Tool manager - manufacturing names update???

[gms1]

When is this tooling manager ever going to be updated to include more manufacturers or just give me the freaking ability to put the name in myself? I have emails from these developers from back when x7 was released for a beta preview with an updated list of manufacturers that were never added. Is this going to be a wait for x8 in a year so I spend all my time updating all the tool lists I've already made?

[Chris Rizzo]

I agree and have also requested.

[gms1]

Sigh.... I really shouldn't be on here. WTF is ISO 13399 and why on earth do I have to spend another 300 bucks to buy this standard, read all of it and figure it out just to get a damn tool in the tool library?

[Rich Taft from CNC Software]

Sigh.... I really shouldn't be on here. WTF is ISO 13399 and why on earth do I have to spend another 300 bucks to buy this standard, read all of it and figure it out just to get a damn tool in the tool library?

 

The ISO13399 specification is not something that you need (or want) to buy. You really don’t need to understand the standard, you just need to know whether or not your tool supplier has files available in that format. It’s no different than exchanging CAD data with another shop. You might tell them that you can send them an Mastercam X7 file. They would not need to know anything about the file format itself, they just need to know whether or not they have the ability to import it.

 

Can you tell me specifically where your running into problems? Maybe we could run some tests with your files if they're not coming in correctly.

[Rich Taft from CNC Software]

When is this tooling manager ever going to be updated to include more manufacturers or just give me the freaking ability to put the name in myself?

 

Yes, there are plans to allow users to customize the list. Unfortunately we didn't get to it for X7. I'd be interested to know more about how you are using this field but we can take that offline if you want to PM me. I might be able to suggest an alternative.

[Chris Rizzo]

Thx for chiming in Rich, appreciate the acknowledgement.

 

.

. I'd be interested to know more about how you are using this field but we can take that offline if you want to PM me. I might be able to suggest an alternative.

 

Well if a manufacturer is not in the drop down list, I'd like to be able to manually enter the name. eg. Hanita is not in the list, so I'd just like to type it in.

[gms1]

The ISO13399 specification is not something that you need (or want) to buy. You really don’t need to understand the standard, you just need to know whether or not your tool supplier has files available in that format.

 

I drew up some threadmills for a job and wanted to add them to a tooldb library. I saved the files as dxf since that is the only option available when you select "import custom geometry from a file". When I tried to import them into the tool manager I get "Invalid Tool PropertiesProblem with custom tool data - NOCUT layer not found."

 

My only plan with the manufacturer list is to be able to add whoever we buy the tool from so myself, the tool crib attendant and the president of the company can look at these tooldb files and know who we purchased the tools from. Right now, my tool crib guy keeps asking me who is this mastercam imported data.... lol. Hopefully, some day in a future version of this tool manager software it will automatically feed that data to an active reports setup sheet

 

I did send in a fairly lengthy e-mail about the tool manager and active reports to qc at mastercam.com in November of last year and never heard anything from it.

[gms1]

So..... Am I doing something wrong with the importing of tools? Do I really need the ISO 13399 spec? Throw me a bone here Rich, you keep asking for data/info I keep giving it without any response what so ever.

[Rich Taft from CNC Software]

I drew up some threadmills for a job and wanted to add them to a tooldb library. I saved the files as dxf since that is the only option available when you select "import custom geometry from a file". When I tried to import them into the tool manager I get "Invalid Tool PropertiesProblem with custom tool data - NOCUT layer not found."

 

You can still save MCX-n files and draw the tool profile in the first quadrant in Mastercam the same way you have always done. If you're drawing the tool in Mastercam it might be easier to save it to the library while you are there since the stand-alone tool manager doesn't have sketcher functionality at this point. If you save your tool to MCX or a level the standard Mastercam rules apply.

 

If you prefer to save them as DXF files you will need to draw the profile a little differently.

1. The DXF file must contain a level named "CUT" (without the quotes). This is where you draw the cutting section of the tool
   
2. The DXF file must contain a level named "NOCUT" (without the quotes). This is where you draw the non-cutting section of the tool
   
3. The geometry that defines the CUT and NOCUT levels must consist of a closed boundary.
   
4. The tool must be oriented horizontally in the 1st and 2nd quadrants
   
5. The origin is typically placed so that the Y-Axis intersects the NOCUT geometry at the point where the face of the holder would typically be. *I believe that is part of the standard but it's not currently used in Mastercam.
   

I can send you a sample DXF that demonstrates this if that helps.

 

FWIW, the profiles you already created would probably be fine if you saved them out to MCX-7 and added them to the library from Mastercam. The stand-alone Tool Manager is more suited for library management than custom tool creation at this point -unless you have files from the Manufacturer. I'm guessing if the Tool Manager had a simple sketcher that would probably make life easier.

 

I'll talk to the tech writers to see if we can expand on this topic in the help system.

[crazy^millman]

If you prefer to save them as DXF files you will need to draw the profile a little differently.

1. The DXF file must contain a level named "CUT" (without the quotes). This is where you draw the cutting section of the tool
    
   
2. The DXF file must contain a level named "NOCUT" (without the quotes). This is where you draw the non-cutting section of the tool
    
   
3. The geometry that defines the CUT and NOCUT levels must consist of a closed boundary.
    
   
4. The tool must be oriented horizontally in the 1st and 2nd quadrants
    
   
5. The origin is typically placed so that the Y-Axis intersects the NOCUT geometry at the point where the face of the holder would typically be. *I believe that is part of the standard but it's not currently used in Mastercam.
   

I'll talk to the tech writers to see if we can expand on this topic in the help system.

 

Thanks Rich I never knew this glad to have more information. I also appreciate you responding back and giving us some insight.

[gms1]

Thanks Rich I never knew this glad to have more information. I also appreciate you responding back and giving us some insight.

 

Yeah! This was exactly what I was looking for to put tools in the tool manager. It works great.

[Craig-B]

It would be nice to be able to do that with the Holder as well. No option to import the holder as a DXF or from a level.

[Rich Taft from CNC Software]

It would be nice to be able to do that with the Holder as well. No option to import the holder as a DXF or from a level.

 

It's on the list.

[Bill H]

Rich Taft,

 

Can I get a sample .dxf of a custom tool?  One picture is worth a thousand words . . .

 

Thanks.

[gms1]

Rich Taft,

 

Can I get a sample .dxf of a custom tool?  One picture is worth a thousand words . . .

 

Thanks.

SAMPLE.zip

 

That was the file Rich sent me when I originally posted this thread.

Kinda funny about that tool manufacturing list thing still being an open issue even when it was being worked on in X7.

[Bill H]

gms1 - Thank you!

[Brian B 74]

If you create a custom tool inside the tool manager you have to use a DXF file.  If you create the tool inside of Mastercam and save it to the database you can still you a MCX file.

 

I prefer the MCX file.

[JCDFCM]

Hello,

 

    Has this topic been resolved? I followed the posts and did not see a solution. I am using X9 and still cannot modify the Manufacturer name to a vendor such as Hanita, SGS, Fullerton, etc. I even went as far as developing a VB.Net app only to find out that I can modify most of the fields in the tool manager dialogs when defining an end mill except for...you guessed it: the Manufacturer name. As someone mentioned earlier, we have to constantly update our tool lists. We have multiple cam systems and need to draw from an external database and this one field is preventing us from true automation on the MasterCam side.  We are happy with the system and for the most part have switched over to Mastercam as our primary system but we need a workaround for this issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

JCDFCM