Lathe Live Tooling Question...

[haroldm912]

HI guys, i have a question. I have been programming using mastercam for about 15 years now and although ive mainly been doing 3 axis with some 5 axis thrown in we hardly ever use the lathe portion of mastercam. I can program your basic lathe parts and what not..roughing, finishing, grooving, etc..but now the boss went and got himself a real Lathe with live tooling. So my delimma is this..i know its not rocket science and it shouldnt be too hard to pick up, but how much different is incorporating live tooling into a general lathe program? Does it require a new post? does it require manipulation of the axis or WCS? Ive scoured the internet and cant really come up with a "lathe with live tooling for dummies" type of reading. Any help would be appriciated. I will learn by doing it, but it would be nice to have a starting point.

On a side note, i dont think the boss with spring for training, he always just tells me to go to the forums..haha. Thanks again

[Allan]

There is a Store tab that would lead you to http://www.emasterca...&do=item&id=510

That should get you going on the programming.

New post? Most likely; some tweaks at minimum.

What kind of Lathe?

 

Allan

[haroldm912]

Hey Allan, it is a Haas ST 20y. i really have no idea as to how far up the chain that machine is, from mastercams point of view it all looks the same. I have figured a few things out but it is still just an experiment until i actually run things. i dont even know what machine definition to choose..haha

[JayM]

Like most questions for maching and programming the most accurate answer is "it depends". If you are doing standard Caxis programming, drilling/tapping on the face or side of your part, machining profiles on the face of your part, or cutting simple keys in the side of the part, programming the Caxis in Mastercam is pretty simple. There are a specific set of toolpaths called Caxis in lathe toolpaths that are focused on each of these types of cuts. There is no WCS work necessary when using these toolpaths, Mastercam sets everything for us.

 

If you are venturing off the basic toolpath types then Caxis programming can get complicated and I would recommend talking to you reseller for some training once you get the basics down.

 

As far as the post is concerned the default HAAS lathe post that comes with Mastercam is pretty good to get you going.

 

--Good Luck

 

PS, just noticed that you said the HAAS was a ST20Y machine, I assume that it includes the Y axis then. I would definitly recommend some training to fully utilize the Y axis component of your machine, again depending on what you are doing with it.

[crazy^millman]

See I am 100% behind gettin training for anyone who is new to Mastercam, but if you have done all of that doing the Milling in Lathe should be a breeze. It is not hard and once you dig in and see how and why you need to do things really pretty straight forward. Part my companies service is training and I would spend maybe 2 hours with a guy like yourself and should be able to call it a day. Load the sample file review them apply what they have to your parts and move one. Y axis on these type machines have limits to take that into account. If you have 4 inchs of travel do not try to cut a 6" flat in Y axis. Not going to happen. I see people all the time put the wrong parts on these type machines and then bitch about how the machine sucks. It is not the machine it is someone xxxx poor job of planning and them commiting ot do a job on a machine it was not designed to do it on. It amazes me how many companies are like a broken clock. They are right at least 2 times a day so they think they know everything. No one teaches manufcatruing process and principles anymore. Programming a part, making a model how to import or export that. How about someone teach the manufacturing throught process. How about someone teach people how to say no we will not do that part and no we will not take that job for that price. We do not need to wrap $100 bills around a $5 part. Sorrry to go off here, but with that amont of expereince you think about how to do you think about what you know and apply it to the process and you will be fine. Yes get training if you need it, but also how about going out on a limb and see if you can get it. make sample file and post them up here people love ot help those willing to help themselves. The ones that want it handed on the silver platter without effort are the ones getting their hands slapped. Sorry but rightfully so. I have never had one Mastercam training class. Just tons of help from people on this forum helped me know what I know, but most of it came from me not saying I am not sure or I do not know I have always been willing to try and fail, then pick my slef up and try again and again and again. I make mistakes all the time. Show me a pefrect programmer or machinist and I will call them a liar to their face. A perfect person was Jesus, a human makes mistakes and owns up to them, they learn from them and become ebtter at their craft. A perfect no mistaked person that has never scrapped anything is the one to busy blamming everyone else for thier mistakes and not willing to be a person and own up to their part of the equation.

[The_kid]

yeah a custom post is a good idea money well spent. as far as the WCS I can point you in the right direction. For features on the face of the part c axis will do ok or use the front view. Back view is used to cut flats on the outside. learn how to use the C view utility to create the views you need example of timing slots or flats to each other. once you do it a few times it comes really easy. Also, you can check out streaming teacher they have pretty good video tutorials on the subject.

[Colin Gilchrist]

Would you be interested in a class that taught everything you just asked about?

 

I've got a new class coming up that covers C-Axis Lathes with Live Mill tools and a Sub Spindle. We'll be modifying the Generic Fanuc 4X MT_Lathe post for a Mori-Seiki, but we'll be covering how to modify every section of the post that you'll need to touch, including configuring the post to use the Pickoff/Barpull/Cutoff utility, and setup for doing part/stock handling.

 

You can easily use the knowledge gained in the class to modify a post for a Haas ST. One of the great things about the course is that each lesson is recorded and made available to you as reference material, forever. That means you can go back and review any of the videos in the future when you need a refresher.

 

Most importantly, we'll be talking about how to setup planes properly and use the Axis Combinations to get the code output you need for all of the different operation types, both mill and lathe.

 

Here is a link to the thread I started:

 

http://www.emasterca...showtopic=74004

 

Thanks,

 

Colin

[haroldm912]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the responses. I have been messing with it and have found one basic sample part on Grabcad that actually included toolpaths too..go figure. It is not as complicated as i thought it would be, but it does have a lot of room for learning. i appriciate all of the advice. Thanks

[#Rekd™]

Getting a working post is a must. Training is also a must IMHO.