I am creating a solid model. I have 2 extruded solids that intersect. At the intersection,I want to add a fillet. Because they are 2 seperate solids MC will not fillet this intersection. How do I make 2 extruded solids become 1 solid?

Program off top of part here also. Should have been 2 parts to your question. 1. Where do you program from? top or bottom 2. Where do you set mill tools off of? CNC table , part top surface or part bottom surface.

What is everyone doing updating current Version MX or installing a new Version MX2. What are the pros and cons? One con is if upgrading doesn't work you just screwed up your functionable MX.

Every tool drawer is labeled with a permanent lable and a removeable lable with a bar code. When a piece of tooling is getting low on qty the guys take the removable lable form the drawer and turn it into the office secatary. She then orders off of that lable. We always use the same supplier no screwing around shopping for a buck off. Find a good honest supplier and stick with them. Can't say we have a problem finding tools in Bobs tool box. Once his box is full he can't fit anymore. To big a pain in the a## policeing employees from filling their boxes. Even with a crib manager they find a way.

Scott 2 or 3 flute cutters work good on alum. 3 flute are just hard to measure after resharpened unless you have a 3 flute micrometer. 4 flutes in alum don't give the room for chips to excape. For what your doing "job shop work" I would go 50% of dia. for depth of cut. Can you use a coolant mister? I understand flooding would not be pratical. Misting with coolant would give a little lube to prevent gauling and reduce heat a little. I assume your familiar with manually calculating speed and feeds? RPM= 3.82 x SFM / Dia. Feedrate = Rpm x number of flutes x chip load

Collin Quote ________________________________________________ In MR2 as soon as you right click on the Arc Center option in the Autocursor menu, _______________________________________________ I been trying to mess with this and see what your trying to say. Think I got it. Don't you mean right click Arc center in the "Ribbon Bar" Any way the "Only" option appeared to be available if I did it this way in a drilling toolpath. Downside is it still doesn't lable my selections with a temp point or highlight. If I did a drill path and used Autocursor for my selection I Did Not get the "Only" option availibility. But it of course will leave a temp point. I hate Autocursor because every few weeks I miss the arc center and it snaps a sketch point instead. So I find myself slowing way down on my selections being sure it snapped the center. MCX suppose to be faster then VER9 not slower, I bet I am 3 times slower doing drill paths then I use to be.

________________________________________________ Quote: Beardog is right. Just right click the center option rather than left clicking. It will lock that selection. I use it all the time _________________________________________________ Yes I use it also. The complaint is if your selecting holes it "mastercam" does not mark the hole in anyway to show it has been selected such as a temporary point or highlighting. This is a good visual as not to forget a hole. MCX autocursor marks the hole with a point while selecting and Ver 9 drill/manual/center marked the hole with a temporary point. I am very interested in the many methods people use to select holes for drilling.

OK makes since Dum Dum Dum I am. I still have old thinking ways, always forgetting about Machine and Control definations. Config. doesn't mean as much as it use to. Thanks

Has anyone had success putting a common Tool Library on their company network for all company mastercam users to share. A couple days ago we put are company standard Library on the network, changed are configs to direct it to this network folder, but it doesn't work. It wants to keep defaulting to the computers drive even though the settings/config/file/mill tool library is directed to the network ****.tools file. "No, we do not have a network hasp but a personal hasp for each station" 1.what am I overseeing ? 2. If we get it to work what will happen when 2 or more people try to access the library at the same time?

Cuda84 I stand corrected you are right point sorting does work. I was using the point to point mode which is the most lower left bottom point sort mode. This one will not work the others do.

Pete I was tickled that you may have guided me to something good with "Entites selection" I am trying to use it on this job and it "Stinks". No matter the order in which I select the circle geometry or whether I use point sorting or not you can't control the motion. It is jumping all around the screen in a inefficient motion. I am guessing it is following the direction in which it may have been created. Which I can not control coming form the design dept. Is this the way it is working for everyone else? What I want is for mastercam to leave a selection point for visual reference when you right click and lock "Center Selection" on the ribbon bar. It does this if you use Auto cursor.

Pete I just gave Entites choice a try and it is probably closest to what I been use to. At least it highlights it to indicated I selected it. Wheter highlighting or showing a point in the center is best I don't know till I give it more time. I have never given the Entites choice a try till today. I am anxious to try some of these other methods people are using for mass selection also. Thank You

Cuda84 Sounds good but what do you do when you have holes that are the same size but different styles. Example .375 dowels and 3/8 tap, .500 dowels and 1/2 tap, or .750 clearance hole and 3/4 tap. These holes will analyze the same on my graphics. If you do a mass selection of a particlar size isn't it grabbing many of the holes uneeded? I want to know more about how your doing this.

Thanks John that is a little better. Seems as though you have to hit "C" once for every selection. What make me happier is if I could lock it on to "C" and not hit it every time. I just tried a few holes and lost my rhythm after 10 or so. Guess I'm old school. but not quite the one room school house you are.

