Improving Solids

[Müřlıń®]

I think Mastercam Solids are great. You can do just about anything with them that you can with the "other guys" solids.

 

However if you could improve on just one thing, what would it be? I'll start.

 

When filleting fails, how about getting bumped back to the parameter window so you can change things and not have to re-pick your edges.

 

Anyone else?

 

Murlin

[SledGeek]

Mandatory training that comes with it and you can't turn it on until you complete the training.Then play with it and pay for next training. That way, your company can't buy it and management won't send ya to classes cause there's "no time".

 

 

Oh yeah , did i mention he sent himself to surfacing class to become more familiar......but, oops , forgot it all cause he never uses it!

 

Why does this side of the front office always have to suffer the fools ?

 

Sorry Murlin, this just struck a chord.......

[Scott Bond]

quote:

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When filleting fails, how about getting bumped back to the parameter window so you can change things and not have to re-pick your edges.

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I back up a little and use last.

 

Can we move Solids under the create menu, I still look for it there when i create a solid.

 

Solid seperate everything you can see on one level,,and everything left in the shadow on another.

 

 

Next

 

[ 01-22-2004, 08:25 PM: Message edited by: Scott Bond ]

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

quote:

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...Can we move Solids under the create menu...

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Where it belongs!!!! That's what happens when you let marketing guys drive the boat instead of programmers.

 

It belongs under create because you create a solid, you don't Solid.

 

JMNSHO

[iowajim62]

Hello all,

 

I would like to have Groups in the Solids Manager just like in the Operations Manager. Just easier to work with I think.

 

For example;

Solid File of Horizontal Pallet

Solid File of Fixture

Solid File of Fixture Risers

Solid File of Clamps

Solid File of Part or Parts

 

Now merge all these files into 1 file and try to track down that 4" Dia Steel Fixture Riser of which there are 8. With Groups I could drag and drop Solid Entities into Groups and manage them much more easily.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Now, what I would improve is Database efficiency when you have multiple complex solids in a file.

 

I have a file. It's a tombstone, with 32ea. 1/2-13 Key Inserts, 32ea. 5/16-18 Key Inserts, 16ea. 3/8 ID Bushings, 16ea. 3/8 Shouder Screws, 16 ea. 3/8 ID washers, 32ea. 1/2-13 Socket Head Capscrews, 32ea. 8-32 Socket Head Capscrews, 64ea. 1/2-13 Socket Head Capscrews, 16 Parts, 16 fixture plates and boy that file is a dog. Very slow rotation even when not shaded. It's about a 27.5MB file. It zips to 4.7MB, and the Parasolid File is 11.3 MB. The surface model is much more managable.

 

Everythign else is pretty good.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Ya know Jim. That's a pretty good idea. I was just thinking that very same thing yesterday as I was modeling the beast I spoke of above. I do label all the solids so it's a bit easier to track but Groups in the Solids Manager would be the smokin' deal!

[Müřlıń®]

quote:

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I back up a little and use last.

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Yes but I want it to go right back to the parm window

 

Ok... so its just another couple clicks.....ouch my carpel tunnel.....

 

quote:

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Solid seperate everything you can see on one level,,and everything left in the shadow on another

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+1

 

Like all solid chains in a particular solid body automaticlly going to their own level.(we have 255 to use)

 

Going back and making changes to the base chains would be alot easier if in the Solid manager you had a button that would take you back to the level that those chains are on.

 

I know you could make a VB program to do all this, but some of us are VB retarded.....

 

 

Midnight....I hear ya....perhaps if when your company purchased Mastercam, it would come with a free student copy that would allow you guys to take it home and mess with it....something that wouldn't require a HASP...

 

 

Murlin

[crazy^millman]

I also think the solids is a create function and yeah it is all a marketing thing there. I use it alot and it is a great tool.

 

I am with you Murin on the level deal. I have to create all my solids on different levels from the get or It really gets me all screwed up. I have 2 modles right now that one is at 79 mb and the other is at 56 mb and that is just the solids I have no toolpaths or anything yet. They will be full %th axsi flowine cuts on the Majority of the outside and the parts at 26 x 22 x 17 so alot of freaking work there.

 

Crazy Millman

[TheePres]

Murlin,

When having to select multiple faces to fillet, I have used this trick to avoid having to reselect.

Input a ridiculously low value that would have to be accepted, such as .005 rad or so. then you can bump it up gradually till error occurs

[robk]

Better color management. To be able to change the color of a part of the solid and not the whole solid. Also expand the find features option to maybe include closed loops.

[Müřlıń®]

quote:

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then you can bump it up gradually till error occurs

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Still uses 2 or 3 more mouse clicks though to get back to the param's window. When you have to do it multiple times in a row in order to get a working fillet, thats alot of mouse clicks.

 

Less clicks is where I was headed with this, and less is a good thing IMHO

 

But I'm not knocking your trick though, I use it too....

 

+1 to you and +1 to Robk on color.....

I have always wanted to unlock the power of color on Solids

 

Murlin

 

[ 01-23-2004, 08:24 AM: Message edited by: Murlin ]

[TREV]

good topic,

i would have to say i agree with all the above.

