thanks for the help Peter. I'll let you know how it turns out when we cut chips.

Peter, Check your email. i just sent you the file (11:00am).

I've got a part that requires work along a face and i can't figure out which path to use (facing,grooving,etc.) and i'm to the point where i really need to get cutting chips. can someone take a look at it for me and see if they can help me out? i rarely ever use lathe so i'm verrrryyy raw with it in Mastercam. I'm using V8 right now but i have V10 loaded - just haven't had the time to learn V10 yet! thanks josh

they tell me the reason for using the seimens controller is because the machine uses linear motors and the fanuc controller couldn't keep up with the speed of the machine.

thanks, it will be a fourth axis. i'll call my dealer.

Anybody out there using a seimens controller? We have purchased a new horizontal that utilizes this controller and i'm looking for opinions - good and bad. Obviously, we are going to need a post for this controller. Is there a generic one on the disk for this or is it recommended that we purchase a custom post from either our dealer or in-house solutions? thanks for the help!

hey thad... turning down the accelerator worked!! thanks for the input guys

where is it on the ftp site? i'm having a heck of a time with navigating in the FTP site. i keep getting time out errors.

Hi all, I recently purchased a new laptop and have installed V9 and X on it. X seems to be working fine (except for printing problems). V9 however is being a bugger. My cursor disappears whenever i put it in the graphics area. i can see it while moving it over the icons and lists but it disappears when i move it over into the graphics area. I've tried adjusting the settings withing Mastercam but still am having no luck. Understand that the laptop i'm using isn't geared for Mastercam necessarily but i'm not trying to do any high-end stuff either. i'm using it primarily for opening/printing existing 2D files created in V8. any ideas on what might be happening? thanks

approximately 30 haas verticals ranging from VF-1 to VF-4's with 4th axis, 7 Mori Seiki horizontals, and 8 Mori Seiki lathes (that i'm just getting into programming). I also program 3 Brown and Sharpe CMM's of varying size. i have a couple of guys on the floor i trust with helping at the machine. keep in mind that we are a production machine shop that tries to run high quantity parts so once the programs are written and proven to be good i'm pretty much hands off unless they need help with something.

maybe he's looking for "the spot". doesn't X normally mark it?

yeah, they aren't cheap but well worth it when you show the customer (not aerospace or anything like that) that you are measuring the depth with a fancy instrument that measures "effective" thread use. we haven't had one argue yet with it vs the old methods of counting threads or using gages with notches. saved us from traveling to sort a couple of times.

yeah. some how i got the http:// in there twice. thanks Ron.

we use a product from leitech for checking depths. most of our customers were supplying these to us so we just started using them as standard. here is the link (if i can do this right). leitech combi gage

i've asked before but everyone thinks the G3 output is good enough.

thad... the idea was that the company would purchase it for me to put on my home pc for working at home. i understand what you are saying about only putting it on one pc. as far as my sig... i'm not as clever as the rest of these guru's here so i typed random letters. it makes almost as much sense as some of the people i work with!

thad, why would that be against the eula if it doesn't require a dongle? if someone were to want to buy just a copy of draft - say a student taking a course at a local college, for the purpose of practicing at home they wouldn't get a dongle with it correct? i realize that it would be real practical for me to use it at home knowing what it is capable of other then for maybe creating some 2D tool prints. can anyone else speak to the legality of this? i certainly don't want to do anything illegal.

thanks for the reply's everyone.

Can anyone tell me if draft runs without the dongle or has it done it in the past? i'm using v8 now and it seems like when we first purchased mastercam (around v5 i think) it would work without the dongle. i'd like to be able to work on design stuff at home without having to bring home the dongle and remember to bring it back the next morning. i usually drive to work and then wake up so remembering anything in the morning is tough!

is it a secret or can you tell us who the winner was?

great idea jay. fairest way to decide and lets us get involved in the process!

james.... i'd love to take this opportunity but i'd have to get divorced and leave my kids behind. my wife would never leave her family - regardless of how much money it means. but if you ever consider expanding to michigan, count me in among the applicants!

I did a search for this and found one related topic but it was from 2000. so even by my version 8 it was outdated. I'm trying to figure out how to customize the circlemill option to out put the following code: G13 D# F# I# Q# J# D = tool number for comp. F = feed I = initial diameter (or finish if only one pass) Q = amount to increase diameter for each pass (or doesn't appear if only one pass) J = finish diameter (or doesn't appear if only one pass) can anyone help me with this? It is driving me nuts. fortunately, i backed up the current post before hacking away.

jay.... works good this morning for me on XP pro sp2.

not sure if your still looking for tests or not but its sunday at 12:30 here in muskegon and it worked great. came up right away.