I know there are a lot of guys on this forum who I consider 'gurus' and their knowledge about Mastercam is so far beyond anything I have. But about 4 months ago our company's owner asked us to upgrade our abilities in Mastercam after I convinced him NOT to switch to Tebis software. And so we've been doing a ton of work in the stand-alone tool library, changed our posts, begun to use the simulation software and upgraded our use of the verify software. Along the way we had to figure out a lot of work-arounds and/or just figure out the idiosyncrasies of the Mastercam software. I don't know if anyone else has faced a similar task, but it was daunting to say the least. We got help here, from mastercam.com, from our Mastercam reseller and also from an independent contractor, (shout out to Mark R. Fryman) that we hired for a time. If it wasn't for others helping us, we couldn't have made it, and so I just want to throw out the offer to help anyone else who might have questions about doing similar things. We are a proto-type mold and fixture shop: everything we make is one off, but our owner wanted to automate our machining processes as much as possible by stringing together as many tools and operations as possible so that our operators could hit the button and let multiple tools mill our parts and get it right the first time as we ONLY get one chance to get it right. Maybe no one cares, or maybe others would want to offer their own tips and wisdom to this thread, too. I certainly don't know it all, but it's finally coming together after 4+ months of preparation, and it's kind of a good feeling to see it working and actually giving me more confidence in the programming that I do. Scott

Yes, we did too. I'm just glad I'm working with a Millenial who loves these kind of problems because he figured out how to get around Mastercam's attempts to make things 'easier.'

It doesn't work when you are trying to incorporate metric taps into your English library. If you do that on the first page of the tool editor, then it just blows to h3ll your speeds and feeds on the second page. And if you leave the metric box checked and select the correct metric tap from the drop down, it will work except that when you try to import your metric tap into your English file it doesn't translate it to the correct size...

Unfortunately, in this case that won't work, because the 'mm' simply divides whatever number you put in by 25.4, but here you need to do the opposite and divided 25.4 by the pitch. That's what got me hung up...

Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. My coworker got back from his long weekend yesterday, and this is what he does. It's so easy, I'm a little embarrassed that I had such difficulty remembering it, but maybe it's because it's the exact opposite of what you do to figure out the feedrate for a metric tap when you already have the spindle speed you want. Anyway, on the first page of the editor where it says threads per inch all you have to do is type 25.4/1.5 (enter) if it's an M14x1.5 and you'll get the 16.933. Then both the speeds and feeds fields on the second page will work just fine. Scott tap.bmp

Hey Josh, yes, I know how to do what you showed me...but how do you get the d@mn mastercam tool editor to accept your speeds and feeds when the default is English? And If you leave that metric box checked and you pull it into your English files then it scales the tools down and is worthless! I guess I'll just have my coworker show me how when he gets back on Monday. Thanks. Scott

OK, CJep explained this over on mastercam.com but his explanation is missing some steps because I can't replicate it...

thanks, Tim, but there's some proper way to do it...my co-worker is a Millenial and he loves these kinds of issues and somehow he figured out how to make Mastercam use the correct speeds and feeds for metric taps in the English library...

We are a standard shop. We only use metric when we have to, but mastercam has gotten too smart for itself. In the past when I put metric taps into our standard library, I could simply put in the speeds and feeds that were correct. Now mastercam tries to force one to sync with the other. Somehow my co-worker figured out how to fix that, but he's gone for a long weekend, and I can't figure out what he did. Does anyone know how to make the speeds and feeds for metric taps in the mastercam English library correct? Thanks, Scott

I guess I should add that the import issue seems to be worst with our server where we keep all our parts. And that is why, for whatever reason, it seems to help to bring the parts onto our actual computer desktop and import them from there rather than the server.

The stock model issue is R-18569 As for the rest pass issue. Well, another co-worker, actually was the one who went on the mastercam.com website, and he found that another user was having the same exact issues as ALL of us here are having. So I apologize that I can't give you that #, but my co-worker said that it had been logged as an actual bug/defect. Then, since I wrote this last entry, I am now dealing with my reseller and CNC Software with the import function. The ticket # is 14660-99813. And it has to do with 2019 taking more than an hour to import toolpath operations from actual mastercam files versus the couple of minutes it used to take us in X9. I just uploaded an X9 and 2019 file of the same part to your website yesterday for you guys to take a look at it. One was 400,000KB and the other was almost 600,000. The only work around we've figured out is to put the files on our desktop and import from there, and if they are still too big, then we have to delete out all the geometry so that it 'blitzes' the operations, and then it will open the file to import the operations. I'm VERY disappointed in 2019 to say the least, but we need the simulators and some of the other things that it offers that X9 doesn't. Otherwise I would go back.

eh, I decided to re-install X9 today on my computer. I can't afford to waste my time recalculating, old, proven files just because Mastercam decided to blitz them. I'll keep using 2019 for the new stuff and X9 for my old stuff...

