Plus you can use a single point tool for ANY pitch you might encounter in the future....

how about [email protected]? I'm pretty sure this would be an enhancment request...

Just be careful that your roughing gets done before your finish tools.... I found that one out the hard way....

BTW, there is a reason I create a finish parallel toolpath that contains no geometry. When you are done using the scallop height calculator and you close the toolpath, Mastercam will prompt you and ask you if you would like to save the operation. I just press no and it goes away....

Jimic,

You can certainly look up those values in a table or tool catalog somewhere. Personally, I prefer to use the Scallop Height calculator in the Surface - Finish - Parallel dialog box (because I'm lazy ). Go to: Toolpaths - Surface Finish - Finish Parallel. When you are promted to select surfaces, just hit End Selection or Enter. In the Surface Selection dialog box, just hit the green check mark to close the dialog box. This will bring you to the Surface finish parallel parameters. Get a tool or multiple tools from the library. With the tool you want to use selected, click on the Finish Parallel Parameters tab. Click on the button that says "Max. stepover". This will open the Maximum stepover dialog box which is a "poor man's" scallop height calculator. You can then enter the step over amount and you will get two calculations, the approximate scallop height on a flat floor, and the approximate height on a 45 degree wall. If you want to check a different tool, close the dialog box, go back to the Toolpath parameters page and pick a different tool.

I like this method because I'm trying to figure out this stuff on the fly most of the time. Stopping to go look something up in a book takes me out of the groove sometimes. Its the same reason that I love the right click menu in the data entry fields. I never right down values anymore, too much room for error. I would rather right click and select depths right off of my geometry (Thanks CNC).

-Colin

Hi Slavetothemetal,

Your machine definition controls the rotary output based on how you build your machine. If you open the Machine Definintion manager and browse through the different 5 axis machines, you should see an option for a 5 axis Table - Table. This lets you know that the machine is configured for a 2 axis rotary table (tilt/rotate). For your application you would want the Table group to include your X axis, then your Y axis, a Machine Table, and then your VMC A axis component and your VMC B axis component. You would then need to go into the Axis Combinations dialog box and set your axis combinations. There is a really good description of the Machine/Control definition setup in the Mastercam Reference Guide. I highly recommend that everyone who uses Mastercam read this.

If you open the Machine Definition manager and click on the help button in the lower right hand corner Mastercam will open the Machine Definition manager help file. Scroll down and click on the different links for Machine Components, Component Groups, About the Machine Definition, and Editing a machine definition. If you read each of these help topics that should help everything make more sense.

That should help get you started down the right path...

-Colin

Hi Slavetothemetal,

Your machine definition controls the rotary output based on how you build your machine. If you open the Machine Definintion manager and browse through the different 5 axis machines, you should see an option for a 5 axis Table - Table. This lets you know that the machine is configured for a 2 axis rotary table (tilt/rotate). For your application you would want the Table group to include your X axis, then your Y axis, a Machine Table, and then your VMC A axis component and your VMC B axis component. You would then need to go into the Axis Combinations dialog box and set your axis combinations. There is a really good description of the Machine/Control definition setup in the Mastercam Reference Guide. I highly recommend that everyone who uses Mastercam read this.

If you open the Machine Definition manager and click on the help button in the lower right hand corner Mastercam will open the Machine Definition manager help file. Scroll down and click on the different links for Machine Components, Component Groups, About the Machine Definition, and Editing a machine definition. If you read each of these help topics that should help everything make more sense.

That should help get you started down the right path...

-Colin

Hi Rick,

If you use my workaround you can eliminate the need to make multiple slices, project the slices onto a plane, and trimming the slices together.

-Colin

Goldhntr,

There is a button comming soon.... Thats about all I can say...

-Colin

Hi Mario,

I should have read your post more carefully. You are running Version 9 correct? In version 9 you would do this: Delete - All - Mask (press the mask button at the bottom of the menu). This would get you into the Mask settings and let you select all of the 3D star point style.

-Colin

Hi Mario,

Is there a reason that you can not use the General Selection toolbar to accomplish this? If you look on the General Selection toolbar there are two buttons on the Left hand side, "All" and "Only". If you press on the All button, the Select all dialog box will appear. Enable the Check box next to the Point/Style button and then click on the "Point/Style" button. The display box below the buttons should change to Point style masks. Then you can enable the 3D star type and press the OK green check mark. This will select all of the points in your file (assuming all of your levels are turned on). Then you can simpily press the delete key. Sorry I can't help you with a VB script for this (I'm not that good with VB yet), but I don't think you really need one. I think the General Selection toolbar already has the functionality that you need built right into it.

Hope that helps,

Colin

Hey Peter, Good call on the Guiness dudes, I love those commercials....

"Brilliant"

-Colin

Thanks Guys,

Be sure and watch your cut tolerance when you create the initial Surface Finish Contour operation. This will determine how accurately Mastercam follows the shape of your Solid (Surface Model). On the Finish Contour Parameters page click on the "Total Tolerance" button. This option is used to enable the toolpath filter. I have found that these options are kind of confusing if you don't know how CNC Software set this up. There is actually a really nice description in the help file with some illistrations to help you figure out what is going on. Because it took me a while to figure out what is going on I'm going to share my insights (Bare with me ).

