Linking imported solid models in Mastercam

[Thee Rickster ™]

Good Morning.

 

Is there a way to link a solid model imported from a file on our server

so that if it were moved to an obsolete folder (rev change etc) , Mastercam would flag the solid

or remove it from the MC file? .....(Even if the programmer wasn't using the solid to program with)

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Rick

[crazy^millman]

28 minutes ago, Thee Rickster ™ said:

Good Morning.

 

Is there a way to link a solid model imported from a file on our server

so that if it were moved to an obsolete folder (rev change etc) , Mastercam would flag the solid

or remove it from the MC file? .....(Even if the programmer wasn't using the solid to program with)

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Rick

No way I am aware of. Lost a customer years ago because the linking to STL files for Stock Models was not keeping the information. No way for a customer to know what was the originally link STL file. We started making a level with that information and naming the stock models as such to track it. Then got away totally from using external linked STL files. Mastercam becomes it's own separate file. Sometimes the descriptor on the File Page will give this information, but how far back I cannot say.

Here is my current file to give you an idea.

Merged File name =     C:\Customers\XXXXXX\001-387-6228-001\TOOLING\ISCAR DRILL.mcam

Merged File name =     C:\Customers\XXXXXX\001-387-6228-001\TOOLING\ISCAR DRILL.mcam

Merged File name =     C:\Customers\XXXXXX\001-387-6228-001\ORIGINAL MODEL\001-387-6228-001 LAYOUT - REV 01 - VER 9 - 08_28_2023 - CONFIG OP4.x_t

Merged File name =     C:\Customers\XXXXXX\001-387-6228-001\ORIGINAL MODEL\001-387-6228-001 LAYOUT - REV 01 - VER 9 - 08_28_2023 - CONFIG OP5.x_t

Merged File name =     C:\Customers\XXXXXX\001-387-6228-001\ORIGINAL MODEL\MI-001-387-6228-001 - REV 02 - VER 15 - 08_28_2023 - CONFIG OP5.x_t

Merged File name =     C:\Customers\XXXXXX\001-387-6228-001\ORIGINAL MODEL\MI-001-387-6228-001 - REV 02 - VER 15 - 08_28_2023 - CONFIG OP4.x_t

Merged File name =     C:\Customers\XXXXXX001-387-6228-001\ORIGINAL MODEL\MI-001-387-6228-001 - REV 02 - VER 15 - 08_28_2023 - CONFIG OP3.x_t

Merged File name =     C:\Customers\XXXXXX\001-387-6228-001\ORIGINAL MODEL\MI-001-387-6228-001 - REV 02 - VER 15 - 08_28_2023 - CONFIG OP2.x_t

Merged File name =     D:\Temp\Tooling Compontents\McMaster-Carr\94414A731_5MM X .80 MM Black-Oxide Alloy Steel Torx Flat Head Screws.STEP

Merged File name =     D:\Temp\Tooling Compontents\Allied\23030S-150F.stp

Merged File name =     D:\Temp\Tooling Compontents\Allied\483H-0116.stp

Merged File name =     D:\Temp\Tooling Compontents\Iscar\3602094-DCLNR 16-4.stp

Merged File name =     D:\Temp\Tooling Compontents\Iscar\3602095-DCLNL 16-4.stp

[JParis]

For a solid, Under File >> Track Changes >> Choose the options

 

Click Tracking in the top right  

In the window, Right Click >> Add...select your file to track...

When you open the Mastercam file it should check for changes

[crazy^millman]

2 minutes ago, JParis said:

For a solid, Under File >> Track Changes >> Choose the options

 

Click Tracking in the top right  

In the window, Right Click >> Add...select your file to track...

When you open the Mastercam file it should check for changes

Thank you I just learned something.

[Thee Rickster ™]

Thanks John, I will check it out and test it!

 

Cheers

Rick

[Thee Rickster ™]

56 minutes ago, JParis said:

For a solid, Under File >> Track Changes >> Choose the options

 

Click Tracking in the top right  

In the window, Right Click >> Add...select your file to track...

When you open the Mastercam file it should check for changes

Hey John, when i close and reopen the file, the tracker removes the .stp files

that i added to the tracker. It ads the .mcam file automatically, for some reason??

 

Is there something i need to do differently?

I tried adding the folder and the bottom of the page, but it still

does not save the .stp files i am testing this with.

