Setting priority to high

[Fig sign]

A task :

convert very BIIIGGGG stl model to surfaces.

Tool : stl2surf.dll

Takes a lot of time with maximum possible allocation settings .

Trick: in task manager setting Mill9.exe process priority to high !

I know of a possible risks

It worked !

I`ve got a speed boost .

Anyone else tried it ?

 

Iskander teh is it safe enough to try set priority -real time ?!?

[Fig sign]

Update :

I just tried real-time priority .

Surface -contour toolpath ball 0.7 mm high resolution high filter settings + optimize +flats +shallow and a lot of surfaces .

Speed boost approx. 50%.

The drawback- it hangs on most completly windows on mastercam ,it is understandable , but I am ready to go with it .

 

Iskander teh speeding over the limits

 

[ 01-07-2004, 05:50 AM: Message edited by: Iskander teh ]

[ak762]

Iskander,

There is realtime in Windows XP as I understand it above high priority. Try it perhaps your Mcam will work with supersonic speed

[Fig sign]

Alex!

 

That`s what I`ve tried (see article#2)

Win2000pro here .

It is faster than high-priority but You will get no multytasking at all.

Mastercam is not a real-time in mind written program and will not free CPU time for other tasks,but you will get real SPEED BOOST !

mAY BE i WRONG BUT i `VE TRIED IT IN THE TASK THAT TOOK ME A COUPLE OF GOOD TIMES MORE TIME TO CALCULATE BEFORE WITH THE SAME SETTINGS!

And after the calculation U can return priority to normal .

I think theoretically exists risk of total windows hang on so I save file before setting to

Real-time priority .

Working now in this mode for an hour looks OK .

 

 

Iskander teh dirty trick

[Bullines]

Windows XP, or any version of Windows for that matter, isn't an RTOS (realtime operating system). Setting a process' priority to realtime will likely make that process unstable. Should Mastercam be supported on QNX or whatever in the future (not likely) then you can run Mastercam in realtime. High priority is as good as it'll get.

[mayday]

quote:

---

Anyone else tried it ?

---

the result of running at unstable speeds

 

 

[Fig sign]

I am thinking that for the long time toolpath calculation setting MC process priority at least to high is not a bad idea

What can happen except the crash that can happen anyway ?!?

I tried it today 5 times 2 with high priority

and 3 times with real-time priority and it worked nicely a/^nd much faster 2.

Just try it ,Mayday !

Don`t be afraid of it and U will C Urself !

 

Iskander teh hAcK Ur oWn Pc

[camguy]

Iskander, I just tried processing a toolpath with settings at normal, high priority, and real time and time was identical for all 3 settings. Running win2KPro, P4 2.2 1 gig ram. Any idea why there is no change ? ( running a finish scallop toolpath, tolerance .0001, .001 step over )

[Bullines]

Try setting any other running processes that don't require as much CPU time to "BelowNormal" or "Low". And remember, "Realtime" will make processes unstable because Windows is not an RTOS. I repeat, Windows is not real time operating system and the x86 architecture (read: PC computers) is not one of the better types of machines for realtime computing. If you set Mastercam's process to realtime and it mysteriously shuts itself down without any warning and you forgot to save the file you were working on, don't come cryin'

[Fig sign]

Camguy !

I may be wrong and U are right ,and it is computer dependent .

In my case when I test it on very difficult tasks

I tested it on surface-contour toolpath 650 surfaces + check boundary 300 entities contour

step 0.05 mm tool ball end mill 0.7 mm flats- on shallow -on (add toolpathes to shallow areas ),optimize on,minimize tool burial ,

filtering on (total tolerance 0.001),

surfaces are forming sorta teeth form wich is makes a lot of time to calculate .

Computer Plentium 4 2400 1 gig ram windows 2000pro Mastercam 9.1 sp2

Calculation time regular settings 55min

Real -time settings - calculation time aprox35 min .

One of the explanations - setting MC to the real time mode leaves over board all that Novell **** ,Norton antivirus client ,all the demons like scheduler and so on overboard ,Mastercam catchs resources and will not release them till the calculation end and it will boost the process

 

Iskander teh just never mind

[Fig sign]

quote:

---

and it mysteriously shuts itself down without any warning and you forgot to save the file you were working on, don't come cryin'

---

+100 to Bullines

And at your own risk !

But it is not so dangerous as it looks .

Windows is not Unix but also not win3.11 that was click and prey

I will continue to try it on resource-demanding tasks and will get more statistic data .

If looks like dirty trick cause my purpose was to give as much resources to Mastercam as possible and I got what I wanted .

The windows ,mouse and other programs stop reacting ansd it looks like you have hang-on.

Let it not scare nobody !!!

At the end of calculation U will return to the normal state .

U can downrate it to the normal priority now.

The real real-time process (TSR program )doesn`t behave like this.

It is written to share resources .

The bad TSR programm behaves like MC in my case

No need to do it when U have enough resources .

And save is the must before this .

 

Iskander teh vicious

 

[ 01-07-2004, 01:12 PM: Message edited by: Iskander teh ]

[Fig sign]

quote:

---

Iskander, I just tried processing a toolpath with settings at normal, high priority, and real time and time was identical for all 3 settings. Running win2KPro, P4 2.2 1 gig ram. Any idea why there is no change ? ( running a finish scallop toolpath, tolerance .0001, .001 step over )

---

If you have enough resources you will not gain

speed boost at all.

I did it from frustration ,desolation and as a last resort .

IMHO Surface-contour starting from ver9.1 when Undercut milling was added is now one of the slowest toolpathes for calculation

I may be wrong but this is one of my favorite toolpathes and I use it much and sometimes the calculation time is killing me !

So please understand me right - it is not from

stupidity or obsessive freakness, it is a try to boost productivity .

 

Iskander teh

[Bullines]

quote:

---

Windows is not Unix but also not win3.11 that was click and prey

---

Some Unix's are decent at realtime processing, but even those aren't the best The moment you force the CPU to devote almost all of its time to one process, other processes will suffer, including those that keep the OS running. Now dedicated realtime systems, that's a different story...

[Fig sign]

The update :

Setting priority even to high can cause problems with files,transfered through

RS-232 interface .

 

 

Iskander teh dared 2 much .