Getting started with Graphics

 

Introduction:

Purpose

The purpose of this course is to give a first time GeoPath user the ability to program parts for his company with GeoPath. All one needs to begin this course, is the ability to use the Windows 95, 98 or NT operating systems. The Windows 95, 98 or NT systems disks have a tutor that you can use to gain this ability.

What You Will Learn

The format of this course is self-paced. It consists of a check sheet that leads you through How-to descriptions and exercises that give you hands on experience with GeoPath.

When you finish this course, you will know how to:

· Draw geometry in GeoPath or import a CAD file and modify it as needed.

· Define tools from a blank tool info screen or selecting tools from the library and modify them as needed.

· Select various types of cuts and defining them so that you can create tool-paths that will allow you to save time and get the best calculations possible.

· Select geometry to cut that has been drawn/loaded and/or modified.

· Use “Layers” so that geometry and cuts can be best organized simplifying the use of GeoPath and creations of cuts.

· Create and modify “Chains” so cuts can be assigned for the best toolpath possible.

By the end of this course you should be efficient enough to make intermediate parts with GeoPath and have a very good understanding of how to be a GeoPath user.

Section One

Getting started with Graphics

Note: GeoPath needs to be installed and an icon created before we begin.

Starting GeoPath

Once GeoPath is installed and an icon has been created double click on the icon to start GeoPath. The SolutionWare CAD/CAM screen will come up (the white screen). This is the screen where you can select a command to create a new program or change an existing one. GeoPath programs are also processed and the configuration of the system is also set up in this screen.

Viewing -- Starting A New Graphics Program

Select Program, Create New Graphics Program, a window will come up asking for the file name, the extension will be entered automatically so you should only enter the name of your program and not the period (.) or the extension (GTF). At this point you may change the directory if you have a specific directory for your program or you may just enter the name and the program will be created in the current directory. When you are ready to start a new program then type the name in the “File name” field and click O.K. At this point we are just viewing the “New Graphics” window. Once you have entered the program name the Graphics screen (the black screen) will come up.

Viewing -- Changing an Existing Program

Do the following only when reviewing this option.

If you have already created a program and you would like to load it into GeoPath, instead of doing the instructions above do the following; click on Program from the pull-down menu on the CAD/CAM screen, then Change Existing Graphics Program and a window will appear asking for the file name. Select the program you want to open and click “Open.”

Viewing – Open another program

While in the Graphics screen go to MainFiles, Open another Program; in this window you can change directories to find GeoPath programs. On the middle of this window you will see a list of the programs available from the current directory, if there are none than you may change directories to the location where they are stored. On the “files of type” you will see the type of files that can be loaded into GeoPath. The files created by GeoPath are GGF (GeoPath Geometry file) and GTF (GeoPath Tooling File), both of these files are generated automatically for every program saved with GeoPath. The GGF file is our version of a CAD file. The GTF file is the tooling file; this file contains the information for the tooling, machine selected, etc. When loading a GeoPath program the file extension that you need to load is GTF. Both the GGF and the GTF files have to be in the same directory prior to loading a GeoPath program. If the GTF file is missing and you load the GGF file, then you will only get the geometry information without the tooling.

A CAD file can also be loaded from this window by selecting the type of file (DXF, IGES, etc.) from the “files of type” field. At this point we are just viewing the “Open another Program” window.

Getting To Know GeoPath Graphics Screen

Now you will need to start a new program, review “Viewing -- Starting A New Graphics Program” as needed to start a new graphics program. Name the program “Test1”.

The Graphics Screen is divided into the X-axis and the Y-axis. The X-axis travels from left to right, the vertical line divides the X-positive and X-negative sides. If you want to draw geometry on the left side of the vertical line, all the values are going to be X-negative, e.g. X-3. If you want to draw on right side the values are X-positive, e.g. X3.

The Y-axis is similar to X except that the Y-axis runs from top to bottom. The horizontal line divides the positive from the negative sides. If you want to draw geometry above the horizontal line then you will be entering positive Y-coordinates, e.g. Y3. If you want to enter values below the horizontal line then the Y-coordinates will be negative, e.g. Y-3.

At the very top of the GeoPath screen you will see the description of the Graphics window and the location of the file you are working on, e.g. c:\sln\gpcourse\test1.gtf. Below that you will see the pull-down menus, if you click on any of the words (e.g. Main/Files, Draw, etc.) a menu will come down with all the Menu Items for that section.

To the left of the screen you will see gray buttons; these buttons change as you make your selections from the Pull-down Menu Items. Further examples are listed later in this course.

Hit the “Esc” key on your keyboard twice, at the bottom of the screen you will see a space for the prompt; this prompt gives you instructions as you create your program (press the Esc key on the top left of your keyboard to begin display). It is very important that you read the instructions given by the prompt as you go since it prompts you for the next step. At the bottom left you will see the XY coordinates, usually your mouse position is displayed here unless you type in an X or Y value. Then it will show the current value entered.

“Draw” Pull-Down Menu

In order to create a drawing you will need to look at the “Draw” pull-down menu. This shows you the different types of objects (geometry) that can be created such as a lines, arcs, circles, shapes etc. A shape is a pattern that has several lines and/or arcs making the shape, such as a rectangle. As you can see on the example below, the rectangle has four sides and corners. The sides are made of lines and the corners are radiuses (arcs). Selecting Draw, Shapes, and Rectangle from the pull-down menu gives you the option to create rectangles. When you want to draw something, examine it, see if it is a shape or a single object, then determine how it would be best to draw it. Later in this course you will be given specific steps in creating geometry.

Paying Attention To The Graphics Interface

When you select a Draw function such as a line, arc, shape, circle etc… you need to pay close attention to the gray buttons (Action Buttons) on the left. Every time you select something from a pull-down menu the action buttons change. When selecting geometry from the screen you will also notice that the Action Buttons change, so it’s not just when you select an option from the pull-down menu but also as you select geometry. Review the action buttons and notice that most of the top buttons are not active. The last four Action Buttons are active.

At the bottom of the screen there is a prompt that gives you instructions as you select items from the screen. This prompt is an important part of programming since it gives you instructions as to what to do next.

Read what the prompt says: now move your mouse around the screen and notice that your XY coordinates at the bottom left change as you move your mouse. When you enter XY locations as you draw you will be able to see what XY location has been selected.

Entering XY Locations

Select Draw, Line, and Point To Point from the pull-down menu bar. Now pay attention to the Action Buttons, you will see that now you have “Done” and “Cancel” active. This means that you can select “Done” or “Cancel” when you finish creating your line. In the prompt at the bottom of the screen it shows “[Line Points] Select start XY”. Now you can begin to create your geometry by entering the XY location for the first point. Type the letter “X” on your keyboard. A window like the one below will appear.

It says “Enter X Value for 1^st point:” This means that it wants the “X” start-point. Type a value of 0 and press “Enter”, make sure that it is not the letter (O) since that letter is not a number and has no value. Notice that the coordinates at the bottom left-hand of your screen have changed. The “X” is now in square brackets e.g. [X0.00000] and the “Y” is not in square brackets. The square brackets mean that the user has entered the “X” coordinate and the “Y” is not entered. If you move your mouse you will see that the pointer moves only in the “Y” direction and not in the “X”.

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