Mastercam Macro - Repetitive Operations

[cincy k]

I am programming a family of parts and I do the same thing every time I open a new model from my customer.

 

- Create curve on all edges- color blue

- Create surfaces from solid- color gray

- etc

 

Is there a way to record this series of steps and repeat it when i open a new part file? Mastercam X6. 

 

[Greg_J]

Under the settings tab there is a macro manager but I does not work on Vista, 7 or 8 operating system.

 

It's been awhile since I used it so I can't remember all the steps but the help menu will describe it's functions.

 

Hopefully your using XP.

[Jayson Kramer]

cincy k set your system up like this so it will take care of the two options you listed.
 

[cincy k]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am using XP so I'll take a look at the macro manager. Jay, the setting changes you suggested will help and take care of vast majority of what i need. Thanks.

[Thad]

Jay, the setting changes you suggested will help and take care of vast majority of what i need.

 

Based on your original question, it looks to me like it will do *everything* that you need.

[Jayson Kramer]

Cincy, let me ask why do you turn everything to a surface? For me I prefer solids and surfaces when needed.

[brandon b]

Thanks Jay! Never knew that...

[cincy k]

Cincy, let me ask why do you turn everything to a surface? For me I prefer solids and surfaces when needed.

 

I don't have the solids license and like to make my first operation on my VMCs TOP WCS. I can not move a solid to the correct origin position if needed and prefer not to create a new WCS if it's not absolutely necessary. 

 

I also don't like some of the snap points that pop up when doing things like analyzing. Wire frame is much easier for me to work with most of the time. 

 

Often times I'll also add small edge breaks, parallel to the spindle, to parts to eliminate deburring outside the machine and find it easier to manipulate wire frame. 

 

There are probably things that solids offer as an advantage like hole axis and such that I need to get used to using in time...

 

What are advantages you see using solids over surfaces and wire frame?

[Thad]

 

I also don't like some of the snap points that pop up when doing things like analyzing. Wire frame is much easier for me to work with most of the time. 

 

I don't know if this helps you out at all, but if you right-click in the graphics window->Autocursor, you can turn snapping features on and off.

 

I'm with you on rotating the part to start off with a top view the way you want it. I don't like having to re-create all the standard views (front, right, etc) that you have to do If you create a WCS for your new top. Also, as of X6, which I'm using, in verify you can't compare to STL and use turbo mode in WCSs other than top.

 

Thad

[cincy k]

I don't know if this helps you out at all, but if you right-click in the graphics window->Autocursor, you can turn snapping features on and off.

 

I'm with you on rotating the part to start off with a top view the way you want it. I don't like having to re-create all the standard views (front, right, etc) that you have to do If you create a WCS for your new top. Also, as of X6, which I'm using, in verify you can't compare to STL and use turbo mode in WCSs other than top.

 

Thad

 

Yeah, I've seen that. I don't think there is a way to control the order in which the snaps pop up.  It seems annoying, with solids, when all the snaps pop up for features that are hidden to your current view point. With heavily featured models it seems almost impossible to analyze the correct feature sometimes. Is there a separate window to control snaps for just solids? Or snaps for features in your current view orientation? That would be great.

 

Bingo! on the WCS top thing.  

[cincy k]

cincy k set your system up like this so it will take care of the two options you listed.

 

Now when i create new wireframe inside the file I just opened the new entity won't obey my current color selection. How do I change this?

[cincy k]

Think i got it. I had to go down the the Attributes tab at the bottom of the main GUI and turn off the EA Manager in the window that pops up when you click on Attributes. 

[Jayson Kramer]

With solids it is easier to check things I find. now if you want to turn of auto cursor temporally just hold the shift. key. as for moving the part I try not to do that but use WCS, as when the customer sends me a revision I can bring it in and make change and go without having to reset the new part to the old one for example. And sense you do not have the solids option this makes so you can work a with a clean model from the start.

Are most of your parts just one op and one side? mine are min of two to many so WCS handles all the opes on the same file plus fixtures.

[Colin Gilchrist]

The best way to temporarily ignore the solid snap points is to get in the habit of using the "Quick Masks" toolbar.

 

The QuickMasks toolbar gives you access to the "All" and "Only" functionality on the General Selection toolbar. These buttons are awesome for quickly filtering out what you want or don't want to select.

 

For example: if your solid is getting in the way, and you only want to be able to select points from your wireframe geometry, then just "right-click" on the "Wireframe" quickmask button. This puts you in a "wireframe only" mode. So now when you pass your cursor over the geometry on the screen, it completely ignores your solid geometry. But, (and this is the cool part), if the solid is still visible on the screen, it will serve to hide all of the wireframe geometry that is "behind" the solid.

 

When you use the QuickMask buttons, there is different functionality if you "Left click" vs. "Right click".

 

Left-Clicking a button selects "All" of that type of geometry. So Left-Clicking on "Arcs" quickmask would select "All Arcs". If you "Right-Click" on the "Arcs" quickmask, it would put you in the "Only Arcs" selection mode. This means that as you pass your cursor over the screen, all entities would be disabled except for the arcs.

[Brando]

The best way to temporarily ignore the solid snap points is to get in the habit of using the "Quick Masks" toolbar.

 

The QuickMasks toolbar gives you access to the "All" and "Only" functionality on the General Selection toolbar. These buttons are awesome for quickly filtering out what you want or don't want to select.

 

For example: if your solid is getting in the way, and you only want to be able to select points from your wireframe geometry, then just "right-click" on the "Wireframe" quickmask button. This puts you in a "wireframe only" mode. So now when you pass your cursor over the geometry on the screen, it completely ignores your solid geometry. But, (and this is the cool part), if the solid is still visible on the screen, it will serve to hide all of the wireframe geometry that is "behind" the solid.

