Justchips, do you have Camplete for the Cublex? If so, Camplete has a function that will turn any 2d milling op into a C-axis milling with X or Y fixed in space, so it runs like a C-axis contour- polar milling...

We use a program written to call each and measure it sequentially, including a choice of 583 or 584 measure cycle, for tools getting a radius measurement as well as length. Its just a simple hand-written prog that uses a label call for each measure cycle, then we run thru whatever section we want measured, or just let the machine measure everything while we do other stuff... hope that helps

I don't think any 5x path will do an arc unless its restricted to a 3 axis output and the arc is flat. To set a 5x path to make smaller steps, use cut tolerance and distance in parameters, as well as minimum angle step if its a true 5x path...

email from technical documentation dept says "use last size only works for box or cylinder" and they updated the help file. No enlightenment as why it changed (from X4), or instructions on how to get around it. Jay's tip to select the solid in "stock setup" on the ops man list is what worked for me....

Jay, selecting the same solid in stock setup, then again in verify works- but I have never done that in the past...maybe its a new thing in X5?

Rickster, I can do that- I just thought maybe I was missing something... Thanks

I can't seem to get verify to remember what the last stock used was- I am using a solid as stock, and have to pick the solid every time I verify. All the settings are the same as X4, which works fine. What am I doing wrong? Thanks!

MPSUBREP works really well, also

Shrink-fit is great for endmills in hsm- having switched a while back, I can say they will pay for themselves in a short time by increasing tool life and accuracy in the cut. But, you really need to use true HSM to get the most benefit. You will see a difference even on a Haas....on something truly high-speed, it is a necessity.

Rod- thanks for the info- that is what I wanted to know....so, it works a lot better on mesh or uneven surfaces... gcode- I guess I can agree with you that most people don't need these "experts" and don't want to pay for them. BUT, I paid for multi-axis, and would like it to be much better than it is- the two "experts"- port and blade, tell me that CNC knows they are lagging, and it makes me feel like I have to pay extra to get a good tool. Kind of like I paid for a wrench, but it needs to be filed-to-fit, and the guy next door paid for a wrench that works without filing, and he is done with his job, while I am still filing.... With Mastercam, I keep paying, and I get jobs done with it, but it takes an awful lot of "filing" that other shops aren't having to do.

Ah, cool! Please send me his dealer sim......

Not available till X5mu1 is released to us, the great unwashed masses. So, thanks for everyone's input...

OK, so, money arguments aside, my original question was regarding what does it do that is different, or better than the "stock" routine....Has anyone used it? I am trying to get a demo, so I may be able to answer my own question at some point. Tyler, as for the "Blade Expert", if it works anything like Hypermill's blade routines, THAT would be a huge step up..

Can you show a pic of what you need or post a file?

James- not DIE, just work to a higher standard...lol! I think we all would admit to pushing for a better product Murlin- right, you have re-do a lot of things when bringing older stuff into X5- I find I need to regen most files completely, but at least I don't have to re-pick and reprogram it all..

The point is, for me anyway, this leap should be PART of Mastercam, not something we always have to pay extra for. Mastercam is supposed to be a complete system, not a shell to run software that actually works, inside of, for extra money... Mold plus does things Mcam doesn't even think about- it doesn't just improve how Mcam works- it does things Mcam has no solution for. Mcam HAS port software- is it the kindergarten version and "port expert" is the grad school version? I guess I am just sore because I paid a lot for Mcam, and I paid a lot of maintenence over the years, plus, I paid a lot for "add-ons" and their own maintenance just to get mcam to work effectively- for me... Now, I find I am supposed to pay AGAIN for an effective solution to port programming, and add another maint. charge every year? Even though I paid for for port routine thats already there.... Pardon me for my PAY button being wore out, and not being OK with it......... Tyler, are you saying this is NOT a released product yet? Its in my PC download version....

Murlin, thats what I'm saying- if you have to re-pick and generate a new toolpath for every op, that could take hours in a complex part- and I'm talking about paths that may not be affected by a rev change- you have to regen everything in a toolpath group to get a new NCI to post. So, if I have a part that ran a year ago, customer adds one hole, I may have to regen 50 ops to get a new NCI. If the ops are from a software pack that is no longer supported, they all have to be re-programmed with whatever takes its place. This adds up to money, no matter how you look at it.

Tyler, how does it differ from the one that comes in Mcam?

John, I was hoping to get some feedback from somebody who has used it. I have asked for a trial, we'll see what they say... I have the price, and it better be good for the extra money- I want to see if is significantly better than the "stock" port routine. If it is, that just means you have to spend extra money to get functionality that should have been in Mcam in the first place... like Volumill or Cimco (ducking behind flame-proof wall)........

I just discovered you need an access code to use this feature in X5, and I am curious if anyone has experience with it? It is another "add-on" and costs a fair bit of money....

From the standpoint of a shop owner who has had 3rd party software and used in nearly every program for 10 years, if that software was suddenly not supported, then it means every time we run a repeat part with a change in it, that 3rd party toolpath will not regen, and will have to be re-programmed with whatever is "supposed" to replace it....unless you maintain the last supported version of Mcam with the add-on in it. This equates to a lot of time and money wasted in the future. I don't think I would be happy, either, if this happens with Cimco next. Just my point of view....

I've been using CIMCO HSM with adaptive clearing since V9, and only with the X5 milling has mcam come even close. I am still more familiar with CIMCO, and use it all the time, and their service has also been excellent. It has been a life-saver for us with high-speed- high reliability roughing and finishing. I haven't tried Volumill, so have no comparison. I use all of Cimco's toolpaths, and they now have 5-axis Swarf, and very fast verify, so you get a lot for your money. Several people on here have much more experience than me with Mcam's new routines, but I have no complaints with Cimco. Not trying to bash Mcam, but maybe I should- this stuff should have been part of mcam to begin with....

I am with Neurosis on this one- transform operations crashes X4. Two different computers- dual core on XP64, fx3400 card, and quad-core xeon on vista64, fx3700 card. Bad enough that I just gave up and programmed a new op from a new toolplane. Not all transforms in the same program caused a problem, only MOST of them, some 5-axis, some simple 3-axis. Not predictable. I don't think its a video problem, because its not doing anything on the screen- its calculating when it crashes. Maybe X5 will solve it- I haven't time to try, but I will give that a go and see what happens.

Ah OK, thanks! we are connected to a PC, and run most things over the network, since the stupid Fanuc only has a small scrap of memory....

James, does that work on a 16i, and can it sent over the dataserver channel to the pc?