Comparison

This command computes and assists in the study of the difference in materials of the machined stock to that of the part and provides the result visually in coloured form on the stock.

The comparison command can be accessed from the NC File menu and is also available in the MTE Control and NC Control menu.

In the ribbon, we have access to 3 modes of analysis: Remaining Material, Tolerance range, Tolerance (Faster 3D).

Starting from the left, we have the icon to stop the comparison computation, the icon to start the comparison process, the Options button to open a dialog with parameters to be set for the analysis and the camera icon to capture the result of the analysis on the part and save it as an image.

Remaining Material

The Remaining material mode allows a binary comparison of the machined stock surface: showing whether there are remaining materials or overcuts in certain areas. 

If we extend the dialogue zone in the ribbon, we are provided with 4 modes of controls for the comparison display.

The first one is to visualize the zones with remaining materials in opaque. The second one is to visualize it in a level of transparency. 

The 3^rd is to visualize overcuts in opaque, and the last one to visualize it in transparency mode. By default the 1^st and 3^rd one are selected.

In the options, we have access to display solids and hidden lines and we can also define the colours for the 2 comparison results by clicking on the coloured squares to access the palette. By default, it’s Blue and Red.

We can also define the stock precision and tool precision here.

NOTE: This mode gives a general idea of where there are remaining materials or overcuts. However, it is difficult to judge from this if these zones require additional operations or changes in the operations, or if they are within an acceptable limit.

Tolerance Range

The tolerance range mode provides a more extensive analysis of the machined stock.

In the options, we can define the stock precision and tool precision similarly to Remaining Materials mode and also define the tolerance of comparison.

We can also define the tolerance value individually for each colour and also change the colours similar to the previous mode. Clicking on the Initialization of colours button will reset it back to the default configuration.

The display of colors and their tolerance value visible on the right side of the screen, are interactive. We can click on the value to access a field dialog and input the value required. Also, we can click on the coloured square to change its colour. The changes are automatically updated on the screen.

These colors help to differentiate between the zones where actions are required. For instance, anything between -0.01mm to 0.01mm [Everything in Green] is acceptable.

Tolerance (Faster 3D)

Increasing the tolerance also increases the computational need and the calculation time which is even more significant for 3D cycles  This option is dedicated to 3D cycles where the analysis is faster and is carried out only for cycles applied on the current plane.

The options are similar to Tolerance range mode with the added ability to choose between low, average or high resolution.

As for the display of colors and tolerance value, they are similarly interactive from the screen itself.

▶️ You can watch a video with the explanations on an example for the Comparison command:

Compare this Cycle

We've introduced the ability to compare a specific cycle at a precise moment. Previously, comparisons included the entire machining list, and to focus on specific operations, you needed to set them to 'Waiting' status.

This functionality is accessible for every operation within the Machining Tree, under the Simulation > Compare this Cycle option.