Making Mastercam better

[Bob W.]

I rant enough on this forum about how many bugs Mastercam has but this time I will try to take a more constructive approach. Most of us are in this business to make money and as we know, time is money. What things can Mastercam improve upon to speed up the programming times and run times of our parts? Here is my short list.

 

1. Pocketing toolpaths allow the user to specify alternate speeds and feeds for the finishing passes. Add this feature to ALL toolpaths.

2. Add wall finishing passes to the 2D HST toolpaths (peel mill already has this)

3. Fix the 3D HST toolpaths so they ignore sharp edges (running horizontally) when specifying angle limits so the angle limits and generated toolpaths apply to sloped surfaces only.

4. Set the default directory for saving and opening STLs and other files to the same directory as the file that is currently open. Every time I want to do a Verify STL compare I need to track the file down through a maze of directories since it defaults to "data".

5. Fix the disappearing tools or migrating tools issue when multiple machine groups are in one file. It is a PITA and TIME WASTER to keep sorting them out.

6. Allow the user to specify which WCS to reference when saving an STL or other neutral file format. This should be an option in the file-save dialog box. This should apply when saving STLs in verify as well.

7. Fix the mysterious "unhandled exception" bug.

8. Enable check surfaces for the 3D HST toolpaths. Treat them like check surfaces, not drive surfaces.

 

I'm sure many of you have ideas as well and please post them. Programming parts in Mastercam is generally very fast but there are many simple things that can be done to speed it up. Many of these would result in reducing my operations to program a part by 10-20%

[jeff]

Add this feature to ALL toolpaths.

 

It boggles my mind why this has been ignored since day 1.

It would probably shave 40% off of my programming time.

Lame.

[Bob W.]

It boggles my mind why this has been ignored since day 1.

It would probably shave 40% off of my programming time.

Lame.

 

I agree. The funny thing is that half of the toolpaths already have this. BUT WHY ONLY HALF? This would be extremely convenient in circle milling and contouring. Helix boring has it but why not circle mill? The roughing in circle mill allows me to really haul @ss while roughing but I can't slow down for the finishing pass. I need to create a new operation for that.

[Guest]

 

:cough:

[Bob W.]

Great, that is a step in the right direction.

[Bob W.]

Any other items on the list addressed in X5? I edited my other comment as I will try to bury my frustrations and take a more positive approach :-)

[Mic6]

Gee thanks John

 

Sure hope they fixed the roughing with retract and clearance active.

[Thee Rickster ™]

I hope rest roughing stops going over the walls which need no roughing and

only rest roughs the areas the previous tool did not cut.

 

Or is opti rough the path that fixes the rest roughing path?

[Philcott]

John, John, John.....are you letting some of the cats out of the bag?

[Bob W.]

Adding rest roughing to the horizontal 3D HST toolpath would be very helpful as following this up with a smaller tool is tricky.

[gcode]

4. Set the default directory for saving and opening STLs and other files to the same directory as the file that is currently open. Every time I want to do a Verify STL compare I need to track the file down through a maze of directories since it defaults to "data".

 

A valid request that has not been adressed .... but...

 

The "Recent Folders" dropdown at the bottom of the File Open Page

negates the need to navigate a jungle of file folders..

I think this was introduced in X4 and I'm amazed at how many people don't use it.

[Thee Rickster ™]

Does X5, when posting a path, default to the folder you have the MC it is stored in?

(like SW does for example)

[Bob W.]

A valid request that has not been adressed .... but...

 

The "Recent Folders" dropdown at the bottom of the File Open Page

negates the need to navigate a jungle of file folders..

I think this was introduced in X4 and I'm amazed at how many people don't use it.

 

Thanks for pointing that out as it will be a nice time saver.

[Mgrenier]

Does X5, when posting a path, default to the folder you have the MC it is stored in?

(like SW does for example)

 

Actually, this can be done by going to File -> Project Manager. This can be done in X4 but not sure about previous versions.

 

HTH

[Thee Rickster ™]

I can not get this to work with multiple machine groups on any version.

 

And you can not browse to the folder with you want the path to reside in.

It gets you close, but forgets to go there when you post.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Actually, back in the day, the setdirs.dll C-Hook allowed you to put all your files on one location. They seemed to have removed some of the file types you had access to back in the day with the "Project Manager" utility.

 

Definitely need to add that.

 

Contsructive criticism is usually more productive than profanity laced tireades... USUALLY.

[?Mark]

Is nobody using favorites folders on the left of file open window?

You can customize it anyway you possibly can and it works great especially when working on a network.

[neurosis]

 

Contsructive criticism is usually more productive than profanity laced tireades... USUALLY.

 

My girlfriend apparently disagrees with you...

[kens1]

Posted Yesterday, 07:45 PM

 

Is nobody using favorites folders on the left of file open window?

You can customize it anyway you possibly can and it works great especially when working on a network.

 

I use this a lot, but changing the order of listed folders is pretty lame.

[crazy^millman]

Is nobody using favorites folders on the left of file open window?

You can customize it anyway you possibly can and it works great especially when working on a network.

 

Yes I use it all on my computer a great timer saver and I like it a lot. :D

[crazy^millman]

 

Constructive criticism is usually more productive than profanity laced tireades... USUALLY.

 

I have had my share of upset threads about things, but yes if we do in a way to hopefully get attention in a way to help them which help us then it is a win win for everyone. Bob, I know it was a hard thing to do this thread but good job!!!!!!!!!!!!

[shazam/TPP]

+1 to using the favorites folder

[Bob W.]

Another thing that could improve Mastercam is when changing toolpath types from within an operation, from circle mill to helix bore for example, the parameters should stay the same. Every time I do this my depth values change so I have to go in and double check everything. The only real time savings is not having to reselect geometry. If all parameter values stayed the same it would save a lot of time and hassle.

 

On a positive note, I can now change my work offset values in the view manager and I don't need to regenerate all operations referencing that WCS. This is a huge time saver!

[Bob W.]

Another huge improvement would be to add angle limits to the hybrid HST toolpath. It would be great if I could get it to ignore flats and set limits of 90 degrees to .1 degrees for example. I have tried using more containment boundaries to accomplish this but the toolpath would give errors.

[alanu23]

The Favorites folders doesn't work so hot if you are using an external hard drive.. Drive letter changes.. I recently posted something about having to navigate through countless folders all the time, then someone posted about the recent files drop down... If only I would have known about that 2 years ago!! I was so frustrated to learn this though, nothing like knowing you have wasted x amount of hours when the convenience is right in front of your face..