Picking solid faces

[Jeremy Grigsby Excelsior Marking]

When I make a toolpath and I'm picking my faces for check surfaces, I have shading turned on, but when i select the face, it doesnt turn white, just the edges turn to red. I cant tell what I'm selecting. Is there a way to make the surfaces picked from a solid model appear as a completely shaded white (select color) or am i stuck trying to decipher which edges i have picked by using the edge lines?

[DavidB]

Corect the solid face edges only high lite red.

[Mike Whitten CAD/CAM Contractors]

JeremyG,

 

As far as I know, the only "work around" for this is to use surfaces. I generally use solid faces unless it is fairly busy in which case I just use surfaces.

 

Mike

[Jeremy Grigsby Excelsior Marking]

wow, so you are saying i am better to convert all my solids to surfaces? I thought you were supposed to be able to make toolpaths from solids. Arent solids better than surfaces? Seems like every other software has shaded faces on solids. Maybe this will change in X

[Lumpnut]

JeremyG,

 

You can change the color of the solid edges. I have mine set to white and change the color of the model to something darker. They light up pretty nice then. Here's how if ya don't already know...............

 

screen/config/screen tab/system colors/scrol down to "solid face select color".

 

Pick a color , and save your settings.

 

[Jeremy Grigsby Excelsior Marking]

Well, the thing is on this particular case,I had some small little filleted corners, and you wouldn't be able to tell they were selected unless you remembered clicking them. Reminds me of Clearcut mill (which i think became mastercam, although im not sure) You had to make all your toolpaths and had no way to go back and edit them, so if you screwed up, might as well start over.

[Lumpnut]

quote:

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had no way to go back and edit them, so if you screwed up, might as well start over.

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There's always a way to go back and edit your path. You can add/remove geometry at any time without starting over. Drive surfaces , check surfaces , chains , points , etc... can all be edited.

 

If you missed a fillet , click on the drive surface tab , add/solid/face. Regen , drink beer , verify , oopps missed another one , drink beer , add/solid/face , regen , drink beer....

 

[mdavies48]

When you create your fillets, do them in a different color. That way you can tell what has been selected.

[heeler]

NuNu,

 

I've been trying your recomendation

quote:

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If you missed a fillet , click on the drive surface tab , add/solid/face. Regen , drink beer , verify , oopps missed another one , drink beer , add/solid/face , regen , drink beer....

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I am now declaring Bankrupcy, and enrolling in AA. So you should be very careful with advice.

 

Glenn

 

Cheers all

[Jeremy Grigsby Excelsior Marking]

No I wasnt saying that in mastercam you couldn't go back and edit your toolpaths, thats what I like about it. Id just like to see the actual faces highlight in mastercam x, and hopefully they have done this already

[LaszloK]

Jeremy, I do not understand the need to pick faces of a solid as check surfaces. The machining routines will automatically determine drive and check surfaces from the solid model.

[steve f]

JeremyG,

 

machining from surfaces gives you a solution to the shading issue and surfaces can also be "pre-colored" according to the cutting strategy to be used...makes life much easier when many faces are involved.

[El Scotthead]

JeremyG,

 

here's what I do when I need check surfaces along with a solid. Just create surfaces from whatever solid faces you want as check surfaces. I usually put the surfaces on a different level to make things a little easier when I open the file again after months of not touching it.