Couldn't one put the "protretinc" block in the same line that makes

I assume that would be in your pwcs block or something like that. I suppose that would only work if you want A to go to 0 each time, and I suppose you would have to use a * to force the output.

Also, how about a parameter to change feeds and speeds in the facing toolpath to accommodate roughing AND finishing. It's so dumb to make an operation to rough face material and then have to make a completely separate op to simply change the feeds and speeds for the remaining .015" of material. I know this can be done. We have that option in mill with 2d pockets.

Evidently, the extend or shorten contour fields are not active in the cutoff operation. That would be a nice workaround if Mastercam let you use it.

Another suggestion. How about being able to choose if I want the retract peck moves in cutoff to be rapid or feed moves.

Hi All,

I have a suggestion for lathe. I don't know how you guys in industry cut parts off, but here, we part things off with some material to backface. We don't have a sub-spindle so the back facing is a separate operation later. When I setup geometry for a cut off operation, I generally draw a point on the corner that I want to part off, then translate the point in -Z by whatever meat I want left on it. It would be SOOOOOOOOO nice to be able to pick the corner I want to use, then have some parameter in the dialog to "Offset Z Coordinate" or something along those lines. This would be a huge time saver for those of us who part things off like this.

I know, I know...I can simply enter the position as a hotpoint, but after dealing with the lathe package and all its.... *...clears throat...* splendor, I just want to have a nice easy way to make the boundary point. Perhaps I'm missing something? Is there a way to do this currently?

Greetings,

I've done a search on here, but so far hasve not come up with what I want. I seem to remember the Haas' at trade school having a canned chip break cycle. Ya know, rather than the drill retracting all the way, it would back up .05" or whatever. I thought that it was a G82 cycle, but I'm not sure. In any case, the G82 cycle here on our Haas' is not a chip break cycle. I've poured over the Haas manual, and I can't really figure out what the IJK values for drilling mean. I understand what they do, but I can't figure out which value will give me what I want. I'm a fairly decent post editor...I can make this work if I have a starting point. I've searched the X3 post parameter ref, and couldn't find anything. Any guidance would be helpful.

Also, just a general question, do the settings on the Haas that apply to canned cycles (#22 Canned cycle delta Z) apply only to programs made with the conversational software, or do they affect programs written on Mastercam and brought over? If they affect Mastercam programs...I suppose I don't need to adjust anything. Just write a G73 cycle, define a Q value, and let Mastercam take care of the rest?

Thanks for any info.

Running X3 by the way.

Yes. We ran those in our shop as a multi function tool, and the same thing happened. We chalked it up to the chisel on the end of the drill being EXTREMELY small. Compare the ends on comparable spot drills and drill/mills. Notice the difference? Others in our shop chose to stick with drill mills for spotting, and had some success by using extremely small peck amounts to spot. IMHO, this is nuts. Not only did it take considerably longer to spot drill, the tools eventually broke anyway. I use them only for chamfering now. They kick butt for that.

i have a version 9 one, has it been updated since then?

Greetings,

As I get more involved in the post editing here, I come across certain things that I have no idea what they are about. Looking through the post today, the following caught my eye:

fmtrnd (blah, blah)

This came up several times in the post with different things in the parentheses. what does that line "fmtrnd" mean?

Is there a resource somewhere that has that info in it? Thanks!

This would be a fantastic feature. I too have this problem. I'd also like to be able to eliminate the unused cycles from the cycle selection dropdown in the drill menu. I don't use any of the custom drill programs, and I'd like to beautify my Mastercam.

The tailstock can be defined in the stock setup. You can define the size and shape, and also the initial starting position. I assume you are running X3 or X4?

Yes. The Mplmaster is what we use for our Sl-20. There might be some things that need to be changed in the post to allow it to run on the Haas.

I lucked out and was able to hit it on the second try. I'm done messing with it though. I didn't even think of adding a "U" coordinate. Duh!! What a bunch of nonsense. I've spent more time farting with that on parts than actually making parts, I think. No more. Thanks for everyone's input.

Calling All Haas Lathe Gurus!!!

Our SL-20L has a variable for taper compensation in it. I've fiddled with it a little bit in the past, but I haven't quite got if figured out yet...and now it's important. I'm trying to hold a .0005 over 2.5 inches, with the tailstock engaged.

According to the manual:

So then, I calculated the value of my taper, and input the value into the field, guessing which way the offset was (I guessed negative.)

I ran the part, and mic'd it. There was still .0005 taper. Larger at the tailstock end. What am I missing here? Which way is the offset input. I assumed if the part was larger at the tailstock end, one would input a negative number. Perhaps I am wrong. Any info would be great. Thanks.

This is true, although there is a parameter for that, and I've got the correct number input. In this case it's a .003 flat on the tip.

Greetings all,

When I make threading toolpaths on the lathe, I use the "select from table" option for my depths iff possible, and if not, I use "compute from formula". Simply input the major and pitch and all should be well, right?

No two threading toolpaths are the same from program to program. Sometimes, I won't have to comp the tool at all. Sometimes, only a few thou. But there are times like now where I have to comp it like -.018 to get the thread right. It's not the insert moving. The tool offset is correct. Something is getting lost in translation, and I'm not certain what it is. Is everyone else using these tools to calculate depths? Or should one be using the machinery's handbook for this? I'd love to hear any thoughts. Thanks.

I see. I haven't tried the changes yet, but if they did in fact use a .res file, will that be kept with the rest of the c-hooks?

Well, I think I solved my own problem. I changed the stock to leave on the drive to -.0001. This took care of the z plunge moves on the top of the surface. I took the check surface off the bottom of the surface, and all is well again.

Greetings all,

I'll start off by saying that the part in question is on the FTP site. In the X3 files, the Z2G is called "Anode Panel". The operation in question is op 17...surface finish flowline.

I use surfacing rarely, and when I do there is generally a few of these straight Z moves, but not many. I guess the time has come to ask how to get rid of them. There are about a billion in this toolpath. I hope you can understand what I want to do here. It's a simple 1/8" radius that I want to surface. I want to touch the 1/16" ball endmill at one point, and simply make spiral moves until it gets to the bottom of the surface...easy enough?

Check out operation 15 in the same program. This is more what I want for operation 17 as far as straight plunge moves go. Perhaps using flowine for this is wrong. Is there a better toolpath to do what I want to do?

Thank you Colin. I will give that a try.

*...Sigh...* Oh well...thanks anyways.

How about icons for c-hooks I add into a toolbar? I'll probably get confused quickly with several of the red/blue puzzle piece things.

Fantastic. Thanks a bunch John.

Greetings all,

I was wondering if there was a resource anywhere that would describe what the purpose was of each C-hooks that came with the Mastercam install. I'd love to start utilizing my C-hooks more, but I don't know what certain ones do. I occasionally discover what specific ones do whilst reading the forum, but that's rare. I checked the documentation folder, but to no avail. Thanks, gang.

Also, is there an arc multi edit c-hook for X3? That would be splendid.

Doesn't the depth calculator have an input for flat on tip? I understand that having the variable in the tool definition is ideal, but I would think that you would be able to nail your tolerance with this, especially if you're measuring the flat with a comparator. My 2 cents...