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Showing content with the highest reputation since 03/29/2023 in all areas

  1. We build a bulkhead for a business Jet. It's flat on one side with pockets on the other. In the past, we have scraped many out of TOL. from warpage. Recently, I re-programmed this part with success and little distortion. Constellium, our material supplier was impressed with the part and asked to purchase one of these to take to the show. Of course, we requested permission from the OEM. They did grant permission as well as instructions to modify the part and rivet a name plate. This was displayed in there area of the Paris Air Show 2023. I am proud of this work. Thanks for reading, Steve Austin
    21 points
  2. Take a look at this and see if it'll work better for you. I didn't have much time here between meetings with customers, but I slapped a Unified > Morph on it (Guides would give you approximately the same results). I turned on Smooth corners (so it doesn't do a 90° bend in the corners) and I also extended it. Also, I changed your linking to be a blend in small gaps, so it transitions nicely instead of "direct." The only other change is Op2 is the same as Op1, but I put on collision control for you so it won't gouge the blades.Sample - Unified.zip One other thing you can do is get fancy with trimming the "corners" to make the toolpath smoother, and then do a small toolpath in front of the impellers, something like this: I didn't have time to play that much and I didn't want to leave you hanging until this afternoon when I would have had a chance to do it.
    18 points
  3. Wanted to do an in depth explanation of this because it took me a long time to figure out when to use stepover vs scallop and why. Tool center and tool contact point are two different things. The toolpath lines we see in backplot are where the center of the tool will be. When surfacing around a radius and driving by stepover, the center of the tool must take larger steps to keep the stepover at the contact point consistent. In these pictures you can see when driving the toolpath based on the stepover, the stepover around the radius stays consistent at .099-.100, but the tool center stepover is much larger around .298. An unexpected consequence of using stepover is the scallops around a radius will be bigger or smaller than scallops left on flat surface. When using scallop to drive the toolpath, you tell Mastercam you care more about the height of the scallop than the stepover. This causes the stepover of the contact point to shrink around outside radii and grow around inside radii. Dropbox Link To File and Pictures (MC2023) Please correct me if there are any mistakes in this explanation. I think I have a solid understanding of this concept but there's always more to learn. Hope this helps!
    15 points
  4. and as I Have said at least 100's of times......don't... It uses copious amounts of system resources to visualize a thread. When I import tooling that has threads, the very first thing I do is get rid of the thread. File under, Just because you can doesn't mean you should. JM2C YMMV
    13 points
  5. Sorry G, Dylan called it.. Time to set up a drip feed for your dinosaurs Here you go, sir:
    12 points
  6. We've had some heavy rain recently and a giant sinkhole across the street ate a large power transformer. The power company has been working to repair it for a month, They were supposed to shut power down on the whole block last Saturday night for the final hookup, but got called out to an emergency and didn't get it done. This morning, they informed us that power would be shut down tonight at 1AM and would be off for 9 hours minimum. Obviously, the shop can't run tonight or tomorrow, but 1 phone call to CCC and they delivered 3 temporary Mastercam software licenses an hour later. My guys can work from home tomorrow, get a one day jump on the shop and not miss any time . Great service !!!
    12 points
  7. Shameless plug Ron week on CamInstructor. You can always call me. I liked working with you in the past and would be glad to help you when I have time.
    11 points
  8. Sorry about the delay, I just now got a chance to play with it. Here's a video showing how I did it: I feel like I should put a Like and Subscribe and a Patreon plug in there
    11 points
  9. You can easily start a fire which burns through the bottom of your machine, and continues burning through the concrete, until all the magnesium is consumed in the fire. Fire suppression is a good hedge against risk, but fire prevention is much more important. A Class "D" extinguisher may save the fire from spreading to your entire shop, but it may not save the machine. I worked at a shop which occasionally would build parts from large magnesium casting. These are machined on open-bed Deckel CNC machines (before the merger), and the orders were to "sweep up all the chips/swarf after each and every cut, and transfer the chips to the chip barrel outside, at the far end of the parking lot". Letting the magnesium chips build up and/or moving on to other operations/work before cleaning up the fire hazard, was a terminable offense. When I was young, I thought this was overkill. With the benefit of experience comes wisdom, and now I completely understand and agree with the need for these rules!
    10 points
  10. Yes very serious offer. How I feed my family and keep a roof over my head. i was in Oregon a couple weeks ago supporting a customer. I helped reduce a run time on a proven part from 5-1/2 hour to 2 hours. They are running 40 parts a month for the next 3 years. They have gained 5 hours per part 2-1/2 per part savings and 2-1/2 hour to use on other parts. 40 hours of my time resulted in 2400 hours a year in savings for that customer. I am working on a mill/Turn part where i think we will see the same kind of savings. Two parts that saved a customer over 4000 hours proves I might know one or two things about manufacturing. Not perfect and not the best, but I have 35+ years experience so that does help. I have been to 46 states, 30 countries and 4 continents in my travels.
    10 points
  11. Tl;dr - Cut Pattern > Style to Guide instead of Parallel, or, Advanced Options for Surface Quality > Method > Exact instead of Approximate. ---------------------------- The reason for this is the collapse of the pattern due to your tool axis control. If you turn off collision control and set the Tool Axis Control back to "surface", here's what the "raw" Parallel toolpath looks like: When you turn on Tool Axis Control set to Fixed Angle to Axis (good call, BTW), it keeps all of these passes, but it's now trying to keep the same surface contact point with the new tool position. Since the toolpath is set to Center/Tip, it looks worse than it would if you could see the contact point, but that's still a really fine stepover for a fillet at the bottom. The changes I would make: Change the pattern type to (2) Guides instead of Parallel. That'll let the toolpath blend between the top and bottom better and you can benefit from Machining Geometry > Calculation Type > Tool-Center Mode (the default), where it's smart enough to calculate it based on the tool center. It gets rid of the gouging/fishtailing you have on the corner as well. When your fillet is almost the same size as the tool like it is in this case, I'd recommend tightening up the Cut Tolerance, maybe .0001 instead of the default .001? I'd also change your Collision Control to tilt to avoid the walls unless you have a specific reason to ask it to retract if it gets close to the wall? I think you'd prefer to have it tilt away. You probably don't need to use the second collision control.
