It sounds to me like this is a case where programming is done at the control. A lot of companies are in favor of this type of equipment to reduce the cost/overhead of employing programmers and buying expensive software. The trade off is that you have less experienced people doing the programming and dont have the adequite tools to ensure the program is clean. You may save some $$$$ on the front end but you will have to eat the mistakes.

We save the OP 1 Verify as an STL. Then when ready to Verify op 2 we use Xform STL and Rotate-Translate it into the right position for op 2 and save it. Pretty easy to do.

I love the controls that have G13 capability. But I use the formula mentioned above with 135 Deg sweep all the time. Its awsome. 2c

You might be encountering an interupted cut due to the ID of the tube not being very concentric to the OD. Try milling a chamfer on the top of the hole before drilling.

I would start around 500 rpm and a feed of 1.5 to 2.5. In my experience with 304 and removing only a small amount of material from a previously drilled hole the corners dont last long at all. Reaming progressivly with 2 different sized reamers would be better. Also beef up the coolant to a 10-12% mix. Good Luck

Yes, 3m makes different grades of double back tape which are also different thicknesses. cleanliness is crucial to sucess. It helps if you can capture any or all of the profile in a pocket. Good Luck

If you have to use a tap and cant thread mill just get it started and finish by hand. A good cutting fluid will help. If you have a lot of holes to do get yourself an NPT thread Mill or use a single point tool.

Welcome to the forum. Did you get it to work?

We use a 1/2 4 flute carbide EM for Surface Finishing,somewhere around .005 step over to get a good finish. Spindle at max and 180. to 200. Feed Rate.

I havnt found much use for Mastercam Direct. I simply merge the Solid Part File into Mastercam. If you have trouble with that save the Solid Part File as a Parasolid(X_T) and Merge that. If your needing Solidworks Construction Geometry do a Save as IGES.Double check in the options button that import condtruction geometry is selected.

On the parameter page just below the comment box under the planes button

Welcome to the Forum. The short answer would be to rotate the geometry and toolpaths into position and reassign the tool planes to the desired new planes for the Horizontal.

In a 2D Contour it is relative the begining and end of the chained geometry in open contours, and where you first selected the chain in closed contours It can be moved by the right click menu found in the chain manager window, Start Point.

You should take a look at Dapra Inserted Ball End Mills. Dapra.com

I dont know that creating an arc tangent will give you the result you want. If not try create arc 3 points and pick the intersect points of the octagon.

I use a 2D contour and in the depth cuts I set the amount I want the tool to step down per pass then activate the tapered wall selection and enter the angle. Select the geometry at the bottom of the part and It will stair case down the angle for roughing.

Thanks G, Ive never seen it used on a outside profile. It gives you the ability to change rpm and feed on the finish pass. Cool

I knew I might strike a nerve with my post. I dont mean to dis anyone. This forum represents the best of the best in my opinion. I just have never ran software that didnt have to be manipulated.

Ive adapted my programming style to work within the limitations of the software. Rough with one tool and finish with another. Thats just a good machining practice. A spring pass can be generated thru multi pass by entering 1 ruff at 0 and 1 finish at 0. If you must ruff and finish with the same tool, you can create a copy of it and alter the speed and feed. If you truly expect the software to do everything you want the way you want, we as programmers would become very replacable. The manipulating and work arounds defines the skill level of our craft. Whew! I could really go for a brew. [ 12-16-2009, 01:52 PM: Message edited by: Cad-Camr ]

Are you working on a local drive of over a network? Go Ducks

In some instances it defaults to the machines max rpm. On our Haas Tool Room Mill if you program over the maximum rpm it will just read it and run at the max.

I have had this happen to me before and I ended up creating 2 Ruled Surfaces that overlapped a bit at the bottom.

One of our customers switched from Westlake PVDF to PPS and it was much better to machine and fairly stable.

Thirteen years ago I decided to become a cnc programmer. 10 years ago I decided that mastercam was going to be the focus of my career. Now I make my living in front of a computer instead of in front of a machine and I'm constantly learning new things. And I'm happy to say I've made a fat sack of cash along the way. Thanks Mastercam!

I often times go with a carbide Circut Board drill because they have a 1/8 shank.