Changes

Before showing you how to create a tool path, there are a couple of things that you must keep in mind.  When the water jet cuts, it cuts on the left side of a line from the direction it is moving in.  Because of this, you must control the direction that the nozzle will travel.  For an outside cut, you want it to cut on the outside of the line to preserve the proper dimensions of the part.  For and inside cut, you want the opposite of that.  For a ring, you would want the nozzle to travel clockwise for the outside cut and counter-clockwise for the inside cut.  To control the direction of the nozzle, you place lead-in and lead-out lines.  Its how you specify the start or end of a cut and the cut direction.  Lastly, it is better to cut the inner bits first and then the outer bits last; and if you can help it, don't let the nozzle travel over any holes that were already cut.

Before showing you how to create a tool path, there are a couple of things that you must keep in mind.  When the water jet cuts, it cuts on the left side of a line from the direction it is moving in.  Because of this, you must control the direction that the nozzle will travel.  For an outside cut, you want it to cut on the outside of the line to preserve the proper dimensions of the part.  For and inside cut, you want the opposite of that.  For a ring, you would want the nozzle to travel clockwise for the outside cut and counter-clockwise for the inside cut.  To control the direction of the nozzle, you place lead-in and lead-out lines.  Its how you specify the start or end of a cut and the cut direction.  Lastly, it is better to cut the inner bits first and then the outer bits last; and if you can help it, don't let the nozzle travel over any holes that were already cut.

# Zoom in closer to the circle.  Select the "Lead i/o" tool from the "Draw" menu on the left of the screen.  Select the bottom edge of the circle and move the cursor upwards and click to create a lead in and out from the center of the circle.  This will tell the water jet to cut on the inside of the circle.  Looking at this picture, you can see that one line is longer than the other.  This longer line is the lead-in line.  The nozzle will penetrate the material from the beginning of the long line and work its way down to the bottom of the circle.  Once the nozzle hits the bottom, it will start counter-clockwise because the lead-in line is positioned at a slight angle to make counter-clockwise and easier direction than clockwise.  This is how you tell the nozzle which direction to cut.<figure-inline>[[File:Lead i-o.png|600x600px]]</figure-inline>

# Zoom in closer to the circle.  Select the "Lead i/o" tool from the "Draw" menu on the left of the screen.  Select the bottom edge of the circle and move the cursor upwards and click to create a lead in and out from the center of the circle.  This will tell the water jet to cut on the inside of the circle.  Looking at this picture, you can see that one line is longer than the other.  This longer line is the lead-in line.  The nozzle will penetrate the material from the beginning of the long line and work its way down to the bottom of the circle.  Once the nozzle hits the bottom, it will start counter-clockwise because the lead-in line is positioned at a slight angle to make counter-clockwise and easier direction than clockwise.  This is how you tell the nozzle which direction to cut. <figure-inline>[[File:Lead i-o.png|600x600px]]</figure-inline>

# Next, place a "Lead i/o" near the bottom of the left wall on the square moving your cursor to the left and clicking to tell the machine to cut on the outside of the box.<figure-inline>[[File:Lead io2.png|600x600px]]</figure-inline>

# Next, place a "Lead i/o" near the bottom of the left wall on the square moving your cursor to the left and clicking to tell the machine to cut on the outside of the box. <figure-inline>[[File:Lead io2.png|600x600px]]</figure-inline>

# Select the "Line" tool and connect the long, lead-in line of the box to the short, lead-out line of the circle.  This is a traverse line telling the machine to move from the circle to the box after it has finished cutting the circle.

# Select the "Line" tool and connect the long, lead-in line of the box to the short, lead-out line of the circle.  This is a traverse line telling the machine to move from the circle to the box after it has finished cutting the circle.

# Use the line tool and click on the long, lead-in line for the circle.  Place the other end of the line so that it is at least 1/8" past both the left and bottom edge of the part.  This will be the origin for the part and the cut.  It should look something like this.

# Use the line tool and click on the long, lead-in line for the circle.  Place the other end of the line so that it is at least 1/8" past both the left and bottom edge of the part.  This will be the origin for the part and the cut.  It should look something like this.