    10 points
  12. Make sure everyone in the department uses the same posts. There's multiple ways to handle that and which way works best depends on your IT Infrastructure. Create a method for setup guys to put program change orders in.. amd when practical MAKE THE CHANGES. This way setup guys feel some ownership in the process and heads off the need for han-edits at the machine. Figure out each guy's strengths and weaknesses. If you can, 80% of the time give them projects that will challenge them and 20% of the time give them something they can crush. Work from common tool libraries and use common workholding whenever/wherever possible. Make sure you've got your holders in the tool library too. Reward excellence, not only programmers that put out quality programs, but that try new things AND SHARE with their peers. There's no room for the guys that keep stuff to themselves anymore. Those days are gone. We can't keep hurting ourselves because some guy's fragile ego can't handle competition. Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.
    10 points
  13. We have just posted our updated 2024 training material on our website. See this link to download https://www.inhousesolutions.com/resource/mastercam-2024-training-links/
    10 points
  14. Variable Offset Curve or Spline Here is a simple way to create a variable offset curve in Mastercam. Simply use the Free Tools for Mastercam from Verisurf. https://www.verisurf.com/verisurf-tools-for-mastercam Chain a curve or spline and set the number of points and edge offsets of the start and end, you will get a new variable offset curve to use for your design.
    10 points
  15. Yep, you guys are correct on the Machsim/Postability integrated version. There is a reason for the confusion, as confusing as that is! MachSim (by MolduleWorks) has its own post processor (it has to, or else it couldn't figure out how to interpret moves from the CAM system). It's called MultiXPost (https://www.moduleworks.com/software-components/utilities/ppframework/) When you launch "Normal" Machine sim, it's using the MultiXPost to generate moves. As long as it "guesses" the same movements that your Mastercam post will make, you're good to go! If it doesn't guess correctly, though, you can be in for a surprise. An example would be that you're on a B/C machine, and MultiXPost guesses that your toolpath needs B90 C0, but, when you post out of Mastercam, it goes to B-90, C180. Both are valid solutions, but one could cause a problem and one could be fine. What the "add on" allows you to do is to swap out the MW Post Processor for the same MP post processor you'll use in Mastercam to generate the NC, so that the moves that are fed into MachSim are ran through the same engine that will write the code. That means, the X/Y/Z/A/B/C moves are calculated the same as they will be on your machine. You should always see the same B-90 C180 in both (to use my above example). The downside is that it's not simulating M codes, etc. If you have an m-code on your machine that causes the C axis to reset the counter or something, it won't see it. Probing? Won't see it. Tool changes? You guessed it. HPCC causing weird motion? You're not going to see it. You're only seeing what the toolpaths generate. The upside is that because it's not as complete (i.e., requiring a control model to simulate the control state) of a solution, it's a LOT cheaper, and because it's integrated, it's quite fast to check setups and motion. Your Mastercam reseller can give you a final price, but I believe for a "normal" 5 axis machine, it's somewhere in the $3-5k range. What I often tell people about a 5 axis toolpath: Backplot? 50% confidence that it'll run without crashing into something MachSim? 75% confidence MachSim w/ Post Integration: 95% To get to 100% confidence, you really need Vericut/NCSimul/CAMPlete/etc.
    9 points
  16. A good understanding https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-5-Axis-Machining-Karlo-Apro/dp/0831133759
    9 points
  17. I know this post is a little old but I'm bored today and can't help but add my $.02. We inspect on the machines all of the time and our machine results (Makino) match the CMMs to .0002" typically. We do this for process control because we might be running 5-10 identical parts overnight and if the second part is bad we will end up with 4-9 bad parts in the morning. If a part checks out of spec it will alarm the machine and text our production manager along with the rest of the brass. The raw material on these can be from $200-$1000 per part so it gets costly quickly. We also have the measured results stored in a macro variable that gets exported to a database via MT Connect so we can see trends pretty easily and monitor the process remotely. I know the goal is to have spindles produce chips but we want them to also be producing chips while making GOOD PARTS, not scrap. Having the machine self-check also reduces the operator skill level because they don't have to know how to use a bore mic or other tools that require some skill to use well. We typically inspect features requiring tolerances tighter than +/-0.001", because we can see that much drift over night if we are making several of the same part, depending on material. We also have automatic tool comping in certain instances. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the span and WIP between machining and inspection but this isn't always practical and we might have 8-10 parts that have been machined but not inspected. Surprises can really suck when this happens and in-machine inspection can reduce this dramatically. Like was said earlier in this thread, the efficiency of a shop is a result of the process as a whole, not just the capability of one department. Machining 10 parts and ending up with 10 good parts is worth a lot, even if it is a little slower.
