Just to let everyone know that Vol 3 for X2 is finally finished and available for sale. You can order by clicking on the Books link on emastercam, or go direct to the sales site: http://www.volumesdirect.com/detail.aspx?ID=3024 I'm really proud of this book. Especially if you are new to 5-axis, it will save you. http://www.thesolacegroup.com/SharedImages...er_05022007.bmp [ 06-01-2007, 01:35 PM: Message edited by: Charles Davis ]

If you are having trouble running v9 on a NetHasp with X, the solution as I understand it is: Install NetHaspServer X on the computer you are running v9 on. If anyone else has had this problem and have found this solution works, please post here.

Just a reminder that there is a feedback page on the Handbook web site: www.thesolacegroup.com I'm always looking for ways to make things as good as they can be, so if you have any feedback, feel free to contact me!

Thanks for the input! I've got a lot of stuff working now. I'm still hacking at it. Frontpage 2003 makes this a lot easier than it used to be! I think In-House Solutions will start presenting the handbook sales in $US soon. It's something I've wanted for a while, but evidently more complicated than I expected, since it's license to In-House (Canadian company) for distribution. For Solidworks in SD, you may want to talk with GoEngineer in SD. I think Bill Campbell is still there. --------------------------------- I still own SD CAD/CAM with my business partner, and am involved on an hourly basis every day. I just work from my home office in Louisville (instead of my home office in San Diego!). The Internet is an awesome thing! With IM, email, and unlimited cell phone usage, it's surpising how close SD and Lou are! I do tech support, posts, business strategy, and work on the Handbooks.

I put some free stuff on the Downloads page. I also got the Feedback form working.

Thanks about the Extensions. They said it did, but I'm not so sure. Everything else seems to work. The buttons on the home page should look like this:

The one I worked on, the Z up/down dial was reversed from any other machine I've seen. If you twisted the knob CCW, the tool went down. Twist it CW and the tool went up. It seems like a simple thing, but I chipped a tool more than once, and almost put a drill through my finger tip once. Not a bad machine. The button WAS labeled properly, but old habits can bite you if you get in a hurry.

Yeah, mpmaster.pst What else would be useful? 1. Revivions/corrections to book? 2. More exercises? 3. More samples? 4. Drill chart?

Still trying to de-bug this. I have nice looking buttons on the Home page in Microsoft FrontPage 2003. But when I publish, I get plain text buttons. Any Web Guru's out there have an idea why? If anyone has any ideas on how I can make this more useful, let me know. I'll probably add some more samples and may start posting revisions and downloads, once I get the hang of how to manage the site. You want it, ask and I'll try to deliver it. I want to test if I can display a pic, so here is a nice shot of Zion National Park in S. Utah (hopefully!). [ 01-06-2007, 09:34 AM: Message edited by: Charles Davis ]

Thanks. If anyone needs any contact info changed or added, or notice any typos or errors, please let me know.

For those who are interested, there is a new web site for the Mastercam Handbooks that has some information, samples, etc. www.thesolacegroup.com It's still under construction, but I hope to have all the kinks worked out soon. I scoured the emastercam site and included some of your nice comments about the books. I hope those who I quote don't mind. If you do, just send me an email and I'll remove your comments.

Tough crowd. Sometimes really bright people have trouble expressing themselves without acting out. I don't know if some of the people on alt.machines.cnc fit that category, or if it's just a place to wallow. But, we all believe in redemption, right? Let's see what happens next. If the tone changes, for the better and for good, then let's let bygones be bygones.