 

When you use the QuickMask buttons, there is different functionality if you "Left click" vs. "Right click".

 

Left-Clicking a button selects "All" of that type of geometry. So Left-Clicking on "Arcs" quickmask would select "All Arcs". If you "Right-Click" on the "Arcs" quickmask, it would put you in the "Only Arcs" selection mode. This means that as you pass your cursor over the screen, all entities would be disabled except for the arcs.

i never knew about the right clicking thats awesome stuff!!!

[cincy k]

Hmmm. Definitely some food for thought on the last few posts. Thanks. I really like the QuickMasks button Colin. 

 

Most of our parts are 4+ operations. Most done on a VMC in multiple setups for now. Cough cough.. Hopefully a 5 axis soon... Some are done on our rotary table. We are investing in some Lang vises and using their zero point on the regular table for one op and then slap the vise on the rotary table zero point for the other 4 sides of a cube and back to a kurt vise for the last face cut.  All the programs are in the same file. If I'm doing the whole part on a 3 axis machine I never change my WCS just tool and construction planes. If it's being done on the rotary I'll create a new WCS for the rotary op and then planes around it for the rotations. 

 

A lot of high mix very low volume work.

[Jayson Kramer]

if you doing 4 ops on the part why would you only change planes on a 3axis as you do not need to define a change in plane but using the WCS to set as the new Top and Datum to work from. As for the rotary yes then all you change is the T/Cplanes. now if you get the 5axis then sounds again change in T/Cplanes as it will be mostly done as a 3+2 configuration.

[Pitka_Guru]

i never knew about the right clicking thats awesome stuff!!!

Me neither, that is a great tool to add to my arsenal lol. Thanks for that!

[cincy k]

if you doing 4 ops on the part why would you only change planes on a 3axis as you do not need to define a change in plane but using the WCS to set as the new Top and Datum to work from. As for the rotary yes then all you change is the T/Cplanes. now if you get the 5axis then sounds again change in T/Cplanes as it will be mostly done as a 3+2 configuration.

In all honesty that's the way I taught myself when i first started programming and it always worked/works. I didn't know resources like eMastercam existed way back when to learn any differently.

 

I have found at times when needing to use things like project it can be easier to work with just the Top WCS and T/C planes where i need them. I have tried using WCS at times now that i know more about it and it seems like I have to constantly create extra planes to do things that would be more simple with my original method. Maybe as i get further into having all my fixturing drawn and trying to output G10 to set up the machine it's time to go the WCS route for a new setup on the VMC. 

Food for thought for sure.

[Jayson Kramer]

Cincy K, I fully understand were you are coming from. Welcome to one of your lines of help. All I want to do is make your life easier when comes to programming and not have work to hard.

Have a great day. I am off to teach at college instructor at a college.

[cincy k]

Thanks.

[Pitka_Guru]

Cincy K, I fully understand were you are coming from. Welcome to one of your lines of help. All I want to do is make your life easier when comes to programming and not have work to hard.

Have a great day. I am off to teach at college instructor at a college.

This is not meant to bash cinch, I'm generalizing here. Most people don't want to have their life made easier in this trade. We run machines that are automated yet the many operators/programmers I've been around want to do the most work they can. Here are some examples.

 

Not setting toolpath defaults for mundane settings like clearance or retracts

 

Not working with incremental depths when using a solid model or when you have multiple depths for the same routine

 

Analyzing and angle, writing it down and then re entering it in Xform rotate instead of using angle menu within rotate

 

Using contour with an offset value and depth for chambering when there is a perfectly good chamfer program available

 

Having 50 programs and not one comment in any of them

 

Selecting 400 plus chains individually instead of using window chain

 

 

I could go on and on. There are tons of things I do that I know are horribly inefficient and would love to have someone show me an easier way. I used the right click on quick mask at least ten times today. Thanks again Jay!

 

Wait one more. Having a solid model and creating curves on all edges in the solid color and on the same layer (:

[Tyler Robertson]

If it's a series of steps without a specific requirement this is pretty easy to write as a nethook/chook.  

 

ie: if you always open a model, change the color of everything, change the planes of everything etc. 

 

it's when you start to realize the individual things you do on an incremental basis but you do every time (ie: only change the colors of certain geometry,  change the plane to a different setting depending on where the model is) etc.  it starts to get hard to assign a macro/add on to it.  You also then need to maintain it as versions of Mastercam go forward.

 

More automated / less flexible

[mikenaturalice]

This is not meant to bash cinch, I'm generalizing here. Most people don't want to have their life made easier in this trade. We run machines that are automated yet the many operators/programmers I've been around want to do the most work they can. Here are some examples.

 

Not setting toolpath defaults for mundane settings like clearance or retracts

 

Not working with incremental depths when using a solid model or when you have multiple depths for the same routine

 

Analyzing and angle, writing it down and then re entering it in Xform rotate instead of using angle menu within rotate

 

Using contour with an offset value and depth for chambering when there is a perfectly good chamfer program available

 

Having 50 programs and not one comment in any of them

 

Selecting 400 plus chains individually instead of using window chain

 

 

I could go on and on. There are tons of things I do that I know are horribly inefficient and would love to have someone show me an easier way. I used the right click on quick mask at least ten times today. Thanks again Jay!

 

Wait one more. Having a solid model and creating curves on all edges in the solid color and on the same layer (:

Love what you said about not having any comments, that drives me nuts!! It really just takes seconds to type "rough mill feature a" or "remachine pocket on left face" Had a guy tell me one time that mastercams stock facing routine didn't work right so he drew his own geometry to face stock?!? 

[Dont]

cincy k set your system up like this so it will take care of the two options you listed.

 

Thanks this works great.