Cheers Dan I agree. Sofware development is a knowledge based process each programmer sees things differently and makes things to their liking background expiriences etc. For years Mastercam has gotten better yet worked in a similar fashon now the book has been thrown out... gone maybe forever only time will tell. I think X is great for someone who knows a little about drafting and where the on switch is located on the machine tool they will be using it for. That being said those of us who learned to walk(machine) before we ran(CNC machined)and wrote code before CAD/CAM aided programming, know what the flute length of a cutter refers to and don't need a picture next to every imput box to know what it is used for. Many people must use buttons in Mastercam, moving the cursor back and forth and back again thousands of times a day and I wonder if they would of liked V7,V8,V9 more had the buttons never been introduced in the first place. I will read the book it is going home with this weekend...

Yes I have this happen in V9 when turning levels on and off while in Backplot. I lost entire levels many times before I figured out when it was happening. I learned to slap my hand when I would try to open the level manager in Backplot. What was really cool was Autosave on and when you come out of the OPs mngr. Autosave pops up now you overwrote your file and geo is gone forever. Good luck I suggest you save before backplotting so if it happens you can go backto before you lost the GEO. Troy

I'm curious has anyone tried using two mice for MCAM X as the Keyboard is now useless unless you would like to write yourself a note of-course. I also HATE the Auto cursor but wouldn't take it away from those who do find it usefull. I have used quick keys e,c,l,o,a,q,r,d,w for years now and shouldn't have to go re-map them to work. They are more efficient as they use both hands at once and give the results you desire every time. Also using the selection mode why isn't it MODAL? When I pick Center on the selection drop down mentioned above it shouldn't allow me to sketch just because I'm not close enough to an arc. It seems as though CNC didn't care to BETA this with everyday users, or those users lost touch with the versatility of the software as it stood. When they said it was going to be easier to customise I didn't think they meant you would HAVE to customise it to get it to work as well as it did before. I've had X for over a week and the only hair left on my head is Grey. PS: My mouse is Logitech MX LAZER, it never had a ball to get dirty, I suggest you keep your balls off the shop floor if you have a problem with them getting dirty.

Here it is I learned English in School and learned about hieroglyphs in school, now after using MasterCAM in English I'm learning about using it in hieroglyphs.

Wow thats cool the more I read about 'X' the more I learn about V9 features.

Documentation section of what?

I got it to do the same thing but changed modes a few times and hit ESC to clear the ribbon bar and now undo is back and working correctly. Like MCAM lost where it was. Troy

That kinda depends on where the company is going. If they don't plan on going into new areas of machining i.e. surfacing and it is working now for what you are doing now, I suppose a case could be made for leaving well enough alone. On the other hand there are many helpfull tools in v9 MR0105 pocketing functions etc. that could save machine time in a 2D shop and pay for themselves. Also the longer you wait to upgrade the more it usually costs your shop is two versions back now so waiting could make it harder to convince the penny pinchers in the future to buck up for the new software.

Sorry Medaq, It wasn't my intention of Hijacking your Post, a year or so ago when we upgraded to V9 our salesman told us that the toolpath Engine for X was implemented in MR0304 so from the looks of the answers here... The NEW in X is the design aspects and appearance of the software (and of course a new mouse pad). TG

I work on 21" screen at work but have a Laptop for when I need to get something done after hours not sure a 21" Laptop is practical, nor do I think I should need to purchase more equip to support the software every time an update comes out, the cart has gotten in front of the horse so to speak. Also how often do machinists make drawing changes? Really the job is to make it to print( the CAD ). So it is nice to have drawing functionality but not necessary for the Programmer. That being said those people in companies with ISO type standards will be learning a new interface with software they already use to do the same job. Anyway I still look forward to X, I'm just pointing out that it will cost time and productivity as the new sofware is absorbed. Wasn't trying to FLAME just pointing out what I feel are valid concerns when investing 5 digits for a TOOL. Like I said before I can't wait. TG

Where have you been MCAM X isn't for Machinists, just CNC software's attemt at getting Engineers to use MasterCAM. Unfortunately it will cost you/your shop months of re-learning to get back to where you were with Mill 9. I wonder when a C-hook will be written to make the interface work(look) as it did before but with the added features like trimming etc. I've been using MasterCAM since before there were buttons for the functions and I still use it with the Buttons turned off, it lookes as though the BETA testers were given 40" Projection screens so they could see what they were working on. Also it looks as tough the functionality of being able to use L where it asks for a # and then select a Line for the length you want is gone. or Xform translate between points E(endpoint) and O(origin) are also useless. Hopefully this isn't true but from what I've seen so far long term users of MasterCAM have more to lose by switching to X than they have to gain. Can't Wait until it gets here. TG

Thanks I'll check it out.

Thanks Gcode.

I'm running MR0105. It would of been nice if they could of put a "Don't show this message again Box" to check. Are MR0105 and SP2 the same thing?

I'm hoping someone can help me get rid of this stupid countdown that shows up every day when I open Mastercam: "Your Maintenance contract will expire in XX days. Please contact your Mastercam reseller." Anyway not sure if we will renew yet but hate seeing this message every day is there anyway to shut it off? I would just take the next 20 off but I don't think that is an option, and I kinda expect another stupid Pop up once it actually expires. Thanks TG

Oh we have upgraded to 9.1 MR0304, I believe I tried default mode before but I'm restarting now to try it again.

I should add that problem #1 was solved by reverting to and older driver for the Logitech mouse... I played with all of the aspect ratios in an attempt to resolve the icons being skewed to no avail. I would post a screen shot but I'm not sure how.

I have the acuity manager disabled is that what you mean? Yes using Mcam openGL settings. Thank you.

Wow you guys jumped on this one... Anyone running this card yet?

I just got a VP880 Pro, using the Mastercam OpenGL setting the card came with and I'm having a few glitches that are annoying. 1)Mouseman 4button mouse with the thumb button set to double click, the thumb button isn't working in Mastercam, it works everwhere else on my system. (using the latest driver from Logitech for my mouse. 2)Color Icons in Mastercam windows are skewed or squashed or just don't seem to fit the window they belong in. thank you for your input TG ps: MCAM V8.1.1 5/11/01 + all updates current. On Win2000 Pro