UNHANDLED EXCEPTION?

[Bob W.]

Anyone know what the hell the "unhandled exception" error is? I get this error message several times a day after Mastercam crashes. Is this a bug? Will it ever get fixed? I usually save my files after everything I do but every now and then I get bit in the @ss and the ensuing run of four letter words is not pretty.

[Pete Rimkus from CNC Software Inc.]

Bob,

Are these crashes reproducible?

Are you submitting the crash reports to us?

If so, make sure to add a note telling us what's going on and any files if possible.

 

That 'unhandled exception' is sort of a generic error message at the Windows level, so it doesn't tell us much without some supporting information from you.

[Bob W.]

Pete,

 

It happens fairly often and usually after a large file has been open and worked on for some time. It is not reproducible but I do send the crash report when that window pops up sfter the crash.

 

Another error I get on a regular basis: If I change one operation of several that are transformed I need to regenerate all of them. It wasn't this way in the past.

 

Thanks,

Bob

[mpeterson]

DIDO!!! to Bob.

 

Today is an especially bad day for crashes.

 

I am programming a simple model, very small file, less than 700kb. Crashing at numerous different events.

 

Send report each time and reopen, do the exact same thing and worked fine.

 

These crashes are getting redundant.

 

Mike in MN

[peon]

Mike, I reverted back to X3MU1. I was wasting too much time having to fix stupid things caused by bugs in the X4 release. Sure, I may be missing the faster crunch speed and smoothing, but the bugs were killing me more than the reduced crunch speed. The bug patches better get released VERY SOON! Other software packages will be seriously considered if these bugs aren't fixed. It seems X4 was released prematurely.

[Thee Rickster ™]

When MC crashes often, repick your Mach def.

For one reason or another they go corrupt every so often. It may not help all crashing, but for some things, it does.

 

I find that rebooting my P.C. every morning helps a bit. When you are opening a new MC file, close MC first, launch MC, then open the new file.

[Pete Rimkus from CNC Software Inc.]

"...Another error I get on a regular basis: If I change one operation of several that are transformed I need to regenerate all of them. It wasn't this way in the past..."

 

That's an issue that we found out about immediately after the release and it has been corrected for the soon-to-be-released (just don't ask ME when) maintenance update (X4 MU1).

 

As far as crashes go, ANY information that you can include with the Crash Report will be helpful to those of us who have to make sense of them.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Thee Rickster ™]

Pete, Do you know if the Lettering bug in X3 Mu1

was fixed for X4 or will it be fixed in X4 Mu1?

 

I am pretty sure it was looged as a bug.

 

When creating Letters in a large file(100 meg plus) MC would also crash sometimes instantaneously sometime

with a crash report pending on 'how big' the file

would get.

 

I havent tried it on a large X4 file yet for fear

of crashing.

 

Regards

Rick

 

[ 09-16-2009, 03:26 PM: Message edited by: Rickster ]

[mike fisher]

I get the unhandled exception error when creating notes & dimensions. Sometimes

2 or 3 times a day.

[Pete Rimkus from CNC Software Inc.]

Rickster,

I don't know if that specific problem was fixed. It had to do with Create/Letters and large files? There was a repeatable crash associated with Create/Letters which was related to the use of the "MCX"-style fonts (Block, Box, etc) which was corrected in X4, but I don't think that was associated with filesize. There was another Create/Letters bug related to the use of Windows "Script" TrueType font.

That's all I can find...if you get a chance to try it in X4 and its still a problem, let us know.

[Thee Rickster ™]

Pete, that probably was the problem.

Although it worked seamlessly in my files that were

relatively small I always found the larger files

crashed.

 

I was doing the letters in its own file igs out

then igs into the file that crashed, and then the

file that it crashed in, would work fine.

 

I will start testing it out to let you know.

 

Thanks

Rick

[Bob W.]

Pete,

 

You guys have been creating this software for a very long time. Why are there so many bugs with every release? I am seeing features that worked fine before having issues with the new release and this has been the case with 'upgrades' other than X4. It is not a graphics or computer issue because I sit all day long and run ProE on this same computer and it is bulletproof.

 

Who pushes this stuff out the door when it still has so many issues? I have to believe that the beta testers stumble across these bugs. It really reflects poorly on Mastercam when new releases have so many issues.

 

I am a one man shop and I pay my maintenance out of my own pocket and often I really feel like I am getting bent over by you guys. I NEED to stay on maintenance because the current version has so many bugs and I am hoping that the next release is more reliable. For the most part the new releases have just as many bugs and features that worked before now have issues...

 

I am really waiting for a good, stable version so I can drop this maintenance crap and be done with it. I am not much of a conspiracy theorist but I do wonder if you have a bug development department trying to make sure that never happens.

[Tim Johnson]

I personally think X4 is the most stable version since V9.1 SP1. There are a lot (a whole lot) of PIA bugs but they all can be worked around. The worst one for me is the "limited resources"? in which I have to close the session but I can still save my file before exiting.

[peon]

X4 Most stable? No way!! Several crashes / day here without warning and can't nail down most of the crashes to anything specific. X2MR2, in my opinion, was the most stable I have experienced.

[Bob W.]

I would also say X2MR2 was the most stable

[Andy]

I am also a one man shop. I am on maintenance also. I also do not understand why we get more problems not less problems when new releases come out. I refuse to use the newer versions until the complaints quit. e.g. (I am using X2 mr2 presently). I do not have the time to mess with the problems.

