Toolfab here is my problem. MC direct from SW2004 launches MasterCam , then I receive and error message ‘Cannot Find Parasolid Data in SolidWorks file” hit OK then MC asks to “Enter the name of a MasterCam File to Import Toolpath operations from (or hit Cancel for none)”. At the end MC file is empty. Then when I Close SW I get an unhandled termination error. I receive the same error in MC “Cannot Find Parasolid Data in SolidWorks file” if I try to open the SLDPRT file thru File Converters Parasolid while the file is active in SW. Thanks John

MayDay, ToolFab are you either of you running SW2004? Direct converter worked great in SW2003. I havent been able to get it to work with SW2004. CNCme look here SW-MCDirect John

Here are a few shots of a billet aluminum laptop housing I finished a short time ago. Each half started as a 22lb blank, one side weighed 1.5lbs the other 1.7lbs after about a 4 hour cycle time per side. The finished product is pretty cool, it has no keyboard. The unit has 2 15" LCD touch screens. You can view it as a book or as a conventional laptop with a virtual keyboard. The biggest problem I ran in to was holding it, 10' draft on the sides, ended up using a nested vacuum fixture. No thinking back the biggest problem was with my customer changing his mind and sending new models of the part. What I have a magic wand I wave to get new code and parts. I guess that falls under you pay, I will play. Why is my job so much fun? This was my second Level 3 job, O I learned a lot about MasterCam on this one. John

In your SolidWorks .SLDDRW File -> Save As -> choose DXF or DWG. John

Lead In/Out Use Entry point John

I find that holidays are the best time to work. No one is calling, no interruptions, I just have to make sure I know what time it is so I can get home before my wife goes ballistic. Its risky, but you have got to take a risk once in awhile in the name of progress. Have a good Thanksgiving. John

Back again, bright eyed and bushy tailed. John

Thanks guys, that answers my question. Enjoy your weekend he he. John

During geometry creation or translation is it possible to enter an incremental value, similar to AutoCad @X,Y or @D< A. I have been searching help and the forum but haven’t found anything. What is the easiest way to enter an incremental values in MasterCam? There has got to be an easier way then what I have been fumbling through. Thanks John [ 11-22-2003, 09:55 AM: Message edited by: J Coulston ]

I work just about every day, only half days, the other 12 hours I do what I want. I am currently running 2 verticals, my turning center and programming my next job in MC. It bites when everything stops at once. Hmm decisions which machine to load first. Have a good weekend. John

Pressed for time but here is a quickie. If you have a specific questions between SC and MC I will try to answer when I get a few more seconds. Ran SmartCam since 92, bought MasterCam beginning of 03 and went to training. Started using MC, absolutely hated it, went back to SmartCam for a few weeks, decided to give MC another chance, now I absolutely love MC. The biggest hurdle I had to overcome was to unlearn SmartCam so I could learn how to run MasterCam. MC is just different than SmartCam. Now I dread having to go back to SmartCam to work on any legacy parts. MC has an excellent forum, much better that any other cam system I looked at and on par with SmartCams forum. MC imports solids. I do miss some of the macros that I had in SC but the amount of time I save working from solids in MC far exceeds the savings I had with SC macros. I am sure that I will work quicker and more efficiently the more I use and the more I learn MC. MC is under development , SC is not. John

Milkmen with your Jello? Bitchin' Camaro, hehe thats funny At least I know the music of my youth wont ever end up on some oldies radio station. Dam I feel old, 3am depresion setting in, I think I will go kick the machine. John

I like the old colors. Is anyone color blind? Yet John

Just wanted to see what Zion position I fall into. +1 post he he Nice and rainy here, good day for a movie. John

quote: Still don't understand why the admin of this forum let pepole register without hasp number. I lurked here for a few weeks before I bought MasterCam, this forum was one of the reasons that helped seal the deal. With a few of the other CAM packages I looked at, it was like pulling teeth without Novocain to get access to their forums (not much to see, no wonder the struggle). I think that everyone here does a pretty good job at weeding out the pirate software users. To me it wouldn’t matter, I have a sim#. I think putting more restrictions on registration would hurt potential customers of MasterCam. This forum is defiantly a value added benefit of owning the software that potential customer should realize, it might help them make their purchasing decisions, it helped me. John

quote: hey,got an idea maybe all forum members send 1$ to anyone reaching 1000 posts. Is that one dollar collectively or for each forum member? Count me in where do I send my 0.0001 cents. Just like to say thanks to all the power posters, learning a lot from you guys. John

quote: Anybody leasing a car........... With most leases there are provisions for the lessee to take ownership at end of the term. Fair market value, $1 buyout, agreed upon amount, ect. Software EULA = just a weird animal. John

