If you’re new to VisualCAMc, MecSoft’s Full-Cloud based Production CAM solution for Onshape, then you may not fully understand yet how your VisualCAMc toolpaths are associatively linked to your Onshape part model. In this blog we will take you through the steps needed to update your toolpaths automatically after making sketch and feature edits to your Onshape part.
Here are the basic steps. In the example below, changes made in Onshape, are automatically propagated to the VisualCAMc toolpaths!
Basic Procedure
1. Load a Part from Onshape into VisualCAMc and create your toolpaths. The sample part below has three toolpaths created (2-1/2 Axis Facing, 2-1/2 Axis Profiling and Hole Drilling).
 Original Onshape Part |
 VisualCAMc Part w/Facing Toolpath |
 VisualCAMc Part w/Profiling Toolpath |
 Hole Drilling |
2. Select the Part Studio tab to display your Onshape part.
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3. Right-click on an Onshape sketch and select Edit.
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4. Now select Top from the Onshape View Cube to see the sketch more clearly.
 The View Cube
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5. Edit a few sketch dimensions and then pick the check-mark to accept the sketch. We edited the coordinate location of all of the holes as well as the outer perimeter dimensions.
 Current Onshape Sketch |
 Modified Onshape Sketch |
 Select the checkmark icon in the sketch editor to accept and close the sketch. |
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6. The Part will rebuild. Now select the Isometric View icon from the Onshape View bar to display the Isometric view.
 TOP VIEW |
 Change to Isometric View |
Isometric View
7. Now select the VisualCAMc tab.
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8. Select the Load a Part button and reload your part model.
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9. First lets update our Part Bounds Stock. Double left-click on the Stock icon in the Machining Job tree to display the Part Bounds Stock dialog. From this dialog pick the Calculate Geometry button and then pick the Save button. The new stock size will display on the part.
Part Bounds Stock dialog
 New Part Bounds Stock Displayed |
10. Because our Stock dimensions are changed, you will notice that our Work Zero now defaults to the WCS origin of our Onshape Part. Let’s change it back to where we had it (See the image in step 1 above). Double-left-click on the Work Zero icon in the Machining Job to display the dialog.
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11. From the Work Zero dialog, select Set to Stock Box, Highest Z and the South West and then pick Save. This place the Work Zero where we had it before.
Work Zero is Updated
12. You will notice all of our toolpath operations are flagged as dirty to remind us that they need to be regenerated.
13. Just right-click on the Machining Job and select Regenerate. All of our toolpaths are recalculated from the updated part.
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14. Selecting each operation from the Machining Job tree will display the updated toolpath based on the dimensional changes we made to the Onshape Part model.
 Revised Onshape Part |
 2-½ Axis Facing Updated |
 2-½ Axis Profiling Updated |
 Drilling Toolpath Updated |
Try It Yourself
If you want to learn more about the VisualCAMc Full-Cloud based Milling plugin for Onshape, check out MecSoft’s Products Page, Tech Blog and YouTube Channel for what’s new, specifications, videos, tutorials and more. To join the free VisualCAMc Beta program, go to the Onshape App store and add VisualCAMc to your Onshape account. Enjoy!
Try VisualCAMc For Onshape
This powerful cloud-based CAM tool works directly inside your Onshape Documents.