X9 never did that to any of the previous X_ version files, but I'm guessing they changed the algorithm of those high speed programs when they switched to the new format, at least that was the warning that I was given when I read the X9 file into 2019. I'm guessing it's also why the .stl files no longer are safe to use as cad files in 2019.

...and still venting...whose great idea was it to blitz ALL X9 surface high speed programs when you read it into 2019? I simply needed to repost all my programs from an old job I did in X9, but instead I had to waste a bunch of time creating the stock model and then recalculating all the surface high speed programs in 2019 before I could repost them. I had deleted X9 off my computer since I've been having so many crash issues with 2019 and the different versions ALWAYS interact despite being told they don't, but now I may need to re-install X9 so I don't lose a bunch of time anytime I have to regenerate old jobs...

Yeah, that's what I've been told to do too by our reseller, the problem is the stl that I had to convert to a stock model on Saturday took over an hour to convert...

Well, 2019 continues to underwhelm me. They effed up the .stl's that I've used forever with surface high speed area rest roughing. The tool dove right into a bunch of stock. CNC Software noted it as a bug, and just said to create a 'stock model' instead because that would fix the problem. They also effed up the surface high speed scallop rest passes. Over on mastercam.com, CNC Software again said it was a bug: their answer, again, just create a stock model instead of using 'roughing tool'. Problem is these d@mn stock models take a LOT more time to generate for my programs than the .stl files I used in the past... A LOT MORE TIME. And, of course, who knows when CNC Software might get around to fixing it. I'm feeling a little screwed. I argued with our owner to keep Mastercam instead of going to Tebis software, but thus far 2019 has been a pain in the @ss and I have yet to see what it had over X9 other than more glitches, more freezing and shutting down mastercam, and more need of work arounds to do the same things X9 did correctly.

FYI, my co-worker just went on mastercam.com and said this issue is logged and will be addressed (who knows when), but for now they suggest a work around it to create a stock model and 'one previous operation' rather than imputing the 'roughing tool' data. I guess for now I told my co-worker we'll have to flip back and forth between leftover, scallop rest passes, possibly create a stock model, and I still need to check into pencil...when one doesn't work, we've often found another method will, but that means keeping an eye on it since mastercam hasn't fixed it yet...sigh...

never really worked with pencil much...thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll take a look at it and see if it does any better.

All of us where I work have issues with the old surface finish leftover and now it's replacement, scallop rest-passes, NOT picking all the corners that it ought to pick. In the past if I adjusted the total tolerance then I could usually force mastercam to pick all the areas that it ought to, but now in 2019 it seems like I can't figure out how to get it to work right. Any ideas? In the past, we would just make smaller boundary areas to pick the entire part, but then that causes problems as the tool will collapse on corners at the edge of a boundary and plough thru a bunch of stock... Thanks, Scott

Hey guys, is anyone else having any trouble with using the 'import' function in 2019 after update #2? I always used it in X9 and it only took a few minutes from start to finish even on my big files, but then I went on vacation in December and while I was gone our reseller 'properly linked' (whatever that means) our various machine definitions AND update #2 came out AND we had only moved up to 2019 recently...and so after one of those 3 things, now I can't use 'import'. Last time I tried it, it took over an hour from start to finish to import other operations from a previous mastercam file. I don't have that much time to waste over and over. So now a co-worker and I have started to 'copy' in an old mastercam file, delete all the geometry and then merge the new geometry into that file so we still have all the operations available... Thanks, Scott

Well, I finally had a chance to try that icon and it's 'broken' too. This is a big step backwards in my opinion!!!

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

??? I don't see an 'offset' icon. I'm in transform--chains...am I using the wrong function?

Ok, another complaint Terry and I have about 2019 is under the transform tab. What the h3ll did they do to the chains function???? In X9, I could select multiple chains and as long as I made sure that I chained them all in the same direction, ALL the chains would offset in the same direction. Did they move that ability to some other icon???? 2019 is a complete, MASSIVE step backwards now unless I'm missing something. Now I have to select one chain, hit ok, then go the graphics window and show poor mastercam which direction I want it offset. What developer thought this was better????

I guess I can put the mru back where it used to be, so that's not so bad...but I really miss having the blue icon...