, center and machine type).
• Support for all standard views and camera toolbar.
• Simulate only 3 axis or 2 axis turning.
• Turbo mode.
• Output error report files.
• Support flexible simulation options (Go to next cl, next error, tool change
etc.).
• Accept simple stock shapes (Box, Cylinder).
• Edit stock solids (translate and rotate, delete & modify).
• Flip solids in simulation mode.
• Distinguish different tools with various colors.
• Support all tool display modes (wireframe, solid, continuous, no display).
• Accept APT 7 parameter tool definition.
• Dynamic tool list editing.
• Dynamic solid zoom.
• Dynamic light source changes.

Features not included in Lite version:

• Support for all input formats (APT-CL, G-Codes and CAM vendor files).
• Measurements on the solid models (point, normals, thickness, time, volume)
• STL solids.
• Fixtures.
• Record and playback capabilities.
• Dynamic rotation, translucency of solid stock/WIP models.
• Advanced visualization: dynamic light source and shadows.
• Tool holders & Form tools.
• Capture WIP models for subsequent setups.
• Printing & Capturing images.
• Selective simulation of certain areas of the stock or input file.
• Multi axis Milling and Turning.
• As Designed vs. As Manufactured solid model comparison.
• 24-bit graphics (65K or 16M) colors for highest picture quality.
• Multiple graphic views.
• Section solid stock/WIP models.
• Remove unwanted chips or stock pieces.
• Capable of handling very large input files (unlimited size).
• Accurate Solid Zoom.
• View Input NC File and Error Log files directly from View Menu.
• TrueSolid.

1-4
Why upgrade from Lite to the full NC Verify product?
If you are using NC Verify Lite, you already know that it is an excellent basic NC
Verification system that accepts NC programs, simulates the toolpaths and finds all
errors. These features, while they are indispensable are limited in capability and
functionality compared to the full production version that contains highly useful and
advanced features. The following is a list of some very powerful features in the full
production version of NC Verify. The full production version will greatly improve
your ability to analyze your result, better visualize the final part, accept a variety of
NC input programs and in general provide you with advanced capabilities.

Additional features available in the full production product include:

TrueSolid capability:
Separate stand-alone product that uses advanced solid modeling technology with
OpenGL graphics for dynamic 3D solid rendering and animation.
G Code NC program input:
Verifying the final NC G code file, will be the ultimate validation of your NC
program. While you verified your CAM output using APT-CL or special CAM files,
you should verify the final NC program file that the machine reads.
Inspection and measurements:
You can measure and query the solid model, which can be the final machined part or
any intermediate stock shape, after or during the simulation process for various
geometric attributes. You can accurately measure: point coordinates, surface normals,
thickness, machining time, volume and tool information
Accurate Solid Zoom:
You can zoom into the stock or Work-In-Process solid at any time.
Compare as Design (vs.) as manufactured part:
You can import a design part and compare the final machined part with the original
design. You can do a dimensional evaluation of the machined part against the
designed part. NC Verify computes the deviation of the machined part from the actual
design part and displays gouges and undercuts in distinct colors for clarity. You can
eliminate costly prove outs and scrap and greatly reduce manufacturing lead-time.
Dynamic Rotation & Sectioning:
You can dynamically rotate the final part or intermediate stock shapes for better
viewing. You can also section the part through a plane and see the results.
Multi axis milling & turning, mill turn and 4 axis Wire EDM
Supports 3-5 axis milling, turning, 2-5-axis mill-turn, 2-4 axis EDM & punching.
Record and playback simulation:
NC Verify supports very flexible and easy-to-use record and playback capabilities.
You can record the current simulation for future playback purposes. You can choose
to record the entire simulation, just a part of it, or just the errors. Playing back a
recorded simulation will be several times faster than the original. Record and
playback can be a good demonstration tool.

1-5
Advanced visualization (movable light source, translucency, flip, shadows):
You can dynamically move the light source, enable the translucent mode to see the
“hidden” areas, flip the part for viewing from various angles, turn the shadows option
on, or opt for chip removal at any stage of the simulation for very realistic
visualization.
Job files:
NC Verify supports the powerful Job file concept where you can save tool, stock,
fixture and other relevant setup and G-code information in Job files. This information
can be retrieved and plugged in, as is, for any future simulation or toolpath
verification runs.
Fixture assembly:
You can setup a complete fixture assembly and verify the NC program for collisions
with fixtures.
Support for multiple setup and operations:
If you are using multiple setups and operations, you need to save the work-in-process
for the first operation as the initial stock for the next operation. The full production
version of NC Verify supports saving and reading WIP solid models to verify multiple
NC files.
Capture images:
The full production version of NC Verify has the ability to capture images at any time
during the simulation from any graphics view. This is an extremely useful capability
for documentation, troubleshooting and problem analysis. You have various options
to setup your software to capture images at various points during the simulation (for
example, at every tool change or at every error). You can browse through these image
slides at a later time.
Multiple graphics views:
While the Lite product supports only one graphics view, you can create any number of
graphics views in the full production version. You can view the machining from
different angles with multiple graphics views.
View NC and Error files:
You can directly view the input program file and error log directly from the View
Menu. You can also customize the system to use the editor you prefer.
Other features:
• Unlimited input file size.
• Complex solid shapes (casting, profiles, STL models etc.) for stock & fixtures.
• Tool holders.
• Form tools.
• Remove unwanted stock chips.
• Selective simulation, subset area on the stock to be simulated.
• 65K(16 bit) and 16M(24 bit) color graphics for high quality images.
• Monochrome mode

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Chapter 2 Installation and Hardware
Requirements

PC Hardware Requirements
System:
Recommended: Pentium II machines
Minimum: 233 systems
Note: Performance is directly related to system CPU and memory, higher
CPU/Memory will improve simulation performance.

Memory:

Minimum: 64 MB or higher
Recommended: 128 MB of RAM or higher (128MB to simulate large
NC program files)

Video Graphics:
Minimum: 24 bit/true color
Recommended: OpenGL compatible graphics card with 4+ MB memory

Hard Disk Space:

Minimum: 20 MB
Recommended 100-500 MB (depending on number of machines,
complexity and recording & playback needs.)

Operating System:
Minimum: Windows 98
Recommended: Windows 2000 or later
Our products support both Windows NT 4 and Windows 98, 2000 and XP.

Installation
Windows NT/98/2000/XP installation:
To install NC Verify software, follow these steps:
1. Start Windows.
2. Insert Virtual Manufacturing Suite CD Rom into your drive.
Select the CD drive and click on the Setup.exe example: E:/Setup.exe
Then chose custom as install option to select the NC Verify.

This will automatically execute the NC Verify installation set-up program. Follow the
set-up program prompts and complete the installation.

2-1
Starting NC Verify
Windows 98/2000/XP and NT 4.0
Under Windows, the Setup program creates a folder for the Virtual Manufacturing
Suite. Do the following to invoke the NC Verify:
1. Select Programs from the Start menu.
2. Select Virtual Manufacturing Suite from the Programs menu. This will open
up the NC Verify folder.
3. Double click on the “ncverify.exe” icon. This will start up the NC Verify
product.
Also see installation notes for further details.

Uninstalling NC Verify
During this process, all program folders, program items or directories created or
replaced during the installation process will be removed. Items or directories and
folders that contain items that were added after the installation process will not be
removed. During the uninstallation process, a dialog box shows progress by checking
off each category of uninstallable items. When complete, or if any of the items could
not be removed, an appropriate message is displayed at the bottom of the dialog box.
The following sections describe how the uninstallation process can be launched from
different platforms.

Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and later

Open the Control Panel window and double click on the Add/Remove Programs icon.
This will bring up the Add/Remove Programs property sheet. The Install/Uninstall tab
of the Add/Remove Programs property sheet lists all the applications that can be
automatically uninstalled. Select the NC Verify application from this list and click on
the Remove button to begin the uninstall process.

2-2
Chapter 3 Operation and User Interface

NC Verify™ is an interactive, graphical verification system, which can reduce the

time and cost involved in generating error-free NC programs. The NC Verify
simulation is designed to help identify and correct inefficient tool motions.

The product provides a visual image for the verification of numerical control
machining operations. The simulation of tool motion and material removal provides a
graphical representation of a work-in-process model. As the tool follows the tool
paths specified by the NC programmer, the user sees the part emerging from the
stock. This process improves shop floor productivity by providing a cost-effective
alternative to "tape tryouts" on the machine tool.

Invoking NC Verify
You can invoke the product by double clicking the NC Verify icon in the Program
Manager window.

User Interface General Features

NC Verify is a Windows compatible software product. All interactions such as
window resizing, minimizing, maximizing, deleting, pull-down menus, dialog
windows, scroll bars, toolbars, icons etc., are compatible with the Windows operating
system. Please refer to the Windows user manual and Windows Help to learn more
about these capabilities.

User Interface Specifics

Title Bar
The title bar is the horizontal bar at the very top of the window, and displays the
window title. You can move the window around the screen by dragging it by the title
bar as follows:
Position the cursor on the title bar.
Press the left mouse button, move the mouse to the desired new location of the
window and release the button.

3-1
Sample NC Verify Window

Menu Bar
The Menu bar is the row just below the title bar that contains the titles of pull-down
menus like File, View, Model, Options etc., each of which contains buttons you can
use to interact with the NC Verify product. To display a pull-down menu, click on its
title. To choose an item from the menu, click on it. To cancel the menu, click
anywhere outside the pull-down menu.

Tool Bars
The NC Verify toolbars contains buttons/icons that give you quick mouse access to
many commonly used NC Verify commands and features. NC Verify has three
toolbars:

Setup toolbar
This is a picture of the setup toolbar in NC Verify:

The following table gives a full description of the Setup toolbar icons.

Open NC program files. This brings up a standard file open dialog.

User can select an APT/CL, G code file or any other file for opening.

3-2
Help. This provides context sensitive help. Select this icon and select
any menu or button you want help on.

Control panel. This invokes (if not already available) a dialog window
that displays all cl data (cl point, cl axis), tool dimensions, feeds and
speeds, machining time and percentage completion.

Sets to picking mode. You can graphically select solids or toolpaths

on the screen.

Sets to dynamic graphics mode. Once this button is active, you can
dynamically translate or rotate selected solids on the screen. Use the
left mouse button to translate and the right mouse button to rotate.

Sets to zoom mode. In Wireframe (setup) mode, left mouse zooms

dynamically up and down. Right mouse zooms into a rectangular
region. In Solid (simulation) mode, left mouse dynamically zooms
into an area. Right mouse accurately zooms into the solid.

Zoom up

Zoom down

Center. Place origin at the center of the screen.

Fit. Fit all data onto the screen at the same orientation.

Create a new graphics window.

Show or hide axes information.

Show or hide the camera bar.

Set machine type to horizontal machine. When you click on it again,

it will toggle to the vertical machine icon shown below.

Set machine type to vertical machine. When you click on it again, it

will toggle to the horizontal machine icon shown above.

Show or hide tool shape.

Show wireframe tool.

Show solid tool.

3-3
 Show solid continuous tool.

All the main toolbar icons are activated when you are in the Setup Mode of
NC Verify. Some of the buttons are deactivated in Simulate mode.

Simulate toolbar
This is a picture of the Simulate toolbar in NC Verify:

The following table gives a full description of the Simulate tool bar icons.

Enter Setup mode. In this mode you can dynamically rotate, translate,
zoom and orient the stock.

Enter Simulation mode. After the stock is oriented, you should be in

the Simulation mode to perform any material removal simulation.

Enter Turbo mode. When Turbo is active, the simulation proceeds up

to 2-4 times faster.

Start/Play the simulation

Stop the simulation.

Record the simulation

Dynamically rotate solids in the screen (Stock or final WIP)

Dynamically move the light source.

Reset any modified view to the original view.

Flip the stock/WIP.

Show the solid stock/WIP in translucent mode.

Measure point, normal, thickness and other data from solids

Section the Stock/WIP solid by any arbitrary plane

Compare “as manufactured” part with “as designed” part.

3-4
 Removes unwanted chips or stock pieces after machining.

Most of the Simulate toolbar buttons are deactivated in Setup mode and are activated
only in the Simulate mode.

Toolbar with large icons for simpler user interface

An alternative toolbar user interface is provided with larger and fewer icons. This toolbar
is optional and can be invoked by selecting Simple Toolbar from the Options menu.

Moving and resizing a toolbar

You can move a toolbar from its default position near the top of the screen to any
location on the screen to better fit your working style. If you move a toolbar to the left
or right edge of the screen, or to the bottom of the screen, it “anchors” itself to the
new location. If you move the toolbar anywhere else on the screen it becomes a
floating toolbar. You can move and resize a floating toolbar the same way you move
and resize windows.

To move and resize a toolbar:

1. Position the mouse pointer in an empty area on the toolbar, and then drag
the toolbar to the location you went. As you drag the toolbar - it will be
displayed as a dotted line.
2. Once you’ve moved the toolbar from the top of the screen, you can do any
of the following:

To: Do this:

Create a horizontal Drag the toolbar to the top or bottom of the

screen.
toolbar When the dotted line becomes horizontal,
release the mouse button.
Create a floating toolbar Double-clicking in any empty area on the
toolbar.
Move a floating Point to the title bar on the tool bar and then
drag
toolbar the toolbar to a new position.
Resizing a floating Point to any edge of the toolbar. When the
mouse
toolbar pointer becomes a two-headed arrow, drag it
until the toolbar is the size you want.
Return a toolbar to Drag the title bar to the top of the screen or
double its original position click its title bar.

You can use the Reset toolbar button in the Options menu to reset all toolbar
locations. Hence if the camera bar is lost it can be brought back by using this button.
The Reset Toolbar button is also available in a pop-up menu that can be invoked by
clicking the right mouse button on any gray area in the status bar or, in a gray area on
any toolbar within the main NC Verify window.

3-5
Status Bar
The status bar is the small message area running along the bottom edge of the
window. The left area of the status bar describes actions of menu items as you use the
arrow keys to navigate through menus. This area similarly shows messages that
describe the actions of toolbar buttons as you depress them, before releasing them. If
after viewing the description of the toolbar button command you wish not to execute
the command, then release the mouse button while the pointer is off the toolbar
button.

The right areas of the status bar indicate which of the following keys are latched
down:

Indicator Description
CAP The Caps Lock key is latched down.
NUM The Num Lock key is latched down.
SCRL The Scroll Lock key is latched down.

Camera Bar
The camera bar gives you nine standard views:

Top row:
Left: Front Left Isometric view
Center: Top view
Right: Front Right Isometric view

Center Row:
Left: Left view
Center: Front view
Right: Right view

Bottom Row:
Left: Back Left Isometric view
Center: Bottom view
Right: Back Right Isometric view

Control Panel
The Control Panel is used to dynamically display values current block (NC or CL)
data (X, Y, Z, I, J, K) machining parameters (feedrate, spindle speed, coolant flow,
etc.) and tool parameters (diameter, corner radius, height, etc.). In Turbo Mode, the
control panel is not updated for performance reasons. But a quick summary of the

3-6
current cl point/block number, machining time and percentage completion is
displayed in the status bar.

The following is an example of an NC Verify Control Panel:

Error Bar
By choosing the “Inspect Errors” options from the Inspect menu, errors in the job file
will be highlighted and appear in a bar across the bottom of your screen.

Inspect Input File

By choosing “Inspect Input File” from the Inspect menu, a box will appear at the
bottom of your NC Verify screen with the entire job file for your review.

Tool tips
You can see the name of each toolbar button/icon in a tooltip. When you point to a
toolbar button with the mouse, the name of the button appears in a small box.

Mouse Interactions
Setup Mode
In Pick Mode:
Left mouse button: Selects solid
Right mouse button: Selects area on screen to simulate

3-7
 In Dynamic Mode:
Left mouse button: Dynamic translate
Right mouse button: Dynamic rotate

In Zoom Mode
Left mouse button: Dynamic zoom (above screen center)
Right mouse button: Zoom window into a region

Simulation Mode
Left mouse button: Measure data, section, remove chips
Right mouse button: Rotate solid, move light source

In Solid Zoom Mode

Left mouse button: Dynamic Zoom
Right mouse button: Zoom accurately into a region
(In Lite product, this feature zooms
approximately into the region)

3-8
Chapter 4 Tutorial

♦Features marked by this symbol are available only in the full production version of
NC Verify.

This chapter introduces the NC Verify™ product via easy to use tutorials. The
tutorials are designed to walk you through the various product capabilities. As a
prerequisite, you should be familiar with the user interface, as described in Chapter 3.

Tutorial 1 introduces all graphical interactions, simulation basics, tool display and
color changes, printing and creating images and most commonly used capabilities.

Tutorial 2 introduces more advanced features including design part comparison,

measurement and inspection, sectioning, WIP management and record & playback.

Tutorial 3 focuses on using NC G code files and JOB files as input files for NC
Verify.

Tutorial 4 involves performing multiple setup operations on the same piece of

material for successive machining operations using the Reposition Toolpath feature.

Tutorials 5 through 7 deal with the NC Verify TrueSolid product:

Tutorial 5 –TrueSolid – Learning how to verify large, 3-axis contouring files with
SuperTurbo
Tutorial 6– TrueSolid – Learning how to verify up to 5-axis Milling applications

Tutorial 7 – TrueSolid – Understanding the Turning application

4-1
Tutorial #1
Objective
Learn about the general use of the product via the following steps:

Opening NC program files

Dynamic graphical manipulation
Using the Camera bar to set standard view orientations
Simulating the material removal process
Using the Turbo mode
Changing tool colors
Simulating in various modes
Rotating the solid
Moving the light source
Using various view parameters, e.g., translucency, flip, chip removal, etc.
Inspecting/measuring the final part
Sectioning the final solid
Printing and other output

Step 1: Invoke NC Verify

Invoke the NC Verify application (for more details please refer to the Starting NC
Verify section in Chapter 2.) This will bring up the initial message window containing
product version number and other acknowledgments. After reading the information,
press any key to continue.

The main NC Verify window with toolbars will look like this:

4-2
Step 2: Open NC Program
NC Verify can read APT-CL and NC (G-code) files. Their file type extensions are
APT or CL and NC respectively. In this tutorial, we will be using a CL file. To open
this file, select the Open File icon or select the Open button from the File menu.
This will invoke the File Open dialog. The software is shipped with some sample NC
program files. They are located in DEMOS directory.

Choose the DEMOS directory in the dialog box. Select “TUTOR.CL” and select OK.
NC Verify will read the CL file and its contents and display the toolpath on the
graphics window. You will be in the Setup Mode.

Step 3: Dynamic Graphics

In this step, you will learn to use the dynamic graphics capabilities of the product in
Setup Mode. The Setup Mode displays all graphical data on the screen using the
wireframe representation. You can perform any of the following graphical
manipulations:
Dynamic rotation
Dynamic translation
Dynamic zoom
Incremental zoom up & down
Zoom region
Select standard views

There are 3 possible graphics modes:

Picking Mode
Dynamic Translation/Rotation Mode
Dynamic Zoom mode

You have to choose the appropriate mode first.

4-3
Dynamic Translation & Rotation
Select the Dynamic Translation/Rotation toolbar button or, select the Orient
button from the View menu. In the dynamic mode, the left mouse button will
dynamically translate and the right mouse button will dynamically rotate any toolpath,
stock or fixture solid that you select on the screen.

To translate, select a toolpath, stock or fixture on the screen by clicking on it with the
left mouse button. Hold the left mouse button down, move it to the desired location
and release the button.

To rotate, select a toolpath, stock or fixture on the screen by clicking on it with the left
mouse button. Now hold the right mouse button and move it in the direction you want
to rotate the solid and then release the button.

Dynamic Zoom
First make the dynamic zoom mode active by selecting the Zoom icon, or select
the Zoom button from the View menu. This mode lets you dynamically zoom the
picture up or down or zoom into a region on the screen.

To dynamically zoom up and down, use the left mouse button. Press the left mouse
button and move the mouse up the screen to Zoom Up and down the screen to Zoom
down. When you have the desired size of the picture, release the left mouse button.

You can also incrementally Zoom up and down by using Zoom Up and Zoom
Down icons. Each time you press the icon all objects in the screen will be

4-4
zoomed up by a small amount. Each time you press the icon all objects in the
screen will be zoomed down by a small amount.

To zoom into a region, press the right mouse button and drag the mouse while holding
the button down to draw a box on the screen. Release the right mouse button and you
will zoom into the region selected.

Graphical selection
The third mode is the “pick” mode that lets you select a solid or toolpath graphically.
This can be used to select a solid for modification or deletion or, to select an area of
the toolpath for simulation. To make the selection mode active, select or select the
Select button from the View menu.

To select a solid, use the left mouse button. Simply point to any of the solid’s
wireframe lines and click on it with the left mouse button. To select an area of the
toolpath to simulate, use the right mouse button to define a rectangular box, which
will encapsulate the toolpath area that is to be simulated.

The Select mode is a special mode. After you are done with graphical selection, it is
recommended that you leave the system in the more frequently used dynamic
translation and rotation mode.

Step 4: Standard view orientation & Camera toolbar

The product gives you the ability to view the graphics in standard view orientations,
e.g., front, top, left, right, bottom and ISO (1 through 4). To set a graphics window to
a standard view, first make sure the graphics window is the active window.

Invoke the Camera Toolbar icon . This toolbar has easy to use icons to select
standard orientations. You can also select an orientation, by selecting one of the
orientation options from the Standard View option under the View menu

When you are done, you can remove the camera toolbar from the screen, by pressing
the Camera icon.

4-5
Step 5: Starting Simulation
When you have the desired view in the graphics window, you can move to the
simulation mode by pressing the Simulate mode icon or by selecting the Simulate
option from the Simulate menu. Selecting the simulation mode causes all graphics
windows to change from a wireframe display to solid shading. You are now ready to
start the actual simulation of the material removal process.

To start the simulation, simply press the Start/Play icon or select Simulate menu
and Start button. You will see the stock material being removed by the tool. You can
stop simulation at any time by pressing the Stop icon.

Step 6: Using Turbo mode

The toolpath simulation can proceed two to four times faster in Turbo mode, if you
choose not to see the graphic updates to the window. While in Turbo mode, the
control panel will not show all the detailed X, Y, Z, I, J, K coordinate values, tool
feeds or speed information. Instead, summary information consisting of the current
CL ID or block number, percentage completion and machining time is displayed in
the status bar.

To enter the Turbo mode, simply press the Turbo icon. You may enter or exit from
the Turbo mode at any time during the simulation.

Step 7: Changing Tool colors

NC Verify supports tool display in several colors. You can choose to change tool
color at tool changes or at any time during the simulation. You can dynamically
change the tool color by selecting Tool menu and Color button and selecting a color
from the list. Optionally, you can also stop the simulation process by selecting Stop
icon and then select a color from the tool color list.

Step 8: Various Tool display modes

The software supports 3 modes of tool display:
1: Wireframe display
2: Solid tool display

4-6
 3: Continuous tool display

In the wireframe mode, the tool wireframe is displayed at each location. The entire
tool will be visible since geometry is not hidden based on its visibility. It is meant to
give a quick indication as to where the tool is cutting.

In the solid mode, the tool is displayed in complete solid shape. Only the part of the
solid tool that should appear will be shown in the window. The solid mode is
computationally more intensive than the wireframe mode, and is therefore slower.

In the continuous solid mode, the tool movement is simulated realistically as a slow
continuous motion. The solid tool is displayed at each pixel as it moves between 2
points. This mode is the slowest mode of all three, since it is computationally very
intensive.

You can change between these modes at any time during the simulation by just
pressing one of the three mode icons.

Step 9: Finish simulation & remove chips

♦ Continue with the simulation, if you have not finished it. You can continue with
simulation by pressing the Start/Play icon.

After the simulation is complete you will see the final machined part on the screen
along with the chips that are removed from the stock. You can remove the chips for
better viewing by:
1: Selecting the solid to be retained using left mouse button
2: Selecting Remove Chips icon from the toolbar.

Step 10: Rotating the final solid

♦ The final part or any intermediary stock model can be dynamically rotated. To
rotate the solid dynamically, first stop the simulation process. Then select solid
rotation by selecting the Rotate icon or by selecting the Rotate Solid button from
the View menu. You can rotate the solid along the horizontal axis or vertical axis.

To rotate the solid about the vertical axis, you have to move the mouse left to right or
right to left on the screen. Press the right mouse button towards the left or right end of
the graphics window. Hold the right button down and move the mouse horizontally
across the screen. As soon as you release the right mouse button, the rotated solid will
be displayed.

To rotate about the horizontal axis, you have to move the mouse top to bottom or
bottom to top on the screen. Press the right mouse button towards the top or bottom
end of the graphics window. Hold the right button down and move the mouse
vertically. As soon as you release the right mouse button, the final solid will be
displayed.

4-7
 After horizontal rotation

After vertical rotation

Step 11: Moving light source

You can move the light source to create advanced visual effects on the final solid. To
move the light source:
1: Select “Move Light Source” icon
2: Press the right mouse button down. A smaller window appears in the
center of the graphics window and shows a reduced image of the solid. As
you move the mouse around holding the right mouse button down, the
little window shows the effect of moving the light source to various
locations. When you have the desired visual effect, you can release the
mouse button. The entire graphics screen will be updated with the new
light source.

4-8
Step 12: Using advanced visualization (translucency, flip & shadows)
♦ You can see the solid in translucent mode by selecting the Translucency
icon . You cancel translucency by pressing this icon again.

You can flip the solid by pressing the Flip icon . To flip back to the original
position, press the flip icon again.

4-9
You can create realistic shadows with modified light sources. To produce the
shadows, first move the light source. Then select the Shadow option from the View
menu. This will show you the shadows on the part with respect to the light source.

Shadows are highly computationally intensive tasks. Turn the Shadow button off from
the View menu, after you are done. It is highly recommended that the Shadow option
be turned off during Simulation or while performing dynamic graphics operations.

Step 13: Inspection & Measurement

♦ You can inspect the final solid or any intermediate solid for the following
information:
The CL ID or Block number that machined it

4-10
 Point (accuracy up to 0.0001 unit)
Surface normal
Thickness at any location
Tool information
Volume of material removed
Machining time

Invoke the Measure Properties dialog by selecting the measure icon . To measure
any point, select the point/pixel using the left mouse button. As soon as the point is
selected, the measured data is displayed on the measurement window as shown in the
picture above. You can also choose to get data on the Tool, Thickness, Time,
Distance, Radius and Volume. Select the appropriate tab page you are interested in.

When you have completed all measurements, you can remove the measurement dialog
from the screen by clicking on the measure icon.

Step 14: Section the solid

♦ You can section a solid at any time during or after the simulation. To section a
solid, select the Section icon or select the Section button from the Inspect menu.
It will invoke the Section dialog.

You can section the solid at any plane at any orientation. You can click at a point on
the solid and enter the plane’s normal vectors. After you select Apply, you can also
click on the solid and the system will automatically section to that point. You may
choose to apply sectioning incrementally by moving the section plane in increments.
This is an interactive process. After you have sectioned and visually inspected the
part, you can Cancel the window.

Step 15: Printing and other Outputs

Printing
You can print any graphics window, by simply pressing the Print button in the File
menu. While printing you will notice that it paints a white background so that the
printed document is clearly visible. Printing will automatically fit the picture to the
default paper size.

4-11
Image file creation
♦ You can also create an image file in BMP format. You can then use this image
file in any word processor or image management tools or programs like PaintBrush.
You can also print from these programs. To create a BMP file, select the Write Image
File button from the File menu.

Output file
NC Verify also produces an output error file, NCVERIFY.OUT for each session. This
file will be in the same directory where the product is installed. This is an ASCII text
file. You can open it and print it or include it in other documentation.

4-12
Tutorial #2

♦All features in this tutorial are available only in the full production version of NC
Verify. Users of NC Verify Lite can skip this tutorial.

Objective:
To learn about the more advanced capabilities of the NC Verify software, including:
Comparison of "as designed" part with "as manufactured" part
Creating images at tool change or at errors
Saving WIP files Record and Playback

Step 1: Open NC program

If you are currently simulating another part or still have Tutorial 1 on the screen, you
can enter setup mode by pressing the Setup toolbar button .

Read another program file by selecting the Open File toolbar button or by
selecting Open from the File menu. For this tutorial, you will be using “GOUGE.CL”.
This file has errors that include gouges and undercuts. As soon as you select the file
name and select OK, you will see the toolpath and the initial stock solid.

Use the Camera toolbar, to select the Isometric view (Iso 3) for the part.

Step 2: Capture images at tool changes and at any error

You can set the system flags to save images at specified conditions like tool changes
or program errors. To enable the system to save these images, select Write image at
tool change and Write image at error from the Options menu. Now NC Verify will
automatically create image files at all tool changes and errors.

4-13
Step 3: Simulate
Change to Solid/Simulation mode by selecting the Simulate button. Start the
simulation by selecting the Play/Start button.

Step 4: Compare with Design part

When the simulation is complete, you can read in a design part. The software accepts
design parts in STL file format. To read the design part, select the Design part button
from the Model menu. This will bring up the File Open window. Select
“CLEVIS.STL” from the DEMOS directory.

After the design part is read, select the Compare button or select the Compare
option from the Inspect menu. This will compare the designed part with the
“manufactured” part.

The final comparison will be shown in two colors: red areas indicate that the tool has
gouged into the design part and blue areas indicate undercuts where material should
be removed further to make the design part.

4-14
To exit the comparison mode, simply press the Compare button again. You will
now see the manufactured part in its regular colors.

Step 5: Saving WIP

The entire solid model or final stock can be stored in WIP (work-in-process) files.
Saving the WIP will be very useful for multiple setups and operations or for very
large jobs, where various segments of the NC program are run separately. To save a
WIP file, select the Write WIP file option from the File menu.

Step 6: Record and Playback

The entire simulation session can be recorded and played back at a later time at a
much faster speed.

To record this simulation session, let us reset the simulation. To reset the simulation
you
can enter Setup mode and re-enter simulation mode . Or, you can also simply
select simulation mode without entering the setup mode.

