Read the last few pages of the benchmark thread for some tips.

Do they still do that in X4?

Rough rest mill requires a previous op., or am I mistaken? Rgh pocket does OK, but adds extra passes. Rgh parallel gives me incomplete clean-up do to a small wave in the surface Just wondering though. What are the advantages of surface rgh contour vs. surface finish contour if multi-pass isn't an option?

Is there a way to apply multi passes, radially, to the surface rgh contour tool path? Max radial cut for my tool is already set in the tool parameters. Thanks.

Hmm. Somebody paid a reseller to modify a post to do that? Looks like a set of variables that's gonna be altered or tweaked at the machine anyway. Why not just type it in manually and spend the extra cash on some new tools? I agree though, have the reseller correct it. Or back it up and modify it yourself. Tuesday will be a better day to get some help here.

My .02$ Spend just a bit more and have a weldment made up (Steel) with internal braces that match the bolt hole spread of your vises, and rise it above the table about 4 inches. Make sure the head is square and then mill it on the table. You'll then be able to make bolt patterns and key slots that match your favorite accessories. You'll also be able to put it on other machines when you retire the Fadal. If possible, tap holes along the perimeter in the horizontal to give even more options for bolting on accessories such as stop blocks and pushers.

I have not tried Surface finish project yet, on any part. Will mess with it when I get a chance. Once again, thanks for the help peeps. Have a good holiday, MCM.

Here are some pics for what there worth. As seen, I can only pull 2 surfaces from that loft cut. There may be a command in SW that may brake this up after its created, don't know but I'd like to do this in MC if possible.

Radial works good when I need more control options. Scallop works ok when I'm lazy and want to cram a lot of surfaces into 1 op.. Raster disappointed me. http://www.emastercam.com/cgi-bin/ultimate...3763;p=1#000005 Never cared for the limited functions/results from waterline. The roughing tool paths just look iffy to me. Haven't tried the others. In all fairness, lack of experience with these path's, not enough time to experiment with them and not knowing what types of surfaces they are best suited for keep me from using them more often. No vericut/verisurf here and a lot of one offs. If I don't understand or like the moves I'm seeing, I'll mess with it for a few, or simply move on to another type of tool path.

I tried the create surface from solid once it was in. No luck there. I'll change my import options and try that. I'll post a pic later. Thanks.

"Can't post a pic at the moment, perhaps in a few days, but I'm sure the solid pros in here know what I'm talking about. Thanks for any help, MCM." Yes and no. The file is at work and I need to do a screen capture then up it to PhotoBucket. I'll investigate the create curve flowline asap. Thanks.

Murry, I'm curios about those pricey SAS hard drives. Anybody in here using solid state drives?

Here's my problem. I received a solid that was created in Solidworks using the Flex command. Two rectangular pieces with a lofted cut created with splines as the end curves and a roller coaster path, are then twisted 180. and merged to form a single round at 360. deg. Very clever and slick indeed, but what this does is limit the ability the create curves from the solid, as if it can't find any intersections or tangencies. This conditions also shows when viewing the file in Solidworks. I've seen this with other types of solids as well, not just Solidworks files. Question then becomes. How do we break up the solid so I can tool path and dimension the location of the individual surfaces? Can't post a pic at the moment, perhaps in a few days, but I'm sure the solid pros in here know what I'm talking about. Thanks for any help, MCM.

Hmm, I would think that 70% cutter dia. less 2x the corner radius would be adequate for full cleanup.

Drilling toolpaths will mirror fine. Anything chained seems to get messed up.

Couldn't get to the tutorial in IE.

"I prefer to study the print until I have an adequate 3d image in my head. Often times it is better to start modelling it from a print to get a better idea of what you are seeing." Superior advice. If I could add to that: If a part is complex or tricky, I'll often program most of the work in advance, as well as any fixturing I may need, modeling both the part and the fixture in MC. I also gather up the hard to find or akward tooling before I commit to the setup. On some occasions, even with all the advanced planning that can get done, snafus arise and ya just gotta wing it.

Maybe... copy the spline to a new level. Xform project. Close the spline without intersecting it. Extrude the spline. Create curves and see if that Geo is useful. You may get lucky and be able to simplify it now as well.

Maybe it's just my crappy video card but I can't read the text in either of those pictures.

Install the anti-virus LAST if you have that option. Update prior to install, .net framework, visual c++. Maybe testing one app at a time, prior to installing the next app could reduce possible headaches. File association, although easy to change, is usually dominated by the last app you install so I would think that the app your going to use the most would be the last one to install. Some apps will let you set the association during the install.

Ebay for a used Quadro FX3000. Should be under $50. Make shure you have a decent power supply though.

Call Haas support with the serial number of the machine. They'll help you out, free of charge.

You can drip (DNC?) from the USB no problems on the newer Haas controls.

Careful with projecting curves. Lines created this way don't necessarily match the silhouette of the part and you can get burned easy.

I'm not saying that DNC sux. I just don't like the thought of introducing another piece of hardware into the system. (We run RS232 where I'm at). Although it may not be a bottle neck, it's still a pipeline that the data has to traverse. Fortunately, we have a Makino with a hard drive we run off of and I have the luxury of stepping away from the Haas when I need to get good surfaces or exceed it's memory limits.