Is anybody running Mastercam with an ATI Radeon card? I can not see my zoom or delete window in the graphic background screen. I was wondering if anyone knows how to fix this or a driver version that will take care of this. I am using a new Dell XPS laptop and ATI was the only options I had to choose from.

Does anyone have a V9 post processor for a Fadal VMC15 with a Fadal CNC 88 control? It would be greatly appreciated.

I have been running Mastercam on Win2k for almost a year now. I haven't come across any problems with Mastercam not working with other apps. running or when I minimize it. I am always running 2 session of Mastercam due to their slow toolpath calculation. I set the performance setting to background so win2k uses the same processor resources for all apps. that are running, not just the one in the foreground. I have a dual processor Dell Precision 420. Works great!

How about a slope angle from and to option in surface>finish>contour strategy, so the cutter doesn't channel through uncut stock in the shallow areas.

gcode makes a good point. Our 3dlabs card (oxygen) works great with any software we use. If money isn't an issue and you want a smokin' card check out 3dlabs Wildcat line, even better.

If it is a Heidenhain 426 or 430 I have a pst file that has been modified and works real well. Let me know and I can email it to you.

Another thing to try is to have your unigraphics operator extract > face > general B-surface, than iges the b-surfaces to Mastercam. The model will come in a lot better and the UG operators will be able to see what the surface model they are creating really looks like. UG is great at misleading the operator with their shading.

What controller does your Deckel Maho have?

We have 2 workstations running Mastercam, 1 using a 3dlabs and 1 using an Intense 3D Wildcat. You may already know this but Intense 3D was acquired by 3D labs. Both card work awesome. We can shade with a .0001" chord tolerance with models containing over 600 surfaces, medical implants, without any hesitation. If you have complex models with tight tolerances, I suggest a 3DLabs Oxygen or Intense 3D Wildcat. Good luck.

Does anybody know how to output points on a surface with the surface vectors included. ASCII format preferred.

Kathy, With you part in isometric veiw, you can create 2 coons surfaces. Use coons, auto and pick the the upper left corner first, than pick the bottom right corner and it will autochain. Do the same with the green geometry for 2nd surface. Let me know if this helps.

I suggest you contact Jabro. They are a cutter company out of the Netherlands. Our distributor is C.W. Vordenberg (513)742-0933. The cutters are specially designed for cutting highspeed. I have not found any brand of carbide cutters that can keep up or last as long as Jabro's. They also have info for different strategies. You have to take a lot of variables in consideration for speeds and feeds, ie. tooling, cutter geometry, type of cut, material, rigidity of machine, and so on. Remember not to get caught in the "industry standard" mindset. Highspeed machining is new and believe me you can do far better than what you find the industry is doing!!! Email me at [email protected] and I can give you my phone# to explain what I am talking about in better detail.

I asked the same question a few months ago, Mastercam said there isn't anything that could "unroll - straighten" a surface yet. Good luck.

Sometimes when I can't get a surface to trim with curves, I will extrude a surface using the curves straight up and use the trim to surface function instead of curves

Can you use boundries or depth limits to isolate the difference in stock thickness you are machining? I rarely use roughing strategies. You can get a closer to net shape if you rough using finishing strategies. You will increase the amount of operations but the result at the mill will be improved dramatically (that is what companies will see). There are many different ways of going about it, just stay open minded and don't feel you have to machine by the "standard" practices.