On 4/21/2021 at 4:33 AM, crazy^millman said:

I would do one feature and transform it to the other ones. I would never try to do each one individually. If you have the 5 Axis you can do it with Parallel one pass in 3 Axis for Tool Axis control using the solid edge and should work good.

Is there a 5-axis pencil-ish now?
Or do one need to make something up like with the parallel you mention?

Today I only moved a solid body in one direction.
Obviously the drilling needed to regenerate.
When backplot I noticed that something had changed, and it wanted to drill all holes from the inside instead.

@Chally72, you still have the tickets on this already as R-32862 right?

Lets look forward to update 4 on Mastercam2023

On 11/21/2022 at 5:47 PM, Chally72 said:

2023 had an issue with point to point sorting Start Point respecting that should be solved in Update 3. 

Solid hole default sorting when bulk adding items is something that we have a plan to address in a much smarter manner. 

Maybe I'll try to start using that sorting again then
Always on the latest updates, so I got the Update 3 a while ago.

On 11/19/2022 at 4:29 PM, crazy^millman said:

Just ran into this issue doing a process review for a new customer. Bought too small of a machine to machine the parts and trying to fake the part in. I had it 6" off the table and needed to move it 8" off the table. Most the drilling operation holes reversed going through the bottom of part and the Wrap shape lost its mine. I have to go back into the solid and pick the direction arrows and auto cursor loves grabbing whatever it wants so I have to turn them all off. Sort is losing its mind, but I am not going to make a hole axis for every hole. 

Sometimes the arrow direction doesn't align to the actual backplot. Thats frustrating.
But, when doing a regen on a green operation, it changes. 

About sorting. Don't get me started. It havn' worked properly with solids for since 2021-version.
When drilling 2D, and want to go "point to point", it doesn't care. Nothing is changing at all.
Have given up on that...

But with all that said. I would not want to go back to wireframe, or making hole axis for every hole.

I forgot to mention.

When loking at the entities choosed, the arrow point at the opposite side from what it's doing.

First picture showing backplot, with the drill buried from wrong direction.
Second picture is when I check what entities is selected.

This is the old file from 2022 where we found the issue at first.

7 minutes ago, gcode said:

I'm pretty sure either Mastercam backplot or Verify would have shown this error.

I have never had a crash that wasn't apparent in Mastercam had I not been in a hurry and taken the time to look more closely

Actually, I'm surprised the post didn't scream bloody murder,  give an axis over travel alarm, and refuse to post the offending toolpath.

I know the 5X posts I buy from Postability would have stopped posting at the bad toolpath

 

Yes, both backplot and Verify shows the crash.
Problem is, that when you went in to the office, changing a contour-milling operation, you only look at that.
Well, not anymore, but still.
All the others operations was good running the first part. So your focus is on the one thing you edit.

We have sometimes noticed that when editing or modifing a solid body a 5-axis toolpath on through-holes suddenly change direction?

It was an issue already in Mastercam 2022, and this is what Mastercam told us then:

"This is an issue that was discovered in Mastercam 2022, as you have seen with this customer. We have resolved the issue under R-27849 in Mastercam 2023. Unfortunately, it was fixed after the last update for Mastercam 2022. Both scenarios mentioned (backplot incorrect and flipping after selection) are covered in the same request. The cause was the solid and the toolpath not keeping the start and endpoints of the holes in sync.
There is no real workaround other than to backplot the toolpaths and verify the motion. On the plus side it doesn’t happen all that frequently but it is still a bad situation for the customer because they can’t always trust the toolpath display."

Yesterday, it did it again, and we crashed.
Had done the one piece, but needed to adjust another feature.
When we adjusted the model, the tree went red. We regenerated, and posted it all again.

When we had passed the feature that we modified, we supposed to be safe, because rest of the program we already milled earlier, and hadn't changed.

But then it had reversed a arrow in 5-axis drill-op, making it F MAX through the part and trying to start on the bottom plane.

We were lucky, only a part, a drill, holder and soft jaws in the trash.

We have been in contact with our retailer, but I'm curios if anyone else had this problem?

Today when I programmed two parts, one Left hand, and one Right hand, I programmed the first.
The used the model prep-command "move", and moved that through-hole thats the only difference in these two part.
Regenerated, and voila. The 5-axis drill-op turned it upside down.

But today I was aware of the problem since yesterday, and found it before it crashed.

14 hours ago, gcode said:

I don't have access to Cimco probing but wouldn't this workaround make this less irritating??

1. make some junk level the active level

2. turn that level's visibility off

The lines would still be created, but you couldn't see them and you could blow out the whole level when you were done

Cimco have now taken care of this issue in their latest update.