 

quote:

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Input a ridiculously low value that would have to be accepted, such as .005 rad or so. then you can bump it up gradually till error occurs

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i started doing this also,it was a trick ive been doing in pro_e.

 

quote:

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It belongs under create because you create a solid, you don't Solid

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lol,

i could not agree more.

trevor

[mayday]

Create, Solid, extruded hole. give it the dia. X,Y location, depth, tip angle, thru or blind, chamfer one side/both (on thru hole)

would save a lot of 2d circles creation and extrude routines, auto extrude direction into the solid. I have yet to see a hole extrude out of a solid

[Surface]

I get tired doing the math when creating a simple countersunk hole. I would also like it if there were an option to create the drill-tip of a drilled hole.

[robk]

quote:

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I would also like it if there were an option to create the drill-tip of a drilled hole.

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+1000

[P_Scott]

Surface and robk,

 

You can do the drill tip of a drilled hole in solid. It actually is a Solid-Chamfer technique where you chamfer the bottom face and select the included drill tip angle/2 as the angle for the chamfer. The distance is the radius of the edge at the bottom of the hole. I hope that makes sense. E-mail me if you would like more details. HTH

 

robk,

 

+1 on Find Features including closed chains.

 

I would also like to see some more support of history trees from imported files such as Solidworks. I like the fact of merely changing a parameter to modify a fillet or hole size or pocket depth or...

 

[ 01-23-2004, 11:07 AM: Message edited by: Peter Scott ]

[Diablo God]

I am on v8.1 solids still so if these are fixed please correct me.

 

1. Is why do I have to buy a seat of solid for every seat, we have one solid seat, and the other 2 computers are non 3d machines and non solid machines.

 

Which is frustrating, since if I create a solid, and they need to move it they cant. I feel you should be able to move the solid and rotate the solid. But not modify the solid on a non solid seat.

 

2. 3d surfacing is annoying on it. If I write 3d on a few solids, and have one solid blanked when I regenerate the tool path. It will forget the solid that is blanked. I find that a bit frustrating.

 

3. Regeneration, Change a pocket shape and you always have to rechain geo, it will not try to find its path like toolpathing does.

 

4. Errors I get sometimes in complex shapes can be annoying, since it gives a very small description of what is happening wrong. Making completing the solid a hard task

 

5. Filleting needs work imho. I find it says i can not fillet something very often, yet I can sweep it in no problem.

[Müřlıń®]

quote:

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Which is frustrating, since if I create a solid, and they need to move it they cant. I feel you should be able to move the solid and rotate the solid. But not modify the solid on a non solid seat.

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Convert it to surfaces then move it.

 

Filliting is very complex on ANY Solid modeler.

It takes alot of experience to do this on complex models.

 

This is why I always do everything I can in Solids and then finish up the filleting in Surfaces.

 

If you still need a solid format to be used for extractions ect, All you need to do is stitch them back together and make a parasolid out of it.

 

quote:

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3. Regeneration, Change a pocket shape and you always have to rechain geo, it will not try to find its path like toolpathing does.

 

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+1 this would be a good feature if it were done automaticlly...

 

 

Murlin

[Diablo God]

Is stiching a V9 function or chook ?

 

Or is it something we can in V8

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

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Is stiching a V9 function or chook ?

 

Or is it something we can in V8

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It's in V9. V8 will not do it - period!

[Müřlıń®]

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It's in V9. V8 will not do it - period!

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oops...my bad sorry James is right

 

 

Murlin

[P_Scott]

Murlin,

 

quote:

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Filliting is very complex on ANY Solid modeler.

It takes alot of experience to do this on complex models.

 

This is why I always do everything I can in Solids and then finish up the filleting in Surfaces.

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Filleting solid Edges, Faces, or the whole solid is always easier to do with solid models than surfaces. You don't have to "check normals" for one thing. Try selecting one edge on a solid and checking the "Propagate along tangencies" switch. This will carry the constant radius of the fillet through all radius edges it finds connected to the first edge you selected. That's a great, easy function for putting a break edge fillet around the top of a pocket with radius walls in the corners.

 

Madbub,

 

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I am on v8.1 solids still so if these are fixed please correct me.

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Many of the issues you've stated are fixed in V9 or even V8.1.1 I would see that you at least have the latest release for your version of Mastercam. I Xform-Stretch the wireframe geometry that a solid part was generated from and regularly regenerate the solid part to the stretched size. I do this as part of my solids demo in class and have no problems with it. There are too many advantages with solid parts to get into with this one reply. Check into it. I bet you'll find you can improve on your 2-D programming time with solids. HTH

 

[ 01-23-2004, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: Peter Scott ]

[Müřlıń®]

quote:

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Filleting solid Edges, Faces, or the whole solid is always easier to do with solid models than surfaces

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I will agree 100% whole heartedly that Solid filleting is by far, easier, than Surface filleting.

 

However I could send you files right now that are impossible to fillet in Mastercams Solids.

As much as I like them, they are not as powerful as I would like them to be.

 

So, speaking strictly from a Mastercam perspective, if you are going to need a Solid format, you will have to do some stitching.

 

 

Murlin

[Roger Peterson]

hole wizard