Colin, Well that just goes to show you when you get into a "routine" some things fall by the wayside. I always have set the Total Tolerance only, based on whether I was roughing or finishing and not going into the radio button at all. (I believe I did back when it first came out but have since gotten "used" to doing it this way.) I set the filter ratio to "off" and set my Total tolerance to .0005 when finishing (mostly trodes). Funny this setting doesn't filter my cutter paths? I then go into filtering the NCI file and it usually greatly reduces my file. I do like and use rough pocket where applicable and not too often do I use parrallel for roughing. Just for finishing. I use it a lot. But I love scallop the most and use that more than most I would guess. It's too bad the High Speed finishing Toolpath Scallop doesn't allow you to save boundries as geometry. I use that often too. I will check out Blend as well as the 2D high speed stuff. (don't do much 2D stuff though) I know your not knocking me. no problem there. My struggles are simply this..... Mastercam is my second software and it gets used maybe 25% of the time compared to my design software. I have driven my company to provide design services more than programming because that is where I want to end up with it. I LOVE designing and I DO CNC programming. And being just one person, it is a struggle to keep up some times. (But that is a good thing. That means I am busy.) I don't get much time to "read up" on new stuff and if I do I need to put priority to my other software that is doing the same thing with updates and continue to grow with that. As you can imagine, it is a struggle to keep up with both and so far Mastercam is losing out. I look on here for opportunities to learn on the fly by looking at other peoples issues and workarounds or solutions. Thanks for all the input. I will continue to find things little by little and your help (and everyone else here) is always appreciated. I will check out Takashi's stuff.

OK I did a little test...... Sketch by hitting the control button, thereby disabling the curser to pick a nearby entity, works if I want to create a line. But if I want to analize the distance between two places it does not work. It will always go to the nearest line if I am too close to one. Plus, once you have picked the first point, and realize it picked the wrong point, as near as I can tell you can't unselect it. And if you hit escape it goes out of the command altogether.

Colin, I thought before I could do just that. hold down the control key and walla.... it doesn't "see" the line anymore. But sometimes it doesn't work and I'm not sure why? Just like when I tried it before I posted here. No go. I don't know why I need to filter the NCI file? But tell me where the "filter" button is on the SURFACE FINISH LEFTOVER pass or the PARALLEL or any of them and I'll select it. Any of my 3D surface passes I filter come up with 70% or better filtering. Try it sometime and see what it does to your file. Maybe it's just me? Except for that Coons patch I just used. That NEEDED filtering. But It's been a LONG time since I used a coons patch. (Worked beautiful though.) Quote "I think you need to spend some time learning about all the features that Mastercam does have, and get used to a new way of thinking." No doubt I can always learn more but it's just sad that you have to learn "over" instead of more. When you've worked with a software for 17 years you wouldn't think you'd have to start over and relearn the majority of it to be productive again. Yes, I tried to use the extra alt command for awhile but combined with the missing letters and changed letters and missing features it was not very fun. It seemed less frustrating to go to mouse clicks than to keep screwing up the letter commands. Besides, I do NOT have the time to learn new software and create a new way of thinking, but Mastercam sure thinks so. I don't need to know EVERYTHING that Mastercam can do, Just the things that I use on a regular basis, for the type of work I do. I've had X4 sitting on top of my monitor for a while now and from what I have been seeing here it doesn't look like it is getting loaded any time soon. Don't get me wrong there are many things I like over the old and wouldn't go back, much like the list you give. Save for the machine and control definition debunckle. Sure there are a few independant shops out there that are going to benefit from this feature but I believe most of us would benefit from an option of doing it the "old fashioned" way. So I would be really interested in the free utilities you mentioned. Can you tell me more about them?

