Click  here   for an article containing general information about the situations in which this procedure may be necessary. For example, you are processing to a nesting machine and a vertical machining center and want to cut out notches differently on each machine.

This tutorial presents the procedure for modifying the necessary tokens for a single product. This must be repeated for all products and parts that require this functionality.

1. Open the Product List interface, highlight the intended product to modify, and click the Parts List tab. Click the Subassemblies tab and right-click the Carcass Base. Click Show Subassembly File from the context menu.
   

This tutorial demonstrates the use of the spreadsheet environment to modify the machine tokens. For our users that are not comfortable using the spreadsheet, you may also use the Part Properties interface. Open a project and room, click “Modify > Modify Products > Part Properties” and select the product to modify. Right-click on the subassembly in the list on the left containing the part with the cutout machining and click Show Properties. Click the Machining Tokens tab and right-click in the area of the box displaying the machine tokens. Click Add or Copy and then modify the new token as outlined below.

2. Highlight the rows for the parts you intend to apply the notch or cutout machining. In this tutorial, we are modifying the toe kick notches, so I highlight the rows for END_PANEL_STD_L (Base_Left_Side) and END_PANEL_STD_R (Base_Right_Side). Scroll to the right until you find the cells in these two rows that contain the machine token CORNERNOTCH5­_1. In this example, it is the columns named “Machine_Token_20,” but yours could be in a different column.
   


Fig. 1 – Machine Token 20 Column Containing CORNERNOTCH token





3. Once you have found those cells scroll to the right, in the case of this example, to the column for Machine_Token_21 and highlight the two cells for the two parts in that column. Right-click on the two cell selection you have highlighted and click “Insert Columns For Token” from the context menu. This inserts one complete set of columns necessary to add a CORNERNOTCH token and the nine parameters for each part affected.
   


Fig. 2 – Insert Columns For Token





4. Copy and paste the existing tokens and parameters to the empty columns just created. Highlight the ten columns for both rows from Machine_Token_20 through Parameter 9. Right-click on the highlighted selection and click Copy. Scroll to the right and right-click on the top cell in the column Machine Token 21 and click Paste.
   


Fig. 3 – Copy Machine Tokens




Fig. 4 – Paste Machine Tokens





5. Adjust the two tokens in column Machine Token 20 Parameter 7 to use a non-pocketing tool, and the two tokens in column Machine Token 21 Parameter 7 to use the default pocketing tool.
   

One set of ten machine token columns should use the default routing tool or non-pocketing tool that will cut the notch (e.g., nesting machine). The other set of tokens should use the default pocketing tool (e.g., vertical machining center). It is permissible to overwrite the existing formula with only the defined name for Default_Routing_Tool, Default_Pocketing_Tool, or similar.

6. Rename the token comments to differentiate between the two tokens if preferred.
   


Fig. 5 – Add “Pocket” to Formula for Machine Token Comments





Fig. 6 – Add “Pocket” to Identify the Token as that Type





7. Click the button Close Subassembly and save the changes to the desired level (Row, Product, Project, Library, etc.).
   
8. Click “Save, Close and Redraw Product” to exit the Product List.
   
9. Click Toolbox Setup > Options > Machining and turn OFF or uncheck the box for “Pocket Corner Notch Token” and click Close.
   
10. Still, within the Options > Machining page, click the button for “Open a Tool File in Interface” and open the vertical machining center. Select the option button for Routers and then the pocketing tool from the list on the left. Set the “Pocketing Router” to use in the pocketing process. Set another tool in the same toolfile with that “Pocketing Router” box checked OFF for the tool to use when doing the non-pocketing cutout.
    


Fig. 7 – Set the Pocketing Router Property for the Pocketing Tool





11. Click Apply and OK.
    
12. Click the button for “Open a Tool File in Interface” again and open the nesting machine toolfile. Verify that none of the tools are set as pocketing routers.
    
13. Click Apply and OK.
    
14. Click the button for “Open a Tool File in Spreadsheet” and select the nesting machine. Verify that the tool specified for the cutout notch machining on the nesting machine is set as ‘draw only’ in the spreadsheet toolfile interface column V. Don’t worry if the nest appears to contain pocket routing. If everything has been done correctly, the G-Code produced for that machine will not contain pocket routing.
    


Fig. 8 – Draw-Only Tools in the Toolfile Spreadsheet Interface





If the tool you specify as the draw-only tool is used for other machining besides the means of displaying the cutout in the drawing, copy that tool, change the Common Tool Name to something that indicates it is used only as a draw-only tool for pocketing.

15. Process with the stations that use the two Toolfiles just modified.
    

You may also view the attached video tutorial: