Currently using negative offsets. The shop in general doesn't have a clue as to what a pre-setter is for. Never tried a negative offset without a g43 either.

"I don't agree with this part of his statement, if that's the issue there are "bigger" problems to correct."

I agree with the disagreement. After seeing code a few hundred times a month, someone all the sudden forgets to add a g43 next to the H callout? Kind of like forgetting to breath , isn't it? In 20 years of machining, I've never seen a controller miss a g43 callout. Is that even possible?

No scrap and quick. Work with him for a few. New concepts usually seem awkward at first.

Can groups be masked for chaining? Sounds like a good idea for selecting geometry on a 3d wireframe. Sometimes, masking kulurs an using levuls just dont get it.

The setting is there, I also don't think it works as I also receive that error on loading programs. The Haas usually alarms and then truncates the code, but the program is still solid. I edit the heading before saving the file and sending it to the machine.

John. The code that shuts off that D offset for the drills, is that for the heading or is he getting D values in the g code itself? MPmaster?

Rechaining takes what, about 15 seconds? Including the sip of coffee.

Nice link.

Just messin with ya Thad, and yes yes, all the time.

That's pretty geeky Thad.

Break the chain in sections prior to either operation, then only select what you need. All these task that your asking about are relatively simple and can be answered by merely looking at all the parameters in the dialog boxes and messing with them. Your taking the fun out of learning this software and missing a good learning experience.

Lotta baloney going on here. Just download the mpmaster post and give it a shot. Max and min for the entire program gets stated , as well as individual tools. You'll probably want to # out the statements you don't need. This post works good with a Fanuc 18I and Haas controls.

Speaking of defragging, I been using a program called Perfect disk for about 3 months now. It runs in the background and uses very little resources. As of the moment, I can say that I've had no problems with it, general computer usage is fine, and I got the defrag monkey off my back.

Turn off autosave. Save manually, frequently. In version X, Autosave and backplot were the culprits in most of my MC crashes. Tweak your Windows OS and perform regular maintenance. A good comp, finely tuned, will produce good results with MC.

Sorry I did not get back with you guys sooner. I ended up re-installing X+ with the default .mtb, then saved as a custom .mtb. All is good again. I'll try that next time Gunther, thanks.

Sure does. I'm trying to squeeze a new monitor out of them now. I'll try that when I get to work. There is only one version loaded. Thanks .

I down graded monitors from a 21" to a 17" (OUCH) and my X+ toolbar wont maximize. I can see it, move it and so on, but it stays the same size, very small with no actually icons to select, almost like a single new toolbar button. Visual themes were disabled in the Mastercam advanced properties dialog box. Any clues here as to what may be taking place?

8gb? 64bit OS? How did you arrive at those specs as being required for MC? SB x-fi and Z-4, gaming gear. As for X3 running on Vista, I'd take a wait and see approach, at least till X3, SP7, MR4 comes out. Let the others test the waters.

Beat ya by a minute on that last one JP. Ya must have been on the throne

Keygen? That's usually associated with cracked software. The educational version X that came with a book I purchased never displayed those messages. Also, I dont think you can take a full version and convert it for educational use, but I could be wrong.

For those that may be confused, programming from centerline of rot x0, z0, are fixed values and usually are inputted in all the wpc's with the Y axis being the only variable. Minor adjustments is the key word here. We usually only deviate from true centerline when a machine is cold or a location is off abit and we have to maintain concentricity between bores.

If its a single large part/casting, I would use cl of rot.

Select a straight line entry in the lead in dialog box (which is a default, I believe) as well as arc, that will solve it. Forget about adding g41 to the line before the arc as mastercam will do this for you.

I checked and couldn't find a bearing help section in mastercam.

I'm missing the e-mills in the tool list at the heading of my nc file. Drills, reamers and taps show up fine. The e-mills appear at the start of the machining sequence, code is also good. What did I mess up? MPmaster is the post.

If possible, try thread milling as deep as you can, then that will act as a pilot to drive the tap the rest of the way.

Motown is hurting right now to find qualified people, operators and programmers, but that may be do to the fact that the pay actually stinks pretty bad around here.