    9 points
  18. This is like saying you "just want to load up the pallet pool with material, and take a nap". Can it be done, absolutely! But there is no getting around all the investment in time and labor required to get to the point where you can just "print money". There is no cheap/free lunch in manufacturing. Metal Powder is expensive. So is the engineering required to get from idea to printed part, let alone all the way through "finished and delivered part to the customer". What competitive advantage can you apply, consistently, to make the 3D Printing process profitable in metal or plastic? I have yet to see a "job shop" enter the world of 3D printing (especially metal), and be instantaneously successful. You've got to find customers who are willing to pay for a technology to produce parts which "can't be made through traditional manufacturing technologies" (think engineered geometry like 'ntopology'), where the goal is to create periodic repeating geometric structures, for either "light weighting" purposes (lattice or generative design), or to find more efficient methods of heat transfer (like gyroid or diamond TMPS - triply periodic minimal surface). Most of the 3D Printed Metal Parts I've seen still require some sort of post-process step. Heat Treating or hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatments help change the density and porosity characteristics of the part. Many 3D printed metal parts still require traditional post-process machining steps (flanges, O-ring grooves, bores, seals, ports, etc.) to make a finished component, ready to be installed on a product or assembly. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome are the materials and testing standards, and inspection processes, to qualify parts for any process which is safety critical. Phillips has sold additive machines since 2000, and distributes for Markforged, EOS, and AML3D. We also build our own Phillips Hybrid machine, by integrating Meltio DED Print Heads onto Haas machines. These print heads feed a commercial welding wire down through the center of the nozzle, and hit the wire with 6 lasers (1,200 watts, 200 each) to form the melt pool. Our machines are an affordable entry point for additive, both new build and component repair processes, but you still need to make the business case for parts to be printed (to make the raw pre-form), and then finished machined. We also sell a standalone Meltio M450 machine, which only prints, but this way you and have one machine printing, while the CNC just handles the machining duties. If you'd like to talk one-on-one, I can share more information and details which I wouldn't want to publicly disclose. For example, Phillips is building and running the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence for the US Navy, in Danville VA, for 3D printing additive parts for the Columbia-class Submarine. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fastechengineering_usnavy-dod-usmanufacturing-activity-7118217521836486658-mO7H?
    9 points
  19. Hello Mastercam Community. I shared this when I originally developed this back in 2007. I keep getting requests about it so I thought I would share it again. There were many people who helped me back then to make it what it is so I cannot take al the credit for it. Robert Brunsen (Zoober) had a big hand in this. Please use at your own risk. <!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!> <!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!> Make a Backup of your Post before attempting any of this <!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!> <!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!><!> I defined all the variables I wanted to use in the drilling section of the post right before the custom drill cycles: # --------------------------------------------------------------------- # Macro Variables as I need them # --------------------------------------------------------------------- sequal : "=" #Equal Sign spound : "#" #Pound Sign sminus : "-" #Minus Sign sadd : "+" #Addition Sign sdivide : "/" #Division Sign smultiply : "*" #Multiply Sign seq : "EQ" #Equal Call sne : "NE" #Not Equal To Call sgt : "GT" #Greater Than to Call slt : "LT" #Less Than Call sge : "GE" #Is Great than or Equal to Call sle : "LE" #Is Less than or Equal to Call sin : "SIN" #Sine Math scos : "COS" #Cosine Math stan : "TAN" #Tangent Math satan : "ATAN" #ArcTangent Math sacos : "ACOS" #ArcCosine Math sqrt : "SQRT" #Sqaure Root Math sabs : "ABS" #Absoulte Value sbin : "BIN" #Bin sbcd : "BCD" #Bcd sround : "ROUND" #Round to the Nearest Whole Number sfix : "FIX" #Use for Cutting away any Decimal Numbers sfup : "FUP" #Counting Decimal Digits as one's sln : "LN" #Natural Logarithm sexp : "EXP" #Exponent sbracketopen : "[" #Open Bracket sbracketclose : "]" #Close Bracket sif : "IF" #If Call sgoto : "GOTO" #Goto Call swhile : "WHILE" #While Call sdo : "DO" #Do Call sor : "OR" #Or Call sand : "AND" #And Call smod : "MOD" #Surplus Math sdprint : "DPRNT" #Data Output in from Probing Cycles sm100 : "100" #Macro Varaible 100 for Spindle Tranfer Operation sm150 : "150" #Macro Variable 150 for Math Functions in C Axis Aling Macro sm151 : "151" #Macro Variable 151 for Math Functions in C Axis Aling Macro sm152 : "152" #Macro Variable 152 Math Functions in C Axis Aling Macro sm5021 : "5021" #Machine Postion X Axis Variable sm5022 : "5022" #Machine Postion Y Axis Variable sm5023 : "5023" #Machine Postion Z Axis Variable sm5024 : "5024" #Machine Postion B Axis Variable sm5025 : "5025" #Machine Postion C Axis Varaible for Main Spindle sm5026 : "5026" #Machine Postion W Axis Varaible for Sub Spindle sm5027 : "5027" #Machine Postion U Axis Varaible for Sub Spindle sm5221 : "5221" #Workoffset Machine Postion X Axis Variable sm5222 : "5222" #Workoffset Machine Postion Y Axis Variable sm5223 : "5223" #Workoffset Machine Postion Z Axis Variable sm5224 : "5224" #Workoffset Machine Postion B Axis Variable sm5225 : "5225" #Workoffset Machine Postion C Axis Varaible for Main Spindle sm5226 : "5226" #Workoffset Machine Postion W Axis Varaible for Sub Spindle sm5227 : "5227" #Workoffset Machine Postion U Axis Varaible for Sub Spindle # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Probing String Varaibles Put here to keep post cleaner # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- strg659530 : "G65P9530" #Printing Macro Call for B90 strg659532 : "G65P9532" #Offset Update Macro for B90 strg659610 : "G65P9610" #Probe Protect Cycle for B90 strg659611 : "G65P9611" #XYZ Single Surface Measure B90 strg659612 : "G65P9612" #Web / Pocket Measure B90 strg659614 : "G65P9614" #Bore / Boss B90 strg659618 : "G65P9618" #C Axis Measure - Vertical B90 strg659619 : "G65P9619" #Bore / Boss on PCD B90 strg659621 : "G65P9621" #Angle Single Surface Measure B90 strg659622 : "G65P9622" #Angle Web / Pocket Measure B90 strg659623 : "G65P9623" #3-Point Bore / Boss