I know in the jobshop environment things are pretty tough. We have competitors taking work at break even or less. We have a quality shop known for doing tough quality work, but now more than ever, we are having to really look hard at how to get job costs down. And many customers want more compressed deliveries. Bosses / managers / owners are often faced with the option of quoting aggressively or dont get the job. From what Ive been told folks at the recent NTMA conference are reporting the same thing. I am still a part time programmer / part time manager so I fully appreciate the technical problems that plague certain jobs. My position also forces me to look closely at job costs. My previous post was not meant to be sarcastic but to emphasize the "bottom line". I recall a "confontation" about 10 years ago where I informed my overbearing boss (rather smugly) that "It still takes 9 months to make a baby" ... his reply ... "Well can we start preparing the nursery now" Still not sure exactly what that meant [ 03-29-2003, 02:40 AM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]

We use a customer/partnumber/machine subdirrectory structure (yeah lots and lots of subdirrectories) located on our company file server. We have 3 seats of MC, 1 in engineering and 2 on shop floor all are networked and act as download points in the shop. Mill programming is done 50/50 Shop Lead/Programmer (Me). Most Wire EDM programming is done by the Machinist who operates the EDM. I will often provide him with MC9 files containing the layout or nesting since this often coordinates with other operation / machines. Our .NC is the "master". Since there could be several hands in a MC9 file it becomes difficult to show document and data "control" as required by the quality systems we must work under. Changes to the .NC are noted and uploaded to replace the original. A rev is noted in the filenaming convention and in the comments in the header. We do not save or control text .nci files anymore. We try to keep the mc9 up to date, but honestly that doesnt always happen.

To piggy back on what Chris said ... if you cant live with the 2nd tool call just be sure to imbed the tool number in the tool comments to make the prodram easier to read.

If I understandyou want to keep tool staging (ie. call the next tool after a tool change, but at the actual toolchange you just want M6 with out T2. I dont know what your post looks like but ... If thats what you want you probably have something like this in the post: ptlchg if stagetool <> two, pbld, n, *t, "M6" change to: if stagetool <> two, pbld, n, "M6" (ie. remove the *t,) If its more complex than that I think the standard answer around these parts is call your VAR

Thanks Cadcam. I was able to access using chute but had to set up a firewall rule first. Then back in IE6, internet options I had to check "enable folder view for ftp" I vaguely remember doing this before, but it must have been reset when during recent SP patch or something. Dave

quote: Mastercam is just using this as a ploy to try and become the single most powerful CAM package in the world. Then they will dominate everyone and force them to use THEIR way of making parts! (oops, wrong thread) LMAO Sorry I had to. Dave teh wet pants

I have found this thread both disturbing and enlightening and am truly grateful that we can all express these opinions without fear of reprisals. I too respectfully bow out.

Some thoughts to ponder ... It would be nice if the whole world could get along. Unfortunately it cant. It is apparently the nature of human kind to destroy itself. The world is full of "regimes" large and small that do not respect the "ways" of others. Only their way is the right way. There are elements of this in American society as well. The cited doctrine does not seek to make the easterners into westerners. It simply recognizes that rogue nations may come to "power" by the increasing availablity of WMD combined with increasing acts of terrorism. And that they likely will not utilize a policy of deterance as we have since WWII. Therefore it concludes "pre-emption" would be required to avoid large scale conflict. The lifestyle that many of us and our parents have enjoyed is dirrectly related to establishment and implementatyion of various "doctrine" over the years. These have changed as the geopolitical climate has changed. In the 70's it was easy. The hole world basically hopped that the Russians and Americans stayed cool enough not to blow the world up 50 times over. Everything else paled in comparison to this threat. Foreign policy is an ugly business. Certainly not one that I could operate in. There is much that is troubling to me. But before you go off half cocked extrapolating a few paragraphs of 12 year old document into the prophecy of todays events insinuating that the US is doing something wrong for CONSIDERING what methods maight best protect our interests, I suggest you look around the globe at the alternatives. I personnaly am concerned by many policies and practices that exist in our foreign policy and its execution. BUT it is a reality that defending the American way of life including our constitional and God given rights and our right to prosper is not something that comes easy. If people understand this, are willing to live with the alternatives and condemn US policy in a time of war regardless of consequences. So be it. I am not willing to do this. What is disturbing to me is that some people want to take a glimpse at the "belly of the beast" and take that little snapshot back into the comfort of their little bubble in which they live and complain about what they saw. For many they just wont look and thus will remain less disturbed. The reality is that that little bubble can be burst. 9/11 was a very small example of that. Make no mistake about this... THERE HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A MAJOR WORLD POWER. The only question is who it will be and how responsible will they be with that power. Call me naive but I thik the US has handled this power fairly responsibly. "Where is the MATRIX ... its all around you" BTW Kathy, in the warpowers resolution you linked to, the attempted assination of the first President Bush in Kuwait was mentioned. I trust you will inquire with some of the Pro-Iraq camp to see how they feel about that illegal action as well ? [ 03-23-2003, 02:00 PM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]

quote: our brains come together! Is that like butting heads

cmr, seems we used different means to achieve the same end We posted the same link at the same time. I will only quote the last paragraph... conclusion ??? In the matter of Saddam Hussein, assassination options should be conceived and deliberated very narrowly with respect to peremptory expectations of anticipatory self-defense. Its only proper function must be to save lives. Acknowledging that this is not yet the "best of all possible worlds," we must understand that sometimes the reluctance to use such seemingly extreme options would only produce more corpses.

