drill enhancement request

[Müřlıń®]

Why would anyone want to just place a point on the screen any old place when selecting drill points???????

 

Could we please have window points set as default and take out that stoopid point placement on mouse click?

 

Replace window points button with a manual place for those who want to just sketch points...

 

This is so annoying...

[Guest]

I'd rather have entities

[Müřlıń®]

 I believe the name of the function is "select points" not "place points wherever your cursor is"

[Ben Wood]

I'd rather have entities

+1

[Müřlıń®]

wtf are you and john talking about?

 

The entities button is still there?

 

When you select anything in Mastercam the default selection method is a window.

 

So the knee jerk reaction when picking entities is to click with a mouse on screen and draw a window as the default choice for selecting anything on the screen.

 

This is the way it has always been done.

 

If you guys say you're good with it, then you are not being honest and just want to be controversial or else you move at a snails pace.

[Guest]

yup, I move at a snails pace  :headshake:

 

I am talking about a default selection technique

[Müřlıń®]

Why would you want entities when there are 2000 Verisurf drill points, circles, and axis lines all over the place?

[Thad]

I'm with the other guys, I'd rather have Entities as the default. I almost never drill points because my files don't contain points unless I go through the trouble of creating them. My knee jerk reaction is not to window.

 

The default selection is used for more than just picking an arbitrary point on the screen with the mouse...it will select the center point of an arc even though it's not an actual point entity.

 

A Form Filler can select window for you every time the dialog box comes up.

[Ocean Lacky™]

Drill/Entities/(All or Only)/Points

 

When you select All or Only, you can further refine your selections in the dialogue box.

 

Simple, really.

[Müřlıń®]

I get what you guys are saying about entities.

 

The way I am currently doing things though is to just turn on a level and throw a window around the entities.

 

5-axis drill dont care if there are circles, solids or any amount of garbage in the window. If points and lines are selected it is just going to drill a point that is exactly on an axis line and skip the rest.

 

So I only setup named levels with color and just turn them on.....window what is on the screen....press sort and I am done without setting up anything...

 

That way I dont have to go toggle off all the entity selections I just made to use the ALL toggle....which I constantly use and you cant use it like I want to without turning sh!t off when the entity button is in use.

 

I have ran the calculations in my head and believe that it is faster not to use entities considering my style of programming...there are uses for them and I do use those features.

 

I am not saying I have the best way by far...just works for me and it is instinctive....and that point placement was pissing me off....lol

[Müřlıń®]

yup, I move at a snails pace  :headshake:

 

I am talking about a default selection technique

Sorry JP I was just frustrated...didn't mean to go off on yas...

[Guest]

No worries, all good  

[Müřlıń®]

I did manage to unlock a hidden feature though.....drilling from both sides...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eric Rawls]

I'm with the other guys, I'd rather have Entities as the default. I almost never drill points because my files don't contain points unless I go through the trouble of creating them. My knee jerk reaction is not to window.

 

The default selection is used for more than just picking an arbitrary point on the screen with the mouse...it will select the center point of an arc even though it's not an actual point entity.

 

A Form Filler can select window for you every time the dialog box comes up.

 

Thad,

 

I'm a year+ late to the party, but found this thread when looking for the way to have Entities as default. What is this "Form Filler" you speak of?

[jeff]

Why would anyone want to just place a point on the screen any old place when selecting drill points???????

 

 

This is so annoying...

+10000000000

[Thad]

Thad,

 

I'm a year+ late to the party, but found this thread when looking for the way to have Entities as default. What is this "Form Filler" you speak of?

 

Eric, there's a link in my sig.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

There is a case when I like it the way it is.  When I'm drilling on the origin (common for cylindrical parts on the trunnion) or just making a quick dummy op to put a holder on a tool , I'll hit <alt> <t> <d> <o> (for origin), and then I should be able to hit enter or something to accept but have to click the green check.  Similarly instead of hitting <o> for origin, you can type in the coordinates.

[MrFish]

I did manage to unlock a hidden feature though.....drilling from both sides...

 

 

 

 

 

Capture.JPG

We work like you in some instances and window select points with an axis for 5 axis drilling, these are usually created to a separate level for easy selection.

 

Now my biggest bug bear and something I have requested a few times is a function that would create a point at the centre top of a cylindrical hole , now this is the crux,  "with" an axis line that extends "above or away" from this point. Why, because this is exactly what 5 axis drill or circle mill requires and it is unbelievably frustrating to have to create an axis and point, extend the axis and trim them back to the point on a lot of holes to achieve a correct drill orientation. I really can't see it being very hard to add the option to create an axis above the feature to the current "create hole axis" function in MC but after numerous requests and a lot of support from other users, I have decided it must be because CNC software aren't listening !

