" Speed and feeds are always wrong." Are they correct in the operation prior to posting? Do the feed rates not show up in back plot as inch or metric with MC4SW? Is anybody reading the G-gode prior the pressing cycle start? (When you are set-up correctly, you usually don't need to eyeball code.) "So we purchased the CNC Cookbook calculator for $70." Good tool but that won't change the way MC behaves. It sounds as if your settings are not correct. I don't have MC4SW but MC should be similar to how MC4SW handles it. I use "From Tool" and "use tools step, peck, and coolant selected. I also have a library tweaked for tool steels. You can create your own libraries as well and set the default cutting conditions for each tool there, modify the existing library, or just EDIT the tool itself while you are programming, and those settings will be good every time you select that tool for a new operation within that program. If you want those setting to stick forever, edit the tool from within the library and save it there, prior to creating a new operation. Most programmers often multi task with an end mill, same tool, so It's very common to modify the settings in the actual tool path data fields as well. Roughing vs Finishing, Face vs Perimeter, Helix bore- ramping and so on. In the operations manager, expand the Machine group, properties, tool settings and you will see how the variables for S&F can be set up. The default speeds and feeds for a given material in MC are starting points and not necessarily where you want to be, which is where the cookbook or tool manufactures data comes into play. Snapping emills frequently may also indicate that the step over/step downs are incorrect. These are defaults as well and should be tweaked accordingly. To edit the libraries directly in MC select Toolpath, tool manager. Use the icons above the lower window to select an existing library or create a new library. Copy, paste and drag fro one library to another. Libraries for specific machines where the tools stay in the magazine with fixed tool numbers are common as well. Others will have different approaches to this or may debate my choices but FLEXIBILITY is the key here. HTH, MCM.

Weight reduction huh. So she don't gotta be pretty. Material is is forgiving. Perhaps a 1" dia x 3" flute length hogger relieved where you need it. Multi pass away. RDOC = can't take the noise.

1000 POSTS !!! It seemed to take forever to get here. I’ve been silent in the open forums for quite a while and was waiting for a topic worthwhile to post in. OK, so where’s my swag? I click on the .DOC link hoping to learn something new and what do I get? Here’s the link Newbeeee. Scanning of faces - Different strategies http://www.emastercam.com/board/index.php?showtopic=36620&hl=+great%20+chameleon#entry23894 How I determined the validity of those statements: THANKS FOR THE HELP, HAPPY HOLIDAYS. http://www.emastercam.com/board/index.php?showtopic=35674&hl=%2Bhappy+%2Bholidays SURFACE TOOLPATH HELP. http://www.emastercam.com/board/index.php?showtopic=37042&hl=radial#entry4170 Almost 2 years have gone by since those were written and with the experience I’ve gained since then I could revise those descriptions to provide a little more detail. The old school tool paths are still relevant and should be part of every programmers arsenal. Lately, I’ve been using 2d peel mill and 2d blend quite a bit with excellent results by applying radial chip thinning to these strategies, cutting chains or applying them to applications that would normally be considered out of the norm or perhaps a little radical for these tool paths. IMO, keeping an open mind and not being afraid of snapping a tool or scrapping a part is the key to getting ahead here. With that being said, I also apply radial chip thinning to traditional tool paths when I can and I believe we can have some fun with the part in this post. This may sound nuts at first, but I would try this. Create a flat surface at your maximum depth of cut before driving through the fixture. This surface will be as large as your raw material, rectangular, plus the size of the tool we’re using width wise. In this case, let’s say a 5/8 or 1/2 ball. Lengthwise I would extend the length of the end surfaces by your raw stock. Rough the 2 ends first, 2d contour. Now create 2 chains, one at the edge of the flat surface length wise and one just across centerline by your step over amount. 10% minimum step over of the cutter diameter. Material will determine that. Use SF Parallel, chaining from the outside in (deep to shallow). If you do not have the flute length to do this, COPY your flat surface up to a plane that will work and use two tool paths, with depth limits enabled. Now repeat this for the other side. Apply the chip thinning to this tool. (http://www.emastercam.com/board/index.php?showtopic=59759). You’re going to leave a cusp equal to your ball nose radius at the bottom. Just get this with SF contour using a bull nose or indexable emill. Use depth limits and machine around the entire part to keep the tool down. This sounds like a lot of malarkey so why would I do this? Well, I can get much closer to near net shape for finishing using this strategy with less air balls and I can see results in back plot that look sane, that is to say, less crazy moves that leave me wondering: WTF is this. I also don’t have access to X5 or X6 and the opti rough tool paths so a straight up comparison by me is out of the question for now. No MC installed on my home comp at the moment or I would have provided some pics. If you try this strategy, let us know how it works out for you. Hope this helps someone, MCM. A tune I listen to on occasion while programming:

