You can unbound a segment back into a line or arc back into a full circle by using the Geometry, Keep icon and holding down the Shift key during selection.

You can check out the latest ESPRIT news by visiting our web site at www.dptechnology.com.

When using the Geometry, Keep and Trim icons, you can manually choose the bounding elements for a segment or arc by holding down the Ctrl key.

You can adjust the line thickness by selecting Line Weight from Tools, Options... Attributes tab.

You can select multiple operations or tools in the project manager by using the Ctrl + Shift keys.

The background color can be changed to black or any other color by going to the Tools, Options... Attributes tab.

It is always a good idea to make sure you are running the most up to date video card drivers. Right click on the Windows desktop and pick Properties for video driver information such as manufacturer and current version. Visit the manufacturer's web site to download new drivers.

Group elements for manipulation by using the Select icon and then click on an element or make a box around several elements. Any element partially in the box will be included in the group.

You can add to or remove from a group by holding down the Ctrl key while selecting or boxing elements.

A chain of elements can be grouped by holding down the Shift key while selecting an element in the chain. Additional chains can be included in the group by holding Ctrl + Shift while picking an element in a chain. 

With SNAP mode active on the status bar, snap locations such as endpoints and center points can be digitized as reference locations. The mouse cursor will change to indicate when it is over a snap point. Click SNAP on the status bar to turn this feature off.

GRID mode can be turned on and off on the status bar. When GRID mode is on, grid locations can be selected as reference points. The grid parameters can be set by selecting Options... under the Tools menu and going to the Input tab.

With HI mode active on the status bar, you will be prompted for confirmation of all graphical mouse picks. The chosen element will be highlighted. That element can be accepted with the left mouse button or rejected with the right mouse button.

The XYZ Axes can be turned on and off under the View menu. 

When dimensioning between two elements, the next mouse pick determines whether the dimension is horizontal, vertical, or parallel. Move the mouse cursor around to choose between the different types. The final mouse pick then determines the location where the dimension is placed.

The Dimensioning Parameters icon on the Dimensioning tool bar can be used to change the settings of dimension and text note entities. This includes changing the font settings.

The results of the line and circle creation commands on the Geometry toolbar differ depending on the type of reference element chosen. For example, with the Line 2 command, the resulting segment will be tangent to a reference circle but perpendicular to a reference line.

A fillet radius of 0 for Fillet on the Fillet/Chamfer command can be used to trim corners.

Settings for loading CAD files such as IGES and DXF can be accessed by pressing the Options... button on the File Open and File Save dialog boxes.

You can make as many graphics windows as you like, all with different viewing angles and scales, by choosing New Window under the Window menu.

If you choose two points not in the current UVW plane, the Geometry - Rectangle command will make a 3D box.

When making a New Plane from the Work Planes dialog, click the "Includes View" button to automatically make a View Plane looking from the +W direction of that Work Plane towards -W such that +U is to the right and +V is up. It can then be chosen from the View Planes drop down.

With the Normal Surface icon you can pick a base and a drive curve and enter a scale value or pick a base and two drive curves to blend together.
To extrude an element into a surface, use the Draft Surface icon with a draft angle of 0.

When in the Project Manager many functions can be accessed by selecting operations and tools with the left mouse button, then clicking the right mouse button to bring up the context menu.

The Show Advanced Options>> selection on the NC Code dialog includes options of great assistance when making changes to post machine format (.ASC) files. The Create Long NC Code option will list the corresponding EX_ examples that produced each line of NC code.

The Masks... under the View menu can be used to hide and show different types of elements. Changing the Masks and doing a redraw can make a part easier to visualize.

Instead of digitizing with the mouse, graphical elements can be referred to by typing in their label number. The Element Numbers can be turned on by going to the Masks... dialog (Ctrl-M).

Layers are user defined masks. They function just like the Masks... under the View menu. New elements are created on the active layer. The user can choose to hide or show any of the individual layers.

The Work Planes are used to set the plane for 2D geometry creation. To change the orientation of the UVW Work Plane, go to Work Plane under the Edit menu.
When creating a Leader under Dimensioning, the left mouse button is used to pick new vertices of the leader. The right mouse button is used to signify when the leader is finished.

