Thanks Mike. I appreciate the response. My T3500 runs the bm in 1:10 with Win7 64Bit. I just ordered a 3rd Velociraptor and haven't benched it yet. I don't expect it to give much better #'s, but now I'll have the option to go to Raid 5. I'm thinking my next move should be a Quadro FX 4800 1.5mb card. Then I can take the system home for my side work and get a new box for my day job. Maybe a new SB sytem for X-mas.

LOL. The truth is out. I'm not really that old, I don't know about Gcode though . I just grew up in a family owned shop. I turn 40 this September. I was born the day Jimi Hendrix died. I could write gcode with a calculator and a Carr Lane trig book when I was 10. Early start huh?

Mike - Can you post some of your Solidbox bm results? That would really help some of us decide if SB is the way to go.

D Ford, Can you benchmark that SSD and post a screenshot of the results? I have 2 10k Velociraptors in Raid 0 that show they are faster than an SSD. I'm trying to figure this out. I'm getting 250 mb per sec both ways. Are you getting better than that? http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1137/...mark_v2.34.html Thanks in advance, Rob a.k.a. Mastercamguru

Now that's effin' funny. IDCWYA. I have a really good feeling about X5 though. I think maybe the programmers got some authority over marketing, if indeed that was the previous problem...IDK, but I like what I'm hearing so far. I think if marketing had their way, X5 would already have been released, and we'd already be pi$$ed. Kudos for waiting til' it's done CNC. The AE's know what they're doing. Be patient. I'm patient, it's all good. All good things in time. I know from 20+ years of experience in the machine trade that hurrying someone almost always ends in disaster...or worse. JM2C

Yup, that was the $h1t back then, before the 286sx2. :gag

He11 no! Was PencilCam as much "fun" as Genesis? Line 1 x0.,y0. x6.,y0. Line 2 x6,y0. x6.,y-3.5 Line 3 x6.,y-3.5 x0.,y-3.5 Line 4 x0.,y-3.5 x0.,y0. Oh, what fun it was back in the DOS daze.

quote: In X5 these dialogs are re-sizable so that 'frame' part re-sizes, allowing you to size the dialog so you don't need to scroll to see all of the tree and quick view data. Sweet. Will the dialogs remember the window size and position the next time they are opened?

quote: make the window large enough to eliminate scrolling to bottom +1

LOL. I was stuck with X Mr2 for a couple painful years. I finally got my own seat of X4 Mu3. The boss is just not interested in upgrading. Thank god we're getting closer to a fully working version of Mc. I'm pretty happy making the switch from X Mr2 to X4 Mu3, but I'm lacking some key functionality that I need for hermetics, and that is verification of all ops in one file. Back on topic: I'm not using Groups Mgr. The Levels Mgr has all the functionality I need for manipulation as stated above. I would like to be able to combine all ops into one mcx file, but I've been burned by the "ops manager shuffle", so I have an mcx file for every operation. It makes verify a real pita.

Josh, If the file path/name is too long, your easiest solution is to break it up like this: In the pheader section of your post: Change this line: code: scomm_str, "MCX FILE - ", smcpath$, smcname$, smcext$, scomm_end, e$ To: code: scomm_str, "MCX PATH - ", smcpath$, scomm_end, e$ scomm_str, "MCX FILE - ", smcname$, smcext$, scomm_end, e$ HTH, Guru

quote: You could pickup the left monitor and move it over to the right. I've seen someone switch the dp cables and they could't figure out why the monitors didn't switch. LOL The nview utility works pretty good, you just have to try out the settings until you get what you want. I just force apps to one monitor or the other in nview if needed. Some apps "remember" where to go some don't. In my case: Mc opens on the right by default. It "remembers" to open the ops and levels mgrs on the left as I placed them. I only had to force Cimco and SW to the left monitor in nview. It's so nice to open/close the ops and levels mgrs with the SpacePilot Pro buttons without having to move my hand to the keyboard for the power keys, and they just "know" where to go. So sweet.

