VTL Machine Def.

[MIL-TFP-41]

This one has always drove me nuts....when I am facing our VTL, X positive is to the right side of the machine.....the tool spindle is to the right also. However, when I define a VTL in mastercam, it pretty much forces me to chain the left side of the part to output X positive numbers. Its like the view in mastercam is from the backside of the machine. Even the VTL sample file is drawn like this.

 

Maybe I just have not seen enough VTL's...but it seems to me that all I have seen had the tool spindle to the right of the machine.

 

What am I missing????

[Post dept]

James,

 

The left side of the part is the "top" according to the post and the right side of the part is the "bottom" according to the post.

 

You're right, you must work on left side with a standard post.

 

Think of it as a normal lathe flipped up onto it's end (main spindle side down). That's how Mcam is treating it.

 

If you want to program on the right side, you have to do that custom lower turret stuff we were talking about in another thread the other day.

 

Good luck with it. When in doubt, go and stand on the other side of the machine!

 

Brett

[cobra95kev]

Gibbs is the same way on this.

 

Kevin C.