I have browsed the Mcmaster catalog but that thing has more pages than a bible. Any hints of what I would search under? I looked at cable retractors but I am not sure those are what I am looking for. Thanks, Bob

Cable management will be an issue with the trunnion and the service tech said many shops use a cable retractor to lift the cables up and away from the machining zone. Is anyone familiar with these devices? I can picture what he is talking about but I don't know where to look for a specific unit. Thanks, Bob

Yesterday I had a Haas TR160 trunnion installed on my VF2 and I need to make sure the axis are set up correctly. Currently the trunnion axis (rotates about the X-axis) is "B" and the plate that the work mounts to is "A". Is this correct? Thanks, Bob [ 02-15-2008, 01:37 PM: Message edited by: Bullet Bob ]

Another example is an engine's connecting rod. You can design the rod and crank, run a mechanism dynamics simulation where you specify the rpm and component mass properties and run it through its range of motion. During this simulation you can freeze the assembly in time (crank at 225 degrees for example), have ProE determine the loads on the component due to acceleration, mass, and inertial properties, import this into the FEA package, and run stress analysis.

ProE is more of an engineering tool and in that respect it runs away from Solidworks. It has FEA, design optimization features, and advanced assembly (top down design) features that Solidworks does not have. For designing machining fixtures and even complex parts and assemblies Solidworks is great, but if you were to design a car from scratch ProE would run circles around it. An example is designing a front suspension for a car. There are several variables involved including camber, caster, toe in, and stress loading. These are all affected by the a-arm lengths and positions, steering rack position, etc... In ProE you can assign limits to the different variables (camber, caster, toe in, etc...) and specify which dimensions it can vary (a-arm lengths, positions, etc...) and how closely you would like to meet the design goals, and it will iterate and solve the geometry meeting all of the design goals. You can then take the parts into the FEA package and do the same thing with stresses. These are more engineering related features however. Of course to have all of these apabilities you would have $20k invested in the software.

If one of your main customers use ProE that should be a serious consideration. Solidworks is easier to learn but ProE is much more powerful software.

I am going to be doing 5 axis cylinder head porting and I need to get a few long reach ball mills (4" from tool holder) in .5" and .25" diameters. Any idea what would work well for this? I will be doing a fair amount of this so I would be interested in indexable tooling along with regular carbide cutters. Thanks, Bob

For circular interpolation is it generaly best to break arcs at the quadrants or allow 360 degree arcs? Is there a difference in the finish from one to the other? Thanks, Bob

Colin, That would be great. I know how to do the basics such as turning on stagetool and other details, but starting from scratch is a little intimidating. I have the generic Haas VF/TR 5-axis post but I don't have my trunnion table yet (Jan 16 release) so I haven't been able to play around with it. Thanks, Bob

Colin, Regarding the misc integer implementation, I saw your post on the other thread so disregard that question. Thanks, Bob

Ron, I did see your reply to the other post and I appreciate the input. I guess where I was really lost is whether to try and use my old post or the newer version. If I go with the newer version I have no idea where to start with setting it up for my machine. It is not working as-is so there are tweaks that need to be made aparently. I am off site right now so I can't post a sample of what the v11. post is generating but I'll do that later tonight. I plan to use two posts, one specifically for 3 axis and one for 5 axis. Is the misc integer pretty easy to implement? Thanks, Bob

I have another thread going regarding what I need done but I haven't heard much for a solution. I am planning to use Predator Virtual CNC for 5 axis NC simulation and I need to modify my post to reduce the amount of setup required. Predator will scan my G-code and create the required tools, raw stock, and offsets, but that information needs to be commented in a specific format. The newer MPMASTER post (v11.0?) has a Predator output option that can be selected though the format isn't correct. My post is v8.1 and it isn't even an option. I guess I need to either start from scratch with the newer post and get that set up for my machine (Haas VF2), or try to modify my existing post to output the comments correctly. Thanks, Bob

Where can I go to have post modifications done? I know my local reseller can help but I would like someone I can actually reach on the phone. Thakns, Bob

