Most common beg questions.

[Jayson Kramer]

I would like to hear from dealers and user that can remember being the beginner what was or is the most common questions when starting Mastercam. Please list some.

 

Dealers same thought to a point with a change of thought.

give me a list of the most common mastercam questions you are asked over and over again.

 

This would be great info..

 

Thank you all for your time with this.

[Newbeeee™]

Jay, from me as a user, the biggest thing that took the longest for me to understand was planes and WCS. How to set them and generally go about using them (ie the rules).

Also the -1 and 0 settings for the G54 work offset as I used to get the odd G56 or G56 thrown in mid prog initially. Always cayught it but scary stuff.

Mcam is pretty easy to get going for the simple stuff when learning IMO, it was the '2nd stage' (next level) if you like that took a bit of getting my head around.

HTH

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

Hmm. For me that was in the version 5 days. Yeah WCS was probably the trickiest part.

[shazam/TPP]

WCS, but once you understand it... cool.

[Guest]

Most frequent relate to

 

1. Changing colors

2. Moving things to new levels

3. Program number, the find the box add it but it doesn't work

4 Why does my chain stop everywhere, 3D vs C-Plane

5. Why can't I pick the edges of my solid, no wire frame on file open

6. How can I set my Op defaults

7. How can I change my post, I need a different one

8. Create line tangent, the tangent switch in the Line Create menu

9. How do I turn on the brown lines

10. Why can't I see any tool paths they're grayed out. No machine def loaded

11. Why do my programs post as different programs, it's supposed to be one program

 

Just to name a few

 

One of the biggest I get from Mill 1 users is the complete misunderstanding of 3D Contour vs Surface Finish Project. People do not understand that 3D Contour the tool tip follows the line, it creates no tangency, thus on a 3D surface will gouge. If I had a nickle for every time I have had to explain this one, I could be laying on a beach in Tahiti right now instead of typing this.

[TK-32™]

...

[Aeroguy]

WCS and how they relate to planes and construction. I actually still don't fully comprehend them actually, in regards to 5-Axis programming.

[Guest]

Add this one lol

 

http://www.emastercam.com/board/index.php?showtopic=70084#entry810235

[CJep]

Most common beg questions.

 

Jay, your asking about beginner questions,..... right

 

Not; "hey do you have any swag with you?"

"what,.. pens, the Mazak guy gave us (fill in blank here)"

" are you giving that away?" (pointing at the Space Pilot)

[Jayson Kramer]

This is good stuff guys keep them coming. Cjep I get this all the time still

till this day.

[Oscar R.]

How come my toolpath is on the wrong side of the line?

Creat Letters vs. Creat Note.

What's the difference between Cplane and Tplane?

How do I create a custom tool? Why won't it work when I draw it? How do I save it to my tool library?

MC Linking Perameters Absolute vs, Incremental.

[K2csq7]

I could would be laying on a beach in Tahiti right now instead of typing this.

You know you love it fiss.

 

WCS and how they relate to planes and construction. I actually still don't fully comprehend them actually, in regards to 5-Axis programming.

in regards to 5-Axis programming.... all you need to know is top top top.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

How do I make feeds, speeds, and materials work?

[Jayson Kramer]

in regards to 5-Axis programming.... all you need to know is top top top.

But what about 3+2?

[Justin Beebe at Folsom Tool]

I've been training people at our shop lately and the one I always get is:

 

How do I import a solid model and position it in mastercam the way I'm going to be holding it in the machine.

[uncle_dolan]

When I was learning i was trying to move geometry between points and couldnt work out why it was only moving in X and Y, and not Z. ... took a little bit before i realised about the 2D/3D toggle.

[Thad]

http://www.emastercam.com/board/index.php?showtopic=70055

[Thoob]

How do I make the drill peck at different depths?

[left coast lefty]

I remember I had the most trouble with levels. Planes and WCS a close second.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

Tell the student to think of them as transparency sheets on an overhead projector. (If they're old enough to know what that is.)

[danielm]

Add this one lol

 

http://www.emasterca...084#entry810235

 

 

small things amuse small minds.

[Glenn Bouman]

A lot of users complain that they will have Mastercam setup perfectly the way they want it but when they log in as another user all the settings are gone to back default.

There needs to be an easy way copy user settings to multiple users.

Or to an install option to install users settings to the shared folder so that the settings are identical no matter who logs into the computer.

[Rotary Ninja]

I learned Mastercam with the release of X by being given a seat and was told "Have fun!". It wasn't until I went to the IMTS show and had a talk with Mitch from Cad-Cam Tech that I really learned a few things about the WCS and setting up different views. Knowing how to do a vice op then a rotary op all in the same file using the same stock model would have been nice to know in the beginning. We still have people at my work that don't understand it I think.

 

And there is another thing... setting up stock and using an STL file for the stock model. This is definitely good to know how to do especially when working with extrusions and castings.

 

Setting up the operation defaults. I went for a long time having to set each and every parameter every time I created a new toolpath type.

 

Working with tool libraries. Some people just don't get it and refuse to use them

 

Creating custom tools and how to fix issues when they don't show properly in verify (Tool Profile = Auto or As Defined in Verify interface)

 

These are just some of the things I remember having to figure out. HTH