Plate Definition

Specify the dimensions of the working material and the type of material.

Parameters

Width Plate dimension along the X axis
Height Plate dimension along the Y axis
Thickness Plate dimension along the Z axis
X/Y Origin The position of the lower left corner of the plate
X/Y Margin If entered, a second dashed rectangle will be generated within the plate with the specified margins. Typically used for masking out clamp locations.
Surface Option Choose to set the plate surface at the top of the material or bottom of the material (top of the table).
Wrap Plate EnRoute supports output for rotary access CNC machines. Enabling Wrap plate will automatically set the plate size in the X or Y direction so it is compatible with the design being wrapped. The wrapped dimension of the plate is the circumference of the wrapped surface, which corresponds to the thickness of the material, which for a wrapped surface is the radius of the material.
Material Select the type of material being used. Materials are defined in the material library.
Save Save the current plate parameters as a template. The template can be loaded when defining another plate from the template box.
Delete Delete the currently selected template.
Fit Design Automatically adjust the height and width of the plate to fit the current design.
Fit Selection Automatically adjust the height and width of the plate to fit the currently selected contours.

Create Plate from Contour

Define a plate with any shape. Select any closed contour and activate the Create Plate from Contour command.

This tool is useful when used with the remnant contour created by the nesting tool, automatically defining the next plate as the remnant sheet from the last cut.

Plate Panels

Define an area within a panel to generate output for toolpaths. This tool is most useful for breaking up large designs that can be cut in smaller pieces.

  1. Define a basic plate, it should be the size of the design to cut.

  2. Activate the plate panels command, a wide yellow border will appear within the plate boundary.

  3. Click outside the plate border and drag to the location within the panel to create the plate. Hit Enter to apply.

    Use the F2 button to open a precision dialogue window to precisely place the panel border. Click OK to apply.

  4. The shaded area is the active area to generate toolpaths, any toolpaths that cross the boundary will be cut off when output.

  5. To switch active panels, activate the plate panels command and click on a different panel. Press Enter, or open the F2 menu and click OK to apply the change.

Plate Templates

Templates can be used to save plate settings that can be used across multiple designs.

Create Template

  1. Enter parameters in the Plate Definition dialogue

  2. Enter a template name in the Template box

  3. Click Save to add the template to the library

Using a Template

  1. Open the Plate Definition dialogue

  2. Click on the Template drop down box

  3. Select the template from the list to load the saved parameters