X3 and X4 are sitting there on the shelf and will stay there. I learned the hard way from 9.1 to X.

I went back to 9.1 until x2mr2 then upgraded.

So when a new release comes out I simply ignore it until it is improved and fixed if ever. Then I pretend that it just came out and install it.

[gcode]

You're leaving a lot of money on the table doing this.

I just reprogrammed an old V9 job from 2003.

A big 321SS weldment bump formed like a big bathtub. When its done it will be a lay up

mold for a piece of space hardware.

 

..the V9 way was a 2" ball insert mill.. 3 days.. $500 in inserts and everybody in the building wearing ear protection..

 

I ran a Sandvik Coromill 200 ( 3/4 round inserts)

1200 rpm, 150 ipm peeling the stock off

with a high speed waterline..

5 hours flat.. rolled the inserts once.

Gold chips flying everywhere and all the managers standing around watching with thier jaws on the floor.

 

Colin will probably agree with me on this next statement..

Dynamic mill alone is worth what you've paid in maintenence SINCE V9.. It just flat rocks..

[Leigh @ Kodiak]

quote:

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Dynamic mill alone is worth what you've paid in maintenence SINCE V9.. It just flat rocks..

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I think this and multi-threading get mentioned in every thread that deals with using the newest version. Is there some bugs in X4 I could do without? Of course! Would I trade Dynamic Mill to be bug free? Not in a million years!

[mpeterson]

Well I called my retailer today after spending sometime this morning getting X3MU1 all set back up between our 2 seats(machine definitions and controls).

 

Well after some conversation I was told that most of my problems stemmed from the bad Graphics Card that we have on one computer. He recommended the Nvidia Quadro card. Which hey, maybe, I don't know. Well after looking into it our other seat computer has that card in it.

 

Well he stated he hasn't had the problems I have and don't know what to say other than to get the company to buy the recommended graphics card. My only complaint was I didn't have these problems with X3 MU1.

 

But I guess I am at a loss. Right now I just don't know what to think, I realize the graphics card could be a source of the problem, but these bugs are so intermittent and I can't seem to reproduce them each time it crashes.

 

So for now, I am gonna blame it on the Graphics card in hopes that the company I work for will keep Maintenance going. It gets to be a hard line to tow between the software I know and use and management. They keep fighting each year about maintenance but I keep getting them to bend.

 

We will hang in there for the MU.

 

Mike in MN

 

PS. I have been trying to comment details when the Crash happens during the report process. I hope that stuff CNC gets means something.

[Colin Gilchrist]

Dynamic milling is the best thing CNC Software has released ever. Period.

 

It is just incredible how quickly you can make chips.

 

Now that being said, I have been demoing the Volumill 3 axis Chook, and all I can say is WOW!!!!

 

I just did a comparison of programming/run time on an aluminum mold I'm programming.

 

Old method (roughing only):

 

High Speed Core Roughing

High Speed Waterline

High Speed Horizontal Area

 

Total programming time: about 2 hours to get everything looking pretty (included creating runout surfaces and boundaries).

 

New Method:

 

Volumill 3 axis toolpath

 

Total programming time: 20 minutes (because it is brand new to me).

 

Not even a comparison. I did not have to create any additional geometry, besides a single rectangular stock boundary.

 

Run time:

 

Old method: 1 hr, 57 min

New method: 48 minutes

 

Every single person who programs machines to cut metal should look at this new toolpath. Words cannot do it justice.

[Bob W.]

Mike,

 

It is not the graphics card. I have a Quadro 1500 in my computer and it still crashes :-(

[Bob W.]

From what I have heard, Volumill is like dynamic pocketing on steroids. It would probably be wise to discontinue maintenance with Mastercam and just spend it on the Volumill chook?

[Colin Gilchrist]

If you have to choose between the two, I think Volumill will gain you more chips in the barrel.

 

The only problem with dropping Maintainence for Mastercam is that you won't have up-to-date translators, and you miss out on future releases.

 

If you drop maintainence at X4, then wait till X5 or X6 to upgrade (because there is some new "must have" feature), you will pay a much higher upgrade fee that if you just stay on maintainence.

 

I think both are valuable.

 

I can tell you that X4 MU1 Beta is incredibly stable, especially compared to the initial release of X4. This is usually the case when a brand new version of Mastercam hits the market. It is unfortunate, but it is the typical way that things go with software.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that Volumill 2D and Dynamic Milling are very similar. There are differences, sure, but the 2D aspect is pretty close.

 

The place Volumill really shines is with 3D roughing and 3D Rest Roughing.

 

Volumill doesn't actually have a seperate "rest rough" feature, because it really doesn't need it. The toolpath will remove a huge volume of metal, then come back and clean up the larger scallops if you setup the toolpath correctly...

 

It is absolutely amazing...

[Colin Gilchrist]

Bob,

 

Quick question, do you have crashes with files that have both "High Speed" 3D toolpaths and Transform toolpaths?

 

I've found what I think is a repeatable bug. If you have toolpaths that get processed with the multi-threading module, and those toolpaths are referenced later by a "transform" toolpath, I get consistent crashes when trying to "regen all" dirty operations.

 

If I regenerate the Multi-threaded ops with the "selected" option, then regenerate the transform op, all is well.

 

I think Mastercam starts to regenerate the Transform operation before the multi-threaded ops have finished, and this crashes the session...

[Greg Williams]

quote:

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I think Mastercam starts to regenerate the Transform operation before the multi-threaded ops have finished, and this crashes the session..

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Yes I see this to