hodge podge of mcam newb questions.

[jlw™]

So, I'm new to mcam.  I have a few things that I know has to have a better way... because I did in Esprit.

 

1st:  Lets say I have marked up dimensions on a very large part.  If I print the part all I get is little rectangles.  Is there a way to scale the dims automatically when printed?

 

2nd: when i try to xform -> contour offset, it puts the offset on the same level as the original geo even tho i'm on a new level.  I do this all the time for containment.  is there something i'm missing to make the new offset geo go to the main level?   (answered, thank you!)

 

3rd:  selecting geo that is "on top" of a solid or even more difficult, points on top of geo on top of solid.  Is there a mask or "hold p and click" to get points or geo?  I know about alt+s and it makes geo selection easy, but what about points specifically?  (answered, thank you!)

 

4th:  tool error i get all the time.  none of my tool databases have changed location on the hdd.  all file paths are the same as when i began a couple months ago. but i continually get the error in the attached pic.  any suggestions or insight into what is causing this?

 

 

thanks in advance guys!

[jlw™]

and the last one for now, I have one file that i can't upload.  i have a 3d path that is not trimming the corners properly and giving wacky motion in the corner.  I tried to duplicate the problem and upload it but everything worked perfectly in my new file.  here are some pics and the parameters.  what it did was create arcs to get to the second branch when it should have cut to a sharp corner.  the problem is only in multi pass.  it will not trim the passes correctly.

agian, i don't know if it's something i did as i couldn't duplicate it.  Even in an exact copy of the part.

[jlw™]

well, i was going to upload pics individually but it appears i have exceeded my quota.

 

i'll ask that last one later

[Incogneeto]

As far as construction depth you can go down to the bottom of your screen near planes left click on Z and set your new depth. Not sure if that is what you were asking. HTH

[jlw™]

are you talking about the contour question?  if so, no.  I know about the z level there.  i'm talking about level 5 is part geo, level 10 is containment.  i have level 10 seleted as main and offset geo on level 5.  it goes to level 5 instead of level 10.  I then have to pick it all, right click levels and move it to 10.

 

any help there?

[specv]

for your 2nd question, in the offset contour dialog box, there is a "Use new attributes" box. Tick that box and it will put the new geo on the current level, or even another level you choose.

[djstedman]

At the bottom of the offset window is a box that says use new attributes.. if you check that box you can then specify what level you want to put the copied geometry on.

[Jayson Kramer]

your 3rd question are  you wanting to pick at points to get info or are you trying to chain the solid for a path?

[jlw™]

to select the point for xform purposes.  as far as selecting approx start points or for paths i have no trouble.

[The Cathedral]

to select the point for xform purposes.  as far as selecting approx start points or for paths i have no trouble.

 

First off, the best practice is to have your different geometry on different levels. I separate wireframe from solid geo into different levels, and usually wireframe used on one op is a different level from wireframe used on another op. Then you can turn off all levels you don't need so your view isn't cluttered up.

 

Second, there are numerous different options for only selecting certain types of geometry. Most are linked to keyboard shortcuts, so if you only want to be able to select a point and not accidentally click on something else, hit the corresponding key first. P for point, C for center of an arc, M for midpoint of a line, and so on. All the shortcuts are in the help, search for Autocursor and Power Keys.

 

Finally, you can use Quick Mask to select only specific types of geometry. You can select only points, you can select only points that are purple, you can select only orange lines on level 23 that are dashed and use thickness 2. It's all there.

[jlw™]

I do that, but sometimes i want to click a point without turning other layers/solids off so i know exactly which point i'm getting.

 

I found the autocursor button to set it but it's greyed out and will not let me hit it.

 

What now?

[The Cathedral]

The autocursor only works when you're already inside a function. To pre-select a specific type of geometry before you enter a function, use quick masks. I have mine set up like this:

 

There are two functionalities to the quick mask buttons: left click on them to select ALL of that type of geometry. Right click on the button to ONLY select that type of geometry. Right click on the QM point function, then select your point.

[jlw™]

booyah!  that's what i wanted.  It's key with other software.  right click quickmask nailed it!  Thank you!  this makes life much easier for me.

[jlw™]

I've got another question.  I don't see a "Part Configuration Manager" like I'm used to that turns certain levels on/off at the same time and nothing to change stock.  So, how do you guys handle parts with multiple setups or machine types involved?  I  can only get my initial stock to go into Verify.  I normally keep all of one part in the same file unless something is just too complicated.  I like saving my stock from verify for subsequent ops but I can't figure out how to select that stock in "Properties" so it will go into Verify.  Am I missing something?

