Lucky- If you want to break at length, not extend, you need to use a negative value in the "length" field under trimmimg/breaking. Make sure you're in break mode, not trim mode, then depress the "length" button and enter the negative value. Then click the entity, and it will break it at that value. This one got me too at first. Now it's old hat! Doug

James- In the Toolpath manager, go to the "Files" tab in the Machine Properties. Open the "Files" tab: Then open the Tool Manager by clicking the exclamation point in the tool library area: Click the import button, and browse to the MCX file from which you want to import tools. That should do it. Doug

Stevie- Are you activating the Solids selection from the selection ribbon bar before you attempt to select the Solids face?

Skyline- Yes, that's basically it. Rotation is output when you change from one t-plane to a different t-plane. The WCS should only be used to reposition your part. Changing from one WCS to another will not output a rotary/multi-axis move. The View manager dialog, which is where you change your WCS, can also be used to name views, change views, create views, create work offsets, move tool origins, etc. Doug

Skyline- Millman is right. You don't use the WCS to try to output 5-axis motion. In this case, you need to use T-planes. What issue with depth are you having? Oh, in a nutshell, WCS should be used to reposition your part without having to transform it. Aerospace parts are a good example. Normally, you'd get a CAD file with the part positioned relative to the rest of the entire airplane, meaning it could be in some obscure view. WCS allows you to say, "I want this plane to be my top", and it will rotate the WCS to match it, but the the actual part. Doug

DC- It has changed a little. First, we've gone to efforts to try to simpify it, like not displaying system views. Also, you no longer have to make a copy of a standard view to make it an active WCS. Second, we've done away with all numbered views. Now there are only named. If at any point you decide to create a view that doesn't exist, you'll immediately be prompted for a name, and you can also set your new origin, assign a new Work Offset, as well as set your WCS all from this intermidiate dialog. Keep in mind that the fundamental reason for using WCS has not changed. Toolplanes must still be used if you want to output rotary/multi-axis movement. Hope this helps! Doug

Thanks Dave. I forgot about that!

David- We tried to keep every shortcut possible the same for X, but some things couldn't be done, and this was one of them. Because we don't have a text based menu anymore, we can't do the shortcuts to the underlined letters (e-for endpoint, c-for create, etc.) You can still use the shortcuts to put the cursor focus where you want it; d-for diameter, r-for radius, a-for angle. Also, the funtion keys are all there; F1-for zoom, F3-for repaint....and they're customizable too. The good news is that I don't miss the text based shortcuts at all, because X is so much more efficient with geo creation.

Sorry it took so long!

quote: Oh no. another delay Don't worry, this won't delay X. We prioritize all bugs, and this won't get the same priority as a crashing toolpath. It's necessary to log every bug jus to get it in the system. If it's not there, it will never get fixed

SLJ- You're not missing anything. This is currently a limitation. Mastercam isn't using your current WCS when making the Solid layout. It is using World Top. I will log this as a bug against X. Doug

Mick- The November 04 Translators update (http://www.mastercam.com/Support/Maintenance/default.asp#Translators) is supposed to include support of Autocad 2005 files. If a user is not on maintenance, this is the file that they want. If they are on maintenance, anything that PAUTO and above should have Acad 2005 support. If you still have a problem file, please e-mail it to me. Thanks- Doug

Kathy- If you go to nhasp.exe in the root of Mastercam and click 'active licenses', does it show that you have a Catia license available? BTW, I'm from lovely Stockton myself! Lincoln High and U.O.P.... Doug

Larry- For the type of work you are planning to do, Mastercam should be your choice. I have had the chance to learn Alphacam. Although relatively easy to use, it has nowhere near the power and tools that Mastercam has for 3d and multi-axis work. The majority of the work for which I've seen Alphacam used is primarly 2d. They sell very few seats for the purpose of cutting molds. Gcode and the other also make a good point: there are far more Mastercam users in the world then there are Alphacam users. And far more and better support when you need it. Alphacam has notoriously bad support. I'm not trying to bash here, just let you know what I hear from users. If you want to see for yourself, contact a Mastercam dealer, if you haven't already, and bring your most complex 3d mold design. Good luck!

