Importing Planes

[POSEIDON 5-AXIS]

I am currently using a stand-alone probing software.  It works great.  I machine big plugs for the Marine industry using a Poseidon 5780, with a 18m x 6m x 3m machining area, and because the machine is basically in a tin shed, temperature affects my tolerances to a huge degree.

 

Anyway, i generally start of by machining a hole in a piece of tooling block.  This hole is my reference hole which i use for "Re-aligning" my Work Plane as i work through the day/night.  I can probe this hole after a few hours of machining, do a "BEST FIT", which creates a new Work Plane for me, which i then export as an ".IGES" file, which off course is empty, bar the new Work Plane.

 

My question is:

 

I can "File Merge/Pattern" this ".IGES" file, and obviously it is empty, but i was wondering if it brings the Work Plane with it, and is there a way of "Activating" this work plane in my Plane Manager, and setting this as my new WCS???

 

Any other ideas? 

[Teh Bear without Brains kinda idiot]

THE WORK PLANE NEED TO BE ASSOSIATED WITH SOME GEOMETRY

i KNOW THAT IT IS NOT YOUR CASE BUT WHAT I actually do is this : I draw rectangle in the plane i want to export and merge it to the new file

 

HTH

[crazy^millman]

 

 

Anyway, i generally start of by machining a hole in a piece of tooling block.  This hole is my reference hole which i use for "Re-aligning" my Work Plane as i work through the day/night.  I can probe this hole after a few hours of machining, do a "BEST FIT", which creates a new Work Plane for me, which i then export as an ".IGES" file, which off course is empty, bar the new Work Plane.

 

 

I was following along until you left out about the 10 or 15 steps involved here. Who, What, Where, When and How are missing here. You export a plane? Who or what is exporting the plane? What are the steps involved with getting to the point of exporting said plane? Are you probing the plane seeing your deviations and then from there using a software that gives you a skew? Is that Skew relative to something? Are you taking 4 points on your plane and then creating a plane through all 4 points? You say best fitting and that is more of a Quality term for measuring than a machining term. How are you going about the best fit? Lest Squares? How are you deciding your quality requirements for that best fit? Overall or just a central pivot point and then deviation from the measure plane back to the original plane is your control set? Sorry I have so many questions, but you left out way to much information. I would love to help, but I would need a lot more information about the process to really help dial it down.

 

You can make a Mastercam File with a WCS and a Surface Plane it in. You can Merge that File into a different Mastercam file and then you should be able to use that WCS. Would I do it that way? Never in a million years, but I would have developed a more robust process well before every getting to the point you are. Not trying to be snide with that remark, but you are past putting the cart before the horse. You have already built the road and put in gas Stations.

[POSEIDON 5-AXIS]

Hi "5th Axis Consulting"

 

I'll try and explain a bit better.

I have been using Powermill for the last few years, and have now switched back to Mastercam, after having it being my software of use at my previous companies.

 

In Powermill, when i bring in CAD, it brings in any existing Work Planes that were created during the building of the 3d Model.  As with any and most other programming software, i can now create workplanes i need for machining purposes, ie G55 etc. etc.  This G55 is generally setup in a position of my choosing, usually a piece of tooling block, glued to the fixture somewhere, in which i have machined a blind hole.  I now EXPORT this 3d model, and the tooling block with its blind hole,  with its "G55" workplane, as a .dgk model, which i can IMPORT into POWER INSPECT.

 

Imagine the part to be a Foam plug, 15m long, tapering from one end to the other.  During this whole process of setting up the job, setting up POWER INSPECT etc., the temperature has changed by 3 degrees.  My hole i machined in the tooling block is not where it was anymore, machine moving with heat/cold etc.  I now probe this hole, and the results come back that the hole position has changed in the X,Y and Z position.  I then do a BEST FIT. Powermill therefore creates a new "skewed" workplane, in relation to my original G55.  I then export this NEW workplane, and Powermill does this via an .IGES file.

 

I import this new "skewed" workplane, and post my next set of toolpaths using this new workplane, which will now re-align my toolpaths with my previous machining procedure.  I update this Workplane constantly, as the temperature changes constantly during the day, therefore keeping wihin tolerance of the part.

 

Hope this better explains things.

