I did actually create a custom color to use. I can't seem to get exactly the look the boss wants with it, but close enough. A little photoshopping will probably do the trick. It's frustrating because I've created a custom material before called "scott"(imaganitive, huh?). Scott is still in my list of materials with which to shade. Maybe it's an MR1 thing? Edit: I just tried creating the material in V9. It won't stick there, either. So, it's probably something I'm doing wrong.

I know this has come up before, but I can't find it with a search. I need to shade my model with a material(as opposed to a color in shading settings). It's for a brochure. I can create the new material no problem, and get it just how I want it. But as soon as I close out Mastercam(or it crashes), I lose the material. How do I get it to stick? thanx. scott X mill 3 MR1 solids

Didn't some stuff get added to that ribbon bar in MR1? Doug, have you updated recently? scott EDIT: I should have read Lloyd's post more carefully. He already mentioned MR1/SP2.

ROFL, Matt. It's funny 'cause it's true here too James, maybe you could put a sample file on the FTP site so we could all see what you're trying to do? If I understand you right, your dome either isn't a perfect sphere(it's more oblong), or it only the tippy-top of the sphere(it's not a full half sphere, it's only, say 1/4)? If so, you may be able to extrude your wireframe and fillet the top edge. Or revolve a solid about a line parallel to either the x or y axis. scott

Thanks guys. I was leaning towards just a minor dia with thread call out. I'll worry about putting them in(for shrinkage reasons) when and IF we decide to mold them. scott

I know this has come up before, but for the life of me, I can't find it. What is the standard for putting threads in a solid model? Is it acceptable to just draw a hole representing the minor diameter of internal threads, as long as the threads are called out on the part print? Reason I'm asking: I have a family of models to make for a new customer. Most of them have (2) to (6) M6 x 1 set screws in them. Currently, the parts are being machined due to low quantities. However, there is a chance that we will build molds for them in 6 or 8 months. Thanx. scott edit: sorry, Thad... using X MR1/SP2 mill 3 w/ solids

There are no words to express our gratitude for all you've done for us, Bullines. Best of luck. ROFL, Cam.

I tweaked my defaults and use them most often. Once in a while, I'll create some oddball operation. I try to save it to my library, in case it ever comes up again.

I always have to scale up for injection molds. Never have a problem. Maybe start with something simple, like cutting a rectangle. Post it, then scale it up, post another .nc file, and see if the #'s make sense. Also, could you post the same file using MR1 and, say, V9? Compare them against each other in Cimco Edit? That would point to code being off and might help you see where the bad code is coming from. scott

Jay, thanks for the link. I'm with you and James, but it was a good read. I picked up a few things that I didn't realize before.

Thanks, Bill, its a work around. I'm still gonna try to modify my post, so I don't have to remember to change the work offset in the code each time.

That's exactly what I'll be looking into in a few hours, when I get a little breather. Any input/suggestion would be appreciated, as I only know enough about posts to be dangerous. I'll get it, but I'll have to fumble around for a while. Thanks for the quick reply. scott

This only occurs on the new high speed toolpasses. Was wondering if anyone else has noticed it/brought it to CNC's attention. I enter something into misc int #1, hit Apply, then hit the green check. On opening the toolpath again, misc int #1 is back to 0. As a matter of fact, all misc ints do this. I have to manually edit the code after posting. No big deal, but I'm absent-minded sometimes, and don't realize it until after the program's loaded into the machine. scott x mill lvl 3 MR1

quote: If it had been a snake...Right there with ya, buddy. He's bit me plenty of times

Glad we could help Actually, I hafta confess....I played with it to figure out the trim toolpath as much as helping BestG out. Everybody gained something

I put a zip file in the mcx folder. See if that will work for you. It's just a quickie, so make sure to tweak/check it before you use it. scott

I uninstalled it and re-downloaded. Working fine now.

I thought I was, but since it's not working, I guess not. I'll download it from your link and we'll go from there. Thanx.

