Going to see if I can talk the boss into those Saunders Machine plates. $4800 for the three machines, bolt them on, modify the vises and done. After sleeping on it, I really don't want to bore holes in the tables.

Since the spindle is cantilevered out so far, if the front of the column gets warmer than the back, or asymmetric heating of certain other members takes palce, it will arch and lift the tool much more than the linear thermal expansion rate. This problem plagues the whole UMC line, in combination with poorly done thermal comp software. To fix it with thermal comp, they would have to add a bunch more thermocouples in several locations, and have a much more complicated compensation model. What I've heard works best on these machines is to turn off the thermal comp, and take every measure you can to keep the temperature of the machine constant within a very small window. For comparison, I get less than .001" Z change over 20°F on my CM-1's.

Maybe try running VS not in admin mode? I remember having some weird errors with admin mode a while back so I turned it off and haven't had an issue since. As a work around you can disable the post build - right click on the project in VS > Properties > Post-Build Event > Build Events > Use In Build < turn this off and the error should go away. The post Post Build bat file just copies the dll from where it's created (with the solution) to the Mastercam Add-Ins folder

Yes, but the duct tape, bailing wire and chewing gum holding those UMC-750's together is highly susceptible to thermal expansion and compression.

I ran an extended Z VF-8 on a critical boring part in the winter. I did tests on the casting temps, coolant tank temps, shop temps. The biggest deviation I saw was .002 when we turned off the heater at night.

The most common reason that error is thrown is because you have Mastercam open. When you build a project, if you have Mastercam open VS can't access the folder to copy the dll file into

Been using Jergens Ball-Lock system for 20+ years. I've bought their subplates, made my own but most recently had Saunders make me a custom plate with their grid + a pattern of Jergens ball locks. Very happy with it.

We've had really good experience with Lang. You can put the studs on almost anything and haven't run into any problems with repeatability between set-up swaps. https://lang-technovation.com/en

It looks like you downloaded the Create Letters sample from my.mastercam.com. I downloaded this file and everything linked up fine for me. So the file should automatically find the sdk. If you want to double check, the path to the sdk is in Property Sheets > MastercamSDK.props > <SDKDir>. Looking at the header files VS can't find, it looks like you might not have MFC installed. To install MFC 1. Open "Visual Studio Installer" 2. on whichever version of VS you're using click "Modify" 3. Ensure "Desktop development with C++" is checked 4. in the sidebar go to "Desktop development with C++" > Optional > and ensure "C++ MFC for latest v143 build tools" is checked 5. if it is not checked, check it and click "Modify" in the bottom right

Visual Studio cannot locate the specified header files. Have you successfully run other chooks before? Do you have the 2023 sdk installed? Is there any other errors before or after all the E1696 errors?

Hey Rusty, Siemens 840d user here, although all the machines I currently work on are single channel. I did a little searching and found this video, which fully describes program structure, how the code should look, and a little bit about how the CAM system should output. TL:DR you need a couple of different programs. First is a .JOB which will contain a CYCLE208 and the master program names for each channel. Next will be the master program with the synch codes (which should look like this, WAITM(1,1,2)) and other relevant data. Last will be the .spf programs, which should contain all the cutting data. This is fairly similar to my preferred output method of programs, even on single channel machines. However, CAM software wasn't quiet able to get me all the way there with posting out. I ended up making a python script to handle building of the master program, which works pretty well. Feel free to DM me if you want to see how that works. A couple of notes, it looks like there is a pass option in the WAIT for individual channels. This should allow single channel operation, but without a machine to test it on I can't confirm. This YouTube channel has a lot of really good information on the 840d control, I would highly recommend watching to figure out some of the more powerful options on the Siemens control. Also, there is a machine simulator for the 840d called Sinutrain, this allows some basic simulation on your computer. Really helps when trying to diagnose problems like this with complex cycles, or macro programming.

CBN Tools would also be good, but are best for finishing. They are prone to chipping. I've seen good production processes with CBN, where two tools are used, and the finisher gets swapped out to become the roughing tool, once it is worn. https://us.ns-tool.com/en/products/product_information/cbn/

Nothing says "easy to machine" quite like putting a tool to Silicon Carbide. Try 6 C. https://6c-tools.ch/en/produkte/

wet cardboard is the deluxe upgrade

I think it is wet carboard.....

you mean 85 degrees not 850 degrees ?