[POSEIDON 5-AXIS]

I was following along until you left out about the 10 or 15 steps involved here. Who, What, Where, When and How are missing here. You export a plane? Who or what is exporting the plane? What are the steps involved with getting to the point of exporting said plane? Are you probing the plane seeing your deviations and then from there using a software that gives you a skew? Is that Skew relative to something? Are you taking 4 points on your plane and then creating a plane through all 4 points? You say best fitting and that is more of a Quality term for measuring than a machining term. How are you going about the best fit? Lest Squares? How are you deciding your quality requirements for that best fit? Overall or just a central pivot point and then deviation from the measure plane back to the original plane is your control set? Sorry I have so many questions, but you left out way to much information. I would love to help, but I would need a lot more information about the process to really help dial it down.

 

You can make a Mastercam File with a WCS and a Surface Plane it in. You can Merge that File into a different Mastercam file and then you should be able to use that WCS. Would I do it that way? Never in a million years, but I would have developed a more robust process well before every getting to the point you are. Not trying to be snide with that remark, but you are past putting the cart before the horse. You have already built the road and put in gas Stations.

Hi "5th Axis Consulting"

 

I'll try and explain a bit better.

I have been using Powermill for the last few years, and have now switched back to Mastercam, after having it being my software of use at my previous companies.

 

In Powermill, when i bring in CAD, it brings in any existing Work Planes that were created during the building of the 3d Model.  As with any and most other programming software, i can now create workplanes i need for machining purposes, ie G55 etc. etc.  This G55 is generally setup in a position of my choosing, usually a piece of tooling block, glued to the fixture somewhere, in which i have machined a blind hole.  I now EXPORT this 3d model, and the tooling block with its blind hole,  with its "G55" workplane, as a .dgk model, which i can IMPORT into POWER INSPECT.

 

Imagine the part to be a Foam plug, 15m long, tapering from one end to the other.  During this whole process of setting up the job, setting up POWER INSPECT etc., the temperature has changed by 3 degrees.  My hole i machined in the tooling block is not where it was anymore, machine moving with heat/cold etc.  I now probe this hole, and the results come back that the hole position has changed in the X,Y and Z position.  I then do a BEST FIT. Powermill therefore creates a new "skewed" workplane, in relation to my original G55.  I then export this NEW workplane, and Powermill does this via an .IGES file.

 

I import this new "skewed" workplane, and post my next set of toolpaths using this new workplane, which will now re-align my toolpaths with my previous machining procedure.  I update this Workplane constantly, as the temperature changes constantly during the day, therefore keeping wihin tolerance of the part.

 

Hope this better explains things.

[POSEIDON 5-AXIS]

 

Hi "5th Axis Consulting"

 

I'll try and explain a bit better.

I have been using Powermill for the last few years, and have now switched back to Mastercam, after having it being my software of use at my previous companies.

 

In Powermill, when i bring in CAD, it brings in any existing Work Planes that were created during the building of the 3d Model.  As with any and most other programming software, i can now create workplanes i need for machining purposes, ie G55 etc. etc.  This G55 is generally setup in a position of my choosing, usually a piece of tooling block, glued to the fixture somewhere, in which i have machined a blind hole.  I now EXPORT this 3d model, and the tooling block with its blind hole,  with its "G55" workplane, as a .dgk model, which i can IMPORT into POWER INSPECT.

 

Imagine the part to be a Foam plug, 15m long, tapering from one end to the other.  During this whole process of setting up the job, setting up POWER INSPECT etc., the temperature has changed by 3 degrees.  My hole i machined in the tooling block is not where it was anymore, machine moving with heat/cold etc.  I now probe this hole, and the results come back that the hole position has changed in the X,Y and Z position.  I then do a BEST FIT. Powermill therefore creates a new "skewed" workplane, in relation to my original G55.  I then export this NEW workplane, and Powermill does this via an .IGES file.

 

I import this new "skewed" workplane, and post my next set of toolpaths using this new workplane, which will now re-align my toolpaths with my previous machining procedure.  I update this Workplane constantly, as the temperature changes constantly during the day, therefore keeping wihin tolerance of the part.

 

Hope this better explains things.

 

When i say importing this new skewed workplane, i mean to say that i import it into Powermill.  I would like to use this new "skewed" workplane in Mastercam if i could.

[Thee Rickster ™]

I understand how powermill works, and understand the functionality you seek.