Try modify, trim, surface, fill holes. It will give you the ability to select solid faces, and will fill the hole with a trimmed surface. It works on planar and non-planar holes. Doug

Nominal- There is a way to read in Verison 6 .PRM files. In Verison 9 Lathe, go to File-->Converters-->Next Menu-->Pre 7 Params/Tools. This will allow you to salvage some of wht you're looking for from your V6 files. When importing your parameters, you'll get the choice to but them into your Ops. Manager, or into a library. Put'em in your Ops manager, then re-assign the geometry to the toolpath. This will make them associative. Hope you read this before you start over again!

Satav- I know what you're asking for, and we are working on it. We have had requests to use an actual Engraving toolpath on spheres, cones, and 3d surfaces. Of course, to do this properly would require a true 5 Axis toolpath, unless it is only a cylinder that you are engraving, in which case axis substitution would work. I'll try to get more detail for you. Doug

Hi Thomas- We are very aware of the quality of the Multicam machine. Your best bet would be to go back to your UK Mastercam dealer, and have the post edited to include the toolcomp. If you have any problems making this happen, please let me know ([email protected]). And please keep visiting this site. There are many experienced users here with a lot of good advice to offer. This is one of Mastercam's big strengths. Take Care- Doug

Hello All- Mastercam Version 8.1 has been released to dealers and beta test sites. It has gone out for mass duplication, and will be available to customers through your local Mastercam dealer as early as the week of February 12th. Just to clarify, Version 8.1 will not automatically be sent to customers. The customer must contact his/her dealer to receive the update. The new Verify is really slick. The ability to define irregular shapes as stock for verification works very well. Hang in there! It's almost here... Doug ------------------ Doug Nemeth CNC Software, Inc. Sales

Hi Ken- Your dealer should be able to handle your request. Please e-mail me at [email protected] and let me know who it is that you've been trying to contact. I'll make sure that they contact you. Doug ------------------ Doug Nemeth CNC Software, Inc. Sales

Jim- Can you explain a little more about "cutting short in the Z movements? I'm not sure I understand what's happening. Doug ------------------ Doug Nemeth CNC Software, Inc. Sales

I've just discovered that this might not work. Try this: Once you're in the Operations Manager, right click and go to Job Setup. Under the Spindle/Turret button, there is a Max. Spindle speed dialog. This controls the default. ------------------ Doug Nemeth CNC Software, Inc. Sales

Go to Screen-->Configure-->NC Settings -->Operation Defaults. You will get the Operations Manager with every toolpath known to man in it. Select All, right click, and go to options-edit common parameters. One of the common parameters is Max. Spindle Speed. That should work. ------------------ Doug Nemeth CNC Software, Inc. Sales

Henry- You might also mant to try decreasing your hardware acceleration on your graphics card. Go to Display Properties, under the advanced button, and troubleshooting tab. There should be a slide bar that can adjust the graphics acceleration. Slow it down a notch and see if the speed issue improves. Good Luck! ------------------ Doug Nemeth CNC Software, Inc. Sales

You may want some more info. When we released V7, we introduced a binary nci file that is saved with the .mc7 file. You don't have to do anything to make this happen, it just does. What's a little confusing, is that we also kept the text .nci (the same as V6)file as well. So there are actually 2 nci files made with each toolpath that you create. The text nci file is still needed by the Post Processor in order to create g-code. Here is the difference: When you access functions throught the NC Utilities page (backplot, edit NCI, etc), you're working with the text nci file. When you access these fuctions through the Operations Manager (which is recommended), you're working with the binary .nci file. It's the binary file that allows Mastercam to be associative, because it is directly linked to the geometry. This is why it's also saved with the .mc7 file. My advise is to forget about the text nci file. Do all of your backploting and verifying through the Operations Manager. Hope this helps! ------------------ Doug Nemeth CNC Software, Inc. Sales