Before you start the simulation, select Record . This will invoke the File Open
dialog. Enter “TUT2.PLA” as the record file name. Select SAVE. Now this simulation
session will be recorded in the playback file called “TUT2.PLA”.

To play back a recorded session, select Read Playback file from the File menu. This
will invoke the File Open dialog. Select “TUT2.PLA”. A new playback window will
appear. Playback is like any other simulation session. You can start playback, by
selecting the Start/Play . This will show the entire simulation at much faster speed.
You can stop at any time by pressing the Stop button

Playback has a very useful feature, which is the ability to “rewind” or “reverse” the
machining process. You can go backwards in the simulation by setting the destination
in the list box as “beginning”. You can also set this using the Goto button under the
Simulate menu under. Now select the Start/Play icon and you can see the
simulation being played back from the beginning.

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Tutorial #3
Objective
Learn to run NC Verify using G code files and JOB files as input.

You should have a valid demonstration or purchased copy of the NC Verify 3- or 5-

axis product installed on your computer. This tutorial assumes you are familiar with
the concepts covered in Tutorials 1 and 2.

Step 1. Start NC Verify.

Step 2. Open the NC program file.

Select Open from the File menu.
Set the file type to NC G code files.
Select the file "NCTEST.NC" from the DEMOS directory.

Step 3. The NC Job Data dialog will be invoked with the Controller/Machine page
open.
If you have the Virtual Controller product installed, you can click on the ...
button to select a specific controller. Otherwise, retain the default ISO
controller that is displayed. This will parse the NC G code file like a standard
ISO controller.

Step 4. Click on the Tools tab of the NC Job Data dialog.

The Tools page opens up displaying a list of all the tools being used in the current NC
file. Enter the tool parameters. For each tool, enter the values shown in the table
below (only some parameters will be changed for this tutorial, and the others will
remain the same). The current tool is highlighted in the tool list and also, the number
of the current tool is listed in the Tool Number box. Change the current tool by
clicking on the desired tool in the tool list. (For this tutorial all tools should have Mill
Tool in the Tool Type field, and Apt 7 Tool in the Mill Tool Type field.)

Tool # Diameter Corner Radius Height

3 1.0 0.10 3.0
1 0.7 0.00 2.0
2 0.75 0.10 2.0

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 NC Job Data dialog

Step 5. If your NC file needs D and H code offsets

You can define them by clicking on the D and H code tabs. You can also
define Work Coordinate offsets by selecting the appropriate tab in the
dialog. You will not need to define these for this tutorial.

Step 6. Select the OK button in the NC Job Data dialog.

You can save all the job information into a JOB file. Enter “NCTEST.JOB” as
the job file name. Once the job file is created, you can choose to load the .JOB
file directly in Step 1 and skip Steps 2 - 7, for subsequent simulation sessions
using the same NC G code file.

Step 7: Define a stock

Since NC G code files do not contain stock information, you have to define a
stock. Select Stock from the Model menu. Select Box for stock type. The
Create Box dialog opens up. If you know the exact stock dimensions, enter
the XYZ coordinates for the two corners of the Box. If you do not know the
exact stock data, NC Verify can compute an approximate stock size and
shape from the data in the NC G code file. To do this:
Click on the Use Bounding Box button.
Select Bounding Box and reset the Corner 2 Z value to 0.0.
Select OK. You will see a box stock on the screen.
You can also save the stock information in the JOB file. Select Save Job
under the File menu, after the stock is defined. This will update the JOB file
with the stock information.

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Step 8: Rotate, pan, zoom
You can now rotate, pan, zoom and use all the wireframe graphics features
NC Verify offers for better viewing of the image on the screen.

Step 9: Select the Camera bar button .

Select an isometric view on the Camera bar. Select Solid/Simulation mode by
clicking on the Simulate mode toolbar button or by selecting the Simulate
button under the Simulate menu. To start the simulation select the Play/Start
toolbar button or select Start from the Simulate menu.

You will be able to view the complete toolpath simulation of the part being machined.

Note: Except for the initial reading of the NC G code file, creation of the JOB file
and stock definition steps, the procedure for simulating and verifying NC files is the
same as that for APT-CL file.

Tutorial #4

♦The Reposition Toolpath feature is available only with the full production version
of NC Verify. Users of NC Verify Lite can skip this tutorial.

Objective
Learn about the Reposition Toolpath ... option under the Model menu.

This tutorial will guide you through the process of performing multiple operations on
one piece of material. It is often necessary to move the material between operations,
and the steps needed to simulate this in the software will be presented here. It is
recommended that you read the section in Chapter 5 (page 5-10) that describes the
Reposition Toolpath... dialog. For this tutorial you will use “Tutor5_1.job”,
“Tutor5_2.job”, and “Tutor5_3.job” files which are located in the DEMOS directory.

Step 1: Complete the first setup operation

Invoke NC Verify and open the “Tutor5_1.job” file from the DEMOS directory.
From the Model menu select Stock, and then Box. Enter the following dimensions in
the Create Box dialog and click OK:

Corner 1: X: 0.0000 Y: 0.0000 Z: -2.0000

Corner 2: X: 5.0000 Y: 3.0000 Z: 0.0000

If the machine view is not in the vertical position (indicated by the Z-axis pointing
toward the top of the screen), use the View menu to switch the machine to this
position. Then, under the View menu, make sure the Standard Views item is set to
Isometric - 1. Now the orientation of the wireframe display will be similar to that in
Figure Tutor5_1. As the tutorial continues from here, the activity mode will be set to
Simulate for the remainder of the steps. You will need to ensure that the above steps
were completed properly and that the view is in the proper orientation now, because
you will not return to the Setup mode. Now, click on the Simulation mode button and

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run the first operation to completion. You can save the current model, or work-in-
process, into a file with a “WIP” extension, now or generally at the end of any
operation. This can be done by selecting the Write WIP file... item under the File
menu. In this tutorial, however, you will save the WIP file only once after the very
last operation.

Step 2: Apply the first Repositioning Toolpath

The second operation performs material removal on the bottom face of this stock, but
with the software, once the model has entered simulation mode, its orientation cannot
be changed. Therefore we must reposition the coordinate system instead. To perform
the second operation on the bottom face of this model (see Figure Tutor5_1), you
need to change the coordinate system location. Then the second toolpath can be
loaded and it will operate with respect to the new location of the coordinate system.

What you need to know at this point is the new location of the coordinate system with
respect to the original location. See Figure Tutor5_1 for the second coordinate system
location. To reposition the toolpath, select the Reposition Toolpath menu item from
the Model menu and the corresponding dialog box will appear. Follow these steps to
fill out the dialog box:
Select the XY Datum / Z-axis radio.
Select any point on the top face by clicking with the left mouse button.
In the Z-axis New Value box, enter –2.00. In the Original Position box for this column,
you can see the z-value (0.00) for this recently selected face with respect to the
original coordinate system. You can also see the normal for this face in the IJK
values. According to the second coordinate system origin in Figure Tutor5_1, the z-
axis is aligned in a direction opposite to the original coordinate system z-axis. A
value of -2.0 was entered in this step, because the selected plane (top) will be
located at z = -2.0 in the new coordinate system.

Click the Flip button to change the direction of the normal vector for x-y plane (z-axis).
(see Figure Tutor5_1)

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Select the XZ Datum / Y-axis radio button and then select any point on the left side of
the stock that has not been milled. In the Y-axis New Value box, enter 3.00. This
indicates that this face will be located 3.0 units in y-direction with respect to the
new coordinate system. Again, note that the Original Position for this column
shows 0.0 which means that the selected face is located at y = 0.0 with respect to the
original coordinate system. Also, note that the IJK (normal) vector was
automatically calculated to be opposite to the original y-axis orientation. This was
done by calculating the outward facing normal for the selected face and comparing
it to the original y-axis.
Select YZ Datum / X-axis radio button and then select any point on the front side of the
stock that has not been milled. Examine the OriginalPosition value and the IJK
values for this surface.
In the X-axis New Value box, enter 5.00. This shows the x-position of the selected face
with respect to the desired location of the new origin.
Click on the Calculate button and see the location of the new coordinate system.
Compare the new location of the coordinate system with the one which is specified in
the figure.
Click OK to approve the new location for the coordinate system. You can see that the
result of these steps was to flip the coordinate system by 180 degrees about the x-
axis so the next operation will be performed on the bottom of the part.

Now load the second toolpath,“Tutor5_2.job”, by selecting Open from the File menu
and answering NO to the prompt asking you to change from solid to wireframe mode.
Select the file and the tool path will be loaded into the software and the previous part
will remain in the display. Flip the part by clicking on Flip Solid icon from the main
tool bar. View the next simulation in this orientation. Select the simulation mode
button and run the “Tutor5_2.job” file with the new coordinate system already in
place. As mentioned above, you can save the current work-in-process to a file after
any operation. (An average WIP file size is 5 megabytes.)

Step 3: Apply the second Repositioning Toolpath

Similar to Step 2, you need to prepare for the next operation in machining this part. In
this step, the milling will be performed on the left face of the part (see Figure
Tutor5_1). To reorient the coordinate system for the third toolpath, first flip the part to
display the top face on the screen. Then invoke the Reposition Toolpath menu item
from the Model menu, and fill out the dialog box as follows (see Figure Tutor5_1 for
reference).

Hint: In any of these steps, if you want to have the new coordinate system origin
located directly on any face or edge of the stock, you need to know the exact
dimensions of the stock after each operation. The dimensions of the stock after the
second operation are 4.75”X 2.75”X 2.00”. These numbers can be obtained from the
“Tutor5_2.nc” file in the DEMOS directory.

Select the XY Datum / Z-axis radio button.

Select any point on the left face. This will select a normal to the face in a direction
opposite to the original y-axis (see Figure Tutor5_1) and this will now represent the
direction of the new z-axis.

4-20
In the Z-axis New Value box, enter 0.00.

Select the XZ Datum / Y-axis radio button, and then select any point on the top face of
the stock.

In the Y-axis New Value box, enter 1.00. The normal to this face corresponds with the
desired direction of the new y-axis.

Select the YZ Datum / X Axis radio button, and then any point on the front face of the
stock.

In the X-axis New Value box, enter 4.75. This value is chosen, because the desired
location of the new origin will be directly on the back edge of the current part which
has an overall x-dimension of 4.75.

Click on the Calculate button and see the location of the new coordinate system.

Click OK to approve the new location for the coordinate system.

Now load the third toolpath,“Tutor5_3.job”, by selecting Open from the File menu
and answering NO to the prompt asking you to change from solid to wireframe mode.
Select the file and the tool path will be loaded into the software and the previous part
will remain in the display. Select the simulation mode button and run the
“Tutor5_3.job” file with the new coordinate system already in place.

TrueSolid Tutorials
The following tutorials will show you how to run some basic applications using NC
Verify TrueSolid. There are three applications in NC Verify TrueSolid: a Turning
Engine, a Milling Engine and the SuperTurbo Engine. The Turning Engine has the
capability of verifying 2-4 axis-turning applications. The Milling Engine has the
capability of verifying up to 5 axis-milling applications. SuperTurbo has the
capability to verify large 3-axis contouring files, extremely fast.

Tutorial #5
Objective
To learn the capabilities of the SuperTurbo engine in the NC Verify TrueSolid
product, including:

Getting started with the product.

Creating the stock or material that is to be machined.
Using the Camera Palette to set standard view orientations.
Dynamic graphics manipulation.
Comparison of “as designed” part with “as manufactured” part.
Generating a STL output file of the machined model.

4-21
Step 1
Click the Open File icon or select File → Open. This will invoke the File Open
dialog box. From the “Files of type” pull down list, choose “G Code files (*.NC,
*.NCC, *.TXT)”. From the DEMOS directory choose the “PHONE_RM.NC” file and
click Open.

Step 2
The NC Job Data dialog will be invoked with the Controller/Machine page open.

NC Job Data dialog

In the NC Job Data dialog, select the Tool Definition tab. The Tool Definition page opens up
displaying a list of all the tools being used in the current NC file. Enter the tool parameters
from the values shown in the table below (only some parameters will be changed for this
tutorial, and the others will remain the same). The current tool icon is displayed in the tool list
and also, the number of the current tool is listed in the Tool Number box. You can change the
current tool by clicking on the desired tool in the tool list. For this tutorial select ”Mill” from
the Tool Type pull down menu, and “Apt 7” form the Mill Tool Type field (You must select
"Apt 7" in order to activate the Corner Radius field).

Set the attributes for Tool 1 as follows:

Tool # Diameter Corner Radius Height
T01 0.25 0.125 2.0
You can also define D and H code offsets, if required by the NC file, by clicking on
the D code and H code tabs. You can also define Work Coordinate offsets by
selecting the appropriate tab in the dialog. You will not need to define these for this
tutorial.

4-22
When you are done, you can save Machine and Tool information as a JOB file. Select
the Save Job from the File menu. You will be prompted by the Save Job as dialog
box, Enter “PHONENC.JOB” as the job file name. Once the job file is created you
can choose to load the JOB file directly from the File menu.

Step 3
Select File → Click on SuperTurbo to activate the SuperTurbo mode.

Select Simulate → Settings… You can Update Display by either the Number of Lines
simulated or at each Tool Change. For this simulation, set the Number of Lines for
SuperTurbo to 10000. The Number of Lines for SuperTurbo should be determined by
the file size. It is recommended that the image be updated less frequently for larger
files. When the image is updated more frequently, it will take longer to process the
simulation. The simulation can also Stop at either the End of the simulation or at any
of a number of break points which can be set in the Simulation Settings dialog box..

Select Model → Tolerances… This will invoke the Tolerances dialog box.
The options for Units are either Inch or Metric. For this simulation you should choose
Inch.

4-23
You can also determine the NC to Solid Tolerance, Display Tolerance or Model
Tolerance, which has three different settings: low, medium or high. A change in either
setting, to a higher tolerance, will result in a slower simulation. The option, Design
Comparison Tolerance, can be set with a value for acceptable deviation between the
“as designed” and the “as manufactured” part. The design part offset normal to the
design part surface when performing a design par comparison can be set using the
Design Part Offset

Step 4
Since NC G-code files do not contain stock information, you have to define a stock.
Select Model → Stock → Box. The Create Box dialog opens up. If you know the exact
stock dimensions enter the XYZ coordinates of two opposite corners of the Box. If
you do not know the exact stock data, NC Verify can compute an approximate stock
size and shape from the data in the NC G-code file. For this simulation:
Click on the Use Bounding Box button.
Select OK. You will see a Box stock appear on the screen.

Step 5
You can now rotate, zoom and use all the graphics manipulation features that NC
Verify TrueSolid offers for better viewing of the image on the screen.

To translate, hold the left mouse button down and move it to the desired location then
release the button. To rotate, hold the right mouse button and move it in the direction
you want to rotate the solid and then release the button.

4-24
To zoom, click the Zoom icon, or select the View menu → Zoom. This mode lets
you dynamically zoom into a region. Using the right mouse button, hold the button
down to draw a box on the screen and it will zoom into the region selected. The undo
icon will revert to the previous view. You can also use the incremental Zoom Up
and Zoom Down icons. A camera palette is invoked with standard orientations.
You can select one of these new orientations by clicking on the icon from the View
menu → Standard View. Choose Isometric view [1] on the Camera palette.

To start the simulation, click the Play/Start icon or select Simulate → Start.
Play/Start will update the stock at the frequency defined in the “Simulations Settings”
dialog outlined in Step 1. You can also stop the simulation at any time using the Stop
icon. For the fastest simulation click the Fast Forward icon which will run to
the end of the simulation. For a slower simulation, you can click the Step the
Simulation icon or Single Step option from the Simulate menu, which will move
the simulation through the file one line at a time (This is not recommended for large
files). If you would like to run the simulation again, select the Rewind Simulation
icon. This will reset the simulation.

Step 6
When the simulation is complete, you can read in a design part and compare it to the
final "manufactured" part on the screen. The software accepts design parts in STL file
format. To read the design part, select the Model menu → Design Part. This will
bring up the Open STL File dialog box. Select “PHONE_RM.STL” from the DEMOS
directory.

4-25
 Comparison Color Map

After the design part is read, select Inspect → Comparison. This will give you several
options to compare the “as designed” part with the “as manufactured” part.
Choose the Show difference option and it will display the Comparison Color Map. It
displays the results of design comparison based on this map. The color map has seven
color Ranges that can be modified by the user.

By selecting this option a side panel with the corresponding color icons will be
displayed. You can also type in the material height value into the fields next to the
color icons in order to color code various layers for design comparison. Please note
the value entered in the fields should be in an ascending order (highest to the lowest
value). You can click on the color icon to further modify the individual colors. For
this tutorial, choose three ranges from the Range field, now click on Apply.

Any time during or after of the simulation, you will be able to translate or rotate the
stock using the features outlined in step 5. You are able to rotate the stock using your
right mouse button, take a closer look using any of the Zoom features and change the
view using the Camera Palette.

Step 7
Once you have finished inspecting the part, you can export the "manufactured" or
"machined" part into an STL file. Select Model → NC to Solid. This will invoke an
NC to Solid dialog box. Create a file “PHONE_OUT.STL” and select Open. This will
create an output file in STL format.

Exit
To exit NC Verify TrueSolid, select File → Exit.

4-26
Tutorial #6
Objective:
To learn the capabilities of the Simulation engine in the NC Verify TrueSolid
software, including:
Identifying a stock or material that is to be machined
Using the Camera Palette to set standard view orientations
Dynamic graphic manipulation

Step 1
Start NC Verify TrueSolid.

Click the Open File icon or select the File menu → Open. This will invoke the
File Open dialog. From the DEMOS directory choose the “TUTOR5AX.CL” file and
click Open. Ensure SuperTurbo is turned off.

Step 2

Select Simulate → Settings… This will invoke the Simulation Settings dialog. In the
Update Display by section, under Number of Lines, type in 1 for Milling/Turning.
Click OK.

Step 3
Create a stock by selecting Model → Stock → Box if one has not been created.

Step 4
To start the simulation, click the Play/Start icon or select Simulate → Start.

Any time during the simulation, you can change between the WireFrame mode and
the Smooth Shading mode by using the corresponding icons.

4-27
During the simulation, you can also rotate, zoom and use all the graphics features that
NC Verify TrueSolid offers for better viewing of the image on the screen. To rotate,
hold the right mouse button and move it in the direction you want to rotate the solid
and then release the button.

To zoom, click the Zoom icon, hold the right mouse button down to draw a box on
the screen and it will zoom into the region selected. The undo icon will revert to
the previous view. You can also use the incremental Zoom Up and Zoom Down
icons. You can also select an orientation, by selecting one of the orientation options
from the Camera Palette icon.

Exit
To exit NC Verify TrueSolid, select File → Exit.

4-28
Tutorial #7
Objective:
To learn the capabilities of the Simulation engine running turning parts in the NC
Verify TrueSolid product, including:
Using the 2-D Rendering mode
Understanding the graphic capabilities
Inspecting/Measuring the final part

This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the concepts covered in Tutorials #1
and #2.

Step 1
Click the Open File icon or select File → Open. This will invoke the File Open
dialog. From the “Files of type” pull down list, choose “Sirius job files (*.JOB)” from
the drop down menu. Under the DEMOS directory choose the “TURN01.JOB” file
and click Open.

Step 2
Click the 2D Rendering icon or select View → Render → 2D (Turning).

Step 3
Select Simulate → Settings… to invoke the Simulation Settings dialog. In the Update
Display by section, in the Number of Lines section, type in 1 for Milling/Turning. (The
Number of Lines for Milling/Turning should already be set to 1 from Tutorial #2.)

Step 4
To start the simulation, click the Play/Start icon or select Simulate → Start.

4-29
Step 5
Click the Solid icon or select View → Render → Solid to view the 3D solid model.

Using the left and right mouse button, select a suitable view in which to render the
stock. Now click the Measurement icon or select Inspect → Measure… This will
invoke the Measurement Properties dialog. The dialog will default to the Diameter
section. Using your mouse pointer, choose any point on the stock and click on it. The
chosen point will be indicated by a cross on the model and you can see the
corresponding values in the dialog box.

4-30
For the Distance section, select the first point on the stock, then the second point and
the software will automatically calculate the distance between the points.

NC Verify TrueSolid allows you to rotate, zoom and choose from any of the camera
views in order to select any area of the part for measurement. Once you have finished
measuring, close the Measurement Properties dialog box.

Exit
To exit NC Verify TrueSolid, select File → Exit.

4-31
Chapter 5 Product Features

♦Note: Features marked by this symbol are available only in the full production
version of NC Verify™.

This chapter provides detailed descriptions of all the menu functions in NC Verify™.
For further explanation of certain functions, the corresponding sections of this manual
have been referenced.

File Menu
The File Menu deals with the various file open and save commands.

Open
Open program file (ALT F + O)

This command is used to open NC program files for simulation. It brings up a

standard File Open dialog box, which prompts you for the name of the file to be
opened. NC Verify also supports file extension names containing either numbers
and/or one character extensions. You can open the same NC program file more than
once using this command. With each successive open, the latest version of the NC file
is loaded again. This enables you to incorporate any changes you make to the NC
program file during an NC Verify session.

This command is available in both the Setup and Simulation modes. However, the
function behavior depends on the current mode. In Setup mode, reading an NC
program file implies the start of a new simulation session. Any existing data including
program and stock information is replaced. In Simulation mode, reading an NC
program file will replace/update the tool path information only. Any existing stock
data is preserved. This functionality enables you to run multiple NC programs on the
same workpiece.

All input files can be fully pre-read or read incrementally at run-time. If the input file
is fully pre-read then the system can back-plot, show the toolpath in wireframe and
provide other benefits like bounding box calculations for stock. However, pre-reading
may take a long time for very large files and will use more memory. For large files
(greater than 2 or 3 MB), it is better to use the run-time reading facility instead of pre-
reading. The pre-read/run-time option can be selected when opening a file by clicking
on the Pre-Read (or) Run-Time button in the File open dialog. You can cancel the
pre-reading or the run-time reading by selecting the Cancel in the File Open dialog
box.

5-1
 File Open dialog

The program file can be read in two different ways.

Pre-Read
This is the default mode for reading the NC program. The program is completely read
into memory before the beginning of simulation. This is useful in computing the stock
size based on the tool path limits, and also to display the back plot of the tool path
described by the NC program. For larger files, this method will require considerably
more free system memory to function efficiently.

You can cancel pre-read by selecting Cancel in the File Open dialog box.

Runtime Read
Use this option to read the file as the simulation is underway. This method is
recommended for large files or for hardware systems with insufficient RAM. (Refer to
Chapter 7 for discussions on efficient memory management). If this option is selected,
you will be unable to fit a stock (box or cylinder) to the tool path bounding box. The
simulation speed will be the same as in the Pre-Read mode.

You can cancel runtime read by selecting Cancel in the File Open dialog box.

Save Job
Save current settings in a job file (ALT F + S)

Use this command to save current NC program file settings to a job file. It brings up a
standard File Save dialog box that prompts you for the name of a file with a “.job”
extension. This command is available only if the current file is a G-code or job file. If
the currently selected file is a G-code file and a corresponding job file is not available,
then NC Verify will automatically create a job file. The Save Job command is used to
save the current settings, which include the tool list and the stock.
Note: Stock box and cylinder information can be saved between user sessions and
used in the next product session. Multiple stocks can also be saved in the job file. The
stock data will automatically be shown in the dialog box.

This command is available in both Setup and Simulation modes.

5-2
Read WIP file
Open a work-in-process file (ALT F + R)

♦ This command is used to read a work-in-process file saved from a previous

session. A standard File Open dialog is displayed listing all files with “.wip”
extension. Upon selection of a WIP file, NC Verify reads and displays the saved
work-in-process in the graphics view(s). Additional graphics views will be
automatically added if specified in the WIP file. After the file has been read, you can
run the normal simulation functions, for example:

• Begin the simulation at the beginning of the currently loaded program file.

• Specify a subset range of cutter location IDs; this is useful if you want to
resume the simulation at a particular CL point.

• Read a new program file.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

Write WIP file

Save the current work-in-process into a file (ALT F + W)

♦ This command is used to save the current work-in-process to a file. A standard

File Save dialog box will be displayed to enter the name of a file with “.wip”
extension. You can write multiple work-in-process files during a single simulation
session. An average WIP file size is 5 megabytes.

The work-in-process file contains the following information in binary format:

Number of Graphics views.

Size, shape, and orientation of the stock and fixtures in each Graphics view.

Solid work-in-process model in each Graphics view.

The work-in-process file does not contain the following information:
Any dynamic graphics display information, such as rotation or section states.

NC program information.
This command is available in Simulation mode only.

5-3
Read playback file
Open and read a playback file (ALT F + P)

♦ Use this command to view a previously recorded NC machining simulation. A

standard File Open dialog will be displayed listing all files with “.pla” extension.
Select the name of the playback file you want to read. After the playback file is read,
you will see Playback view(s) with the first frame of the playback file.

This command is available in both Setup and Simulation modes.

Write playback file

Save the current simulation to a file (ALT F + Y)

♦ This command saves the current simulation to a playback file. A standard File
Save dialog box will be displayed prompting you for a file name with a “.pla”
extension.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

Write Image file

Write an image file from the current graphics view (ALT F + I)

♦ Use this command to create a snapshot of the current screen image. You can
create an image file at any time during a session. A standard File Save dialog box will
be displayed prompting you for a file name with a“.bmp” extension. The image files
are saved in the same color format as the current session, i.e., 256-color or 64K-color
mode in either monochrome or color.

This command is available in both Setup and Simulation modes.

Page Setup
Set up the header and footer for printing document (ALT F + G)

This option is used for setting the header and footer of the image to be printed.
Selecting this button will invoke a dialog showing the current page setup. Modify the
settings as required and accept the changes by selecting the OK button.

Header
information
Footer appears at the top
information of the page. The
appears at the default is the
bottom of the current program
page. Default is name.
the page
Page Setup dialog for printing

This command is available in both Setup and Simulation modes.

5-4
Print
Print the image from the active graphics view to the current printer (ALT F + P)

Use this command to print the image in a Graphics view directly to a printer without
creating an image file. The image is automatically adjusted to be the best possible fit
to the page size. A print dialog will prompt you for options as shown below:

Use the Setup

button to
modify
advanced

Print dialog

Printing on a color printer sets the background to white by default.

This command is available in both Setup and Simulation modes.

Upgrade
List the advantages of upgrading from the Lite version to the full NC Verify product

Please refer to the section: Why upgrade from Lite to the full production version of NC
Verify? in Chapter 1.

Exit
Exit NC Verify (ALT F + E)

Use this command to exit NC Verify. You will be prompted to confirm the exit.
This command is available in both Setup and Simulation modes.

5-5
Model Menu
The Model menu deals with manipulation of stock, fixture and design parts.

Stock
Use this command to add a stock. This command invokes a cascade menu that will list
three kinds of stocks that can be added: Box, Cylinder and SLA solid. Select any one
stock type, this will bring up a dialog box to create the stock type, as shown below.
This command is available in Setup mode only.

Box
Create stock from a box primitive (ALT M + S + B)

Specify box using

two corners
Corner1 and
Corner2.

Use the Bounding Box

button to automatically
compute the box size
using the toolpath
bounds.

The Offset inflates

the box by the
Use the Modify Button to change the amount specified.
last edited stock, this would not
increase the number of stocks.

This command invokes the Create Box dialog. Use the Create Box dialog to specify a
box orthogonal to the coordinate axes using two corner points. You may either
manually enter the coordinates of the box corners, or let NC Verify establish the stock
coordinates by selecting the Use Bounding Box button. The Use Bounding Box
command will create the smallest box that completely encloses the toolpaths. In case
no toolpaths are currently in use, default box coordinates are used. The coordinate
values may be modified by entering a value for Offset. Offset will increase the size of
the bounding box in all directions by the value entered, i.e., it offsets each face by the
offset value. So, an offset of 0.5 increases each dimension by 1.0 unit. Select OK to
create the box or Cancel to abort the task. The Modify changes the last edited stock.
Both Ok and Modify buttons will dismiss the dialog box.

5-6
Cylinder
Create stock from a cylinder primitive (ALT M + S + C)

Define the cylinder

axis using two end
points: Axis point1
and Axis point 2.

Set the Diameter

in model units

Create Cylinder dialog

Selecting this command invokes the Create Cylinder dialog. Use the Create Cylinder
dialog to specify a cylinder by defining the cylinder axis and its diameter. The
cylinder axis is determined by its two endpoints: Axis point 1 and Axis point 2. Enter
the X, Y, Z coordinates of the two endpoints and the diameter in the respective fields.
Select OK to create a cylinder or Cancel to abort the task. The Modify changes the last
edited stock. Both Ok and Modify buttons will dismiss the dialog box.

SLA Solid
♦ Create stock from a SLA file (ALT M + S + L)

This option displays a standard file open dialog with the list of available SLA files
with a “.stl” extension in the directory path. NC Verify can read both ASCII and
binary SLA files. Select the required SLA file and press the OK button to accept or
Cancel to abort the task. For more information on SLA files, see Chapter 7.

Fixture
♦ Use this command to add a fixture. This command invokes a cascade menu
that will list three kinds of fixtures that can be added: Box, Cylinder and SLA solid.
Select a fixture type and the appropriate dialog box appears to create the fixture type,
as shown below.

This command is available in the Setup mode only.

Box
Create fixture from a box primitive (ALT M + F + B)
The process is the same as for creating a stock box. Please see stock creation.

Cylinder
Create fixture from a cylinder primitive (ALT M + F + C)
The process is the same as for creating a stock cylinder. Please see stock creation.

5-7
SLA Solid
Create fixture from a SLA file (ALT M + F + L)
The process is the same as for creating a stock SLA solid. Please see stock creation.

Design Part
Create a design part (ALT M + P)

♦ This command allows you to import a design part in SLA format for
comparison with the machined part. This option is usually used at the end of
simulation. A standard File Open dialog is displayed with the existing SLA files with
“.stl” extension in the directory path. Select the design part SLA file and press the OK
button. NC Verify reads the file and reports the status in the status bar at the bottom of
the main window.

