Nope, but quite a few people share your opinion. Link

Welcome to the forum AFIT, but FYI, it's a no-no to ask for a post right out of the gate.

quote: I know after years of using 8 and 9 that X is not just new, it is a complete departure from everything that we have learned. HOW!?! The terminology is similar, if not the same. Your toolpathing is the similar, if not the same. Your tool and material libraries are similar, if not the same. The level manager is similar. Why is it that the "majority" ( ) just can't get past the "where do I find it" stage of the new interface. Or the CAD functionality is not the same as v9. Who care’s? You want a CAD package, go buy one or learn how to do it in a CAM package. Design does what it’s supposed to do. Translate, draw, dimension, model (with the solid option). Does it do all of them exceptionally? That’s debatable. Is it more convenient than purchasing an additional CAD package? Hell yeah it is. By the way, I think the real “majority” are those users who have not voiced their opinion yet. I could be wrong. Bugs? Eh, maybe, xxxx_ happens, it'll get fixed, hopefully. But from my experience there have been bugs reported on the forum that I couldn't duplicate. Or files posted where there were just plain over sights by the user. Not that I’m some Mastercam superstar, but I try to help everyone I can. Nailing hardware/driver/software/network conflict issues is almost impossible on the forum, and it's got to be just as difficult for CNC Software. Maintenance? quote: The Mastercam X Maintenance Program is a software delivery plan designed to provide you with the most recent enhancements, the latest software tools, and the best new features. This means that your investment in Mastercam X will continue to pay off by keeping your shop at the top of its game. It’s a software delivery plan. Regardless of the fluff and sales-speak, paying maintenance does not mean you are going to get perfect software. It doesn't even mean your going to get what "you" want from the software. It means you get some features that non-maintenance customers don't get, and you don't pay (nearly as much) for new releases when they appear. Everyone should be entitled to the fixes. Yes, I know a lot of people are claiming to have burned by the postponement of X, thinking their maintenance dollars got flushed down the crapper. Why do I keep hearing how MR0105 was top notch then? If you want to voice your opinion on the development of the software, I suggest getting into the beta testing program. The beta community must have found the new features useful, and I'm pretty sure most of them are long time users. Investing your time into something a little more constructive than complaining, like learning or testing, would be a wise investment for you and your company. I'll STFU now. Finally, I know... Happy holidays to all, I wish all of you the best for the New Year! Peace.

I did a "Select all operations"-> right-click selected->Edit common parameters->Home Position->From Machine->Apply->OK->Regen Dirty Seems to have cleared it up and cycle time shows up on back-plot too. HTH

Don, I opened your file and noticed that the cycle time are not being shown. I also noticed, and it could just be me, that the moves to and from toolchanges are "infinite". That's a new one. Fire this file off to [email protected], maybe they can explain it.

quote: V9 is pretty solid, but to say it's "close to perfection" is a bit of a stretch. I think we're all just used to the workarounds and have used them for so long that it's become "the way you do it." I agree, it seems that work-arounds become habit, and eventually you forget how the software is intended to work. quote: It's just the beta of CNC's first Windows based version of Mastercam That's not a very fair sentiment. This release should have happened years ago. And if CNC Software didn't think they would get this kind of resistance, it probably would have. quote: But I am adapting....That would seem to be a key element of success, regardless of what color the lenses of your glasses are. Good for you. quote: dont force me to use X, that may force me to look elsewhere. X is the future of Mastercam, I would think things will move forward not backwards. The more time you spend improving how you use X, the better you'll be able migrate to what ever comes next. I doubt any other package on the market will be an easy transition either. JMO

James, Mechanical 2005 still had the command line interface. But remember, AutoCAD users waste 4-5 hours a year pressing the space bar or enter to execute each and every one of those commands. Sorry I just couldn't resist. But seriously AutoCAD is a terrible example. That program still looks and functions the same as it did in R13, for the most part. Not to mention it's been written for Windows since R11. Having a userbase of six million (Autodesk products) tends to add alot of revenue to apply towards development costs and staffing. JMO

quote: dwsz71 you mention above about use of the keyboard commands being a bad thing OH COME ON! With all those snazzy certs...READ! I never said it was a bad thing. I implied that the keystrokes may have been an easier, if not better, nav tool than the icon and menu strategies of past versions of Mastercam.