Intermediate sections of loft surfaces can be selected more than once by using the Ctrl key after the first selection. Selecting twice produces a smooth but more heavily weighted transition through that section, while selecting three times produces a completely sharp transition.

If you are in the process of trimming some elements with the Trim icon and you realize that some elements need to be completely removed you do not have to stop and press the delete key. You can remove elements with the Trim command by holding down the shift key when selecting the element.

You can swap all items in a group selection with all non-selected items by pressing Ctrl-W.

The shaded mode resolution can be set on the Workspace tab of the Tools, Options... dialog.

The DP Technology CustomerWeb contains a library of downloadable files and other valuable information. To create your CustomerWeb logon go to http://www.dptechnology.com/espritweb/login/login.asp

Never plug anything other than a printer onto the back of the parallel security device. Tape back-up, portable CD-ROM, and other such devices can damage the security module. If you wish to use the parallel port for something other than a printer, unplug your security module.

You can move and copy objects to different layers using the ATTRIBUTE Transformation Type on the Copy dialog (Ctrl-C).

When doing Parametric or Parametric Spiral Tool Motion on the Mill 3D Finish Cycle, the tool motion pattern can come from any surface. It does not have to come from one of the surfaces which will be machined.

When creating a constant radius fillet between two surfaces, turning the Center Line option on will produce a sequence which can be used to trace the blend with a tool of the same radius. Simply use the 3D Project Cycle to project that center line sequence back onto the blend.

Mirror and symmetry may sometimes give the same results, but they are not the same. Mirror is done through a plane, while symmetry is about a point or line. Look in a mirror and raise your right hand, your reflection always raises its left. This is usually not so with symmetry.

The feedrates output on arcs can be adjusted automatically by turning on the Const. Removal Rate setting.

With the zoom button if you click and drag to form a rectangle, the screen will zoom to that area, but if you just click and release on an area, then the screen will step the zoom in centered on that location.

You can generate NC Code for a specific set of machining operations by highlighting those operations in the Project Manager, then right click on them and pick NC Code.

In order to make unbound lines instead of segments from two reference elements, go to the Input tab of the Tools, Options... dialog and turn off "Line 2 always bounded". The Line 2 command on the Unbound Geometry toolbar will then produce an unbound line.

Post Processor .ASC files in the earlier ESPRIT/X product are completely compatible with ESPRIT. You can browse to your ESPRIT/X posts right from the NC Code dialog, or simply copy all of the .ASC files from your ESPRITX\Post folder to the Post folder in ESPRIT.

The background gradient display can be turned on or off by going to the Tools, Options... Attributes tab, selecting Background from the list, and checking or unchecking the Use Gradient box.

Settings on the Tools, Options... dialog can be saved by clicking the Default... button and selecting "Save current as user defaults".

Settings on the Tools, Options... dialog can be reset to the original installation setup by clicking the Default... button and selecting "Reset all to installation defaults".

When starting a New file in an already open session of ESPRIT, all configuration changes will still be in effect from the previous file. To disable this, check "Reset to user configuration defaults for New file" on the Workspace tab of the Options... dialog and save as the default.

With INT mode active on the status bar, snap locations at intersections can be digitized as reference locations. The mouse cursor will change to indicate when it is over an intersection snap point. Click INT on the status bar to turn this feature on.

Auto Chain creates chains from grouped geometry.  Group all geometry on which you want to place a Chain; then select Auto Chain. Chains are created automatically on all grouped geometry. This could be open or closed shapes, and 2D or 3D shapes. You may also apply Auto Chain to grouped shapes containing Curves.

The Gap Tolerance setting under Tools > Options > Input can be used to jump over gaps in geometry during the creation of Features. If the auto search is telling you no intersections found, try increasing the Gap Tolerance.
If you get a message asking you to choose between multiple paths or a message that the auto search may be too time intensive, it may be because your Gap Tolerance is too loose. The Gap Tolerance setting under Tools > Options > Input should be smaller than the shortest piece of geometry in the chain.
When you hold the mouse cursor over an operation or tool in the Project Manager, the comments for that operation or tool will be displayed as a pop-up tooltip.

To use EDM Feature Groups, you must first group the profiles and entry points that you wish to consider.

