Help with database allocation

[Joel Schreiner]

I have received my new computer

I just installed mastercam and downloaded all the patches. I'm trying to set the ram allocation. I keep getting reallocation error . So far I am maxed at 32000,30000,500,400000,200000=619.9MB

I have 1gig of ram. Is this it or am I doing something wrong. Is there something else I can do to make mastercam run faster. I should say to optimise my system.

thank you for all your help.

joel

[gstephens]

Unless you are cutting 200Mb files, you aren't getting anything out of those high of numbers. I'd suggest 20000 database and 40000 toolpath for starters. Speed is greatly dependent on all of the hardware in you box. Pentium 4's have been reported by some to be dogs with Mastercam, while others seem to have no issues at all. Motherboard HDD interface type and especially video card are MAJOR factors in overall speed of Mastercam. Just cranking up the memory allocations isn't going to do much.

[JAMMAN]

Just got a P4 1.8, I don't notice any difference from my dual 800's and MC only uses one processor. Both have 256M ram.

Jim

[Colin G]

The real advantage to the P4 is its ability to utilize a higher bus speed. The frontside bus on your computer is what your computer uses to talk to its various components. CPU, Hard Drive, RAM and other components communicate through the bus. Most machines that ran a P3 or lower have at max a 166MHz bus speed. (Please note that you may have a higher bus speed, but you are likely a minority and I'm not trying to offend you ) Most bus speeds on the P3 are actually closer to 133 MHz or 100 Mhz.

I have a Dell Precision Workstation 330, with a 1.3 gig processor, 256MB of ECC ram and a SCSI 16o ultra HDD. The key to this system however is the 400MHZ frontside bus. I can't believe how fast this thing is! It blows every P3 I have used with MC8 out of the water. At $2700.00 it may seem expensive, but sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

Colin Gilchrist

Cimtech Technical Associate

Cimtech Home [email protected]

[Christian Raebild]

On the allocations page of the setup, the two most important are the two last, the database and toolpath allocations. They should be set to 1000's in the 'binary' series, i.e. 2000, 8000, 16000, 32000, 64000, 128000, etc., for maximum stability. The importance of this issue varies from system to system, and also depends on, whether there are other programs running at the same time as Mastercam (including background services like virus scanners and firewalls). I have seen cases, where a customer experienced several crashes a day with settings that did not conform to this rule, but no crashes due to Mastercam after the settings had been corrected to conform to this rule. Early Windows 98 systems are in my experience most vulnerable to this problem, but I have also seen it on some OEM Windows 2000 systems (none named, none omitted).

With 1 Gb of ram, I would suggest a database allocation of 128000 and a toolpath allocation of 256000. You are going to say that doesn't use even half of our RAM, but you should be aware, that Mastercam uses more than the RAM shown on the allocations page, there is also a copy of the file you are working with. Try the following experiment: View the total RAM allocation with no file loaded, then load a large file, and view the total RAM allocation again. You will find the second figure to be larger than the first, as the total shown takes the file currently loaded into account. To avoid stability problems, the total RAM allocation with no file loaded should be about half the available RAM, after the overhead for Windows and other background programs has been subtracted. If you are using Windows NT or 2000, assume 32 Mb for Windows, 4 Mb for a virus scanner or firewall (8 Mb for both), and 2 Mb for each other background program (count the icons next to the clock).

As for the number of patches per surface and the number of points per spline, they should normally be set to 4000, or 8000 on a system with a lot of memory (like yours). If you try to load a file which exceeds these limits, then you will receive a warning, and you can then increase the relevant setting and reload the file. You should then find the surface or spline in question, and reduce the number of nodes. A surface or spline which exceeds these settings is almost always overdefined (i.e. defined far more accurately than necessary). Overdefined surfaces and splines slows down Mastercam in general, and especially toolpath calculations. You do not need surfaces defined within 0.000001 mm, if the tolerance on the finished part is 0.01 mm, but you should still remember, that the maximum error on the finished part is surface definition + toolpath accuracy (chord height) + filter tolerance (if used) + machine accuracy.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

I agree with Christian with one exception, as a general rule of thumb I use 32,000 and 32,000 as the points and patches values. Totally you should be using 1/2 of your available RAM as Christian stated, so you should have 32,000 - 32,000 - 16,000 - 128,000 and 256,000 The 16,000 is an arbitrary number for me because I like to save as much deleted stuff as possible Just In Case.

JM2C

[Bullines]

quote:

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I have a Dell Precision Workstation 330, with a 1.3 gig processor, 256MB of ECC ram and a SCSI 16o ultra HDD. The key to this system however is the 400MHZ frontside bus. I can't believe how fast this thing is!

---

Colin, imagine how much faster your system would be with non-parity RAM instead of ECC. It would scream

[Wallace]

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They should be set to 1000's in the 'binary' series, i.e. 2000, 8000, 16000, 32000, 64000, 128000, etc., for maximum stability.

---------------------------------------------

For set 'binary' series:

2 x 1024 = 2048 (not 2000)

8 x 1024 = 8192 (not 8000)...

Or not...???...!!!...

[Colin G]

quote:

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Colin, imagine how much faster your system would be with non-parity RAM instead of ECC. It would scream

---

Chris,

I agree with you , but the Error Correction and Control on this ram means super stable toolpath generation. That is why I got it. I haven't seen a crash yet with V8 when generating a toolpath. It is also very good if you plan to host a web page, which is something I've got in the works. Besides, my computer is so fast now, I don't know if I would even notice the diference

Colin Gilchrist

Cimtech Technical Associate

Cimtech Home

[Bullines]

quote:

---

I agree with you, but the Error Correction and Control on this ram means super stable toolpath generation. That is why I got it. I haven't seen a crash yet with V8 when generating a toolpath. It is also very good if you plan to host a web page, which is something I've got in the works.

---

True. ECC RAM is great in a server environment for things like web servers and domain controllers. But remember that most software crashes (Windows, Mastercam or any other software) are not caused by memory errors. Thanks to greatly improved chip technologies and manufacturing processes, memory errors are quite rare nowadays

ECC RAM performs double bit detection and single bit correction. This means that if you have a single bit memory error, the chipset/RAM will find and repair the error on the fly. If you have a double bit memory error, it will detect it and inform you about the error. This usually comes with a ~2% performace hit, give or take a few. Because you have a fast system, that performance hit probably won't affect your system unless you're performing RAM intensive functions (Ex: opening a huge Mastercam file). Aren't fast computers great?

[Christian Raebild]

quote:

---

---------------------------------------------

They should be set to 1000's in the 'binary' series, i.e. 2000, 8000, 16000, 32000, 64000, 128000, etc., for maximum stability.

---------------------------------------------

For set 'binary' series:

2 x 1024 = 2048 (not 2000)

8 x 1024 = 8192 (not 8000)...

Or not...???...!!!...

---

Perhaps my phrasing was unclear.

You should use 1000 times a binary number, i.e.:

4 times 1000 = 4000

8 times 1000 = 8000

16 times 1000 = 16000

etc...