Fairness doesn’t matter when you don’t make the rules. What would happen if you bough out a company that owned a license? Hmm now I have to think. How did I enter MC on the books? Was it set up as an asset or an expense? If I don’t own it has to be an expense so it cant be depreciated. Did I use any of my Section 179 allowance on it? Guess I would file an amended 2002 return to save a few large. Calling the CPA in the morning. John

Blaser Swisslube. We also have a coalescer that we move between machines to skim off the tramp oil. John

I encourage everyone to smoke. The government needs more tax revenue to waste.

ptap #Canned Tap Cycle pdrlcommonb #RH/LH based on spindle direction if use_pitch, pbld, n, "G95", e if use_pitch = 0, [ pcan1, pbld, n, "M29", *speed, e #********Added 12/17/02/******* pcan1, pbld, n, *sgdrlref, *sgdrill, pdrlxy, pfzout, pcout, prdrlout, *feed, strcantext, e ] Outputs N6874 G54.1 P10 M08 N6875 G00 G90 B0 X1.4003 Y-13.9289 S1500 M03 N6876 G43 H17 Z1.25 T7 N6877 M29 S1500 N6878 G98 G84 Z.115 R.4952 F46.88 N6879 Y-9.8939 Does the M42 have to come before the workoffset or just before the G84? The code above runs on Fanuc OM and 16i. John

Why not Off of SurfCams site I am assuming this is where their forum would be. quote: SURFCAM Secure Support Site The Secure Support Site contains information for SURFCAM customers and distributors. To access this material, you must be a registered SURFCAM end-user with a current maintenance agreement. This is exactly why you are asking this question here, most CAM systems have a closed forums, no complaints to read, everything is just fine I am sure. This forum is an invaluable selling point for MC. The amount of information that passes thru this forum and the very talented helpful people that use it is really quite remarkable. I don’t every remember seeing a question posted MC related or not that hasn’t been responded to in a few minutes or at the most a few hours. Everytime I have been up against a wall, usually after 5:00, the questions that I have posted to the forum have always been answered promptly and accurately. Bailing me out on more than one occasion. After one recent question I posted, my VAR called me the following day to make sure that everything was working properly and if I had any more question. I didn’t call them, they saw my post and were just following up. Thanks Prism Engineering. Follow the forum for a while and you will see one additional benefit to owning MasterCAM. My advice Don’t be fooled by pretty pictures. Get a demo on your parts, don’t give them out ahead a time. Get a demo version of the packages you are looking at and go thru the tutorials. If they have a user forum demand that you are given access, one package I demoed before I bought MC it was like pulling teeth to get access, after I got access it was no wonder they didn’t want to share. Ask any specific questions you have about the capabilities of MasterCam, I am sure you will get a good answer. Good luck, John

quote: I'd like to see either a switch in backplot "Simulate Drill Peck Cycles" This is one feature that SmartCam had that I miss everyday. MC should be WYSISWUG, for me it is always quicker to visually observe an error than to have to make sure that I selected peck drill in the OM or have to check all my drill cycles to make sure I’m pecking where I want to. Peck should be shown in backplot and verify. Well I’m off to send my enhancement request to my VAR. John

If the beep is coming thru you speakers you could try turning off you sound scheme Control panel -> Sounds. If turning off the sound scheme silences your beep, look until you find the program event that has the beep associated and select the more pleasant sound of silence. HTH John

Hello all, I am running into a problem where MC is turning comp on during an arc move, of course the machine alarms out. Machining Surface Rough Pocket from a solid, Finish pass is selected the Lead in/out is set to wear, line tangent 0.02, arc 0.5 sweep 20 N1987 G03 G41 D107 X6.1669 Y-14.347 I-.3814 J.3233 Any suggestion on where to look or what I might be doing wrong? If I turn finish pass off it seems ok. Do you usually rough with the finish pass off? Thanks John