FillingDave - I sent you a PM on here to discuss the issue you're having and to get some more details.. Please let me know if you didn't receive it. CamMan1 - I also sent you a PM on here to discuss your issues and concerns. Please let me know if you didn't receive it. Thanks,

Tim, You should be able to change it through Control Panel\Programs\Default Programs\Set Associations (or, just go to the start menu and type "associations" and it'll pop up.

Depending on how hard core your sysadmin got in pointing things around, you may need to edit the path in the registry as well. Obviously, know what you're doing, back up the registry, be careful, etc before doing it, but there are two paths (ShareDir & UserDir) located in Hkey_current_user\Software\CNC Software, Inc.\Mastercam X7\. If they're pointed to the missing server, even Colin's help won't do it.

Yeppo, that's why I put that disclaimer in, but I wanted to acknowledge what an awesome job Happytriger did replying with a video of the fix in action

They all nailed it, but just to reiterate, the RAM is the key.. I routinely use 100% of my processor and 13 or 14 GB of ram doing Opti toolpaths with stock models and such..

No problem, I got 'em..

Neurosis - I just sent you a PM on here, sir.

Neurosis - Yes, I did confirm it over here, and I sent it in to some of the relevant people (QC/Tech services). Sorry for not getting back here earlier to let you know

Happytriger - I wasn't part of the solution there, but that was awesome that you posted a video to show it working Glad it's all sorted out!

Yep, sounds like a genuine, 16-bit bug that no one has called to our attention Try giving it a shot with one of the newer toolpaths under the surface/solid. You'll need to do the same thing you do with ol' multi-surface, (drive off of another surface, then use collision control to comp out to the drive surfaces), but I'll bet it will work properly.

I may be of more assistance if you do put the procedure, but just for giggles, have you tried putting into your tool page settings 3 flutes, 1000% material to cut and a .003 % FPT? Edit: sorry, you posted while I had this open...

Neurosis - I don't know how your numbers got that way, but your second post shows that your feed per tooth base # is 100 inches/tooth and the % override for the material cut is 1000%. I don't know what tool library/settings library you're using, but on the default setup, the FPT is set to .004 and the % Material Cut Speed is set to 100. See if that makes a difference for you.. Edit: The Default % per tooth is default to 50% per tooth, not .003. I think you have a few numbers that got jumbled

If it's happening that often, is there any way you could document a step-by-step to make it happen? That's the best way to get a bug squashed

The only thing I can think of is to get ahold of tech support, who will probably pull in a developer to try to figure out why it's not working..

Pete - wow, odd... Have you talked to Tech Support about it?

Wonder - Technically there's no real limit, as long as the variables & structures can be automatically updated, it should work as it always did. From a practical standpoint, I would say that you want to revisit your posts every few years, because just like the rest of the software, there's always improvements being made in that department which may help you out & get rid of annoyances or production issues, some of which you may not even know you have

Pete - I meant whether you were opening any of the supplied tooldb files (that ship with Mastercam). dowlinzg - I have no direct experience with Norton vs. tool manager, but I can tell you from my years of being an IT guy for a couple of companies, whenever I had a weird issue with any software (I mean, ANY.. Accounting, CAD, CAM, graphics, etc), my first step was to remove Norton. Then start swearing when it turns out that you can't really "remove" Norton, and had to reformat & reinstall. Then I would find the Norton CD and physically destroy it so it couldn't infect my systems again. But that's just me Luckily, I haven't personally ran into Norton in about 5 years, and it's been wonderful! baldhead - That's actually a limitation of the old toolpaths. There is an ongoing project to go over every toolpath and bring them into the modern interface & workflow, and they'll all support holders (just like anything under "surface high speed" does). The team involved in updating them is using this as a great opportunity to go over each of them and apply modern processing techniques and overhaul where necessary, like what happened to peel & blend for X7. Tony35 - Was that a one-time thing, or is it any time Mastercam is open, you get that error?

Let's go with the two facts you presented: * It didn't (or at least, you don't remember it doing it) when you first installed X7 (Let's say a month ago). * It does it when going between wireframe and shaded. I'm laying money on a graphics driver that windows updated. I know at home I have an ATI, and I've long said about 'em, I love the hardware, but the drivers are often flakey. I'd start by downloading the latest and greatest driver for your card.

Hi Wonder! Since you're new to Mastercam, I'd recommend going through your dealer for support updating your post. They should be able to help you get your errors resolved.

Baldhead - There's quite a few logistical/interface reasons for not wanting to have an assembly builder inside of Mastercam, but one of the biggest reasons is that if it were inside of Mastercam, you'd not be able to have easy access to your tool database without having a valid sim plugged in. Right now, your tool crib guy can build the assemblies, set the proper stick out length, etc. The machinists on the floor can load the tool manager and verify that the tools they're loading are the right ones, etc. It also would have been much more cumbersome to try to integrate cut parameters & material data if it were all integrated, which is another of the big goals of the tool manager project. I'm not sure what direction you're going with "I just don't see why its not easier to make holders in mastercam"? Are you saying it's easier to make a holder in Mastercam than it is in the tool manager? They both use the same interface... And you can now save holders & tools to the same .tooldb file right from Mastercam, so if you'd prefer not to use the tool manager, you never have to open it and things will work exactly like they did before. Tony35 - Sounds like a file permissions issue? Right click on the tooldb file and make sure it's not set to "read only". Next, try to create a new .txt file wherever that tooldb is saved, to make sure you have write access to that directory? Pete - Does it give you those errors if you try to add a holder to an existing database? I'd follow up with your dealer or Tech Support to see if they've seen anything like that?

You haven't tweaked the XML settings for verify at all, have you? I know bumping up the PrecisionIndex (where the initial quality slider bar is set to) above 5 will result in some additional load time.. Oh, and as mentioned above, you ARE running an SSD, right?

Dowlinzg - I haven't seen it, but I think you'll need to provide a few more details to really find out if others are experiencing it. Are you inside of the tool manager when you try to create a new tool, or are you doing it from inside of Mastercam (right click in the tool selection area and choosing "create new tool")? If the problem happens when creating a new tool inside of Mastercam: Have you tried just opening the tool manager and creating a new tool inside of it? When you close the tool manager task, does the traditional tool creation window come up or is the new (prettier icons/shaded rendering/etc) interface? If the problem happens when creating a tool in the Manager: Have you tried creating a different type of tool (launch into a shell mill instead of a bull nose, etc?)

Tegheim - I don't know which surface toolpath you're using, but if you're using the one of the old ones that haven't been rewritten into the new interface yet here's a handy trick you can use to get it to load your tool holder using the new verify/backplot: Create a "dummy toolpath that does support loading the holder first, make sure you load the tool as an assembly (don't individually load the tool and then load the holder..). Make this toolpath something simple that doesn't interfere with what you're trying to see/test, a small circle to the side of your part or something. Then use the new verify/backplot to display those two toolpaths. If you're trying to backplot, just go into Verify in the Ops Manager, and then switch it to backplot by hitting the button on the ribbon bar. It'll keep your tool holder loaded. I'm not sure what issues you're having with save/open? File > Save As, and then when you Select a (Tool|Holder) library, browse to that file.. Make sure your library selection isn't set to an assembly if you don't have the tools built as an assembly, maybe?

It sounds like you're looking for the View Manager, you can get to it through the WCS button in the lower right, then choose "View Manager."

I've found that "shift points randomly along toolpath" gives me the best finish, especially on conical or fixed-tapered surfaces where the cut tolerance happens to land all of the toolpath vectors in rows. So I always check that.