To copy operations in the Project Manager hold down the Ctrl key and drag and drop the operation on the feature that you wish to apply machining to.
With the Zoom icon while holding the left mouse button down you can type in a scale factor to zoom by.

You can print to scale by going to the File > Page Setup dialog and unchecking the Print Window box. You can then set the scale and the position of the origin on the print. Hint: Take the coordinates of the lower left corner to print and enter the opposite of them for Xpo and Ypo.

Every operation has Custom Settings which can be used to pass special values to the post processor. To access the Custom Settings, turn on the Custom Page check box on the Machining tab of the Tools > Options... dialog. 

Additional Examples and Tutorials are provided on the ESPRIT installation CD. Simply browse to the Examples and Tutorials folder on the CD to access them.
You can compare the material removed by individual tools by setting the Simulation Cut Color differently for each tool.

Datum dimensioning can be done in a long, short, or coordinate format. Select the format you want on the Dimensioning Parameters dialog.

A new default NC Code file extensions can be added by selecting Show Advanced Options>> on the NC Code dialog and typing in a new value in the NC Code File Extension box.

If you are experiencing video or graphical problems, it may be due to OpenGL acceleration. OpenGL acceleration can be disabled with the ESPRITSettings utility on the ESPRIT Installation CD (CD\ESPRITUtilities\ESPRIT\ESPRITSettings.exe) by setting Pixel Format to (Auto) Non-Accelerated.

You can create angle dimensions in Degrees, Minutes and Seconds by going to the Text tab of the Dimensioning Parameters dialog and setting the Angle Unit to DMS.

When prompted for an angle, instead of entering a value in decimal degrees, you can enter a value in degrees, minutes, and seconds by using the DMS() function. The format is DMS(d,m,s) where d=Number of Degrees, m=Number of Minutes, and s=Number of Seconds.

The setting Const. Removal Rate on operation dialogs can be used to automatically adjust the feedrate on arcs in the NC code.

Sample post processors are provided in the Post\Samples folder of your ESPRIT installation. Use the Browse button when selecting a Machine Format file on the NC Code dialog and click on the Samples folder to access them.

The tutorial macros presented in the API and Macro Help are included in the Tutorials.VBA project file located in the data\VBAProjects folder under your ESPRIT installation. Go to the File Locations tab on the Tools > Options... dialog to change your global VBA Project file name.

Besides containing dozens of DNC configuration files, the DNC archive contains files giving machine parameters and other documentation, such as cable configurations and debugging tips. To access those files, select Get DNC from Archive on the File menu of the WDNC program.
  
There is an Auto Scale setting for DXF and DWG files on the File > Open > Options... dialog. With Auto Scale on, the scaling is based on the File Unit set on the Options... dialog and the System Unit set under the Tools menu.
For machines such as Agie and Charmilles which require multiple files, when making NC Code, select the corresponding .PPL file for the Machine Format. The .PPL file is a Post Processor List which will launch multiple post processors to create all of the necessary files.

Only untrimmed surfaces can be extended. To extend a trimmed surface, make a copy and untrim it, then extend that. You can then use both the original and extended surface, or if necessary, do the extension as a new surface and create a blend or other surface between the edges of the original and the extension.

The Gear dialog will calculate the values for a standard involute given three key values, such as Number of Teeth, Pressure Angle, and Diametral Pitch. The calculated values, for example Major and Minor Diameter, can then be modified by the user to match their print.

With a Lathe Drilling Cycle the part spindle is rotating, not the tool. This means you can only drill along the center axis of the part. To have the part spindle stationary and a live, rotating tool, so that you can drill anywhere on the face or diameter use the Lathe Mill Drilling Cycle.

You can specify a pocket boundary by selecting either a loop on a solid, a chain, a curve, or grouped geometry.
 
A pocket sub-feature can be removed from a pocket by dragging-out the sub-feature in the Project Manager.

The Hole function automatically recognizes holes in solid parts and creates features on them. It recognizes complex holes (e.g. chamfered, counter-bored and counter-sinked holes), holes whose top loop is discontinued, angled holes, and holes on 3D faces (e.g. cylindrical, conical, and general free-form faces).