Kathy teh tired, Congress never declares war anymore, its too controversial and their terms are too short to forget the war before re-election comes up. For some light reading regarding international law (more fun than reading Fanuc manuals) International Law re assination of Sadam

quote: Do I catch wind of ‘The ends justify the means”?? Ummmmm .... Yeah Dave teh honest PS: I believe that during WAR it is long standing "Policy" (probably good policy) not "Law" that precludes us from killing a head of state. In that case that wouldnt be exactly a fact now would it. [ 03-22-2003, 11:23 PM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]

Freeman makes a machineable wax. You can remelt it. Holds size pretty well. Give you an idea of price ... MSC sells a 12" x 6" x 3" block for $48. You can glue it together if needed. look here for more info: Machinable Materials [ 03-22-2003, 11:02 PM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]

Jack, CMR ... I certainly respect your strong feelings. I also agree that certain "powers" will spin the facts to their advantage. ALL governments do this. Some more than others. Example Sadam won the latest election with over 99% of the votes. That doesnt fly here does it ? (of course the last election with the chad thing casts some doubt there I guess) Point is there will never be a government that doesnt spin the facts. Nor will there be a media that doesnt report based on their bias. What controls their bias ? Maybe knowing that they could be expelled from the troops they are imbeded with ? I dunno. Point is our media coverage is not dirrectly controlled by the government. We are free to purchase newspapers from around the world at our local newstand or Borders Bookstore or wherever ... try that in Bagdhad. And this business of sucumming to the "information" as it is presented is not limited to people who support the troops or the war effort. Look at the knuckle heads running around in New York today. Who organized that rally ? Was that a "grass roots" movement of peace lovers ? NO ! It was a proffesionally organized incedent of "non-violent civil disobedience". Although many of the protesters are people who are uncomfortable with war of ANY kind, there is an equal mix of your anti-establishment anti-authority types. But the real driving force behind that demonstration is political groups with real Agendas. Agendas which if ever embraced by the majority would be the demise of this country as we know it. Maybe You Jack and CMR are OK with that. Im not. The Protest was sponsored by "United For Peace And Justice" but if you want to donate to them and have it be tax deductible you must make your check out to "Peace Action Education Fund". Hmm what do they stand for. Read their fact sheets. Total disarmament of the US Nuclear Weapons. Regardless of what the rest of the world is doing. Halting the missle defense program completely. Stopping the "War On Terrorism" (ie (hunting down Alquieda). They instead suggest we use the "Law" to prosecute the 9/11 terrorist. Hello !!!! They arent available to stand trial. They died flying jets into the WTC killing 3000 innocent americans. Their alquida backers would be happy to have every day be 9/11 if they could. But they cant. Why the hell is that ??? Because they are running and hiding for their lives ducking bunker busters and the like. The Socialist party, Muslim American Society (devoted to the spread of islam through the entire world) are some others. If you look closely at the signs you will see that these rallys started by pooling together many different existing groups with other agendas. These people were then joined by others who have simply a NO WAR sentiment. Point is Who is reporting that ? Look at the Reporting of some of the Arab countries. Are they reporting the news objectively ? GIMME A BREAK JACK. You are no more astute than most of us. You just grind your axe on thje other side of the blade. I will shut up with this... God willing this war will go quickly and some form of peace will come to Iraq. In the powder keg that is the middle east this action is certainly a roll of the dice. Nobody can deny that. But be sure of this. If the shoe was on the other foot, Iraq Republican Guard or Alqueida or any of the other enimies that would be more than happy to attack US would not stop at liberating us from the evil George Bush. They would be here to slit your throat and my throat and my mothers throat. Im sure that Jack will say that this is media spin too. I pray that we never find out. But if some of the supposed anti war (actually anti American) powers get their way we will all be poor, less than free, defenseless and praying on Fridays. [ 03-22-2003, 11:03 PM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]

IE 6.0 SP1 With and Without Norton Internet Security Running.

quote: A whopping 95% of everything we are reading and viewing on this very Friday is altered for effect by those in control so let’s be a little more realistic with our expectations. Jack, my A merican comrade, of which "those in control" do you speak ?

Rekd, Kudos ... (now I feel bad about the mean things I thought about you last week). "Dave teh apologetic"

I am unable to access the ftp site from home. I can access at work. I turned off my firewall (Norton Internet Security) but no luck. Any one else have a problem accessing ?