Mastercam is sold by VAR's that stick within a geographic region. This is good for both the VAR and the customer. I like to sleep in my own bed at night, and as a customer, you want a person who is within easy driving distance. We cover San Diego, Imperial County in S. Calif and Baja, Mexico. Most Mastercam VAR's have been in business for over 10 years, so you'll likely be very happy with whoever you get. All my books are distributed through InHouse Solutions of Canada. They are available under the Books link on this web site. The cost is in $CAN, which works out to $98US. Now, I have not touched Smartcam since 1994. That is a lot of mouse clicks ago, and my memory may not be perfect. Of course there was no one reason for the company demise. But, as best I can recall, the fact that you essentially "drew the toolpath" was a real problem that hindered software development, particularly when it came to surface machining. All that said, it would be nice to have the same geometry creation and modification tools for toolpaths in Mastercam that are available for creating lines, arcs and points. Now, don't take this wrong. I'm not blindly defending Mastercam, just telling you what I've found over 12 years dealing with the company. Often I've been quite hot-headed and jumped up and down and demanded something from CNC. I have my own sense of arrogance in that of course I think I'm always right. What I found over the years is that CNC really does listen. As I learned the reasons WHY something wasn't done, or why is was not done immediately, there was usually a very good rationale as to why. What I found out, usually the hard way, is that some of these things are not as easy as they seem, or they have implications that ripple beyond my current narrow focus. I've never found CNC to be arrogant, or to not do something because they were lazy or just felt they were perfect. It's a very market and customer-driven company. So, I've learned (gee, maybe I can mature, which would certainly suprise some old acquaintances and even myself!) to make my case, lay it out as clearly as I can, and provide as much constructive input as I can. Over time I quit throwing fireballs because, well, it just doesn't really work well. Often I "win" in that I get what I want. Sometimes I "loose" but I usually learn why something didn't change as I wanted or as fast as I wanted. That is frustrating to someone like myself who is very demanding and impatient. But the progression is always forward, and in every case I can think of, the things I wanted appeared in the software. CNC like any company (even every one of ours or those we work for) has limitations of time, money and resources. It's managed pretty well. There is no GodCAM. Now, let some people on alt.machines.cnc call me a hack, an apologist, self-serving or whatever. [Not to bore anyone with my personal life, but I joined the Marines at 17 when I weighed 115 lbs soaking wet, and spent 13 lovely weeks on Parris Island in the dead of winter with no field jacket liner. Trust me, I've been yelled at by the best.] To those people I say this (and I'm not speaking to anyone in particular here): I'm really not out to please anyone but myself. I'm not going to say anything I don't believe, because I don't have to, and because nothing is worth lying about. I've been rich, and I've been poor, and I know that money has almost nothing to do with happiness. Life is too short to spend it bent out of shape. Go home, hug the people you love, and "don't be hatin' ". Try to be constructive. The bad Karma you spread by being unnecessarily negative hurts you and the world. Find a better way to relate your opinions, and you'll get more done. Again, I'm not addressing this to anyone in particular. I just saw a lot of mud slinging on alt.machines.cnc and maybe what I've learned the hard way can benefit someone else. Peace out.

Actually, there are a lot of problems, for lack of a better term, "hard linking" the geometry and toolpath. It is not uncommon, particularly on simple parts, to have toolpaths that don't closely resemble the part geometry. You might do this to accomodate work holding, or to just get the most efficient toolpaths. If you think about it, it's easy to imagine these types of operations. Actually, I really like the way Mastercam does it. The toolpaths and geometry are associative, so if the geometry changes, you can regen the program and it's done. But you can always break that link too, but just drawing in some geometry to muscle the toolpath around. The geometry with toolpath attributes is convenient, and it sounds good. It's been many years, but as I recall, it "didn't use as good as it sounded". It created more headaches than it solved. I experienced Point Control first as an employee, then as a VAR. I was an employee during the fast growth phase, which is fun. I experienced as a VAR just before they started crumbling; beating the horses, jacking with dealers, and undermining their VAR's. Not fun. Edwin was not a machinist. It would be pretty hard to find excellent computer programmers that were also machinists. Nice idea, I just think the two career tracks are so different, that there aren't a handfull of those people out there. What made Edwin a good programmer was his natural brilliance, creativity, lack of arrogance, desire to do good work, and his ability to really listen to what you were saying and deliver what you asked. You couldn't ask for more.

Sorry. My internet connection was acting flaky, and I hit Post twice.