New in Siemens NX 2312: ZLevel Undercut

In this QuickTip, Heinrich Flaum presents the new ZLevel_Undercut operation

In our workpiece, there is a section with an undercut that we ideally want to machine with a free form tool. Previously, it was necessary to use the Planar_profiling Operation to work on these geometries. With version 2312, there is now the ZLevel_Undercut Operation under "mill_contour". We select a forming cutter as the tool and confirm with "Ok". Then, we click on "Geometry" to specify the “Cut Area” and confirm again.

We make the path settings by clicking "Main", selecting the "ZLevel-Zig-Zag" option as the cutting pattern and a cutting depth of 0.5 mm. Finally, we specify a vector under "Tool Axis" and generate the operation.
 

The result immediately shows an advantage over previous NX versions, as now even freeform tools can be used for undercuts.

We are now testing the new operation using a radius geometry. To do this, we have already created a free-form milling cutter as a shoulder radius cutter. Right-click in the operation sequence to go to "Insert", "Operation" and then select the "ZLevel_Undercut" operation under "mill_contour" and the shoulder radius cutter as a tool. After confirming with "Ok", we select the desired surface with "Geometry"."
 

Then we specify the corresponding vector with "Tool Axis". Additionally, we ensure that at "Main", we change the cutting depth from percentage to 6 mm.
 

After "Generating", we unfortunately notice more than one toolpath.
To ensure that we see only one toolpath after "Generating", we select the "single" option under "Cut Levels" in the "Range Type". Here too, we achieve an optimal result.