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      <title>Prepare Geometry</title>
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      <div class="title_topic3" id="xps10_pagetitle">Prepare Geometry</div>
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      <p class="para_topic">Prepare Geometry enables you to create Surface Region Features, Preprocess solid bodies and sheets, and select features and bodies from directly within CAM operations. In addition, the Prepare Geometry dialog provides direct access to some modeling functions such as Sew and Extract. These capabilities enhance associativity, enable you to organize and identify machining geometry, and improve the processing performance of Fixed Axis Surface Contouring and tolerant Cavity Milling operations.</p>
      <p class="para_topic">Surface Regions are CAM features that contain faces on a single solid body or sheet. The ability to select a single entity makes the specification of Part and Blank geometry very easy. Surface Regions are also easy to identify and select as features using the Model Navigation Tool.</p>
      <p class="para_topic">Surface Regions are associative to the solid. That is, when you modify the solid, the associated Surface Regions update automatically to match the solid.</p>
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         <p align="center"><img align="bottom" src="graphics/mm_prepgeo_infi02.gif"></p>
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      <div class="title_figure">Surface Regions Automatically Update</div>
      <p class="para_topic">In the above illustration, the Surface Region defining the Part Geometry automatically updates when the blend is suppressed. Editing the operation or generating the tool path uses the updated body or Surface Region. Associativity eliminates the need to edit or respecify the Part Geometry in the operation.</p>
      <p class="para_topic">The Bodies selection method references the actual body objects (as opposed to faces of the body). Operations using bodies can be easily regenerated when a solid body updates.</p>
      <p class="para_topic">Preprocessing enables the system to process solids and sheet solids in advance for later use in Fixed Axis Surface Contouring and Cavity Milling operations. By specifying a triangulation tolerance and tool axis vector in advance, the system is able to process and store the information required for Fixed Axis Surface Contouring and Cavity Milling just once. It no longer needs to do this processing each time a toolpath is generated. This results in significant time savings when a solid is used in more than one operation.</p>
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            <td valign="top" align="left"><img align="left" src="../graphics/note.gif" alt="Note" title="Note"></td>
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                  <p class="para_note_body">Any time you change the Triangulation Tolerance, Tool Axis, or physically change the body (as in Surface Regions Automatically Update above), the preprocessing data must be updated. Updating is done automatically the first time an operation using the data is generated, or you can update before generating by selecting: Toolbox&gt;Prepare Geometry ...&gt;Preprocess&gt;Update</p>
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      <p class="para_topic">For convenience, several modeling functions that may be required while preparing geometry are now available from within CAM. These include the Geometry Linker, Sew, and Extract.</p>
      <p class="para_topic">Selecting Tools&gt;Prepare Geometry ... displays the following dialog box.</p>
      <p align="center"><img align="bottom" src="graphics/mm_prepgeo_infi01.gif"></p>
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                  <p class="para_note_body">&nbsp;If you use Prepare Geometry often, turn on the Prepared Geometry icon  <img align="bottom" src="graphics/prep_geom_ic.gif" border="0"> on the Manufacturing Operations tool bar. 
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               <p class="para_th"> Geometry Linker</p>
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               <p class="para_td">Creates linked copies of solids from a component part in your CAM assembly</p>
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               <p class="para_th">Sew</p>
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               <p class="para_td">Combines separate sheet bodies with common edges into one sheet body and separate solid bodies into one solid body</p>
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               <p class="para_th">Extract</p>
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               <p class="para_td">Creates sheet bodies and solid bodies by extracting them from existing bodies</p>
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               <p class="para_th">Surface Region</p>
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               <p class="para_td">Creates features which can help organize the regions to be machined</p>
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               <p class="para_th">Preprocess</p>
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               <p class="para_td">Computes the triangular facets in advance for selected Faces, Solid Bodies, and Sheet Bodies</p>
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      </table><br><div class="title_division">Interactive Sequence</div>
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         <li>
            <p class="para_item">To create Surface Regions on a solid that is in a component, use the Geometry Linker to create a linked copy in your CAM assembly part file:</p>
            <p class="para_item">Tools&gt;Prepare Geometry ...&gt;Geometry Linker</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">To preprocess different faces on a solid with different tool axes, Extract the faces for the different tool axis orientations:</p>
            <p class="para_item">Tools&gt;Prepare Geometry ...&gt;Extract</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">To create Surface Regions that span across multiple sheet bodies, Sew the sheets together:</p>
            <p class="para_item">Tools&gt;Prepare Geometry ...&gt;Sew</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">If you are not going to select entire solid sheets or bodies in your CAM operations, create Surface Region Features to identify the faces you will machine:</p>
            <p class="para_item">Tools&gt;Prepare Geometry ...&gt;Surface Region</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Preprocess any solid sheets or bodies that you intend to use in multiple Fixed Axis Surface Contouring and Cavity Milling operations. Be sure that the triangulation tolerance is equal to or less than the smallest (intol+outol)/2 that you will be using, and that the tool axis vector is the one you intend to use:</p>
            <p class="para_item">Tools&gt;Prepare Geometry ...&gt;Preprocess&gt;Create</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">When you create your Fixed Axis Surface Contouring or Cavity Mill operations, select Surface Region Features or Bodies for Part and Blank Geometry:</p>
            <p class="para_item">Select&gt;Selection Options, Features&gt;Surface Regions</p>
            <p class="para_item">or</p>
            <p class="para_item">Geometry&gt;Bodies</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">When finished with the NC programming for this part, delete the preprocessing data from the solids to reduce the part file size:</p>
         </li>
      </ol>
      <p class="para_division">Tools&gt;Prepare Geometry ...&gt;Preprocess&gt;Delete</p>
      <p class="para_division">In order for the operation to use the preprocessed information, the Triangle Tolerance must be less than or equal to the (Intol+Outol)/2 specified in the operation. Also, the tool axis specified in the interactive dialog box must match the fixed tool axis specified in the preprocessed body.</p>
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