The Parameter is Incorrect.

[mattgray_92]

Been using Mastercam 2020 for years now with no hiccup until recently.  Last week I noticed it starting acting funny and would pop up the message of "the parameter is incorrect" when attempting to regen a toolpath.  When opening the same exact file in a newer Mastercam, it regens it with no problem.  Today i did a clean uninstall of Mastercam 2020 and re installed it.  It was working fine until just now where it started acting dumb again with the same message.  Once that message pops up and i exit out of it, Mastercam pops up another message of "You cannot close the application while a task is active: Mastercam::OMregenDirtyOperations"  

I could just move onto a newer Mastercam, but our machines run fine with the 2020 Version and every time we upgrade and make a new program something is always out of wack and could potentially harm the machines.  I have emailed Mastercam Tech Support but have not heard anything back from them yet.  Also this is happening on multiple different files, not just 1.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

[mattgray_92]

Update already.  Just opened the file in Mastercam 2023 and went to do a new stock model and the same thing happened... Stuck on what to do now.

[crazy^millman]

19 hours ago, mattgray_92 said:

Update already.  Just opened the file in Mastercam 2023 and went to do a new stock model and the same thing happened... Stuck on what to do now.

Without a Z2G not much anyone here can do. I would be on the phone with my Mastercam dealer and asking to do a teams or gotomeeting to get to the bottom of it.

[mattgray_92]

Mastercam support emailed me back this morning and said that: this was a known bug that was fixed in versions after 2020 logged as D-34427.  They want me to start using a newer Mastercam which honestly I dont feel like messing with at this point.  Its wild that it just now all of sudden started happening though.  Super weird but if in the end if I have to go to a newer Mastercam I will.

[JParis]

Sorry, I'll never understand why a company that pays for maintenance lets their users decide which versions they will & won't run.

We run the latest at all times...if hire another person, that person will also need to run the same version.  

I can't have 8-9 guys all running different versions. Damn, I forgot how many we have now, lol

I apologize if this torques any one off but I just don't get it

[Jake L]

38 minutes ago, JParis said:

Sorry, I'll never understand why a company that pays for maintenance lets their users decide which versions they will & won't run.

We run the latest at all times...if hire another person, that person will also need to run the same version.  

I can't have 8-9 guys all running different versions. Damn, I forgot how many we have now, lol

I apologize if this torques any one off but I just don't get it

Who handles installation each update for you guys? 

We wait till the 1st of the year to upgrade and I hate that. The reasoning is to "let all the bugs get ironed out".

I want to propose staying up to date and letting each guy choose which version they want to use (either current or 1 year old). But I foresee the response being "who's going to handle updating all 10 programmers computers every couple months?"

I'd love to say "don't know don't care, I'll handle my own updating" but that won't go over well. I've been itching to use some of the new MC24 features since public beta but I can't justify updating my files when no one else has MC24 installed.

/rant over

[JParis]

1 minute ago, Jake L said:

Who handles installation each update for you guys?

As the Manager, pushing those updates is my choice. 

IT handles the installations, they are comfortable with my moving forward as I choose.....I push an email to all of Mastercam users letting them know there is an update. I also cc IT and they will get them done. When we do a new version installation, they will also remove the previous installation.

Bugs are part of software, since the initial release of X(circa 2005), I have not had a version that I couldn't use.

[mattgray_92]

I am just the worker.  That is the way the owner likes doing things, so i do as told.  I am a 1 man operation running all of our CNC machines plus programming.  I am not just a programmer that sits in front of the computer all day.  We pay for maintenance so when we get stuck in a bind then i can reach out for help.  I have been here for 5+ years and have only had to reach out twice.  When i started i did not even know what Mastercam was or what a CNC machine was.  Im literally self taught on everything and i normally figure the problems out on my own.  Its just frustrating that all of sudden now this "bug" has started affecting our programs.  But thank you for your input on things. 

[cncappsjames]

14 minutes ago, mattgray_92 said:

Its just frustrating that all of sudden now this "bug" has started affecting our programs.

There's A LOT of moving parts in software. Especially software that is as system intensive as CAD/CAM/CAE/CAV/PLM, etc... is.

Sometimes something as (presumably) benign as a virus signature update in your virus protection software can flag a piece of code that runs in your software and then begins the cascade.

This is one of the main reasons I stay as up to date as possible on all my software and drivers. If I were in your shoes, my pitch for staying up to date, or, if you absolutely must be behind, do not get behind more than one version, is 1) Drivers, OS Updates, Virus signature updates, etc... can have an impact on when bugs present, 2) Software Bug fixes, and 3) Up to date file importing. To me, there is no viable argument that overrides all 3 of those considerations. There may something that overrides one or two, but not all three.

For you personally and professionally, some unsolicited advice; it is absolutely in your best interest to stay as up to date as humanly possible because you never know when things may change and you never want to be caught behind the curve. Get out in front as frequently as you can and your careerpath will thank you for it.

[Colin Gilchrist]

On 12/27/2023 at 4:31 PM, mattgray_92 said:

Been using Mastercam 2020 for years now with no hiccup until recently.  Last week I noticed it starting acting funny and would pop up the message of "the parameter is incorrect" when attempting to regen a toolpath.  When opening the same exact file in a newer Mastercam, it regens it with no problem.  Today i did a clean uninstall of Mastercam 2020 and re installed it.  It was working fine until just now where it started acting dumb again with the same message.  Once that message pops up and i exit out of it, Mastercam pops up another message of "You cannot close the application while a task is active: Mastercam::OMregenDirtyOperations"  

I could just move onto a newer Mastercam, but our machines run fine with the 2020 Version and every time we upgrade and make a new program something is always out of wack and could potentially harm the machines.  I have emailed Mastercam Tech Support but have not heard anything back from them yet.  Also this is happening on multiple different files, not just 1.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

"every time we upgrade and make a new program something is always out of whack and could potentially harm the machines".

Could it be this > you haven't set the Control Definition Defaults properly, so the Control Definition Settings change, every time you update Mastercam?

I wrote a whole thread about this. It is 'stickied' at the top of the Forum.

Do yourself a favor (when you have time) and read through that thread. I think you'll learn how to setup your Mastercam, so an upgrade can be done flawlessly, in about 5-minutes, not including the install time.

When I upgrade Mastercam, I run the Migration Wizard, and I'm done. No fuss, no muss, no changing Control Definition Settings. My Mastercam 2024 outputs the exact same NC code as all the previous versions, after a fresh install/upgrade.

[Aaron Eberhard]

While everyone else is piling on, I'll throw in that only reaching out to your reseller twice and being completely self taught is one of those things that seems admirable on the surface, but is actually quite short-sighted and probably shows the signs of a shop that needs a bit of management reorganization/help.   They should always be investing in their people.   I have shops that have me stop by once a month or so just to do training with the guys, work through problems they have, talk through more efficient workflows, etc.

Imagine if there was a tool out there that would save you 20 minutes a day (20 minutes x 260 working days a year = 86 working hours per year (two weeks of time)) ?  Would you consider it smart if you went through your career and never learned about that tool?  Probably not. 

What if there were a pile of them?

One thing you should work out is how to get some training on at least processes & procedures that would help with the types of parts you do, there's probably a ton of time just laying around that will make your life easier and faster.

Another problem with falling behind in versions is that if you run into an issue like this, your reseller probably hasn't worked with it in 3 or 4 years.  If they send it into QC @ Mastercam, the QC guys haven't worked with it for 5 to 6 (because of the way software development is always working on the future version).  A lot of the guys on this forum haven't touched it in ages, either.  I know I haven't ran 2020 in at least 4 years.