2020 Lathe Custom Chuck Jaws Reference Point

[chrisxib]

Hello, ever since I updated to 2020, I can not make custom lathe chuck jaws like I used to, so I have been making programs without them. The problem is that when I choose to use a chain to define my jaw profile, MasterCam then wants the reference point to be in the bottom right-hand corner of the most extreme entities, and this point must be touching the jaw profile, but in the majority of jaws I want to design it is not. And I can not for the life of me figure out how to get around it. I know there is a parameters tab there with a button to reset the reference point, but it gets greyed out when using a chain. I am running the most current version. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Chris

[crazy^millman]

Send an email to qc (at) mastercam (dot) com and see if they can help you sort it out. I would need a sample file before I can even think of a way to help. Put up a sample file and I will be glad to take a look. 

[Machinist Joe]

Hey Chris,

Did you ever get this sorted out? I am having the exact same issue. I'm sure it's something obvious that I'm missing.

Thanks.

[chrisxib]

Hey Joe (great Jimi Hendrix song BTW),

No I never solved this issue. I just learned to work around it. Sorry

[chrisxib]

Reposting this as I still do not have a solution. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers guys!

[Paul Decelles]

Unfortunately, the implementation for chain support in Mastercam 2020 was really limited to handling existing part files where the chain option was historically extremely limited.  This was due to the main focus of development being on the component library support for the Mill-Turn platform, allowing definition and storage of chucks and jaw components for selection in the job setup process.  In Mastercam 202,1 we were able to complete the work to properly support chains for both rectangular and pie shaped jaws and to allow for proper reference point definition on the jaw profile. 

[chrisxib]

Hello Paul. Thanks for the answer! I’m looking forward to updating to the 2021 version! Cheers and keep safe!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, chrisxib said:

Hello Paul. Thanks for the answer! I’m looking forward to updating to the 2021 version! Cheers and keep safe!

It is important to note that there are serious issue in Mastercam 2021 Update 2, and update 2.1 solved them, so make sure you do all the updates.

[chrisxib]

Thanks for the heads-up!

[chrisxib]

I'm happy to say that I'm finally on 2021 (update 3) and this issue has finally been solved!