[jeff]

 

 a function that would create a point at the centre top of a cylindrical hole , now this is the crux,  "with" an axis line that extends "above or away" from this point.

 

Model Prep/Hole Axis does this  

[Guest]

Model Prep/Hole Axis does this  

 

and the free Verisurf add-on HAS done it for years

 

Been actually "part of" Mastercam going on I believe 3 releases now

[So not a Guru]

Model Prep/Hole Axis does this  

Yep

[Roger Peterson]

Incorrect!  Hole Axis does NOT do what he wants.  (And what I want)  He wants a point at the TOP of the hole which is easy.  But he wants a line ABOVE the hole that terminates at the TOP of the hole.  This would be useful for Spot Drilling and Spot Facing using drill 5 axis and circlemill 5 axis.

 

Currently this is done in several steps:

1. use Hole Axis to create a point at the top of the hole

2. next use Hole Axis to create a line that extends above the hole

3. and finally trim the line to the point.  (Break at points works well, but you still need to delete the part of each line you do not want to keep)

 

 

That's the kicker you have to manually trim the line to each point, not a big deal for ten holes, but if you are doing 500, 1000, or more  holes that's a lot of trimming.

[So not a Guru]

Incorrect!  Hole Axis does NOT do what he wants.  (And what I want)  He wants a point at the TOP of the hole which is easy.  But he wants a line ABOVE the hole that terminates at the TOP of the hole.  This would be useful for Spot Drilling and Spot Facing using drill 5 axis and circlemill 5 axis.

 

Currently this is done in several steps:

1. use Hole Axis to create a point at the top of the hole

2. next use Hole Axis to create a line that extends above the hole

3. and finally trim the line to the point.  (Break at points works well, but you still need to delete the part of each line you do not want to keep)

 

 

That's the kicker you have to manually trim the line to each point, not a big deal for ten holes, but if you are doing 500, 1000, or more  holes that's a lot of trimming.

Can't you just put a positive value in the linking depth of the 5-axis drill op? I'm pretty sure I've done exactly that in the past.

[Roger Peterson]

there are a lot of workarounds that work in different scenarios but sooner or later you want a line above the hole and a point at the top of the hole (I usually create both the point and the arc at the top of the hole for spot facing purposes - see below)

 

For example your suggestion of shifting the depth up a positive value works very well as long as all the holes have the same "length of engagement". 

 

Sometimes what hole axis creates needs to be adjusted, if I need to spot face a number of holes and some of the holes are at an acute angle to the model I may need slide the geometry graphically up and down along the tool axis, this really requires having a point, line, and arc at the top of the hole.

[MrFish]

Model Prep/Hole Axis does this  

 

 

and the free Verisurf add-on HAS done it for years

 

Been actually "part of" Mastercam going on I believe 3 releases now

 

 

Incorrect!  Hole Axis does NOT do what he wants.  (And what I want)  He wants a point at the TOP of the hole which is easy.  But he wants a line ABOVE the hole that terminates at the TOP of the hole.  This would be useful for Spot Drilling and Spot Facing using drill 5 axis and circlemill 5 axis.

 

Currently this is done in several steps:

1. use Hole Axis to create a point at the top of the hole

2. next use Hole Axis to create a line that extends above the hole

3. and finally trim the line to the point.  (Break at points works well, but you still need to delete the part of each line you do not want to keep)

 

 

That's the kicker you have to manually trim the line to each point, not a big deal for ten holes, but if you are doing 500, 1000, or more  holes that's a lot of trimming.

 

 

there are a lot of workarounds that work in different scenarios but sooner or later you want a line above the hole and a point at the top of the hole (I usually create both the point and the arc at the top of the hole for spot facing purposes - see below)

 

For example your suggestion of shifting the depth up a positive value works very well as long as all the holes have the same "length of engagement". 

 

Sometimes what hole axis creates needs to be adjusted, if I need to spot face a number of holes and some of the holes are at an acute angle to the model I may need slide the geometry graphically up and down along the tool axis, this really requires having a point, line, and arc at the top of the hole.

Thanks for explaining it for me Roger.

In some ways if the Hole axis function worked as it is labelled we would be in business as it says "extend axis", not "extend axis and place circle and point at top of extension" !