it's loaded with a NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GTS 512mb video when in version x2 sp2 or version 9 i get no solid line when creating in sketch mode or no zoom box and when chaining no direction arrow's. in the past its the video drivers. even going backward in drivers can help but she's a little new. Operating system is windows vista home running 32 bit (would running 64 help?, tried the normal stuff turned the performace slider down right click the icon and check the "diasabled desktop compocition".Any help or driver links will be appreciated...

When is the Art package going to be ready for "X"?

In computer = (no G41/G42 in program) offset's 1/2 dia in control = add's G41/G42 and you add 1/2 dia or all dia depending on control wear = adds G41/G42 and offsets 1/2 dia in mastercam so in control would be zero or subtract for the dia of cutter you defined in mastercam to the dia you are actually using this woul be what you set in your offset

One of the other problems is printing to scale, i have to set mine between 105% and 108% depending on the size i need to fit on 8 1/2 x 11 paper i havn't even tryed my 11 x 17 yet? Hope this gets sorted in the maintanace release..

hopefully you still have version 9 as i used it to find the features and it done a better job, ver x didn't find the upper left counterbore so go back to ver 9 and then bring it into ver x after creating the surfaces.

After a quick look at your file, use the level that has the solid model on it, hopefully you have solids on your mc goto the solid menu and the "find features" set to "holes" and set max dia to 300., the in the manager you will see the features found right click on the feature counterbores and thru holes you need to suppress, after surpressing those features ,create a surface from solid and select the faces you need for your toolpath, or use the solid face it self. hope all that wasn't too confusing..

Here is a linky to the properties of 13-8 and other wierd steels, they compare it to a tougher 304 s.s. 13-8 s.s.

Thanks Gcode that worked great...

Why is the "load border" greyed out? or am i missing something.

The radius should be 0.2398" on your example.

Create-arc-tangent 3ent/pts select one of the lines then point entry from the menu select the point then select the last line..

And you all voted for Bushy boy who totally supports and actually gives a tax break to farm stuff overseas?

Also after moving the entity's, just have the new level active and use - delete - duplicate - entity's to remove the double selected entity's

Some have pride in their work and some don't. You have 3 kinds of workers: 1, The worst i call dgaff's (don't give a flying f$%k), just pay me top dollar. 2,wanna be's. i'm it don't tell me anything i know it all.(but scraps alot of parts). 3, the best is someone who is willing to learn new things, is confidant at machining, and most important ability to comunicate. nothing worse than a bench full of scrap parts cause they did,t want to tell anyone. I also think that now a day's there are a lot of back door peolple could't square a block on a bridge port kind. just know the computer thing which works for some but the best cnc guy will most probably learned from a saw then a file then a bridgeport the turning and so on, until the cnc stuff. An apprentiship.

say you revolve a rectangle with an outer corner with a rad you will have 4 surfaces, so when toolpathing it would say 1/4 processing, now export that file as an slt, then toolpath the stl and it will say 1/1 processing. My local reseller told me cnc software had said it creates a solid in the background. I wouldn't care if it was a surface it would just save me time menupulating the stl for further opp's.

as the "OWL" said 3d scanning and other gadets create small facets or stl or mesh polygone or whatever you would like to call them, most come with software to convert this but some don't.

i should say even 1 surface mybe not a actual solid model or mulptiple sufaces but just not 10,0000 or so i was told mc creates a solid i don't want to edit the solid just make it quicker to toolpath.

when you machine from a file, by toggling to the file surface option mc actually does creat a solid in the back ground (we just can't see it), i comfirmed this with my local reseller, i just wish it would prompt us to keep it visable/ saveble thats why i asked about a vb script or c-hook as mc toolpaths the file a lot quicker than 10 or 15 thousand surfaces, try it by expoting a file as stl and toolpathing it with the file option on it will say 1 of 1 surface not thousands of surfaces.

Any imput from a mastercam vb writer or programmer on this stl question? version x maybe?

I know abot the stl2surf chook but i would have 14,000.00 surfaces. I when mc computes the file it says 1 of 1 surfaces not 14,000.00 i wish they would promt for saving the solid, i found this out from my local reseller too.

In the background of MC when toolpathing a stl file i know MC creates a solid of the file i wonderd if there was a chook or can the vb side of Mc be writen to create this solid from the stl file? Any imput would be appreciated.

I will contact my local dealer CADCAM SOLUTIONS tomorrow, i have edited my post to output subs as the fadal likes it and for rigid tapping so if that mpmaster-fadal does that too i should be sailing. Thanks for your input.

I just got a vh65 4th axis for my Fadal vmc. i'm used to the way HAAS have their 4th axis i.e. A+90. and A-90. would be 180. degrees apart.On the Fadal A+90. and A-90. are the same in absolute mode. I run my machine in format 2. The mpmaster works good exept i would like to have a formular to output "-" in front of some "A" moves so it an't doing a lot of Georgia air (or what every air is in you area) moves around the part ie if your at A300. and want to move to A180. it would go past A0.0 to get to A180. if the move was A-180. it would be the shortest route, this could also be scary when you have a part that would slam into the table if it wasn,t rotating the correct way. Also i played around with using mastercams wraping feature for having my company name wrapped around a dia with the letters standing up used a helix entry and also used a smaller endmill to detail it, on the HAAS'S not a problem on the Fadal it was wierd in absolute no joy with the helical entry so i posted out in incrimental worked good untill the next tool came to clean up what the last tool left the angle move was no-wear close the the roughed out pocket from before looked great in mc not in the machine,ended up using the small endmill to do it all. Any help would be appriated.

hss coren cobb style rougher slow rpms and feed will eat it up better than carbide evan hanita endmills finish with a 2 flute carbide,also have no "dwell" keep it feeding with a good flow of coolant