+1 to Hardmill.

Kunfuzed, I don't think I need to have G84 in each line. But I'll check on Monday and confirm.

For this to work on a Haas you need to specify a different depth on each line for each hole. For example (and I'm just winging this): X1.0 Y1.0 Z-.2 Z-.4 Z-.6 Z-.8 X2.0 Y2.0 Z-.2 Z-.4 z-.6 Z-.8 I asked my reseller to modify my post to support this and it works great. If the "peck" value on the parameters page is 0 then there is no peck. If I put a .2 value then it will peck in .200" increments. Maybe talk to your reseller and see if they can modify your post also, or maybe they can ask In-House for the changes they made. FWIW, I don't see why Haas couldn't have made this as easy as adding a "Q" value to the tapping line a la Fanuc.....I could rant, but I'll quit while I'm ahead!

I've used Keycreator (formerly Cadkey) for the last 10 years in a job shop environment. I used it to design jigs and fixtures and model parts from customer prints. I was able to do detail drawings, I had no problem exporting as STEP, or SAT files and importing into Mastercam. Any model I brought into Mastercam worked great from Keycreator. Being able to work with 'dumb' models was great for me. I could make changes as required without having to worry about a history tree. I even had better luck exporting STL files from Keycreator to use in Mastercam verify than I did from Mastercam (at the time, I'm sure it's better now). I didn't even entertain the thought of their Keymachinist addon. I already had Mastercam, and their product was too new and I didn't want to and had no reason to change. Nothing with it 'wowed' me. My current place of employment is using Solidworks. While I'm not doing any of the designing, I couldn't imagine these guys designing their products in Keycreator. With the number of different people working on these projects, the number of changes, revisions, improvements etc over the life of the products, I don't think Keycreator would handle it as well. Matt

I hope they keep them also. I've used them plenty in the past when I only had Mill Level 1 and still have applications for them occasionally.

That didn't seem to make any difference.

Using X3, when I select get tool from library to show the tool library, some of the Diameters show five decimal places, none of them show trailing zeros. Is there a way to get it to only show 4 decimal places and show all trailing zeros? The same goes for the tool list on my parameters page for each tool path. Thanks.

If the network goes down, I loose Mastercam also (nethasp). I'll try it out this way and see how it is. I'm sure if the network goes down and I have to shutdown Mcam that it'll give me one last chance to save and I can save local then. Btw Todd, I did put the full path on the command line also but it didn't have any effect. Here is my command line: C:mcamxmastercam.exe M:McamXconfigmatt.config /s

Ok. IT is upgrading to X3 this weekend. This is why I wanted to get everything off the C drive as they are reformatting for X3 and Solidworks 2009. I figured I'd get it setup to run off the network drive so in future I don't have to scramble to save all my posts, machine and control defs.

Ok. IT is upgrading to X3 this weekend. This is why I wanted to get everything off the C drive as they are reformatting for X3 and Solidworks 2009. I figured I'd get it setup to run off the network drive so in future I don't have to scramble to save all my posts, machine and control defs.

Are you using X3? I'm only using X2 right now.

I looked at that also. If I remember right it was a "merge" button, not an Open Folder. There was also a "save as" button, but it wouldn't let you select a path, only an existing file name in the directory. I'll double check tomorrow morning.

Using X2, I'm trying to use a config file on a network drive. I'm able to get every other file to work from the network. In settings - configuration - start/exit it gives me an option to choose a different config file but it doesn't allow me to select a path. I've tried putting the path on my startup line for Mastercam but that hasn't worked either. Any suggestions? Thanks.

quote: Toolman, what if his system is better? He should prove himself first using the current system and once he's been there for a while then he should make some suggestions to improve the process making sure everyone understands and agrees with the new methods. I'm sure this place has been making good parts with minimal crashes before he got there.

Maybe a bit late for you, but you can get a standard holder tension/compression holder to hold a 3/4-10 tap, as long as the shank on your long tap is the standard size for a 3/4-10?

