Blank Brain Moment... Xform STL?

[Mick]

I don't recall, nor can I find anything in the whats new...

 

What happened to the Xform STL function? It was on the menu in X8 but is gone for X9?

[jlw™]

Plain old dynamic and plain old translate work on stl just like any other "real" solid.

[Mick]

But I actually have to import/merge the STL, correct?

[MrFish]

Yip xform stl was dropped for X9 Mike. PIA sometimes, I certainly miss being able to quickly overlay a stl and move it to where I want it without having to close the file Im working on or have to merge it to it.

 

http://forum.mastercam.com/Topic10168.aspx

[Mick]

Answered my own question. Yes, the STL file has to be merged so it can be selected.

 

Then, if it is needed externally, needs to be re-exported.

 

Couldn't find anything documented about this.

[Mick]

Yip xform stl was dropped for X9 Mike. PIA sometimes, I certainly miss being able to quickly overlay a stl and move it to where I want it without having to close the file Im working on or have to merge it to it.

 

http://forum.mastercam.com/Topic10168.aspx

 

Yes, another useful function dropped. I swear, there must be a finite number of functions they have available, so when a new one is introduced, another one is chopped out... Hah!

[Allan]

If you merge the STL in on its own layer; transform...you can do a save some, or just leave it there and reference it via level (depending on what you want to do with it).

I don't see lost functionality here...unless I'm missing something?

[Mick]

If you merge the STL in on its own layer; transform...you can do a save some, or just leave it there and reference it via level (depending on what you want to do with it).

I don't see lost functionality here...unless I'm missing something?

 

Well, the filesize is now increased, because the STL is required to be stored within the file.

 

If you don't want to store the file that is fine, but it means extra steps, ie, file merge, then the Xform (as per Xform-STL) then delete. Previously, you could carry out the Xform STL "externally", ie just choose the STL, shift it, then save it.

 

Perhaps functionality isn't the best choice of word. The function is now a little more protracted.

[gms1]

Its added more work is all. With Xform STL I just click that function, pick my stl, move it and save it all without interrupting the current file I have open.

Now I have to import the stl and use standard xform tools then export it back out as an stl. Working with stl files are becoming harder and harder.

[JoshC]

Do you really need to work with an STL? The reason i ask in in the past STL's were popular to be used as Stock and the Stock Model toolpath has eliminated the need for saving and referencing Stl files for the most part. I am not sure if this solution will work for your given situation but if you haven't tried the stock model in the past its worth checking out because it may do what you are after more easily.

[fastercam]

Do you really need to work with an STL?

As Mick pointed out, the file size is increased when working with stock models. It's not particularly difficult to do this with either stl files or stock models. The file size does get quite large though when working with stock models.

[Thad]

Do you really need to work with an STL? The reason i ask in in the past STL's were popular to be used as Stock and the Stock Model toolpath has eliminated the need for saving and referencing Stl files for the most part. I am not sure if this solution will work for your given situation but if you haven't tried the stock model in the past its worth checking out because it may do what you are after more easily.

 

Maybe so, but the .stl method should still work!

[gms1]

Do you really need to work with an STL? The reason i ask in in the past STL's were popular to be used as Stock and the Stock Model toolpath has eliminated the need for saving and referencing Stl files for the most part. I am not sure if this solution will work for your given situation but if you haven't tried the stock model in the past its worth checking out because it may do what you are after more easily.

 

I really don't want to work with STL models because it just keeps getting worse. Is there a way I can translate, mirror, rotate or import them into another software? Until these things happen I am stuck with STL.

[Mick]

Its added more work is all. With Xform STL I just click that function, pick my stl, move it and save it all without interrupting the current file I have open.

Now I have to import the stl and use standard xform tools then export it back out as an stl. Working with stl files are becoming harder and harder.

 

Its added more is all. That says it. More work. So it is in effect counterproductive.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm a long time user of this software, and still use it on a daily basis (heck, I used to work as a technical guy for a reseller). But, I shake my head sometimes when functions are removed or changed, and undocumented. Just like the trimming plane in solids.