 

added .stp and saved macm.

 

save/close MC, then open

 

Any Ideas?

 

Cheers

Rick

 

[JParis]

AFter setting it....try clicking the "Check current File" instead of going back into options

[Aaron Eberhard]

1 hour ago, JParis said:

For a solid, Under File >> Track Changes >> Choose the options

 

Click Tracking in the top right  

In the window, Right Click >> Add...select your file to track...

When you open the Mastercam file it should check for changes

59 minutes ago, crazy^millman said:

Thank you I just learned something.

 

Cool!  Me Too!  Thanks JP!

 

[JParis]

From the Help File

NOTE

File Tracking is not available for Mill Entry, Lathe Entry or Router Entry.

../../Skins/Default/Stylesheets/Images/transparent.gifTracking a file

File Tracking can track multiple files. To track these files, they first must be added to the File List in the File Tracking dialog box. To add a file to the list, do the following:

1. Select Track Changes, Tracking Options from the File, Info screen.
2. Select Tracking.
3. Right-click in the File List and select Add.
4. Navigate to the part file you wish to track, select it, and click Open. The selected file is then added to the list, listing the file name and the date it was created.

The file is now being tracked for any new changes.

../../Skins/Default/Stylesheets/Images/transparent.gifSetting up Automatic Tracking

You can automatically track a file by setting options in the File Tracking dialog box. To set these options, do the following:

1. Select Track Changes, Tracking Options from the File, Info screen.
2. Select Tracking. Select one or more options to check the tracked files when opening a file, starting up Mastercam, or when creating a new file.

[Thee Rickster ™]

Ok, I tried that.

I get this

 

So i went to the folder and changed the rev from 2 to 3

Tried that again and it didnt catch the change??

 

[Thee Rickster ™]

This seems like what i am looking for f i can get it to work.

Unless it only tracks Mcam file??

I have exhausted all avenues ATM, to get this to work with imported .stp files, Suppose i contact InHouse.

(i tried deleting the .stp files in the folder and checking and still isn't detecting change)

Thanks for showing me this. I just gotta get it to work

i'll try rebooting my system and test it again before i call support

(But first must finish a few programs)

cheers

[Aaron Eberhard]

I just tried it over here, and I had to run "Check All Tracked Files":

 

If I just "check current file" it only changed the Mastercam version of the file.   Which I guess is useful if someone changes the Mastercam file while you're working on it?

[Thee Rickster ™]

BTW,

i am using MC 2022 if that matters......

1 minute ago, Aaron Eberhard said:

I just tried it over here, and I had to run "Check All Tracked Files":

 

If I just "check current file" it only changed the Mastercam version of the file.   Which I guess is useful if someone changes the Mastercam file while you're working on it?

 

Tried that first, but didnt work.

I'll mess with it another time,

Thank you

[Aaron Eberhard]

Oh, I'm trying it in 24... 

If you're saving new revisions with different file names (i.e., Part1, Part1 v2, etc., etc.) you want your list to look like this:

Note that I have "file name & extension must be an exact match" set to off.

Then, when I ran it, i get this:

It does not tell you if one of the .step files you used is deleted, though.  It has no knowledge of that.

[Aaron Eberhard]

I'm guessing this is not robust enough to solve the problem for you.  It can only tell you when there's a similarly named file in the watched folders as the one you manually added to the list.  

You'd still be better off with a version control system such as SVN, Vault, etc.

[crazy^millman]

12 minutes ago, Aaron Eberhard said:

I'm guessing this is not robust enough to solve the problem for you.  It can only tell you when there's a similarly named file in the watched folders as the one you manually added to the list.  

You'd still be better off with a version control system such as SVN, Vault, etc.

Aaron that was my first thought was something like this was what he needed. We are talking enterprise level of functionality and capability and Mastercam was never built with this.

[Thee Rickster ™]

10 minutes ago, Aaron Eberhard said:

I'm guessing this is not robust enough to solve the problem for you.  It can only tell you when there's a similarly named file in the watched folders as the one you manually added to the list.  

You'd still be better off with a version control system such as SVN, Vault, etc.

We Track Rev changes with a CN (Change Notice) currently..... But of course the human error factor has bitten us.

Someone setup a production job on the CNC and did not check the the flagged

CN for it with the new customer Mach.stp file and did not catch the program changes.

