I keep getting these random sections where the tool lifts up instead of following the surface. It isn't a rapid move. Anyone know why this happens, or seen this on their end? Thanks

Very slow...about as bad as a scallop, but nice results.

I came over from 6 years of Inventor and 8 of AutoCAD. I hear your complaints but it is a CAM software. You will get used to doing things in MC and you will find faster ways. I find it faster to do things in MC rather than knock it around different programs and then bring it back into MC. Curves, lines and chains in MC are painful! But I'm getting better and faster.

When using a HST under parameters/arc filter/tolerance uncheck all three arc boxes. That gets rid of the I, J for me.

I'll get you more info and maybe more photos when I go into work. Unless Nils is reading this he may know the information of motor and fan size. We have a large motor hooked up to a squirrel cage which sucks air from the back of the machine and forces the air through the filters. It works reasonably well. We have a trough that runs below the canisters that is hooked up to a 1900 cfm dust colector to collect the particles that fall down. I couldn't imagine not having a system in place. We used to use bags but switched to canisters (2 micron). Like you say we still have to sweep but our air quality is pretty good. Plus in the Winter time we can filter the air without losing heat.

Here is a photo of our machine. We have a booth built on the back side. We have a large fan to suck the air into the back and up into the canisters. When we are cutting panels we use a collector attached to our spindle housing and feeds into canisters.

We have a Quintax 5 axis router and sometimes it mysteriously stops. I can usually restart where I left off. Although sometimes I have to alter the post and restart that way. Sometimes I regen the toolpath to start from the other end and when they meet I stop the machine. Anyhow I feel your pain. I hope you get it worked out. We cut a lot of foam at our shop. P.S. I lived in Ft. Wayne for about 15 years and graduated from Ball State University. If your in Elkhart you must be working with RV's??? Bill

Mick, We have a 5 axis Quintax router. I think your best bet is to talk with your MC reseller. Sorry, I couldn't help more.

Thanks Colin I have the transiton checked to smooth. And it isn't the load. I'm on a finish pass removing 0.1" of foam at a 0.025" stepover. There are areas that could run faster than others. I want to get the best finish possible in the least amount of time. Maybe the best thing to do is make multiple toolpaths on the mold with different feed rates for specific areas and post them all together since I'm using the same cutter. I just thought I was maybe missing something in the HST. Thanks, Bill

I’ve got a 9’ high density foam mold on our machine, and for the most part it has pretty gentle slopes. But there are some areas that need the feed rate slowed down, such as a pocket, flange or steep slope. Is there a way when programming to set it up so that the machine will slow down when it recognizes features that have steep areas or drastic changes in direction? Rather than standing at the controller or manually changing the post. We have been using Surface high speed toolpaths but I wonder if I’m missing something. Thanks for the help!

How about a HSS scribe. HSS will have a sharper edge than carbide, but will dull faster. That's my opinion. Never engraved leather.

I was at a tech expo put on by our reseller. The guy from MC said in September if I'm not mistaken. He was using it to demo some of the new features.

Hopefully you have some programmers in house that can help you learn. I had a really good person to learn from at our company, (plug for him in case he's reading this.) A book and this forum our a good reference but you could look at the MC training course they offer to get certified or a local tech college. I came over from AutoCad and Inventor and picked it up pretty quickly. There are a lot of strange things to get used to when drawing with curves and things in MC compared to AutoCAD. But you will get it.

The powers that be probably think it is a logical choice to stay with ProE since they already use it. Have you had a MC reseller into your shop to give the higher ups a sales pitch? That might help.

We use Mill with our Quintax Router. We have a customer that sends files to us where the parts our nested, but they handle it on their end.

I used Inventor for a number of years and really liked it. A lot of people like the ease of taking AutoCAD files and bringing them into Inventor and creating 3D models from 2D line drawings. I have had some issues bringing in Inventor files into MC but I guess Inventor 11 has been certified for MCX. That will probably help. But it seems like SW and MC are sold to go with one another and would be the obvious choice.

I used Inventor for a number of years and really liked it. A lot of people like the ease of taking AutoCAD files and bringing them into Inventor and creating 3D models from 2D line drawings. I have had some issues bringing in Inventor files into MC but I guess Inventor 11 has been certified for MCX. That will probably help. But it seems like SW and MC are sold to go with one another and would be the obvious choice.

Colin, We use a filter of 3:1 and then change tolerance to 0.0005 and we uncheck the 3 boxes. We have a xxxxor. But we just found that our B-axis gearbox needs to be replaced. We just ordered a new one. Bill

Steve, I'm not following exactly what your saying, as far as, z-level type cutting on steep surfaces. If you could elaborate I would appreciate your help. Jimmy and Eric, We are running 400ipm at about 60-80% We have also been using HST and I think that is a better way to go. I'll watch the videos and see if we are missing something in the HST. It is high temp foam so flexing could be an issue but we were on a finish pass and only removing 0.05" of material. Maybe it is the weight and speed causing the flex. Thanks!

I was cutting some high temp foam and noticed some small gouging marks in the surface of the foam. It appears to be gouging in the direction of the parallel cut. And it only appears in areas where there is a steep wall where the cutter is diving or rising quickly. The rest of the surfaces came out great. I was running a finish parallel toolpath with a 1" spherical cutter at a 0.025" stepover. Any ideas on what might be causing it would be appreciated. We have a 5-axis Quintax router. Thanks, Bill

Aaron, thats a good idea, thanks! I used to live in Halifax, PA

Thanks Colin, I will play around with the stl and verify functionality. I was reading more about it last night in previous threads. I guess I will need to buy Camtasia because I haven't had any luck finding a freeware. $100 isn't bad. Thanks, Bill

We don't have solids. Colin when I used to use inventor I could record avi's of my parts in motion testing for clearance, functionality, to show how something should be assembled, etc. I would really like to add an avi of our part being cut in MC and then fade into the same part being cut on the machine for our website, powerpoint, etc. Do you have any software that would allow me to record my backplot in MC?

Thanks John! That looks great. I like that look much better when I'm backplotting. Make sure the cutter doesn't want to do something like...lets see...cut the bottom of the mold instead of just the top. Thanks Bill

Well put Colin! When he says cost of living will also go WAY up he means WWAAAYYY up. It's all relative. I moved from PA to WA. Millrunner I went from 2D and 3D CAD to 5-axis. It was a bit of a change going from CAD to CAM but it gives you a strong foundation. You can do the job you just need an opportunity. Get your resume out there. Focus on what you know not what you don't know. You can learn. Most of it is wanting to be challenged and you have it.