This command is available in both Setup and Simulation modes.

Translate
Translate the highlighted solid (ALT M + T)

This command allows you to translate the highlighted solid in the currently active
Graphics view. A stock, fixture or a design part model has to be selected as follows
prior to using this command:
- select the pick icon from the toolbar or select View menu and Select button.
-To select a solid, use the left mouse button. Simply point to any of the solid’s
wireframe lines and click on it.

The selected model is highlighted in red. The Translate command displays a

Translate dialog as shown:

Translate dialog

You can translate in any direction by specifying a translation vector using the X, Y
and Z coordinate fields. When a translation is acceptable and the OK is selected, the
latest coordinates become the original position for any further transformations. The
Apply button applies the current translation to the highlighted solid. The Cancel
button lets you cancel the translations and closes the dialog.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

5-8
Rotate
Rotate the highlighted solid(ALT M + R)

Use this command to rotate the highlighted solid in the currently active Graphics
view. A stock, fixture or a design part model has to be selected as follows prior to
using this command.
- select the pick icon from the toolbar or select View menu and Select
button.
- To select a solid, use the left mouse button. Simply point to any of the solid’s
wireframe lines and click on it.

The selected solid is highlighted in red. The Rotate command displays a Rotate dialog
box as shown:

Rotate dialog

You can rotate about any of the orthogonal axes by selecting from the X, Y and Z axes
radio buttons. The amount of rotation can be varied using the Angle input field. Select
the OK button to accept the new orientation. The Cancel button cancels the rotation
and closes the dialog.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Scale
Scale the highlighted solid (ALT M + C)

Use this command to scale the highlighted solid in the currently active Graphics view.
A stock, fixture or a design part model has to be selected prior to using this command
as follows:

- Select the pick icon from the toolbar or select View menu and Select
button.

- To select a solid, use the left mouse button. Simply point to any of the solid’s
wireframe lines and click on it.

The selected model will be highlighted in red. The Scale command displays a Scale
dialog box as shown:

5-9
 Scale dialog

The Scale command is usually used to convert models from one unit system to
another. A Scale factor of 1.0 does not scale the model. For user convenience, a
choice of scaling from Inch to mm and mm to Inch is provided. Select the Other
button for custom scaling. The scaling can be performed on any highlighted models.
Note: Negative scale factors are not allowed.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Delete
Delete the highlighted solid (ALT M + D)

Use this command to delete the highlighted solid in the currently active Graphics
view. A stock, fixture or a design part model has to be selected prior to using this
command as follows:

- Select the pick icon from the toolbar or select View menu and Select
button.

- To select a solid, use the left mouse button. Simply point to any of the solid’s
wireframe lines and click on it.

The selected model is highlighted in red. The selected model is removed from the data
structure and the change is reflected in the Graphics view(s).

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Reposition toolpath
Reposition toolpath on a WIP model between two setup operations

NC Verify supports easy toolpath transformation between two subsequent setup

operations. There are two different approaches to repositioning the tool path:

- You can read in a new toolpath, select and highlight the toolpath and
reposition it using the translation and rotation dialogs. You can adopt this
method if you know the exact X, Y, Z offsets for translation and the exact
angle for rotation with respect to the previous toolpath. The final
transformations can be time consuming and/or hard to use.

5-10
 - Selecting the Reposition toolpath option from the Model menu will let you
select datum planes and axes from solid models and offset them to define the
new origin/coordinate system. NC Verify will automatically reposition the
new toolpath with respect to the new offset values (New Value entries) entered
in the dialog.

You will typically follow these steps to reposition the toolpath between two
subsequent setup operations:

1. Complete the first setup/simulation operation and have the final model on the
screen.

2. Invoke Reposition Toolpath from the Model menu. The Reposition Toolpath
dialog will be displayed.

3. Select Axes/Datum surfaces; the current values will be displayed.

4. Enter the new offsets.

5. Select Calculate to compute the new origin.

6. The new origin/coordinate system will be displayed in red

7. Select OK

8. Read the next toolpath. This toolpath will be positioned with respect to the
new origin/coordinate system

Reposition toolpath dialog

5-11
The Reposition Toolpath dialog has the following fields:

IJK
These fields are updated as new coordinate systems are defined. They show the
normal values for the new axes with respect to the original coordinate system axes.
These fields can be updated manually if the desired planes are not aligned with any
current model faces. For instance, all current faces are aligned with the orthogonal
coordinate system planes, but the desired new coordinate system would be oriented to
a plane at a 45 degree angle to the original coordinate system.

XY Datum - Z axis
Make this button current and select a face. This face will represent the orientation of
the new XY plane and the normal to this face will define the orientation of the new Z-
axis. Upon selecting a point on this face, the offset values under the old coordinate
system will be shown in the Original Position field. This value denotes how far the
selected point is from the XY=0 Plane passing through the old origin. Now enter the Z
value of this plane with respect to the new coordinate system in the New Value field.
Selecting the Flip Axis button will flip the axis normal and therefore reverse the
direction of the new Z-axis.

XZ Datum - Y axis
Make this button current and select a face. This face will represent the orientation of
the new XZ plane and the normal to this face will define the orientation of the new Y-
axis. Upon selecting a point on this face, the offset values under the old coordinate
system will be shown in the Original Position field. This value denotes how far the
selected point is from the XZ=0 Plane passing through the old origin. Now enter the Y
value of this plane with respect to the new coordinate system in the New Value field.
Selecting the Flip Axis button will flip the axis normal and therefore reverse the
direction of the new Y-axis.

YZ Datum - X axis
Make this button current and select a face. This face will represent the orientation of
the new YZ plane and the normal to this face will define the orientation of the new X-
axis. Upon selecting a point on this face, the offset values under the old coordinate
system will be shown in the Original Position field. This value denotes how far the
selected point is from the YZ=0 Plane passing through the old origin. Now enter the X
value of this plane with respect to the new coordinate system in the New Value field.
Selecting the Flip Axis button will flip the axis normal and therefore reverse the
direction of the new X-axis.

Feature Type
Coordinate and vector data from different feature types like plane and cylinder can be
used for repositioning. It is most common to use the Plane feature type.
• Plane: Select a point on the model, its normal and coordinates are used to
update the data fields.
• Cylinder: Select a point lying on a cylindrical feature. Its center coordinates
and axis vector will be used to update the data fields.

5-12
Reposition Data
Displays the values of the final location of the new origin and the new axes' directions
with respect to the WIP model from the initial setup or operation.

Calculate
Selecting this button calculates the new origin with the latest values entered in the
Reposition Toolpath dialog. The new origin for the new toolpath will also be
displayed. This display will be in effect until the Reposition Toolpath dialog is closed.

Note: The original origin/axes display will remain in effect while the current
simulation is in progress. The new origin values will take effect only when the new
toolpath is read into NC Verify.

OK
The values entered in the dialog for toolpath transformation will be applied to the next
toolpath when it is read in.

Cancel
The toolpath transformation is canceled. Any data that has been entered in the dialog
will be discarded and will not be applied to the next toolpath read in. This button can
be used to cancel any existing transformation

Note: Please note that the new origin is defined first and toolpath transformation is
applied BEFORE the next NC /CL file is read.

If you want to use the WIP model in subsequent sessions after toolpath
transformation, there are two possibilities:

1. Read the saved WIP model in a later session, reposition the toolpath and start
the next simulation session by reading in a new NC/CL file. This approach
may not be desirable because measurements of the saved WIP model may not
be as accurate as they were when the WIP was first created. Reposition the
toolpath in the same session as the one in which the WIP model was created.
The repositioned toolpath information is documented in the log file
ncverify.out. Note down the new origin and axis values.

2. In the next session, invoke the Reposition Toolpath dialog and enter the new
origin and axes values that you noted from ncverify.out. Now start the next
simulation process.

The second approach is recommended.

Set Type
Change the type of highlighted solid(ALT M + Y)

Use this command to change type of the highlighted solid in the currently active
Graphics view. A stock, fixture or a design part model has to be selected as follows
prior to using this command.
Select the pick icon from the toolbar or select View menu and Select button.

5-13
To select a solid, use the left mouse button. Simply point to any of the solid’s
wireframe lines and click on it. The selected model is highlighted in red.

A solid displayed in the Graphics view(s) can be of type Stock, Fixture or Design part.
You can use the following three choices to change the model type. This command is
useful if you wish to say, convert a fixture model into a stock or vice versa.

This command is available in the Setup mode only.

Stock
Change the type of highlighted solid to a stock (ALT M + Y + S)

This option allows you to change type of the highlighted solid in the Graphics view to
a stock.

Fixture
Change the type of highlighted solid to a fixture (ALT M + Y + F)

This option allows you to change type of the highlighted solid in the Graphics view to
a fixture.

Part
Change the type of highlighted solid to a design part (ALT M + Y + P)

This option allows you to change type of the highlighted solid in the Graphics view to
a design part.

5-14
View Menu
The View menu deals with dynamic graphical manipulation of the geometric models
used in NC Verify.

In the Setup mode, the mouse interactions are controlled via three operational modes:
Selection, Orientation (panning and rotation), and Zoom. For more information on
mouse interactions, please refer to Chapters 3 and 4. The following three commands
enable you to switch between the three modes.

Select
Switch to selection mode(ALT V + L)

This command allows you to use the left and right mouse buttons to select models and
tool paths visible in the Graphics view(s). To select a solid, use the left mouse button.
Simply point to any of the solid’s wireframe lines and click on it. To select an area of
the toolpath to simulate, use the right mouse button to define a rectangular box that
will encapsulate the toolpath area that is to be simulated.

Select mode is a special mode. After you are done with graphical selection, it is
recommended that you leave the system in the more frequently used dynamic
translation and rotation mode.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Orient
Switch to orientation mode (ALT V + O)
This command allows you to use the left and right mouse buttons to pan and rotate the
models and tool paths visible in the Graphics view(s). In this dynamic mode, the left
mouse will dynamically translate and the right mouse will dynamically rotate any
toolpath, stock or fixture solid that you select on the screen.

• To translate, press the left mouse button, move it to the desired location and
release the button.

• To rotate, press the right mouse button and move it in the direction you want
to rotate the solid, and then release the button.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Zoom
Switch to zoom mode (ALT V + Z)

Dynamic Zoom in Setup/Wireframe Mode

This command allows you to use the left and right mouse buttons to zoom into a
particular region or towards and away from the models and tool paths visible in the

5-15
Graphics view(s). This mode lets you dynamically zoom the picture up or down or,
zoom into a region on the screen.

To dynamically zoom up and down, use the left mouse button. Press the left mouse
button and move the mouse up the screen to Zoom into the solid. While pressed, move
the mouse down the screen to Zoom away from the solid. When you have the desired
size of the picture, release the left mouse button.

You can also incrementally Zoom up and down by using and icons. Each time
you press the zoom up icon all objects in the screen will be zoomed up by a small
amount. Each time you press the zoom down icon all objects in the screen will be
zoomed down by a small amount.

To zoom into a region, use the right mouse button to define a rectangular box on the
screen. Press the right mouse button and drag the mouse while pressing the button.
This will draw a box in the screen. Release the right mouse button and you will zoom
into the region you selected.

Dynamic Zoom in Simulation/Solid mode

This feature allows users to dynamically zoom into the final solid or any intermediate
solid stock. The “Zoom” icon from the top toolbar will be active in both wireframe
and solid mode. To zoom into any solid, simply press the “Zoom” icon. This will
bring up a Zoom View window on the screen. This window is affected only by left
mouse button movements as described in the following paragraph. Pressing/moving
the right mouse button does not have any effect on the Zoom View window.

Zoom View window

5-16
In the Graphics and Zoom View windows
Use the left button to dynamically define the area of focus to zoom. Pressing the left
mouse button inside the graphics window will bring up a rectangular box that can be
moved around in the graphics window. This rectangular box defines the area of focus
in the graphics window to zoom into. The size of the rectangular box depends on the
Zoom factor that is in effect in the Zoom View window.

In the Zoom View window, you can see a zoomed view of the region defined by the
rectangular box. The zoom factor can be varied by moving the slide bar in the Zoom
View window OR by assigning a numerical zoom factor value in the Zoom View
window.

To summarize, the left mouse button selects an area in the graphics window to zoom
into. The results of the zoom are seen in the Zoom View window. The zoom factor
can be set inside the Zoom View window.

Accurate Solid Zoom in the Graphics window only

To zoom into a region, use the right mouse button to define a rectangular box on the
screen. Press the right mouse button and drag the mouse while pressing the button.
This will draw a box in the screen. Release the right mouse button. The system will
accurately zoom into the selected solid area. This may take little time to display the
accurate solid region you selected. The new solid zoom will be displayed in another
window.

To reset to the original image, press the reset icon.

Enhanced graphics
Enable/Disable Enhanced graphics mode

Use this button to enable/disable the Enhanced graphics mode. Enabling this mode
will provide better graphical visualization. The images on the screen will be very crisp
with clearly defines edges and very smooth surface texture. If this mode is enabled,
you can dynamically change the light source during simulation. This feature will slow
down the simulation.

This command is effective only in Simulation mode.

Machine type
This command sets the overall orientation of the camera to view the simulation
process. The machine types are Horizontal and Vertical. The camera orientations are
computed according to the machine type. The following two options allow you to
switch between the two modes.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

5-17
Vertical
Switch to vertical machine orientation (ALT V + M + V)

This option switches the camera to a vertical machine orientation.

Horizontal
Switch to horizontal machine orientation (ALT V + M + H)

This option switches the camera to a horizontal machine orientation.

Standard views
There are nine available views to orient the camera in the Graphics view(s). The
following options allow you to switch to any of the standard views. These commands
are also available via an intuitive camera palette shown in the picture, which can be
conveniently positioned anywhere on your screen. The camera views depend on the
machine orientation and automatically reflect the current orientation.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Top View

Left View Right View Front View

Bottom View
Isometric View
Isometric View
Camera palette

Front
Switch to front view (ALT V + V + F)

Switch to the front view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Back
Switch to back view (ALT V + V + B)

Switch to the back view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Left
Switch to left view (ALT V + V + L)

Switch to the left view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Right
Switch to right view (ALT V + V + R)

Switch to the right view of the model(s) and toolpath.

5-18
Top
Switch to top view (ALT V + V + T)

Switch to the top view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Bottom
Switch to bottom view (ALT V + V + O)

Switch to the bottom view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Isometric - 1
Switch to isometric view [1] (ALT V + V + 1)

Switch to the isometric view of the model(s) and toolpath as seen from the front and
left.

Isometric - 2
Switch to isometric view [2] (ALT V + V + 2)

Switch to the isometric view of the model(s) and toolpath as seen from the front and
right.

Isometric - 3
Switch to isometric view [3] (ALT V + V + 3)

Switch to the isometric view of the model(s) and toolpath as seen from the back and
left.

Isometric - 4
Switch to isometric view [4] (ALT V + V + 4)

Switch to the isometric view of the model(s) and toolpath as seen from the back and
right.

Fit
Fit the geometry to the view (ALT V + F)

Use this command to fit the contents of the currently active Graphics view to the
window bounds. This command is available in Setup mode only.

Center
Center the geometry in the view (ALT V + C)

Use this command to move the origin of the model(s) in the currently active Graphics
view to the center of the window. This command is available in Setup mode only.

Show axes
Show/Hide the coordinate axes in the view (ALT V + A)

5-19
Use this command to show or hide the display of the coordinate axes in the currently
active Graphics view. This command is available in both Setup and Simulation
modes.

Show tool axes

Show/Hide the tool axes in the view (ALT V + X)

Use this command to show or hide the display of the tool axes at the cutter location
points. Typically, this command is used for quick visual inspection of the tool paths
before the start of simulation. For speedier graphics manipulation, keep the tool axes
display hidden.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Rotate solid
Enable solid rotation (ALT V + R)

♦ This command enables the right mouse button to rotate the solid model in
Simulation mode. To rotate the solid, click on any location inside the Graphics view
using the right mouse, hold the right mouse button down and drag the cursor across
the screen. A small inset window at the center of the view will display a continuous
snapshot of the current orientation of the model. When you release the button, the
entire view is updated to show the new orientation of the model.

The solid model can be rotated about the vertical or horizontal axes, but only about
one of the axes at any time. The axis of rotation is determined by the position of the
cursor at the beginning of the action. If the cursor is closer to the top or bottom than to
the left or right of the current Graphics view, the rotation is calculated about the
horizontal axis. If the cursor is closer to the left or right sides of the view than the top
and bottom, the rotation takes place about the vertical axis.

If a switch in rotation occurs, i.e., from a horizontal rotation to a vertical rotation or

vice versa, the solid model is first reset to the original position and then rotated about
the new axis. Incremental rotations about the same axis are however, cumulative.

The effect of the change in rotation is not permanent, and this change has to be reset
for proceeding with Simulation, Sectioning or Analysis.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

Flip solid
Flip the solid model (ALT V +F)

This command flips the solid 180 degrees about the horizontal. This will not affect the
process of Simulation, Sectioning, Comparison or Analysis.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

5-20
Move light source
Enable dynamic light source change (ALT V + G)

This command enables the right mouse button to be used to change the light source on
the solid model in Simulation mode. If the Enhanced graphics mode is enabled you
can change the light source dynamically during simulation.

To change the light source, click on any location inside the Graphics view using the
right mouse, hold the right mouse button down and drag the cursor around within the
bounds of the view. A small inset window at the center of the view will display a
snapshot of the current lighting effect on the model. When you release the button, the
entire view is updated to show the light change effect on the complete model.

The Move light source command is used for visualization purposes only. The effect of
the change in light source direction is not permanent. The light source change has to
be reset before proceeding with Simulation, Sectioning, Comparison or Analysis.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

Shadow
Show/ hide shadows in the workpiece (ALT V + D)

♦ Use this command to show or hide the display of shadows in the solid model.
To display shadows, first change the light source and then activate this command.
This operation is computation intensive and it will take a few minutes to update the
display. Typically, this command is used to generate images for documentation
purposes.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

Translucent
Enable/ disable translucency (ALT V + T)

♦ Use this command to toggle the display of the solid model between opaque
and translucent shades. This command is especially useful to observe the machining
of holes, deep pockets and features on the back of the part.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

Monochrome
Enable/ disable monochrome display (ALT V + H)

The Monochrome command converts the color scale of the models into gray scale.
The background of the Graphics view(s) appears white and the original white lines

5-21
appear as black. The geometry is displayed in shades of gray. This command is
available in both Setup and Simulation modes.

Reset
Reset the solid model to its original state (ALT V + R)

Use this command to reset the solid model from any of the following temporary
states: Rotation, Light source change, Comparison or Sectioning. This command is a
quick way to reset the solid workpiece to its original state.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

New View
Create a new graphics view (ALT V + N)

♦ Use this command to create a new Graphics view. New Graphics views can be
created in Setup mode only. Use the Window menu commands to organize multiple
views in the workspace.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

View Input File

♦ Use this command to view the input NC program file. The default system
editor is notepad. You can change default editor name and its path in the System
Defaults dialog under the Options menu.

View Error Log File

♦ Use this command to view the error log file. The log file is dynamically
updated as the simulation continues.

Tool Menu
This menu deals with functions to set and/or alter tool configuration for simulation.

Show
Show or hide the tool (ALT T + S)

Use this command to show or hide the tool during the machining simulation. Hide the
tool if you desire faster simulation. The active mode is denoted by a check mark “9”
against the button.

This command is available in both Simulation and Setup modes.

5-22
Display mode
The tool can be displayed in three different modes during simulation: wireframe, solid
and continuous. The following three options allow you to switch between the modes.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

Wireframe
Show the tool in wireframe mode (ALT T + D + W)

This option displays the tool in wireframe. This is also the default setting. Wireframe
mode is the fastest mode for tool display. In this mode, the tool can be seen even if it
is behind any part of the workpiece. The tool is shown at each of the cutter locations.

Solid
Show the tool in solid mode (ALT T + D + S)

This option displays the tool as a solid. Hidden surface removal is active in this mode.
The tool is shown at each of the cutter locations.

Continuous display
Show the tool in continuous mode (ALT T + D + C)

This option displays the tool continuously. Continuous mode is the slowest mode for
tool display. In this mode, the tool is shown as a solid and the tool motion is smooth
as it moves from one cutter location to the next.

Color
Switch tool color (ALT + T + C)

The color buttons are used to select the color of the cuts during simulation. The active
color is denoted by a check mark “9” against the button. NC Verify automatically
cycles through all colors at each tool change when the option: Change color at tool
change is active. For more on this option, please see the description of Change color
at tool change. Select any of the color choices to make it the current color.

Yellow
Switch tool color to Yellow (ALT T + C + Y)

Orange
Switch tool color to Orange (ALT T + C + O)

Violet
Switch tool color to Violet (ALT T + C + V)

Green
Switch tool color to Green (ALT T + C + G)

Gray
Switch tool color to Gray (ALT T + C + R)

5-23
 Blue
Switch tool color to Blue (ALT T + C + B)

Cyan
Switch tool color to Cyan (ALT T + C + C)

Magenta
Switch tool color to Magenta (ALT T + C + M)

Tan
Switch tool color to Tan (ALT T + C + T)

Lime
Switch tool color to Lime (ALT T + C + L)

Change color at tool change

Change color at every tool change (ALT T + T)

Use this command to change the color of a cut at every tool change. Once all colors
are used, the cycle begins again. If this command is disabled, the current color is used
for all the cuts. This command is active by default.

Reset model color

This feature enables the user to reset the entire stock or current Work-In-Process model
color to one of the specified colors. This is especially useful in distinguishing between
the tool paths for multiple setup operations. This enables the users to paint the entire
WIP solid model (or current stock) to one color. Any further machining can be easily
distinguished by setting subsequent tool paths to different colors.

Selecting the Reset model color command brings up a submenu with two options:
Stock and Current tool color. Select Stock if you want to reset the model to the color
of the original stock. If you want to reset to any other color, first, set the current color.
This can be done by selecting the Color button from the Tool menu and choosing a
color from the list OR, by selecting a color from the Color drop-down list box at the
end of the setup toolbar. Now select Reset Model Color and select the Current Tool
Color option.

Edit Tool List

Edit the current tool list (ALT T + E)

Use this command to change the definitions of the tool(s) currently used in
simulation. This command can be used to dynamically change the tools and observe
the effect of different tools anytime during simulation. This command brings up the
Edit Tool List dialog. The Tool List dialog handles both milling and turning tools. The
Tool List dialog box has an icon interface (a graphical representation of each tool
type). You can enable and disable the tool by a single mouse click on the tool icon.
The disabled icon will have a red colored "X" over it.

5-24
You can view the Tool Data parameters by double clicking on the tool icon which in
turn opens the Cutter Information dialog box. The Cutter Information dialog box
displays the tool data information along with a 2D graphical representation of the
selected tool's dimensions.
Select the tool to display the corresponding fields. Use the fields in the dialog to
change the tool parameters and select OK to accept the changes. The changes are
immediately reflected in the simulation.

Tool List Edit dialog showing mill tool properties

5-25
 Tool List Edit dialog showing turn tool properties

Defaults
Configure tool defaults (ALT T + F)
Use this command to modify the default settings for the tool. These settings are used
if the tool definition(s) in the program contain incorrect or insufficient data. This
command invokes the property pages for milling and turning tools as shown in the
following pictures.

Set your tool limits

Create the
tool default

APT 7
parameter to APT 7 parameter
define a tool: to define a tool:
[1] Diameter
[2] Corner [4] Alpha
Radius angle

[5] Beta angle

[6] E- length

Tool Defaults - Mill tool property page

5-26
To accept the changes made in the dialog, select OK. The Cancel command retains
previous settings. To reset the values to the manufacturer suggested defaults, go to the
Options menu and select Reset button in the System Defaults dialog.

Simulate Menu
This menu deals with commands to run and control machining simulation. During an
active session, NC Verify can be in two distinct modes of operation: Setup mode,
when the simulation parameters are set up, and Simulation mode where the actual
simulation and analysis of the workpiece is done. The following two commands allow
you to switch between the two modes.

Setup
Switch to Setup mode (ALT S + S)

Switch to Setup mode. All simulation parameters regarding workpiece setup, tools,
camera and orientation are determined in this mode. In this mode, all the solid models
of the tool and workpiece are displayed in wireframe. This is the default mode when
NC Verify is invoked. Switching to this mode implies that you are preparing for a
new simulation session.

Simulate
Switch to Simulation mode (ALT S + M)

Switch to Simulate mode. Make sure that all the simulation parameters are set, prior
to entering this mode. Opening a program file when this mode is active will process
the current workpiece with the new program file. If this command is activated from
Setup mode, the product switches to Simulate mode, and a solid model of the current
workpiece is created. If the command is activated in Simulate mode, existing work-in-
process model(s) is reset to its original state. The effect in this case is similar to that of
switching from the Setup mode. You will, however, be asked to confirm this:

Reset simulation dialog

Turbo
Activate/Deactivate Turbo option (ALT S + T)

In Turbo mode, your simulation will run at close to twice the speed of regular
simulation. In this mode, the display is not updated during simulation. The status bar

5-27
will show the latest simulation information via the CL ID, the percentage of the file
processed based on machining time, and the computed machining time for the
process. The control panel, if visible, is not updated.

You can switch between normal and Turbo simulation modes anytime during the
simulation process. Note that the Turbo mode is deactivated when the simulation is
stopped. Reactivate the Turbo command at anytime to enable faster simulation.

CL range
Input a CL range for simulation (ALT S + C)

♦ Use this command to set a range of CL points that need to be simulated.

You can simulate a subset of the CL points in the program file. This
command assumes that you know the extent and the numbers of the CL
points that you need to simulate. The CL-range command activates the
following dialog:

Picture: Set CL ID range dialog

Enter the start and end CL IDs in the respective fields. The default values are First
and Last. The OK command accepts the settings, Cancel command retains previous
settings and the Entire command sets the defaults to First and Last.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Use all CL
Use the complete file for simulation (ALT S + U)

This command overrides any previous settings to simulate a particular range of CL

IDs. This command is a quick way to set the simulation range for the entire file. This
is a default setting for NC Verify.

This command is available in Setup mode only.

Record simulation
Start and stop recording the current simulation (ALT S + R)

♦ Use this command to create a playback file for the current simulation. You can
activate this command anytime during the simulation process. The recording will take
place until this command is deactivated.

5-28
 Note that the playback file cannot be viewed if the recording is still active. Make sure
to stop the recording before attempting playback. On starting a new recording, you
will be prompted for a filename. Playback files require a “.pla” extension.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

Start
Start the current simulation/playback (ALT S + A)

♦ This command starts the simulation or playback. The action depends on the
currently active view. If a Graphics view is active and NC Verify is in Simulation
mode, then the command starts the simulation. If a Playback view is active, the
command starts the playback.

Go to
Continue simulation/playback to this logical break point (ALT S + G)

♦ The following choices can be used to set simulation break points:

Next CL point
Continue simulation/playback to next CL point (ALT S + G + P)

Continue simulation/playback to the next CL point. This is useful if you wish to

observe the simulation status at every CL point.

Next tool
Continue simulation/playback to the next tool change (ALT S + G + T)

Continue simulation/playback to the beginning of the next tool change.

Next error
Continue simulation/playback to the next error (ALT S + G + R)

Continue simulation/playback to the detection of the next machining error.

End
Continue simulation/playback to the end (ALT S + G + E)

Continue simulation/playback to the end of the range of the CL points. In Simulation

mode, the default range is from the beginning to the end of the program file. You can
change this range using the CL range command or by interactively selecting a region
on the Graphics view using the mouse. For more information on mouse interactions,
refer to Chapters 3 and 4.

In the playback mode, you have the following choices in addition to the choices above:

5-29
Previous CL point
Continue playback to the previous CL point (ALT S + G + L)

Playback to the previous CL point.

Previous tool
Continue playback to the previous tool change (ALT S + G + O)

Playback to the previous tool change.

Previous error
Continue playback to the previous error (ALT S + G + V)

Playback to the previous machining error.

Beginning
Continue playback to the beginning (ALT S + G + B)

Continue playback to the beginning of the program file. This mode in effect displays
the entire machining process in reverse.

Stop
Stop simulation/playback (ALT S + P)

♦ Use this command to stop the simulation or playback. The action depends on
the currently selected view. If the active view is a Graphics view and the simulation is
in progress, then the simulation is stopped. If the active view is a Playback view, and
if the playback is in progress, then this command will stop the playback.

Inspect Menu
♦ This menu has commands to analyze the machined workpiece. The commands
include functions for measurement, design comparison, sectioning and chip removal.

Measure
Analyze the workpiece (ALT I + M)

Use this command to measure and query the solid model, after or during the
simulation process (by temporarily suspending simulation). This command is used in
Simulation mode only. The measure command invokes the following dialog:

5-30
 CLID of the cut
at the selected
Measure
The point on
property
the solid that
you selected
using the left

Message field
tells you about
the accuracy of
the current
measurement.

Measure properties dialog - Point page

Measurements can be taken when the model is sectioned, but not when it is rotated.
The measure dialog has one page for each property of the solid that can be queried
and two pages for feature based measurement. The dialog has two additional pages for
feature based measurement. To display the current measurements, simply click on the
desired point of the solid model to query the property. The updated values will be
displayed in the corresponding fields.

Point
The measure dialog opens with this default property. If any other page is active, click
on the Point tab to activate the property page. Click on any part of the solid model
using the left mouse button. The point clicked is highlighted by a crosshair symbol.
The dialog displays precise coordinates of the point and the surface normal (the
direction perpendicular to the surface) at that point. A message field below the
coordinate fields informs you the about the accuracy of the measurement. For less
than accurate measurements, surface normals are not displayed.