Measure B90 strg659634 : "G65P9634" #Feature to Feature Measure B90 strg659650 : "G65P9650" #C-Axis Measure - Vertical B90 strg659730 : "G65P9730" #Printing Macro Call for B0 strg659732 : "G65P9732" #Offset Update Macro for B0 strg659810 : "G65P9810" #Probe Protect Cycle for B0 strg659811 : "G65P9811" #XYZ Single Surface Measure B0 strg659812 : "G65P9812" #Web / Pocket Measure B0 strg659814 : "G65P9814" #Bore / Boss B0 strg659818 : "G65P9818" #C Axis Measure - Horizontal B0 strg659819 : "G65P9819" #Bore / Boss on PCD B0 strg659821 : "G65P9821" #Angle Single Surface Measure B0 strg659822 : "G65P9822" #Angle Web / Pocket Measure B0 strg659823 : "G65P9823" #3-Point Bore / Boss Measure B0 strg659834 : "G65P9834" #Feature to Feature Measure B0 strg659850 : "G65P9850" #C-Axis Measure - Horizontal B0 zsinsurf : 0 #P9811 Z Axis Single Surface Use at B0,B90,B180 xsinsurf : 0 #P9811 X Axis Single Surface Use at B0,B90,B180 ysinsurf : 0 #P9811 Y Axis Single Surface Use At B0,B90,B180 drl_prm2$ : 0 drl_prm3$ : 0 drl_prm4$ : 0 # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Macro Force Start Amounts # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- m5225 : 5225 m5227 : 5227 # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Probe 90 deg Format Statements # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- fmt "X" 2 prorefht #B90 X clearence for Protect Cycle fmt "D" 2 diadwell #B90 P9614 Bore/Boss Measurement Dia call out fmt "Y" 2 cyspan #Used for Across Distance # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Probe 90 deg Varabiles # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- prorefht = refht$ #B90 X clearence for Protect Cycle diadwell = dwell$ #B90 P9614 Bore/Boss Measurement Dia call out cyspan = dwell$ #Used for Across Distance # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Probe 0 deg Format Statements # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- fmt "Z" 2 prnrefht #B0 X clearence for Protect Cycle fmt "D" 2 diedwell #B0 P9814 Bore/Boss Measurement # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Probe 0 deg Varabiles # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- prnrefht = refht$ #B0 Z clearence for Protect Cycle diedwell = dwell$ #B90 P9814 Bore/Boss Measurement Dia call out # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Probe Shared Index deg Format Statements # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- fmt "S" 4 offupdate #Used to Fixture Offsets fmt "H" 2 feattoler #Tolerance of Feature being Measured fmt "M" 2 trueposzone #True Position Tolerenance Zone fmt "B" 2 cangtoler #C axis Tolerance for C-Axis Align Cycle fmt "Q" 2 covertrav #C Axis Overtravel for Probe Amount fmt 2 drl_prm1$ #Tolerance Vaule for Repeat Loop in Post fmt "W" 4 drl_prm2$ #Print Variable for Increment or Reset fmt "N" 30 ngoto #GOTO statement Number to use in Header fmt 30 ngoto2 #GOTO statement Number to use in Probing Routine fmt 30 m5225 #Format for correct Number Values fmt 30 m5227 #Format for correct Number Values fmt "X" 2 xsinsurf #Single Surface for X fmt "Y" 2 ysinsurf #Single Surface for Y fmt "Z" 2 zsinsurf #Single Surface for Z # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Probe Shared Index deg Varabiles # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- offupdate = workofs$ #Used for Probing cycles to update workoffset fixed to used offset for operation. trueposzone = peck2$ #Used for the True Position amount cangtoler = peck1$ #Used for Angle Tolerance on C Axis Align Cycle covertrav = peck2$ #Used for Amount of Overtravel allowed for C Axis Align Cycle feattoler = peck1$ #Used for Tolerance of Feature being Measured ngoto = retr$ #Used for Goto Call in C Axis Align Macro in Header ngoto2 = retr$ #Used for Goto Call in C Axis Align Macro in Probing Routine zsinsurf = depth$ #P9811 Z Axis Single Surface Use at B0,B90,B180 xsinsurf = depth$ #P9811 X Axis Single Surface Use at B0,B90,B180 ysinsurf = depth$ #P9811 Y Axis Single Surface Use At B0,B90,B180 pdrlcst$ #Custom drill cycles 8 - 19 (user option) Then here is how I defined all the custom drill cycles with Logic to support B0, B90 and B180 probing. pdrlcst$ #Custom drill cycles 8 - 19 (user option) #Use this postblock to customize drilling cycles 8 - 19 if drillcyc$ = 8, #XYZ Single Surface Measure B0/B90/B180 [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ if drl_prm2$ <> 0 & drl_prm3$ = 0, #X Axis Single Surface Probing [ xsinsurf = (xabs + drl_prm2$) pbld, n$, *strg659810, *xsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659811, pfxout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *xsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if drl_prm3$ <> 0 & drl_prm2$ = 0, #Y Axis Single Surface Probing [ ysinsurf = (yabs + drl_prm3$) pbld, n$, *strg659810, *ysinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659811, pfyout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *ysinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if drl_prm2$ = 0 & drl_prm3$ = 0, #Z Axis Single Surface Probing [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659811, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] ] if babs = 90, #Single Surface B90 Probing with approach Logic using additonal Drill Parameters. [ if drl_prm4$ <> 0 & drl_prm3$ = 0, #Z Axis Single Surface Probing [ zsinsurf = (zabs + drl_prm2$) pbld, n$, *strg659610, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659611, pfxout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *xsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if drl_prm3$ <> 0 & drl_prm4$ = 0, #Y Axis Single Surface Probing [ ysinsurf = (yabs + drl_prm3$) pbld, n$, *strg659610, *ysinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659611, pfyout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *ysinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if drl_prm3$ = 0 & drl_prm4$ = 0, #X Axis Single Surface Probing [ pbld, n$, *strg659610, prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659611, pfxout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] ] if babs = 0, [ if drl_prm2$ <> 0 & drl_prm3$ = 0, #X Axis Single Surface Probing [ xsinsurf = (xabs + drl_prm2$) pbld, n$, *strg659810, *xsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659811, pfxout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *xsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if drl_prm3$ <> 0 & drl_prm2$ = 0, #Y Axis Single Surface Probing [ ysinsurf = (yabs + drl_prm3$) pbld, n$, *strg659810, *ysinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659811, pfyout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *zsinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *ysinsurf, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if drl_prm2$ = 0 & drl_prm3$ = 0, #Z Axis Single Surface Probing [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659811, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] ] pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 