Gcode and John: Just out of curiosity, when you backplot a 2d contour, do your coordinate values for Z display properly? My z is out of sync with x and y since MR1. I have reported it to QC and they have verified that it is a bug but that was a couple of months ago and I have not heard anyone else squawking about it. It really limits the value of backplot when you cannot tell where z really is!?!? Thanks - Paul

Is it possilble that there is something in either the Control Definition or the Machine Definition that would cause this? I have not fiddled with either, just accepting whatever was created by the automated conversion from Ver 9. Since backplot isn't accurate either, at least for me, hurrrumph, cough, cough, I find that I'm using Verify more than normal and I keep having to fix this for it to really tell me if I'm screwing up. Thanks- PBPaul

Thanks Mick 'n Storkman 'n John: Obviously, I'm still learning. I remember Cimco being included with an earlier version as a freebie and then that changed and I was just using the MCam Editor because that is what popped up by default after posting in X. I thought it would be cool to compare an NC file that I had created with and without various filters and I saw that "Compare" button, and well, you all already know the rest of the story! Thanks much- PBPaul

10-4 I see, Mowens. Thanks. I'll see if I can link it up to Cimco. PBPaul

I'm running the MR1/SP2 Mastercam Editor. I click on "Compare" and then "Compare Files" and then select two NC files. I hit OK and nothing ever happens. Any thoughts anyone?!?!? Also, in the file select dialog box, if I hit the big Question Mark for help, it tells me that the page cannot be displayed. PBPaul

Mowens: You can download a MR1SP2 documentation zip from the CNC website and inside you will find a couple of pdf's with what I'm guessing is latest X post information. HTH PBPaul

Cadcam: If/when you see this.....I did click on your link and look at the pictures but did not see any links or information regarding what foam was being used. Can you shed some light? PBPaul

Not to be any more of a smart-xxxx than absolutely necessary, but can the CD rom not be replaced or a second one added? I had a PC computer on my desk for years that could only read CD's and I wanted to be able to write them, too, and I went down to Staples and got a Sony unit for something like $40. Maybe that was a red-hot deal or something. Nothing was required in the way of software or anything. It just hooked to an existing cable and power supply and that was it. PBPaul

Are there only a couple of us with this issue? I sent in my example to QC and they were able to reproduce it, BTW. PBPaul

Greg- We should be rich if we're the only two! PBPaul

Thanks, Hardmill. If I can remember how, I'll send it up to the FTP. Bottom line, I'm almost certain it has to do with bringing stuff in from Rhino. PBPaul

I found Squash but that didn't fix it. I finally just deleted the entities and drew them again in Mastercam, as Chris suggested, and they worked. I can draw two ellipses in Rhino and draw legs off the ends and connect them and bring it to Mastercam and it chains fine. If I do the same with Half Round arches, Mastercam trips up the chaining. Just for the heck of it, I tried grabbing one of the arches and one of the lines (in Mastercam) and just simply joining them. Not a good idea.....some of the entities simply disappear. On a positive note, I have noticed in the MR1 release that some of the Rhino issues I brought up, such as missing Layers/Levels, have been fixed. On the other hand MR1 Backplot gives me grief on the simplist things whether they are drawn in Mastercam or Rhino or Autocad. I guess that needs to be another thread. PBPaul

Yep, we do some of that but nothing spiral, only arches on a flat plane. Mostly cut out the S4S shapes and then mold them on a big shaper. PBPaul

Also, xform squash is apparently not in X. I tried xform join but that didn't solve it either. PBPaul

Thanks Rob but that had no effect.

Thad: If I analyze, it starts where I click but will not chain all the way around. I cannot see a gap, however. I think I figured out that the problem might be that this was originally drawn in Rhino. If I erase some of the lines and draw them back in exactly the same place in Mastercam, then it chains correctly. I can draw something in Rhino like this and connect ends together using lines that snap to endpoints and so forth so there is no question that there should be no gaps, and one day it works fine and the next, it won't. It does not seem to matter if the Rhino is saved as an IGS or if I use Mcam to open it directly. Either way, there are gaps happening somehow. I hadn't thought of squashing so I'll try that. Thanks- PBPaul

XMR1 Mill3 I have a couple of 2D arches that look like "C" nested next to each other about 2 inches apart, one a little larger than the other and connected on the ends to form a pocket that looks like a big "C" outline. When I try to pocket this out, I can't get the boundaries to chain all the way around. If I chain it by selecting each single part, then I get a message that says "Warning- not all boundaries are closed. Select Open Pockets or close chains." Problem is, these are drawn endpoint to endpoint and so I don't see how the chain is not closed. If I select all the entities and tell Mastercam to join them, then it says "Some divided entities, which are not connected but which are based off the same original entity have been found. Do you want to close the gap and join them?" If I say "Yes", it draws a line all the way across the ends of the "C" shapes which is nuts. I tried to analize the the chain and it says all is fine. I'm guessing there must be gaps but I can't figure out how to find them and/or fix them. Thanks- PBPaul

Yep, I've got the same thing with the numbers not matching the graphic and there is another thread here somewhere that talks about that a little. I've emailed an example (and whine) to QC. You might want to do same. Also, Thad has another thread going about the "S" issue. PBPaul

Thanks, Cannon and Roger. PBPaul

It is new to me. I hope someone up at CNC is taking a look, hint hint. Paul

Thanks Pat. I suspected it was something like that but I couldn't remember. Anyone have any thoughts on the z display issue? Thanks- Paul

I understand that coordinates diplayed during backplot come from NCI. Having said that, could someone tell me what is going on with my coordinate display. Say I have two parallel simple 2D contours that are 2 inches apart that I cut to -.5 deep. Retract is at .25 and Feed Plane is at .1. Right off the bat, before I do anything other than select "backplot", it reads 10, 10, 10. Where is that coming from? At this point, the tool is shown on the screen at the correct location which is right at the end of the first contour. As soon as I hit "step" once, x and y coordinate values change to the correct numbers for the end of the contour but z shows all the way down. On the next click, you see no change in x or y. Same goes for the next click. It used to show retract height, then clearance height, then the actual depth of the cut for these three clicks or "Steps". This is how it was immediately before the MR1 update. As soon as I step through the first contour and the bit comes up to the retract position, this displays correctly. Now I have a move over to the end of the second contour, but that displays the correct x and y but z is already at the bottom of the cut. Now, you can verify and you can post and all is exactly correct. It is just the backplot display of z values that is out of wack. Hope some of you can help- Thanks, Paul

Again, thanks to all for all the info. We do use MDF but weight is a problem. Also, I think it is "Case Hardened" and if you cut a thin layer off only one face, the sheet is stressed such that it wants to become bowl-shaped where the non-machined face becomes concave. A couple of the links you all supplied offer samples and that's where I'm headed now. PBPaul

Much thanks to all. As far as the Ren-Shape material goes, if you don't mind my asking, which ones do you use? I see they have a bunch of different densities. I'm guessing the higher the density, the higher the cost, too. Thanks- Paul

Hello all: A couple of years ago, we took small wooden carvings from a local artist, digitized them, scaled them up, and routed them (also in wood) with our CNC router. These upscaled parts were then molded and cast in bronze. Now the same artist is interested in another project that could be physically larger and he's seen other artist's work scaled up and machined in foam. I need to know what kind of foam is suitable for this kind of CNC routing work and who is a good source. Any advice would be appreciated. His work in wood was highly detailed but I suspect that the foam work would not be tremendously detailed. Paul