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Material removal features serve 2 functions in Pro/NC.
1) They provide a visual cue as to what work remains. This is strictly for the programmer.
2) Some sequences (holemaking, volumes, face) look at the workpiece to calculate the toolpath. Some sequences (trajectory) do not. Holemaking, for example, looks at the workpiece when calculating clearance and when to come out of RAPID and go into FEED. If you have a drilled hole at the bottom of a pocket, and there is material in the pocket (which you've machined already without a material removal feature applied) , the tool will feed all the way down. Having a material removal feature will allow ProE to see where the start surface actually is. Of course, you could take the DEPTH out of AUTOMATIC mode and manually select start and end surfaces to get RAPID.
That being said, I've found usually that material removals are not that useful and add a lot of regeneration time and complexity to the manufacturing assembly. They are also not heuristic (as you've found), in that they only apply the stock allowances to the cut and do not consider the shape of the cutter. I'd have to say only 1 in 20 programs we make has a material removal feature in it.
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