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Feature/FeatureType
Features define the cuts and work to be done on a door. Under each FeatureGroup is a list of features, each feature may also have its own child list of features. Features can reference their parent properties and are centered at their parent's location.
There are different types of features but all features share a common set of properties. This page includes all of the common properties, particular feature types are listed below.
Common Properties
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | User defined name of the feature, it is displayed in the UI and may be used to for identification when represented as JSON for the KvalCAM API. |
| Description | User defined description of the feature, it is displayed in the UI and may be used for identification when represented as JSON for the KvalCAM API. |
| DoorSide | The side of the door the feature is placed on. May be "Hinge", "Lock", "Top", "Bottom" or "Face". Some features may only be placed on certain sides (e.g. a FaceRectangle must be on the Face side of the door). |
| TLocation | T-axis location of the feature relative to its parent feature or feature group location. The T-axis runs along the thickness of the door. This property is not used for features placed on the face of the door (the face surface plane only contains the W and L axes). |
| WLocation | W-axis location of the feature relative to its parent feature or feature group location. The W-axis runs along the width of the door. This property not used for features placed on the Hinge or Lock surfaces of the door (those surface planes only contain the T and L axes). |
| LLocation | L-axis location of the feature relative to its parent feature or feature group location. The L-axis runs along the length of the door. This property is not used for features placed on the Top or Bottom surfaces of the door (those surface planes only contain the W and T axes). |
LiteCutout
Summary
Machines that can run this feature:
- DL-NCX
- DL-NCD
The LiteCutout type is used to define a an arbitrary shape to be cutout in the face of the door. It supports importing the profile from a dxf file and editing in KvalCAM. KvalCAM takes care of reflecting and positioning the shape to maintain its relative positioning to the Top, Bottom, Hinge, and Lock edges of the door. The cutout is always a complete cutout, and knockout points may be defined to assist in knocking out the slug of the cutout in the case of foam cored doors.
Coordinates and Positioning
The LiteCutout is defined independent of where it is placed on the door itself. The LiteCutout can be placed on the door the same way as a FaceRectangle or FaceCircle by setting the LLocation and WLocation expressions. The LiteCutout shape and properties are defined in its own XY coordinates, and they are defined as follows:
X negativegoes towards the top of the door.X positivegoes towards the bottom of the door.Y negativegoes towards the lock edge of the door.Y positivegoes towards the hinge edge of the door.
X = 0, Y = 0 is the point of reference for positioning the LiteCutout on the door. E.g., if the feature group W Reference is Lock and WLocation = 5 then the (0, 0) point in LiteCutout coordinates will be positioned 5 inches from the lock edge of the door.
KvalCAM takes care of transforming the shape to ensure the above is always true even if the door hand switches (changing between left-hand and right-hand doors), or door orientation between different machines changes (e.g., one machine is running doors hinge pivot face down and another machine is running them hinge pivot face up).
Properties
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| CutoutProfile | The closed polyline defined by vertexes with bulges (the same way polylines are defined in common CAD software). The bulge = tan(theta/4), where theta is the sweep angle between the vertex and the next vertex defined. Bulge is always between -1.0 and 1.0 (sweep angle is always less than or equal to PI). Negative bulge for clockwise arc, positive bulge for counter clockwise arc. This profile may be imported from a dxf and/or edited in KvalCAM. The dxf import supports importing a complete closed polyline (with bulges), or a series of open polylines, lines and arcs that are overlapping (connected) at their end points. |
| MaxToolDiameter | This value is used for both validation and for generating the final cutout profile. Only tools whose diameters (including calibration) is less than this value will be selected to run the cutout. The final cutout profile is defined by this value since KvalCAM will perform the tool compensation by first offsetting inward the CutoutProfile by half this value (max tool radius), then offsetting back outward by the difference between half this value and the radius of the tool actually selected at run time. This guarantees the same cutout profile is machined regardless of any differences in tool sizes selected at run time. E.g. if the profile is very "bubbly" due to a large MaxToolDiameter, and a tool with a very small diameter is selected, then the same "bubbly" shape will be generated even if the smaller tool given the original profile could have been more defined/less "bubbly." This value should be picked to allow for the largest tools desired but not too large as to lose important definition in the CutoutProfile. Remember to include small calibration offsets to allow for positive tool diameter calibration, e.g. if running a 1.0 inch diameter tool is desired then MaxToolDiameter should be 1.01 or so to allow for a positive tool diameter calibration of up to +0.01 inches. |
| StartPointReference | Point used to control where the actual start point will be computed to be, the closest point on the tool compensated cutout tool path to this point will be used as the actual computed start point. The actual computed start point is the point that the tool will start and end the cutout path loop. |
| PlungePoint | Center of the plunge point inside of the tool compensated cutout path that the tool will perform a helix plunge into the material before moving towards the computed start point and performing the cutout path loop. This point is validated to be within the MaxToolDiameter tool compensated path. |
| KnockoutPoints | This is an optional list of points at which the knockout cylinder will be activated for clearing the cutout slug from the door if it is a foam core door. These points are validated to be offset some inches inward from the MaxToolDiameter tool compensated path (to avoid having the knockout hammer collide with the door). |