9, #Web/Pocket Measure B0/B90/B180 [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659612, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, *strg659610, prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659612, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659812, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 10, #Bore/Boss B0/B90/B180 [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659814, *diedwell, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659614, *diadwell, pfxout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659814, *diedwell, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 11, #C Axis Measure - Vertical B0/B90/B180 [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659818, *cyspan, pfxout, *offupdate,[if cangtoler > 0, *cangtoler], [if drl_prm2$ > 0, *drl_prm2$], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, *strg659610, prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659618, *cyspan, pfxout, *offupdate, [if cangtoler > 0, *cangtoler], [if drl_prm2$ > 0, *drl_prm2$], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659818, *cyspan, pfxout, *offupdate, [if cangtoler > 0, *cangtoler], [if drl_prm2$ > 0, *drl_prm2$], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] *sg00 ,*sg91, sg30_3, "X0", e$ *sg00, *sg90, [if workofs$ > 53, *g_wcs], [if workofs$ < 49 , "G54.1", *p_wcs],[if spindle_no$ = 0, "C20."],[if spindle_no$ = 1, "U20."],e$ *sg00, *sg90, [if spindle_no$ = 0, "C0"],[if spindle_no$ = 1, "U0"], e$ spaces$ = 0 sif,sbracketopen,spound,sm152,sgt,drl_prm1$,sbracketclose,sgoto,ngoto2, e$ spaces$ = 1 pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 12, #Bore/Boss on PCD B0/B90/B180 [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659819, diedwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, *strg659610, prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659619, diadwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659819, diedwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 13, [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659818, diedwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, *strg659610, prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659818, diadwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659818, diedwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peckclr$ > 0,*offupdate], [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] pdrlcst_2$ #Custom drill cycles 8 - 19 (user option) #Use this postblock to customize drilling cycles 8 - 19 if drillcyc$ = 8, [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659811, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, `strg659610, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659611, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659811, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 9, #Web/Pocket Measure B0/B90 [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659812, diadwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, `strg659610, `prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659612, diadwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659812, diedwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 10, #Bore/Boss B0/B90 [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, pyout, pxout, e$ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659814, *diadwell, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, *strg659610, pyout, pxout, e$ pbld, n$, `strg659610, `prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659614, *diadwell, pfxout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, *strg659810, pyout, pxout, e$ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, *strg659814, *diedwell, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 11, [ result = mprint(sperror), exitpost$ ] if drillcyc$ = 12, [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, "G65P9618", diadwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, `strg659610, `prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, "G65P9618", diadwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, "G65P9818", diedwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] if drillcyc$ = 13, [ pdrlcommonb if babs = 180, [ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, "G65P9618", diadwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] if babs = 90, [ pbld, n$, `strg659610, `prorefht, e$ pbld, n$, "G65P9618", diadwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659610, *prorefht, e$ ] if babs = 0, [ pbld, n$, `strg659810, `prnrefht, e$ pbld, n$, "G65P9818", diedwell, pfyout, pfzout, [if peck2$ > 0, *trueposzone], [if feattoler > 0, *feattoler], e$ pbld, n$, *strg659810, *prnrefht, e$ ] pcom_movea ] Here is how the text was defined to be used through the Mastercam Control Definition. This must be done through the Mastercam Control Definition not through just copying and pasting into a Post. This is extremely important since this section of the post is an XML format that can be corrupted very easily if someone goes hacking this section of a post. Why it is best to make these changes through the Mastercam Control Definition. [drill cycle 9 custom parameters] 1. "Additional Probing" 2. "Feat to Feat[0=N,1=Y]" 3. "X Axis App Amount +/-" 4. "Y Axis App Amount +/-" 5. "Z Axis App Amount +/-" 6. "" 7. "" 8. "" 9. "" 10. "" 11. "" [drill cycle 10 custom parameters] 1. "Additional Probing" 2. "Feat to Feat [0=No,1=Yes]" 3. "Z axis Distance to Measure" 4. "X axis Distance to Measure" 5. "Y axis Distance to Measure " 6. "Angle XY Plane " [drill cycle 11 custom parameters] 1. "Additional Probing" 2. "Feat to Feat [0=No,1=Yes]" 3. "Z axis Distance to Measure" 4. "X axis Distance to Measure" 5. "Y axis Distance to Measure " 6. "Angle XY Plane " [drill cycle 12 custom parameters] 1. "Additional Probing" 2. "Tolerance for Repeat " 3. "Data Print [1=Increm,2= Reset]" 4. "" 5. "" 6. "" 7. "" 8. "" 9. "" 10. "" 11. "" [drill cycle 13 custom parameters] 1. "Additional Probing" 2. "Feat to Feat [0=No,1=Yes]" 3. "Z axis Distance to Measure" 4. "X axis Distance to Measure" 5. "Y axis Distance to Measure " 6. "Angle XY Plane " [drill cycle 14 custom parameters] 1. "Additional Probing" 2. "Feat to Feat [0=No,1=Yes]" 3. "Z axis Distance to Measure" 4. "X axis Distance to Measure" 5. "Y axis Distance to Measure " 6. "Angle XY Plane " [drill cycle 15 custom parameters] 1. "Additional Probing" 2. "Feat to Feat [0=No,1=Yes]" 3. "Z axis Distance to Measure" 4. "X axis Distance to Measure" 5. "Y axis Distance to Measure " 6. "Angle XY Plane " [drill cycle 16 custom parameters] 1. "Custom Drill Parameters 16" [drill cycle 17 custom parameters] 1. "Custom Drill Parameters 17" [drill cycle 18 custom parameters] 1. "Custom Drill Parameters 18" [drill cycle 19 custom parameters] 1. "Custom Drill Parameters 19" [drill cycle 20 custom parameters] 1. "Custom Drill Parameters 20" [drill cycle descriptions] 1. "Standard Drill - G81/G82" 2. "Peck Drill - G83" 3. "Chip Break - G83" 4. "Tap - G84/G74" 5. "Reaming - G85" 6. "Gundrill - longhand" 9. "XYZ Single Face Probing" 10. "Web/Pocket Probing" 11. "Bore/Boss Probing" 12. "Angle Single Surface Probing" 13. "Angle Web/Pocket Probing" 14. "3-Point Bore/Boss Probing" Error Message if trying to use a probing cycle for repeated features: # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Error message strings # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- sperror :"ONLY USE THIS PROBING CYCLE ON ONE FEATURE AT A TIME"
