You need a line to enter cutter comp and doing it along your feature probably isn't a good idea. You have to have multipasses or depth cuts on to get a spring pass and you can set them to 0 step, then you can change Lead in/out set it to only lead in/out on start and finish passes. That will create a smooth spring pass.

Is it only one toolpath? Try backplotting that toolpath and see if it's really there. Several times in the last year I've had operations that looked clean (and had actual size) but there is not a toolpath on the screen, in backplot nor in the NC file. Used to be when a "clean" toolpath was non-existent it would show as zero KP in the ops manager. Now it doesn't.

Here's how I model my tapped holes. Makes it easy to get any/all necessary dims from it. They do that here. ^^^^ Drives me nuts. They also bring in edge curves on every damned solid they import. And LEAVE them there!!! We're talking assemblies with hundreds of components propagated around tombstones and other rotary axes.

Hmmm... Don't threaten me with a good time.

Several ways I can think of: File Merge then visually compare while in wireframe view then shaded view then translucent shaded view Convert one to an STL and import it as stock then run toolpaths to see differences Use Solidworks Compare Documents function Open both STP files in Notepad++ and use their File / Compare function but you'll have to be able to understand how STP files are written (they are text files) No Bid the job.

Trying to figure out why this ended so badly for him and trying to find a way to come back and bash us some more and not get his xxxx handed to him again. Never. You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning. Said no red-blooded Irishman ever. (We don't need excuses like what time it is. And we don't mind drinking alone)

Gibbs is very different than other systems. It's much easier to learn and do basic stuff. It also does really complex stuff too but you're kind of locked in to their way of doing it. And their posts are proprietary. With Mastercam there's 7 ways from Sunday to do just about everything. Think Macintosh vs Linux. I think he means accidentally dragging and dropping operations inside the ops manager. Huge problem with no UNDO to speak of.

^^^

Pffft. There's no ,.I.. anyway so what's the point. You want a good time? Try just 100 operations in Gibbscam

WTH!?!?!? No robots. No pretty girls. No cool new tech. Nobody losing a finger. I want my 56 seconds back!

Yeah, that's what I mean. Push/pull toolpaths, just like we have with solids. That would actually be pretty cool.

As in, push/pull for solids?

I only counted primary jobs at 8 hour shifts. I spent thousands of hours in O/T and at 2nd and 3rd jobs (moonlighting) as well as thousands of hours at home learning on my own. Now I'm really curious how many actual hours I have.

Keep real close track of the time. It will be over before you know it. Hahahah, yup! But the fluidity of the V9 menu-driven interface made creating geometry easy (all done from the keyboard, rarely having to use the mouse). Nowadays you cannot get by without a mouse. Good for some things, bad for others.

I'm well over 35k but did a conservative calculation to get close. I think I'm fairly even between the two, maybe a slight edge to Gibbscam. And yeah, when I look back at my early days in the 80's before dynamic toolpaths and solid models it was a different world. Can't imagine going back to those days, although I do still love me some V9 SP2!

Sorry, Morlin, that was directed at CNC Software's work flow, NOT yours. Oh, oops. My bad.

Morlin, you can't trim solid edges to anything. Or was that /sarcasm?

Could be, but it's been like this for years. Could be as simple as using just a little common sense related to work flow to realize having edge selection on full time or off full time is not a good implementation of a function. With all they dynamic features in MC you'd think this was a no-brainer.

Again, you cannot trim an edge of a solid to anything. Why are you (still) allowed to select it for this type of operation? I can kind of understand having it available for the trim TO part, but to have it enabled for everything is downright dumb. Especially with my work flow where I'm creating edge geometry and trimming it a lot. I should be able to have edge selection on by default when created edge geometry and off by default when xxxxing trimming. It's not rocket science. And I though someone said this was fixed after 2020? This. ^^^ A thousand times, this!!

Good job @azoth, you just alienated yourself from one of thee most knowledgeable, helpful and TOLERANT people on here.

Sorry for the late reply, I was LOLing so hard at your replies that I fell over backwards in my chair and hit my head on the floor and had to go get a compress put on it, BUT I'M OK NOW!! Clearly, you cannot look at a part and anticipate what it takes to get programmed. Read over this thread to understand why. Seriously, kid... your approach to getting help stinks. You pretend to know everything, bash, complain, contradict yourself and generally make yourself look, well, incompetent. (No offense, just an observation.) And the biggest difference between me and you...? ...I would gladly take any help you could offer me even with one weekend of programming "experience" because I know I don't know everything that can be done with CAM software even though I've got over 35,000 hours of seat time with it between Mastercam and Gibbscam. Yeah, right. Check out what Thad said below. He's 100% spot-on. This. ^^^

File / Configuration / Colors / Grid then select a color. File / Configuration / Screen / Grid you can change Grid settings.

Give it another 6 years then get back to us about your "command" of CAM software. Mastercam is very capable and can do what you want multiple ways. Some easier than others but always able to get the job done. You were given excellent advice and ignored it to go on bashing something you literally know nothing about. Your boss must be so proud of you and your work ethic. Completely unrelated question... do you know Jon Banquer?

Accidentally found a cool way to select multiple shapes in wireframe. Shift-Click inside a shape (without highlighting/selecting any geometry) and it will select the entire shape and any shapes nested in that shape. It only nests one deep.

Thanks. I wonder if that's a function of the Varco reports or if CNC fixed Active Reports.