Custom setup sheet questions - min z depths and graphic

[saltedfish]

Hello all:

 

I am fumbling my way through the bizarre world of active reports, and have my sheet mostly set up. My understanding of the sheets is as follows: Each .rpx file is sort of a.. bucket that holds a specific level of information from the XML file generated by Mastercam. The top level dataset is SETUPSHEET, and you have to embed each successive .rpx file in a way that links each sheet to the previous link in the chain. So if you want a tool report, you have to have an .rpx with DATASHEET, which has a subreport that calls on TOOLS, which in turn has a subreport that calls on TOOL, which finally can start pulling in information about that tool, like diameter and spindle speed and so on. Then all this information gets passed up the chain to the top level sheet which assembles all the data and presents it to the user. Why you can't just embed something like "//SETUPSHEET/NCFILE/TOOLS/TOOL/MIN-Z" is beyond me. Or maybe you can and I'm needlessly complicating things.

Anyway, my issue arises when I go to make a comprehensive setup sheet for my whole program. The information I'm mostly interested in is:

1. What's the tool #?
2. What's the tool called?
3. What diameter is the tool?
4. What is the deepest that tool travels during it's cycle?

Everything else is sorta useless to my particular use case. I've managed to get a setup sheet that actually displays this information, but some of the "MIN-Z" values were positive. I was baffled until I realized these were the values from the second operation that takes place on the back of the part -- since the work coordinate system was on the back of the part and thus opposite the "TOP" work plane, they were registering as positive values. (For clarity, I tend to do all the operations in one singular Mastercam file -- top, side, bottom, all of it; and just use strategically-placed work coordinates to determine where the tools are coming in.)

Obviously this is stupid and useless, since I want the actual Z depth the tool is hitting once I turn the part over for the second operations, which will always be negative since the Z0 is on the very top of the part. Is there a way to force the setup sheet to always show the Z value from that operation's work plane? Will I need to restructure my rpx files to instead call on "//SETUPSHEET/NCFILE/OPERATION/TOOL"? Will that always give me the actual negative value?

Follow up question: is there a way to force the graphic to always show the isometric view of the Top Plane? That's always my first op, so it makes the most sense to show that so I know what program I'm dealing with and how to orient it.

 

Thanks in advance!

[So not a Guru]

12 hours ago, saltedfish said:

Obviously this is stupid and useless, since I want the actual Z depth the tool is hitting once I turn the part over for the second operations

To get this value you need to use "MIN-Z-TPLANE" in the data field

[saltedfish]

Thank you so much! That seems to have solved the problem tidily.

 

Do you know how to always force an isometric view when generating a graphic? The help mentions an "override," but I can't find it.

 

It would also be nice to not have duplicates -- currently the program uses the same tool multiple times, so it appears multiple times with the various depths. As I understand it, the XML file generated by Mastercam organizes by operation or tool list, and the tool list doesn't contain the min Z. So I'm stuck with the operation list, which will list each tool for each operation, thus resulting in the duplicates. Is there a way around this?

[So not a Guru]

1 hour ago, saltedfish said:

Thank you so much! That seems to have solved the problem tidily.

 

Do you know how to always force an isometric view when generating a graphic? The help mentions an "override," but I can't find it.

 

It would also be nice to not have duplicates -- currently the program uses the same tool multiple times, so it appears multiple times with the various depths. As I understand it, the XML file generated by Mastercam organizes by operation or tool list, and the tool list doesn't contain the min Z. So I'm stuck with the operation list, which will list each tool for each operation, thus resulting in the duplicates. Is there a way around this?

I am unsure of what graphic you want to limit. My setup sheet only has one graphic representation of each tool, no duplicates.

[saltedfish]

Essentially I want a single graphic, nothing more, that is an Isometric view of the Top plane. I don't need a picture of the tools or anything, just of the part.

[So not a Guru]

15 hours ago, saltedfish said:

Essentially I want a single graphic, nothing more, that is an Isometric view of the Top plane. I don't need a picture of the tools or anything, just of the part.

I accomplish this by having the part,in iso view, on the screen when I create my setup sheet. When the dialog pops up, I check the "Images"  & "Graphics view" check-boxes.

If you don't want any other images, remove the other image placeholders from the setup sheets

[saltedfish]

I was hoping to have Mastercam do that for me, since it's supposed to be clever, but I can do that too.

 

Any thoughts on how to cut down on the tool duplicates I mention above?

[So not a Guru]

1 hour ago, saltedfish said:

I was hoping to have Mastercam do that for me, since it's supposed to be clever, but I can do that too.

 

Any thoughts on how to cut down on the tool duplicates I mention above?

Upload your sheet set & I could take a look and see if I can suggest something.