In the "Total Tolerance" dialog box there are two different filters tha run on the toolpath. There is a "Filter tolerance" and a "Cut tolerance". Both of these tolerance values combine to define the "Total tolerance" of the two filters. The most important filter is the CUT tolerance. The Cut tolerance determines how closely the toolpath must follow the surface (or solid). This is the setting that can make your toolpath appear to "Facet" a surface you are trying to cut. The "Filter tolerance" setting is used to remove tool positions in the toolpath itself. This is the setting that attempts to reduce the amount of G code you are creating. I highly recommend that you use a Filter Ratio of 1 : 1 and set your Cut tolerance to .0005 and your Filter tolerance to .0005 as well. This will make the backplotted toolpath as accurate as possible. You should also enable the "create arcs in the X,Y plane" as well. These settings have given us the best results so far.

Thanks Guys,

Colin

Thanks John...

-Colin

waitin for X2....

Bump

Sure thing Rick, glad to help!

-Colin

Hi Guys,

We have noticed something weird happening with Surface Finish Contour in MR2. It seems like there is a bug in the Advanced Settings dialog box. The option "Roll Tool only between surfaces (solid faces)" is not keeping the tool from rolling all the way around the surfaces. This button has worked for us since version 9 to keep the tool from rolling around an entire surface. Has anybody else noticed this? We have to use a tool center boundary now to keep our tool from wrapping around the surfaces we are trying to cut. I'm going to send this into QC today, I was just wondering if anybody else has seen this?

Thanks,

Colin

Hi Guys,

Here is another really good work around to this issue.

This solution works on any solid or surface model. Create a Surface Finish contour toolpath. Select the solid body (or all surfaces). Set your maximum step down to a value that is larger than the extents of your model in Z ( I use 20"). Go into the cut depths dialog box and set the radio button to Absolute. Set the Minimum Depth and the Maximum depth to the lowest point in Z on your part ( I like to right-click and select the depth from the bottom of the part). In your Toolpath Parameters page, create a .001 diameter endmill. When your Surface Finish Contour toolpath generates it will follow the exact contour of the solid or surface model ( I know its .0005 big). Now backplot the surface finish contour toolpath and save the toolpath as geometry.

This solution works really well because you do not have to take multiple slices of the part and trim those slices back together. There is no projection involved either. This work around will give you the true 2D profile of any model.

Just another way....

-Colin

Any time guys

Hi Pete,

We use that work around as a standard proceedure here. It sounds clumsy, but the toolpath filter gives a much better result than Break-many pieces. The real goal is producing a closed chain that consists of lines and arcs from a spline. Not just arcs or lines, which seems to be what the Break-many pieces algorithm kicks out.

How about creating a new utility called SPLINE-2-CHAIN?

We actually do this very proceedure using the Surface Finish Contour Toolpath to get a true 2D profile of a part from any toolplane, because the Silhouette Boundary doesn't work correctly. We would like Silhouette Boundary to give us a true, ACCURATE 2D profile of a part that is trimmed and chainable. We create a Surface Finish Contour toolpath with a .001 diameter end mill, Set the Maximum Stepdown to a value larger than the depth of the part(usually 20"), In the cut depths dialog box set the min and max depth of cut to a Z depth that is below your part. When the toolpath generates you will get a true 2D profile of the part (I know its off by .0005 when you back plot...) but its good enough. Its certainly more dimensionally accurate than Silhouette boundary can be.

I typed the word accurate in caps for emphasis Pete, I did not mean to yell, so please don't take it the wrong way.

Thanks guys,

Colin

Hi Guys,

Anybody have an idea if the Macro Manager will ever be updated? I'd like the Macro recorder to recognize mouse click events. Right now the Recorder only recognizes keystrokes. Any comments?

Thanks,

Colin

Hi Lou,

We have written all of our scripts in house to accomplish specific tasks. We have several scripts that prompt the user with questions and then create setup documents in Microsoft Word for us. We also have another script that takes all of our entites and moves the level that they are on for file merge purposes. We have a couple scripts for creating geometry automatically, one for dovetails and one for creating arcs normal to a line. Basically you can create VB scripts to automate many of the common tasks that you do in Mastercam.

If you want to create a keyboard shortcut, you should go to keymapping, its under the Settings category. You could map a keyboard shortcut to launch a VB script. The only problem is that you would have to use the elipsis button to select the script that you want to run each time. The elipsis button is the button with the three dots on it (for those who might be wondering). In our case we have about 10 different VB scripts that we run all of the time, sometimes using them multiple times a day. So for us it was a pretty easy solution to create 10 new buttons and our own custom toolbar. Now when we want to run a specific script we can click on one button instead of having to click on the Run VB button and then having to browse and select the file you want. It was a bit of work considering how long it took me to do, but it was my first Hook for Mastercam so I was pretty happy when I finally got it to work (Thanks Ed!!!).

-Colin

Hi Thad,

Here is how to map a VB script to a toolbar button. You could then set the hot key to launch the button.

 Imports System.Windows.Forms

The file path for my nethook would need to be changed to point to the VB script that you want to run. In addition to the NetHook dll that you would need to compile, you need a File Table to display the icons for the button you are creating. The File Table should reside in the chooks folder with the dll for the Nethook. I would get a copy of VB express, it is free from Microsoft and I used it to compile this bit of code. Here is a sample FT file for my Nethook. It is important to note that you will need to create two different bitmap images for your buttons. The small bitmap must be 16 pixels square and the large icon must be 24 pixels square. In your solution properties you will need to import the Mastercam namespace and link your bitmap images as resources.

I think this will get you started Thad, good luck.

Colin

Good call Kelly, I have admin rights on my local machine but not on the server. I'll get our Admin guy to try and change it.

Hpoing for the best,

Colin