Solidworks/Mastercam

[DODGERFAN]

Hey guys, 

We have a customer that is sending us a model. Will mastercam import a native solidworks file?      

    If not,   what is the best format to use?

Thanks.

[Guest]

It will

 

Provided the version of Mastercam you're using is new enough to open the version they're working in.....

 

X8 Update 3 for SW2015 files

[djstedman]

You should be able to open a .sldprt or a .sldasm  file using Mastercam with no issues, if you do have any issues then you can have them save it as a .step and send that instead.

[DODGERFAN]

Thanks guys. 

[crazy^millman]

If not shoot it over to me and I will be glad to help out one of our customers.

[Newbeeee™]

Hey guys, 

We have a customer that is sending us a model. Will mastercam import a native solidworks file?      

    If not,   what is the best format to use?

Thanks.

I've only ever had a problem once with a step format.

And never with a parasolid.

[Pete Rimkus from CNC Software Inc.]

We here at the home office would strongly recommend native SLDPRT/SLDASM and then Parasolid, in that order, as the best method for getting SW data into MC.

Parasolid would be a better choice then STEP as a backup because SW is a Parasolid-kernel modeler, and so is MC. Therefore there is no "translation" to and from an intermediate format (such as STEP/ACIS/IGES). Boom! It's in there!

 

Of course, some of us also recommend the Mastercam for SolidWorks product...but that's a different topic.

[DODGERFAN]

Thanks for the help guys.   They sent me native file and worked perfectly.   

[BenK]

We here at the home office would strongly recommend native SLDPRT/SLDASM and then Parasolid, in that order, as the best method for getting SW data into MC.

Parasolid would be a better choice then STEP as a backup because SW is a Parasolid-kernel modeler, and so is MC. Therefore there is no "translation" to and from an intermediate format (such as STEP/ACIS/IGES). Boom! It's in there!

 

Of course, some of us also recommend the Mastercam for SolidWorks product...but that's a different topic.

 

I have tried many time to suggest that same thing but I meet resistance every time it seems. One designer was telling me IGES was better to use. 

[Guest]

I have tried many time to suggest that same thing but I meet resistance every time it seems. One designer was telling me IGES was better to use. 

Just slap him the next time you walk by his desk. :

 

IGES.... more like I GUESS.

[BenK]

Just slap him the next time you walk by his desk. :

 

IGES.... more like I GUESS.

 

This is one of the reasons I left the company. After I tried getting them to switch we had three different software companies come in and call them I guess files, one even laugh at us for using it. All I could do was say I told you so and walk out. 

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

One caveat with importing native SW files is this: files with multiple configurations must be regenerated in all configurations after the last change, and then saved, in order for Mastercam to access those configurations.  Also exporting a parasolid in each configuration that will be used can reduce confusion.

[jimp]

Never had a problem till upgraded from Solidworks 2014 to 2015 using Mastercam X4 get error message

Cannot find Parasolid data in Solidworks file.

[Jim at Gentex]

One caveat with importing native SW files is this: files with multiple configurations must be regenerated in all configurations after the last change, and then saved, in order for Mastercam to access those configurations.  Also exporting a parasolid in each configuration that will be used can reduce confusion.

 

There's also a potential problem with all entities of complex assemblies appearing all on one level.

It has to do with the SW parameters when the file is created / saved.

I've opened native SW files and found thousands of entities all on one single level and all the same color.

Good luck finding what you need!  

 

I'm not sure what to do on the SW end to keep everything on its proper level when saving the file, but I believe it is a similar issue to what Matthew stated above.

 

Other than that, I would say that the ability to open native SW files in MC is a huge leap forward.

As a MC user who started with Version 3 way back in the early 90's, we often had no choice other than I GUESS files just to get the geometry to read in at all. 

 

Now it's almost too easy! 

[crazy^millman]

There's also a potential problem with all entities of complex assemblies appearing all on one level.

It has to do with the SW parameters when the file is created / saved.

I've opened native SW files and found thousands of entities all on one single level and all the same color.

Good luck finding what you need!  

 

I'm not sure what to do on the SW end to keep everything on its proper level when saving the file, but I believe it is a similar issue to what Matthew stated above.

 

Other than that, I would say that the ability to open native SW files in MC is a huge leap forward.

As a MC user who started with Version 3 way back in the early 90's, we often had no choice other than I GUESS files just to get the geometry to read in at all. 

 

Now it's almost too easy! 

 

Yes I remember the many hours fixing the repairing bad models and replacing faceted or even missing surfaces. This generation of programmers has it pretty easily always getting models and have so much they can download. I have 100's of tool components solid models I have made over the years. I have copies of work I did back in 3.1 dos days and hand drawings of parts I reverse engineered 20 years ago. Pencil and paper and a shadow graph were you best friend many times. 

[Newbeeee™]

^^^funny, I had a discussion with a mate a few weeks ago about how easy it is now.

During my apprenticeship in the early 80's, one of the modules was on CNC. It bored me to tears and I vowed never to be involved with this high production long winded to tool-up and 'get going' (as in program) rubbish.

So I went the drawing office route instead.

Roll forwards a few years and here I am working in a shop with 11 of the bloody things!

But ohh yes, solid models and cam system = unbelievably fast to 'get going' nowadays.

It is truly staggering just how fast our industry has moved and how affordable production manufacture is, in 30 years.