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You should wait until noon to begin drinking.
I use fixtures all the time in Gibbs, it does not slow anything down for me. You are right with the CS planes being convoluted though.Like I said there are goofy things in gibbs, but stil overall I prefer it, mostly because It runs solid and does not have hundreds of bugs. I ROFL at the circle boys and all the glitches they get everyday, I sit back and have my .
I have been forced into Gibbs (new job) and I am no fanboi, creating geometry is tough and awkward, but importing solid files and dxf's from solidworks and other CAD systems is very easy. It has never been toted as a CAD package. Gibbs lacks functional tool libraries which is the biggest PITA of all. It's advanced 3-d functions are superior to Mastercam and easier IMO, and I am well versed in both. The real difference is NO GLITCHES and no post issues. (except when doing big 3-d files, I have had 2 crashes over one year) I had weekly issues with MC crashing.
Mastercam frustrated me to no ends with constant upgrades and new versions which in turn would give me a whole new batch of glitches and B.S to deal with. I am far less frustrated using gibbs for what it is worth, but i do miss some features of Mastercam.
We do a similar application, Can you use a U-drill and punch 1" holes at both ends of the slot(for easy entry and exit) then use a 1" solid carbide Vari-mill style e-mill and take the rest out in 2 passes. 3/4" DOC should work fine. If tolerances are an issue, use a 15/16" U-drill and a 3/4" vari-mill.
+1 You'll need a spring pass or a finish pass as well to hold size usually. On all roughing ops use LOTS of coolant if possible, to high of a SFM and you'll mess up your carbide tool. At Just the right SFM they can last a long time, it's a much finer line with TI.
Thad, I also use tip for all my 2-d and 3-d programming, It has always worked out perfect for me??? Going off the center of the cutter Rad seems dangerous and troublesome for operators.
I don't understand why your other programmers think this is a good idea??
Here is a sample from one of my programs, it has start and end point of thread, and the R value is what mastercam calculates how much to move in X.
This post is pretty much a standard Fanuc post with a couple tweaks, I run it on a Daowoo Puma lathe.
(TOOL - 3 OFFSET - 3)
(4 TPI EXT API INSERT )
N1(OPERATION 1)
G54
M8
M43
G97S500M04T0303
G0X2.537Z.2
G99G92X2.3181Z-2.64R-.235F.25
X2.3025
X2.2889
X2.2767
X2.2656
X2.2552
X2.2455
X2.2364
X2.2277
X2.2194
X2.2114
X2.2038
X2.1964
X2.1893
X2.1824
X2.1757
X2.1692
X2.1628
X2.1567
X2.1506
X2.1447
X2.139
X2.137
X2.137
G0X2.537
M9
G28U0.
G0Z10.
M30
I cut lots of API threads, I pick my major Dia on the small end of taper,(using an external API as an example) calculate the minor Dia from the Depth of thread on the API spec, then calculate the Taper per foot for the specific thread, Example: 2" taper per foot is 4.731 deg. Then put the 4.731 in the Thread shape parameters area, the taper angle box is located at the bottom left of parameters page. Once you enter a value in the Taper angle box, Pick which end of the Taper is the Major Dia,... So if you are cutting an external API, Select the Major Dia at the small end and also check the area which says "Large end of taper or small end of taper"
If your tool is going the opposite way that you need on the taper, then put a negative value in the Taper angle box, I think an Internal API uses a negative value, an external taper uses a positive value.
HTH
Did you hit the lock button by accident? In the operations manager there is a little gold lock symbol, use it to toggle the lock off and on.
Or am I misreading your question?
You need to save the program as an EIA file (.EIA Extension) and name the file a number.
Ex: 333.EIA
Also i think you have to erase the percentage (%) sign at the beginning of the program, some controls don't like that.
quote:
People making assumptions of how they understand a topic and going on and on to prove a point in which they have no experience is equally rude and insulting. That pretty much sums you up Dave.
^^Teh guy who knows nothing about everything.
quote:
Is there some place that I can get thread mills already defined for Mastercam?
Not that I know of, but you don't need to define them, just specify the Dia of threadmill(use a standard endmill for tool data), Threads per inch, and how many teeth are being used in the parameters.
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