CAD Mode Basics.

Hello there,

Today we will see about the CAD mode in WorkNC. 

CAD mode is provided in this software so as to provide the benefits of 3D modelling softwares. But it is in fact a 3D surface modeler. Here we deal with only surfaces of the part not the solid geometry. We can call the surfaces of part as skin. It becomes very useful when we deal with mold design or tool and die design etc. The surfaces of any 3D model are of the prime importance from CAM point of view. 

CAD mode also allows us to import part files from various CAD systems used for designing. WorkNC can import the IGES files and also recognizes the various feature used in that part without even reconstructing its geometry. It can recognize features such as holes, pockets, tapers, groves etc. 

To enter into into CAD mode simply click on New CAD file on left hand panel on the startup screen. The general layout of CAD mode is shown below,

CAD MODE USER INTERFACE

In the user interface of CAD mode you will find,

• On the top of the window you will find the Title Bar, which shows name of current CAD file and also the version of the WorkNC being used.

• Below the title bar there is a Menu Bar which is similar to menu bar in any standard software. It includes commands like File, Edit, Display, Help etc.

• On the left side of the viewing area there is a Management Panel which shows drawing layers by default. But its content changes according to the operations we carry out.

• The main viewing area where we can see the CAD model we are using. At the bottom of the viewing area there is a status bar which displays the co-ordinates information. This area covers most of the screen.

• At the bottom of the window we can find Command Input Panel where we can type the command directly and the execute it instead of selecting it from menus or sub-menus or toolbar on screen. 

• On the right side of command input we can find O-SNAP Panel which basically acts as a filter in any CAD softwares. We can set object snap to midpoints, endpoints, tangent, perpendicular, near etc like any CAD software. Besides O-Snap we can find Rotate Toolbar where we can input value directly to rotate the component in desired direction.

• On the leftmost side of the UI you can find Create & Modify Toolbar. It contains the basic drawing tools such as drawing lines, rectangles, circles, ellipse etc. It also contains basic geometry modifying features such as fillets, chamfers, extend, trim etc. We will see the create toolbar and its sub-menus in next post. 

So this was all about basics of the CAD mode in WorkNC. In the next post we will see in detail info about every toolbar in WorkNC. 

Keep Visiting, Keep Sharing it on Google Plus or Facebook as well..