Uncross those fingers. That may be a short term solution but a 10 meg .NC file should not crash the computer. My guess is that something else is doing devious deeds here. Many people post in excess of that size, exponentially, using short linear moves.

Fx500, fx3450, fx3500, Firegl 5600, and 9800gt. All these cards caused white outs during tp calculation for me in XP32. I know, they are not the greatest cards either. If I move the mouse or enter another app., MC whites out. Latest drivers and I run my system OS almost naked. 25 processes at most and all eye candy disabled. I do use rocketdock, maybe that's the culprit.

"I am even getting "white outs" when generating toolpaths.' I get that with any video card. Settings do not make a difference. Crunching a tool path should not have an effect on the video but it does. Move the mouse, white out and locked out till it's finished. On the plus side, this forces you to seriously think about your settings before closing out the box and has in some way made me a better programmer.

You can change the direction by 90.deg. or use SF Blend. You could also program it wit a 45.deg cut then cross over at 135. deg to get a nice lace going.

One thing I have noticed with G05 P10000 on the S56. I project curves to a plane which are used to drive a Blend tool path or boundaries. I have to reduce the number of entities in those projected curves or else the machine stumbles, especially with blend since the tool path is generated from the shape of the drive curves. During projection, what would appear to be one straight line becomes multiple splines. Same with projected curves which can become unruly. I create node points, end points, delete any dupes, then recreate straight line segments. Next I use a spline function to recreate the curvy geo and use the new entities to drive my path. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but using the arc filter will take some liberties with the tool path (crude it up) so I avoid it when I can and the Makino runs smoother with very short line segments. I also avoid check surfaces when I can as this can cause spikes and unnecessary retracts. Instead, I'll create a dummy drive surface either flat or normal to the geometry, to help keep the tool down and the tool path smooth, and include those surfaces in the drive selection as well. Sharp corners should always be avoided as well. Put fillets in there when possible. "The part must be accurate within .0001" I don't think I would attempt that on a mill using interpolation. I'd even be skeptical seeing a jig grinder attempt that.

320 sfm at 10% step over, 2x dia. for DOC. to start. Do a search for chip thinning calculators (this forum) and factor those values into your feed IPM. Your eyes will pop. Once I get the numbers, I pump up the rpm's by 10% and listen to the cut. Chips should be blue.

IN BEFORE THE LOCK The CIRCLE rules. I wanted to time this at 3.14 PM but couldn't wait.

SF contour will cut from the bottom up. SF Blend may be an even better choice.

Are you going through a 1.25 thick plate or is this a pocket? Typically, 1.5 to 2.0 x the dia. of the tool, or full flute length of the tool for depth cuts. This case is special because of the depth and lack of rpm's. There is a link with chip thinning calculators on it that will help with feeds in a more conventional situation. H13 is pretty easy to cut as well. IMO, because of the circumstances here, my preference would be to drill those corners out 1st with a 5/32 drill then approach it without chip thinning. Others may disagree. Chip Thinning. http://www.emasterca...=1 Same subject on a more conventional part. http://www.emastercam.com/board/index.php?showtopic=66229 HTH, MCM.

"You can chain the edges of the solid itself " No disrespect intended but... You can either search the forum, or Google it. Either way the answers the same. The last thing a noob needs to try and do is chain from a solid. Move the solid to a new level and use the original curves created on import. I always copy the curves I need to a new level, then use that for chaining. This keeps the original geo intact.