    9 points
  20. about 45, 27 HMC's, 10 VMC's, 5 MIll-Turns, 3-5AX's plus additive machine,. plus mold shop and tool room programming support We're a crew of 3
    9 points
  21. Ah, sorry, I missed that the side extension was essential. It's definitely not as easy as the surface-based toolpaths to do it with the geodesic engine, and you don't have a Top/Bottom extension, you can only do a blanket extension. It's not too hard, but you need a bit of background knowledge to really leverage it. Skip the next paragraph if you don't care about the mechanics of it One important note is that I'd recommend using this with a single Guide chain (Parallel equivalent), as having two that it's trying to Morph between can get a little weird sometimes. Geodesic engines are based on the mesh (they create a mesh in the background from your selected surfaces at whatever tolerance you specify). The edges of the mesh are considered a constraint that it has to stay within, using whatever pattern you wanted it to fit. So, you have two problems to solve: * One is that your mesh (the fillet) doesn't extend at all * Two is that your containment is based on the original mesh. To solve the first problem, use Cut parameters > Machining Geometry Advanced Params > Extend Mesh: You can preview the toolpath, but nothing will change at this point (other than taking longer to generate!): But, in the background, the mesh has been extended on all sides. So, to solve Problem Two, can be solved using Cut Pattern > Containment, and allowing the tool to go outside the containment: Other than that, I think you'd probably have to create the geometry you want to.
    9 points
  22. Equally important (perhaps more?) to tool libraries is operations libraries. They're one of the biggest programming time & part quality improvement tools available if you learn to really leverage them. The problem is that it's a bit tedious to get them set up. The most successful shops I know have a programmer whose responsibility it is to manage those libraries. That's part of their job. Plan on it eating up 100% of their time for the first month or two, then 10-20% of their time per month for the next few months as things are smoothed out. It will also require monthly maintenance. BUT If you do it correctly, you will be establishing processes and procedures that that ensure that every time a, say, 1/4-20 hole is tapped into 320 SS at your company, it's done the same way, with the same tools, at the same feeds & speeds. It will take the programming time for an individual programmer to do those three ops (or whatever) from 20 minutes to 1. Every time they program those holes. It will allow you to bring a new guy up to speed by pointing out how to import/export, so there won't be a quality drop on stupid things while he's brought up to speed. This will also reduce the tedious parts of being a programmer. No one is ever excited to program a 1/4-20 hole. You've done it thousands of times. So why not remove most of the work and (almost!) all of the simple little screw ups that come with creating toolpaths over and over again? Feel free to give me a shout via email or message and I can explain a bit more in detail if you'd like.
    9 points
  23. It's a problem that only exists when you post this.. It's called "singularity" when the spindle is perpendicular to the C axis. Basically, because the BC is near 0, it calculates that from one side of the B axis to other it decides that it needs to rotate the C axis nearly 180°. Most likely the transition before/after this move where it crosses B0C0: There's a couple of strategies you can use to solve this, but the easiest way is to simply not let it get vertical. If you limit the toolpath so it isn't allowed to go within, say, 5° of B0C0, you can just avoid the problem. On the tool axis control page, turn on "Limits", then do something like this:
    9 points
  24. So many questions to give you some good feedback... What kind of machine/Pallet Pool? What type of work? What type of materials? Cube size/Weight of parts? Quantity of each part#? How good are your operators? How well can they follow instructions? Can you do critical features with dedicated tooling/offsets so you know these features are dialed in and don't need to probe? What is the avg material cost for these parts? How many shifts do you run? To really get a 5 axis cell to shine and pump out work takes a COMPREHENSIVE look at the entire process as a whole. This includes the business management side as well because when you really get the parts cranking 24/7 you run into a whole host of problems that have nothing to do with the actual machining... Its really amazing what one spindle can churn out with the right support and encouragement!
    8 points
  25. I dont have 2023 loaded anymore, but in 2024 - Dynamic OptiRough for Example on the tool page there is Tool Inspection with distance or time options.
    8 points
  26. It WORKED! Challenger Coin Engraving Thanks ya'll! I did the engraving tool path - first rough then finish, selected "clean corners" for my roughing, smooth corners, cut geo: at depth, with a 20 degree entry ramp, and a 10% stepover on a 0.040" diameter tapered ball mill. These are still test pieces so I will keep working. My first attempt I did a re-machine with a 0.020" tapered ball mill and it just left a rough finish on the proud features. I cant remember if I mentioned this or not, but this is for a program Im teaching called "Operation Next". Its a semester of online training, 7 weekends of shop time, and 4 NIMS certification test. It was started to help exiting military have a skilled job lined up after they get out; help transition into civilian life. Its just an Machine Operator certification, so loading parts and tools, and pushing buttons. But at least its a foot in the door at a machine shop and it counts towards credits if they want to come back and get their associates in machining later. Regardless, I know the importance of challenge coins in the military. So, near the end of the semester, they will each submit an image and it will have the college on one side and their custom image on the other. They will be award these with their certificate of completion. So, again cant thank yall enough for the help!
