Translate and gnome - What am I missing?

[dmaier]

When I translate an entity I do not understand the logic with the gnome. On the screen I see the green arrow for "Y" pointing straight up on both the lower left hand corner gnome and the temporary gnome by the entity I am looking to move. Why is it that if I drag the green "Y" arrow up it will move my entity up and down like I want to do but if I type the distance in the Delta box it moves in a different direction. I am only a few months in using Mastercam and have taken some online training courses but either missed the logic of this feature or I did not understand it correctly when it was explained. Can someone please shed some light on what I am not doing correctly to prevent guessing which "X,Y,Z" box I need to type in to move my entity the right direction. Are the red blue green colors of the arrow not linked to X,Y,and Z?

[crazy^millman]

The issue is planes. They are relative to your active C-plane that may or may not be your active WCS. The C-Plane in Mastercam is nothing like any other CAD or CAM package I am aware of. Most only use one coordinate system for doing all work. Mastercam has 3 of them. This creates all kind of confusion for a new person using the software. It is hard enough keeping tack of one, but Mastercam will have you keep track of 3. You need to make sure you are using the right one, but I see you are in lathe and not sure why you would be using the Y axis in lathe unless you are doing Mill/Turn work. I see C-plane and T-plane along with WCS all say the same thing, but how are they established? Where is the coordinate system setup? I normally move all model for Lathe and MT to World Zero. 

Put a sample file up that you can share and maybe Jay can make a Video helping you see how to use them better.

[crazy^millman]

Side note I have never used a different T-plane to C-plane. How many every have?

[dmaier]

The part will be ran in separate mill and lathe machines. I created the plane "Lathe" because the default planes that came in with my machine group were not in the location I desired. The created plane is based off the stock geometry I have drawn and clearance of the part. I removed the original solid geometry and replaced it with a generic solid in the same plane the original solid was imported in. I hope this doesn't create an issue. I also am aware that the geometry for the tool I am creating is not oriented correctly but I left it as is from my first screen shot.

sample.ZIP

[nickbe10]

1 hour ago, C^Millman said:

Side note I have never used a different T-plane to C-plane. How many every have?

I have used different C and T planes for Blend toolpaths on undercut surfaces. Toolpane from above the surface  on the tool axis and C plane to project the Blend curves onto the surface from the side. Worked a treat in the right circumsatance. I think I have used it 3 times in 13 yrs.