MC4SW X5MU1 Original tool paths added

[MotorCityMinion]

MC4SW X5MU1. I just came across this. The older style tool paths were incorporated into the software. Anybody mess with this yet? What do you think?

 

http://networkedblogs.com/jb7nH

 

Ignore the nonsense replies on the link.

 

Does anybody know if the machine def's from stand alone MC work here as well, namely MPMaster?

 

 

[gcode]

Does anybody know if the machine def's from stand alone MC work here as well, namely MPMaster?

 

yes.. all your exisiting mastercam post/ machine def/control defs and tool libraies will work in MC4SW..

no edits or modifications are required..

and you can import toolpaths done in MC4SW directly into regular Mastercam

 

The exception is 5X machines..

MC4SW does not support 5X toolpaths.... yet

 

 

I don't own MC4SW .. yet.. but I do have a trial license.

I recently did a family of parts, 8 different parts that could be defined in SolidWorks with a Design Table ( a fancy name for an excell spread sheet)

 

I programmed the first part in MC4SW then created the next 7 configurations in SW by adding the table values to the Design Table.

 

It took me about 3 hours to do the first part... and 30 minutes to do the next 7.....very cool

 

I wouldn't call MC4SW a replacement for Mastercam, but for the right kind of work, it is very useful.

[MotorCityMinion]

"I wouldn't call MC4SW a replacement for Mastercam, but for the right kind of work, it is very useful."

 

I agree, there are some features in MC that just can't be beat. IMO, creating and manipulating wire frame geometry is much easier and faster than in SW.

 

Perhaps I'm just partial to MC because it's where I started but the drawing functions in MC seem to be more suited to the manufacturing community than the CAD community, if that makes any sense.

In SW, you need a dam plane for everything. 3D sketches are a bear to work with. Just moving or rotating geometry is a PIA. No doubt about it though, the modeling tools in SW just blow away what MC does.

 

Now that I have your attention, how are the calc times in MC4SW? How about verify, any smoother or faster? This just sounds like a good combo with a lot of potential.

[gcode]

how are the calc times in MC4SW? How about verify, any smoother or faster? This just sounds like a good combo with a lot of potential.

 

I don't know.. my trial license died over the weekend..

It would have been interesting to do the benchmark file is MC4SW but I never thought to do it.

I don't know if MC4SW supports the multithreading feature introduced in X4 but if you're running

x64SW the x64 version of MX4SW is a true x64 app .

 

Verify seems about the same or a little slower.. but ... It had a pretty bad bug that was fixed

in the MU1 release that was just annouced today.. so again, I don't know..