STEP-NC

[Thomas Wingate]

hey all.

 

have been following the progress of the development of this STEP extension since it first went public.

recently steptools inc released a beta plug for MC.

anyone on the forum have any comments or first hand experience with using it?

 

regards,

Thomas W

[cadcam]

What is the beta plug .I have used Step in mastercam here and there for a few years.

[Hugh.Venables]

I hope I'm not the only one who never heard of Step? What is it and what does it do?

Thanks, Hugh venables

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Hello Hugh.

 

STEP is supposed to be IGES's replacement in a nutshell.

 

STEP has the capability within (but does not necesssarily at this moment) it to support not only parts, assemblies, etc... but also to carry along with it; tolerancing, material specs, history tree info, etc...

 

We'll see if it lives up to it's billing in years to come as it will take a while to become implemented.

[Simtech]

The STEP-NC project is still pretty much going on. Mastercam have been putting efforts in providing information as to how things should evolve.

 

Best people to reply to this thread are probably people directly from CNC Software.

 

I know that we are still on the committee developing this interface so things are going in the right direction.

 

Luc

[Thomas Wingate]

For those who dont know i recomend checking out the whitepaper and the general info at www.steptools.com.

there is some really interesting reading there.

must say i am struggling a bit with the 800 page AIM docu thou.

 

the plug is available for download at the site as well.

 

what im after is people with experience of machines with embedded step nc interpreters.

 

for us the possibility of embedded material data that can be linked to machine sensors and the tolerancing of certain aspects of the part would mean great increases in productivity.

 

ltr,

thomas w

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

quote:

---

what im after is people with experience of machines with embedded step nc interpreters.

 

for us the possibility of embedded material data that can be linked to machine sensors and the tolerancing of certain aspects of the part would mean great increases in productivity.

---

That aspect of STEP NC is vaporware. It'll never happen. Shoot, companies can't even seem to change the dials on their manual equipment let alone totally switch over their CNC Controls to another control that relies on accurate information from engineers. Talk about a logistical nightmare. Every single CNC Machine tool will require a new control. Most companies shudder at adding memory to their controls let alone a whole new control.

[Thomas Wingate]

hi.

 

that is really too bad if what you say is the truth. think of what postscript did to the publishing buissness in the late eighties.

i just hope the productivity increase will surpass the conservatism of shops.

 

thomas w

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

quote:

---

i just hope the productivity increase will surpass the conservatism of shops.

---

I wish that shops as a whole would consider the long term (3-5 years) as opposed to short term thinking. So many mold shops are SERIOUSLY loosing out on tremendous productivity increases by purchasing inferior machine tools, and not to mention how many mold/die shops are totally missing the boat on 5 axis. Once again short term thinking is clouding their vision. There is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO REASON to EDM except in instances where a sharp internal corner is necessary or where the depth:diameter ratio is too great. Once again short term thinking clouds long term vision.

 

Sorry to rant. I just get sick of hearing the "Woe is me" from owners that have things in their control but it's so much easier to blame "Foreign Competition" rather than face their antiquated way of doing things. "But we've always done it this way...." just sad. It's just sad that workers get laid-off and families go hungry because the boss says "But we've always done it this way...." instead of trying to think of new ways to do the old things, failing to invest in new technology, etc...

 

JM2C

[Greg Williams]

James,

 

Well said! and very very true.

[Thomas Wingate]

yeah,

this is so true.

coming from a hacker background i have a tendency to always dig as deep as possible and try to find out as much as possible on a given subject.

im always pushing the envelope as far as i can.

having applied this to cnc and cam im really surprised by the arcane way shops relate to their software/hardware.

conservative to say the least.

what i find the most striking is how these machines become automated replicators, instead of creative production tools because of the conservative and cumbersome attitude towards using them.

like working against not with?

 

i welcome a descriptiv approach rater than direct approach to machining. it would drasticly decrease the price of one-of and variable products.

 

ltr,

thomas w