Hey Chris, This isn't happening to me, are you running X2 MR1? You are hitting the green check, then exiting/reopening MCAM and it is changed? Do you load your machine def each time or is "apply last Machine def" checked in Config/Files?

12min 7sec(1st pass) not bad for less than $1000system Autosave was on at 7min interval so it saved once durring test. Also running Ramsaver Pro. OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional Processor x86 Family 15 Model 7 Stepping 10 AuthenticAMD ~2010 Mhz Mother Board ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE ACPI BIOS Revision 1002, 11/26/2004 Total Physical Memory 2,048.00 MB Available Physical Memory 1.43 GB NVIDIA GeForce 6600 256mb x 2 SLI

Thanks Found it.

Did someone put this up on the FTP? I don't really want to load all the mill samples just to do this test. THX

Thank you all.

Jonathan thank you I passed your info on.

I'm told the bigger press is a 3020, we do thin gage packaging here. Are you using CNC to trim thin Gage or larger type thermoforms?

Save it as a parasolid .x_t You still get the Solid info and MCAM doesn't freak out(technical term).

Anyone who has a recommendation for a Forged Diemaker please post or e-mail me. The company we currently have been using is now sending us dies that the cutting edge width are very inconsistant throughout the Die which isn't acceptable for the size of our trim presses. Thank You all in advance. Troy Returning tools for rework makes it very difficult to make our deadlines.

You can do the other shop a favor by having them contact the MCAM reseller they bought it from. Or they could use one of the many posts that come with MCAM and use it as is or edit it to do what they need. If you read the rules, you may understand that we would be breaking the rules by giving you a post, but we can help steer you in the right direction when editing an existing post. They even linked the rules for you. So yes you are a Bonehead and one who would go to the Delcam forum to get a MCAM post. Good luck

How about Master CAM-A-LOT I know cheezy... How about a page that lists the posters who reach certain levels 5000, 10,000 , etc.(like 5000 club) by rank and give them a little space for their about info, most usefull posts etc.

Yes you have save some as MCX then open new file and save as... I think they are working on this one. HTH

Stephen yes that happens here too, I have found you need to hit the apply button on each page before going to the next, or you lose it.

Roger, Thank you I haven't had it happen recently so I don't recall where the gouges were exactly. I'll watch for it though. Yes I'm using the arc filter as I do with all other toolpath types. Gcode, Thank You I don't know why I didn't see that before... I usually use feed plane and not retract as our plates here are usually squared ahead of time. So the max retract illistration looked like it was retracting to far. I should of read it instead of looking at the picture, oh well it makes sense now. Troy

That isn't what has caused it here. I use Minimum Vertical Retract. So the machine should always move to the z clearence plane and then across to next position. I still have gotten random gouges that can't be explained by tolerances, .035 stock to leave should be plenty with a 3/4 carbide cutter in 6061. In my post ^^^above^^^ I described what I think could be causing this, has anyone played with this # either dist, or % what values work for you? The way I read the explaination is that if the next step is less than the number in either of those boxes Mastercam will skip the retract and attempt to follow the surfs(I'm guessing at rapid rate if that is your selected output) to the next cut entry point. So for example if you set it to Keep Tool Down Within, Distance = 0.0 it will always retract and then move to next location... Right???

I spotted something today when going through my ops.defaults it reminded me of this topic. In the cut parameters page there is a setting called "Keep Tool Down Within" This is what the help file says about it: Distance If the distance from the end of one pass to the start of the next pass is less than this distance, Mastercam will not create a retract move as defined on the Linking parameters page. Instead, the tool will stay on the surface and move directly between the passes at the feed rate. % of tool diameter If the distance from the end of one pass to the start of the next pass is less than this distance, defined as a percent of the tool diameter, Mastercam will not create a retract move as defined on the Linking page. Instead, the tool will stay on the surface and move directly between the passes at the feed rate. This seems like it could cause the gouging issue if left larger than the Max Stepover(if I understand it correctly) So why is it set to such a high value by default.

acr1234 If the vises are diff even the height etc. But the program is the same it is simple copy the toolpath that you want for G55 and on the parameters>planes dialog change the offset #. You will get the same code but with G55 instead of G54 the rest is done by setting the offsets correctly at the machine. Or if you are using one tool or don't mind the extra tool changes you can copy all Toolpaths and change common parameteters for the second group. I agree with you that changing the origin could be bad that is why you just change the offset.

I find pre-selection both frustrating and very usefull at the same time. I find that I use it both ways and sometimes something is pre-selected when I don't want it to be so then I have to back out > unselect then either select or enter function > select. I'm trying to use th QM more as they seem to save some steps. There are so many ways to skin a cat in X2 that creating good habits is very hard.

If the toolpaths are the same both vises why do you need to backplot the second vise? Proof the paths make the copies and set the new WCS to G55 and post. The whole point of using G55 is so you don't have to do this. You might as well program it twice if you want to see how the same code looks at second vise.

Interesting I just ran this a few times while the toolpaths were clean and got slightly under 14 sec each time. Then I opened the view manager changed the WCS to the Green point in lower right corner. This of course made the toolpaths dirty. Regen all checked returned just under 10 seconds. Any guesses why that would be?

1st 34 sec 2nd 14 sec XP PRO RAM Saver Pro Asus SLI Deluxe AMD 3500+ 2Gig RAM SATA Raid HD SLI Mode on (2) NV GeForce 6600 GT I think this test is misleading as it doesn't really work the PC like a smaller stepover and Tighter tolerances would( I think some of the higher end PCs here would show a much larger gap on a more cpu taxing test). I have noticed the processing times seem to increase exponentially the more Toolpaths in a file and the fact that the second time is allways faster leads me to believe that memory is being tied up each time a Toolpath is generated eventually to the point in which time is spent freeing memory while processing. Glad to see my 2yr old box is still competetive though. Troy

Did you know that you Maint renewal date is accessable from Alt+V MCAM usually has a Maint current through date when they are about to release a new Version, Patch, updated etc.

He means "Mirror the Toolpath" not the GEO use toolpath transform and select Mirror

Use x-form Drag to drag and drop in the grid.

Change entity color is located in screen. customize, screen I added it to my RMB. BTW way some people here have set up their RMB just like the left hand menu in V9... Do a search.