James, you really were trying to troll me weren't you? Not sure why. I'd say ego had very little to do with my decision to stick with Mastercam and 9999/10000 AE's don't know xxxx about MY business or how it is run. There are a lot of business decisions and variables that AEs don't have visibility into. How many aerospace machine shops have you set up and run? How many AS9100 quality systems have you set up? How about ERP and MRP systems? There is a lot more to the equation than programming a machine, there is setting up the entire quality process around that machine from PO receipt through inspection. Your comment is a little short sighted and arrogant. I rely heavily on advice from AEs but at the end of the day I'll make the call that is right for MY business and I could give two xxxxs if the AEs like it. I listen to their advice, appreciate it immensly, but ultimately make my own decision based on how it fits with the big picture.

I was hoping for the best. We have a lot of processes built around Mastercam and I really didn't want to start over. Like I said, I DID buy Esprit per the AE's advice but after the training I decided the quickest path forward was with Mastercam. When we did the Esprit training we programmed a fixture and after it was done I said "okay, now lets import the part file, place it on the fixture and program it as well." He looked at me like I was crazy because you can't do that in Esprit. Every operation is its own Esprit file. We do have it and someday maybe I'll hire an Esprit programmer. I really don't want any part of Esprit. I'm also getting to the point where my motivation to conquer the world and learn everything machining is declining. I want to work less and take the easy path. If the Mastercam post worked well it would be the easy path by a mile. The programming is a piece of cake, just a few details in how things are done but the meat and potatoes of it are all the same. There just needs to be more effort and collaboration with machine manufacturers in getting the code posting how the machine needs it. Yep, all day long...

Yep, where machine accuracy and stability are concerned. The mill turn reminds me of a Haas, it is thermally unstable. For the parts we are machining we are able to do two per day and over that time the lower turret X-axis drifts by 0.002". We have charted it and we account for it but we shouldn't have to. When we come in at 8:00am for the first part of a new day it is white knuckle as we are machining complex Ti castings and we can't just make another one. The machine has scales on the XYZ axis for both upper and lower turrets. The Mori AE has set up a probing routine we run throughout the day which exports data via dprint and it isn't pretty. We have sent Excel files to Mori's engineers and they are scratching their heads as to what is wrong. We have another round of on site testing in mid July to get to the bottom of it. I believe an $800k machine should be able to hold .0002" all day long, especially with a coolant chiller, scales, and a shop that sits at 70 degrees F 24/7. On the castings we machine there is an OD that is +/- 0.001" and we have non-conformances on 5-10% of the parts. We are using 75% of the tolerance... This is with a semi finishing pass at +0.010", stop the machine, probe the feature, comp the tool, and finish to size. The pass to cut to the semi finishing size removes 0.010". It is very frustrating.

Here is an example of an issue that isn't yet fixed and has given us a lot of grief. We were drilling a skewed hole on the NTX and the drill wasn't going to the correct position by about 1/2". We had other G68.1 issues in the past but we came up with quick fixes such as surface machining a skewed face instead of face milling it. The issue was the machine and Mastercam are set to diameter for both upper and lower turrets for milling AND turning but Mastercam was continuing to post in diameter coordinates during G68.1 plane rotation. When doing plane rotation the machine needs M-codes (M582) to put it in radius mode. Once those were hand edited in it worked flawlessly. Still waiting for the post fix however. M582 (radius mode) G49 G68.1 X0 Y0 Z0.... G69 M583 (diameter mode) Another annoying issue (not post related) is we were boring a large part with a lip on the ID of the front of the part (think 6" diameter coffee can with a 3" hole through the lid). We got the correct tool for this but it caused X-axis overtravel issues with the lower turret. We flipped the tool over 180 degrees about Z so the insert was facing upward and bored on the top of the bore. The problem is that Mastercam reversed the spindle direction and there was not way to fix it without creating a new incorrect tool definition of hand editing the posted code. In Mill there is a box where you can reverse the spindle from CW to CCW, the programmer has that control. I can run a right handed end mill backwards if I so desire, it is up to MEEEE! I can't thin of a reason I would want to do that but there might be a time where it will save my xxxx. In lathe it isn't even an option and it is extremely frustrating. Don't try to make the software too smart folks... You tie my hands behind my back.

