Roger, Thank you very much for the help. I will give it a try.

When run the Script Linker from X6, I get an error message "Unknown file type". The date/time of my ScriptLinker.dll is 1/17/2006 10:39 AM. Do I need a newer version? I have admin. rights on this computer, any suggestions? Thanks.

Using "SetActiveMachine" and "RunPostAll" you can change the active machine and post out the N.C. code. When I change the active machine it reads in the associated control file which sets the "Toolpath directory" on the "Machine Group Properties" window to the control file default value. Is there any way after changing the active machine to set the value of the "Toolpath directory" to something else? Using "SetNciNameFromOperationID" changes the file name but the path comes from the "Toolpath directory" value. Thanks for the help.

Do a warm boot on the nethasp server. I have seen this 2 times when the nethasp was holding seats open even when M/C seats had logged off (probably the person powered the computer down with M/C still running).

I have noticed it also. I believe the problem is when you copy (or add) a new machine group and then copy existing toolpaths to the new machine group. I have also seen it with converting files from V9. This appears to solve the problem most of the time. I go back to the toolpath machine group property, files tab, select the “Replace” button and reselect the current machine definition file and click “Open”. This reloads the machine definition files and solves the problem. I have noticed some of the machine definition information is missing or wrong and appears like the machine definition information gets corrupted by copying machine groups.

Pete, I agree with Colin (above). Also if you have an existing note and you move the note using Smart Dimension, Mastercam will change the color of the note to the system color automatically. This requires you to go back and change the color of the note back to what ever it was to begin with.

I have modified a couple posts to perform canned inspect cycles and record the values after machining the part. You could use the Mastercam point as the center point (XY) of the pocket and the drill parameter for passing the length, width, depth, stock to leave and so on to the post. Another option that I have used is the misc. real and integers’ to pass information off to the post, thou I do not think this would be a good option for your pocket problem.

If using dual monitors, your graphics card probably has settings on how to handle dialog boxes. Like, same as application, monitor 1, monitor 2, last used or default.

The larger the vacuum surface area of the part, the greater the holding. So for small parts, I start with a larger piece of material just so I can have enough vacuum surface area to hold the part. If I need to rough the O.D. profile, I keep the cutter up about .020-.030 from the bottom of the part and therefore do not losing vacuum and holding power. The last thing I do is finish the O.D. profile. If I’m afraid the part will move on the finish O.D. pass, I add tabs between the part and the excess material. By adding indexing pins and pusher blocks to your vacuum table you can hold the material from moving side ways and the vacuum only has to hold (suck) the part down. B_daddy “wht kind of machining can you do without moving the part?” We machine heat treat 15-5 stainless steel using high speed machining techniques with rough and finish feed rates over 100 IPM. The key is getting enough vacuum surface area and blocking the material if needed.

We use a square cross section O-ring material sold by Vac-u-lok. (vaculok.com) and had good success with it. The square cross section allows for more surface area for a smaller groove width in the table. The foam material compresses easy and comes in different thickness. There is a grade for coolant applications and a non coolant. I would suggest installing a vacuum gauge that the operator can see or a vacuum safety buzzer that will warn you if you’re losing vacuum. We normally have 28” hg vacuum and try to stay above 15 when cutting through the material exposing the air vacuum holes.

DXF, DWG or IGS all work about the same. If your EZ file has text, I found DXF or DWG to work better than IGS. You will loose your toolpaths in the conversion and will have duplicate entities anywhere a contour toolpath was chained in EZ. I found it easier to delete the toolpaths before converting in order to void the duplicate geometry problem.

Using Mastercam VB script, is it possible to modify an existing 2d contour toolpath operation’s “top of stock” or “depth of cut”? If so, could you give an example.

When you suppress a process in the solid manager, you are modifying the solid. Since you have modified the solid, the toolpaths that are associated to the solid will be changed a dirty toolpath.

I noticed when Instant Messager was loaded onto our computers, Mastercam’s "file get" slowed down. By removing Instant Messager, Mastercam went back to normal. We were able repeat this slow down on other computers with Mastercam loaded.

Drill cycles, Is there a way to control the names of the drop down box with the listings of drill cycles. In other words, “Misc 1” does not tell you very much. Could the names in the drop down listings be changed to something else more meaning. The post txt file does not seem to alter this drop down box. V9.1 SP2 Level 3