    8 points
  27. Another year - another HSMAdvisor Hook for Mastercam. This time build for 2024 added: https://hsmadvisor.com/hsmadvisor_for_mastercam Additionally, plugins for other MC versions from 2020 to 2023 were updated too.
    8 points
  28. Like many undocumented features in Mastercam. One has to ask themselves when will the product get the attention it really needs?
    8 points
  29. There were a few areas we specifically targeted to improve the linking page for. The biggest was- how do we get Tip Comp and Breakthrough onto the same page with the rest of the linking parameters? It was a huge impediment to learning the toolpath and also to understanding what a path was doing when you had to visit not only the linking page, but also a subpage (that depending on the toolpath was either under Linking parameters or Cut parameters) to get a complete picture of what depth the hole would actually be drilled to, for example. Adding options to a page that was already full always comes with a compromise, and in this case the radiobuttons took up too much room and had to be changed to a dropdown, but we feel the visibility of the tip comp settings is the more important choice here, given how many problems it causes when you copy an op or leave it on and then drill to a wrong depth or don't understand why the path isn't giving you what you want. When we talk about clicks, first we have to look at how often we're changing from incremental to absolute and back- almost never. It's a setting that's changed once when the path is initially made, and usually not touched after that. Tip comp, or depths, however, are things that require constant tweaking as you dial in a process, and making a user take two extra clicks and jump to a different page to even view these settings is mouse miles, too! Also, as mentioned, there is the ability to simply hover over the dropdown and scroll the mousewheel- so we went from one click to "zero" clicks from that perspective. In terms of visually digesting what a toolpath is set at, as well, I'd have to mentally spend some energy to scan through the column of radiobuttons to, say, make sure that all my settings are indeed incremental, or associative, etc, whereas it's a lot easier to "tin soldier inspect" the dropdowns and spot the one that might be set wrong or out of place. UI changes or tweaks always come with compromises when an existing interface has been around for so long and isn't in a state where it can be easily expanded. In this case we felt that these changes offered much more value than what retaining the radiobuttons offered.
    8 points
  30. Right, there's no way to force it inside of the toolpath parameters. You can, however, leverage the fact that it is stock aware to cause it to drop into a position you'd like. Create a Helix Bore (or drill, or whatever you want your entry to look like) at the specified entry point, then, make a stock model. Pocketing will use it to drop into: Video showing it in action:
    7 points
  31. Depends on the machine and the part We've got an old giant HBM that rapids at 200 ipm on it's best days and a Ø100 diameter part with 12 legs 14" tall. The job is to put big fillets on the corners of the legs and the edges of the valleys between the legs. I recently reprogrammed it using 3d high speed toolpaths similar to the sample I posted. I got the cycle time down from 120 hours to 45. The bosses were pleased.
    7 points
  32. 100% this! When I teach my multiaxis classes (just did one this morning), I always start with this: Why do you use Multiaxis toolpaths? #1 reason - it looks badass and it makes you look cooler when it comes time for the raise! You paid for the machine, use it all! #2 reason - to avoid hitting the part/machine/fixture. #3 reason - to use the shortest tool possible. I totally agree with Kyle that 90%+ is really just 3+2. And of the remaining 10%, 75% of THAT can be covered with the steps I show in the video above. It's that last 2.5% that can get REeeeeaaaalllll tricky, though Good luck on the interview!
    7 points
  33. As a Machine Tool Dealer AE, I cannot stress this enough. SO many people will fumble their way through, find a way that works-ish, then get married to that. Then WHEN issues crop up they may find themselves painted in a corner. I've last count the number of individuals I've had to untrain and retrain. Personally I don't mind it, it's part of the job, but let's face it, sometimes there's some ego involved and that can make for a difficult training experience if one is not open to change. So, before you go down the 5-Axis MACHINE side blind, call your builder/dealer and schedule some training. It'll be worth the effort.
    7 points
  34. Equal Scallop for the win, thanks. I tried it before but it didn't look right. After you mentioned it I went through the tutorial from here and tried again. 9 minutes per side instead of 20 for my usual cheat (project)
    7 points
  35. The Simple Math Function in Cimco Edit will do it
    7 points
  36. With the Tooling Ball I can reference the hole origin
    7 points
  37. From the screenshots you posted, great job on getting organized! You're way ahead of most files that I see! There's some things to like in 2023/4 machine setup, but a LOT to not like. I'm guessing in a few more years it'll be quite useful, but right now it's cumbersome. The fixtures in particular is painful because they're of literally no use if you ever do more than one op in the file. I teach an Intro to Mastercam class, and trying to explain multiple setups now is horrible. None of them understand it because there's no reason! It used to be simple, "just jump into config and change the "fixtures" checkbox." Now (especially on the school computers), it's a 5 minute process by the time the whole tab system loads and unloads, then you add/remove/etc. your new fixtures after deleting the old one.. Ugh. One thing that is nice in the newer versions, though, is if you select a stock model as the first toolpath in your selection for Verify, it will automagically use that stock model as the stock, not the original one. Nice improvement there! Rant over, as far as toolpath organization, I generally prefer to group by tool, with as descriptive of a note as possible, but that gives me the flexibilty to make more groups down the line if I have to reuse that tool for something: Note the "generally" above, though, sometimes it makes more sense to group by feature or whatever else is logical. I just want to know that in a year when I need to revisit this file, I can find what I need in less than 2 or 3 minutes. The important thing to establishing any form of "Structure" here is to recognize that the real world is messy, and sometimes adjustments need made. You're a professional, trust yourself to know when to stay inside the lines and when to color outside of them
    7 points
  38. I used HSM Advisor yesterday on a project I am working on. I have a 25mm 4 flute Sandvik indexable screwed onto a heavy metal shank that I am using to side mill the cheeks on a crankshaft with. Normally I would run it at .004 a tooth and 475ish sfm. That is where I started at. It worked out to be 40 IPM and 1900 RPM. This particular crank is a 6 cylinder so I had 6 pins to play on. HSM Advisor suggested 76 IPM and 2100 RPM. I took the advice offered here and started at my normal speed and feed and adjusted up each pin. I ended up at 72 IPM and 2100 RPM. The only reason I didn't get to 76 like HSM Advisor suggested was that I ran out of pins. I will try it on the next crank. Of course surface finish suffered as I increased feed rate, as expected, but for what I am doing, it doesn't matter on this op. I was able to take a solid 4 mins of cycle time out, which will work out to over 24 mins a crank from my baseline. Time is money as we all know. 24 mins times 30 cranks and HSM is priceless. This is just one op. It has paid for itself already and stuck money back into the companies pocket. This has really got me thinking about my approach to, well, everything. There are other projects that I want to go back and re-apply this on now. I have a dynamic milling project I am probably going to do today or tomorrow in a horizontal cat 45 mill so I will get the chance to play more on HSM Advisor then. Thank you guys for the info, feed back and help. This place is awesome and I read here everyday. I always seem to pick up something new and it makes me think daily.
