I am grateful for the continued input. Here is some info to answer some of the comments. 6" chuck is more than large enough. I have been here 8 years and have yet to turn anything over 4". most parts are less that 1.0" dia. How important do you think a Y axis is?

The company I work for is considering a CNC lathe. I am the sole machinist in the shop and the company's focus is R&D. It is my opinion that a lathe with a 6in chuck capacity with a relatively hight RPM (think mostly aluminum) and live tooling is what we would need. The Haas ST-10 fits our requirements and cost. Is there any others that we might consider or is this the best bang for the buck. Keep in mind that this is a R&D shop. Ease of use is more the issue than high volume.

BenK Thank you, that works awesomely

Is there a hotkey or a button that I can add to the right mouse menu that will toggle the 2D/3D button. I find that I do this frequently and it would be nice if I did not have to move my mouse to the button to affect this change.

I am glad to see that the users haven’t settled into accepting this as the new status quo. I noticed some input about the presence of CadKey operating simultaneously along with Mastercam and this having some effect on the delay. I am a Pro-E user and I notice a significant delay if I have Pro-E open with several part files present. The more part files open the longer the delay. 8 part files could mean a delay of 30 seconds. I also notice longer delay on the computer with the lesser video card. My company is looking at upgrading our PC’s in the fall to run Win 7. I will be lobbying for video cards with as much video ram as economically possible. I would like to add that I have been following these threads since X4 appeared and I have yet to see any real response from CNC software that would lead me to believe that this is being addressed. I believe that they are “all in” with this new parameter format and it is up to us as the user to figure out how to make it work effectively. Currently, I close Pro-E when I am using Mastercam. I don’t like this as we are research facility and that is our mechanical design package. It is helpful to be able to have the assembly available to look at when I am deciding how to fabricate something. Not everything in the model is necessary. Simple changes to inside radii, for example, can make my job easier.

I have written about this several times already. The delay can vary from a few seconds to as much as 20-30 seconds. I am a user of Pro-E and having Pro-E open can significantly impact this. The more Pro-E part files open the longer it takes. I use X4 on two PC’s and the delay is longer on the computer with the lesser video card. There is no delay with the surfacing operations. These are the operations that have yet to receive the new “enhancements”. I find the lead-in/lead-out page particularly twitchy. Especially if you are opening the parameter pages and it is opening to lead-in/lead-out, because that was the one visible when you last closed the parameter pages. None of this existed before X4. I am disappointed to not see any comment from CNC Software on any of these threads. They seem to be plunging head first along this path and we, the users, have to take it. You will notice that the users that are not experiencing a problem have very high end PC’s. To answer Chris Rizzo’s question. On days that I am extensively programming, I would estimate a 15-20 minute impact. Not so much with delay by itself, but the fact that I cannot have CAD files open at the same time. I work in an R & D facility and it is beneficial to refer to the assembly models when I am building Hardware. I have to open and close Pro-E frequently because it cannot be running along with X4.

This IS annoying. You can also use the enter key to accept changes, but absolutely have to do something like enter,accept, or blue cross or it doesn't accept it. This is a new enhancement for X4.

I notice that the hotkeys for zooming in/out or window no longer function when I have clicked on one of the linked parameters and am trying to click on a feature in the model. This used to work fine. I have added some of them to the drop down menu, but I sure miss the hot keys. What is up with that?

I am glad to see that the complainin' about the parameter page continues. I am one that is firmly in the corner of less eye candy and more valuable stuff. An expert setting or customizable (even better).

Peon, I can't help but notice that your PC is much more than mine. Perhaps that is why you don't see any delay in the Parameter page. I am using two PC's (see an earlier entry for a description)and the one that has a better video card does perform slightly better. But neither machine is anything like the one you are using. (I also can't help but notice that you are a fellow Cheesehead, tough loss Monday night, but I feel optomistic)

Show tool tips was the only thing that I had on. I turned it of with no affect. I have tried several times to change "performance settings" to adjust to best performance. It has absolutely no affect. Three seconds on the computer in my shop is the best I get. This is the one with the less agressive video card. It quickly escalates to 8-10 seconds when I start opening part files in Pro-E. As I stated earlier, I could have as many as 8 to 10 Pro-E part files open with X3 and there would be no delay. I'm all over the "expert" switch. Gcode, your the man.

