Thank you John and David! I was having this same issue since Sandvik IT updated my Nvidia driver last week. This appears to have fixed the issue for me as well.

I appreciate the responses, I did downsize for travel purposes, and I can function fine on the 15.6" on the road, at home I have a docking station and dual 27" monitors so laptop screen size is a non-issue when I am doing the bulk of my programming. Mostly what I do on the road is minor tweaks to programs I wrote at home.

I did download the latest NVIDIA driver (just released this month) to no avail. I haven't had time to try any other drivers yet, I had to revert back to my trusty 8760w for the time being. I will try again when I have a minute to breathe.

I will say this, other than the display issues, the Zbook runs circles around my similiarly spec'd 8760w, It has to be the processor i7-4910MQ vs. i7-2820QM both have 32GB RAM

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Yeah, K2100m is all you can get with a 15.6" display.

I was looking for something more portable, Lugging an 8lb. laptop with a 3 lb. power adapter plus mouse, 3d mouse etc. got a little heavy in airports. I reduced it by over 4 lbs. by going to the zbook but it will do me no good if I can't get it to work. At least I still have my 8760w if I have to go back to it.

Surely someone is using a 15.6" laptop with K2100m card.....Anyone....

Hi All!

I recently got a new laptop, and HP Zbook 15 G2 configuration as follows:

i7=4910MQ CPU 8mb L3 Cache

32GB DDR3 RAM (G.Skill F3-1600C9-8GRSL)

Nvidia Quadro K2100m (2GB)

512GB SanDisk SSD

Blu-Ray Writer

3D Connexion Space Pilot Pro and SpaceMouse Wireless for travel

Mastercam X8 & X9

NX 9

Solidworks 2015

Catia V5 R21

I replaced my elitebook 8760w that had the Nvidia Quadro 4000m to try to lighten things up a little, I travel extensively with Sandvik and I needed something a little more mobile.

The problem I am having is my graphics is going black and giving me an error message that Nvidia Driver has stopped responded or that there has been a timeout or once I got the dreaded blue screen.

I believe this is a driver issue, so I am asking if anyone one else is using this video card with Mastercam and if anyone has had similar issues?

Also, what video driver are you using?

Thanks,

Not sure if you found your answer yet or not Neurosis. If you use the NCFILE-SHORT instead of NCIFILE-SHORT it should output the file extension from your CONTROL definition and .NCI at the end.

Blade Expert is a custom application for programming multi-bladed parts, developed by ModuleWorks in Germany.

If you installed the sample files you can open the Blade Expert sample file for review.

 

If you feel that you can comfortably program that file in less that 2 hours then Blade Expert is not for you.

If you only do these kinds of part occasionally Blade Expert is not for you.

If you don't have a modern CNC machine, capable of precise multiaxis, synchronized motion Blade Expert is not for you.

 

If you are a professional and serious about exploring multi-blade machining Blade Expert is definitely for you.

If you are already making a living cutting parts like these you will know what a bargain BE is in this field and Blade Expert is for you.

If you do a bit of research of what solutions are available on the market you will know what a bargain BE is.

 

Why use Mastercam Blade Expert? What is the Mastercam difference?

 

We have extensively tested our integrated solution . . . hands-on cutting parts on the machine during the BE integration process.

We are providing much more than just a tool, we have assembled a complete, customized solution.

We are so confident in our Blade Expert solution package that we will give you a money-back quarantine.

What is in the package?

 

The power of Mill Level 3

Blade Expert

We will program your first part and follow it through until you take the finished part off your machine. Train you along the way with your part and your machine.

We will help you calibrate your machine and fine-tune your post processor when needed.

We will build a virtual replica of your machine, so that you can see the whole manufacturing process on your screen before committing to the machine.

Unparallelled World-wide reseller support from the #1 CAM system.

 

We haven't seen a part we couldn't cut yet.

Don't try this at home, don't guess, don't make assumptions . . . talk is cheep.

Contact us if you are serious and let's cut your part together.

Karlo, I sent you a PM. I would like to talk about this.

F(code) = 1(minute) / (time = 3D distance/velocity)

The 3D distance of the move is calculated in model coordinate space at the NC control point, not in machine coordinate space and not necessarily at the tool tip. For example, a 5-inch move at 50 IPM takes 5/50ths of a minute, yielding an inverse time calculation of 1/.1 and an F-code of F10. The same 5-inch move at 700 IPM would be 1(minute) / (time = 5 / 700) or (1/(5/700)) or (1/.0071428) or F1400.168

If that's not clear enough, think about it like a record player. The closer you move to the center of rotation, the slower your linear velocity is. Say you are cutting a part by rotating a rotary table, and you would like to feed at 10 linear inches per minute. How can you just give a F10.0? What if the part you were cutting was 30 inches in diameter? What if it was 1 inch in diameter? The controller doesn't know what diameter you're cutting. F10.0 means nothing to your controller. So, to correct for this, we use inverse time feed. Some controllers may vary, but most I've seen are calculated by 'Speed(IPM or MMPM)/Distance)'. For example, you want to move at 10 IPM and your move is 2 inches long. Your feedrate in G93 would be 5. So you can see very small moves give you huge feedrates, expect to see F1500.0 or more. Most controls also need a F on every G01, G02, or G03 line. The F will most likely vary every line.

Also, Because inverse time calculations can appear confusing for the uninitiated five-axis programmers, some machine builders have attempted to simplify five-axis programming by offering a form of rotary feed control where the CNC operator manually sets the fourth and fifth axis radius values (this is true on a Haas 4^th axis machine).

Hope this answers your question.

What about lathe?

