beta testers wanted

[esherbro]

Hey everyone,

 

We're just about to launch the 2-axis Complete version of our VoluMill toolpath service, and we're looking for experienced users such as yourselves to try it out. The 2-axis Complete version adds open shape and remachining options to our existing 2-axis Pockets version.

 

For those of you who aren't familiar with VoluMill, it's designed to drastically cut cycle time and extend cutting tool life. It differs from other approaches such as trochoidal, peel milling, and adaptive clearing in that it does not have that much more tool motion than a standard constant offset toolpath but you can run it at much higher feeds and speeds because it removes sharp corners and manages axial and radial depth of cut and feedrates to keep a constant material removal rate. There's more information at http://www.volumill.com or in the February issue of Modern Machine Shop (online version here) if you're interested. We have downloadable add-ins for Mastercam X and X2, and it is sold as a service (kind of like maintenance, only with no up-front cost to buy a license) and delivered from our fast servers over the internet. The toolpath is encrypted and compressed for transfer, so it's secure and fast (I sometimes demo the service from my laptop connecting via Bluetooth to my cellphone to show the speed).

 

Anyway, if you are interested in being a beta tester, please send us an email to [email protected] with the following information:

 

1) Name

2) Email address

3) Company name (if applicable)

4) What materials you typically cut

5) What machine you typically cut with

6) Anything else you want to tell us

 

If you want to try the pocketing version but are not interested in being a beta site, you can do that right now just by going to http://www.volumill.com and entering your email address on the Products page to get a free trial. No credit card necessary, just an email address and a name. We also have an interactive web browser-based demo that you can run on some predefined parts to see what the toolpath looks like without signing up.

 

We're always eager to hear from you; we've already gotten some great feedback and advice from this site.

[Hardmill]

 

I missed the add-in part at first read.

Cool

 

 

PEACE

[Leigh @ Kodiak]

double post

 

[ 02-06-2008, 05:30 PM: Message edited by: Racerx ]

[Leigh @ Kodiak]

I installed the trial to check it out, and since I found it's not really worth the price for our appl;ication at this time, I uninstalled it.

 

Now I get this every time I start up Mastercam

 

[esherbro]

Racerx,

 

Sorry you're having that problem. Apparently after the uninstall it's still trying to put the icon on your toolbar. If you go to Settings->Customize you may see a toolbar called "New Toolbar". Right-click on it to delete it, and you shouldn't see the error next time you start up.

[MultiAxGod]

I have tried to install your client trial software.

1. It doesn;t show up in my Mastercam

2. It has corrupted my system.

 

Please email me ASAP to correct this matter.

 

Just a simple man with a simple plan!

 

Mcam X2-MR2-SP1

Mill Level 3

Lathe Level 1

Solids

5 Axis

[Kannon]

quote:

---

It has corrupted my system.

---

any replys back yet MultiAxGod?

[esherbro]

Sorry, I haven't responded to the forum yet; I've been working with MultiAxGod directly on this issue. Two separate things:

 

1) When you install, the client needs to go in the CHOOKS subdirectory of wherever your Mastercam installation is. Otherwise it won't show up. I've added some language to the installer to make this a bit more explicit.

 

2) The system corruption was an odd thing that no one had experienced before. The client uses the OpenSSL encryption library to make sure that communication over the internet is secure. Apparently there was already another application on MultiAxGod's system that used the same dll, but an older version, and both applications wanted to put it in the same place. I'm still working with MultiAxGod to make sure we get the right version of his dll back where it was. However, for anyone else, since only a few functions are used, I've resolved the issue by building them into the VoluMill dll directly and not installing the OpenSSL dll (and thus avoiding a dll conflict). The new version of the installer is now up on the site. Anyone who downloads the new version of the installer should not experience the problem. If you have already downloaded it and had no problems, then it's not an issue for you, although of course you can always install the newer version and it will upgrade.

 

Thanks, and please continue to let us know if you experience any problems.

[Guest]

Welcome to it Multi

 

Beta testing is like a box of chocolates

you never know what you're gonna get

 

[Hardmill]

quote:

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and please continue to let us know if you experience any problems.

---

 

 

 

Ill try it tonight on my PC @ home

 

 

PEACE

[MultiAxGod]

quote:

---

Welcome to it Multi

 

Beta testing is like a box of chocolates

you never know what you're gonna get

---

I should be used to it after doing it for more than twenty years. But alas, still the same frustrations!! LOL

 

Yes, Volumill got back to me right away and we were able to sort through the problem quickly. The program conflicted with another software that I have and loaded over its own version of a dll.

I don't remember if during the install that it asked for a directory, but it probably did and I probably just glanced at it. I have X and X2 and it installed all of its files in the X directories.

A little frustrating, but at least they got back to me right away, so I'll give kudos for that! Thanks Evan!

I haven't ran that part yet and won;t have time today. After I do, I will let all of you know how it turns out.

Pictures of what I am trying to accomplish with this are in another thread asking about highfeed machining option and constant velocity/SFM machining.

 

Coinckedink for the timing? I think not! LMAO

 

 

Just a simple man with a simple plan!

 

Mcam X2-MR2-SP1

Mill Level 3

Lathe Level 1

Solids

5 Axis

[MultiAxGod]

To update:

Got a new version of the Volumill and it appears to work correctly. This is a unique application and the Highfeed machining in McamX2 did not work properly. I have been unable to get a response from either our reseller or CNC. Will be trying the file within the next few days and will let all of you know how it works.

The interface is just like any other Mcam dialogue screen, with a few different paramter questions. Once the file is sent by hitting the checkmark, it has literally only taken 2-3 seconds to output the toolpath. Our internet is really slow, so this seems pretty seamless.