I already did what peon has suggested. I notice that many of the people, that are reporting no problems, have PC's that are better performers than mine. This is especially true when comes to the video card. They also seem to be using Vista or even Windows 7 instead of XP. I don't know if that matters. I have access to a Dell precision 690 xeon quad core with 4GB of ram and an nvidia FX3500 with 256MB of ram. I am going to load the software on that machine and see if it makes a difference. I would like to again state that I am not happy with the trend towards a graphics intensive parameter page. I know that I am starting to sound like a whiner, but none of these problems existed prior to this latest move. You have a whole page dedicated to break thru, when all you have to do is put a minus value in the stock left on floor. The graphic that is associated with the toolpath type choice is a complete waste of space and, I am sure, part of the reason there is additional time required to load. What purpose does the interactive graphic on the leadin page provide? I am sure that we are all smart enough to know the difference between tangent and perpendicular. I know that this graphic is also part of the problem. I say this because I have seen some instability issues when this page is open and I am changing values in this page. I have been a user of Mastercam for (I am showing my age) more than 20 years. In my career, I have had several opportunities to purchase seats of CAM software. Granted, because of familiarity, Mastercam has always had the edge when these opportunities to compare came around. That being said, Mastercam has always proven to be the right choice. I have always been pleased when a new version arrives, and there are some nice features with this new version. The feed per tooth and the surface feet calculator and the Quick View setting are nice examples. The visual cues for trimming and the chaining identical features are some others. There are more I have yet to explore. But I must say this trend in the parameter window is a disaster. More mouse clicks and slower responses, this is not good. I am hoping that this is being revisited. I cannot say when I will get to this test with the better computer, but I will keep you posted. I will not be pleased if this solves the problem. What this will tell me, is my attempts to stay current with mastercam will likely force me to ask my employer for (significant) funds to replace two perfectly fine computers. Either that or tolerate the sometimes 10 sec delay when the parameter page needs to be opened. Neither of these are pleasant options.

I have tried changing the video performance setting to “max performance” and I have disabled the multithreading option in the Toolpath page of the System Configuration. There is no difference in the delay. It is totally dependent on how many windows are open. Particularly if multiple window of Pro-E are open. With three or four Pro-E windows open the delay can be upwards to 10+ seconds or more. I should mention that when I open there Parameter page of a Surfacing operation there is almost no delay. This behaves exactly as it did in version X3 even with multiple windows of other software packages open. I noticed that the surfacing page has not received the “enhancements” that the contour and drilling operations have been subjected to. I am having a hard time believing that this is problem that a few of us are being subjected to. I consider myself reasonably computer literate and although, the PC’s I am using are not necessarily “smokin”, they aren’t slugs either. See an earlier entry in this thread for a description of the equipment I am using. I am noticing that the problem is particularly noticeable if it is opening to the leadin page of the Parameter window. They’re happens to be a fancy little interactive graphic on that view that provides absolutely no value. I am concerned that the trend to make the software package look “cool” is going to continue. As I have stated earlier in this thread, I would much rather see the parameter window be larger, have more of the variables I am likely to change and less “bling”. These graphics take computational power, consume window space, and really don’t seem to provide anything accept slowing the process down. Is anyone at CNC Software following this? It would be nice to see some comment.

More info regarding this Parameter delay. I am not sure whether this is exclusive to NVIDIA, but here is my most recent discovery. I have gotten this delay to be no more than 2 seconds, UNLESS I have Pro-E open at the same time. Then the length of the delay grows with the number of Part windows that are open. 4 Pro-E part windows will increase the delay to 10 seconds. Now some of you will say “Don’t do that”. My response would be. “This wasn’t a problem at all, until X4 came along.” I could have 7 or 8 Pro-E part windows open and Mastercam’s performance would not be impacted at all. The nature of my job dictates that I have at least one Pro-E window open with Mastercam, more likely it would be two or three. This is the design software our design crew uses. Anyone out there, with this problem, that has a workable solution? FYI I have 2 GB of RAM on both of my computers. One has a video card with 256MB of ram and the other has 128MB of ram. The problem exists on both of them.

Josh, The thing that had the most impact for me was updating the video drivers. I have an Nvidia Card and I downloaded the updated driver directly from their web site. I uninstalled the previous driver before I installed the new one. This step may not be neccessary, but that's the way I roll. Still have a 2+ second delay, but a vast improvement from the 8 you are experiencing. I was having any where from 5-10 seconds of delay before I updated the driver. There was also some stability issues that seem to have been resolved.

R.EX You make a valid point, but for me, this is more of an issue. My parts are typically not very program intensive (30-40 ops). I spend more time creating programs and setting up, than actually cutting metal. I rarely make more than a couple of any part.

