Wow, had no idea that was being done. Neat!

rewind it

We have a specific product, so ours is from the tool. The libraries are setup for each machine and speeds and feeds stay the same.

Didn't know diamonds were machined?

I was afraid that was gonna be the answer! LOL Thanks, Crazy

I can understand this, but have to wonder why it is not consistent and does it randomly? My current part has 11 rotations in it and only goes thru on 4 of them.

I was wondering of anyone else is having problems with Multi Axis milling. When we program from one surface/curve/etc., to another, sometimes the backplot and verification will show the tool diving/going to the other side of/thru the part before the rotation takes place, but the posted code is correct. In other words the 'Z' is coming out to clear before a rotation occurs and stays clear during the rotation and enters the new area correctly in the g code. This occurs at random locations and appears to be no rhyme or reason for when it occurs as all settings/parameters are the same. This wreaks havoc on the model and all of the g code has to be checked to make sure it is actually programmed correctly, which so far it has been. Doesn't matter whether it is programmed as a flowline/multisurface or curve. We have sent a file to the reseller already for insight and all of our machine definition settings appear to be correct. Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same problems in multi axis?

Only need to make one? If not, then a vacuum fixture would be the best for a delicate part if made right. If your good with them, it only takes from a few minutes to a couple of hours to make them. Something else to try might be double back (carpet) tape, depending on how much you have to take off and what the part configuration is. Bondo or any type of bonding agent sounds like it will damage the part after use trying to get it off. Good Luck!

The best way is to call the macro routine. They are all listed from Renishaw and it is easy enough to incorporate it into the post. Selection will be by drill cycles with possible new variables in the page depending on what all you want to do.

Nancy said it best! JUST SAY NO! LOL

Right Click on WCS in the lower right corner of the screen, pick View Manager and change the WCS to a new location. Over to the right where it shows X,Y and Z values (under Origin (in view cooordinates)), just type in where you want the WCS. Or you can select the origin point if you have a point there. The part does not move, only the WCS.

There seems to be alot of verification and stock layout files problems. I am having similar problems and my system locks up quite often even on backplotting lathe files. If I turn the stock off it usually works without locking up. nVidia Quadro 4400 on this system with drivers just downloaded this week. I actually have more problems now than with the origianl drivers so I'll probably roll them back today.

All the above are correct. You cannot make macro calls from the control side to either cards, hard drives, CPU's or vice versa. Your macros and their variables must reside in the same location. M98 will work, M198 won't.

To update: Got a new version of the Volumill and it appears to work correctly. This is a unique application and the Highfeed machining in McamX2 did not work properly. I have been unable to get a response from either our reseller or CNC. Will be trying the file within the next few days and will let all of you know how it works. The interface is just like any other Mcam dialogue screen, with a few different paramter questions. Once the file is sent by hitting the checkmark, it has literally only taken 2-3 seconds to output the toolpath. Our internet is really slow, so this seems pretty seamless.

Get TurboCAD. It's like $95 and you can write with any Windows Font and then convert it out to Mcam easily.

quote: APT is a defined standard. That said all the "flavors" are really supersets of that standard. There are only a handful of CAM systems that APT based systems. A larger number use APT CL data as the default intermediate file for post-processing to G-Code. This is similar to the way Mastercam uses the NCI file. Yes, APT is a standard language. Many CAM systems bastardized it and many tried to make there own "form" of it, yet in its standard form, it is still the most powerful programming language out there. !!!But they all need pretty pictures and they're all made out of ticky tack and they all look just the same! ROFL!!!! ITS COMING! NO CODE!!!! Seemless integration of graphics to machine motion!

quote: it was imperative that i had the arcs because the splines would slow down so much that the material that i'm cutting would catch fire.Does your machine have high speed processing?

quote: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .... Many 3D solids contain features that cannot be captured by selecting a simple cross-section of the solid.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ....Where sharp corners (30°–150°) are detected, Mastercam fits an arc using the system curve chordal deviation tolerance (Tolerances property page in the System Configuration dialog box)..... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote #1: And yet when stitching it works, but breaks the Solid up? Quote #2: Why does create, curve, slice work then?

quote: You should also get in the habit of using the "apply" button.+1 I have found the same issue of spottiness!

quote: Be sure to select your desired "slice" plane before selecting geometry, this always works for me.Thats the key to making it work!

That book is going to be the best bet Colin. I am surprised that Boeing doesn't have a ton of archive information for you. They, along with everyone else used this religiously. I don't think I could remember much to help you, but I will see if I have any documentation left at home since our first PC based system was APT based and I was using APT before that. Sorry in advance though, too much grey hair in between that time now! LOL! GOTO LINE1, CIR2, ETC. ROFL!

Thanks Ron. Glad to know it's not just me. Getting tired of all of these problems. I am to the point where I save the file once I have brought in the solid model. Sheesh!

Does anyone else have a problem with the solid intermittently disappearing when selected. Sometimes when I go through the selection process after I have selected the model and as soon as I hit the green check or go to the Position/Orientation dialogue screen, the model just goes "POOF"! and disappears, never to be seen again! I am wondering if this is a video driver problem? nVidia Quadro FX 3450/4000 SDI. Anyone have any suggestions to try?

Yes, the Create, Curve, Slice workaround works, but I would prefer the system work properly/consistently, without me having to do this extra step. Or if something in my method is not correct, to find out what I need to change to not add steps. Create, Curve, Slice also adds much more geometry because of the broken profile (crankshaft) of the part, as it must be rotated several times to get a profile to machine, where the solid selection portion usually 'stretches' the profile to the flat pattern extents without having to rotate each extent to plane. Again, some models it works fine on. This also brings up the point as to why the solid to 2D profile is not correct? I was wondering if any else had the same problems?

Is anyone having problems with getting their solids to flat patterns for lathe work? I can bring in certain models that work fine and then the next model I will get If I try to do a solid to 2D profile, the new geometry is not correct. Straight lines become angles, arcs are line segments, etc. Part is flat in plane properly. If I stitch the solid during import, it is usable but in pieces instead of one solid, which sometimes doesn't work because of where it breaks the solid. I have adjusted the tolerance of the edge curves of solids and opened and closed up the system tolerances with no gain or loss. All of our models are created here in ProE, so its not a bunch of different file types or different ways of saving. Some work fine. I have talked with the Engineers, but the process for making and exporting the file is always the same. On certain models, I can rotate the part slightly about "X" and it will work, others won't.