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      <title>Using an IPW as an Operation's Blank</title>
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      <div class="title_topic4" id="xps10_pagetitle">Using an IPW as an Operation's Blank</div>
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      <p class="para_topic">Cavity milling and plunge milling use the <b class="uiTerm">In-process Workpiece</b> options to control what the current operation:
      </p>
      <ul>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Inputs as the initial blank from prior operations within the same geometry group.</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Outputs to represent the state of the workpiece after completing the operation.</p>
         </li>
      </ul>
      <div class="title_division">Benefits of Using an In-process Workpiece</div>
      <ul>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Using an in-process workpiece as the blank geometry allows the processor to only machine regions based on the current state of the real workpiece. This avoids cutting air in the regions which have already been cut.</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">This option can be turned on in successive operations so that only areas that still have material are cut. (Smaller radius tools will only machine the areas that weren't cut by prior operations with larger tools.)</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Using a series of tools of similar shape but increasing length allows the most material to get cut with the shortest tool. The follow up operations with the longer tool lengths only need to machine material that was unreachable by the other operations.</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">From within Cavity Milling, you can display both the input IPW and the output IPW for an operation. From the Operation Navigator, you can display the output IPW for an operation.</p>
         </li>
      </ul>
      <div class="title_division">Options for In-process Workpiece in Cavity Milling</div>
      <ul>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item"><b class="uiTerm">None</b></p>
            <p class="para_item">Either use existing Blank geometry, if available, or cut the entire cavity.</p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item"><b class="uiTerm">Use Level Based</b> (Cavity Milling only)
            </p>
            <p class="para_item">Level based IPW is used when only material from other level based processors is required (Cavity Milling, Zlevel). This simpler representation allows for faster and generally cleaner results compared to the 3D representation. <b class="uiTerm">Use Level Based</b> is the preferred IPW option because it is much faster and produces cleaner regions of uncut material to use as blank in the next operation. You can use this option if you only want to consider material removed from prior cavity milling and zlevel operations within the same geometry group and sharing the same blank. If you are using a sequence of only Cavity Milling and Zlevel operations, this option should be used.  
            </p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item"><b class="uiTerm">Use 3D</b></p>
            <p class="para_item"><b class="uiTerm">Use 3D</b> uses a 3D internal definition to represent the remaining material. All milling operations can produce a 3D IPW. <b class="uiTerm">Use 3D</b> is the correct IPW option if you are also using other types of operations to remove material from the blank. For example, if your cavity milling operation follows a surface contouring operation, then you must use the 3D IPW. If you must use 3D IPW for cavity milling operations, see <a class="links" href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="top.openFile('mfgmilling/use_3d_ipw_option.html');return(false);"><b class="uiTerm">Use 3D</b> IPW Option</a> for information on speeding up the performance of this process.
            </p>
         </li>
      </ul>
      <div class="title_division">Using an In-process Workpiece in Cavity Milling</div>
      <ol type="1" start="1">
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Create or select Blank geometry to define the initial workpiece in a Geometry Group that this operation inherits geometry from.</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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                     <div class="para_note">
                        <p class="para_note_body">The blank must be defined in the group to be used across multiple operations.</p>
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         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">In the <b class="uiTerm">Containment</b> section of the <b class="uiTerm">Cut Parameters</b> dialog, select <b class="uiTerm">Use Level Based</b> or <b class="uiTerm">Use 3D</b> from the option list.
            </p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Set the  <a class="links" href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="top.openFile('mfgmilling/cav_cut_min_mat.html');return(false);">Min Material Thickness</a> to an appropriate value.
            </p>
         </li>
         <li>
            <p class="para_item">Set the tool holder checking option if tool holder avoidance processing is also required.</p>
         </li>
      </ol>
      <div class="title_division">In-process Workpiece for Operations in the Unused Items Program Group</div>
      <p class="para_division">In Visualize and Cavity Milling, operations in or under the <b class="uiTerm">Unused Items</b> program group are ignored. Therefore, the software does not apply any preceding tool paths to generate the input in-process workpiece. If you attempt to generate a new tool path for an operation which is inside the <b class="uiTerm">Unused Items</b> program group, or inside any group under the <b class="uiTerm">Unused Items</b> program group, NX uses the originally defined blank geometry for the input IPW. The <b class="uiTerm">In-process Workpiece</b> option setting is ignored.
      </p><a class="endOfDocLinks" href="cav_blk_geom_ipw.html">IPW Behavior for Operations that Use the IPW as Blank</a><br><a class="endOfDocLinks" href="cav_lev_based_ipw.html">Use Level Based IPW Option</a><br><a class="endOfDocLinks" href="use_3d_ipw_option.html">Use 3D IPW Option</a><br></body>
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