hodge podge of mcam newb questions.

[The Cathedral]

To chamfer starting at the center of a hole use 2D Contour set to chamfer, under lead in/out set angle to 180 and radius to Diameter of hole minus the diameter of cutter  divided by 4  - in this case ..using a cutter bigger than the hole.. use the cutter diameter at the depth you are going..  rather than the OD of your cutter .. so assuming the point of your 90 degree chamfer tool is at -.236 then your diameter for the purposes of this formula would be .472

 

From memory, I think Mastercam uses the width plus depth that are defined in the chamfer settings as the overall depth it goes when chamfering a hole, but you might want to post something out as a quick test to make sure.

 

An easier way to start at the center is to chain the center point of the hole: when you're first selecting your geometry, use the "point" button to select the center, then the "chain" button to select the hole. In your lead in/out tab, make sure "use start point" and "use exit point" are checked.

 

If your tool is defined properly, you don't need to do any math at all. Select the width of your chamfer and the offset amount you want the tool to stick past, say .05"  Even if your tool has a major diameter of 5" and you're trying to chamfer a .250" hole, the tool will only go as far as your offset amount + your chamfer amount.

[djstedman]

Doing math keeps your brain young.. I suppose choosing the center point is ok for you n00bs..    j/k..

 

The funny thing is I actually knew about the center point thing but I almost never think to use it,  I got so used to doing it the old school way I just haven't changed how I do it.. that said yeah .. choosing the center point is probably the better way to go.

[jlw™]

To chamfer starting at the center of a hole use 2D Contour set to chamfer, under lead in/out set angle to 180 and radius to Diameter of hole minus the diameter of cutter divided by 4 - in this case ..using a cutter bigger than the hole.. use the cutter diameter at the depth you are going.. rather than the OD of your cutter .. so assuming the point of your 90 degree chamfer tool is at -.236 then your diameter for the purposes of this formula would be .472

 

From memory, I think Mastercam uses the width plus depth that are defined in the chamfer settings as the overall depth it goes when chamfering a hole, but you might want to post something out as a quick test to make sure.

That's he ticket right there. But... I'm having to do an op for every single hole. Can you do multiple holes with one op? I tried by selecting a point then chain, point then chain, point then chain. It looked fine as far as path inside the hole. The first time I tried multiples I had 4 holes. It hit 1,2,3,2,3,4,3,4 with proper retract very time. I selected geo like this: point 1, chain 1, point 2, chain 2, point 3, chain 3, point 4, chain 4. What did I do incorrectly? Or does it have to be one op per feature?

[The Cathedral]

You can do multiple features in one op. You have to make sure you chain in the correct order: center point of the hole, then the hole. The point should always precede the hole. What you said you selected seems correct, so there must be something else going on. Can you post a picture of it? Just take a screenshot of your toolpath and your geometry chain manager

[So not a Guru]

Hey now I mentioned stock models in my earlier post too. Stock models are definitely the better route.

How do the stock modes work?