So, I'm evaluating CAM systems right now and noticed that Edgecam, Mastercam, and Camworks(what we use now) all use Module Works' 5 axis toopaths. So, in the grand scheme of things, the parameters in the dialogues are the same. And the real funny thing is all the pictures in the dialogues between the CAM systems is the EXACT same!
If you look up some video's on YouTube for either Mastercam 5 axis or Camworks 5 axis tutorials, you can get a little bit of a leg up from there.
But you are 100% correct, the 5 axis dialogue is quite overwhelming at first glance and until you mess with it a bit, it will remain challenging.
Since I have a Eval license for the month for Edgecam, maybe I can help a bit.
Here is a workflow you can try:
1. Get a toolpath - As others have mentioned, just get a toolpath on the part before making the fine tuning adjustments. Start on the surface paths tab and set your pattern. From there maybe adjust your parameters in the 'Sorting' section. This guides in to out, out to in, sprial, climb, zigzag. Try not to mess with the stepover, cusp heights, or surface quality for now. Then generate a path and ask "Is this kind of what I'm going for?" If not, work with these parameters a bit to you get a basic pattern down that you want.
2. Next you want to deal with your tool axis control. If gouge checking is on, just turn it off for now, we'll get to that later. But the 'Tool axis control' tab controls the majority of the tilting of the tool. The pictures give you an idea and you will need to experiment with these as you go. Remember, there is a Help button in the bottom of the dialogue and the help should help clarify some of the things you don't know about.
3a. Now for the fine tuning and gouge checking. Note: gouge checking increases processing time the more things you are gouge checking to. So, limit to the cutting porting and the shank if you can. In the strategy and parameters section of this tab, the first drop down menu is set to Retract Tool by default. Set this to Tilt Tool. What this does is it will tilt the tool away rather than pulling up. Note: it may muck things up a bit if it needs to tilt outside of the your limits on the Tool Axis Control tab so you may have to jump back and forth. Just depends on what you're doing.
3b. In addition to gouge checking, you will most likely need to adjust your links to smooth out the tool path and fine tune it's trajectory. This to me is one of the most problem causing sections of this type of operation. So, that's why I put it last. Adjust one thing at a time here and look at the results. Learning the difference between the different types of links will help immensely.
3c. If by now you still haven't gotten a sort of clean toolpath, then you might want to look into some of the other settings or maybe try a different pattern.
4. If you have a nice looking tool path that you like, you should now go adjust your stepover, cusp height, and feeds and speeds.
Truthfully, this is a pretty difficult module to master and takes a lot of trial and errors and errors and errors and errors. There is no real easy way around it, unfortunately.
Hope this helps a bit. I don't get on this forum much, but may be coming back more often as I've seen some rather decent discussions here compared to other forums.
--G