Jayman, You no longer have the option to "sketch" a position if it is too close to an entity. I have tried many times to "Sketch" a point alongside an entity but even with auto highlight and auto curser turned off you have to zoom wayyyyy in so it doesn't "see" the entity. Unless someone knows where "sketch" went or how we are supposed to do this now?????? John. Thanks for the heads up on the documentation. Too bad some of the good ones I want are highlighted in blue and say REMOVED. Plus the fact you can no longer use the one letter that was underlined for very fast use of the commands. Now your just another mouse clicker for EVERYTHING. They even took away the VIEW - BY NUMBER!!! That just SUCKED. NC UTILITIES - POST PROCESSOR - CHANGE select your post and your done. Now post your file and cut. = REMOVED NC UTILITIES - FILTER = REMOVED Now you have to 1.) post an NCI file (Make sure to turn off NC) 2.) C-hook the filter option 3.) Go find your NCI file you just created 4.) select it for filtering 5.) select your filter options and run the filter. 6.) Select if you want the filter settings saved 7.) select a name for the new filtered file 8.) go back into your operations manager and select the operation that has the same name of the NC file output you want the new file to have because it automatically renames the filtered file to have the NC name of the operation you just brought it into. 9.) now select that operation that sais Merged NCI file for NC output to write your NCI file. Make sure to turn off NCI) Making sure that you've selected ALL the correct information in your control definition manager because anything that you put into your configuration settings like you've done for years is going to be overwritten by this strange and complicated new feature for version X. Not to mention also making sure you've done the same for your machine definition manager.) Pretty soon we're going to need a manager to manage all the managers in the software.

OK. Thanks for the input guys.

I have selected a certain path for my NCI files in my SETTINGS - CONFIGURATION dialogues but they don't work. It will keep going to what is in the control definition manager. Am I doing something wrong? Or why would they have a setting for you like it has been for a long time in the configuration settings, that we are all used to, if it gets overridden by the control definitions manager? Why would there be two places to set this? Am I missing something here? You can set many file types in the SETTINGS - CONFIGURATIONs that are duplicated in the control definitions manager. Why is this a better idea? I'd really like to not ever have to deal with the control and machine definition manager as much as possible since they are of no good use to me and are a pain in the but. Is there a chance we will ever see an option to turn these things off and get back to the NC UTILITIES option that was MUCH more easy to use and caused people to actually be productive?

sorry. hit send twice

Whenever possible, set your tool body diameter the same as the cutting diameter. You may already have it this way but if you don't, then try it. I read somewhere once that this gives verify some issues if they are not the same.

Paul, Thank you very much. That was it. (I still hate the CD/MD option over "NC utilities- post processor-change") I know, I know, some people like it. It's just me. So How do you think it got switched? I never play around in that area anymore. I haven't had a need to for years.

Kevin, I did not switch to a Fadal. Just back to the same stuff that generated the first code. Terry, I did not alter the post.

Can someone tell me why I now have an "E01" at the biginning of my posted file now? I simply switched machine/control definitions (Which I hate by the way) from one that I was using for a new customer back to one that I was using for an old customer for a long time, and all of a sudden it has this in the code? It is in the beginning right after the file name in parenthesis....... Here is a part of the code as it used to post... (A1T1)$ N100(9)M03S2000T00$ Here is what it is doing now...... (BP1T1)N100(9)E01$ N102(9)M03S3000T00$ I have not touched (edited) any post files. Thank you.

If it isn't already set like this, Make sure your tool diameter and shaft diameter are the same. If not, this will cause some disruptions.

quote: Jason B., have you used any of these "Real world editing" functions? Do they work? Anyone else? sorry guys. I've been out of town for a few days. Yes, I use these features a lot. It seems very easy for the most part. If (when) I get into an extremely complex part of the geometry it can sometimes make you find other ways of doing something but that's the nice part about it. there are many ways to get it done. My business is probably about 75% design and 25% programming so I use it quite often. I design new products for a large array of customers. Everything from game cameras for Reconyx to Deck parts for Menards. And many things in between. It's a ton of fun and I enjoy it very much. I think it is because it is such a free forming modeler with not as much constraints as a parametric modeler. ?

Well for those who think the website is minimal, I need to know what your looking for that isn't there? Then maybe I can help you with what your looking for. It seems pretty complete to me.

quote: ?? who makes it Kubotek

It's too bad there aren't any numbers that show how many seats of Cadkey are out their. Since it was the best selling design software on the market for soooo many years before Solidworks was even thougth up. Add to that the keycreator seats out there now and I think you get the picture. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing Solidworks. It has it's place. (right their in second place.)

