Mine did this when upgrading / installing newest version. Have you recently done this? If so, I had to redo all my customized toolbars and right click menus to get it to work properly. Also, check file paths. Somehow mine was choosing a default file path from an older version.

Sometimes it helps to click on the "restrict drawing" button while backplotting a monster toolpath. As the screen fills up with your tool moves, it drags down the screen performance. If you click the button, it erases all toolpath moves up to the current position from the screen. That will help speed up the remaining moves. You can do it as often as you need to as you're backplotting to clean up the screen and help speed up the motion.

Large toolpaths can make it stutter, if you have many surfacing paths. To the right of the speed slider adjustment is the toolpath slider. You can drag the slider through the toolpath, it that helps.

If you have the solid model in your mcam file, select solid as stock and then click on your solid model. If you use stl, make sure you have it oriented correctly, then set planes to top. Go File >> save some >> click on model >> save as stl. then, use stl as stock and select stl file.

Filter will do it, but you need to make sure you have arcs supported in the control definition.

Yeah, sometimes it's tricky to get just the right settings to get things to flow right.

AS far as i know, you can't "join" surfaces. If they touch all around, try making your gap size larger, keep tool down, or follow surfaces to help it stay down. Can you post a pic of both surfaces? Separate colors will help show them different and where they connect.

If i gotta zoom, rotate a bunch, it's F1, mouse wheel and F2. I don't know of a quicker way, which there could very well be one. This is the fastest way I've found, though. When i'm done zooming in, i just hit the F2 a few times to get back where i started. Not a one-hit solve, but efficient enough for me.

Enter/exit on midpoint in closed contours. Check that box. Sometimes the gouge check won't let it do it, though. If no worky, break line at midpoint, like Crazy Millman says. Then, start your chain there.

Position and size difference are related to the probe tip being off-center. It's calculating from the centerline of the spindle, but that's not where the probe tip is. You'll need to adjust the tip until it's centered, then calibrate it.

Use a .0001 indicator on the tip of the probe and spin it. Your runnout should not be more than .0002, typically. If you want it calibrated properly, you'll have to use the adjustment screw in the head. It's a tedious process, but well worth it and really pays off in the end. If your probe isn't properly calibrated, it's not much use other than getting you "close".

try adjustments in the control definition here.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I second that^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If it's free, it's for me!

Dynamic cross-section like SW would be one sweet piece of enhancement beautification I think most of us would appreciate...

The video for the motocross helmet is pretty amazing too. Saw that one a few weeks ago. Nice gig to work there....

Thanks for the tips/confirmation, guys. As far as stress relief, anything involving heat is out of the question as everyone is afraid of it altering the ballistic properties of the material. I found some things online that i know nothing about, but time constraints don't allow us to try them anyhow: vibratory stress relief and sub-harmonic stress relief. Oh well..... To Hardmill, yep. That's the road i gotta go for now. Rough, flip, rough, flip, size, flip, size, flip....... So far, it's working. I'm sizing and milling all features and keeping the bar relatively flat through those processes. I save the big step for last and that's where the .050-.070 bow is coming from. At least, for now, they tell me the bow will get clamped down when the part is bolted up, so it is acceptable. I just don't like it, cause it ain't pretty.

If it comes down to it, I'll have to.

So I have some bars to machine. They start out at roughly 1.5" x 2.0" x 34" long. I have to mill out a step roughly 1.2" x .75" down the entire length and it's bowing and twisting to hell. i'm going the rough, flip, rough, flip, fuzz, flip, fuzz, flip method and was wondering if anyone has any better ideas? TIA!!!!!!!!!

I just used a manual entry G0 Z3.0 to "fix" it for now. Is this just the way it works or is there a setting somewhere I'm missing to make it obey the values on the linking parameters page?

Well, i have (2) peel mill toolpaths that i trimmed to eliminate excessive air moves and the tool won't retract straight up between the end of the last move of the first toolpath and the beginning of the first move on the 2nd toolpath. It doglegs up to the retract position for the next op instead of retracting in Z, then repositioning. That means crashy crashy through my stock.... Any ideas? G01 X9.5231 G03 X9.4987 Y-2.3741 I-.0244 J-.097 X9.4743 Y-2.3771 I0. J-.1 (2D HIGH SPEED ROUGH POCKETS) (WCS NAME - TOP) (WCS COMMENT - OP_1) (TOOLPLANE NAME - TOP) (TOOLPLANE COMMENT - OP_1) G00 X6.1714 Z3. Z1.5678 G01 Z.7564 F60.

From what i can see on that picture, I would use a surface finish >>>> flowline with ballnose or flat end mill with a corner rad. Just rotate the part to reach them and lock. Can't really tell if there's draft or undercut surfaces from the pic, though. Then, you'd have more difficulty.

I use the MpMaster, as well. Mine is setup for 4-axis work, but i mostly do just 3-axis. As long as you're changing your WCS for different ops, you should get no "A" output. When you want to use the 4th axis, use your T-Planes to make the post output your "A" moves. Before going through the headache of changing things in the Machine Definition file, the Control Definition file, and the Post (who knows which combination you'll need to get it right_______ another confusing mess that's been discussed here many times), make absolutely sure you have all the right ones linked together. Also, what version are you currently running?

a quick check sometimes on the "screen statistics" for custom tool profiles will tell you the number of lines, arcs, etc... on your screen. Sometimes that helps.

Mine looks like this: % O0001 (YOUR_FILE/PROGRAM_NAME_HERE)

Would be helpful to know what machine/post. It "should" be able to already output the program name in the correct place.