PRIME MOTIONSimulating a toolpath
Simulation plays the toolpaths against the stock in the view, removing material as the tool moves, so you can see the result and catch mistakes before the machine moves.
Open it
Any of these opens the Simulation drawer:
- Modify › Simulate in the rail (tap again to close);
- the Simulate chip at the bottom of the view, enabled once the active Tool Run has operations;
- Simulate in the ⋮ menu of a Tool Run (all its toolpaths) or of one operation.
Opening it closes any Tool Run or operation drawer.
Playback
| Control | Does |
|---|---|
| Toolpath | All toolpaths, or one operation |
| ⏮ / ⏭ | Start / end |
| ◁◁ / ▷▷ | Previous / next operation |
| ◁ / ▷ | One move back / forward |
| ▶ / ❚❚ | Play / pause |
| Position | Drag to scrub; a tick marks where each operation starts |
| Speed pill | Tap to cycle ×0.5, ×1, ×2, ×4, ×8, ×10 |
The time reads as elapsed / total.
Display
| Setting | Default | Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Rapids | On | Rapid moves, as dashed lines |
| Leads | On | Lead-in and lead-out moves |
| Points | Off | Each point of the path |
| Stock | On | The stock being cut away |
| Follow | Off | Keeps the view on the tool |
| Stop⚠ | Off | Pauses at the first collision |
Info and Stats
Info describes the current move: its kind (Rapid, Cut, Plunge, Lead, Retract), X, Y, Z, Feed, its Segment number and the Time.
Stats gives the Collisions, Machining time, Cut distance, Rapid distance, the number of Moves and the Volume≈ removed.
Closing
Closing the drawer pauses playback and rewinds to the start.
A program too large to simulate is refused with the reason in red at the top of the drawer, giving the number of moves and the memory they would need.