16 hours ago, crazy^millman said:

Yes you can and it got someone's attention and is getting looked at. What aggravates me is things like Lathe Fixtures cannot be supported or even looked at that was requested 15 years ago by me, but something silly as this get people flocking to take care of it. I have 100's of bug numbers and enhancement requests with my over 4000 emails between me and CNC Software going back to 2010 on this computer. I just call it like a I see it and that is the other option you have. Set this tool up for a VTL and see how much fun it is. Lathe doesn't support them very well and you get to play the roulette wheel of seeing how I can lie to Mastercam to get it to work correctly, but at least lines that have no bearing on doing your job quickly and easily you dislike coming into Mastercam while your trying to probe features will get taken care of. Sorry if I see things I and many other fight with as needing a little more attention. So yes please bring up you don't like something like having no groups in the Levels and Planes Manager like I did 8 years ago maybe that one will get taken care of finally.

 

 

Ok, so we need to have bigger issues than you to be allowed. I get it.

I have close contact with Mastercam here in Sweden, and is reporting everything we get stuck on, and have done for 18 years.
Bigger and smaller bugs. I want things to evolve, not work around.
What I havn't done, is using this forum as much. So everything I investigate, or tried aren't here.

We have ordered a DMG MillTurn, with subspindle and multiaxis.
Maybe I face your more important problem then, and are allowed to write about it.

 

On 6/22/2022 at 2:42 PM, crazy^millman said:

Then get rid of Mastercam and get something that is more to your liking. Sorry, but if that is what is slowing down your programming efforts and creating issues with your ability to make CNC programs for the machine I don't know what anyone can do to help.

What kind of answer is that?

So we can't have opinions anymore, and software shouldn't evolve?
Have used Mastercam for 18 years, but will still ask for things that are not working or bugging.

Obviously both Cimco and MasterCam are investigating a non existing issue then.

The arc-creating-bug, that we aren't allowed to complain about, is now resolved in latest update.


Thanks @JMattison and @Chally72  


 

On 6/15/2022 at 3:54 PM, crazy^millman said:

The system needs what are called place holders for these processes to work correctly. Even though you are grabbing solid entities Mastercam will still create wireframe on the blanked level for them to work. We don't need to see under the hood, but removing the extra entities will destroy the toolpaths. Make some wrap shapes for 5 Axis toolpaths or some other shapes and see what kind of extra stuff starts being added to the file. Not smoke and mirrors, but there are things some of the toolpaths and functions need and the software is just not always showing them. In this case the CIMCO needs them to process it operations. You have become aware they are visible and if they hamper your programming efforts then you can move them to a different level and hide the level, Blank them on the current level or make an new active level when using the CIMCO probing that can be turned off.

The first picture I understand is supposed to be blanks, that should be blanked, but isn't.

But that Cimco need 20+ arcs to make on operation, on my active level, I don't buy.

 

Have notices that sometimes, not always, MasterCam2023 creates entities that are put in Layer -1 when I do drilling operations.
This ones are always dark red #4.

Can I hide this layer in some way? Refering to my first attached picture.


Also, when doing a Cimco Probe "Measure Hole", Mastercam creates a bunch of arcs, in the active layer, in active color.
Sometimes up to twenty (20!) arcs on one operation. Each time I re generate, I get new arcs.

Refering to my second attached picture. Those blue arcs I hav enot created myself. And they are all in active layer, made by Mastercam/Cimco while regenerate a "TCHPROBE 421 Measure Hole"

On 5/14/2022 at 4:11 PM, Ryan Mermall said:

Hi Tegheim83, I have sent you a DM & email a few weeks ago regarding this but havnt heard anything back yet. If you are still having troubles or need anything from us, please feel free to reach out as we will be happy to help! [email protected]

Sorry Ryan,

I have answered your email now.
The eMastercam-mails are thrown in my spambox for some reason.

Should for the thread say that after the v22.4.11.362-update from Cimco I havn't had any issues yet.

First update in 70 updates over the two past years that works for me :-)

Hope it will continue with that!

5 hours ago, Ryan Mermall said:

Tegheim, are you still running into issues with CIMCO Probing and it crashing your system? When opening up your file I see that it shows up as 0.0K for the toolpath size and wont let me open the operation. If you are still having issues, please try downloading the latest version ( https://mastercam.dk/getprobing ) and email me if you are still having issues. [email protected]

Ryan, yes, it's no difference.
Have had same trouble through the 70 latest Cimco Updates (since ~feb 2020).

This is my lastest.

14 hours ago, crazy^millman said:

Old School Trick make sure the Mastercam 2022 Folder in Program files has full read write permissions for the user account. These pictures are for 2021, but the same process can be used for 2022. Administrator in any Windows computer past Windows 7 is not full admin rights. To have them you must do this process. IT people who don't want to do this are ignorant as to what this does and allows the software running have access to. With 3rd party software like CIMCO having to go in and out of different areas of the OS these little things like this make all the difference in the world.