Verify can only remove stock from an stl model based on the tool profile and the programmed motion. In the case of a tap, the programmed motion is down in z and the tool profile from that vector, 0,0,1 is the major dia. That's what you'll see, the major dia. Rotation is ignored. You can, however, verify an internal or external thread with a threadmill defined as a custom tool. The threads look like crap, but you can see them, and verify that you haven't under/overcut them. I'm just messin' around with ya. Threadmilling only not tapping. Maybe we can verify tapping in X15, but it'll be buggy. LOL [ 06-22-2010, 07:43 PM: Message edited by: Rob @ R & D Engineering ]

Change this line: fmt P 11 dwell$ #Dwell to: fmt P 4 dwell$ #Dwell HTH

Mike, With all due respect, where do you get off talking about the benchmark? You promised results from 6 of your systems back in January. A month later you posted two results for a T1500 and an M4400. Six months have passed, you haven't posted the results as of yet, and you're talking about the benchmark? How is one to know how one of your systems will perform with Mastercam? That's a couple hours of your time that you couldn't have been bothered with. Clearly you aren't reliable on your word. Why don't we mention that you weren't in a position to expedite when I needed a new workstation. 3 weeks for a box that can be expedited through Dell is an unacceptable turnaround. I had mine from Dell is 3 days, not 3 weeks. Your business practices are deceptive at best. You weren't helpful in any way that I've experienced upon consulting with you. You didn't even make the time to call me back after we spoke. Your partner did...a week later. Honestly, I really hope you have more to offer than that.

Thanks again gcode. Worked like a charm. I did notice that when that was happening, all of my drill points combined. All my drilling ops had 132 drill points. I'll be watching for it to happen again to send in a .z2g to CNC.

Thanks gcode, I'll give that a try before I do a repair install.

I worked Sunday and Mc was working fine. Today every time I do a regen or post a program, the ops manager disappears. I have to alt-o twice to get it back and then it shows up on the wrong monitor. Has anyone else seen this?

Ron - If the issue here is that they are using top/top instead of top/front, the solution may be simple. A post mod or different md/cd can be used for each method without the need to change anything other than the md/cd. As I recall, the top/top method posts out fine with rot_on_x$ variable set to 0(Vertical mill) and the top/front method does the same with it set to 1(Horizontal mill). Maybe I'm wrong, but it's worth looking into.

I'm going through something similar where I work, I've been forced to program for the last 2 years in a way that is against everything I've been taught. I obliged them and warned that they would soon see things my way. I've always worked a certain way and counted on my work habits to keep me out of trouble. Reluctantly, I did what they asked of me and watched as they painted themselves into the corner. They soon came to me for some advice, I gave it and low and behold, they are now opening their eyes and are willing to listen to my 20+ years of experience. I believe in using "Best Practices" as a rule, and opted to go against my better judgement to keep them happy, knowing what problems lie ahead for them. The end result is that after all is said and done, we are transitioning to my methods. You could try to educate them on the reasons for using your method, why it's better, and assure them that the end result is the same. Maybe they'll bite, maybe not. IMHO its worth a shot. The worst they could do is say no. Maybe they have their own reasons for "doing something wrong" IDK.

I've always used Top WCS(axis of rotation) Front Tplane(B0), Right Tplane(B90),Back Tplane(B180), Left Tplane(B270), using Transform to generate my offsets for multiple parts, or Polar coordinates(from center of rotation) for complex one-offs.

Jeff - I'm thinking this is what you're looking for. The icon circled enables solids selection. This is why you can't select any solid features. Until you click on this you will only be able to select surfaces. As for learning how to draw and work with solids...I'd say taking some classes won't hurt.

I can't find anything wrong with it. Toolpaths just fine here. I used the .x_b file.

Here ya go. Voila. ftp://mastercam:[email protected]..._SolidWorks.zip

Psst. Un:mastercam pw:swiss