 

As for stock model toolpaths, well I personally don't use them that much for the reasons mentioned previously, namely bloated file sizes.

[gcode]

Its added more is all. That says it. More work. So it is in effect counterproductive.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm a long time user of this software, and still use it on a daily basis (heck, I used to work as a technical guy for a reseller). But, I shake my head sometimes when functions are removed or changed, and undocumented. Just like the trimming plane in solids.

 

As for stock model toolpaths, well I personally don't use them that much for the reasons mentioned previously, namely bloated file sizes.

 

namely bloated file sizes

While I agree with you regarding the demise of XFORM STL, you really should give stock model a try

 

With modern computers and ultrafast SSD storage, file size isn't  as big an issue as it used to be

I remember working on a 600 meg file in V9 that took 30 minutes to open

It took about 6 months to do the whole project and 2 hard drive failed during the process

We burned a copy onto a CD daily to insure that a hard failure or zero byte crash didn't cost more than a day's work. 

Today I routinely run files with 5 to 10 large stock models and files sizes up to 250 mg

The files may be big, but all those meshes seem pretty light. I don't really notice any difference

in performance with these big files.

 

I think you're letting your age show.

Remember the old DOS days when a 10mg hard drive was huge and you'd never ever have enough data to fill it

[jlw™]

Man I use the poop out of stock model. How do you keep up with stock and run rest paths? Thevlas file I did had 500 ops and 29 of them were stock models.

 

The very first tool group I name is stock models. I keep them at the beginning of the file so its easier to track them and see if one or several need regen.

[BenK]

Man I use the poop out of stock model. How do you keep up with stock and run rest paths? Thevlas file I did had 500 ops and 29 of them were stock models.

 

The very first tool group I name is stock models. I keep them at the beginning of the file so its easier to track them and see if one or several need regen.

 

Half the time I start with a stock model. Its a great tool. 

[Jayson Kramer]

I use the Stock model these days. I find them better and easier and they are integrated into the file. I have been fussing with a file that another programmer did. and there is a lot of STLs. trying to figure out what files go with what op is a PITA to work with. I have not found beside maybe making the file smaller to use the old way of STL.

 

JM2C

[CJep]

The stock models can also be saved out of Mcam as an STL file if that data is required.

I have also noticed stock model creating less triangles in the mesh than saving an STL out of Verify.

[Andrew Seekford]

Are there any resources available to get up and running on stock models? We just switched to X9 from X6 and I'm not finding a lot of specifics in help concerning stock models and how reposition them or save them as stl's or pmeshes.

[Thee Rickster ™]

Are there any resources available to get up and running on stock models? We just switched to X9 from X6 and I'm not finding a lot of specifics in help concerning stock models and how reposition them or save them as stl's or pmeshes.

I never preposition them, or customer data.

I use WCS origin's for everything so, nothing needs to be moved.

[JAMMAN]

Man I use the poop out of stock model. How do you keep up with stock and run rest paths? Thevlas file I did had 500 ops and 29 of them were stock models.

 

The very first tool group I name is stock models. I keep them at the beginning of the file so its easier to track them and see if one or several need regen.

 

Yup my first op is always a stock model on anything I want to use rest paths on.

 

Andrew it is real easy, I know because I can do it. It's in "toolpaths" Click on stock model in the menu and the rest is history.

 

Well first you should create a model of your initial stock, you will need to select it to generate the stock model but it is only one solid instead of many.

 

AND I personally never move them. I put it initially where zero is and cut from there.

[Andrew Seekford]

How do you save one as a stl or pmesh? We use Camplete for our 5-axis posting and need to import the part stl into that.

[gcode]

How do you save one as a stl or pmesh? We use Camplete for our 5-axis posting and need to import the part stl into that.

right click the stock model in the operations manager

one of the options will be to save the stock model as an stl or pmesh

[crazy^millman]

There is a toolbar for stock models. Turn it on and it gives you the ability to save our your stock model. Pay close attention to your tolerance. If CAMPLETE treats STL files as bad as Vericut then you might be better off start with a RAW stock and whittle it down in CAMPLETE, verse bring in a stock model half way done.