If you go to the holders page and press new holder and then new holder library this should delete the holder associated with the toolpath and it should display no holder. You will probably have to do this for every operation but sometimes I get lucky and it will remove the holder for all operations that use that tool. Nothing seems to consistant with some of these Mastercam bugs. I hope this helps.

Great work, wish I could read French so I could understand it better, but your English was good enough for me to get a good idea, and I like it! Have you made it available for others/purchase, etc.? I am very interested.

I have been using AR Setup sheets since X5; I have created a format that works and recently adapted it to meet the format at my new employer. The problem is, no one wants to use it because you cannot save as a .DOC for editing and adding notes and things after the setup sheet is posted out of Mastercam (At my previous employer we had Acrobat X and made our edits in that). I have saved as all available filetypes and my setup sheet loses it formatting in anything other than .PDF. Do you have any suggestions?

If anyone can offer some input here I would really appreciate it. Is it still necessary to use a router post to output code for a right angle head? We just got a new Haas EC-1600 Horizontal and I just got my post tweaked just like I want it, but I can't seem to get it to output code for a right angle head. I have done this in the past at another company and I remember I had to use a router post (this was on a VMC). Do I need to start over with a new post based on a router post?

Have you considered using tungsten? It may be a little easier to work with than carbide and has a density of 19.3 g/cm3. Just a suggestion.

Does X6 seem to be better? I haven't upgraded yet, I have been watching the bugs posted on the forum and haven't gotten comfortable yet. I have 8 programmers and I have to be careful because there are only 2 Senior Programmers, myself and one other, and the rest rely on me for training etc. I just don't want to open up a big can of worms - I generally end up not getting any of my own programming done for a month after I upgrade anyways, if there are too many bugs to work through, it could become a nightmare for me.

I would also be interested in a generic 5-axis post based on the In-House MPMaster. I have 12 Mazak Variaxis Machines (Some 500's, some 630's and some 730's). I have a working post now, but it is an old V9 post that has been updated several times and does not have many of the features of the MPMaster that I would like to have (i.e. G61.1 and G05 output options and X style coolant). I was going to modify my post to accommodate, but if you have one at a reasonable price I could use my time for other things.

I have had this problem and it seems to definitely be related to toolholders. I use toolholders all of the time because this data is collected and printed in my setup sheets but the whole tooholder mess is buggy. I have learned to assign toolholders after I have completed programming and before creating my AR Setup Sheet. If I have to use toolholder before I finish programming the entire part (if I need to check clearance, etc.) I have learned to keep that tool assembly sacred (tool number, holder etc.) and never create another tool from a tool that already has a holder assigned to it (this seems to be where the tool renumbering issues come from). For example, if I have a 3/4 X .125R bull mill defined, Do not modify and choose create new tool, I have learned to create new tools from scratch. Just my 2 cents.

Does anyone know if there is a release in the near future? Or is the X5 version compatible, I am assuming it is not, especially since Ii will be using the 64-bit version of X6. We use this tool extensively, It is awesome in so many ways.

Thanks Chris, just thought I'd ask here to see if anyone else has seen this. I'll get something sent to QC tomorrow and maybe someone will chime in tomorrow if they've experienced this also.

I'll look tomorrow, I know I have a file or two on the network that has had this issue. I create a work around usually by creating individual operations for each depth. I admit that I don't send things like this to QC as often as I should, I will find a work around and deal with it when I should be helping the problem for everyone and sending it in to QC.

I have had a couple of files that Optirough has issues with stepdown depths. Sometimes it will repeat and entire Z level and sometimes it may completely skip a Z level. For example, say I am roughing a pocket 1.5 inches deep with stepdown of 0.500, it roughs the 1st depth at Z-.500, skips the 2nd depth completely and goes to the next depth of Z-1.500 - What's worse is it tries to rapid through that level it missed. I have caught this every time and it hasn't caused any crashes, and I have been tracking this and I have found that the thing that seems to be in common is either an undercut in the pocket or crossholes thru the pocket walls. Has anyone else seen this? I'm running X5 MU1.

Thanks CNC, I'm am going to give this another look, I can think of a dozen applications we could use this on.

Sorry, I didn't give you much info to work with did I. I use HST whenever possible so I would be looking to get say 1XD DOC and 20% Stepover. I'm sure this head would outperform a Right Angle Head in any application right?

Personally, Ii wouldn't want to rapid while the tool is down in the part. As I mentioned earlier, rapid moves typically are not vector moves so the path is not controllable as a straight line. I don't know of any way to make Mastercam do this either. Sorry I can't help with this one.

ok, lets se if iget this right, if i want the "retract" in X and Y as a G0 instaed i just uncheck outout feed move checkbox? is that correct?

I may be misunderstanding your question. You ARE talking about retracting above the part in Z first right? If so, then yes, it will retract in Z at rapid first, the reposition X and Y with a rapid move, the rapid back down in Z to feed plane as detrmined by settings in transitions page and linking parameters Leads, then feed into next cut.

thank you for you answers, i will have a go at that!

Is there anyway possible to have all retracts as G0 instead if G1 with hight feed(it gets abit jerky with the changes of feeds all the time

Sure, On the liking parameters page, You can set the retract dropdown at the right to "Full Vertical Retract" or use "Minimum Vertial Retract" and uncheck the Output feed move checkbox. A word of caution unchecking the output feed move checkbox, most machines do not do true vector rapid moves meaning that the x and y axis rapid at the same speed so your rapid move will not be a straight line and this could cause a collision on the machine that you will not see in Mastercam. Hope this makes sense, I know what I'm trying to say, not sure I communicated it effectively.