Distance
NC Verify can measure distance between any two points on the solid workpiece. This
is especially useful to measure distances between different planes and faces on the
workpiece. The distance computation is exact unless otherwise noted. The distance
measurement is given as absolute values for each of the principal coordinates and also
as the absolute distance between the two points as illustrated in the picture below. To
measure the distance, select a point on the solid workpiece using the left mouse

5-31
button. A cross hair will be drawn at the selected point. Hold the button down and
move the cursor to the second point on the solid. When the mouse button is released, a
second cross hair will be drawn at this point. The distance property dialog will be
updated accordingly to reflect the current measurements.

Point 1 and Point

2 are the first and
second selected
points

absolute
difference along
each of the
principal axes

The total
absolute distance
between the two

Measure Properties dialog - Distance page

Radius
NC Verify can measure the radius of any curved surface along any of the three
principal planes. If the point on the curved surface is selected accurately, then the
radius is computed precisely. The radius value is given in the current system units. To
measure the radius, select the principal plane to measure the radius on. Then select the
desired point on the solid with the left mouse button. If the radius computation was
not successful, then the message area in the lower portion of the measure radius page
will reflect the current comment.

5-32
 Select the
reference
plane to
compute the
radius

Center of the
circle about
the selected
Radius of the
circular
surface on the

Measurement
result

Measure Properties dialog - Radius page

Thickness

CLID of the
cut at the
selected point

The thickness
of the part at
the selected
point

Message field
tells you about
the accuracy
of the current
measurement.
Measure Properties dialog - Thickness page

Tool
This property page reflects the tool that made the cut and the tool motion associated
with the cut. Click on any point on the surface of the solid model using the left mouse

5-33
button. A crosshair appears directly under the point that was chosen. The CLID field
shows the CLID of the tool motion that made the cut. The Tool and Motion fields will
display the corresponding tool and tool motion descriptions.

CLID of the cut

at the selected

Cutter
statement from
the program
that made this

Tool motion
statement from
the program
that made this
Measure Properties dialog - Tool page.

Time
The time dialog displays the actual machining time taken until the last tool motion.
This function is useful if measurements are made before the end of simulation. The
time page displays the total computed machining time and the machining time to this
last tool motion. At the end of the simulation, the total time will be equal to the time
to the last cut.

CLID of
the cut at
the
selected

Measure Properties dialog - Time page

5-34
Volume

Measure Properties dialog - Volume page

The Volume measurement shows the current state of the material removal process.
The Current volume and the Volume removed fields are updated as the simulation
progresses. The volume is measured in model units.

Feature
This tab opens up a property page, which lets you identify and measure the properties
and attributes of a specific feature. You can measure the properties of the following
features on a solid: vertex, edge, plane, cylinder, and axis line.

Selecting a feature from the screen

Features can be identified automatically by NC Verify, or the user can manually select
an adequate number of points to uniquely identify a feature.

For NC Verify to automatically select a feature do the following:

- Make sure the Manual Pick button is not checked
- Move the mouse as close as possible to the feature you want to select
- Click the left mouse button and the selection will snap to the feature that is
closest to the point you clicked on.

If you wish to manually select a feature, do the following:

- Make sure that the Manual Pick button is checked.
- You will have to pick anywhere between 1 - 3 points depending on the
feature type to uniquely identify it.
• To pick 2 points on the feature, click the left mouse button on the first
point, hold the button down, drag the mouse to the second point and
release the button.
• To pick 3 points on the feature, click the left mouse button on the first
point, hold the button down, drag the mouse to the second point and
release the button. Click down on the second point, drag the mouse to the
third point and release the button.

5-35
 Measure properties dialog: Feature page

Vertex
Set the Feature Type to Vertex. For this, click on the down arrow and select Vertex
from the Feature Type drop-down list box. If the Manual Pick option is ON select 3
points, one each on a distinct face that makes up the vertex. The X, Y, Z coordinates
of the vertex are displayed in the appropriate data fields.

Edge
Set the Feature Type to Edge. For this, click on the down arrow and select Edge from
the Feature Type drop-down list box. If the Manual Pick option is ON select 2 points,
one each on a distinct face that makes up the edge. Only straight lines will be selected
as edges. The X,Y,Z coordinates of a point on the edge that is closest to the picked
points is displayed in the coordinate fields. The vector corresponding to the edge is
displayed in the direction fields.

Plane
Set the Feature Type to Plane. For this, click on the down arrow and select Plane from
the Feature Type drop-down list box. Select any point on the plane. The X,Y,Z
coordinates of the selected point on the plane are displayed in the data fields.

Cylinder
Set the Feature Type to Cylinder. For this, click on the down arrow and select
Cylinder from the Feature Type drop-down list box. If the Manual Pick option is ON,
select 3 points lying on the surface of the cylinder. The following data is displayed in
the appropriate fields:
• The X,Y,Z coordinates of a point on the axis of the cylinder that is closest to the
selected points.
• The I, J, K coordinates denoting the direction vector of the cylinder axis line.
• The radius of the selected cylinder.

5-36
Axis Line
Set the Feature Type to Axis Line. For this, click on the down arrow and select Axis
Line from the Feature Type drop-down list box. If the Manual Pick option is ON
select 3 points lying on the surface of the feature. The following data is displayed in
the appropriate fields:
• The X,Y,Z coordinates of a point on the axis of the feature that is closest to the
selected points.
• The I,J,K coordinates denoting the direction vector of the axis line.

Feature - Feature
This tab opens up a property page, which lets you identify and measure the properties
and attributes of a pair of features. Feature 1 and Feature 2 are two sections used to
record the attributes of the pair of features. If the Feature 1 section is currently active,
the data from the mouse button clicks is recorded in the Feature 1 section and
likewise for Feature 2. Please refer to the section on Selecting a feature for more
information on identifying and selecting features on the solid that is displayed on the
screen. You can measure the properties of the following pairs of features on a solid:

Vertex - Vertex
NC Verify computes the distance between two vertices that you select on the solid.

Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Vertex. Select the first vertex.
The X,Y,Z coordinates are displayed in the data fields in the Feature 1 section. Set
the Feature Type field in the Feature 2 section to Vertex. Select the second vertex.
The X,Y,Z coordinates are displayed in the data fields in the Feature 2 section.
(Please refer to the previous section on Features for details on selecting a vertex).

Click on the Calculate button. The distance between the two vertices is shown in the
display window at the bottom of the dialog box.

Vertex - Edge
NC Verify computes the following attributes:
- the shortest distance between the vertex and the edge
- coordinates of a point on the edge that is closest to the vertex

Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Vertex. Select the first vertex.
The X,Y,Z coordinates are displayed in the data fields in the Feature 1 section. Set
the Feature Type field in the Feature 2 section to Edge. Select the Edge. The X,Y,Z
coordinates of the selected point on the Edge are displayed in the data fields in the
Feature 2 section. (Please refer to the previous section on Features for details on
selecting a Vertex and an Edge).

Click on the Calculate button. The attributes are shown in the display window at the
bottom of the dialog box.

5-37
 Measure properties dialog: Feature - Feature page

Vertex - Plane
NC Verify computes the following attributes:
- the shortest distance from the vertex to the plane
- coordinates of a point on the plane that is closest to the vertex

Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Vertex. Select the first vertex.
The X,Y,Z coordinates are displayed in the data fields in the Feature 1 section. Set
the Feature Type field in the Feature 2 section to Edge. Select the Plane. The X,Y,Z
coordinates of the selected point on the Plane are displayed in the data fields in the
Feature 2 section. (Please refer to the previous section on Features for details on
selecting a Vertex and a Plane).

Click on the Calculate button. The attributes are shown in the display window at the
bottom of the dialog box.

Vertex - Cylinder, Vertex - Axis Line

NC Verify computes the following attributes:

- the shortest distance from the Vertex to the Axis Line

- coordinates of a point on the Axis Line that is closest to the vertex

5-38
Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Vertex. Select the Vertex. The
X,Y,Z coordinates are displayed in the data fields in the Feature 1 section. Set the
Feature Type field in the Feature 2 section to Axis Line or Cylinder. Select the
Cylinder or the feature. The X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected point on the Axis Line,
the direction vector of the Axis Line and the radius (if a Cylinder was selected) are
displayed in the data fields in the Feature 2 section. (Please refer to the previous
section on Features for details on selecting a Vertex, Cylinder and Axis Line).

Click on the Calculate button. The attributes are shown in the display window at the
bottom of the dialog box.

Edge - Edge
If the Edges intersect, NC Verify displays:
- the coordinates of the intersection point
- smallest angle between the two edges between 0 and 90 degrees
If the Edges are parallel, NC Verify displays:
- the distance between the two edges
If the Edges are non-parallel and non-intersecting (i.e. skewed), NC Verify displays:
- the shortest distance between the two edges

Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Edge. Select the first Edge. The
X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected point on the Edge are displayed in the data fields in
the Feature 1 section. Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 2 section to Edge.
Select the second Edge. The X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected point on the Edge are
displayed in the data fields in the Feature 2 section. (Please refer to the previous
section on Features for details on selecting an Edge).

Click on the Calculate button. The attributes are shown in the display window at the
bottom of the dialog box.

Edge - Plane
If the Edge and Plane are parallel, NC Verify displays:
- The distance between the Edge and Plane
If the Edge and Plane are non-Parallel, NC Verify displays:
- The coordinates of the intersection point

Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Edge. Select the Edge. The
X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected point on the Edge are displayed in the data fields in
the Feature 1 section. Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 2 section to Plane.
Select the Plane. The X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected point on the Plane are
displayed in the data fields in the Feature 2 section. (Please refer to the previous
section on Features for details on selecting an Edge and a Plane).

Click on the Calculate button. The attributes are shown in the display window at the
bottom of the dialog box.

Edge - Cylinder, Edge - Axis Line

If the Edge and Axis Line are parallel, NC Verify displays:
- Distance from Edge to Center Line
If the Edge and Axis Line intersect, NC Verify displays:

5-39
 - Coordinates of the Intersection Point
If the Edge and Axis Line are non-parallel and non-intersecting (i.e., skewed),
NC Verify displays
- The shortest distance from Edge to the Axis Line

Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Edge. Select the Edge. The
X,Y,Z coordinates are displayed in the data fields in the Feature 1 section. Set the
Feature Type field in the Feature 2 section to Axis Line or Cylinder. Select the
Cylinder or the feature. The X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected point on the Axis Line,
the direction vector of the Axis Line and the radius (if a Cylinder was selected) are
displayed in the data fields in the Feature 2 section. (Please refer to the previous
section on Features for details on selecting an Edge, Cylinder and Axis Line).

Click on the Calculate button. The attributes are shown in the display window at the
bottom of the dialog box.

Plane - Cylinder, Plane - Axis Line

If the plane and the Axis Line are parallel, NC Verify displays:
- Distance from the Plane to Center Line of the Cylinder or, the Axis Line
If the Plane and Axis Line are non-parallel, NC Verify displays:
- The coordinates of the point of intersection

Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Plane. Select the Plane. The
X,Y,Z coordinates of a point on the plane are displayed in the data fields in the
Feature 1 section. Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 2 section to Axis Line or
Cylinder. Select the Cylinder or the feature. The X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected
point on the Axis Line, the direction vector of the Axis Line and the radius (if a
Cylinder was selected) are displayed in the data fields in the Feature 2 section.
(Please refer to the previous section on Features for details on selecting an Edge,
Cylinder and Axis Line).

Click on the Calculate button. The attributes are shown in the display window at the
bottom of the dialog box.

Cylinder - Cylinder, Cylinder - Axis Line

If the Axis Lines are parallel, NC Verify displays:
- Distance between the Axis Lines
- Separation along X, Y, and Z axes

If the Axis Lines are non-parallel, NC Verify displays:

- the coordinates of the intersection point
- the angle between the two Axis Lines

Set the Feature Type field in the Feature 1 section to Cylinder or Axis Line. Select
the first Cylinder or other feature. The X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected point on the
Axis Line, the direction vector of the Axis Line and the radius (if a Cylinder was
selected) are displayed in the data fields in the Feature 1 section. Set the Feature Type
field in the Feature 2 section to Axis Line or Cylinder. Select the second Cylinder or
other feature. The X,Y,Z coordinates of the selected point on the Axis Line, the

5-40
direction vector of the Axis Line and the radius (if a Cylinder was selected) are
displayed in the data fields in the Feature 2 section. (Please refer to the previous
section on Features for details on selecting an Edge, Cylinder and Axis Line).

Click on the Calculate button. The attributes are shown in the display window at the
bottom of the dialog box.

Section
Section the workpiece (ALT I + S)
Use this command to perform sections on the workpiece solid. This command
displays the following dialog:

Normal
Point definition
definition

Scroll bar to
step along the

Section dialog
A section plane is defined by a point on the section plane and a normal vector that is
perpendicular to the plane.

To define the section plane, the point and the normal vector values can be directly
entered in the Point on plane and the Normal vector fields. On selecting Apply, the
section is performed and the result is displayed in the currently active Graphics view.

To perform successive sections using parallel planes along the normal, you can select
a point on the model by clicking on it using the left mouse button. The point
coordinates will be displayed in the Point on plane fields. The normal vector specified
in the Normal vector field is used. A section will now be made at the selected point
using the new section plane definition.

Alternately, you can step along the normal to perform parallel sections using the
scrollbar. This allows you to step in both directions along the normal by the amount
specified in the field next to the scroll bar. You can also directly change the value in
the scrollbar field and create a new section plane.

The Cancel button cancels the section procedure and the solid model reverts back to
its original shape.

Compare with design

Compare with design part (ALT I + C)

Use the Compare function to do a dimensional evaluation of the machined part

against the designed part.

5-41
To do the comparison, the "as-designed" part must be read in from a SLA file. To
read the design part, select the Design part command from the Model menu. The
design part can be read both in Simulation and Setup modes. However, if the part
needs to be oriented or scaled to match the coordinate system of the NC program, it
must be read in the Setup mode itself.

NC Verify computes the deviation of the machined part from the actual design part.
This usually takes a few minutes. The part is rendered in a translucent light-gray
color; overcuts (i.e., gouges) are shown in red; undercuts are shown in blue. You
cannot measure any parameter in this mode. In comparison mode, the image can be
flipped, but not rotated.

NC Verify supports three different comparison modes. To select a certain mode set
the following parameters in the NCVERIFY.INI file.
• Regular mode with translucency: This is the default comparison mode. Make
the following changes to the INI file.
ComparisonMode=<<blanks>>
(or, this line may be skipped entirely)
• Regular mode with no translucency
ComparisonMode=NonTranslucent
• Display gouges and uncut areas only
ComparisonMode=OnlyGougeUncut
Select the Compare button again to reset the solid model.

Remove chips
Remove chips from the view (ALT I + R)

Use this command to remove any extraneous pieces of the original material left
behind in the simulation process. Prior to activation of this command, make sure you
have selected the main machined component by clicking on the part using the left
mouse button.

While the removal calculation is underway, the part will be shaded in red to show
progress. Chip removal is done only in Simulation mode. You can perform chip
removal at any time during the simulation process.

If you have activated a viewing mode (rotation, enhancement, sectioning, or

comparison) in the Graphics view, then you will be asked to reset the view and then
remove the chips.

Remove fixtures
Remove fixtures from the view (ALT I + F)

This command removes all fixtures setup for the simulation. You can perform fixture
removal at any time during the simulation process for better visualization of the stock.
Fixture removal is done only in the currently active Graphics view.

This command is available in Simulation mode only.

5-42
 Inspect errors
View errors during simulation

NC Verify supports advanced error detection and correction capabilities. If this option
is selected (a check mark will appear against this option under the Inspect menu) an
error output window will open up. The error log will be displayed here. During or
after the simulation, double click on an error message in the error output window. A
text editor is invoked with the NC program file or APT/CL file loaded as a text file.
The exact line that produced the error is highlighted. This feature is supported only for
ASCII readable input formats like NC G Code and APT/CL files.

Inspect input file

This feature allows users to graphically select any area on the toolpath and view the exact
line(s) in the input program responsible for the machining cut. This advanced feature
is extremely useful in inspecting and identifying the exact location of errors of the
input NC program.

To use this feature, start the simulation. At the end of the simulation or at any point
during the simulation, you can view the corresponding blocks of the input program. If
the simulation is in progress, stop the simulation by selecting the Stop button. Then
select Inspect Input File. NC Verify will bring up an editor with the input program.
Use the mouse and click on and select any portion of the current Work In Process
solid model. The corresponding line(s) that made the cut are highlighted in the input
(APT-CL or NC G code) file.

Options Menu
The Options menu is comprised of functions relating to overall system performance.
You can set session-wide and system defaults using commands in this menu.

Multi-Axis
Toggle Multi Axis motions (ALT O + M)

♦ This option is set automatically when a NC program file is read, to reflect the
presence or absence of multi-axis motions in the file. If you wish, you can de-select
this option for a multi-axis file; this will cause NC Verify to skip the file's multi-axis
motions.
NOTE: In the Lite version of NC Verify, this option is disabled by default. It handles
up to three axis motions only.

Write image at tool change

Image at tool change (ALT O + O)

♦ Set this option to automatically generate images from the Graphics view(s) at
every tool change during simulation. The images are generated with unique names
derived from the program file name by using the first 5 characters of the NC program
file name followed by a 3-digit serial number indicating the sequence of the message,
followed by a “.bmp” extension.

5-43
Write image at error
Image at error (ALT O + R)

♦ Set this option to automatically generate images from the Graphics view(s)
whenever an error is detected, and also at the end of the program. Errors are defined
as:
any rapid cut into the stock
any cut into a fixture
any holder or shaft cut into stock or fixture
The images are generated with unique names derived from the program file name by
using the first 5 characters of the NC program file name followed by a 3-digit serial
number indicating the sequence of the message, followed by a “.bmp” extension.

Enhance when writing image

Enhance image (ALT O + E)

♦ This option will automatically enhance the images before saving to the files.
For more information on the Enhance command, see the Enhance button in the View
menu.

Toolbars
Show all toolbars (ALT O + T)

Use this command to show all toolbars. NC Verify supports three toolbars: SetupBar,
SimulateBar and the CameraBar. Activating this command will show all these three
toolbars. If all of them are currently active, this command will have no effect.

To selectively show and hide individual toolbars, use the right mouse button and click
on the status bar present at the bottom of the Main window or on the gray space next
to any toolbars below the menus. A menu will appear below the cursor showing the
status of the toolbars. Select any of the toolbars to show or hide it.

Reset Toolbars
Reset all toolbars (ALT O + B)

This command will reset all toolbar locations. Hence if the camera bar is lost, it can
be brought back using this button. The Reset Toolbar button is also available in a pop-
up menu, which can be invoked by clicking the right mouse button on a gray area in
the status bar or, a gray area on any toolbar within the main NC Verify window.

Toolbar type
This command allows you to choose Simple or Regular Tool bar views. If you select
Simple Tool bar type, you will see the Open, Setup, Simulate, Start, Stop, and Camera
icons displayed on the Tool bar. The Regular option displays the complete tool bar
icons.

5-44
Status Bar
Show/hide the status bar (ALT O + S)

Use this command to show/hide the status bar (the messaging area at the bottom of the
Main window).

Control Panel
Show the control panel (ALT O + C)

Use this command to create a new Control Panel. Simply click on this button to create
a new Control Panel. Note that only one Control panel is allowed to be present at any
time. To remove the control panel, double click the (-) sign at the top left hand corner
of the Control Panel.

System Defaults
Edit the system defaults (ALT O + D)

The system defaults are categorized into three main groups: File, Graphics and
Miscellaneous. Each group is represented by a property page. These defaults are
maintained across sessions. After making changes to the NC Verify system defaults,
you can select OK to accept the changes or Cancel to retain the previous settings. The
Reset button will reset all the defaults to the manufacturer-selected values. You will
be asked to confirm this command.

Select OK to proceed with the reset. Cancel will cancel the action.

5-45
File page

NC Verify System Defaults - File page

In the File property page, you can customize the file settings for NC Verify. The file
categories are:

Start-up Directory
You can set the start-up directory to be either the last open directory from the previous
session or any particular directory that you wish to use. To select a particular
directory, you can either type the directory path in the field or use the Browse
command to determine the correct directory path. The Browse command opens the
Find Directory dialog as shown below.

Select Directory dialog

Select OK to accept the directory that you wish to set or Cancel to abort the task.

5-46
Session Log file
You can set the session log to be written to any custom file. By default, the session
log file will be written to the working directory where NC Verify is installed.

Always process files at run time

You can either pre-read a NC program file or process it at run-time. If you pre-read,
the software will backplot the toolpath. You can set NC Verify to always process the
NC program files at run time. The advantage is that the system uses less memory
before and during the simulation. A major disadvantage with reading files at run time
is that you will not be able to see the back plot of the NC program in the setup mode.
Further, the automatic stock size computation of box and cylinder solid types will not
be possible, since the bounds of the tool path are not computed.

File Extensions
You can customize the file extensions for APT CL files and G code files using the
extension fields. By default, NC Verify supports “.apt” and “.cl” file extensions for
APT/CL files and “.nc” file extension for G-code files. You can add or change the file
extensions by adding your file extensions separated by “,”(comma) or “;”(semi-
colon). Please make sure that there are no spaces in the beginning or between file
extensions.

Graphics page
The graphics page lets you customize settings related to the graphics display and
geometry display in NC Verify. The settings are as follows:

Graphics Mode
NC Verify can operate in both 8 bit (256) color and 24 bit(> 65,000) color modes. The
decision to choose the correct mode depends on a few factors: If speed is the main
criterion, the 256-color mode is recommended. If your graphics driver can support
only 256 colors at your preferred screen resolution, you can use 256 colors only.
For more suggestions on ideal production system requirements, please see Chapter 2.

5-47
 NC Verify System Defaults - Graphics page

Machine type
The machine type option sets the default camera orientation for your system. For
example, if you primarily use NC Verify to verify programs for vertical machining
centers, then it would be convenient to adopt Vertical as your default setting.

Tolerances
NC Verify has several user configurable tolerances. They are:
Circular Interpolation
This tolerance is used to determine the chord height of any circle or arc tool
motions. The higher this tolerance (smaller number), finer will be the number of
tool motions created on the circle or arc, but it will take longer to simulate these
motions. The default system tolerance is 0.01 inches (or) 0.254 mm.
Form Tools
This tolerance determines the accuracy of milling & turning form tools, for the
circular segments of the special form tools. Decreasing this value will increase the
accuracy of the tool definition, but simulation will take longer. The default system
tolerance is 0.001 in inch or 0.0254 mm.

Turn Tools
This tolerance defines the arc and circular segments of the turning inserts. This
will defines the chord height for the curves in the insert. Increasing this value will
make the inserts more approximate and faceted with less number of segments, but
will increase the processing speed. Decreasing this value will create finer curves

5-48
on the insert corner and will increase the simulation time. The default system
tolerance is 0.002 in inch or 0.0508 mm.

Gamma Correction:
This tolerance is used to adjust the translucency factor for the translucent mode
and comparison mode. Recommended value is 0.01.
Design Part Comparison:
This tolerance is used to compare the “As Designed” part with “As manufactured”
part. If deviation between design part & manufactured part is greater than this
tolerance, it is reported as gouge or undercut. Areas where deviations are less than
this tolerance are ignored and are considered to match with design and
manufactured part. The default system tolerance is 0.01 in inches (or) 0.254 mm.
Turning Sides:
This number controls the tolerance used for revolving the turning tools for turning
operations. Higher number of turning sides will produce better display and more
accurate turning parts. It is recommended that for large diameter parts, 128 or 144
sides be used. Higher the number of turning sides, slower will be the simulation.
The default system number of sides is 72.

Optimization
Use the settings in this section to optimize the performance of simulation in NC
Verify.

Optimize for small moves:

This flag is used to make simulation computation for small moves more efficient.
This flag is most effective when large files with a greater percentage of fine cuts
are processed. Activating this flag will greatly increase the speed of the
simulation. The actual increase will depend on the number of occurrences of small
moves in the program.

5-49
Misc page
Use the settings in this property page to set miscellaneous system wide defaults.

Dimensions
Select radius:
This is the radius of the circle around the cursor for selection of geometry or tool
paths. The larger the value, easier the selection. However, very large radius may
lead to incorrect selection. The recommended value is 3.
Marker radius:
This is radius of the circle enclosing the cross hair, which marks a point on the
solid model. The recommended value is 20.
Origin axes length:
This is the length of the axes displayed at the model origin. The recommended
value is 2.
Corner axes length:
This is the length of the axes displayed at the top left-hand corner of the view. The
recommended value is 37.
Rotate window size:
This is the size of the inset window used to display dynamic rotation and light
source changes. The recommended value is 150.
Bounding box offset:
This is offset of the box enclosing the tool path or geometry. The box is inflated
by this amount along all dimensions. The default is 0.5.

NC Verify System Defaults – Misc. page

5-50
Fit fraction:
The fraction of the size of the window to which all the models and toolpaths
displayed in the view must be fit to. Values can range from .1 to 1.0. Default value
is 0.9.
Turning cutter thickness:
Thickness of a turning cutter. This is used for display purposes only. The default
is 0.1.
Holder thickness:
Default value for the holder thickness.

Units
Switch between Inch and metric units (ALT O + U)

Use this command to switch between Inch and Metric units for the tool and system
default values. This command is used if you wish to run NC Verify under a different
system from the current. The default unit is inches. The change in units will affect all
the unit dependent tool defaults and computation tolerances.

Other
Beep
Enable or disable beep. Beep is used to warn or inform the user about simulation
and operational errors. Beep is enabled by default.
MultiAxis
Enable or disable multi axis motions. The availability of this option depends on
the kind of license for the product. For 5-axis licenses, this option is enabled by
default.
NOTE: Multi axis option does not apply to 3-axis and Lite versions of NC Verify.

5-51
Window Menu
This menu deals with window-related functions to organize views within the main
window.

Cascade
Cascade the views present inside the main window.

Tile Horizontal
Tile the view horizontally, one below the other.

Tile Vertical
Tile the views vertically, one beside the other.

Arrange Icons
Arrange the icons of the views inside the main window.

5-52
Help Menu
Index
List the index for on-line help.

Using Help
On-line help for using the help manager.

Troubleshooting
Display answers to frequently asked questions (ALT H + T)

Please refer to Chapter 9 Frequently asked questions and troubleshooting

About NC Verify
Display the about dialog (ALT H + A)
This command displays a dialog with details of the product license type and
ownership.

About NC Verify dialog

Memory status
Show current memory status (ALT H + M)

Use this command to display the information about the current memory status of your
computer. The Memory status dialog displays the complete memory information:

Physical memory

Load
Specifies a number between 0 and 100 that gives a general idea of the current memory
utilization, in which 0 indicates no memory use and 100 indicates full memory use.

5-53
Total
Indicates the total number of kilobytes of physical memory.

Available
Indicates the total number of kilobytes of physical memory available.

Memory Status dialog

Page file

Total
Indicates the total number of kilobytes that can be stored in the paging file. Note that
this number does not represent the actual physical size of the paging file on the disk.

Available
Indicates the number of kilobytes available in the paging file.

Virtual memory

Total
Indicates the total amount of kilobytes that can be described in the user mode portion
of the virtual address space of NC Verify.

Available
Indicates the number of kilobytes of unreserved and uncommitted memory in the user
mode of the virtual address space of NC Verify.

Use the Poll button to poll the system for the latest memory readings. Select OK to
close the dialog

5-54
Chapter 6 Tools and Holders

Milling Tools
Milling tools can be standard APT 7 parameter based tools or special form profile
tools. They are explained in the following sections.

Standard APT 7 parameter tools

Most milling tools can be defined by the industry standard APT 7 parameters. The
parameters are:
1: Diameter
2: Corner Radius (Fillet radius)
3: Height (Height of the cutting portion/ Flute length)
4: Bottom angle (Alpha angle)
5: Side angle (Beta angle)
6: E length (X distance from center line to center of corner radius)
7: F length (Y distance from center line to center of corner radius)

Please refer to the following illustration. The E & F lengths are optional, since they
can be computed automatically. In some cases, the E & F lengths may be modified to
create unconventional tool shapes.

Some of the standard tools can be defined as follows:

6-1
Flat End Mill

Diameter > 0 Height > 0

Corner Radius & other angles = 0

Radius End Mill

Diameter > 0
Height > 0
Corner Radius > 0 < Dia/2
All other parameters are = 0

Ball Mill

Diameter > 0
Corner Radius = Dia /2
Height > 0
All other parameters = 0

Drills

Diameter > 0
Height > 0
Bottom/Alpha angle > 0
Corner radius, Side/beta angle = 0

6-2
Tapered Ball Endmill

Diameter > 0
Corner Radius = Dia/2
Side Angle > 0
Height > 0
Bottom/alpha angle
Other parameters = 0

Special form tools for milling

NC Verify™ supports special form tools that are not covered by standard APT 7
parameters. Users can define any 2d profile as a tool shape. NC Verify will
automatically revolve the shape to create the tool. The form tool profiles are stored in
the TOOLS.LIB file in the current working directory. This file is a simple ASCII text
file that can be edited by any text editor.

Here are some guidelines and rules to follow while creating form tool profiles:

• Describe each form tool as a series of closed loops, each of which must be convex.
A concave shape must be described as a series of convex shapes.
• Concave arcs should NOT be used.
• Each tool description consists of a name statement followed by one or more loops,
each of which can consist of several coordinate statements.
• Description of a loop ends when the coordinates of its first point are repeated.
• You may add blank lines or comments anywhere within a file
• A name statement will contain the name of the tool and may optionally be
followed by X and Y offsets for the tool holder, e.g.:
SampleTool_1 <0.2> <0.6>
• Each coordinate statement is of one of these forms:
point x y
arc xc yc r
• Line segments are implicitly described by two points in a row.
• Each arc statement MUST be preceded and followed by point statements.
• Each arc must be less than 180 degrees.
• Each loop may be either clockwise or counterclockwise.
• The origin of a form tool's profile is mapped to the CL point.
• If a holder is used with a form tool, its origin is also mapped to the CL point after
being offset by the X and Y offsets on the tool's name statement.

