Toolpath Calculation

Prioritize Milling Order

While you're preparing your job for milling, MillBox allows you the option to select one or more restorations in the Job for calculation of toolpaths, while allowing you to continue nesting / importing other jobs for subsequent milling runs. This feature can be very useful for batch milling which is a process that you can implement to minimize machine downtime.
By arranging your jobs in batches, rather than nesting all of them and calculating them all at the same time - you are able to get the machine cutting faster as the calculation takes less time.

This can also be useful if you have one or two parts imported that need to take priority or with rush cases that need to be milled out first.

Video

How do I prioritize my Milling Order?

During the Start Mill stage (Calculation) - you have an option to select the toggle box for "Prioritize Milling Order". This will allow you to select various restorations using Control+Left Click to be prioritized for milling. After selections have been made, simply click on Save Toolpath and you will notice these restorations will turn into hourglasses with percentage symbols. MillBox at this time will separate these restorations out into their own respective project to be calculated in the background. This frees up your current window to allow continued nesting and subsequent calculation of any additional files to be ran on this disc. Check out the video above to see how it works!

Starting Toolpath Calculation

Selecting to Start Mill will initiate the prompt for Milling Strategy Options (If applicable) and afterward start the toolpath calculation process.

Step by Step

Milling Options

When the Save Toolpath button is selected, you will be asked to select Milling Options for the Job - These selections are optional and provide an opportunity to customize the outcome of your milled restorations. You can toggle some operations on or off, based on how you think is appropriate according to your restoration's design features. Options are split up based on the restoration type. You can see the restoration type icon preceeding each milling option indicating which parts you are affecting with that option

TIP: If your part has undercuts visible (Blue Shades on part) you may consider opting in on some External Undercut options (if available). These options will vary based on your machine's capabillity and according to how your CAM provider has configured your software. If you need access to edit / modify these options, you may request access from your dealer for an additional fee / license update.

Residual Material

 you may see the following window prompt (optional based on the Software's Default Settings):

This window gives you the option to compute a simulation used to display a heat map showing any Residual Material that may be left behind after the milling process is completed. 

Tools Table

The tools table indicates the Tool Slot number on your Milling Machine that corresponds with the listed tool call for your Milling Job and material. Depending on your machine's configuration, these tool slots can vary from one material to the next based on your overall ATC capacity. Machines with higher capacity ATCs (Automatic Tool Changers) afford the flexibility of having set tool slots for material-specific tooling, reducing the necessity to swap tools as often when transitioning between materials. 

TIP: Contact your CAM provider to fully understand how your tools are setup for your machine:

Calculation

The toolpath calculation will now proceed - the time and progress of this process will vary based on your PC's performance and based on the complexity of the additional options selected during the Milling Options stage of the calculation process. The calculation progress is tracked by percentage:

Calculation Performance

When calculating large or complex parts, it is normal for the percentage to hang at a specific number for some time - especially when utilizing 5 axis operations. If your calculation times exceed 25-30 minutes, we suggest to contact your CAM vendor to inquire about an upgraded PC or whether your configuration needs to be adjusted. You can also read our recommended PC Specifications for MillBox in the FAQ Section for important information about PC hardware selection HERE

Toolpath Completion

When your toolpath calculation has completed, you'll be prompted with a window indicating the file path for where you can find your CNC output file. This is the file that you will upload into your machine's controller in order to process the Job:

NOTE: If the you cannot find the location of the Post-Processed NC File, try using the "CNC Output Files" Button located under the Tools Menu