Here is an example of an issue that isn't yet fixed and has given us a lot of grief. We were drilling a skewed hole on the NTX and the drill wasn't going to the correct position by about 1/2". We had other G68.1 issues in the past but we came up with quick fixes such as surface machining a skewed face instead of face milling it. The issue was the machine and Mastercam are set to diameter for both upper and lower turrets for milling AND turning but Mastercam was posting in radius coordinates during G68.1 plane rotation. When doing plane rotation the machine needs M-codes (M582) to put it in radius mode. Once those were hand edited in it worked flawlessly. Still waiting for the post fix however. M582 (radius mode) G49 G68.1 X0 Y0 Z0.... G69 M583 (diameter mode)

Let me just add this machine ain't no Makino, not by a long shot... We have to work to hold .001"... On our Makinos we comp a tool, walk away, and hold .0001" all day long. We can hold .0005" (.7500" +0/ -.0005) on long cylindrical bores using a ramped toolpath with a lollypop mill and .0003" circularity. No can do on the Mori, I was spoiled.

The post for my machine was the latest version downloaded from Mastercam so these issues are baked into that version. I think unclamping the B-axis for 5-axis machining is one of the issues my reseller has to deal with over and over, among others. B-axis contouring is specified with M594, then is needs to be unclamped with M369. Well the M369 isn't posted so the machine hangs up. If Mastercam worked I feel it would be a much better product than Esprit but I am also a little biased because it is what I know. If it doesn't work it is kind of a moot point though. I haven't even started thinking about implementing some of the custom technology cycles yet. Just getting the machine to run a basic program without edits is challenging enough. FWIW, we are a 5-axis aerospace shop running Makinos and the Mori NTX. We are AS9100 certified and ITAR registered. We make rocket and fighter jet parts and we are good at what we do. I really need my tools and equipment to work so we can do our jobs and keep our customers happy. I hate it when faulty tools or equipment make our job harder... We already have enough challenges to deal with in just making the parts we make.

Working with my reseller. They have indicated frustration at having to make the same changes over and over because the base posts at CNC aren't getting updated. The Mori AEs warned me about this and told me other shops in the area spent months trying to get Mastercam working correctly before giving up and switching to Esprit. My thought was all that work couldn't have been for nothing and the issues surely made it back to CNC and the posts were updated but I was clearly wrong and the AEs were right. It has played out pretty much as they said it would. At this point all I can do it put the word out so someone trying to decide between Esprit and Mastercam knows what they are in for.

Yeah, programming in mill-turn really is a piece of cake. The challenge is every program with a new feature (cutoff/ pickoff, TCP, G68.1, etc...) never runs right on the machine and results in calls with our dealer, calls with Mori, etc... We identify the issue and have to hand edit every program. I feel like my mill turn post is the prototype.

I was reading in the mill turn application guide for the Mori and it calls out the correct format for G68.1 pattern 1 but the posted code isn't output correctly, LOL! Actually I don't think it is funny at all, I feel like a sucker that is being screwed after buying a product that doesn't work and is costing me $xx,xxx in lost productivity. I bought Esprit but I REALLY want to stick with mastercam because that is what I know. I just needs to work...

I am so sick and tired of Mastercam's mill turn and trying to get my DMG Mori NTX2000 to work right. There are so many damn hand edits and it is risky (editing mistakes) and time consuming. These aren't custom features, they are things like unclamping the B-axis for 5-axis machining and getting the G68.1 to post correctly. Things that EVERY NTX 2000 CAN DO!!! CNC Software, why the hell doesn't this xxxx work? You are wasting my time! The cost of my lost productivity far out paces the cost of your mill turn product. You owe it to me to fix this crap and deliver a product that works. I paid for it, now deliver. If I had access to the post I could fix all these issues in a matter of hours, not months or years.