An example form tool:

MillingFormTool1
point 0 0
arc 0 .375 .375
point .375 .375
point .375 1

6-3
 arc 1.375 1 1
point 1.375 2
arc 1.375 2.75 .75
point 2.125 2.75
arc 1.375 2.75 .75
point 1.375 3.5
point .75 3.5
point .75 6
point 0 6

Turning Tools
NC Verify supports standard turning inserts and special form inserts.

Standard turning insert tools

The standard turning inserts are: Diamond, Square, Triangle, Groove, Circle. They are
explained below. The parameters are:
Nose Radius: Radius of the tip of the insert
Included Angle: The included angle at the nose tip
Inscribed diameter: Inscribed circle diameter (IC Dia)
Mounting Angle: The angle between X axis & Insert center
(CCW is + towards X axis; CW is - away from X axis)

Square
Inscribed Circle = d
Nose Radius = r
Included Angle = 90°

Triangle
Inscribed Circle = d
Nose Radius = r
Included Angle = 60°

6-4
Diamond
Inscribed Circle = d
Nose Radius = r
Included Angle = 35°

Diamond
Inscribed Circle = d
Nose Radius = r
Included Angle = 80°

Diamond
Inscribed Circle = d
Nose Radius = r
Included Angle = 55°

6-5
Circle
Diameter = d

Special form tool inserts for turning

NC Verify supports special form inserts for turning that are not covered by the
standard inserts. Users can define any 2d profile as a tool insert. The form tool
profiles are stored in TOOLS.LIB file in the current working directory. This file is a
simple ASCII text file and can be edited by any editor. The format for creating form
turning tools profiles are identical to that of form milling tools. Please refer to the
section Special form tools for milling in this chapter for more details.

Insert & Holder Thickness

The inserts and turning holders can be assigned a fixed thickness for visualization and
solid collision checking purposes. The insert and holder thickness values can be set in
the Misc. information page in the System Defaults dialog box under the Options menu.

Holders
NC Verify supports holders along with tools. Users can define a milling or turning
holder as a general profile. These profiles are stored in the HOLDER.LIB file in the
current working directory. This file is an ASCII text file and can be edited by any text
editor.

6-6
Milling Holder

Here are some guidelines and rules to follow while creating milling holder profiles:
• Describe each holder as a series of closed loops, each of which must be
convex.
• A concave shape must be described as a series of convex shapes.
• Concave arcs should NOT be used.
• Each holder description consists of a name statement followed by one or
more loops, each of which can consist of several coordinate statements.
• Description of a loop ends when the coordinates of its first point are
repeated.
• You may add blank lines or comments anywhere within a file
• A name statement will contain the name of the holder and may optionally
be followed by X and Y offsets for the tool holder, e.g.:
SampleTool_1 <0.2> <0.6>
• Each coordinate statement is of one of these forms:
point x y
arc xc yc r
• Line segments are implicitly described by two points in a row.
• Each arc statement MUST be preceded and followed by point statements.
• Each arc must be less than 180 degrees.
• Each loop may be either clockwise or counterclockwise.
• The origin of a form holder's profile is mapped to the CL point.
• If a holder is used with a form tool, its origin is also mapped to the CL
point after being offset by the X and Y offsets on the tool's name
statement.

The Tool Holder information can be read in as part of the JOB file. Tool Holder must
be defined in the JOB file as follows:

In the job file, write Tool Holder keyword, filename, profilename after the
tool.

Syntax: Holder <filename> <profilename>

Holder - Keyword starting in col 1.

<filename> - Filename containing the holder geometry. The user can
specify full path of the filename If no path is specified, it is assumed that
the file is in the same directory as job file.

<profilename> - Name used to cross reference tool holder in the holder file.

Eg. Tool Mill Apt7 1 10.000 2.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 10.000
0.000
Holder myfile.hld myholder1

The tool holders for each job file are written to a separate tool holder file.
The filename is provided in the job file. The format for the holder file is as
follows:

6-7
 Syntax: Name <profilename>
<profilegeometry>

Name - Keyword starting in col 1.

<profilename> - Name used to cross reference tool holder in job file.
<profilegeometry> - 2d profile of the tool holder geometry.

Example Milling Holder:

SimpleHolder1
Point 0.000 0.000
Point 1.0 0.0
Point 1.0 1.5
Point 1.5 1.5
Point 1.5 2.0
Point 1.0 2.0
Point 0.25 5.0
Point 0.0 5.0

Turning Holder
Turning holders work the same way as the milling holders. They are also 2d profiles
that are swept instead of revolved as in milling holders. The definition of 2d profile of
the turning holder is the same as that of the milling holder. Please refer to the section
on Milling Holders for the rules and guidelines.

The turning holders can be assigned a fixed thickness for visualization and solid
collision checking purposes. The holder thickness can be set in the Misc. information
page in the System Defaults dialog box under the Options menu.

Example Turning holder:

TurningHolder2
Point -0.050 -0.200
Point 0.700 -0.200
Point 1.450 0.550
Point 1.450 4.800
Point -0.050 4.800
Point -0.050 -0.200

6-8
Tool Definition in APT-CL files
Milling Tools
All milling APT 7 parameters based tools are defined by:
CUTTER / <APT 7 parameters: Dia, Cor Rad, E, F, A , B, Height>

Example: CUTTER / 0.5, 0, 0.25, 0, 0, 0, 3.0

Form tools can be defined by PPRINT / FORM <form tool name>

Turning Tools
All turning tool statements are defined as follows:
PPRINT / TURN DIAMOND r icd na ma
PPRINT / TURN CIRCLE icd
PPRINT / TURN SQUARE r icd ma
PPRINT / TURN TRIANGLE r icd ma
PPRINT / TURN GROOVE r w l ma
PPRINT / TURN FORM <form profile name>
where:
r- nose radius
icd - inscribed circle diameter
na - nose angle/ corner angle
ma - mounting angle: degrees counterclockwise
the nose is rotated away from pointing
directly inward
w- width
l- length

Example:
PPRINT / TURN DIAMOND 0.03125 0.25 55 10
CUTTER / or PPRINT / TURN statements should precede all GOTO statements.
Milling and turning can be intermixed in the same input file for a given setup or
operation.

General Information
Inch & Metric form tools & holders
Both and Inch and Metric tools are available in the tools and holder libraries. Users
can add more tools and holders to the TOOLS.LIB and HOLDER.LIB data files.

Tool Set Length

Tool set length is the total length of the tool from the tool tip to spindle face. This
information is necessary for NC G code files for 4 & 5 axis milling machines with
rotary axis (A, B, C) on the head. You can enter the tool set length information in the
Tool List dialog. To invoke the Tool List dialog select Edit Tool List from the Tools
menu.

6-9
Default Tool dimensions
Users can set the default tool information (such as min diameter, max height etc.) in
the tool defaults dialog. When a toolpath file is read, all tool dimensions are verified
against the default tool information.

Turning Tools
All turning tool statements are defined as follows:
PPRINT / TURN DIAMOND r icd na ma
PPRINT / TURN CIRCLE icd
PPRINT / TURN SQUARE r icd ma
PPRINT / TURN TRIANGLE r icd ma
PPRINT / TURN GROOVE r w l
PPRINT / TURN FORM <form profile name>
where:
r- nose radius
icd - inscribed circle diameter
na - nose angle/ corner angle
ma - mounting angle: degrees counterclockwise
the nose is rotated away from pointing
directly inward
w- width
l- length

Example:
PPRINT / TURN DIAMOND 0.03125 0.25 55 10
CUTTER / or PPRINT / TURN statements should precede all GOTO statements.
Milling and turning can be intermixed in the same input file for a given setup or
operation.

6-10
Chapter 7 Other Features

User Defined Colors

NC Verify™ supports user defined colors. You can modify the color data file
NCVCOLOR.DEF (which resides in the directory in which NC Verify has been
installed) to change color definitions. NC Verify uses default colors if this file does
not exist. The following is a sample NCVCOLOR.DEF file:

// NC Verify Graphics Color defaults

// format: <color name> = R, G, B
Color1 = 255, 255, 0
Color2 = 255, 192, 0
Color3 = 208, 0, 208
Color4 = 0, 192, 0
Color5 = 255, 255, 255
Color6 = 160, 70, 255
Color7 = 0, 255, 255
Color8 = 255, 127, 255
Color9 = 210, 180, 140
Color10 = 192, 255, 0
Tool = 245 , 222 , 96
Stock = 173, 216, 230
Fixture = 255, 255, 255
Error = 255, 0, 0

// Other colors
Section = 0, 0, 255
WireframeTool = 255, 255, 255
WireframeRapidTool = 255, 0, 0
WireframeHighlight = 255, 0, 0
Part = 255, 0, 255
Axes = 255, 255, 255
Gouge = 255, 0, 0
Uncut = 0, 0, 255
Translucent = 255, 255, 255
Background = 0, 0, 0

Setting parameters in the NCVERIFY.INI file

The NCVERIFY.INI file resides in the directory in which the NC Verify application
was installed. Most of the parameters in this file can be set via the System Defaults
dialog under the Options menu. For more information, please refer to the System
Defaults section under Options Menu in Chapter 5. Additionally, you can also
set/modify the following parameters in the NCVERIFY.INI file:

7-1
InterruptResponseTime
During the simulation process, NC Verify frequently checks for user interrupts in the
form of clicks on toolbar buttons, or selecting a menu button. This parameter controls
the frequency with which the application polls for user interrupts while simulation is
in progress. It also determines the frequency with which data on the Control Panel is
updated during simulation.

The default value for this parameter is 1.5 seconds. If the user clicks on a menu button
while simulation is in progress, it will take an average of 1.5 seconds for NC Verify to
respond to that action. Sirius recommends that the Interrupt ResponseTime parameter
be set to at least 0.5 seconds. Any value lower than this will slow down the simulation
significantly.

Example:
InterruptResponseTime=1.5

ProcessFirstCutterOnly
NC Verify supports multiple APT style statements between tool changes. You can
optionally process only the first CUTTER or TURRET statements after LOADTL
statement and ignore the subsequent CUTTER statements until the next LOADTL
statement. This practice is common on APT systems, where subsequent CUTTER
statements are used for surface offsets. By default this option is set to false, hence the
software will behave the same as before. To use this feature, user should set the
following variable in the NCVERIFY.INI file: ProcessFirstCutterOnly=1

ComparisonMode
This parameter controls the comparison mode used for comparing the "as designed"
with the “as manufactured” part. The following modes are supported:
1: Regular mode with translucency (default)
Set ComparisonMode=<<blanks>>
2: With no translucency
Set ComparisonMode=NonTranslucent
3: Display Only Gouges & Uncut
Set ComparisonMode=OnlyGougeUncut

ZoomViewWidth/ZoomViewHeight
Users can specify the accurate zoom window size in the INI file. When the accurate
zoom capability is invoked, these values will be used to create the zoom window.
Example:
ZoomViewWidth=400
ZoomViewHeight=400

UseXYTurning
To use XY format in APT-CL files used for turning applications, set
UseXYTurning = 1 otherwise
set UseXYTurning = 0

7-2
RotablDirection
The ROTABL command in APT-CL files uses the CCW (counter-clockwise)
direction as a default for table rotation. To override that you can set the following in
the INI file:
RotablDirection=CW

ToolNoAdjust
If you want to ignore TOOLNO/ADJUST in APT-CL files, set
ToolNoAdjust = 0 (default) otherwise
Set ToolNoAdjust = 1

7-3
NC Verify command line arguments
NC Verify can be invoked from the command line with the following arguments:

Argument Description

<filename> Invokes the NC Verify application and opens the specified NC

program file(.nc), job file(.job)or APT-CL(.cl) file.
-COMPARE This option will execute the simulation and verification of
machining errors from start to finish. It executes steps 2
through 7 below by using the command line below:
Issue the following command from the command line:
ncvsolid <jobfilename> -COMPARE
The following sequence of events takes place:
2. The system starts ncvsolid.exe and reads the job file
contents.
3. ncvsolid processes the job file to read in toolpath, stock, and
design part information.
4. ncvsolid executes the simulation in SuperTurbo mode.
5. ncvsolid executes Inspect→Comparison→Show Difference.
6. ncvsolid executes Inspect→ Inspect Error.
7. ncvsolid displays the results and waits for user input.
Steps 2 through 7 are automatically executed and runs without
interruption. You can see the results as they are being
processed.
-CNTTOOL This invokes NC Verify with continuous tool display. You may
change this later via the toolbar buttons or via the Display
Modes options under the Tools menu.
-HORIZONTAL When NC Verify starts up, the default machine type is Vertical.
This argument overrides the default and changes the machine
type to Horizontal.
-RNTIME This sets the file read mode to run-time read. Typically used for
very large input files.
-RUN This argument can only be used in conjunction with an .nc, .job
or .cl filename. It invokes NC Verify, opens the file (supplied
in the filename argument) switches to solid mode with an
isometric view and starts the simulation process.
-NOBARS With this argument, NC Verify is invoked without the toolbars.
The main NC Verify window comes up with just the menu bar.
-SLDTOOL This invokes NC Verify with solid tool display. You may
change this later via the toolbar buttons or via the Display
Modes option under the Tools menu.
-WIP Invokes the Work in process file – WIP <file name>
- STK Invokes the Stock file – STK <stock file name>

Multiple command line arguments can be used, separated by spaces.

7-4
Chapter 8 Maximizing NC Verify™
Performance

This chapter describes ways to maximize the performance of NC Verify.

Maximizing speed
Computer System Memory
NC toolpath verification programs are highly memory intensive. Lack of optimum
available memory will affect the performance. Check the memory requirements
mentioned in Chapter 2 under Hardware requirements. If you have less than the
recommended memory but are using large files and more complicated programs, you
should consider adding more RAM to your computer.

Turbo Mode
If you do not have to watch the simulation, you should use the Turbo mode while
simulating your programs. Turbo mode will be 2-3 times faster than the regular
simulation.

Graphics resolution
Higher graphics resolutions (e.g., 1024x768, 1280x1024) will reduce the product
speed and will also require more memory. You can reduce the graphics resolution
preferably to 800x600 or 640x480 for greater speed.

Multiple Views
The greater the number of graphics views you have, the slower the simulation will be.
Each additional view window will make the simulation about 10 to 30% slower.

Tool display
Solid tool display and continuous tool display modes are slower than wireframe
display. Consider using wireframe tool display. You can even turn the tool display
off, which will give you the best speed. The simulation time increases by a small
amount with the value of NSIDES, the number of faces/sides used for tool display.
This does not affect the accuracy of measurement on the final stock/WIP solid. All
measurements are highly accurate. But you will get a smoother picture with higher
number of sides on the tool.

Tool Height
The larger the tool height, the slower the simulation will be. The size of the tool
image on the screen affects simulation performance: the larger the tool image, the
longer it takes to simulate a given file, simply because there is more time required for
drawing the material cuts and the tool movements. For example, a view at half scale is
generated about four times as fast as one at full scale.

8-1
Use minimum flute height or maximum depth of cut, as your tool height.

Stock Solid size on the screen

The more you zoom into the solid, the longer it takes to simulate. You may consider
zooming less into the stock solid.

Running many applications

If you run other programs on your PC, at the same time you are running NC Verify,
then the extra load on the computer and lack of memory will slow down NC Verify.
Each application that is active will take up memory and other resources away from the
operating system. You should consider keeping other active applications to a bare
minimum when running NC Verify.

Tool Holder
Tool holders will slow down the simulation considerably.

Other considerations
Choosing an Optimal View
When simulating very large files, an initial session should be performed at a small
scale, with the view (or views) taking up a small proportion of the screen. The result
can help define the critical areas and thereby determine more optimal view
orientations for subsequent, large-scale simulations.

Accuracy
The larger the stock solid model that appears on the screen, the more accurate the
simulation - and the slower it runs.

Model complexity
The performance of NC Verify is not affected by model complexity. The time taken to
simulate the last cut in a hundred-thousand-point input file is typically identical to the
time taken for the first cut.

Multiple View Windows

If you have a large part or one where there is a lot of fine detail, using multiple views
may help. In one of the view windows display a complete view of the part, and in
other windows zoom the view up to give you the resolution you require on smaller
regions of the part. The complete view of the part enables you to orient yourself to the
other views while the simulation is running.

Using this technique, it has been possible to verify the tool path for a 20 foot aircraft
spar where some of the cuts are only 300ths of an inch deep.

8-2
Minimizing Memory requirements
Graphics resolution
Higher graphics resolutions (e.g., 1024x768, 1260x1024) will reduce the product
speed and will also require more memory. You can reduce the graphics resolution
preferably to 800x600 or 640x480 to minimize memory needs.

Multiple Views
Having multiple graphics view windows open during simulation will consume more
memory. Each additional view window will take up 30 to 50% more memory.

Stock Solid size on the screen

The more you zoom into the solid, the more memory is required to simulate. You may
consider zooming less into the stock solid.

Running other applications

Each application that is active, will take memory and other resources from the
operating system. You should consider running a minimum number of applications.

New session
Occasionally, exiting the current session and starting a new Windows session and new
NC Verify session, will make more memory available.

Tool Holder
Tool holders will take up a lot of memory and slow the simulation considerably.
Consider not using tool holders if you are running low on memory.

8-3
Chapter 9 Input Data

The input data formats that NC Verify™ accepts can be classified under the following
categories:

ISO NC G and M code file format

The standard NC Verify product reads ISO NC codes for 3-axis milling and 2-
axis turning. For a full set of complex, or multi-axis NC G and M codes and to
customize for specific machine controllers, users will need the Virtual
Controller product.

APT-CL file format

This is the ISO standard APT-Center Line format. There are a few variations
in this format that NC Verify automatically handles. They are explained in
detail in the APT-CL section.

STL/SLA solid input format

This popular 3D closed, solid input format is widely used in the CAD/CAM
and rapid prototyping industry. (STL stands for stereolithography).

UG CL file format is supported for turning and mill-turn.

ISO NC G and M code format

Users will need the Virtual Controller product to simulate complex, multi-axis NC G
and M code files and to customize for specific machine controllers. For further details
on NC G and M code formats, please refer to the Virtual Controller manual and the
overview section in this chapter.

Word codes
The following word codes are supported for ISO 3-axis milling and 2-axis turning.

N: Block number
G: Preparatory G codes
M: Miscellaneous machine operation codes
F: Feedrate
S: Spindle speed
D: D codes specify a cutter offset distance
H: H codes specify a cutter offset distance
T: Tool number.

G codes
The following G codes are supported for ISO 3-axis milling and 2-axis turning.
G00: Rapid motion

9-1
 G01: Linear feed motion
G02: Clockwise arc
G03: Counterclockwise arc
G04: Dwell
G17: Set current plane to XY
G18: Set current plane to ZX
G19: Set current plane to YZ
G20: Inch
G21: Metric
G28: Go to the reference location
G30: Go to the reference location
G40: Cancel cutter offset
G41: Start cutter offset to left of cutter path
G42: Start cutter offset to right of cutter path
G54: Set Work Coordinate System #1
G55: Set Work Coordinate System #2
G56: Set Work Coordinate System #3
G57: Set Work Coordinate System #4
G58: Set Work Coordinate System #5
G59: Set Work Coordinate System #6
G80: Cancel drill cycle
G81-89: Drill Cycles
G90: Use absolute coordinates
G91: Use relative coordinates
G92: Change coord sys so that specified coords apply to current position;
translate all Work CS's by same amount.

For more codes and other details, please refer to the Virtual Controller product
manual.

Job Files
In addition to standard NC G code files, NC Verify also accepts JOB files as
input. JOB files accepts STL input for design Part and Stock models.
To load the STL file for the design model from Job file, add the following line to the
Job file:
DesignModel <filename>
To load the STL file for the stock from Job file, add the following line to the Job file:
StockStl <filename>

In addition to the NC program, the job file encapsulates and stores additional G code
interpretation information, tool data, D and H codes and Work Coordinate Offsets.

When a G code file is used as input, NC Verify will automatically display the NC Job
Data dialog to enter all NC job related data. Job parameters are grouped under the
following categories: Controller and machine related parameters, Tool definition, D
codes, H codes and Coordinate system parameters. Each category is represented by a
property page. You can move between the various property pages by selecting the
appropriate tab in the dialog box.

9-2
NC Job Data dialog: Controller/Machine page

Controller / Machine page

Once you have created a JOB file for an NC program to be simulated, you can enter
the JOB file name as input for subsequent simulation operations.

G code file
This read-only field displays the NC program (.nc) file name for which you are
creating the JOB file.

Manufacturing Application - Type

You can choose an application type from the drop-down list with the options being
Milling, Turning, Mill-Turn, Wire EDM and Punching.

Manufacturing Application - Number of Axes

From the drop-down list box, you can select the number of axes that will be used with
this particular job.

Controller - File
If you have the Virtual Controller product installed, select a controller from the
library of controller files. These controllers reside in the CONTROLS sub-directory
under the Virtual Controller’s installation directory. You can choose an appropriate
controller file (*.s*) by clicking on the “...” button to open a browser dialog. Choose a
controller file and select OK.

If you do not have the Virtual Controller product, retain the standard ISO controller
that is displayed in this field.

Controller - Name

9-3
When a controller file has been selected, the name of the controller being simulated
appears in this read-only field.

Tool Definition page

Please refer to Chapter 6 of this manual for a detailed description of various tool types
and their parameters.

NC Job Data dialog: Tool page

Tool list
All of the tools referenced in the G code file are listed here. In addition, the defined
tool type and the prominent parameters are listed in this view box. If the tools have
not been previously defined, the type will default to Mill Tool Apt 7 Tool, and the
parameters will default to the values specified in the Tool Defaults dialog (see the
Tool Menu section of Chapter 5).

You can enable and disable the tool display with a single mouse click on the tool icon.
The disabled icon will have a red colored "X" over it. You can view the Tool Data
parameters by double clicking on the tool icon, which opens the Cutter Information
dialog box. The Cutter Information dialog box displays the tool data information
along a 2D graphical representation of the selected tool's dimensions.

The parameters may be set to the desired values by clicking on the desired tool in the
tool list view box and by using the fields below to enter the correct information.

9-4
Tool Number
This read-only field displays the number of the current tool selected from the view
box.

Tool Type
Select Mill Tool or Turn Tool from the drop-down list box.

Mill Tool Type: If you selected Mill Tool in the Tool Type field, this field becomes
active. You can choose either Apt 7 Tool or Form Tool (see Chapter 6)

- Apt 7 Parameters: If you selected Apt 7 Tool for Mill Tool type, you must
enter accurate values for the following Apt 7 parameters: Diameter, Corner
Radius, Height, Bottom Angle, Side Angle, E Length, F Length.

- Form Tool Name: If you selected Form Tool for Mill Tool type, you must
enter the correct Form Tool Name in this field.

Turn Tool Type: If you selected Turn Tool in the Tool Type field, this field becomes
active. You can choose from any of the following turn tool types: Diamond, Circle,
Square, Triangle, Groove, or Form Tool (see Chapter 6).

- Diamond turn tool parameters: Fill in accurate values for the following
parameters: Nose Radius, Nose Angle, Inscribed Circle Diameter and
Mounting Angle.

- Circle turn tool parameter: Enter an accurate value in the Inscribed Circle
Diameter field.

- Square turn tool parameters: Enter accurate values for the following
parameters: Nose Radius, Width and Mounting Angle.

- Triangle turn tool parameters: Enter accurate values for the following
parameters: Nose Radius, Inscribed Circle Dia and Mounting Angle.

- Groove turn tool parameters: Enter accurate values for the following
parameters: Nose Radius, Width, and Length and Mounting Angle.

- Form Tool Name: When the Turn Tool Type is Form Tool, enter the Form
Tool Name in this field.

Optional Data
- Holder Name: If there is a specific holder associated with the current tool, this
field should be filled in correctly with the proper holder name (see Chapter 6).

- Tool Set Length: If there is a tool set length associated with the current
tool, enter the value for that length in this field.

D codes page

D code list (diameter compensation codes)

9-5
All of the D codes referenced in the G code file are listed in this view box. Click on a
particular D code to activate it for editing.

- D code: This read-only field displays the number of the current D code.

- Value: The proper compensation value should be filled in accurately in this

field.

NC Job Data dialog: D codes page

H codes page

H code list (length compensation codes)

All of the H codes referenced in the G code file are listed in this view box.
Click on a particular H code to activate it for editing.

- H code: This read-only field displays the number of the current H code.

9-6
 NC Job Data dialog: H codes page

- Value: The compensation value should be filled in accurately in this field.

Coord Systems page

Work Coordinate System List Box

This list box displays the six sets of work coordinate offsets allowable in Virtual
Controller. G codes (traditionally G54-59) are assigned to each offset in the Controller
Parameters User Interface dialog (see Controller Menu section and Chapter 6). Click
on a specific work coordinate offset to activate it for editing.

Work Coordinate Offset edit fields

After selecting a specific work coordinate offset, set the offset values in these fields
located directly below the Work Coordinate System view box.

- Reference Position 1 and Reference Position 2: Commonly referred to as

“Home position” or “Tool change position”, enter the correct parameters in
these fields. The corresponding G codes can be assigned to these reference
positions by using the Controller Parameters dialog (see the Controller Menu
section).

9-7
 NC Job Data dialog: Coordinate Systems page

- Process Setting a Workpiece Coordinate System: This function is traditionally

referenced by G92 and can be used in the following manner with Virtual
Controller.
- Do not process: Choose this option if you want the operator to enter these
offset values at run time, and they will not have an effect on verification.
- Do not process before tool change: Select this option under the
following situations:
- If you want to set the program to zero after any spindle or table
movements
- If you want to remove any type of lag or backlash from the system
- Process at all times (default): Select this option if you want to use this
function throughout the NC program to reset the Workpiece
Coordinate System.

9-8
Unit Conversion

This field is used to specify a conversion from a certain input G code unit type to
another output center line unit type. The following options are available:

- No Conversion (default): There will be no unit conversion from input to

output.

- Convert to Inch: Convert the input G code values from millimeters to inches.

- Convert to Metric: Convert the input G code values from inches to

millimeters.

Show tool path with rotary table

Placing a check in this field will turn this option on. This will produce additional lines
in the output center line file that will show the relative movement between the tool
and stock during table rotations when viewed during verification.

OK
Selecting OK with any of the NC Job Data pages open will allow the user to save the
parameters entered into a .job file. Later this job file can be retrieved and sent through
the reverse posting process, or edited in this dialog.

Cancel
Selecting Cancel with any of the NC Job Data pages open will cancel all data entered
on any of the pages.

Virtual Controller Overview

Virtual Controller is a software product that emulates all CNC controllers. It is
available as an optional module that works with NC Verify. The software will reverse
post process all NC G code files into a neutral format like APT-CL, ISO G Codes or
events that can be used by any application. It can be used both as an integrated or
independent product. The product can also be very useful in transferring NC jobs
between various machine tools with different NC controllers.

Input and Output

Virtual Controller will accept as input all NC G and M code files for any CNC
controller. It will initially output APT-CL or neutral machine events.

Standard Controllers
The product will have standard libraries for popular CNC controllers from US, Japan,
Germany, Italy and others. They include Fanuc, Acramatic, Heidenhain, Haas, Fadal,
Siemens, Philips, Anilam, Mazak, Mitsubishi, Okuma, Traub, Yasnac, Allen Bradley
etc. Users can simply pick their controller and use them.

Customizing Controllers and User Interface

Virtual Controller will also provide an ability to customize any NC controller.
Creation and customization of controllers can be accomplished by simple and easy

9-9
menu driven user interface. Users can also copy from a similar controller and modify
its parameters.

Machining Applications
The product will cover 3-5 axis milling, 2-4 axis turning, 2-5 axis mill turn, 2-4 axis
wire EDM. The full NC Verify product supports ISO-EIA standard G Codes for 3 axis
milling and 2-axis turning.

APT-CL Input Format

The following section explains the standard APT-CL format.

ARCDAT
Description: Define arc data for circular interpolation motion
Syntax: ARCDAT / <center x, y, z>, <normal i, j, k>,<radius>
ARCDAT / cx,cy,cz, nx,ny,nz, r (center, normal, radius)
Example: ARCDAT/ 1, 2, 3, 0,0,1, 0.5

ARCMOV
Description: Make a circular interpolation motion
Syntax: ARCMOV / < CLW or CCLW>,<end pt>, <angle>
Example: ARCMOV/ CLW, 2, 4, 6, 90

BOX
Description: Defines a stock box using center point and dimensions.
Syntax: BOX / <center x,y,z>, <length>, <width>, <height>
Example: BOX / 1, 1, 1, 4, 5, 6

BREAK (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Stop simulation at next CL point.
Syntax: BREAK
Example: BREAK

CALL/CIRMAC (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Call to the Circular Interpolation Macro
Syntax: CALL CIRMAC / <prev pt x, y, z>,
<start pt x, y, z>,
<middle/bias pt x, y, z>,
<end pt x, y, z>,
<center pt x, y, z>

Example: CALL CIRMAC / 0, 0, 0, $

2, 0, 0, $
3, 1, 0, $
4, 0, 0, $
3, 0, 0

9-10
CBOX
Description: Defines a stock box using two corners.
Syntax: CBOX / <corner1 x, y, z>, <opposite corner2 x,y,z>
Example: CBOX / 0, 0, 0, 3, 3, 3

CIRCLE, MOVARC
Description: Define circular interpolation motion
Syntax: CIRCLE / <center x, y, z>, <normal i,j,k>, <rad>
MOVARC keyword syntax is the same as CIRCLE
Example: GOTO/ spx, spy, spz (start point)
CIRCLE/ cx,cy,cz, nx,ny,nz, r (center, normal, radius)
GOTO/ epx,epy,epz (end point) where:
(spx, spy, spz )start point is the starting point of the circle
(cx,cy,cz, nx,ny,nz, r )center, normal and radius of the circle.
The circle is always counter clockwise about the normal
(epx,epy,epz) end point is the end point of the circle

Notes: Other CIRCLE formats:

• UNIGRAPHICS CIRCLE format of 11 parameters is
automatically handled. Unlike the APT standard, the direction
is CW about the normal.
• ADRA circle format is different and is also automatically
handled with AptClType = Adra in the system defaults. The
MOVARC statement re-computes the radius from start and
center.

