WCS Issues

[NeilJ]

Careful, Ernie. The next thing you might decide is you would like to let a Mastercam user be able to have graphical interactive methods to edit toolpath.

 

An example of graphical interactive toolpath editing methods are what another cam package calls Utility Markers. You drag these Utility Markers anywhere on your geometry to create a change such as: change feed rate, change spindle speed, change tool offset, add a comment, change CRC and add dwell. No points needed. Just drag and drop a graphical symbol. The little symbol (Utility Marker) stays attached to your geometry where you made a change.

 

We have 5 seats of Mastercam. We are looking into getting a very expensive CMM. Free isn't very important to the company I work for. Functionality and excellent support is.

[Verisurf - Ernie Husted]

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Careful, Ernie. The next thing you might decide is you would like to let a Mastercam user be able to have graphical interactive methods to edit toolpath.

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We have made many chooks to edit toolpaths before.

 

Over the past 14 years we have developed 100’s of useful chook utilities for our shop.

If you are interested? I have a chook called Colorfeed. We still use it in my shop today, mostly for right angle head toolpaths where you need more control of the feedrate.

It’s not interactive, but it works, you backplot and save geometry, then change the line colors to the feedrate you want (color# = feedrate) then re-chain to update your toolpaths feedrate.

 

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An example of graphical interactive toolpath editing methods are what another cam package calls Utility Markers. You drag these Utility Markers anywhere on your geometry to create a change such as: change feed rate, change spindle speed, change tool offset, add a comment, change CRC and add dwell. No points needed. Just drag and drop a graphical symbol. The little symbol (Utility Marker) stays attached to your geometry where you made a change.

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It would be great if Mastercam had a tool to do this.

 

I think it should be part of Backplot.

 

 

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We have 5 seats of Mastercam. We are looking into getting a very expensive CMM. Free isn't very important to the company I work for. Functionality and excellent support is.

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Verisurf products are not free. A few of our simple utilities are free.

 

Can you check and see if you can get Verisurf Inspection software with that very expensive CMM. We work with many CMM OEMs. I know we have functionality and excellent support.

We can also recommend the best CMM for your application, if your interested?

 

Free chooks are simple utilities that we use with our core Inspection products that can also be used for Toolpath applications. I like giving some of our tools to the Mastercam community in hopes that shops will realize Verisurf also has a powerful Inspection product that shops can benefit from and is fully integrated inside of Mastercam.

 

 

Ernie

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

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...Just because you don't see discussion here does not it is not being discussed...

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Some of those very discussions go on in the Beta Forum JB, errrr NeilJ.

[NeilJ]

"I think it should be part of Backplot."

 

Agree very strongly, Ernie.

 

I'd like to see the existing Mastercam Backplot get a lot more functionality than it has now. I can't remember the last time Mastercam's Backplot got much development done to it. If this isn't possible I'd like to see a third party Backplot option at extra cost that was fully integrated inside Mastercam and had much more functionality than the existing Backplot does now. If you do something like this please consider making the WCS axis arrows thick and shaded. I often have a very hard time seeing the wire frame gnomon axis arrows now and end up toggling F9. Unfortunately for me the same thing applies to the chaining arrows.

 

"Can you check and see if you can get Verisurf Inspection software with that very expensive CMM. We work with many CMM OEMs. I know we have functionality and excellent support. We can also recommend the best CMM for your application, if your interested?"

 

I'm interested in having you talk with my boss so he can explain to you what we wish to do. I've already downloaded the Verisurf .pdf to show to him next week.

 

If you create a better, easier and interactive WCS perhaps you might want to also consider making it work so that you could move (translate) geometry with it. This way you could make it so a user could interactively drag or rotate the part in X, Y or Z in a precise manner. This functionality exists in other products now and I wish it existed in Mastercam.

 

[ 08-17-2008, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: NeilJ ]

[Verisurf - Ernie Husted]

NeilJ,

 

The WCS tools that we developed for X make it faster and easier to create a new WCS. We had these tools for years; we use this in Inspection application all the time, It came from our Part Axis utility created in Mastercam V5,6,7,8,9, We decided to use the WCS in Mastercam X instead of Part Axis; we thought it was confusing for customers. So we made Verisurf WCS, these are tools to make a WCS from features.

3 Points (that you can even sketch)

2 Lines (that don’t have to intersect)

3 Planes

Plane-Line-Point

Plane-Axis-Origin

Plane-Line-Line

By Matrix,

Translate and Rotate

After you create a WCS it automatically sets it as the active WCS, C-plane and T-plane.

 

As far as Associative, that’s one of the many things we liked about Mastercam new WCS.

 

Sample, if you create a simple WCS from 2 lines, and set the Associative on, when you move (translate or rotate) even Drag the part geometry with the associative lines the WCS moves with it.

 

Ernie

[Verisurf - Ernie Husted]

NeilJ,

 

I know you are interested in old trains, but what state are you from?

 

Ernie

[Verisurf - Ernie Husted]

NeilJ,

 

I know you are interested in old trains, but what state are you from?

