I guys appreciate the input - appears to be a combination of allocations and power managment. i often get the bad surfaces . i model all my work in solidworks and export with the mastercam flavors (iges) i have tried parasold x_t export with the same results. don't really understand where the bad surface are created (yet) i will download the ftp cadcam . and have a look regards Gord [This message has been edited by gmenzies (edited 07-03-2001).]

ftp://mastercam:[email protected]/Mastercam%20forum/ i uploaded the file scallop-1.zip i was going to include the toolpath , but the code was way to big ( were stll stuck at 2400 baud rate). Mopar-- the facets are cut tolarance . if i run the toolpath through my verify , the facets will show up. outr machine is 1 year old . we use meta-cut for our optimization - does a real nice job with the code. instead of using check surfaces. I biuld a boundary and offset the parting line .005" and have the tool roll the top edge. that way i don,t have to worry about a toolpath that jumps around. the geometry was biult in solid works

clarification-- my computer hangs on constant scallop , on large multi-surface . thanks guys for the replys. setting the allocations could be the trick , i will try that . i cannot set the cut tolarnce's for this application to above .0005" . otherwise i get little facets . and the polishing guys really don't like that . i presented this problem to a reletive who is a computer enginer. his first question was-- is it time dependent ? with that in mind -- power managment came up. possibly scince the toolpath does take about a hour to crunch . my hard drives could be shutting down. i have not tried the upload thing . it's a holiday on monday in Canada -- happy birthday Canada-- so i will upload the file on tuesday.

pent III 1 gig // 500 megs ram allocations set at about 70 % of avalable ram. .375 Ø ball nose cutter / 10000 rpm / .005" step over // 80 inches per minute. cut tolarance set to .0002 " job: 70/75 aluminium ( cutting a 3d cavity ) i sometimes have mastercam hang . could someone please give me advice if my approch is wrong . being the only programer here . i sometimes guess or should i say experiment to get good surface finish results . thanks

just a suggestion go to the top view ( i would think you are working above this plane) modify/normals/set-- all surfaces. this will make any surface normals that are below 90 degrees point up or normal to that view. vertical walls seam to always jump opposite what you want. so a dynamic flip is needed on vertical walls. this is always needded when using toolpaths like flowline. [This message has been edited by gmenzies (edited 06-23-2001).]

i solved this mystery.(with a little help) Hide and blank are two diferant options and yes the file had blanked entities verses hidden . from what i found , it has to do with iges importing surfaces . the parent surfaces are blanked(untrimmed) and the parametric type (trimmed) are visable. thanks CycleTimeCharles and Bill for your responses

alt-e (un-blank) yup i use this , but still entities left ? gremlins in my system .

i will delete all entities on a level. when i hit alt-z and display that level list it still shows entities ? even if i ram save there are still entities. but if i hit screen stastics , there is no visable geometry. is there a way to clean up this ? thanks

Rhino 3d has a option for taking 3d dxf files and putting surface to it. but your geometry will be very unusable. we were quoting on some toy parts a few years ago. and i was supplied with autocad 3d dxf files ( polygon ) better of starting from scratch another option is to take the 3d dxf and surface what you can . slice it up with splines and re-loft the surfaces. another trick is to use cadkey /fastsurf/copius data if you can extract the dxf to a point cloud. fastsurf allows you to creat splines that pick up points that lie on xy positions

in my opion the tutorials ( application giude) do a good job to get you started. the problems begin with the refined stuff . ie: surface normals, gap settings, sharp corner problems, dealing with vertical walls. using 2d sweeped when flowline fails . mastercam needs to get a advanced user type book out . Robert White put out two books on advanced surfacing and solids for cadkey . these types of books allowed a user to explore alternative ways of getting the job done . ug is probly a very good package , but so is work nc , delcam etc . the trick is to get the most out of the software your boss has provided you with. taking a mastercam course with guys from differant shops helped me see differant ways to do the job. mabey "Dummies for mastercam" for all those silly questions you were afraid to ask .