CONT
Same as GOTO statement. Please refer to GOTO section.

COOLNT
Description: Specify coolant flow. (Not available in
Truesolid.)
Syntax: COOLNT / < FLOOD / MIST / ON / OFF>
Example: COOLNT / ON

CUTCOM/LEFT
Description: Compensate for cutter diameter / wear to the left of the
programmed path
Syntax: CUTCOM/LEFT, <D> where D is a code indicating the value
to use for compensation and is equivalent to the D-code in NC
programming. These values may be edited in the D code property page of
the job dialog box.
Example: CUTCOM / LEFT, 12
Notes: Cutter compensation is not supported in NC Verify Standard when
loading a file in Runtime read mode.

9-11
CUTCOM/ON
Description: Turn on compensation whose previous type has been set using
CUTCOM/RIGHT or CUTCOM/LEFT.
Syntax: CUTCOM/ON
Example: CUTCOM / ON
Notes: Cutter compensation is not supported in NC Verify Standard when
loading a file in Runtime read mode.

CUTCOM/RIGHT
Description: Compensate for cutter diameter / wear to the right of the
programmed path
Syntax: CUTCOM/RIGHT, <D> where D is a code indicating the
value to use for compensation and is equivalent to the D-code in NC
programming. These values may be edited in the D code property page of
the job dialog box.
Example: CUTCOM / LEFT, 12
Notes: Cutter compensation is not supported in NC Verify Standard when
loading a file in Runtime read mode.

CUTCOM/OFF
Description: Turn off cutter diameter / wear compensation.
Syntax: CUTCOM/OFF
Example: CUTCOM / OFF
Notes: Cutter compensation is not supported in NC Verify Standard when
loading a file in Runtime read mode.

CUTTER
Description: Define a milling tool. (based on APT 7 parameters)
Syntax: CUTTER/ (dia, crad, e, f, a, b, height)
APT cutter parameters (d r e f a b h)
d - diameter
r - corner radius
e - e length,
f - f length
a - alpha angle ,
b - beta angle
h - height

Example: CUTTER / 1.0, 0.125, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3.0

For more information, refer to Chapter 6 on Tools and Holders.

CYCLE
Please refer to the "CYCLE " section in this chapter.

CYL
Description: Defines a stock cylinder using two axis points and radius.
Syntax: CYL / <axis pt1 x,y,z>, <axis pt2, x,y,z>, Radius

9-12
 Axis point no. 1: X, Y and Z coordinates.
Axis point no. 2: X, Y and Z coordinates.
Example: CYL / 2, 0, 0, 6, 0, 0, 3

END (Same as FINI)

Please refer to the "FINI " section in this chapter.

ENDTWIN (TrueSolid Only)

Description: End twin turret simulation and return to single Turret format
Syntax: ENDTWIN
Notes: See also TWINTURRET

ENVECT (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Alternative definition for profile sweep. (See STVECT and SPPROF.)
Syntax: ENVECT / <end pt1 x,y,z>
End point of sweep (X, Y, Z).
Example: ENVECT / 0, 0, 4

FBOX (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Defines a fixture box using center point and dimensions.
Syntax: FBOX / <center x, y, z>, <len>, <wid>, <ht>
Box center: X, Y and Z coordinates.
Box : LENGTHX, WIDTHY, HEIGHTZ.
Example: FBOX / 0,0,0, 3, 4, 5

FCBOX
Description: Defines a fixture box using two corners.
Syntax: FCBOX / <corner1 x, y, z>, <corner2 x,y,z>
Example: FCBOX / 0,0,0, 2, 3, 4

FCYL (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Defines a fixture cylinder using two axis points and radius.
Syntax: FCYL / <axis pt1 x,y,z>, <axis pt2, x,y,z>, radius
Example: FCYL/ 0,0,3, 0,0,8, 0.5

FEDRAT
Description: Specify the feedrate to be used for subsequent cutter motions.
Syntax: FEDRAT / <IPM | IPR | MMPM | MMPR>, feed value
Example: FEDRAT/ IPM, 20
NOTE: Parameter 2, units, is optional.
The order of parameters 2 and 3 can be reversed.

FINI
Description: Mark the end of the input file to NC Verification.
Syntax: FINI
Example: FINI'

9-13
FPROF (Not available in Truesolid.)
Description: Define the starting point for the profile sweep of a fixture.
Syntax: FPROF / <center pt x,y,z>, <thickness>
Example: FPROF / 2, 3, 0, 0.5
Notes: Refer to the example for SPROF (SPROF has the same parameters as FPROF)

FPPROF (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Define the next point in the fixture profile to be swept.
Syntax: FPPROF / <center pt x,z>
Example: FPPROF / 1,2
Notes: Refer to the example for SPROF (FPPROF has the same parameters as
SPPROF).

FROM
Description: Specify the starting position for the next tool motion. Whatever
its current position, the cutter is immediately repositioned to the specified
FROM point, without sweeping through any of the intervening space.
Syntax: FROM/ < point x,y,z>, <I, J, K (optional) >
Example: FROM/ 3, 4, 5
NOTE: I, J, and K components of tool axis.
The I, J and K components are used only when MULTAX is ON.

GODLTA (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Specify the next tool motion as an offset from current point.
Syntax: GODLTA / < x,y,z>
Example: GODLTA/ 1, 2, 3

GOHOME
Please refer to the LOADTL section in this chapter.

GOTO, MOVE, CONT

Description: Specify the next tool motion.
Syntax: GOTO / <point x,y,z>, <I, J, K (optional) >
MOVE keyword behaves identical to GOTO.
Example: GOTO/ 3, 4, 5
NOTE: I, J and K components of tool axis.
The I, J, and K components are used only when MULTAX is ON.
MULTAX is off, further parameters are treated as more points,
e.g., GOTO/X1, Y1, Z1, X2, Y2, Z2,

GOTO/MULTIPLE GOTO & CONT

This feature allows user to write multiple lines of GOTO or CONT statements
where the first line starts with GOTO or CONT and the rest of the lines don’t have
the GOTO or CONT keyword but instead each line ends with the $ sign which mean
a continuation of GOTO or CONT except the last line which does not have the $ sign
which indicates the end of GOTO or CONT

Syntax:

9-14
GOTO / <point x, y, z>, <I, J, K>
In multiple GOTO/CONT statements the user must set the MULTAX/ON

Examples:

GOTO /4.38107699,-.18774972,4.24289507,.30769202,.92307707,$
.23076902,$
4.4056266,-.18687986,4.20668283,.30769202,.92307707,$
.23076902,$
4.61767737,-.12081363,3.65968325,.30769202,.92307707,$
.23076902
CONT /4.62387926,-.11176359,3.61521389,.30769202,.92307707,$
.23076902,$
4.62740643,-.10493312,3.58318904,.30769202,.92307707,$
.23076902,$
4.5688487,.04652501,3.05543289,.30769202,.92307707,$
.23076902

INCLUD
Description: APT statement parsed. Has no impact on simulation
Syntax: INCLUD
Notes: This keyword is ignored and has no

LOADTL, TURRET
Description: Specify that a physical tool change will occur.
Syntax: `LOADTL', `, `TURRET', `
Example: LOADTL / 1
TURRET / 3
Notes: If a physical tool change is followed by a GOTO statement, this
GOTO statement is treated like a FROM statement, as NC Verify
assumes that the spindle was retracted to allow the tool change. After
the first occurrence of a physical tool change statement, the only
CUTTER statements that are recognized are those proceeding by one
of the above major words; all other CUTTER statements are ignored.
PPRINT TRUE C statements are always accepted

MACHIN (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: This keyword specifies the machine name
Syntax: MACHIN/ name
Example: MACHIN/ machine1
Notes: This statement has no effect on simulation

MULTAX
Description: This keyword specifies that the NC program is 5 axis. Specify whether
the I, J, and K components of subsequent GOTO's should be used to
determine the tool axis, or ignored. IF MULTAX is ON and no I, J, K
components are found an error will be displayed and written to the
ncverify.out file.

9-15
Syntax: MULTAX / <ON / OFF>
Example: MULTAX / ON

NSIDES (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Define number of sides around tool for display.
Syntax: NSIDES / <number>
Example: NSIDES / 16

OPSKIP (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: APT statement parsed.
Syntax: OPSKIP
Notes: Has no impact on simulation.

PARTNO (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Specify the part number. This number displays at the top of the
screen during simulation and is, therefore visible in any slide
files that are created.
Syntax: PARNO / <description>
Example: PARTNO / 1234, John Doe, Company XYZ

PAINT (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: APT statement parsed.
Syntax: PAINT
Notes: Statement parsed and ignored. Has no impact on simulation

POSTN (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: APT Statement
Syntax: POSTN
Notes: Statement parsed and ignored. Has no impact on simulation

PPRINT
Description: Comment lines
Syntax: PPRINT / <description>
Example: PPRINT / End mill the pocket
Notes: A comment string, which NC Verify ignores unless it is one of
the forms described below.

PPRINT BREAK (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: The use of this statement halts the simulation at this point.
Selecting the `Go' button continues the simulation.
Syntax: PPRINT / BREAK
Example: PPRINT / BREAK

PPRINT COLOR (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Select a tool cut color.
Syntax: PPRINT / COLOR <number>
Example: PPRINT / COLOR, 4

9-16
Notes: Color code, from following table:
1 yellow
2 orange
3 violet
4 green
5 gray
6 blue
7 cyan
8 pink/magenta
9 tan/brown
10 yellow green/lime

PPRINT FORM
Description: Select a previously defined form tool for milling
Syntax: PPRINT / FORM <form tool name>
Example: PPRINT / FORM MillFormTool_1
Notes: This form tool should be defined in the TOOLS.LIB file in the NC
Verify installed directory. For further details on defining form tools,
please refer to Chapter 6 of this manual.

PPRINT HOLDER NAME

Description: Define tool holder to be used for a particular tool. PPRINT
HOLDER statement applies to all following CUTTER statements until the
next PPRINT HOLDER. If no name is specified, no holder is used for the
affected cutters.
Syntax: PPRINT / HOLDER <name>
Example: PPRINT / HOLDER MillHolder_1
Notes: Tool holder name - optional.
Hence to cancel a holder, simply enter a blank name

PPRINT IMAGE (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Create an image file (.bmp) at this place in the program.
Syntax: PPRINT / IMAGE
Example: PPRINT / IMAGE
Notes: Image name is automatically determined from input file name

PPRINT / SKIP_MOTION (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Skip the next motion without removing material.
Syntax: PPRINT / SKIP_MOTION

PPRINT / TURN
Description: Define a turning tool
Syntax: PPRINT / TURN DIAMOND r icd na ma
PPRINT / TURN CIRCLE icd
PPRINT / TURN SQUARE r icd ma
PPRINT / TURN TRIANGLE r icd ma
PPRINT / TURN GROOVE r w l
PPRINT / TURN FORM <form profile name> where:
r- nose radius

9-17
 icd - inscribed circle diameter
na - nose angle/ corner angle
ma - mounting angle: degrees counterclockwise the
nose is rotated away from pointing directly
inward
w- width
l- length
Example: PPRINT / TURN DIAMOND 0.03125 0.25 55 10
Notes: All milling tools are defined by CUTTER. Please refer to CUTTER
statement. CUTTER / or PPRINT / TURN statements should precede
all GOTO statements. Milling and turning can be intermixed in the
same input file for a given setup or operation. For more information,
please refer to Chapter 6 “Tools and Holders”.

PPRINT TRUEC (or PPRINT TRUE C)

Description: An alternate way to define a milling tool.

Syntax: PPRINT / TRUEC, < APT 7 parameters>

Where, APT cutter parameters are: d r e f a b h
Example: PPRINT/ TRUEC, 0.5, 0.125, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3.0
Notes: Sirius recommends using CUTTER statement.

PPRINT WIP NAME (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Write a WIP file at this point in the NC program.
Syntax: PPRINT / WIP <filename>
Example: PPRINT/ WIP file1.wip

PPRINT / USE_XY_MILLTURN (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Use XY data for XY based MillTurn files
Syntax: PPRINT/USE_XY_MILLTURN
Example: PPRINT/USE_XY_MILLTURN

PPRINT / USE_XY_TURNING
Description: Use XY data for turning files (will be transformed to ZX)
Syntax: PPRINT / USE_XY_TURNING
Example: PPRINT / USE_XY_TURNING
Notes: Use this keyword only when input file uses X, Y, 0 format
For turning, while machines need X, 0, Z format.

RAPID
Description: Specify that the following motion is at rapid feedrate.
Syntax: RAPID < optional *>
Example: RAPID
Notes: `*' - this is optional; a RAPID * applies to all GOTO points until
another RAPID or FEDRAT statement is found.
Without the star, the RAPID applies only to the next GOTO.

REMARK
Description: Comment line.

9-18
Syntax: REMARK
Example: REMARK Start drilling all the 0.5 holes

REMARK NCV DRAFT ON

Description: Comment line.
Syntax: REMARK NCV DRAFT ON
Notes:

REMARK NCV DRAFT OFF

Description: Comment line.
Syntax: REMARK NCV DRAFT OFF
Notes:

REMARK NCV MILL

Description: Comment line.
Syntax: REMARK NCV MILL
Notes: This behaves like the current CUTTER statement with tool change.

REMARK NCV TURN

Description: Comment line.
Syntax: REMARK NCV TURN
Notes: This behaves like the current PPRINT TURN statement with tool change.

RETRCT (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Retract statement.
Syntax: RETRCT
Notes: Statement parsed and ignored. Has no effect on simulation

REWIND (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Rewind statement
Syntax: REWIND
Notes: Statement parsed and ignored. Has no effect on simulation

ROTABL (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: Rotates the table to the specified angle, around the Y axis.
Syntax: ROTABL/ <INCR | ATANGL>, degrees
Example: ROTABL/ ATANGL, 30
Notes: All + rotation happens CCLW about y axis; - is CW
User can change this +ve to CW by setting “RotablDir”
parameter in the system defaults.

SKIPROTABL (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: an option required by some users. To implement, put the following into
the ncveirfy.ini [Ncverify Resource] section:
Syntax: SKIPROTBL=1 means turn on the SKIPROTBL, all the ROTABLE
command will be ignored
SKIPROTBL=0 means turn it off, all the ROTABLE command will be
considered.

9-19
$$
Description: A comment line.
Syntax: $$ < any comment>
Example: $$ Rough end mill all shoulders
Notes: Statement parsed and ignored. Has no effect on simulation

SPINDL
Description: Define the spindle rotation and speed information
Syntax: Several formats of the SPINDL statement
SPINDL / <ON | OFF>

SPINDL/ <CLW | CCW>, rpm speed

SPINDL/ rpm speed, <CLW | CCW>
SPINDL/ RPM, speed value
SPINDL/ RPM, speed value, <CLW | CCW>

Example: SPINDL/ ON
SPINDL/ RPM, 3000, CLW
SPINDL/ CCW, 2000

SPROF
Description: Define the starting point for a profile sweep.
Syntax: SPROF / <center pt x,y,z>, <thickness>
Example: SPROF / 2, 3, 0, 0.5
Notes: An example of how to use this is given in the "Sample Stock
Definition in NC Verify® File" section.

SPPROF
Description: Define the next point in the profile to be swept.
Syntax: SPPROF / <center pt x,z>
Example: SPPROF / 1,2
Notes: An example of how to use this is given in the “Sample Stock in NC
Verify File" section.

STVECT (Not available in

Truesolid.)
Description: Alternative header definition for profile sweep.
Syntax: STVECT / < start point pt x,y,z>
Example: STVECT/ 1,2,3
Notes: This is the start point of sweep (X, Y, Z).

STOP (Not available in

Truesolid.)
Please refer to the TMARK, GOHOME sections in this chapter.

THREAD (Not available in

Truesolid.)
Description: Specify turning thread information

9-20
 Syntax: THREAD/ <end point>, pitch, height
Example: THREAD/ 1.0, 0, 3.0, 0.2, 0.33
Notes: The tool should already at the start of the thread location. The end
point is defined where the thread ends. Pitch is the distance between 2
consecutive threads. Height if the height of the thread profile.

TLAXIS (Not available in

Truesolid.)
Description: Specify the default tool axis to be used when MULTAX is
OFF. When MULTAX is ON, the tool axis specified in the FROM or
GOTO statement is used.
Syntax: TLAXIS / <i,j,k>
Example: TLAXIS/ 0,0, 1

TLDATA
Description: Define a tool for Unigraphics system.
Syntax: TLDATA/ DRILL, <dia, corner radius, Height, Point Angle,
Flute Len>
TLDATA/ MILL, <dia, corner radius, Height, Taper Angle, Flute len>
Example: TLDATA/ DRILL, 0.25, 0.0, 3.0, 120, 3
TLDATA/ MILL, 0.5, 0.0, 5.0, 0.0, 4.0
Notes: TLDATA will make a tool change just like a CUTTER statement

TOOLNO (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: The TOOLNO/ADJUST, n, INCR statement causes each point
to be adjusted n units along its axis. Positive n causes an adjustment away
from the part, negative n towards the part. An unparameterized TOOLNO
statement resets the adjustment to zero; see LOADTL, above.
Syntax: TOOLNO / ADJUST, <dist>, <INCR>
Example: TOOLNO/ ADJUST, 4.5
Notes: To ignore toolno (length) adjustment, “ToolNoAdjust= 0 Can be set in
the system defaults.

TMARK, GOHOME, STOP, SEQNO (Not available in Truesolid.)

Description: General APT CL keywords
Syntax: TMARK', `GOHOME', STOP', ‘SEQNO’
Notes: These keywords have no impact on simulation

TRANS
Description: Translate a toolpath (all points) by a specified value
Syntax: TRANS / < pt x,y,z>
Example: TRANS/ 3, 4, 5
Notes: These x, y, z values are incremental amounts to transform the toolpath
motions. To reset, use TRANS/ 0,0,0

TURRET
Please refer to LOAD section

9-21
TWINTURRET (TrueSolid Only)

Description: Denote the start of commands relevant to a turret in a twin

turret simulation. Files containing this command must contain it twice,
oncefor each turret.
Syntax: TWINTURRET
Notes: Commands following a TWINTURRET statement should be
Preceded by a sequence number surrounded by square braces (e.g. [10]
GOTO/ 3,4,4 or 100 [10] GOTO/ 3,4,5) to enable synchronisation between
turrets. Commands for different turrets with the same sequence number
are performed simultaneously, otherwise the command with the lowest
sequence number is performed first. Sequence numbers should increase
monotonically for each turret. Both turning and milling are supported in
twin turret simulations

UNITS
Description: To specify the toolpath units
Syntax: UNITS / <INCHES / MM>
Example: UNITS/ INCHES
UNITS/ MM
Notes: These unit settings will establish the correct tolerances for the
simulation. Units are unchanged until they are set again.

Other Keywords
The following additional keywords have no effect on the simulation process and
hence are ignored. The APT input parser will read them with no errors. These
keywords are in addition to the others mentioned in the section above

INSERT POSTN
OPSKIP INCLUDE
RETRCT PAINT
END OPSTOP
LINTOL SELCTL
MODE DISPLY
CYLNDR INTOL
OUTTOL LINTOL
PSIS ORIGIN
DELAY CUTCOM
VECTOR AUXFUN
CLRSRF QUILL
MDATA HEAD
RESET SELPL
SUB ROTHED
DISP WAIT
BLANK TLBRK
TAPEID COLLET
OP PCOUNT
RET TOLBL

9-22
ZWTRAC ORIGOF
PATH SEQNO
INCLUDE REWIND

CYCLE Statements
Description: Cycles are complex APT-CL statements that create multiple
Toolpath motions. Most of these motions relate to drilling such as hole
making operations.

CYCLE Syntax

CYCLE/ DRILL, depth, <feedrate> [,clear] [,<options>]

CYCLE/ FACE, depth, <feedrate> [,clear] [,<options>]
CYCLE/ TAP, depth, <feedrate> [,clear] [,<options>]
CYCLE/ BORE, depth, <feedrate> [,clear] [,<options>]
CYCLE/ REAM, depth, <feedrate> [,clear] [,<options>]
CYCLE / DEEP [, depth, INCR ], <stepsandfeedrates> [, clear] [,
<options>] ( BRKCHP )
CYCLE / THRU, depth, <step_data>, <feedrate> [, clear] [, <options>]
CYCLE / CSINK, odia, angle [, idia], <feedrate> [, clear] [, <options>]

CYCLE/ ON
CYCLE / OFF
CYCLE / NOMORE

The [Optional parameters] are explained in the following section.

NC Verify reports CYCLE / MANUAL statements as errors and ignores them.
NC Verify treats all points between the CYCLE / type and CYCLE / OFF or
CYCLE / NOMORE statements as candidates for special cycle processing.
The exception is any point preceded by the RAPID keyword. RAPID motions
during a cycle are considered to be avoidance moves.

The CYCLE parameters and optional data are explained below.

CYCLE Parameters
Cycles have parameters of depth of operation, feedrate, and startup clearance distance.

Depth of operation
The depth, when required, follows immediately the CYCLE / type. It is the distance
below each point to which the operation is to perform. A negative depth specifies an
end position above the control point; it does not cause a "reverse" operation. The
depth value must always result in a position at or below the cycle clearance plane.

Feedrate
The feedrate comprises feed type and the feed value formatted as follows:
IPM, feed value
IPR, feed value
MMPM, feed value
MMPR, feed value

9-23
All cycles must specify a feedrate. The DEEP and BRKCHP may specify multiple
feedrates. Feedrate keywords are:

KEYWORD VALUE
IPM Inches per minute
IPR Inches per revolution
MMPM Millimeters per minute
MMPR Millimeters per revolution

Clearance Height
"Clear" is the distance above each point at which NC Verify will position the cutter
prior to and after the required operation. "Clear" follows the feedrate parameter.

If no clear value is specified the last clear value given is used. The default clearance
value on the first cycle statement is zero. A negative clearance specifies a start
position below the control point; it does not cause a "reverse" operation. The
clearance value must always result in a position at or above the cycle depth (or first
cycle step).

Common Options
There are options available to cause additional processing at each point. These options
must follow the general syntax (i.e., after the depth, feedrate and clearance
parameters) and can be coded in any order. Not all options apply to all cycle types.
Check the individual cycle type description for allowed options.

[, RAPTO, depth]
The RAPTO option is used to cause an additional rapid positioning operation at each
point in the cycle. This option is used when performing any cycle where an additional
move at high speed is desired to move the tool tip from the clearance plane to the start
of the hole. An example would be when performing cycle operations on points below
the surface of the part and which can be approached at high speed, such as a
counterbore.

Normally, the tool tip is positioned to the clearance plane of each point, and the cycle
feedrate motion is performed from the clearance plane to the cycle depth. When the
RAPTO option is used, an additional positioning move will be made from the
clearance plane, the length of which is specified by the RAPTO "depth" value.

[, DWELL, ( seconds ) ]

[ REV, revolutions ]
The DWELL option is used to cause a programmed wait when the machine reaches
the specified depth. You can request a dwell for a number of seconds or a number of
spindle revolutions. This option can be coded on the DRILL, FACE, BORE, REAM
and CSINK cycles.

[, INVERS]
NC Verify ignores the INVERS option

9-24
[, ORIENT [, angle ]]
NC Verify ignores the ORIENT option

[, DECR, value]
The DECR option is used to reduce the last peck amount in DEEP and BRKCHP
cycles by a constant amount. These cycle types are used to drill holes where chip
clearance or breakage is required.

Normally, the last peck distance specified in a DEEP or BRKCHP cycle will be
repeated over and over until the full hole depth has been reached. Coding the DECR
option will cause the final peck distance to be reduced by a specified amount each
peck.

The value specifies the amount to reduce the final peck distance, at each peck. A built
in minimum peck distance will prevent the DECR option from reducing the final peck
distance to zero.

[, TIMES, count]
The TIMES option is only allowed with the BRKCHP cycle, and is used to
periodically cause a full retract of the tool tip to the clearance plane. The BRKCHP
cycle is used to drill deep holes, and performs a slight jog or delay at regular intervals
to stop long chips from forming.

Every "count" pecks, the tool tip will be fully retracted to the clearance plane. On
extremely deep holes, this insures full tip clearance, and also gives the coolant a
chance to reach the bottom of the hole.

CYCLRET/INIT
This keyword specifies the start point of the drill cycle: the point from which the drill
starts to go down. After the drill cycle is done, the drill goes back to this point. This
start point position is taken from the very last GOTO statement

CYCLRET/CLEAR

The drill retracts to the Rapid To point, the height of which can be found in the
CYCLE definition statement.

Sample NC Verify APT-CL File

2 PARTNO/ NC VERIFICATION APT-CL FILE FORMAT
3 TLAXIS/ 0.5547 0.8325 0.0
4 LOADTL
5 CUTTER/ 1.0000 0.120 0.3800 0.120 0.0 0.0 2.00
8 FROM/ 10.0 10.0 10.0
12 SPINDL/ CLW 1250.00
14 FEDRAT /IPM 12.50

9-25
18 RAPID
24 COOLNT /FLOOD
32 GOTO/ 1.0 1.0 2.0
36 GOTO/ 3.0 3.0 4.0
38 GOTO/ 1.0 4.6 2.0
40 MULTAX/ ON
62 FROM/ 1.1079 -0.300 3.0009 0.000 -1.0 0.0
65 GOTO/ 1.1502 -0.300 2.9557 0.000 -1.0 0.0
66 PPRINT/ TRUE C 1.4000 0.110 0.3800 0.120 0.0 0.0 10.00
69 GOTO/ 4.1958 -0.300 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.0
76 GOTO/ 4.2958 -0.310 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.0
79 CUTTER/ 1.0000 0.120 0.3900 0.120 0.0 0.0 2.00
80 GOTO/ 4.3958 -0.320 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.0
83 GOTO/ 4.4958 -0.330 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.0
96 GOTO/ 4.5958 -0.340 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.0
97 LOADTL
99 CUTTER/ 1.2000 0.120 0.3800 0.120 0.0 0.0 2.00
103 GOTO/ 4.6945 -0.350 2.8415 0.000 -1.0 0.0
104 GOTO/ 5.0000 -0.350 2.8415 0.000 -1.0 0.0
108 COOLNT/ OFF
109 FINI

Explanation of the sample file:

2 PARTNO NC VERIFICATION FILE FORMAT
The part number is displayed at the top of the screen during simulation.

3 TLAXIS 0.5547 0.8325 0.0

The tool axis is changed from its default of 0.0, 0.0, 1.0.

4 LOADTL
NC Verify® prepares to accept the next cutter as a physical tool definition.
Any CUTTER statements that are not preceded by a physical tool change
major word will be ignored.

5 CUTTER 1.0000 0.120 0.3800 0.120 0.0 0.0 2.00

The tool is defined using the standard APT seven parameters.

8 FROM 10.0 10.0 10.0

The tool is positioned prior to the first cut.

12 SPINDL CLW 1250.00

The spindle speed is displayed during simulation.

14 FEDRAT IPM 12.50

The feedrate and units are displayed during simulation.

18 RAPID
The next move is treated as rapid. The cutter is colored red and if any material
is cut, NC Verify® recognizes that an error has occurred.

9-26
NOTE: RAPID without an asterisk (*) applies only to the first GOTO
following it.

24 COOLNT FLOOD
Coolant flow is displayed during simulation.

32 GOTO 1.0 1.0 2.0

The tool is swept to the specified position, because this is a rapid move, the
cutter is colored red.

36 GOTO 3.0 3.0 4.0

The tool is swept to the specified position, the tool color returns to normal.

38 GOTO 1.0 4.6 2.0

The tool is swept to the specified position.

40 MULTAX ON
The I, J, and K values specified in FROM and GOTO statements will be
recognized by NC Verify.

62 FROM 1.1079 -0.300 3.0009 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is positioned prior to the next cut. Note that NC Verify does not
sweep the tool from 1.0 4.60 2.0 to its new position. The FROM statement
causes the tool to simply disappear and reappear at the new position.

65 GOTO 1.1502 -0.300 2.9557 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is swept to the specified position.

66 PPRINT TRUE C 1.4000 0.110 0.3800 0.120 0.0 0.00 10.00

The tool is redefined using the standard APT seven parameters.

69 GOTO 4.1958 -0.300 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is positioned prior to the next cut. The preceding tool definition
causes this statement to be treated like a FROM statement.

76 GOTO 4.2958 -0.310 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is swept to the specified position.

79 CUTTER 1.0000 0.120 0.3900 0.120 0.0 0.00 2.00

This statement is ignored. Because it is not preceded by a physical tool change
statement, NC Verify assumes that it reflects a false cutter definition.

80 GOTO 4.3958 -0.320 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is swept to the specified position.

83 GOTO 4.4958 -0.330 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is swept to the specified position.

96 GOTO 4.5958 -0.340 2.9141 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is swept to the specified position.

9-27
 97 LOADTL
NC Verify prepares to accept the next CUTTER statement.

99 CUTTER 1.2000 0.120 0.3800 0.120 0.0 0.00 2.00

The tool is defined using the standard APT seven parameters.

103 GOTO 4.6945 -0.350 2.8415 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is positioned prior to the next cut. The preceding tool definition
causes this statement to be treated like a FROM statement.

104 GOTO 5.0000 -0.350 2.8415 0.000 -1.0 0.00

The tool is swept to the specified position.

108 COOLNT OFF

The coolant flow is displayed as off.

1099 FINI
Simulation stops.

Solid Input (STL/SLA file format)

NC Verify accepts ASCII and binary SLA files. The ASCII format is as follows.

The first line of the file looks like this:

solid name
where the "name" is optional.

This line is followed by descriptions of the polygons (i.e., facets), in any order. The
first line of a polygon description looks like this:
facet normal xn yn zn
where the "xn yn zn" are the components of the polygon's normal vector. The vector
must point outward and must be normalized.