Thanks for the input. .5 deg and 12ipm 1st piece, way too slow. No dwell option in this tool path so RPM's remain the same for now. Will bump up the feed incrementally. I'll pass on the break point theory for now as I already used that opportunity on another area of the part. -.- My dealer is a middle man who uses tech support from India. Slim chance getting decent data from them in a timely fashion, if at all. Thanks again.

I need some help with this. 4140ph. 3/8 bullmill .03r. 4 flute Centercut Carbide. 320sfm / 3259 rpm / 108 ipm throughout the rest of the HST op. Going to a depth of .70. from solid. Entry moves are set at 1/2 deg. , 45% min max rad. This produces a dia. of .337 at the center of the tool path (.712 actuall cut dia.) so I know no spikes will be left standing. The depth per rev works out to be .0093. Is this too much or too little? Here's where I need some help. Is the 45 deg. min max rad adequate or too large? Entry feed rate. I was thinking 25% or 27 IPM. This will produce a chip per tooth of aprx. .002. Is this too heavy? Sounds like it might be, but I don't have experience with this so IDK. Thanks in advance, MCM.

I'm with Wizzard on this one. MPMaster for the post on our Haases. Only exception here was I never tweaked the precision settings at all. Arc values for arc output in the filter must be set at 500. max on the older machines. 1000 works fine on the new ones.

I've never had a tool pull out. From my experience with them, they get tighter, not looser, requiring more heat to use them. We've even jig ground our tight 6mm holders to .25 after they were shot. Got to get them cherry red, but they work.

Two of my favorites. http://cadjunkie.com/ This guy gets the ball rolling, fast. Not boring and a great place to start for the novice. http://gabijack.com/ Fun stuff all around. This looks good also. There are dozens of great sites out there. Google is your friend. The bible is dry and boring but can help in a pinch.

PICTURE

Your welcome. I very rarely use it myself as most of my work is 3 axis but I understand the necessity. Others swear by it.

These should get you started. On the FTP in the tools folder: Using_Views_Planes_and WCS.pdf Using WCS and the View Manager.pdf Video here: http://www.eapprentice.net/samplevideos/vid42/vid42.html

As far as quantity, the views and planes are limitless. you can analyze, create new geo, machine anywhere you want on any new plane created. My preference is align the model as it faces the spindle at B0.,cl of rot being x0.z0. and going from there with plane creation. Many methods are discussed in the forum. Search is your friend.

"I appriciate that he took a second to point out my error so I can LEARN which is the whole point of being on these forums. I have no issues with someone giving me a hard time if I make a mistake or do something stupid as long as it is followed with something constructive. You sir were just making fun of me and that is so 90's." No sir, I was not making fun of you. What I did do was make you and perhaps several others think about what was taking place, which at times can be far more productive that spoon feeding some one an anwser. Yours was not the only reply in this topic to mis interpret the question. Now sir, you are learning, as I still do when I'm reading this forum. Of course, I tried your suggestion, learned a new tool, and saw where you were coming from. My presence in this forum often denotes sarcasm, irony, and sheer ignorance after a few cold ones. You sir, were by no means singled out. As a matter of fact, I look forward to learning from you again, sir, in the near future. (see how the sarcasm works? ) It's all good, MCM.

"Circumference is not chord length." Free beer for Keith. And Ninja is buying. 'Am I missing something or are you messing with me??' Yes to both questions. "this is OLD school drafting at its finest, draw a 4" circle at one end point, and then connect the center of that circle with the intersection of the 2 diameters." Spot on. LOL, I still have some drafting tools in my box. " I think my brain was in Solidworks format. There are many ways to draw that kind of geometry and I found many ways to draw this up. I was sitting there for like 10 minutes trying to figure out the way to draw this in the way that made the most sense to me. It didn't seem like that big of a deal to draw the way I was trying, but I have realized using Mastercam there are some ways that you are forced to complete a task. I think I should submit a feature request form to Mastercam." Constraints in MC would be a awesome upgrade. I find myself doing just the opposite as well. Although some may disagree, sketching in SW could benefit from the Xform tools concept used in MC. It's all good, MCM.

'Super easy, Draw a 14.5 diameter circle on the origin. analyze it, change the cirumfrence in the 3d field to 2.00" Let us know how this works out....