    7 points
  39. Here ya go. It'll be a bit before YouTube updates the quality, but this will show you how to do it:
    7 points
  40. If you can't swing Vericut, at least talk to your reseller about getting your posts hooked up to machsim in Mastercam. It's a fraction of the price for 98+% of the capability. What it won't do is help with custom M-codes, process optimizations, etc., but you'll at least be able to trust the motion you're seeing in there! Otherwise, it depends on your work. If you're doing mold/electrode making and you don't have a copy of MoldPlus, you're doing yourself a big disservice. Verisurf is a great product for CMMing & verification, but I really like them for reverse engineering. Their free add on tools (Thanks Ernie!) are great little time savers if you use those sort of functions often. Honestly, some of the best money spent, though, establishing processes and procedures that reduce duplication. That could be a custom solution to solve a repetitive project that only your (or very few) companies need a solution for. In that case, talking to someone like our very own Byte might make sense (TheeByte) to create a custom solution to your specific problem. Most often, it's the little things that make life better. Working through creating a tool and ops library will save you 10s-100s of thousands of dollars a year in redundancy. Every time you're creating a 1/4-20 hole, you should be importing/exporting operations and just assigning geometry, for example. If you're starting from scratch defining a tool, looking up previous feeds/speeds/etc., you're wasting 20+ minutes that should be handled in 20 seconds. Creating a process & procedure template file that already has all of your company's levels/colors/fixtures/etc. will save you 20 minutes every time you start a new job. Side effects are that it makes things go smoother on the floor and significantly easier to on-board a new person. If you don't know how to leverage all that and really get to focus on the fun programming, final plug goes to Ron (https://5thaxisprogramming.com/) or (even more shameless plug) myself (https://vector-mfg.com/) as a sherpa that help you on the way.
    7 points
  41. Ron's company supports projects with Phillips Federal for Mill-Turn Applications and Training for our government customers including NASA. Hiring him is money very well spent. Many contractors can program a part. The ones who can do what Ron does are few and far between. Ron delivers end-to-end solutions including training, programming, testing/prove-out of posts and machine simulation (providing proper feedback to developers and crafting custom solutions for machine control), tooling and processing recommendations, and creates paradigm shifts in capability for the companies and programmers he trains.
    7 points
  42. 7 points
  43. Yours shows the problem on the opposite corner.. Branch only syncs the one start point unfortunately. Reko - What I would recommend doing is using Sync By Entity, but to make that work, you'll need each chain to have the same number of pieces. In this case, the easy button is to leave the three pieces of the square bottom alone so they sync up nicely, and use Wireframe > Curves > Curves from Splines to stitch the rest together: That'll keep the sharp edges on the bottom: he trickier way to do it is to control the sync points if you don't like the results, but be careful, as each of the chains need to have the same sync points, something like this: Here I wanted it to sync up the radii in the corners, and maintain that sweep, so I had to break the verticals so that the "flats" on the side had somewhere to sync up to. I think the results are better, but your mileage may vary. Obviously, you could continue this concept and manage the sync of the bulge in the middle to stretch out to the corners, something like this: And yes, I've spent WAAAAYYYYYY too much of my life working with surface sync points!
    7 points
  44. Got my new PC this week I'm still putting it together but I ran the benchmark last night in 2024 2 minutes , 2 seconds The OS is Win11 Pro
    7 points
  45. @Elvincnc There is some challenges with sending Lathe toolpaths into Machine Simulation, but we are able to simulate turning on the FD style mill with turning table. Here is an example of a DMU Duoblock FD I have.
    7 points
  46. Hi guys, Our demo for the Assembly Master for 2023 & 2024 is now live, check out our promo video for customers on youtube! Our new product makes the programming of cabinet level products much easier with our new workflow.
    7 points
  47. 7 points
  48. Shoot me an email and we can do a teams or gotomeeting and I will walk through a couple of tools. I have to still eat breakfast with my wife and have a 9:30 am PST kick off meeting with a customer, but later I will be free. 3D Lathe Tool Example Here is a file for a DMU80 I did for a customer with HSK100 and C6 Holders. I have used this same file through about 8 versions of Mastercam now so it kind of took a life of it's own to help me build these kind of 3D tools in a way that helps me do good documentation along with build 3D tools easier. See if it helps.
    7 points
  49. @Jobnt If you ever convinced it, i updated NetHook to display levels used. Hope this can help.
    7 points

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