The second line of a polygon description looks like this:

outer loop

This line is followed by the descriptions of the polygon's vertices, in either clockwise
or counterclockwise order. Each vertex is described by a line that looks like this:
vertex x y z
where the "x y z" are the coordinates of the vertex.

The description of each polygon ends with these two lines:

endloop
endfacet

The last polygon description is followed by this line, the last line of the file:
end solid

The following sample file represents a tetrahedron:

9-28
 solid tetrahedron
facet normal -1 0 0
outer loop
vertex 0 0 0
vertex 0 0 2
vertex 0 2 0
endloop
endfacet
facet normal 0 -1 0
outer loop
vertex 0 0 0
vertex 2 0 0
vertex 0 0 2
endloop
endfacet
facet normal 0 0 -1
outer loop
vertex 0 0 0
vertex 2 0 0
vertex 0 2 0
endloop
endfacet
facet normal 1 1 1
outer loop
vertex 2 0 0
vertex 0 2 0
vertex 0 0 2
endloop
endfacet
end solid

NC Verify does not require the filename to have any particular extension. The file
may contain any number of polygons; and each polygon may contain any number of
vertices.

Sample Stock Definition in NC Verify File

NC Verify stock and fixture models can be of the following types:

Box
BOX
Description: Defines a stock box using center point and dimensions.
Syntax: BOX / <center x,y,z>, <length>, <width>, <height>
Example: BOX / 1, 1, 1, 4, 5, 6

CBOX
Description: Defines a stock box using two corners.
Syntax: CBOX / <corner1 x, y, z>, <opposite corner2 x,y,z>
Example: CBOX / 0, 0, 0, 3, 3, 3

9-29
FBOX
Description: Defines a fixture box using center point and dimensions.
Syntax: FBOX / <center x, y, z>, <len>, <wid>, <ht>
Box center: X, Y and Z coordinates.
Box : LENGTHX, WIDTHY, HEIGHTZ.
Example: FBOX / 0,0,0, 3, 4, 5

Cylinder
CYL
Description: Defines a stock cylinder using two axis points and radius.
Syntax: CYL / <axis pt1 x,y,z>, <axis pt2, x,y,z>, Radius
Axis point no. 1: X, Y and Z coordinates.
Axis point no. 2: X, Y and Z coordinates.
Example: CYL / 2, 0, 0, 6, 0, 0, 3

FCYL
Description: Defines a fixture cylinder using two axis points and radius.
Syntax: FCYL / <axis pt1 x,y,z>, <axis pt2, x,y,z>, radius
Example: FCYL/ 0,0,3, 0,0,8, 0.5

STL or SLA solid model

Please refer to the STL solid definition early this section

Profile Sweep
The following example uses the SPROF and SPPROF keywords to define a stock
model for the simulation. The stock model defined in NC Verify Tutorial 1, in the
`tutor.cl ' file contains this example.

As noted earlier in this chapter, SPROF defines the start point and thickness for the
profile sweep, and SPPROF defines the profile sweep points.
SPROF 0.000 0.000 -0.950 2.250
SPPROF 16.000 0.000
SPPROF 5.000 -4.500
SPPROF -1.000 -5.000
SPPROF -4.000 -4.500
SPPROF -4.000 -3.500
SPPROF -13.900 -1.000
SPPROF -13.900 3.000
SPPROF -11.500 3.500
SPPROF -10.000 5.000
SPPROF 0.000 7.575
SPPROF 8.500 7.950
SPPROF 9.500 8.500
SPPROF 12.000 6.800
SPPROF 16.000 3.000

9-30
Chapter 10 NC Verify TrueSolid™

NC Verify TrueSolid™ is a complete stand-alone product that uses advanced solid

modeling technology to create and manipulate complete and accurate solid models for
manufacturing applications. The system maintains full, closed solid model. Users can
dynamically rotate, pan and zoom into the 3D solid or examine the work in process
solid at any time during or after the simulation.

The NC Verify TrueSolid product uses OpenGL graphics for dynamic 3D solid
rendering and animation for significant performance improvement with OpenGL
graphics cards or accelerators.

Starting NC Verify TrueSolid

NC Verify Regular and NC Verify TrueSolid are both stand-alone products that can
be invoked and used independent of each other. A number of different license
schemes are available. Both products share the same license password and may also
require a hardware lock (or SIM). For more information on licensing your product
please refer to the Installation Notes booklet.

To invoke the TrueSolid product:

1. Select Programs from the Start menu.

2. Select Virtual Manufacturing Suite from the Programs menu. This will
display the NC Verify pop-up menu.

3. Select NC Verify TrueSolid from the pop-up menu. This will start up the NC
Verify TrueSolid product.

4. If there is no valid license installed on your machine, the license dialog will
be displayed. Please refer to the Installation Notes booklet for further
details.

Manufacturing applications
The current TrueSolid product supports the following manufacturing applications:
1. Turning (2-4 axis)
2. Milling (3 axis) in the SuperTurbo mode
3. 3-5 axis Milling

The NC Verify Regular product supports simulation for 3-5 axis milling, 2-4 axis
Wire EDM and Mill-Turn applications in addition to those listed above.

10-1
Modes of operation
Currently NC Verify TrueSolid operates in one of the two modes:
• Simulation mode which supports turning and 2.5 to 5 axis milling

• SuperTurbo mode which supports very fast 3 axis milling.

When the product is invoked for the first time after installation, it comes up in
simulation mode. You can select the SuperTurbo mode by clicking on SuperTurbo
option under the File menu. SuperTurbo mode is not available for toolpaths which
contain turning or 5 axis operations.

SuperTurbo mode
The SuperTurbo mode uses special technology to perform very fast verification of
large NC files for 3-axis milling. It is designed for use with large NC files with small
tool moves, typically used in the mold and die industries.

Simulation mode
Simulation mode is more versatile than SuperTurbo mode in that it supports turning
and 5 axis operations. It is ideal for visualization of the machining process and
animation

Design Part Comparison

When you have the final machined or "manufactured" part on the screen, you can do a
visual comparison of the "manufactured" part with the "designed" part. You can read
in the designed part by selecting the Design Part button from the Model menu. Now,
select the Comparison button from the Inspect menu. This brings up a pop-up menu,
which will let you select one of the following display modes for visual comparison:
Show Mfg Part: Display only the machined solid
Show Design Part: Display only the design solid
Show Both: Display both the design and machined solids
Show Difference: Display the difference between design & manufactured
solid

The deviation of the machined part from the actual design part is computed and the
gouges and undercuts are displayed in the selected mode.

Rest Machining Analysis

(Only available in SuperTurbo mode)
Rest machining analysis determines the undercut and gouge information. After
machining the part, user can compare the “designed” model with “manufactured”
Model under the Inspect menu. The visual comparison can be shown in 3D shaded
solid or 3D undercut and gouge curves or 2D comparison curves in the top view. The
comparison display provides the following additional display choices:

Show 3D Contour: Display the 3D contours of the gouges & undercuts

Show 2D Contour: Display the 2D top view contours of the gouges &
undercuts

10-2
Simulation settings
You can set various parameters to control the simulation via the Simulation Settings
dialog box. Invoke this dialog box by selecting the Settings button in the Simulate
menu. For more information, please refer to the Simulate Menu section of this chapter.

Display settings
Set various parameters to control the display in the Milling and Turning mode via the
Display dialog. Invoke this dialog by selecting the display button in the View menu.

Product User Interface Features

File Menu
The File menu supports the following commands:

Open
This command is used to open NC program files, APT-CL file or Sirius JOB files. It
brings up a standard File Open dialog box, which prompts you for the name of the file
to be opened. If you select a NC program file, the NC Job Data dialog will be
displayed. This dialog will take you through all the steps to create a NC Job for
simulation. Job settings can be edited by selecting the Edit Job button from the File
menu.

Edit Job
(only enabled after a file is opened)
Selecting this item displays the Job Data dialog. The job parameters are grouped
under the following categories:
Controller and machine related parameters
Tool definition parameters
Tool compensation information (D codes, H codes)
Coordinate system parameters.
Each category is represented by a property page in the Job Data dialog. You can
move between the various property pages by selecting the appropriate tab in the
dialog box. The dialog box displays the values for the currently loaded job. For
further information on the Job dialog, please refer to the Job Files section in the Input
Data of Chapter 9.

Save Job
Use this command to save current NC program file settings to a job file. It brings up a
standard File Save dialog box that prompts you for the name of a file with a “.job”
extension. This command is available only if the current selected file is a G-code or
job file. If the currently selected file is a G-code file and a corresponding job file is
not available, then NC Verify Truesolid will automatically create a job file. The Save
Job command is used to save the current settings, which include the tool list and the
stock.

10-3
Note: Stock box and cylinder information can be saved between user sessions and
used in the next product session. Multiple stocks can also be saved in the job file. The
stock data will automatically be shown in the dialog box.

Job Data Dialog

Read WIP file

(Only available in Simulation mode)
This command is used to read a work-in-process file saved from a previous session. A
standard File Open dialog is displayed listing all files with “.tsw” extension. Upon
selection of a WIP file, NC Verify Truesolid reads and displays the saved work-in-
progress in the part view.

Write WIP file

(Only available in Simulation mode)
This command is used to save the current work-in-process to a file. A standard File
Save dialog box will be displayed to enter the name of a file with “.tsw” extension.
You can write multiple work-in-process files during a single simulation session.

The work-in-process file contains the following information in binary format:

Solid work-in-process model.

The work-in-process file does not contain the following information:

any dynamic graphics display information, such as rotation or section, NC program
information.

10-4
Print
Select this button to print the graphics view that is currently active. This will invoke a
Print dialog to help you select the printer and set various parameters for printing. The
product supports both color and black and white printers.

Print Preview
Select this button to preview the image that is to be printed from the currently active
graphics view. This will invoke a dialog that displays how the screen image will
appear when printed.

Page Setup
This feature will help the user adjust the page size and dimensions. User can set or
change how an image will print onto a page. This option is used for setting the header
and footer of the image to be printed. Selecting this button will invoke a dialog
showing the current page setup. Modify the settings as required and accept the
changes by selecting the OK button.

Write Image File

This button writes out the image on the screen to a bitmap (.bmp) file. Use this
command to create a snapshot of the current screen image. You can create an image
file at any time during a session. A standard File Save dialog box will be displayed
prompting you for a file name with a “.bmp” extension. The image files are saved in
the same color format as the current session, i.e., 256-color or 64K-color mode in
either monochrome or color. This button is enabled only when there is a stock on the
screen.

SuperTurbo
This option will switch between SuperTurbo mode and Simulation mode. By default
machining will restart if the mode is switched. If, however, the auto-restart option in
the simulation settings dialog is deselected (see Simulation Settings section), the mode
can be switched without restarting. Thus it is possible to fast forward through the first
50000 cuts, for example, in SuperTurbo mode, switch to Simulation mode and
animate the next 1000 cuts.

Exit
Exits the NC Verify TrueSolid program.

Model Menu
The Model menu supports commands to create and manipulate the stock models.

Stock
Use this command to add a stock or work piece. In TrueSolid, the work piece in a
milling simulation may be either a cuboid solid, a cylindrical solid or a solid stored in
an STL format file. Only Cylindrical and STL solids are supported for turning jobs.
The command invokes a cascade menu that will list three kinds of stocks that can be
added.

10-5
Box

Specify box
using two
corners Corner1

Create Box dialog

Use the Modify Button to change the
last edited stock.

This command invokes the Create Box dialog. Use the Create Box dialog to specify a
box orthogonal to the coordinate axes using two corner points. You may either
manually enter the coordinates of the box corners, or let NC Verify Truesolid
establish the stock coordinates by selecting the Use Bounding Box button. The Use
Bounding Box command will create the smallest box that completely encloses the
toolpaths. The coordinate values may be modified by entering a value for Offset.
Offset will increase the size of the bounding box in all directions by the value entered,
i.e., it offsets each face by the offset value. So, an offset of 0.5 increases each
dimension by 1.0 unit. Select OK to create the box or Cancel to abort the task. The
Modify changes the last edited stock. Both Ok and Modify buttons will dismiss the
dialog box.

Cylinder
Selecting this command invokes the Create Cylinder dialog. Use the Create Cylinder
dialog to specify a cylinder by defining the cylinder axis and its diameter. The
cylinder axis is determined by its two endpoints: Axis point 1 and Axis point 2. Enter
the X, Y, Z coordinates of the two endpoints and the diameter in the respective fields.
Select OK to create a cylinder or Cancel to abort the task. The Modify changes the last
edited stock. Both Ok and Modify buttons will dismiss the dialog box.

10-6
 Define the
cylinder axis
using two end
points: Axis
point1 and Axis

Set the
Diameter in
model units

Use the Modify Button to change the

last edited stock.
Create Cylinder dialog

STL
Selecting this command allows you to read in a STL model as your initial Stock.

Fixture
Use this command to add a fixture. This command invokes a cascade menu that will
list three kinds of fixture that can be added: Box, Cylinder and STL solid. This will
bring up a dialog box to create the fixture type similar to defining a stock. This option
is not available in SuperTurbo mode.

Design Part
This option lets you read in the design part from an STL file for comparison with the
"manufactured" part. This option is only enabled when a stock part has already been
loaded.

Tolerances
SuperTurbo Mode
Selecting this button brings up a Tolerance dialog box that allows you to define
simulation tolerances for the SuperTurbo mode. Tolerance parameters influence the
simulation speed and model accuracy. Tolerance may also be limited by the amount
of memory available on the computer.

10-7
 Tolerances Dialog

Unit: You can choose inch or metric units

Model Tolerance: You can choose low, medium or high tolerance. This
controls the accuracy of the model. Lower values of
tolerance will give more accurate geometrical resolution
at the expense of higher memory usage and reduced
simulation speed. Medium tolerance is recommended for
typical applications. The user can also type in a value in
the text field to set the tolerance to a customized value.
The default tolerance values are 0.005 for low, 0.002 for
Medium and 0.001 for High. This value is not dependant
on the units (Inch vs. Metric).
NC to Solid Tolerance: This controls the accuracy of the STL output.
Lower values of tolerance result in a more accurate
display. This value does not affect the accuracy of
the simulation.
Display Tolerance: This controls the smoothness of the image and
graphics display output. This tolerance affects only
the quality of the display. It does not affect the
accuracy of the simulation. Lower values of
tolerance result in a more accurate display. This is a
value that depends on the units selected, i.e., a value
of 0.01 in metric units corresponds to 0.01 mm. This
value does not affect the accuracy of the simulation.
Design Comparison Tolerance: During rest machining, the tolerance
band is on either side of the design part, and its
extent is controlled by this parameter. Changing this
value determines what level of deviation is classified

10-8
 as an undercut or gouge. This tolerance value is
impacted by the units selected.
Design Part Offset This controls the offset of the design part normal to
the design part surface when performing a design
part comparison. The default value is 0.0. A
positive value offsets the design part outwards. This
value depends on the units currently selected, i.e., a
value of 1 in metric units corresponds to 1 mm. This
float value can be set through a job file using the
syntax:
DesignPartOffset <value>
Circular Interpolation: This setting is only relevant to NCOptimizer
calculations, and is the tolerance to which arcs are
interpolated into linear sections. This value depends
on the units selected. In normal machining, in
SuperTurbo mode, arcs are not interpolated and this
value is ignored.
Vertical Arc Interpolation: This is the tolerance to which vertical arc
motions (parallel to the tool axis) are interpolated. A
Advanced Setting: This option allows you to modify the Circular
interpolation tolerance; otherwise, the optional
tolerance will be selected by default by the True
Solid product.

Simulation Mode
This Tolerance dialog box allows you to manipulate the speed of simulation and
quality of graphics manually.

Simulation Mode Tolerances Dialog

Unit: Choose either Metric or Imperial

Tool Facet/Circular Interpolation Tolerance: Determines the maximum
deviation of the model of the tool in the simulation from
the actual tool used.
10-9
 Minimum Sides for Tool: A tolerance can also be determined by the
deviation of the facet representation of a cylindrical tool
from the number of facets used in the tool model.

The final tool tolerance is taken to be the lesser of the two tolerances.
5 Axis Angular Tolerance: 5 Axis tool moves are interpolated into sections
each of which has the tool moving through this angle or
less. This setting is only available if your license allows
full simultaneous 5 axis simulation in TrueSolid. You
may select fine or default tolerance for this setting.
Alternatively, enter the angle in degrees in the text box.
Any angle between 0.1° and 10° is acceptable.

Translate…
This capability allows users to translate the Stock, Design Part, Fixture and/or Tool
Path in any direction. This command is typically used to translate the stock along the
Z-axis or adjust the part origin for 3-axis milling.

Translate Dialog

You can translate in any direction by specifying a translation vector using the X, Y
and Z coordinate fields. When a translation is acceptable, select OK and the latest
coordinates become the original position for any further transformations. The Apply
button applies the current translation to the selected items. The Cancel button halts the
translations and closes the dialog.

Rotate…
Use this command to rotate the highlighted solid in the currently active Graphics
view.
The Rotate command displays a Rotate dialog box as shown:

10-10
 Rotate dialog

You can rotate about any of the orthogonal axes by selecting from the X, Y and Z axes
radio buttons. The amount of rotation can be varied using the Angle input field. Select
the OK button to accept the new orientation. The Cancel button cancels the rotation
and closes the dialog.

Rotations are cumulative: Two successive rotations of 20° about the z axis will result
in a total rotation of 40° about the z axis.

Scale…
This capability allows users to scale to another unit (example Inch or Metric). This
feature is typically used for SuperTurbo design model comparison, when the design
model is not in the same units as the manufactured part.

The Scale command is usually used to convert models from one unit system to
another. A Scale factor of 1.0 does not scale the model. For user convenience, a
choice of scaling from Inch to mm and mm to Inch is provided. Select the Other
button for custom scaling. Negative scale factors are not allowed.

Delete Stock(s)
Use this command to delete all the stocks in the currently active Graphics view.

Delete Fixture(s)
Use this command to delete all the fixtures in the currently active Graphics view.

Delete Design Part

This capability (which is only enabled after loading a design part) allows users to
delete the design model currently displayed on the screen.

NC to Solid
This feature supports reverse engineering capabilities to generate a CAD model from
the NC toolpath. STL files can be created from the manufacturing simulation at any

10-11
time. Selecting this item invokes a standard file save dialog. Files can be written in
either ASCII or binary format.

View Menu
New View
This button creates a new graphics view. You can create a new graphics view at any
time during or after the simulation. Each of the graphics views supports dynamic
graphics visualization including rotation, pan and zoom, during or after the
simulation. The various graphics views are independent of each other and can have
different attributes, e.g., each view can have a different rendering mode and can
display the solid model in different orientations.

Camera Palette
This intuitive camera palette shown in the picture can be conveniently positioned
anywhere on your screen. The camera views depend on the machine orientation and
automatically reflect the current orientation.

Camera palette

Standard views
There are nine views available to orientate the camera in the Graphics view(s). The
following options allow you to switch to any of the standard views. These commands
are also available via an intuitive camera palette shown in the above picture.

Front
Switch to front view (ALT V + V + F)

Switch to the front view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Back
Switch to back view (ALT V + V + B)

Switch to the back view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Left
Switch to left view (ALT V + V + L)

Switch to the left view of the model(s) and toolpath.

10-12
Right
Switch to right view (ALT V + V + R)

Switch to the right view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Top
Switch to top view (ALT V + V + T)

Switch to the top view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Bottom
Switch to bottom view (ALT V + V + O)

Switch to the bottom view of the model(s) and toolpath.

Isometric - 1
Switch to isometric view [1] (ALT V + V + 1)

Switch to the isometric view of the model(s) and toolpath as seen from the front and
left.

Isometric - 2
Switch to isometric view [2] (ALT V + V + 2)

Switch to the isometric view of the model(s) and toolpath as seen from the front and
right.

Isometric - 3
Switch to isometric view [3] (ALT V + V + 3)

Switch to the isometric view of the model(s) and toolpath as seen from the back and
left.

Isometric - 4
Switch to isometric view [4] (ALT V + V + 4)

Switch to the isometric view of the model(s) and toolpath as seen from the back and
right.

Render
This button brings up a sub-menu that allows you to set the display or rendering mode
for the solid model in the currently active graphics view. This rendering mode can be
set for every graphics window that is open. The rendering options are:

1. 2D - shows in XZ axes (for turning simulation only)

2. Hidden Line Removal – shows the full solid in wireframe mode but with
hidden line removal (Simulation mode only).
3. Wire Frame - shows the full solid in wireframe mode (Simulation mode
only).
4. Solid - shows the full solid in shaded mode.

10-13
Backplot Toolpath
Backplot is turned off during simulation. This feature allows you to enable Backplot.
This button brings up a sub-menu that allows you to set various options for
backplotting of toolpath and tool axis:

• Activate: Enables backplot

• Show Tool Axis: Shows the tool axis of toolpath
• Clean Up: Cleans up the memory cache for the backplot toolpath and disable
backplot

Fit
Select this button to fit the contents of the currently active Graphics view to the
window bounds. This sets an appropriate viewpoint and zoom ratio so that the solid
model fits in the window and is fully visible.

Zoom Region
This feature helps you to zoom into a specific area of the solid model. To zoom on a
specific region, select the Zoom icon from the tool bar. In the activated zoom mode,
the left mouse button performs incremental dynamic zooming. The right mouse
button performs a window zoom. You can deactivate it by selecting the Zoom Region
(or by clicking on the Zoom mode icon on the tool bar). In the deactivated mode: the
left mouse button performs a translation. The right mouse button performs a rotation.
You can reset the display to its previous state by selecting Reset View button.

Reset View
This allows the user to return the graphics view to its previous state. This feature can
be particularly useful after zooming or rotating the solid model.

Zoom Up
This feature allows you to zoom closer into the solid model by a small scale factor.
You can reset the display to its previous state by selecting Reset View button.

Zoom Down
This feature allows you to zoom away from the solid model by a small scale factor.
You can reset the display to the previous view by selecting Reset View button.

Show Axis
This button toggles the axis display on and off. The axis display is shown in top left
corner and at the origin of the coordinate system.

Enhanced Zoom
(Only available in Simulation mode)
This feature helps user to zoom into a specific area of the solid model. To zoom in on
a specific region, select the Zoom Region from the View Menu first, then use the right
mouse button to define a rectangular screen region on which you want to zoom. After
you have selected the area which you like to view, click on Enhanced Zoom that gives
you a sharper graphic image of the selected area instantly. Click on Enhanced Zoom a
second time to return to the original image and continue the simulation.

10-14
Translucent
This feature allows you to view the solid in a translucent mode.

3/4 View (Turning)

This feature is only for turning applications. A turning simulation can be viewed in ¾
mode. When this option is selected, the stock for turning is displayed as a 270 degree
rotational solid. This displays a quarter cut-away section for the user to view the
interior of the turned part. To reset viewing to full solid turning, deactivate by
selecting the 3/4 View (Turning) option.

Display
This feature invokes a dialog box that gives you the option to define different display
modes for the tool. This is not available in SuperTurbo mode.

Display Dialog

Simulate Menu
Rewind
This button rewinds or moves the simulation start point such that it starts at the
beginning of the input file. Use this option to start the simulation from the beginning.

Start
This command starts the simulation. The progress of the simulation is controlled by
the parameters set using the Simulation Settings dialog box. The simulation will stop
at the end of the input file or, at any of the break points as defined in the Stopping
Criteria (see Simulate Settings section).

Stop
This command stops the current simulation. Simulation can be stopped and resumed
at any time. You can restart simulation by stepping through the simulation one
block/line of the input file at a time using the Single Step command or resume the
continuous simulation process by selecting the Start command.

Single Step F2
This command will single step through the simulation, processing the input file one
block/line at a time.
10-15
Fast Forward
This command will fast-forward the simulation to the end of the input file. You can
stop the fast forward process at any time. The display will be synchronized with the
block/line of the input file where the simulation has been stopped. You can resume
simulation with Start or Single Step or Fast Forward. During fast forward, the
simulation can also be made to stop at break points specified in the stopping criteria
section of the simulation settings dialog (see the Simulation Settings section).

Settings

Simulation Settings Dialog

Selecting this button will invoke the Simulation Settings dialog box, allowing you to
set parameters that control the display update frequency and the ‘stopping criteria’,
which controls how the simulation proceeds. You can set the Update Display by field
to update after a certain number of blocks or to update the display at every tool
change. In the Stop At section, you can set the simulation to stop when any of a
number of conditions is met. These conditions are:
End: Stop at the end of the input file
Tool Change: Stop when a new tool is selected
Error: Stop when a collision occurs either during a rapid move, between a
tool holder and stock or fixture or between a tool and
fixture.
Block Number: Stop when the block number entered in the neighboring text
box is reached.
Feed Rate: Stop when the feed rate entered in the neighboring text box is
exceeded.

Any number of conditions can be selected.

10-16
If the Auto Stop During Fast Forward box is checked then the stop criteria will also be
applied during fast forward mode.

Tool holders can be disabled by checking the Simulate Tool Holders box.

The Restart When Toggling Super-Turbo Mode check box controls how the
simulation behaves when switching between SuperTurbo and Simulation modes. By
default machining is automatically restarted from the beginning of the job. If this box
is unchecked, however, the job will not be restarted. The mode will change and
machining proceed from where it was before the mode change.

Inspect Menu

Measure

This feature allows you to perform various measurements on the solid model.

During a turning simulation the button will invoke a dialog box with two property
pages, one for each of the following:
Diameter/Radius and Length
Distance between 2 features

Measure Properties Dialog

To measure, select the appropriate tab and click on the graphics feature to measure.
For more information on the Measure Properties dialog box, please refer to the
Measure section under the Inspect Menu in the Product Features chapter.

10-17
Milling jobs in Simulation mode and SuperTurbo mode also have similar measure
properties dialog boxes.

Remove Chips

Selecting this command in Simulation mode brings up a dialog box that allows you to
delete one or more chips created during the Machining simulation.

Remove Chips Dialog

Auto Remove Chips After Simulation: If this box is checked, then chips will
automatically be removed at the end of the simulation. It is assumed that the largest
fragment by volume is the stock part. All the other parts will automatically be
removed.

Save Chip and Delete Others: If you select this option then picking on part of the
solid using the left mouse button will cause that part to be saved and the remaining
parts of the solid to be deleted.

Delete Chip: If you select this option then you can delete a part of the solid by
picking it with the mouse.

Restore: This command allows you to restore all recently deleted chips. If chips
were automatically removed at the end of a simulation then they may be restored by
selecting this command after bringing up the remove chips dialog. The Restore
button will not dismiss the dialog box.

The cancel button restores any deleted chips and closes the dialog.

Solid Section
This feature enables the stock to be sectioned during or after simulation. Selecting
this option invokes the solid section dialog.

10-18
 Solid Section Dialog

The section plane is specified by entering a reference point on the plane and a vector
normal to the plane. The solid remaining afeter the section lies on the side of the
section plane in the direction of the vector. Moving the slider control shifts the section
plane along its normal in equal distance increments. The Cancel button restores the
original stock and dismisses the dialog. Hitting the Apply button cause the stock to be
sectioned but does not dismiss the dialog. The OK button sections the stock and
dismisses the dialog: the stock will be permanently sectioned.

Section
This feature is similar to the solid section feature, except that the section plane is
applied only to the image: the plane is not permanent, and the original, un-sectioned
stock is displayed when the section dialog is dismissed. The simulation can proceed
while the solid is sectioned in this way, and machining takes place to the whole stock,
not just that visible in front of the section plane.

Comparison
When you have the final machined or "manufactured" part on the screen, you can do a
visual comparison of the "manufactured" part with the "designed" part. You can read
in the designed part by selecting Model → Design part. Now, select Inspect
→Compare. This brings up a pop-up menu, which will let you select one of the
following display modes for visual comparison:
Show Mfg Part: Display only the machined solid
Show Design Part: Display only the design solid
Show Both: Display both the design and machined solids
Show Difference: Display the difference between design & manufactured
solid

The deviation of the machined part from the actual design part is computed and the
gouges and undercuts are displayed according to the Color Map chart.

10-19
Comparison Color Map
You can select and modify any of the seven color ranges from the Comparison Color
Map. It covers these areas: Gouge, Undercut. Value fields for the material comparison
height can be determined by the user (values must be entered in a descending order:
highest to the lowest value).

The results of design comparison for rest machining are displayed based on this color
map. The color map has seven color Ranges that can be modified by the user. By
selecting this option a side panel with the corresponding color icons will be displayed.
You can also type in the field next to the color icons, the amount of material height
for the under cut and gouge. You can click on the color icon to further modify the
individual colors. Please note the value entered in these fields should be in a
descending order (highest to the lowest value).

Rest machining analysis

(Only available in SuperTurbo mode)
Rest machining analysis determines the undercut and gouge information. After
machining the part, user can compare the "as designed solid model" with "as
manufactured solid model" under the Inspect menu. The visual comparison can be
shown in 3D shaded solid or 3D undercut and gouge curves or 2D comparison curves
in the top view. The comparison display provides the following additional display
choices:

Show 3D Contour: Display the 3D contours of the gouges & undercuts

Show 2D Contour: Display the 2D top view contours of the gouges &
undercuts
3D Contour on Solid: Displays the 3D contours of the gouges & under cuts
superimposed on the currently selected model.

Inspect Input file

This feature will open up a text window at the bottom of the simulation screen which
displays the contents of the input file. While the simulation is in progress, the input
file will be scrolled. You can stop the simulation, modify value and save the input file
and continue the simulation with new values. The block of code that is currently being
simulated will be highlighted. In addition, if there is a bad cut, this specific block of
code will be highlighted in red. This file can be linked to Inspect Error report.

View Log File

All errors that occur during simulation are saved to a log file. The log file can be
displayed by selecting this option. The default log file name is NCVsolid.log and it is
saved to the directory in which NC Verify is installed. You can change this default
file name as follows:
• Options→ System Defaults dialog box
• Select File tab
• Type your desired file name in the session file box.
By providing a full path name, you can save the log file to any directory you desire.
If you have done design comparison or rest machining analysis, gouge and undercut
errors are also saved to the log file.