 

Ernie

[NeilJ]

Ernie, I work in Mira Mesa, California. I can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

[Hardmill]

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Some of those very discussions go on in the Beta Forum JB, errrr NeilJ.

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JB ?? Do you mean this is Jon Banquer ??

The one who who calls us names in his lame blog ??

 

 

PEACE

[OTOMMYO]

can't be, why would JB need help? Don't he know it all?

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

The buzzwords are a dead give-away, especially

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...An example of graphical interactive toolpath editing...

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. I had my suspicions for a while, but once the buzzwords come out... he gave himself up. With that said, he IS minding his P's and Q's which is all we've ever asked.

 

Constructive criticism of the software has NEVER been a problem, regardless of what anyone says. If one were to do even a littel searching, they would find me blasting CNC pretty harshly for their treatment of Multi-Tasking lathes.

 

Funny how a guy that slams this forum mercilessly is in here for help... that's rich. Real Rich. Careful folks, he routinely bites the hand that feeds him.

[Hardmill]

I already knew, but im shocked no one caught

this one. HAHAHAHA

 

 

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the WCS gnomon

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Kinda sounds like hes talking about elves.

 

Lifes good being a "clique idiot"

 

 

PEACE

[FLIPPER™]

:NeilJ thinkin: Damnit! now I gotta get another ID on eMastercam so I can ask about sh!t I don't know nothin about and not expose myself for who I really am.

 

Lol at :cough: "JB" :cough:

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Yeah, life's good being an "...@$$hole..." too. At least for me.

 

In Burbank now, getting ready to make a trip up to Simi Valley in a few for a short training session on Automatic Power Functions for a machine. Then a time-study/machine reccomendation for another customer. Full day, and it's only 6:50am. I love my job! Couldn't imagine doing anything else.

[gcode]

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Lifes good being a "clique idiot"

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You do it so well

[Hardmill]

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You do it so well

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Thanks "G", you too

 

 

PEACE

[Tyler Robertson]

We can try to keep the number of posts on graphical toolpath editing to specific threads. Like was stated, there is some good constructive criticism here so lets not get carried away on a monday morning and start this into a flame-war.

 

Some good advice for NeilJ came out of Jay - which is often the case when someone has an issue of functionality and they learn there are options available that they didn't know/think about.

 

ie. simplest/best case I always think about is chaining control

[Hardmill]

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so lets not get carried away on a monday morning and start this into a flame-war.

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No one starting a war, Jes startin the week

with eyes open is all.

 

 

PEACE

[NeilJ]

Tyler,

 

You make some very good points.

 

Jay said:

 

"a lot to people lack the knowledge of its use and what to use it for"

 

This to me says a documentation problem exists on how to really best use the WCS. In my opinion this is just the tip of the iceburg on problems that can be corrected with Mastercam documentation. I'd like to see an e-Mastercam forum created solely for discussing enhancements and it would be nice if CNC Software tech writers and Mastercam book authors participated as I have a lot to say about Mastercam documentation.

 

Jay actually had mentioned the value of Rotate WCS and adding it to your right click menu to me before in a phone conversation but it didn't sink it.

 

Someone might say the reason it didn't sink in is because I'm a complete moron.

 

I feel the reason it didn't sink in might be that some people need an actual real world example where a suggestion is applicable for a concept to sink it.

[FLIPPER™]

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Someone might say the reason it didn't sink in is because I'm a complete moron.

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No..........Really? Say it aint so.

[Hardmill]

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I'm a complete

moron

imbecile.

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There, i fixed it fer ya.

 

I believe there is actually a thread somewhere in

the archives that is dedicated to documentation.

Perhaps a new one and one of the mods can make a

sticky outta it.

 

 

PEACE

[chip]

Though thing is getting around all the settings needed. Unfortunatually, Setting Cplane, Tplane, Z.... There's almost no getting around it. Seems like they don't like the settings?

 

I'm also a Solidworks user. Almost everything is off of planes. It's all CAD settings (or for drawing). (not a camworks user) 3D in solidworks is tough also. I've built something recently, customer wants to build a mold parts are plastic. I'm actually trying to split a mold along the curve. Tough job! Having to use surfaces in Solidworks....

 

the WCS takes some getting used to.... Never really used it till X..

 

 

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

CATIA is the same. Everything is off planes. Never used Solidworks mehself, but CATIA's handling of planes is a bit more straightforward than MC's, then again CATIA is full on Engineering Software, CAD/CAE/PLM are/is it's main focus.

 

Since it's important to CNC that MasterCAM not be seen as a competitor to CAD packages, I can see some logical reasoning behind restraint on the CAD side of things.

 

I do like the number of CAD tools available to me in MC though. I like not having to get into the Mid-Range, High-End CAD side for the vast majority of the parts I see and work on. For the most part, I've not seen a part in my 15+ years in this industry that is not possible to model in Mastercam. Would many of those parts be easier to create in a CAD system? Sure, absolutely. But that's why it's called MasterCAM not MasterCAD.

 

JM2C

[Trevor Bailey]

Neilj....you have mail. let me know how it works for you. there are step by step guides that will illustrate what you need to click and why.

[Verisurf - Ernie Husted]

WORK IT OUT