 

While I was at CCS the instructor told us not to use multiple machine groups.  He didn't really have a reason but he said that it would cause more crashes especially if it was the same machine.

 

So, does any one have experience to share with that or do you guys save a different file for every setup?  How do I select the saved STL from Verify as stock for the next setup?

[civiceg]

In x6 and below there was a save icon in verify. In x7-x8 you can do it under options in verify. Then transform the stl to the correct position for other ops if you are not doing all ops in the same position as op1. For a simple two op block I will have op1 and op2 next to each other, so it makes a nice clear setup sheet. I set them at a even spacing so when I rotate the op1 stl to the op2 position its right on the money.

 

For X8 I never use a stl anymore. It was crash city if I saved a detailed stl, rotated it, and then tried to run verify on it. Stock models have really made life easier in that regard. 

 

I only use one machine group but have a tool path group for each operation. 

[jlw™]

How do you get verify to show stock for 2nd, 3rd... Nth ops?

[civiceg]

save stl from op 1, transform the stl to the correct position if needed and re save as a new name. In the verify stock page select stl and find your file. Its the button next to the verify one in the operations manager in x7/x8. 

[djstedman]

Unless there is an option I don't know about, there is not a way to set the stock for multiple operations and have it saved.. its something I mentioned in one of the beta surveys as something that should be improved.

 

I made the suggestion that each toolpath group should have its own stock and fixtures setup... that is saved so that once you setup stock and fixtures for a given op they don't need to be changed.

 

Currently if you have stock set for one operation, verify will display that stock when you go to verify the next operation as well, which means with multiple operations in the same file you are stuck changing the setting for the stock prior to verifying.  If there is only stock its not hard to change it, but it becomes a pain to change stock and turn on/off levels for fixtures as well. 

 

This is an area where I think Mastercam's development team has always kind of had a split personality.. they program in the WCS stuff so its easy to use different WCS and maintain one file for one part with multiple ops, and they give us the stock model functionality that allows you to use the result from a previous toolpath group as stock for the next operation, then .. they somehow program the verify as if there is always only one operation per file. Hopefully this is something that is changed for the better in future versions.

 

I though I would also mention, civicegg mentioned using STL files for subsequent ops, and that is a viable option, however I believe the new methodology is to use stock models over STL files for stock for subsequent operations.

[civiceg]

Hey now I mentioned stock models in my earlier post too. Stock models are definitely the better route.

[djstedman]

Sorry I didn't notice it, I didn't intend anything by mentioning your last post other than to make the point that stock models are generally the preferred method now.

 

I used to use STL files all the time, and if using different files I think they are still the only viable option for getting stock generated from the previous operation.

[civiceg]

Im  just giving you a hard time

[The Cathedral]

RE: the fourth question--does your tool database contain custom tools, and the .mcx file of one of those tools has been moved/renamed/deleted?

[jlw™]

Yes I do. Just like esprit, I create all of my custom tools in one file. Makes sharing easier.

 

However, then file path is unchanged.

[jlw™]

Another question that varies from my past experience. How do you guys chamfer a counterbore? In esprit I would use circle mill, basically identical to circle mill in mcam except you define the geo as chamfer. tooling is limited so I'm sneaking a tool that is really too big in. Let's say you wanted to use a 0.862in Ingersoll 1 flute to chamfer a 21mm hole with a 3mm chamfer. 2d contour does not do a proper lead in and best I can tell circ mill does not support chamfer. I always used circ mill in esprit with start in middle. Anything comparable in mcam? I'm really liking them 2d/3d chamfer in mcam, that's different and better to be honest but holes/counterbores are taking more effort than I'm used too. Can some one share a file or two?

[djstedman]

To chamfer starting at the center of a hole use 2D Contour set to chamfer, under lead in/out set angle to 180 and radius to Diameter of hole minus the diameter of cutter  divided by 4  - in this case ..using a cutter bigger than the hole.. use the cutter diameter at the depth you are going..  rather than the OD of your cutter .. so assuming the point of your 90 degree chamfer tool is at -.236 then your diameter for the purposes of this formula would be .472

 

From memory, I think Mastercam uses the width plus depth that are defined in the chamfer settings as the overall depth it goes when chamfering a hole, but you might want to post something out as a quick test to make sure.