I have made some headway on this matter. I updated the video card driver for the slower of the two machines. The parameter page now opens with the same delay as the faster machine. This is still more that 2 seconds, a delay that was not there in the prior version. The edit common parameters page opens instantly, just like they both did in the prior version. Two+ seconds seems the best I will get. The delay and the fact that the most common variables that I change are now on two pages instead of one, still are annoying. I know that you have added some functions on the parameter page and I am still exploring them with the hope that I will feel like I am getting some benefit. I still think that the size of the parameter page could be made larger and the graphics reduced. This would allow you to get more info on a page and reduce the number of pages required. I am still waiting for the ability to apply keystrokes to the check, red X, and Blue + boxes on the bottom of these pages.

I need to clarify here. I am talking about the parameters pages of each toolpath not the overall operations manager. I apologize if I was confusing.

No transform operations. My files are typically quit small. usually no more that 30 operations. Most of the time there is no surfacing. File size is not an issue. It is driving me nuts and I have been using X4 for only a few days now. I think Mr. Rizzo's estimate is well below the mark. I am not a power user, meaning I don't spend my entire day creating programs. I can see opening the operations manager 75 times in 1/2 a day of programming. The only survey option was 75+ in a day. I cannot speak about everyone, but I have been using two monitors for some time now. It seems to me that the oportunity to open the operation manager on the second monitor and have it be larger and therefore more of the information one might be changing be visible. Less flash, more of the important stuff with fewer pages and less graphics. I've got to believe that all the "bling" (I've used that word again) is what is slowing this thing down.

Here is an update on the problem that I am having. I have two computers that I run Mastercam on. I am experiencing this delay on both of them but it much longer on one than on the other. The computers are not identical, but I believe them to be somewhat comparable. Here are their descriptions to the best of my ability. Computer 1 Dell Workstation PWS450 Xeon CPU 2.40GHz 2.39 GHz, 2.00 GB RAM Nvidia Quadro FX 500/FX 600 128 MB Ram Computer 2 Dell Workstation PWS470 Xeon CPU 2.80GHz 2.79 GHz, 2.00 GB RAM Nvidia Quadro FX 570 256 MB Ram The delay on computer 1 is close to 5 sec. I have timed it with a stop watch. The delay on computer 2 is 2 sec. I completely uninstalled the old version (X3 mu1). I Deleted the directory that it was installed on, and all evidence of the old software in the registry. I defragged the hard drives in both cases prior to the new install. The two second delay can be tolerated (maybe), but the five second delay is really quite annoying. Sometimes I find myself clicking again just to be sure. Now some of you might say five seconds is nothing, but count it out. One Thousand one, One Thousand two, One Thousand Three, One Thousand Four, One Thousand five. (You have say it out loud for the true affect.) Not only that, the new operations manager is really not an improvement. There is at least one more page that you are required to view when you re-use an operation. There is a lot of nice “Bling” here, but I would think the goal would be to get more info displayed at one time rather than spread it out over more pages. I think the graphic that shows whether I am using this operation for contour, facing, pocketing, or slot milling is a total waste of valuable real estate. Now that is a nice idea to allow the same operation to migrate between these different choices, but perhaps the “Bling” is what is slowing it down. There are some things that are nice. The ability to migrate the same operation and the Quick View Settings window, but the delay is really intolerable. I am hopeful that this is being addressed in the next update. I am also hopeful that this trend of more pages is coming to an end and perhaps going back in the other direction. I would much rather see more of the variables that I might need to change rather than the cute graphics.

I am showing about a 7 sec delay. Did not have any delay with X3. This was true with Windows eye candy off or on. At least two more pages are now required to affect changes to tool pathes. Not really sure if this is progress. Dell Workstation PWS 450 Intell Xeon 2.40GHz 2 GB of Ram. Nvidia Quadro FX 500/FX 600 Any ideas?

I just installed X4 and found this to be an issue. The new dialog features are cute, but I would prefer the faster loading of the older versions.

The order of the libraries has remained intact. It is the order of the operations that seems to have a mind of it's own.

I forgot to mention that I am now using X3

I have a fairly extensive library of operations. I used to be able to rearrange their order from the machine group window and the files tab. I would select the operation library icon. This would take me to the libraries and from there I would be able to manually sort them. When I went to import from these libraries, the order would be presented as I had arranged them. Now, something is overriding that order. What is doing this and how do I fix this?