Is their a better method of selecting circles for doing drill toolpaths? In ver9 I would use the drill/manual/center option and click away. It would leave a point crosshair in the center of the circle as I go, which was an excellent visual to me indicating that I clicked it and had not forgotten one. Now using MCX I have a problem. If I use Autocursor/arc center option it leaves the point crosshairs I like, but once every 2 weeks I get burned. What happens is when I am clicking away on numerous circles I every slow slighty move off center and I have done a sketch point close to the circle center "Not Good". What I need is for it to snap to arc centers or nothing at all. Ok now if I do a drill toolpath and don't use the autocursor option but rather go up to the ribbon bar and right click the center option to lock it and start clicking away I have another problem. Useing this method will not leave a point cross hair to indicate I have selected it.You have 20 - 100 holes you can't tell if you forgot to centerdrill one. Please tell me the next MCX release will cure this problem. Is everyone elses acting this way?

Depends on what style drills you have. Spade , Twist , HSS , Carbide etc. Spade drill would be best here at my shop. I would spotdrill then spade drill 1 1/2 dia. straight thru. No predrilling needed. Good spade drills you just push thru without pecking on a coolant thru spindle machine. If your a shop with simple tooling simple machines. Centerdrill, predrill approx. 3/8 - 5/8 thru "what ever you have that can go 4.5 deep in this range". Then drill thru with a 1 1/2 HS twist drill.

Glad to hear it's finally done. I only suggested looking into EDM when it was a .032 wide slot. Not knowing if you had your own EDM machines. Glad the pressure is off, enjoy the weekend.

If you thought it originally sounded heavy then I would override your feedrate and try to work up to F3. But yes, program it at 3. I am not in favor of increasing to 4 passes. I would like to see you do it in 2 or preferably 1. Taking 4 passes will take 4 times as long to complete this part and cause 4 times as much tool wear. Maybe the sound was your poor holder or possible the direction of cut. I think we have heard over the past week that people are split 50/50 whether to climb or conventional cut this.I tend to be in favor of climbing.

If you can't turn the part to use a endmill, I wish you luck. HSS cutter in A2 use 60 sfm, .0004 - .001 chip load. 3.82 x 60 sfm / 2.250 = 102 RPM 102 rpm x 60 teeth x .0005 chipload = 3 IPM Answer = 102 rpm at 3 inches a minute

Last week you wanted a .032 wide slot x 400 places. This week you want a .0625 wide x 700 places. Because you are now up to a .0625 wide slot I would not use a slitting saw. I would now resort to a 1/16 carbide 4 flute endmill.They come in 1/8 and 1/4 flute length. Not sure if you can get a 3/16 flute length. I would consider trying to use 1/8 flute length and let the shank rub or try to releave it. Or use both a 1/8 and 1/4 flute length. I would create a line down the center of the slot. Use a contour ramp toolpath at .005 - .015 step down and no comp. Run the cutter at 10,000 RPM and 25 IPM feed approx. .0005 - .001 chip load, with air blow.

I have had the error "this file is in use" while trying to delete from explorer when I been cleaning up my MCX graphic files. Mcx will be running in the background but the file that I am deleteing will not be the one that is currently open. In order to delete the file I have to close Mastercam. Some how it holds onto it and won't let go.

Try posting out to the personal computer harddrive first, then using explorer copy or move it over to the network drive. If this don't work, move the old ver9 file off the network first, then do the above again. Basicaly just trying to clean up any old files. Create a new file then move it over to the network. Sounds like your trying to post directly to the network, which suppose to work. But to narrow down problems I would try the above. This might help determine if it is a file format problem like Jay says.

I know how to do a "Save As" and I do it often saving as Ver9 and IGES. I am looking for a quickway as to not have to click thru the numerous network drives and folders as to where the file is to be stored at. 2 problems my config, files, data path, iges is set to a file for which I read design files. So I do not want to change this. So I have accepted the fact that I am out of luck on this one. Ideally I want to read Iges from one location "design dept" but write to another "for wire dept". Second problem , their is not a Ver9 data path under Config,files, datapaths. Thus setting up a default is not possible when saving files as Ver 9 from MCX. At least it appears to me. If their are any window gurus on here I think what can be done is that you can map a network drive folder and when you do a Save As in the folder drop down menu you will see this folder. I think this can be done, but not sure how. Does anyone else have a slick method?

Thanks rnb1 I looked and I had already had that set to desinate to another network location where I get my files from engineering. Guess I might be out of luck. Here is another problem how can I do a "Save As" and save the file as a V9 file for are machining/lathe centers who still use Draft 9 for analyizing. In other words I want to do a File Save As and save as a VER9 and have it default to a specific folder without clicking thru drives and folders. I assumed a answer to my first question would also solve my 2 nd question. But I don't think so because under Settings, config. ,files, data paths, a ver9 selection is not available.

In MCX when we do a "Save As" is their a way to default it to a specific folder. Rather then always having to click thru all the network drives and folders till I find the folder where it belongs. Example: if I convert MCX files to a .Iges file for wire department its a pain in the @$$ to click thru all the folders. I know their must be a slick way using windows or a setting in MCX config.