Ive been following this thread and have resisted posting until now. I understand that some are suspicious of our (USA) motives for War, I understand that those from other nations may view us as political bullies, I understand that the nothing is gaurenteed in War, or regime change. I understand that our democratic republic here in the USA is flawed at times. Winston Churchill said "Democracy is the worst form of government ... except all the other forms". The USA stated this campaign was against the Sadam Regime and not the Iraqui People. Although the USA stated the war would be one of "Shock & Awe" inteligence and high technology weapons systems were used to perform a surgical strike of unprecidented accuracy. Meanwhile in the outskirts of Iraq surrendering Iraqi soldiers were given medical attention and drinking water by American Soldiers. This scene made me proud to be american. Strength and compassion are not mutually exclusive qualities. I support this decision and although I was ambivolent regarding George W. Busch, I now admire and respect him for doing what must be done given the imnformation we have in spite of world (and some domestic) opinion. So as the terrorist who "have no ties to Iraq" poke their heads up here in the states, as the leadership in Iraq make threats to our Wives and Mothers, as Iraq fires Missles "they dont have", as demonstrators protest those wo protect their very right to protest, as governments hide their economic interesrs behind facades of "give peace a chance and let the inspections work", as real american men and women risk their lives for you and me and yes the people of Iraq, I say God Bless America, its supporters, and all good and decent people. God willing the *Threat* of "Shock and Awe" will be all that is really required. May all people enjoy the freedoms that we here in the USA and other free countries have enjoyed. And may a swift path to peace lie ahead for all.

If by chance you have any ACIS imported solids in your SC models You can export the solids using SAT 2.1. and the solids definition is retained. You can then use File/Converters/SAT to import those as solids. This early version of SAT only supports solids so you wont get wireframe / toolpath geometry. Other than that IGES is the way to go.

quote: go to Mac Donalds, and ask for a resume, cuz you got NO business using MasterCAM.Its Mcdonalds NOT Mac Donalds, and they will provide an application not a resume'. The inaccuracies of your posts significantly diminish their intended cleverness. Have a nice day [ 03-16-2003, 04:00 PM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]

Ill just throw my $.02 in. With the associative toolpaths for both 2 1/2 axis as well as multisurface toolpath, I find tweaking my toolpaths to be exactly what I want to be a breeze for most work. Even if I decide I want to sacrifice surface finish for speed after taking a few cuts, A couple clicks to alter the parameters and regen the toolpath repost it and off we go. The solid toolpath associativity allows you to easily refine your toolpath rather than "settling" for something close. It wasnt clear to me how associative the VX toolpathing was, but Ive never spent hours getting a pocket toolpath how I want it in MC. Your assessment of MC's stregth for design function may well be true although I must admit Ive never really tried hard to do all of my design in MC since we use another system for design. Lastly you will probably fins that the interface of MC is somewhat "Eighties" (ducking to avoid getting hit with wrenches and vice jaws thrown by the loyalist ). Whereas a program like VX that was developed more recently may incorporate the latest slick interface features. I personally dont find this to be that big of a deal since CAM is a "special purpose" software and its user will become proficient in the software regardless of the menustructure, toolbars and various bells and whistles. It seems to me that MC has devoted their resources to improving the "Real" functionality of the program over the years. The addition of associativity, first 2 1/2 axis then 3 axis, the addition of solids, ever enhanced toolpath options, high speed strategies, these are the functions that show up in the bottom line. I have alwas been pleased that MC has continued to improve the product for the user base rather than spend resources on features that show well but arent of much use to the majority of the userbase. I have always felt that this commitment was reflected in MC's update policy. No contract, "pay as you go" encourages them to continue to provide "Real" functionality enhancements. [ 03-16-2003, 03:42 PM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]

Hey Guy, Where you from ? Im a stones throw from Collingdale PA.

Im a new member here also though Ive been using MC for 7 years and Smart Cam for 5 before that. I understand the frustration of Cherokee Chief because I got the same deal when I purchased MC. "Yeah yeah yehah we got posts for everything what we dont have we can get yada yada yada." But the hankshake deal the VAR gives you isnt real firm. Se la vie . I like a challange and get mad and figure the stupid post language out enough to get the post how I want it. Coming from a program like Smart Cam it is a bit of a shock seeing the complexity of the MC post. So the guy asks a few questions Beenie boy over there gets his panties in a bunch . The guy's expressing a little frustration with the transition. He bought his software, paid for training, and your gonna call him cheap because hes trying to figure out how to get his code the way he wants it ?? And furthermore Ive met quite a few instructors who know MasterCam but dont know CNC. For an instructor to describe the cited code as odd just shows his inexperience with CNC code. Now Im not bashing here honest ... but ... by now post creation ought to be an interactive Q & A drag and drop process. (Actually it is if you want to buy a $10,000 3rd party app like intercim.) But its not within the scope of CAM packages (yet). Anyway thats all from me.

quote: 63063 HRc Thats pretty hard ... But after what I read on the "A2" Thread Ill believe anything.