Rhino IGES to MC problem

[jimminy]

I'm trying to export a surface from Rhino to an IGES mastercam file but I don't seem to be getting anywhere.

 

I don't have mastercam so I can't test it without sending it to my machinist, and going back and forth is taking too much time. I wish they had a free program that would open and verify that the file will open in mastercam for those of us that don't use it.

 

Anyway, the surface looks fine in rhino, is there some trick to getting this to work? I've been reading posts in this forum that would indicate that others aren't having this problem.

 

I would be happy to email the file to anyone willing to give me a hand.

 

Thanks,

jimminy

[BernieT]

I would be happy to give a hand. Either e-mail it to me or post it on Jay's FTP site.

 

Need to know what version of Mastercam the machinist is using and what ver of Rhino.

 

BerTau

[Zero]

Hi jimminy, welcome to the forum. I'm using rhino and MC toghether and don't seem to have any problems. Altough when jumping back and forth many times with the same file, I have lost surfaces in the past. What exactly is happening to the surface? Is it not converting at all? Or does it not look as good as it did in Rhino? How are you exporting it? This is what I do from Rhino: File-Save As-pick iges in the dropdown on the bottom-after that a screen will pop up that asks what style of iges to write and you can pick mastercam or alias they both seem to work fine for me.

 

If you're still having trouble you can e-mail me at:

 

[email protected]

 

if the file is smaller than 5M.

If it's bigger than 5M, you can send it to:

 

[email protected]

 

and I'll see if I can help you

 

OR you can put it on the ftp site provided here by cadcam aka jay (what a great guy huh? who says you're not helping anybody jay?) and let everybody take a whack at it

 

Oh ya, what bertau said too

 

[ 05-06-2002, 02:11 PM: Message edited by: Zero ]

[jimminy]

Thanks guys,

 

I gonna email it to both of you and between you both I'm sure there is a solution.

 

To answer your questions-I am using the latest Rhino, which is 2.0 and my machinist is using MC 8.1.

 

the last time we tried this, the only thing that showed up on screen was an outline curve and what looked like a surface but was not selectable as an object and not the surface I was expecting to see. It looked like something I may have deleted earlier on.

 

I'm saving this file the same way you describe above without luck.

 

I'll send along both the rhino file and the iges rhino made in mastercam format.

 

Thanks again.

 

Jimminy

 

Sorry Bertau, your email rejected the file. Whats the address & pw for the FTP?

 

[ 05-06-2002, 03:38 PM: Message edited by: jimminy ]

[Mark H]

Here are the FTP instructions. And I have an thought, in Mastercam make sure all the levels are on. I once imported a file and only level 1 was visible, and most of the geometry was on level 2 which was hidden.

[jimminy]

ok, I just uploaded to the FTP a file called igestest.zip. It has 2 files, the original rhino file and the iges rhino created, in mastercam iges.

 

Its on the root of the FTP. I also put it in the mc8_files folder which is probably where it belongs.

 

Thanks,

jimminy

 

[ 05-06-2002, 04:40 PM: Message edited by: jimminy ]

[cadcam]

I can get it to come it but it hangs big time.

there is some thing about it that mastercam is not fond of.

 

I took the surface out and made a coons that seems to work well.

but the issue here is the conversion of the file from rihno correct?

 

[ 05-06-2002, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: cadcam ]

[Allan]

I got the surface in no problem. It is a very complex surface, are you producing the surface from a point cloud?

I'm guessing a single coons is no where close.

If you are able, you should limit the complexity of the surface or split up the surface based on features. New file placed igestest_2.zip same place.

 

Allan

[Kenneth Potter]

In rhino you can flavor the IGES file to the cadpackage your exporting to ,,See if you have mastercam as your export to option checked.. Also see if the export surface tolerances are high.

[Zero]

[ 05-06-2002, 07:58 PM: Message edited by: Zero ]

[Zero]

Sorry should have mentioned I'm still using Rhino 1.2. I couldn't open the rhino file. The MC8 hung up for a long time like jay said. And when I finally gave up and pressed esc, the surface just didn't look right. Sounds like Allan might be right. If you are already converting it to a mastercam or alias style iges, you might need to send the file at a lower surface tolerance or splitting the surface up might work. Maybe into smaller files and then merging them back in mc8 if worse comes to worse.

[BernieT]

I put "igestestBT.mc8" on the FTP. I had no trouble opening it but it took forever to shade, it is a big surf. If they open it with shading on, they could think there was something wrong.

Suggest they turn shading off before opening.

 

BerTau

[BernieT]

Jimminy

 

I checked your surface again this AM. There is nothing wrong with your IGES file out of Rhino, it translates into Mastercam just fine. Shading is a problem unless you reduce the 'chord hight' in the shading window to around .5. I wouldn't bother to shade it. It toolpaths fine also, just a little slow because of the size of the surface. (about 45 x 60 x 11 inches)

 

As for a 'reader' try to get Mastercam Draft 8. It will convert the iges file and let you see it in Mastercam. You can see surfaces but not shade or modify them. Cost is around $200-300.(Sometimes free, check with your machinist)

 

BerTau

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

quote:

---

I wish they had a free program that would open and verify that the file will open in mastercam for those of us that don't use it.

---

They do, it's called Mastercam Demo. It does everythign that regular Mastercam does only it does not save or post process.

[BernieT]

Good point, James. I wish I had said that.

 

BerTau

[jimminy]

Thanks for all your help. I was out of the office all day yesterday, so just now saw all of your suggestions.

 

Bertau, thanks for making that MC8 file. I'm going to dl it and send it to my milling guy, and then find that demo. I looked on the mastercam website, but didn't see it. I'll check again.

 

I noticed he has a rather slow computer running mastercam, so maybe its just choking on the file. If it doesn't work, I'll just reduce the complexity.

 

Thanks again!

 

Best,

Jimminy

[cadcam]

Jimminy , you will not find the Demo on the mastercam site.

you need to contact the local mastercam dealer for the disk.

 

Unless PDG give me permission to put it on the FTP temporary?

[David S]

jimminy,

Would you please e-mail me your file? We are use both Rhino and MasterCam. I might find out what is going on there. Thanks!

[jimminy]

anyone know where I can get that demo?

[BernieT]

jimminy

 

http://mastercam.com/ResellerLocator/us.asp

 

BerTau