This would probably bite me in the face if it were a snake, but I sure can't see it. What is the syntax for running 7-zip from the command line? I've been through the documentation, but just can't get it to work. ie, is it something like this? "c:program files7-zip7z.exe" 7z a -tzip c:jobsarchive.zip -mx5 c:jobssomefile.mcx I should note that eventually, I will be using it in Rekd's filebackup script. thanks, scott

I actually heard back from Mits yesterday. You're absolutely right, gavetta. Mirror finishes can be acheived, but not on threads. According to Mits, you can only get a mirror finish on the bottom surface, not the side walls. And its not accurate, because it uses the crud in the gap like jeweler's rouge to "lap" the high spots down(actually melts them into the low spots). It doesn't work on sidewalls because gravity pulls the "rouge" down out of the gap. However, if you're carefull, and control the environment around the machine, you can acveive accurate burns with a fine mat finish. He did mention the new machine they have with the particulates in the oil. Sounds like it works real nice, but its buku $$. BTW, I won't fault you at all for jumping on the "engineer's" back. When I gave him the above info, he actually said this: "Scott, I've seen it done myself. I know it can be done, they must not know what they're talking about." I just handed him a piece of paper with Mits phone number on it, said, "call them yourself, then. Rich is the guy I talked to," and walked out(before I did something rash). Nice new avatar, btw. I could use one of those martinis right now

thanks for the quick response guys. DC, he's a mold designer. He thinks, because he was a "toolmaker"(termed loosely) for a few years, that he knows all about the trade. Also, because he can sort of run the old manual sinker(very big overstatement), that makes him a sinker guy. We don't sugar-coat anything. If it comes out with an edm finish and we polish it, we tell him we polished it. But if he thinks something should be a certain way(mirror finished threads right out of the worktank, for example), then there's no rationale in the world that will change his mind. Brian and Jorgen, I did actually cheat my flank gap a bit. I used the FAP technology for a trode undersize of 0.0050. Then I orbitted 0.0100, so there should have been 0.0050 stock for the finisher to clean up. The finish was one of the best I've gotten on threads. Maybe if I'd have been able to orbit more, it would've helped...not really sure, though. I'll have to play around with it. I'll let you know what Mits says, but I'm not holding my breath that they'll even call me back today. In case you're wondering...why FAP and only a 0.0100 circular orbit? The engineer ordered the trodes without any input from me He's lucky I could still use them. They were only undersized 0.0100, so I had to put a 0.5000 spacer between my (2) inserts and do a tennis-racket style burn(basically a side burn, but with orbit in the xy plane, z locked, and full fixed mode) in each direction. FAP is the only way I know to do a burn like this. Made for a tricky program. But I didn't scrap any, and it certainly boosted my confidence, no matter what egghead says. BTW, DC, you have groupies?!? I'll have to call my reseller and find out where mine are

I had an argument yesterday with the engineer(yeah, it's happening alot lately). I burned some molded threads, using copper tungsten. It's the first time I've actually burned a job with CuW. They came out pretty good. Of course they had an edm mat finish (6 Rmax), which is comparable to the finish in the rest of the mold. However, he got on my case because they didn't have the mirror finish that HE expected. I tried to explain that I don't think you can get a mirror finish on burned threads. How can you when you can't move in Z? BTW, the threads are 1/4-20, scaled up for 0.018 shrinkage. I used a circular orbit and locked Z. Is there a way to burn threads with a mirror finish? I have a call into Mits, but of course they haven't called me back yet. thanks, scott Mitsubishi EX-8

I like the change. Nice job so far on the update guys ROFL, Ken. The previous owner of my place did the same thing....only with this ugly baby blue color. Sometimes I wake up at night screaming.

Joels, I was just kidding about the fly thing. I wouldn't do such a thing! Seriously, Can you hit the part with a trickle of coolant? Not too much, just enough to keep the cutter cool. From my own experience, heat and plastic is not a good recipe for good parts.

We get all of our polycarb through MSC. Edit: I missed where you said McMaster. MSC is probably in the same ball park. scott