 

I dont think you will find that mastercam can utilize planes at all like Powermill.

 

let alone use a plane from PM to MC, if thats what you mean

 

In mastercam you can create WCS by geomtry and click on a surface relative

to how it was created in PM, then move it select location and adjust it in a variety of ways.

[Mike-T]

I don't think he is actually trying to rotate any planes, More like offset them to account for the temp changes. Copy your plane that your using, (assuming that it is top) then modify the xyz's by the amount that want to shift.

 I don't know how you would automate but I think this is what your trying to do.

[POSEIDON 5-AXIS]

I don't think he is actually trying to rotate any planes, More like offset them to account for the temp changes. Copy your plane that your using, (assuming that it is top) then modify the xyz's by the amount that want to shift.

 I don't know how you would automate but I think this is what your trying to do.

I just find it weird that you can't see a 3d models workplanes.  I'm guessing you need Mastercam for Solidworks version?

[Rstewart]

I just find it weird that you can't see a 3d models workplanes.  I'm guessing you need Mastercam for Solidworks version?

 

Maybe so, but you can create a Plane in like 20 seconds with Dynamic Planes or WCS

[Mike-T]

More like under 5 seconds. My take right or wrong is that MasterCam's planes are like from the machines perspective.. not a models perspective.

[POSEIDON 5-AXIS]

More like under 5 seconds. My take right or wrong is that MasterCam's planes are like from the machines perspective.. not a models perspective.

This is true.  Though, i find that 80% of people actually move their part TO their workplane, whereas i create WCS's where i need them to be, as my CAD continiously gets updated as the part/mould is built.  This is so that everytime the designers send me updates, the part comes into exactly the same spot/orientation.

[Mike-T]

I hear ya.. I've been a Mastercam user for a very long time...  Had enough troubles with 5 axis paths and now the new moduleworks paths that don't always respect a mapped Wcs that I'm in the habit of just

moving my part into correct orientation and location. Easy enough to do with dynamic xform. But then we are a job shop.. So most of the time I'm just dealing with one part at a time. I'm looking at new software

now, and it is tough to get some of these things out of my head.

[crazy^millman]

Hi "5th Axis Consulting"

 

I'll try and explain a bit better.

I have been using Powermill for the last few years, and have now switched back to Mastercam, after having it being my software of use at my previous companies.

 

In Powermill, when i bring in CAD, it brings in any existing Work Planes that were created during the building of the 3d Model.  As with any and most other programming software, i can now create workplanes i need for machining purposes, ie G55 etc. etc.  This G55 is generally setup in a position of my choosing, usually a piece of tooling block, glued to the fixture somewhere, in which i have machined a blind hole.  I now EXPORT this 3d model, and the tooling block with its blind hole,  with its "G55" workplane, as a .dgk model, which i can IMPORT into POWER INSPECT.

 

Imagine the part to be a Foam plug, 15m long, tapering from one end to the other.  During this whole process of setting up the job, setting up POWER INSPECT etc., the temperature has changed by 3 degrees.  My hole i machined in the tooling block is not where it was anymore, machine moving with heat/cold etc.  I now probe this hole, and the results come back that the hole position has changed in the X,Y and Z position.  I then do a BEST FIT. Powermill therefore creates a new "skewed" workplane, in relation to my original G55.  I then export this NEW workplane, and Powermill does this via an .IGES file.

 

I import this new "skewed" workplane, and post my next set of toolpaths using this new workplane, which will now re-align my toolpaths with my previous machining procedure.  I update this Workplane constantly, as the temperature changes constantly during the day, therefore keeping wihin tolerance of the part.

 

Hope this better explains things.

 

Well this is were Verisurf is the tool that will do all of what you are asking for. Having Verisurf gives you a lot of the items you were used to in that other software. Verisurf would handle all of what you have just talked about very quickly and easily. Programmed and controlled the correct way not a problem. Mastercam will take anything done in Mastercam and accept it and keep all of the WCS information from one file and bring it over. Problem is most CAD systems do not export things like you are use to. Verisurf is the missing key here since Verisurf is the inspection part of the equation you were used to with Power Inspect it is limiting what you want to get and are used to. It all can be done and rather easily, but may require a little more effort on your part. We can help you and are a MFG Representatives for Verisurf. Please feel free to email me and I will be glad to see what we can do to assist.