Dell Vostro 1700 WinXP Pro SP2 Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz 2GB DDR Ram 256 MB Nvidia Geforce 8600m GT 160G Hard Drive, 5400 RPM 9:09 First Run 1:50 Second Run It's not a powerhouse, but it fit the budget and gets the job done! We don't do much that requires that much processing time.

Just a note for those who carry their SIM on their key chain. My SIM has actually developed a crack in the case. Not sure how, I'm not rough with it. It's possible I didn't pull it out exactly straight and this delveoped??? I don't know, regardles, on occasion when I pull it out of the USB port that sometimes the case comes but the guts stay. The hole for the key chain is on the case and does not tie into the guts of the SIM at all, so there is a slim chance that while carrying it on your keychain, if you keep your keys on a belt loop that the two pieces could separate and the main part of the SIM could be lost. Personally, I keep my SIM in a pocket in my laptop case. If it's not in there, it's plugged into the computer.

Have you tried using "longhand" for the thread cycle insted of the "canned" cycle? I use this all the time and it steps the starting forward slightly each pass. This is under 'thread cut parameters' in the 'nc code format' drop down menu.

Dragracer, These drills ops that are loosing drill points when copied, are the points generated from picking the centre of a circle on a solid? I've had this issue before and I believe it was confirmed by my reseller to be a bug at one time (still is for me using X MR2, not sure about the latest version). My solution to this is to create wireframe geometry on the face that has the circles, then I pick entities instead of center points. HTH.

Can you boot directly from the CD-Rom with your Windows install disks? I believe at one time you only had to put in the CD of a previous version of Windows when it asked, to let it continue installing the upgrade. This could work if you had a version of 98, 2000 etc lying around. Is this ethical? I don't believe this is the 'legal' way of doing it. Another option is to buy a full install licence. I bought one from Tigerdirect for about $150 CDN. The only differences I can tell from a retail bought version (say at Staples) is the price, and you don't get any support on the software since it is an OEM version you are buying. I don't believe I've ever called Microsoft for support on Windows XP in the past, and anything you need for support can be found somewhere online anyways.

I do this with two drill cycles. The first one drills the top of the tube all along using geometry at the top of the tube. Clearance ABS - Top of Stock INC - 0, retract INC - .1 The second drill cycle drills the holes in reverse using the geometry at the top of the wall on the opposite side. Using the same settings as above. I reverse the drill order also.

Yes, numeric keypad. The laptop I have now (ZD7140 from HP) has it and I really like having that as I use the computer for other stuff than just Mastercam which makes the keypad useful. The M6300 is a nice spec'd computer, but it's a bit out of my budget too. The Vostro meets most of my criteria, even though it's not quite as powerful it'll still be better than what I'm using now. My graphics now is an Nvidia 64mb card, so the 256 on the Vostro definitely beats that.

Does the M6300 have the full keyboard?

I'm looking to replace my HP ZD7140 Laptop. I'm looking to replace it with a Dell Vostro 1700. I'll list the specs below. If you could take a look at the specs and let me know if anything jumps out at you (good or bad). It ships with Vista but is fully compatible with XP, all drivers are available on their website, I'd just have to purchase XP and install it. TIA. Catalog Number: 70703 N17002V_F_2E Module Description Show Details Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7700 (2.4GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), English Operating System Genuine Windows Vista™ Business Edition, English LCD Panel 17.0 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife™ Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 Dimm Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT Hard Drive 160G 5400RPM SATA hard drive Integrated NIC and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.08 Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/o Roxio Creator Sound Card Integrated High Definition Audio Wireless Cards Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini Card Camera Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera Productivity Software No Microsoft Office, English Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-Install) No Anti-Virus/ Security Software, English Batteries 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery Hardware Support Services 1 Year Return to Depot Service and Technical Support Online Data Storage 10GB for 1 Year Online Data Backup by Dell DataSafe Dell Network Assistant DELL NETWORK ASSISTANT 1.7, NO INSTALL Automated PC Tuneup 1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup

I had an application for a left hand end mill once. I wanted to thread the part into a tapped hole and mill around it. The left hand end mill (theoretically) was supposed to stop the part from threading out of the hole while I was milling it. Of course nothing was available within 1 or 2 days I had to think of something else.