 

So we are hoping to automate it somehow to find a solution.

Generally customer sends a new file, it goes through our CN tracker and a CN flags the

production job, we Move the current rev data to an obsolete folder and place the new rev data

in the main folder.

 

i will look ing the the SVN, Vault as you stated,

 

Thanks a bunch

 

[JParis]

35 minutes ago, Aaron Eberhard said:

It does not tell you if one of the .step files you used is deleted, though.  It has no knowledge of that.

Yeah, the delete part I had no knowledge on, I've never had to use it that way.

I use it to track PDM vault parts...they're always the same name, they just get checked in and that updates them. 

@Thee Rickster ™ But a vault type software is more likely the level of functionality you're going to want.

[Thee Rickster ™]

2 minutes ago, JParis said:

Yeah, the delete part I had no knowledge on, I've never had to use it that way.

I use it to track PDM vault parts...they're always the same name, they just get checked in and that updates them. 

@Thee Rickster ™ But a vault type software is more likely the level of functionality you're going to want.

 

Is this something that integrates with Mastercam?

So the multiple users in our production shop that only use MC and

import .stp or .x_t files, will be flagged opening Mastercam?

 

Higher ups are tasking me with this issue.

Cheers

Rick

 

[JParis]

3 minutes ago, Thee Rickster ™ said:

 

Is this something that integrates with Mastercam?

So the multiple users in our production shop that only use MC and

import .stp or .x_t files, will be flagged opening Mastercam?

 

Higher ups are tasking me with this issue.

Cheers

Rick

 

No. it is a component of Solidworks, though it "may" be able to be purchased separately, not sure on it though.

There isn't anything that integrates with Mastercam in that way. It would be 3rd party software 

[crazy^millman]

1 hour ago, JParis said:

No. it is a component of Solidworks, though it "may" be able to be purchased separately, not sure on it though.

There isn't anything that integrates with Mastercam in that way. It would be 3rd party software 

+100

[SuperHoneyBadger]

Is anyone using a full fledged Product Lifecycle Management solution in manufacturing? Way back our SolidEdge reseller would constantly try and get us to buy the Siemens PLM suite, but we only had 1 seat, and never needed it. A lot of the functions are more for design/engineering, tracking changes to parts in assemblies etc. Seems to me that tracking inspections, uprevs, part files and mastercam files is really along those lines. Found this today:

https://www.odoo.com/app/plm

We're small here, so I never know what the big boys are really up to.

[JParis]

10 minutes ago, SuperHoneyBadger said:

Is anyone using a full fledged Product Lifecycle Management solution in manufacturing? Way back our SolidEdge reseller would constantly try and get us to buy the Siemens PLM suite, but we only had 1 seat, and never needed it. A lot of the functions are more for design/engineering, tracking changes to parts in assemblies etc. Seems to me that tracking inspections, uprevs, part files and mastercam files is really along those lines. Found this today:

https://www.odoo.com/app/plm

We're small here, so I never know what the big boys are really up to.

Solidworks PDM works can be used that way for CAM files.....and other types as well...Once checked in anytime someone opens it to change it, it has to again go through the check-in process, which includes bumping it's internal Rev level...that is customizable...There is on-going discussion on how we can better control our files as dating with the current date has come with its own set of issues.

I am in the process of creating a process for PDMWorks and our 3D printing files, where they will reside in PDMWorks and be subject to version control.

 

[Aaron Eberhard]

2 hours ago, Thee Rickster ™ said:

So we are hoping to automate it somehow to find a solution.

Generally customer sends a new file, it goes through our CN tracker and a CN flags the

production job, we Move the current rev data to an obsolete folder and place the new rev data

in the main folder.

 

i will look ing the the SVN, Vault as you stated,

 

Thanks a bunch

 

There's a chance this could work for you.. I just learned about it today (thanks again JP!), but it sounds like it might flag a warning when you open the file (if you have it turned on to check at file open).  That might be enough...

[Jobnt]

2 hours ago, JParis said:

No. it is a component of Solidworks, though it "may" be able to be purchased separately, not sure on it though.

 

Yes, I think you can purchase a PDM separately. We have ePDM here and it does work with all file types, but you will lose your Mastercam Preview ability for anything stored in the vault. 

 

When you preview a MC file it looks like this: