On FANUC find the line you want to start on and add a search able character. Could be a comment, n number or even z depth or spindle speed. Single block thru the beginning of the tool path thru the g43 line. Now you can switch to edit and search your comment, or if in the manual guide i. hit n search to go to the n number you added. It will proceed to correctly. If you feed isn't modal or not called out every time you should type it in in mdi before all this. If you don't start in single block it will look ahead and after you search and go back to memory it it will jump back to the top and not work. I do this on the matsuura fanuc controls and regular fanuc controls. Works on tilting work plane too.

Just so you know, in 2017 or later you can use the tt_count$ variable or times_used = opinfo(52, 0).

Hi Roger, Sorry I missed this when you originally posted it. I'll see if I can find some time tonight or this weekend to throw down some sample paths. The quick answer to your question is this: you need to keep the stepover small! It is the feedrate that you need to kick up! Those samples in the HSM database could really benefit from some "setup" info, but your dovetail jaws should be plenty strong for holding purposes. I would just recommend that you leave enough of a "floor" to make sure the setup stays rigid as you remove material. What do I mean by "floor"? As you machine the part out, there will be material that is left underneath the part, that is still being gripped by the jaws, and is still supporting the part. My general rule is a 10:1 ratio between "floor thickness" and "span" between the jaws. So, for every "1 inch of span" across the jaws, leave yourself ".100 of floor" below the part. Now, I've violated this guideline plenty of times, as the situation dictated, but I typically paid the price in the form of chatter. This then necessitates slowing down the paths, and the price you pay is lower productivity. For prototype or small lot sizes, the time is negligible. For larger runs, I will typically leave that "10:1" floor, and do all my heavy roughing, and semi-finishing. Then I'll relax the part, re-clamp, and add some additional "roughing" paths to reduce the floor thickness. Typically I'll use a High-Feed style cutter for this, because it directs the cutting forces up into the spindle, and (relatively speaking) has a lower cutting pressure on the part itself. For 1018 Steel, I'd recommend a 12% Radial Stepover value. There is no need to "maximize" the radial stepover value. I prefer to keep my stepover values conservative, and simply increase the Feed when I feel like there is more performance to be had. When we create a HEM path, Mastercam still has to vary the cutting width just a little bit. (Their algorithm is good, not perfect!) So, as the cutter is engaged, going around the contour being created during roughing, the tool is not only entering/exiting the material, but you'll notice that the tool will engage "more material radially", as it goes around external corners in the path. For this reason, I tend to stick with conservative radial values, to ensure that I don't overload the cutter and get catastrophic tool failure. For your particular setup, I'd start with the following: 1018 Steel = 600 SFM Tool = .500-DIA, 1.625-LOC, 4.0-OAL, 4-FLT (Helical HSV-M-40500, EDP: 30542) Note: there is a 2nd EDP #, which includes a Weldon Shank Notch: 30542-W With that tool, it makes a difference how deep you are cutting as well. Our max depth is 300% of the diameter. (1.500 DOC) All numbers use 4576 RPM (597.6 SFM) With 0.750 DOC With 1.000 DOC With 1.500 DOC Fz=.0045 (81.83 ipm) Fz=.0034 (61.37 ipm) Fz=.0022 (40.92 ipm)

For a prototypes I typically try to keep the number of ops down to a minimum, lots of changes and whatnot make for a cumbersome file to navigate if you let the number of ops balloon. When it comes to a long run job I don't care how many ops it takes, because sometimes you just have to split things up to eliminate a few extra retract or clearance moves which end up costing time. As for dirty ops. I find it interesting that sometimes you open a file and a few random ops are dirty that weren't when you saved it. I haven't had much problem with them just nuking themselves. Thankfully if they do get nuked, say when I decide to nuke a file say because ref points are working (every frickin' project at least once before it's done) it doesn't take but a few minutes to regen. Though I typically avoid stock models like the plague past my stock prep op, as one of the tools I always use will nuke the file guaranteed.

I think we should have the ability to put a safety lock over certain buttons. Kerbal Space Program lets you lock the staging button so you don't accidentally drop your main engine and most of your fuel while trying to maneuver.

Just so you know... Mastercam is not programmed in Visual basic.