10-20
Inspect Error
Select this option to display toolpath errors in the Inspect Error Window. Errors are
displayed with their type, the maximum difference from the design part and the CL
block number and the tool ID if applicable. A number of features are available in error
report mode. Double clicking on an error allows a more accurate close up of the error
to be obtained, or the details of the error to be displayed. The exact behaviour of
double clicking an error depends on the option selected from the popup menu invoked
by clicking the right mouse button.

Error Report View Popup Menu

The following options are available:

Automatic Zoom / Simulation: Select this item to automatically run the whole
simulation using only that region of the stock in which the
error occurs and display the result.
Manual Zoom / Simulation: Select this item to restart the simulation, but with a
stock whose dimensions match the region in which the
error occurs. The simulation can then be controlled using
the VCR tool bar in the usual fashion.
Gouge, Rapid, Uncut information: Select this item to display detailed information
on the error concerned.

The following additional options appear in the popup menu:

Error Report: Invoke a cascading popup menu from which you can select the
types of error to be displayed. The following types can be
chosen: Gouge, Undercut, Rapid collisions and Holder
collisions. At least one of these must be selected.
Pick Error: This option allows you to use the left mouse button to pick on an error
point on the solid mode. If this error corresponds to an
error in the inspect error window then that error will be
automatically highlighted.
Reset Zoom / Simulation: This option is activated if you have performed a close-
up zoom by double clicking on an error. If selected, the
simulation is reset to its original format.
Write errors to log file: If the simulation is not finished, this option will be
activated to allow the errors displayed in the error report
view to be saved to the log file. Errors are automatically
saved if the end of the input file has been reached.

10-21
View Flute and Shank Lengths
Choose this command to display a list of tools with minimum shank and flute lengths
calculated and displayed as the simulation progresses. This option will only be
enabled if the calculation of flute and shank lengths is enabled.

View Control Panel

Choose this command to invoke or dismiss the Control Panel. The Control Panel
displays data relating to the current block such as the tool position and axis, the feed
rate, spindle speed and coolant flow. In addition the tool diameter, corner radius and
height are displayed.

Control Panel

NCOptimizer
If you have a valid license to use NC Optimizer, you will see the NCOptimizer menu
in the NCVerify TrueSolid menu bar. NC Optimizer analyzes NC toolpaths and then
adjusts Feeds and Speeds to drastically reduce manufacturing cycle times. For
complete product information, please refer to the NC Optimizer manual.

Options Menu
Color
This capability allows you to define the solid colors for the Stock, Design Part, Tool
and Fixture and the colors that get transferred during cutting by selecting the relevant
item from the cascading popup menu. This will invoke a dialog in which you can
define any color using a "flexible" color palette and setting the RGB values for each
color. Each base color can have numerous shades and a total of 16 million colors (24
bits) are available.

10-22
Units
User can use this button to choose Inches or Metric unit for simulation. Units can play
a significant role in simulation performance and accuracy. Therefore, it is strongly
recommended that users select the correct unit before simulation. The Unit
information is saved between sessions.
Software render
If this item is checked the generic graphics driver will be used. This feature is useful
if you experience problems with graphics due to a faulty graphics card or driver. You
will need to restart TrueSolid if you switch this option on or off.

System Defaults
The system defaults are categorized into two groups: File, and Miscellaneous, each
represented by a property page. These defaults are maintained across sessions. After
making changes to the NC Verify system defaults, you can select OK to accept the
changes or Cancel to retain the previous settings.

File page

NC VerifyTrueSolid System Defaults - File page

In the File property page, you can customize the file settings. The file categories are:

Start-up Directory
You can set the start-up directory to be either the last open directory from the previous
session or any particular directory that you wish to use. To select a particular
directory, you can either type the directory path in the field or use the Browse
command to determine the correct directory path. The Browse command opens the
Find Directory dialog as shown below.

10-23
 Select Directory dialog

Select OK to accept the directory that you wish to set or Cancel to abort the task.

Session Log file

You can set the session log to be written to any custom file. By default, if you do not
specify a complete path, the session log file will be written to the directory where NC
Verify Truesolid™ is installed. The default path will also be used in the case where
the specified log file cannot be written. TrueSolid must be restarted for changes to the
log file name to have effect.

File Extensions
You can customize the file extensions for APT CL files and G code files using the
extension fields. By default, NC Verify supports “.apt” and “.cl” file extensions for
APT/CL files and “.nc” file extension for G-code files. You can add or change the file
extensions by adding your file extensions separated by “,”(comma) or “;”(semi-
colon). Please make sure that there are no spaces in the beginning or between file
extensions.

Auto SuperTurbo Min File Size

You can set the file size above which SuperTurbo mode is automatically selected. It
is advisable to use SuperTurbo mode with very large toolpaths as it will use
significantly less memory and take less time that non-SuperTurbo mode.

BackPlot Max Cache Size

You can set the maximum file size below which the file will be pre-read and the
toolpath stored in memory to be rendered in the TrueSolid window. Both memory
and time will be saved by not displaying the toolpath for files larger than this size.

Misc page
Use the settings in this property page to set miscellaneous system wide defaults.

Dimensions

Origin axes length:

This is the length of the axes displayed at the model origin. The recommended
value is 2.

10-24
Corner axes length:
This is the length of the axes displayed at the top left-hand corner of the view. The
recommended value is 37.

Bounding box offset:

This is offset of the box enclosing the tool path or geometry. The box is inflated
by this amount along all dimensions. The default is 0.5.

NC Verify TrueSolid System Defaults – Misc. page

Fit fraction:
The fraction of the size of the window to which all the models and toolpaths
displayed in the view must be fit to. Values can range from .1 to 1.0. Default value
is 0.9.

STL Solid Preprocess

Selecting this command invokes a dialog box which enables you to choose how STL
files containing stock, fixture and design part definitions are read and interpreted

STL preprocess dialog

10-25
It is important that TrueSolid is able to obtain the correct orientation of polygons
stored in STL files. If polygon normals are incorrect, then stock models may not be
displayed or modeled correctly. If design part polygon normals are incorrect then
errors may result in design part comparisons. Three options are provided to facilitate
the calculation of triangle normals:

Use Triangle Orientation: You should select this option if the vertices in each
triangle are specified in a counter-clockwise order in the
STL file as viewed from outside of the solid. This is the
default option.
Use Normal Orientation: If this option is selected then it is assumed that the
polygon normals specified in the STL file are correct, and
these are used to orient the polygons in the resulting solid
model.
Use Upwards Orientation: Assume that all triangles in the input STL file face
upwards. This option is useful for surface models of 3 –
axis parts.

Make polygon orientation consistent: If the polygon orientations inferred from the
STL file are not consistent, then you may choose to attempt
fix the model by selecting this option. This may take some
time and requires a significant amount of memory for very
large models, but generally gives good results. You should
use this option if the model appears to have unexpected
holes in it.

Calculate flute and shank lengths

Use this command to calculate minimum flute and shank lengths for standard milling
tools. This data will be displayed in a dialog bar if the Inspect -> View Flute and
Shank Lengths option is selected. Flute and shank lengths are not calculated for form
tools nor STL tools. By default, the initial minimum flute length is the tool height,
and the initial shank length is 0.0. The minimum shank length is calculated only if a
holder is attached to the tool, and is calculated so as to ensure that the holder does not
clash with the stock or fixtures. The minimum flute length is increased during
simulation to ensure that any shank on the top of the tool, would not clash with the
stock. An initial minimum flute length may be set in the job file by adding the
following line to the job file:
ShankFluteData <initial flute length> <tolerance>

The tolerance parameter specifies the accuracy to which the shank and flute lengths
should be calculated.

The calculated values are stored in the log file.

Window Menu
Cascade
Arranges the different windows on top of one another, with top borders showing.

10-26
Tile
Arranges different windows next to one another, usually at a reduced size.

Arrange Icons
Arranges different window icons next to one another.

Help Menu
Help Topics
List the index for on-line help.

About NC Verify TrueSolid

This command displays a dialog with details of the product license type and
ownership.

About NC Verify TrueSolid dialog

Whose Rendering?

About Graphics Card dialog

10-27
Toolbar Buttons
The following table gives a full description of the tool bar icons.

File Open − Opens NC program files. This brings up a standard file open dialog box.
User then select an APT/CL, G code file or any other file for opening.

File Print – Print the screen image

Camera Palette – Toggle the display of the camera palette.

Zoom Up – Zooms view in towards the model.

Zoom Down – Zooms view out away from the model.

Fit − Fit the contents of the model to the view window.

Zoom − Sets mouse mode to Zoom. In Solid (simulation) mode, left mouse
dynamically zooms into an area. Right mouse accurately zooms into the solid.

Undo View Change – Restores any modified graphics view to the previous view.

2D Render – toggles view from 3 dimensional to 2 dimensional (turning).

Hidden Line Render – Changes display mode to display a wireframe image with
hidden lines removed

Wireframe Render – Changes display mode to display a wireframe image.

Smooth Shaded Render – Changes the display mode to solid

Rewind Simulation – Move backwards to the beginning point of the simulation.

Start Simulation − Start/Play the simulation.

Stop Simulation – Halt replay of the simulation.

10-28
Step Simulation – Step through the simulation one block at a time.

Fast Forward Simulation – Move to the end of the simulation

Measurement − Measure point, normal, thickness and other data from solids

10-29
Chapter 11 Frequently Asked Questions &
Troubleshooting

Performance, Memory Requirements, Graphics Cards

Q: How much memory do I need to run NC Verify?

Please check the system requirements in Chapter 2. Memory requirements can

depend on production needs.

Q: My system is running slow. How can I improve the speed?

There are several things you can do to improve the speed. These items are
clearly listed in Chapter 8 in the “Maximizing speed” section. Please use as
many suggestions as possible in your job.

Q: I am getting “Out of Memory” messages. What can I do?

There are several things that can reduce the computer system memory
requirements. They are mentioned in Chapter 8. Please check the system
requirements in Chapter 2. Memory requirements can vary depending on
production needs.

Q: What kind of graphics card do I need to run NC Verify?

For NC Verify Regular, you can use any graphics card.

For NC Verify TrueSolid you will get better performance with an OpenGL
card.

Tools
Q: How do I enter/change any tool information?

You can do this via the Edit Tool List dialog. You can invoke this dialog by
selecting the Edit Tool List button from the Tools menu.

Q: During simulation, I don't see any machining/metal cutting taking place. Why?

Possible problems are:

No tool has been defined.
Tool size parameters are set to 0.0
Tool definition is incorrect or incomplete.
All of the above situations can be addressed by defining the tool and editing
various tool parameters via the Edit Tool List dialog.

11-1
Q: I have defined form tools but they don't show up.

Form tool definitions are stored in the TOOLS.LIB file. The TOOLS.LIB file
should reside in the same directory as the NC Verify product executable. You
can set the product directory in the File Page tab of the System Defaults
dialog. Check the name of this library file and make sure that its path is set
correctly.

Stock
Q: When I load the CL file I see the toolpath in the Setup/Wireframe mode. When
I go to Simulation mode the screen is blank. Why?

It is possible that you do not have any stock defined. For information on how
to define a stock, refer to the Stock command in the Model Menu section of
the Product Features chapter.

Q: In the Wireframe mode, the stock and toolpath seem to be 'out of sync' on the
screen. They appear in different places on the screen.

Using the Rotate and Translate commands in the Wireframe mode, move the
stock or, move the toolpath.

Files
Q: I cannot find my file in the File menu's Most Recently Used (MRU) list.

The file will show up in the MRU list only if you were able to load it without
any errors. If there were any errors while loading the file, it will not appear in
the MRU list.

Q: I cannot get the file type that I use to show up in the File Type drop
down list box in the File Open dialog box.

Add your file type to the list by selecting the System Defaults button in the
Options menu. For more information, refer to the System Defaults command
of the Options Menu section in the Product Features Chapter 5.

Simulation
Q: The simulation does not stop when I push the Stop button during simulation.

The speed with which the simulation responds to user interrupts is controlled
by the Interrupt Response Time parameter in the NCVERIFY.INI file.
Experiment with changing this parameter to arrive at an acceptable response.

11-2
Other
Q: What do I get with a Maintenance Contract?

Unlimited technical support and automatic product updates.

Q: What is the Lite version? What features are available in the full version that
are not in Lite?

Please refer to the section “Why Upgrade from Lite to the full production NC
Verify TrueSolid” in Chapter 1.

Q: Can I reuse the same license key code, until the license expiration date?

Yes.

11-3
Chapter 12 Batch processing

Overview
NC Verify™ batch files have the "BCH" extension. This is an ASCII text file with
commands to run a series of batch jobs. Each job to be run in a batch is specified
between "Begin" and "End" job lines, as follows:

BeginJob
….
….
End Job

Users can setup the job, select a view, set output details and run any job. The Job files
can be made up of APT-CL or NC G code files or any other user-defined file type.
Any number of jobs can be defined in a batch file and the system will serially execute
the jobs without requiring any manual intervention. A sample .bch job file is provided
with the system.

Example Batch file

This sample .bch job file is provided with the system.

// This is a sample batch file

BeginJob Tutor
OpenFile \ncverify\demos\tutor.cl
SetView ISO_VIEW_1
SaveErrorImages
SaveWip
EndJob

BeginJob Clevis
OpenFile \ncverify\demos\clevis.cl
SetView ISO_VIEW_2
SaveErrorImages
SaveWip
EndJob

12-1
Batch File Command Syntax

1: Keyword: BeginJob
Syntax: BeginJob
Description: Command to start a new job process

2: Keyword: EndJob
Syntax: EndJob
Description: Command to end the current job process

3: Keyword: OpenFile
Syntax: OpenFile <File Name>
Description: Open an input toolpath file, which can be (Apt-CL/NC/JOB)
Parameters: File name is the fully qualified path name of the input file

4: Keyword: ReadWip
Syntax: ReadWip <File Name>
Description: Read an existing WIP file as the starting stock file
Parameters: File name is the fully qualified path name of the WIP model

5: Keyword: WriteWip
Syntax: WriteWip <File Name>
Description: Write a WIP file
Parameters: File name is the fully qualified path name of the WIP model

6: Keyword: SetView
Syntax: SetView <View Name>
Description: Setup a view. Example: SetView ISO_VIEW_1
Parameters: ISO_VIEW_1
ISO_VIEW_2
ISO_VIEW_3
ISO_VIEW_4
FRONT
RIGHT
LEFT
BACK

7: Keyword: SaveFinalImages
Syntax: SaveFinalImages
Description: Save the final images after simulation

12-2
8: Keyword: SaveErrorImages
Syntax: SaveErrorImages
Description: Save the error images during simulation

9: Keyword: TurboModeOn
Syntax: TurboModeOn
Description: Run the simulation in Turbo/FastForward mode

10: Keyword: TurboModeOff

Syntax: TurboModeOff
Description: Run the simulation in regular or Turbo off mode

11: Keyword: LoadStlStock

Syntax: LoadStlStock <FileName>
Description: Load an STL Stock file
Parameters: <File Name> Fully qualified name of STL stock file

12-3
Index

$ Coord Systems page, 9-7

CUTTER, 7-2, 9-12
$$, 9-20 CYCLE, 9-12, 9-22–9-25
common options, 9-24
Formats, 9-23
3 Parameters, 9-23
3/4 View, 10-15 CYL, 9-12, 9-30
3D Contour, 10-20 Cylinder, 5-36, 10-6

A D
APT systems, 7-2 Default tool settings, 5-26
ARCDAT, 9-10 Defaults, System
ARCMOV, 9-10 setting, 5-45, 7-1, 10-23
Arrange Icons, 10-27 Delete, 5-10
Axis Line, 5-37 Delete Design Part, 10-11
Delete Fixture, 10-11
Delete Stock, 10-11
B Design Comparison, 10-8
Back view, 5-18, 10-12 Design Part, 5-8
Backplot Toolpath, 10-14 Display, 10-19
Bitmap, 10-5 Load, 10-7
Block Number, 10-16 Offset, 10-9
Bottom view, 5-19, 10-13 Design Part Comparison, 10-2
Bounding Box, 10-6 Display, 10-15
BOX, 9-10, 9-29 Design Part, 10-19
BREAK, 9-10 Display Tolerance, 10-7, 10-8

C E
CALL/CIRMAC, 9-10 Edge, 5-36
Camera Bar, 3-6 Edit Job, 10-3
Camera Palette, 10-12 Edit tool list, 5-24
Cascade, 10-26 Enhance when writing image, 5-44
CBOX, 9-11, 9-29 Enhanced graphics, 5-17, 5-21
Center, 5-19 Enhanced Zoom, 10-14
Chips ENVECT, 9-13
Removing, 10-18 Error Bar, 3-7
CIRCLE, 9-11 Exit, 5-5, 10-5
CL points, specifying, 5-28, 5-29–5-30
Collision F
Fixture, 10-16
Rapid Move, 10-16, 10-21 Fast Forward, 10-16
Tool Holder, 10-16, 10-21 FBOX, 9-13, 9-30
Color, 10-22 FCBOX, 9-13
set model color, 5-24 FCYL, 9-13, 9-30
Colors Feature, 5-35, 5-37
changing colors with tool change, 5-24 selecting, 5-35
setting, 4-6, 5-23 Feature based inspection, 5-35–5-41
user defined, 7-1 Feed Rate, 10-16
Compare with design, 5-41 File Menu, 5-1
set mode, 5-42 Exit, 5-5, 10-5
Compare with Design Part, 4-14 Open, 5-1, 10-3
Comparison, 10-19 Page Setup, 5-4, 10-5
Comparison Color Map, 10-20 Print, 5-5, 10-5
CONT, 9-11 Print Preview, 10-5
Control Panel, 3-6, 10-22 Read playback file, 5-4
show, 5-45 Read WIP file, 5-3
COOLNT, 9-11 Save Job, 5-2, 10-3

1
 SuperTurbo, 10-5 Inspect Errors, 5-43
Write Image File, 5-4, 10-5 Inspect Input File, 10-20
Write playback file, 5-4 Measure, 5-30, 10-17
Write WIP file, 5-3 Remove chips, 5-42
FINI, 9-13 Remove Chips, 10-18
Fit, 5-19, 10-14 Remove fixtures, 5-42
Fixture, 5-7, 10-7 Section, 5-41, 10-19
Box, 5-7 Solid Section, 10-18
Collision, 10-16 View Control Panel, 10-22
Cylinder, 5-7 View Flute and Shank Lengths, 10-22
SLA Solid, 5-8 View Log File, 10-20
Flip, 4-9 Inspect Menu Inspect input file, 5-43
Flip solid, 5-20 Invoke, 3-1, 4-2
Flute Length Isometric view 1, 5-19, 10-13
Calculation, 10-26 Isometric view 2, 5-19, 10-13
Displaying, 10-22 Isometric view 3, 5-19, 10-13
FROM, 9-14 Isometric view 4, 5-19, 10-13
Front view, 5-18, 10-12
J
G
Job
G code Editting job data, 10-3
other codes, 9-1 H codes, 9-6
Go to
Beginning, 5-30
End, 5-29
L
Next CL point, 5-29 Left view, 5-18, 10-12
Next error, 5-29 LOADTL, 7-2, 9-15
Next tool, 5-29 Log File, 10-20, 10-21
Previous CL point, 5-30 Name, 10-24
Previous error, 5-30
Previous tool, 5-30
GODLTA, 9-14 M
GOHOME, 9-21 MACHIN, 9-15
GOHOME, 9-14 Machine type, 5-17
GOTO, 9-14 Horizontal, 5-18
Gouge, 10-21 Vertical, 5-18
Graphics Measure, 4-11, 5-30, 10-17
Faulty Driver, 10-23 Distance, 5-31
Feature properties, 5-35
H Point, 5-31
Radius, 5-32
Help Menu, 5-53, 10-27 Thickness, 5-33
About NC Verify, 5-53 Time, 5-34
About NC Verify TrueSolid, 10-27 Tool, 5-33
Help Topics, 10-27 Volume, 5-35
Index, 5-53 Memory status
Memory status, 5-53 Page file, 5-54
Troubleshooting, 5-53 Physical memory, 5-53
Using help, 5-53 Virtual memory, 5-54
Hidden Line, 10-13 Menu Bar, 3-2
Holders, 6-6 Mill Tool, 9-5
Horizontal machine, 5-18 Mill Tool Type, 9-5
Milling tools
I APT 7 parameter tools, 6-1
special form tools, 6-3
INCLUD, 9-15 Milling Tools, 6-9
Inspect Error, 10-21 Model Menu, 5-6, 10-5
Inspect Errors, 5-43 Delete, 5-10
Inspect Input, 3-7 Delete Design Part, 10-11
Inspect input file, 5-43 Delete Fixture, 10-11
Inspect Input file, 10-20 Delete Stock, 10-11
Inspect Menu, 5-30, 10-17 Design Part, 5-8, 10-7
Compare with design, 5-41 Fixture, 5-7
Comparison, 10-19 Reposition toolpath, 5-10
Inspect Error, 10-21 Rotate, 5-9, 10-10

2
 Scale, 5-9 Plane, 5-36
Set Type, 5-13 POSTN, 9-16
Stock, 5-6, 10-5 PPRINT, 9-16, 9-17
Tolerances, 10-7 PPRINT BREAK, 9-16
Translate, 5-8 PPRINT COLOR, 9-16
Translate, 10-10 PPRINT FORM, 9-17
Model Tolerance, 10-8 PPRINT HOLDER NAME, 9-17
Monochrome, 5-21 PPRINT IMAGE, 9-17
Mouse Interactions, 3-7 PPRINT TRUE C, 9-18
MOVARC, 9-11 PPRINT TRUEC, 9-18
MOVE, 9-14 PPRINT WIP NAME, 9-18
Move light source, 4-8, 5-21 Print, 4-11, 5-5, 10-5
MULTAX, 9-15 Print Preview, 10-5
Multi-axis, set, 5-43
R
N
RAPID, 9-18
NC to Solid, 10-8, 10-11 Read playback file, 4-15, 5-4
NC Verify Read WIP file, 5-3, 10-4
accuracy, 8-2 Record Simulation, 4-15, 5-28
choosing an optimal view, 8-2 REMARK, 9-18
Invoke, 3-1 Remove chips, 4-7, 5-42
invoking from the command line, 7-4 Remove fixtures, 5-42
TrueSolid, 10-1 Render, 10-13
NC Verify TrueSolid Reposition Data, 5-13
Invoke, 10-1 Reposition toolpath, 4-18, 5-10–5-13
modes of operation, 10-2 Reset, 5-22
Simulation mode, 10-2, 10-5 Reset toolbar, 5-44
Super Turbo, 10-5 Reset View, 10-14
Super Turbo mode, 10-2 Rest Machining Analysis, 10-2
NCOptimizer, 10-22 Rest Material Analysis, 10-20, 10-21
New View, 5-22, 10-12 RETRCT, 9-19
NSIDES, 9-16 Rewind, 10-15
REWIND, 9-19
Right view, 5-18, 10-13
O ROTABL, 9-19
Offset, 10-6, 10-9 Rotate, 5-9, 10-10
Open File, 4-3, 5-1, 10-3 Rotate solid, 4-7
Pre-read, 5-2 Rotate view, 5-20
Runtime Read, 5-2 Runtime Read, program files, 5-2
OPSKIP, 9-16
Optimization, 5-49 S
Optional Data, 9-5
Options Menu, 5-43, 10-22 Save Job, 5-2, 10-3
Calculate Flute and Shank Lengths, 10-26 Scale, 5-9, 10-11
Color, 10-22 Section, 10-18, 10-19
Enhance when writing image, 5-44 Section solid, 4-11, 5-41
Multi-axis, 5-43 Select view, 4-5, 5-15
Reset toolbar, 5-44 SEQNO, 9-21
Software render, 10-23 Set defaults
Status Bar, 5-45 Always process files at run time, 5-47
STL Solid Preprocess, 10-25 dimensions, 5-50, 10-24
System Defaults, 5-45, 10-23 file extensions, 5-47, 10-24
Toolbar, 5-44 graphics mode, 5-47
Units, 5-51, 10-23 machine type, 5-48
Write image at error, 5-44 other, 5-51
Write image at tool change, 5-43 session log file, 5-47, 10-24
Options menu Toolbar type, 5-44 start-up directory, 5-46, 10-23
Orient view, 4-4, 5-15 tolerances, 5-48
Set Type, 5-13
Fixture, 5-14
P Part, 5-14
Page Setup, 5-4, 10-5 Stock, 5-14
PAINT, 9-16 Settings, 10-16
PARTNO, 9-16 Setup mode, 5-27
Pick, 10-21 Shaded Rendering, 10-13
Shadow display, 4-10, 5-21

3
Shank Length Tile, 10-27
Calculation, 10-26 Title Bar, 3-1
Displaying, 10-22 TLAXIS, 9-21
Show axes, 5-19 TLDATA, 9-21
Show Axis, 10-14 TMARK, 9-21
Show tool, 5-22 Tolerances, 10-7
Show tool axis, 5-20 Tool Definition in APT-CL files, 6-9
Simple Toolbar, 3-5 Tool display mode, 4-6, 5-23, 10-15
Simulate Menu, 5-27, 10-15 Continuous, 5-23
CL range, 5-28 Solid, 5-23
Fast Forward, 10-16 Wireframe, 5-23
Go to, 5-29 Tool holder
Record Simulation, 5-28 Collision, 10-16
Rewind, 10-15 Collisions, 10-21
Settings, 10-16 Tool holders
Setup, 5-27 Disabling, 10-17
Simulate, 5-27 milling, 6-7
Single Step, 10-15 turning, 6-8
Start, 5-29, 10-15 Tool Menu, 5-22
Stop, 5-30, 10-15 Change color with tool change, 5-24
Turbo, 5-27 Color, 5-23
Use all CL, 5-28 Defaults, 5-26
Simulate mode, 4-6, 5-27 Display mode, 5-23
Simulation mode, 10-2, 10-5 Edit tool list, 5-24
Single Step, 10-15 Reset model color, 5-24
SKIP_MOTION, 9-17 Show, 5-22
SKIPROTABL, 9-19 Tool tips, 3-7
SPINDL, 9-20 Tool Type, 9-5
SPPROF, 9-14, 9-20 Toolbar
SPROF, 9-20 reset, 5-44
Standard views, 4-5, 5-18, 10-12 show, 5-44
Back, 5-18, 10-12 Toolbar buttons, 10-28
Bottom, 5-19, 10-13 Toolbar Type, 5-44
Front, 5-18, 10-12 Toolbars, 3-2
Isometric 1, 5-19, 10-13 moving and resizing, 3-5
Isometric 2, 5-19, 10-13 Setup toolbar, 3-2
Isometric 3, 5-19, 10-13 Simulate toolbar, 3-4
Isometric 4, 5-19, 10-13 TOOLNO, 9-21
Left, 5-18, 10-12 Toolpath
Right, 5-18, 10-13 Display, 10-14
Top, 5-19, 10-13 Error, 10-21
Start, 10-15 Inspect Input File, 10-20
Start simulation, 4-6, 4-14 Maximum size for display, 10-24
Start Simulation, 5-29 Tools
Status Bar, 3-6 default dimensions, 6-10
show, 5-45 milling, 6-1
STL solid, 10-5, 10-7, 10-11 tool set length, 6-9
Preprocessing, 10-25 turning, 6-4
Stock, 5-6, 10-5 Top view, 5-19, 10-13
Box, 5-6, 10-6 TRANS, 9-21
Cylinder, 5-7, 10-6 Translate, 5-8, 10-10
SLA Solid, 5-7 Translucency, 4-9, 5-21
Stop, 10-15 Translucent, 10-15
STOP, 9-21 True Solid
STOP, 9-20 File Menu, 10-3
Stop Simulation, 5-30 Turbo mode, 4-6, 5-27
STVECT, 9-20 TURN, 9-17
Super Turbo mode, 10-2, 10-5, 10-17 Turn Tool, 9-5
Rest Machining Analysis, 10-20 Turn Tool Type, 9-5
System Defaults Turning tools
File, 5-46, 10-23 Special form tools, 6-6
Graphics, 5-47 standard, 6-4
Misc, 5-50, 10-24 Turning Tools, 6-9
TURRET, 7-2, 9-15, 9-21
T
THREAD, 9-20

4
 U Show tool axis, 5-20
Standard views, 5-18
Undercut, 10-2 Translucent, 5-21
Units, 5-51, 10-23 Zoom, 5-15
UNITS, 9-22 Zoom Down, 10-14
Upgrade, 5-5 Zoom Region, 10-14
USE_XY_TURNING, 9-18 Zoom Up, 10-14

V W
Vertex, 5-36 Window Menu, 5-52, 10-26
Vertical machine, 5-18 Arrange icons, 5-52
View Log File, 10-20 Cascade, 5-52
View Menu, 5-15, 10-12 Tile horizontal, 5-52
Camera Palette, 10-12 Tile vertical, 5-52
Center, 5-19 WIP file
Display, 10-15 Read, 10-4
Enhanced graphics, 5-17 write, 10-4
Fit, 5-19, 10-14 Wire Frame, 10-13
Flip solid, 5-20 Write image at error, 5-44
Machine type, 5-17 Write image at tool change, 4-13, 5-43
Monochrome, 5-21 Write Image File, 4-12, 5-4, 10-5
Move light source, 5-21 Write playback file, 5-4
New View, 5-22, 10-12 Write WIP file, 4-15, 5-3, 10-4
Orient, 5-15
Render, 10-13
Reset, 5-22
Z
Reset View, 10-14 Zoom, 4-4, 5-15
Rotate solid, 5-20 setup/wireframe mode, 5-15
Select, 5-15 solid/simulation mode, 5-16
Shadow, 5-21 Zoom Down, 10-14
Show axes, 5-19 Zoom Region, 10-14
Show Axis, 10-14 Zoom Up, 10-14