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Some help with MC for SW2017


Radical1
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I am fairly new to using MCFSW, I was trying out a program today and had problems with the chaining direction of a contour tool path. I built the solid from Z0 down with 2 extrusions. I get a toolpath but it is inside the contour instead of outside like I wanted, like I chained it in the wrong direction but I can't find a flip or reverse command. I chained the bottom of the contour but the toolpath keeps showing the highlighted chain at the top of the contour.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

post-32709-0-03594500-1474422478_thumb.jpg

MasterCAM Solidworks example.SLDPRT

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So if you're toolpathing the outside your chain should go clockwise for climb milling and opposite for inside.

As for sides and direction you'll see your geometry section of you're operation? click on that and a dialogue box opens showing your chains/points. If you right click on a chain it will give you a bunch of options.

 

Change side reverse. Start point Ect, ....

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I don't get any of those options, I used the edge of the solid to chain, not the geometry. The geo. is a solidworks sketch at Z0. I know I can chain the sketch and set my depth to absoulte Z-0.55 but I was trying figure out how to chain or reverse the chain to the correct direction of climb miling.

 

Richard

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Click on the 'geometry' branch of the operation and when the MCforSW Chain Manager comes up, on the second tab ("Chains") you can select any of the chains and once they're selected you can use the 5 buttons below the white space where the chains are listed to reverse direction, delete, analyze, etc.

The 1st button on the left will change the comp side of the operation

The 2nd one will delete the selected chain(s)

The 3rd one will analyze the selected chain(s)

The 4th button will reverse the selected chain(s).

The 5th one will let you name the selected chain

Edited by Pete Rimkus from CNC Software Inc.
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Click on the 'geometry' branch of the operation and when the MCforSW Chain Manager comes up, on the second tab ("Chains") you can select any of the chains and once they're selected you can use the 5 buttons below the white space where the chains are listed to reverse direction, delete, analyze, etc.

The 1st button on the left will change the comp side of the operation

The 2nd one will delete the selected chain(s)

The 3rd one will analyze the selected chain(s)

The 4th button will reverse the selected chain(s).

The 5th one will let you name the selected chain

Thanks a lot Pete, great help, I just didn't select the chain first. Solidworks is not giving me any tool tips when I hover but that may be a setting or something, I will check that later.

 

 

I opened this file up to see if I could help

but it's an education version file.. and my industrial version won't open it

Yea sorry gcode, I thought of that later on. I am teaching at a college so of course the file won't open with an industrial version.

 

Thanks for the help everyone, I have to figure out why when I select the chain at the bottom edge it finds the chain at Z0, almost like I was in 2D mode when I chain.

 

I tried the toolpath again and now it chains at the bottom of the contour where I want it to, I think I got it figured out now.

 

Richard

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I opened this file up to see if I could help

but it's an education version file.. and my industrial version won't open it

That is one of the problems with the new educational institution licenses, getting help is almost impossible unless someone from CNC software or your re-seller can help you.

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That is one of the problems with the new educational institution licenses, getting help is almost impossible unless someone from CNC software or your re-seller can help you.

 

IIRC, an Industrial seat has never been able to open an .edu part

 

:headscratch:

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IIRC, an Industrial seat has never been able to open an .edu part

 

:headscratch:

This is not a home learning edition. In X8 and previous editions of Mastercam universities, colleges etc the file saving extension was the same as industrial users, starting X9 the file saving extension is .emcx. I am not sure of the file extensions for Solidworks with Mastercam.

 

Richard the OP is an instructor at a local college.

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This is not a home learning edition. In X8 and previous editions of Mastercam universities, colleges etc the file saving extension was the same as industrial users, starting X9 the file saving extension is .emcx. I am not sure of the file extensions for Solidworks with Mastercam.

 

 

It was quite the confusion with the new save extensions at the college when X9 came out, the students could open on the HLE version at home but that was it. I guess it's better than nothing when it comes to practice and assignments. With X8 and before they always had to change the default file extensions in the open file menu, now they don't have to.

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You can potentially mix-and-match ... you could potentially run an Industrial seat of MCforSW inside an Educational seat of SW - or vice versa ... two completely separate licenses.

 

The part that was posted with this thread was saved with an Educational version of SolidWorks ... and with an Educational seat of MCforSW.

 

And either way, the file extension will be either SLDPRT or SLDASM, because the MC data gets saved inside the SW document.

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