DOH! I modified the wrong post... Crap...

I made the change but the G94 is still appearing on the same line as the G1 and positions. Is there another spot?

So I will modify it from this: pcan1, pbld, n$, sgfeed, sgplane, `sgcode, sgabsinc, pccdia, pxout, pyout, pzout, pcout, feed, strcantext, scoolant, e$ to this: pcan1, pbld, n$, sgfeed, e$ pcan1, pbld, n$, sgplane, `sgcode, sgabsinc, pccdia, pxout, pyout, pzout, pcout, feed, strcantext, scoolant, e$ Not sure if the pcan1 appearing twice would be an issue...

I have a part for my Makino A61 HMC I wish to peel like an onion using the 4the axis (B). Tool drops in Y while a cylinder or raw stock spins on the 4th axis. The code is posting as this: G94 G1 Z10.25675 B233.2 F9.77 and I need it to post like this G94 G1 Z10.25675 B233.2 F9.77 Where do I look in my post to make this adjustment? The post is: [POST_VERSION] #DO NOT MOVE OR ALTER THIS LINE# V23.00 P0 E1 W23.00 T1593638671 M23.00 I0 O0 # Post Name : Makino A51.pst # Product : Mill # Machine Name : Generic # Control Name : Fanuc # Description : Generic 4 Axis Mill Post # 4-axis/Axis subs. : Yes # 5-axis : No # Subprograms : Yes # Executable : MP 14.0 Thanks, Bob

DFO (Dynamic Fixture Offset) is a control feature that uses two work offsets, G54 and G54.2, G55 and G55.2, etc... G54 is for the center of rotation (COR) of the indexing axis and the other (G54.2) is for the part WCS position relative to the COR. It allows for programming a multiaxis part away from the COR or if the part is programmed to the COR it allows for tweaking the position to reflect part setup inaccuracy. If you set the part up and it was off by .1" in 'X' you could modify the G54.2 'X' offset by .1" and all of the indexed positions would be automatically calculated and updated by the machine control. It works very well with probing but doesn't require probing.

What is the control (Fanuc, etc...)? Does it have DFO? G54.2 I believe.

I like to finish floors with 2D HST and use a .002" micro lift and leaving .001-.002 on the walls. I would then finish the boss walls using contour or waterline leaving .0005" on the floor so no witness marks.

I had the step down at 1.5", then 3.0" and it made no difference. Ultimately I'm wanting to machine to the center of the part (Z0.0) from B90 and B-90 but it always starts with a cut ~0.050" from the top of stock. If I do a dummy facing path greater than the depth of the initial optirough cut it eliminates that first pass. Unfortunately I can't. If I get time over the next few days I'm sure I could re-create it on a dummy part. I'll see what I can do.

Good to know. I will definitely give it a try.

Yes, I am using the stock model to drive the optirough. I will give that a try going forward but I often do multiple different roughing/ rest roughing operations to get to the complete roughed state and each step is generally driven by a new stock model. In this instance it is the first roughing cycle so the stock model is very simple. Some of the later stock models can get pretty busy.

I just tried and it didn't work. I did do that earlier in another operation and it worked in that instance. edit: Okay, I went deeper with my dummy facing pass and it did work. That is really annoying... Optirough has been out a long time and this should have been figured out a while ago. I have been wasting time dealing with this exact issue for years.

I would like to add that I have played with the steep/ shallow settings and tried setting it at the top of stock, well above the stock, and turning the minimum depth off all together and it doesn't make any difference, still get the initial facing pass...

I am trying to optimize a titanium part for cycle time and I am having issues with optirough (stock model driven) creating extra depth cuts that aren't needed. Basically I am using a 5/8" 9 flute cutter with 2" flute length and I am going about 1.75" deep with it. I would like to start at full depth, then do the step up cuts. The issue I am running into is the tool wants to take the first cut at like .020" below the top of stock, essentially a full facing pass, which pretty much doubles the operation time not to mention the extra wear on the tool tip. What is the solution to this? I'm sure it is a simple setting I'm missing, hopefully...