Will try this for a while.
It wasn't checked in "Full Control" and "Modify".

Just now, Chally72 said:

It sounds like you have a solidly repeatable use case that CIMCO should be able to take action on.

This is the first file that keeps crashing even after a restart though.
That have been an issue, that if I try to edit, and regenerate a CIMCO-op it crashes, and MC restarts.
After restart it works without other differences.
Often, when I have worked on big files several hours, I restart MC if I need to regenerate a CIMCO-op.
Also spamming the save-button have saved long term working.

Have tried the repair-file sometimes to "clear cache". Can't tell if it have helped sometimes.

1 minute ago, Chally72 said:

Have you sent these files in to CIMCO directly? What was their response? No one but CIMCO has the ability to address any issues with this add-in.

 

Yes, I have both AME and Cimco on this.
But as it looked like I, or we, was the only one with this issue I wanted to reach out to see if there's others who have had same, but didn't report it.

Cimco said that they never heard on anyone having so many crasches. But when I sent this file to AME today, their Mastercam 2022 crashed also. So, it wasn't just me...

Only today I have restarted Mastercam nine (9) times because crash during CIMCO.

If you want.
Download this Mcam-file, try to edit the TCH PROBE-operation.

Try to add one of the hole to measure and re generate.
Please tell me if it works at first try.

Yes, I can easy make a new one, but thats not the point.
The point is that this OP krasches when edit.

I use the latest Mastercam 2022, up to date.
Up to date Cimco-probing, and all Windows 10-updates.

210901810.mcam

Just now, crazy^millman said:

Well sorry you're running into it. I seem to always run into my share of unique issues from time to time.

We have a saying at our company after talking to support
"it's just with us..."

14 hours ago, crazy^millman said:

Need to reach out to Cimco support and your dealer and see what they say.

They are aware, and have never seen it before
 

Business as ususal...

Are we the only ones having continous problem that Cimco Probing is krasching when regenerate?

Once you have a probe-op that works, it's dangerous to change anything inside.

Only thing to do is to save before regen, and maybe even restart mastercam to avoid it.
But have you used Mastercam for a while, and try to regen, it often krasch and want a krasch-report.

Think I have filled in them 20 times at least, and contacted support, but nothing.
Have had Cimco-krasch minimum 20 times just at this specific part, but many more during 2020-2022 of Mastercam.

On 9/28/2021 at 7:41 AM, gcode said:

For big complex files, I save Verify sessions as STL and use them to create stock models

You lose the associativity  of toolpath derived stock models but the payback is smaller files

and file stability . Nothing is more frustrating than having a big file go dirty because you changed an insignificant 

setting on an operation 50 steps up the tree

I only use external STL's saved from verify as well.
Trying to generate a Stock using prevoius op's will not work. Have had it standing still for over night just trying.

What does the "only mill flutes" really do?

16 hours ago, Metallic said:

I am currently working on a part and the Mastercam file is over 100Mb. Not huge but pretty big. I think I have 8 stock models and about 750,000 lines of code. That is a lot of data to crunch. Your graphics card looks like it can handle that, and you clearly have enough RAM. I was regenerating a 5 axis finishing stock model and it took about 30 minutes and it bogged my whole system down. It wasn't happening previously, so I nuked that operation and re-created the stock model. Regeneration time is about half of what it was. I don;t know why.

Similarly, in certain multiaxis toolpaths you can change a parameter and it throws off your toolpath motion completely. Rechanging the parameter back to its previous value doesn't fix the now screwed up toolpath. In that case, my best bet is to nuke the toolpath and create a new one. Very frustrating.

 

What are your tolerance bands on the stock models? Sometimes bumping that up to 0.01" will speed things way faster. Make sure "mill flutes only" is checked on.

What is your RAM usage set to? Ideally you'd have 75%. Hardware acceleration turned on?

In metric, I have tolerances set on 0.05mm.
I only use STL-files, so don't know if "Mill flutes only" help me.

I have changed Memory Buffering fron 50% to 75% now. It's says 49088.55MB at 75%.

I'm having trouble that regenerate Stock Modells, and also Using those for OptiRest is taking all my time.

What is the best, or fastest way to create several stock models in a part?

For example, I get a *.STP/STEP from my client.

I start with a billet stock, and the starts with a bigger tool cutting weight of with OptiRough
Then I make a stock model, and a new OptiRest with a smaller tool, and then maybe repeat once more.

In my latest part I have 6 or 7 stock models, and the file is kind of heavy now.
Regen takes ages, and I only trying to use STL's as stock, as "one other op", or "use all earlier.." will not manage to get a result.

Any tips and trix are welcome!

Using Mastercam 2022.
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-9700K CPU @ 3.60GHz   3.60 GHz - 64GB RAM
Quadro P2000