Any ideas? Thanks, Bob

Here is the post section I am looking at. It goes on with several more tools but this gives an idea... if t$ >= zero, [ # CENTER DRILL if tool_typ$ = 1, scomm_str, "MTOOL ", *t$," S4"," ", *tldia_pred, " ", *tip_angle, " ", *flute_len, scomm_end # SPOT DRILL if tool_typ$ = 2, scomm_str, "MTOOL ", *t$," S4"," ", *tldia_pred, " ", *tip_angle, " ", *flute_len, scomm_end # DRILL if tool_typ$ = 3, scomm_str, "MTOOL ", *t$, " ", *tldia_pred, " ", *tip_angle, " ", *flute_len, " S4", scomm_end # TAP-RH if tool_typ$ = 4, [ if tip_angle <= 179, scomm_str, "MTOOL ", *t$, " ", *tldia_pred, " ", *tip_angle, " ", *flute_len, " S4", scomm_end else, scomm_str, "MTOOL ", *t$, " ", *tldia_pred, " ", "A179.", " ", *flute_len, " S4", scomm_end ]

One problem is that the MPMASTER post is leaving out the line (MCH_FILE=3AXVMILL.MCH) which tells it that this is a 3 axis job. It also posts the rest of the information on one line where Predator is looking for each tool to have its own line as above. Other than that I have it working.

During Predator training this afternoon we tried the modification to the current MPMASTER post and the output wasn't quite right. It would not translate correctly in Predator but it was better than nothing.

I am running a demo of Predator software for NC machine simulation and I need my post to create a comment header like this: (BEGIN PREDATOR NC HEADER) (MCH_FILE=3AXVMILL.MCH) (MTOOL T01 S1 D2 H10) (MTOOL T02 S4 D3 A118 H10) (SBOX X0 Y0 Z-30 L50 W50 H20) (COORD_SYS 1= X0 Y0 Z0) (END PREDATOR NC HEADER) This will allow Predator to scan the program and automatically create the required tools and stock for the simulation. Anyone know how I can get my post to do this? Also, I noticed that my post is version MP v8.1. Does this need to be updated? I noticed the latest MPMASTER is MP v11.0. Thanks, Bob

For now I am leaning toward Predator. I have a demo copy and training scheduled for tomorrow. Thanks for all of the input. Bob

I need to have some complex surfaces (intake and exhaust ports) scanned and digitized for machining. Anyone know of a reputable company that does this? Thanks, Bob [ 01-03-2008, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: Bullet Bob ]

I would be leary of Rhino because I do not believe it is parametric, but I could be wrong. Rhino is the best tool for surface creation but once the part is modeled it is difficult to edit. I have never used it but I have worked on projects where it was used. In these projects the design would be done in ProE to 95% completion and then finished up in Rhino. If adjustments needed to be done after all was said and done the Rhino work generally needed to be redone completely.

Solidworks is a great design tool and easy to learn and use. ProE is a great engineering design tool but difficult to learn and sometimes a real headache to use. For daily design activities I would go with Solidworks but if you were designing an F1 engine ProE would run circles around it. ~$5,000 will get you a seat of ProE with solid modeling, assembly, mechanism, and sheet metal design and the equivalent in Solidworks is ~$3500.

I am having a hard look at Predator software's machine simulation and I was wondering about maintenance. There seems to be several users on this forum and I would like to know if it is worth the money for maintenance. I have no problem with MCAM maintenance because there are several major upgrades every year. Is this the case with Predator?

I will be taking delivery of my trunnion table in mid January and I am unsure wether I should buy a simulation package or not. I have never programmed or machined 5 axis parts but I am a quick learner. Am I crazy if I don't go out and get a NC verification package (Vericut, etc...)? If I did get Vericut, how much time would it take to get everything set up? I have ProE so modeling the machine, tooling, and fixtures would not take too long. Any recomendations on which package would work best? I am a one man shop and I am growing fast so time is tight. My primary work is prototyping for the high tech industry. Thanks, Bob

Thanks for the info. Is there a better alternative to an ER collet other than the heat shrink tool holders? I don't have the budget for something like that right now but I would like to hear about alternatives. Thanks, Bob