The 3D Re-machining operation identifies near-vertical 3-sided corners based on a "Corner Draft Angle" value.  These near-vertical corners are then machined by applying a lacing pattern.  This expands ESPRIT's functionality for mold cavity parts, which typically have a draft angle varying from 1 to 5 degrees.

The 3D Z-Level operation contains the setting "Maximum Slope Angle". Any areas whose slope is smaller than the maximum angle will be considered horizontal. These horizontal areas may be cut with the "Motion Pattern" set to "Zigzag" or "Offset". 

The vertical boundaries for the 3D Rough and 3D Z-Level cycles are set by the "Top Z Limit" and "Bottom Z Limit" values which appear on their operation dialogs.

The "Parallel Planes" mask hides all geometry not parallel to the UV-plane of the current work plane.

If you are having problems with missing data or extra garbage data from an IGES file, try changing the "Blank Status" setting on the File > Open > Options... dialog and then re-open the IGES file.

When an STL file from another software package is used as the Target model in simulation, be sure you know the tolerance that was used when creating it. This information is not in the STL file. The Comparison Tolerance should be set no lower than the STL tolerance; two times the STL tolerance is recommended.

Following an update, you may notice new settings which have been added to operation dialogs. Because of these new settings, it is recommended that you rebuild operations when loading an old file into a new version. To do this, highlight the operations in the Project Manger, right click and select "Rebuild".

ESPRIT supports High Speed Machining on the 3D Rough, Z-Level, and Finish operations through such settings as Bi-Directional "Smooth", various Entry and Exit Modes including "Helical", and Approach and Departure Angles.
"Auto Spindle Speed" on 3D operations and "Optimize Tool Path" on the Mill Machine Setup help to support High Speed Machining. "Auto Spindle Speed" produces spindle speed changes based on contact diameter and "Optimize Tool Path" can produce optimized arc, NURB curve, or spline output in the NC Code.

You can place macros on toolbars by drag and drop. Simply go to the Tools > Customize dialog, switch to the Customize tab, and scroll down the Categories list to Macros. All of your macros will appear in the Commands list. Drag any macro on the list and drop it on a toolbar. A Macro Button dialog then appears.

If you mess up a tool bar or your Menu Bar while using the Tools > Customize dialog, all you have to do is go back to Tools > Customize, select the toolbar name or Menu Bar in the list, and click the Reset button.

Always be sure to use the latest EDM post processors. After installing an update, browse for new Machine Format Files in the EDM folder. Older post processors may not support new EDM technology page settings. If you previously customized your posts, keep a backup and make those same changes in the new posts.

If you want something to work the opposite of the way it does, but there is no specific setting for it, try a negative value. For example, Lathe Mill Contours and Pockets and 4x Wrap Mill Contours and Pockets can be wrapped to the Inside Diameter by using a negative Working Diameter value.

With lathe tools, certain insert types and holders need specific combinations of angle values. The Lead Angle plus the Relief Angle plus the Tool Angle may need to add up to 90 degrees, for example. Compare your insert and holder parameters with the diagrams and make sure all of your dimensions make sense.
If you have just installed the latest version of SolidWorks, ESPRIT may not be able to read native files because of changes by SolidWorks to their file format. Remember, though, you can always save the files as Parasolid (.X_B or .X_T) format and load that into ESPRIT instead.

The Mill Contour settings Start Overcut % +/- and End Overcut % +/- will produce an overcut past the start and end of the feature for a positive value, and an undercut along the feature for a negative value. The distance is a percentage of the tool diameter.

You can load files from the old Esprit/C software into ESPRIT, but you must first rename them from a .SRC to a .ESW extension.
When SolidMill FreeForm Finishing with Parametric Tool Motion, you should be sure that you have Surface Arrows displayed so that machining occurs on the correct side. Show Surface Arrows is on the Machining tab of the Tools > Options dialog.

You can use a surface, composite, solid or STL model as stock.  SolidMill FreeForm machining will allow you to machine between the stock and the finished part. Look for the Stock Automation settings on the Advanced tab of the operation technology dialog.

The top and bottom z-limits on a SolidMill FreeForm Re-Machining operation determine the search range for the areas to be machined.  They do not necessarily limit the machining to only this zone.  If a surface is found in this range and the surface extends outside of it, that entire surface may still be machined.