i hope the webmaster does not mind a non mastercam question. I have been trying to locate software that address the moldmaking industry . i have my own little excel program , but would like to locate something specific even a machine shop quoting system that i can refine to our needs. thanks

Mpparam.dll Dave . we went from v7.2c to v8.1 there is no Mpparam.dll in the c-hook directory. are you saying i should now have this dll file in that directory ? Gord

Mpparam.dll Dave that fixed the problem . the code is now outputting correctly. thanks for the patch

we cut alot of bottle mold threads. ie: buttress sytle. because of where i start and stop. i generate a spline helix the pitch and turns i need and use contour incremental with perpendicular lead in and out. when the threads exceeds one full turn , turn of infinite look ahead. with your application in delrin , i made a protoype ( out of delrin)with a iscar off the shelf 60 degree tool (single lip)in one pass

my post is for a fadal that has been worked on by inhouse (Dave). lots of small refinements. i will have to look on monday at work which one was modified. most recently inhouse upgraded it to work with subs. my code has been reduced substantialy. it did cost our company a fee for this upgrade. but worth every penny.

upgraded to 8.1 a few months ago . used uptxt for my post. when i do a surface tool path . my code outputs a stock to leave in brackets . nice addition. but if i tie in a roughing routine with a finish routine. and the roughing leaves .020" for finishing. and i post out the code. i get the stock left on the roughing .020" but the finish toolpath also adds the same line and says stock to leave .020" even though i programed .00" to leave. this is probly a post issue. and haveing read the bug forum . i would like to try and see if i can resolve this myself. where would one look for comments out-put in the post ? thanks

screen/configure/CADsettings/globals check the mirror Y box when i have to alot of engraving type work I find this a simple fast way to just type in the note, position it. and project it onto a surface. then use incramental,contour no cutter comp . 1/64 ball nose

if your profile is a 3d shape . you could creat a wire frame and use contour incremental in the key areas. create/curves/all edges generaly i use bull end mills with a .15 or .02 rad i don't think you can cut negative stock unless you have some sort of radius on the tool . could not view your link. said it was not avalable.

when i have to machine undercuts . flowline is probly a better choice , also the wire frame toolpaths work well with undercuts. just takes a little getting used to alongand accross. i will backplot with 3 viewports and zoom to area's of concern in all three views . could never get the lollipop to work right. good luck

try reducing cut tolarance down for roughing .010" and then batch for overnight proseccing. also turn of the optimize in the gap settings for finish , this can help speed things up. on finish stuff. i hit the button, and go home or clean my office ,make coffee, go and surf the mastercam forum .

Charles thanks for the suggestion . but the g8 or g9 plays no part in that move on the machine. on a 180 degree radius g18 move the ijk determine the movement on our fadal. the problem i believe is backlash . even though it is a one year old machine . this has been the problem from the start. the servo motors must change direction . fadal now comes out with a simens control,that apperantly uses simens servos motors. which allow 3d curves to be machines.

increase your cut tolarance to .0001" its not the fadal . but having said that. with our fadal 3016,box way machine. on a g18 or g19 move , we get a small dwell mark on the transition from down to up move. it is measurable in tenths. on the identical move on a okuma,just a line. i guess thats what a extra 50,000K gets you

we use asus mother boards and asus video cards . never a problem . just upgraded to PIII 1 gig / 500megs ram 64meg video// all asus. will be installing version 8.1 on monday. been using 7.2c . associative surfaces , look forward to that. [This message has been edited by gmenzies (edited 02-16-2001).]

you might also want to look at meta-cut . optimizes your tool path . just program to the max of your carbide , and meta-cut does the rest . it works to the limitations of your machine and control . to work accurate and smother i have heard vericut also has a optimizer , but do not know much about it . Gord

we did a job a few years ago. a two start thread auger . 6 " diameter.left hand thread. four feet long. i did not do the tool path . we farmed it out to a shop that handles four axis. i did see the toolpath though. they took my iges surface file (made in solidworks). and unwrapped some of the surfaces and did a old toolpath ruled . then re-wrapped it. not exactly sure how it was done. but i sure someone at mastercam tech support can. i would think in the paremeters you would just replace x with a good luck