In the back-plot dialog box, click the double arrow in the upper left corner, then the info tab. HTH

quote: It seems as if no one from CNC even asked US what we wanted. Instead they completely had their own ideas on what's best for us. I think that says a lot, and sucks. That's probably because if it was up to the users nothing would have changed at all. Point blank; the old interface had to go. Keyboard commands had to go. Welcome to Windows! I think the only reason veteran Mastercam users complain about the damn keyboard commands is because, as far as I can see, they never had a better way to navigate. The menus and icons prior to X, IMO were terrible. Does that mean the interface in X is set up the best way possible to utilize the mouse in the most efficient manner? No, but it's not that bad. I think that an approach similar to packages like Solidworks or Inventor, which have menus on the side of the screen, much like V9 did, would have worked better. In X, I use the Toolpath drop down for 95% of my tool path creation, and I do 5% in the Operation Manager. Like many have said, words associate better than pictures (icons). On the bright side, you kept most of your tool paths, maybe even got some new ones. The tool path parameter and tooling parameter pages are nearly identical. The folks at CNC Software are reading your comments everyday either here on the forum or via love/hate/HELP!!! mail. From the resellers too, I hope. IMHO, as far as ideas for a completely new Mastercam go, they could have done a hell of a lot worse. And they’ve been pretty responsive. A Service Pack, two updates and a Maintenance release (tomorrow???) in 4 months. Not to mention all of the participation in this forum. It seems to me that they care about their user base. Just holding out as long as they did from going to the new environment shows that. They were obviously more concerned with the users they had than the prospective ones who held out or passed it up. As far as my first Mastercam "experience" goes, I'm glad I waited for X. JM2C

Not to hijack: quote: The only 2 options I am aware is picking your tools out of the library again or exporting them out of the 1st op to be imported into the next. There is an easier way to transfer tools used in different Machine Groups within an MCX file. In the upper left corner of the Tool Manager there is a drop down that allows you to switch between the available "Machine Groups". Simply drop down to a previous "Machine Group" select the tools you want to reuse by holding the Ctrl and mouse clicking or mouse click (first tool) Shift+click (last tool), right-click selected, Copy tools, go back to active Machine Group via the drop down, right-click Paste Tools. This is for tools, not OPs. Sorry if that's not what you were referring to John.

that new means do over, you want to Right-click on "Machine Group 1" (like John said), Groups, New Toolpath group.

In the same Machine Group? Are you inadvertantly creating a new Machine Group, which also creates a new Toolpath Group. Creating new Toolpath Groups must be done by right-clicking on the "Machine Group 1" or "Toolpath Group 1" AFAIK. By right-click in just the Operation Manager, only the choice of New Machine group->Mill/Lathe/Router/Wire is given.

Are you creating a new Toolpath Group in the same Machine Group?

Sorry, it's the "Configure" box, not options. It is located first button on the left above the "machining speed" slide. Or Settings->Configuration...->Verify->Tool Tolerance

Adjust the Speed/Quality slider on the verify dialog box. You can also go into the Verify options [!] and adjust the tolerance. Default is .008" I believe. Changing it to about .002" should clean things up and not decrease performance greatly. HTH

C.Leon, I prefer the Mill2.set personally. Mill2.set is a less cluttered set-up sheet that comes standard with Mastercam X. Alternatively you can also right-click in the Operation Manager and select "Doc File..." for a tool list by Op. Using the "Doc File..." method allows for control of the save location before creation. .SET files are similar to .PST files, so if you can modify a .PST, with a little research, you should be able to modify a .SET. HTH

Flame Suit ON: Ron, Topic starters like quintin might be making the mistake thinking that this is a forum with open minded, helpful and informative people. Shame on him... So much for making "informed decisions". Flame Suit OFF: quintin, I have not used Solidcam before, so I have no reference for comparison. But there are plenty of people here who use, or have used multiple CAM packages. I hope someone can help you out.

David, You'll have to get the number printed on the SIM. There may be prefix characters that you are missing.

Got it...

Yes

Jeff, I am currently running SP1 Update 1 on my regular duty PC, and I have SP1 Update 3 loaded on my laptop for testing. I had some post problems early on with Update 3 and though they have been corrected, I just haven't gotten around to installing on both.

I tried the "Use tool's step, peck, coolant". I had the same results whether it was on or off. I also had the same results whether it was Tool, Material or Defualts, being used for speed/feed calculations. The changes always stick for me.

Walter, yeah what John said...

Sorry guys, I tried like hell but I can't duplicate the problem.