Be careful...... Solidworks is nice yes... but it is a parametric design software. Keycreator is non-parametric. i.e. If you want to change something in the model are you prepared to go back in your history and start over if that's the only way to get it to work? Or are you hoping to be able to edit your part in real time with an "open" modeler? I have been using Mastercam for machining and Cadkey/Keycreator for design for 17 years. I don't have any issues with my geometry when it comes in to Mastercam so it stands to reason there is something else going on. I don't know why these other people are having issues. Everyone is partial to the software that THEY know and like. My advice is to download the free trials and just try them for a while. How else are you going to get a non-biased opinion on how it affects YOU and YOUR work and how YOU like to do things? - Jason

Rick, I did it as letters in the file only. Probably why it worked. I did not try it with a big file yet.

Rick, I can make letters in my MX3 all day long without a problem but I keep getting the same results as your white letters. No matter what font I try, I can't get it to look like the red letters. Sorry. I tried. I'm using MX3 without the MU1.

OK. Figured it out. It was indeed my CAD software not Mastercam. It has an option to "transform vertices into the positive quadrant" Which was checked on. I need it to do this for the files that I send to the prototypers and didn't really realize what it was doing to my file until just now. Thanks for the replys and help guys. - Jason

Thanks Jrygus. I did look for "STL wrong position" or something like that, but didn't come up with anything. I will try your suggestion next.

Every time I create an STL file in my CAD software and bring it in to MX3 it is not in the proper position. I had an A-plate that was just a square block with 4 square inserts in it with XYZ zero being in the center of the plate. When I bring it in to Mastercam for use in verify, it always goes to .250 off the far lower left corner for X and Y zero. It is correctly postitioned in my Cad system and 3D is turned on when outputting. Anyone else having this problem or know what might be causing it? I have looked through the options for exporting and importing but don't see anything wrong. Thanks, - Jason

I use Kubotek Keycreator (you were close ) which is the evolution of Cadkey. I have been using Mastercam and Cadkey/Keycreator side by side for over 16 years and so it is easy for me to say this is the way to go. However, What ever someone has "grown up" with is what they know very well and what they will tell you to get. Whatever you choose to go with will require some training time and initial startup costs as well as maintenence costs. You should be sure to look into all these areas. As you have already found out, Mastercam is great for machining, but falls short in too many areas for design to be considered a one stop Cad/Cam package for most people. Good luck in your search.

EDM grapgite is very abrasive. (that's why you don't use the graphite dust as a lubrican't for anything. ) We used TiALN coated tooling and ran at .004 chip load per tooth for roughing and .002 for finishing. This seemed to give us the most out of our tooling and still be able to cut fast enough to meet deadlines. (you have to find the happy medium) but this is just one example. Hopefully more will respond with their examples.

quote: NOTE: No modeling should be attempted while in perspective mode. This is a viewing mechanism only. This is how my software feels about perspective view. Keep in mind when modeling in perspective you no longer have true parallel lines and your arcs turn into splines. (in view terms only-they don't actually turn into splines.) It becomes harder to visually see an improper wall angle and stuff related to things like this. quote: if perspective was added to the program then it would be a benifit to users who would enjoy working that way I agree with this statement but then again we can use this statement for every item that each of us would like to have added or changed to the program. (I can think of a few that I myself have requested here.) Please don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to tell you that modeling in perspective view is a wrong way to do it. You have been doing it this way and you enjoy doing it this way. I'm just saying you need to be a little more cautious about your final product. quote: Isometric sucks because that's not the way our eyes see things This isn't entirley true. If you hold a AAA battery about 12 inches from your face out in front of you and look at it the long way (looking at the round end head on) you will see a round object. Now turn the battery ever so slightly and notice the round end away from you does not appear any smaller than the end closest to you. This will be the same for most anything you design. Perspective comes into play with things like looking down an alley at several buildings lined up along the sides and looking that whole distance. This is when perspective is noticed. I have used perspective a time or two for my rendered drawings just to give them that "look" but in my 17 years of designing you are the first person I have run across that does it as an everyday designing process. I only say this to point out that it probably would be a hard item to get Mastercam to add to their next release. But it can't hurt to try right?