I program using HyperMill every day and to me MasterCam does not come close to comparing to it. I used to beta test for MasterCam and used it for the first 10 years I was in the business starting with Version 9.   

The main reason, STABILITY!!!!  When I programmed in MasterCam I would deal with the software crashing on me daily.  It was constantly locking up, forcing shut downs and causing me to loose work and spend extra time programming because of this reason. 

For the work I do now, which is all 5 axis (both 3+2 and full 5 axis) HyperMill works very well.  It is on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for.  The tool collision monitoring and checking in HyperMill is top notch as well. 

Sure there are things I wish it would do that MasterCam would do and vice versa, but there will never be one single software out there that will do everything you need the exact way you want it to be done.  

RoR

Any other impeller cutting software which could be worth looking at?

I use HyperMill everday and program nothing but impellers. It is top notch for this type of work. I program both hub style and cover style impellers with it, full 5 axis machining and 3+2 machining. It is expensive but worth every penny IMO.

HyperMill is very stable also. I have had one software crash in the last year of running the software where I was not able to save and lost work.

I make it a point to recheck everything that gets reposted, doesnt matter if I have done so 100 times. If you would have simply sent the old code out, then that is one thing. But to open it up in a different version, repost, and send it out without any type of checking...... well you see where that got you. Bet you dont ever make that mistake again.

Sucks that you may have to replace a spindle, but taking a couple extra minutes to check it out first would have been a lot cheaper.

And as I always says, VERICUT everything if you can.

I just crashed. Completely shut down on me while doing a 5 axis impeller path. Not to bad though, thats the first time in a year of using Openmind HyperMILL that I had a crash that completely shut down the softare!!!!

Has anyone else seen this isssue before and if so does anyone have a workaround.

The problem with verifying in MasterCAM is that it is pre-post. Just because it looks good in MasterCAM verify doesn't mean it is going to work the same exact way after the code is posted.

Best bet is to run some type of verification after posting such as Vericut if possible. Whats great about Vericut is that the code that I verify is the same exact code that goes into the machine.

On the pocket table, there is a column for Pocket Type. The pockets are assigned to 1, which should be a fixed pocket. For some reason, its not working like it should.

Vericut all the way. I am running it right now verifying some 5 axis paths for some impellers.

You just need to match the tool numbers to the pocket numbers in the pocket table and set all the pockets to fixed,only take a couple of minutes you do not need to call DMG. Tool Table-Pocket Table-match the first two columns (tool # and pocket #) and then activate the fourth column (F) for each tool.

We never had to do this before. We would simply load the tools and they would automatically be fixed to the pocket in the chain. I could do it this way to make it work, but would like to be able to assign a pocket and have it fixed automatically.

If I google that I am getting a lot of stuff for the TNC 360. I will talk with the Heidenhain guys and see what they say.

Hey guys,

My machines are DMC 125 U duoBlock with the iTNC530 control.

Last week, the operators had to preform a recovery on both machines and I believe that somehow a parameter got changed. Before the recovery, the machine would pull a tool from the tool chain and then put it back where it got it. If Tool 1 came from Pocket 1, the machine would put it back in Pocket 1 when doing a tool change.

Now, the machine will put the tool back in the pocket where it grabs the next tool from. If Tool 1 comes out of pocket 1, and then we pull Tool 2, the machine will put Tool 1 in Pocket 2. This is going to eventually lead to a crash and I want to put it back to how it was.

I want the tools to go back into the pocket they came from.

Do any of you guys know how to fix this??

Thanks.

Does the cycle need to be right after a TOOL CALL??

You can see from the program I put in as an example:

Tool Call 1

Run Program

Rotate C

Run Program

Rotate C

Run Program

Tool Call 2

.

.

.

I would really like it to run like this:

Tool Call 1

Run Program

Tool Breakage Detection

Rotate C

Run Program

Tool Breakage Detection

Rotate C

Run Program

Tool Breakage Detection

Tool Call 2

.

.

.

If the tool breaks, I want to stop everything from running.

Sorry if this is very elementary, I am new to the Heidenhain Conrtols and still getting acquainted with how they operate.

Anybody here running Heidenhain Controls?? If so, does anybody have an example of a program with the tool breakage detection cycle in it?? Cycle 586??

0 BEGIN PGM 20 INCH

1 ;***************

2 ;THIS PROGRAM IS THE MAIN SUB CALL

3 ;IT WILL WRITE THE POCKET ROTATION VALUE INTO C

4 ;IT WILL CALL THE REQUIRED TOOL IF NEEDED

5 ;IT WILL THEN CALL THE CODE PROGRAM

6 ;******************

7 ; POCKET 1

8 ;TOOL CALL

9 TOOL CALL 81 Z S3600

10 FN 17: SYSWRITE ID 503 NR3 IDX6 =+0

11 CALL LBL 100

12 ; POCKET 2

13 ;TOOL CALL

14 FN 17: SYSWRITE ID 503 NR3 IDX6 =+24

15 CALL LBL 100

16 ; POCKET 3

17 ;TOOL CALL

18 FN 17: SYSWRITE ID 503 NR3 IDX6 =+48

19 CALL LBL 100

20 ; POCKET 4

 

TOOL breakage detection cycle here.

 

21 TOOL CALL 82 Z S3600

22 FN 17: SYSWRITE ID 503 NR3 IDX6 =+72

23 CALL LBL 100

24 ; POCKET 5

25 ;TOOL CALL

26 FN 17: SYSWRITE ID 503 NR3 IDX6 =+96

27 CALL LBL 100

28 ; POCKET 6

29 ;TOOL CALL

30 FN 17: SYSWRITE ID 503 NR3 IDX6 =+120

31 CALL LBL 100

32 ; POCKET 7

 

 

TOOL breakage detection cycle here.

 

33 TOOL CALL 83 Z S3600

Here is an example of my program. You can see where I would like to add the tool breakage detection cycle. Any help would be awesome. Thanks guys.

+1 Extrude Hone

CNC PRO,

Depending on your machine, you can run that tool at very high speeds. I would start around 1000 SFM, and about .008 IPR and test it out. That gives you 7640 RPM @ 61 IPM. You can them up the speed and feed if you machine allows.

What size and type of tool? How many flutes? How thick was the aluminum?

If you are running 800 RPMs @ 50 IPM, that is a chip load of .0625 inches per rev. That is pretty high.

Need a little more info to give you a better answer.

Kennametal makes good drills for this type of application as well. Like state before, thru coolant is a must. We drill armor plate all the time with Kennametal drills.

I am still waiting on mine as well.

I copy and move entities from level to level all day. Never had a problem. Are you sure it is not operator error?

Make sure you turn the axis brake off for the axis which are rotating. I believe the codes are M11 and M13 if running a trunion. Usually we insert a manual toolpath and put those codes in before the multiaxis toolpath to ensure that the axis brakes are not engaged. HTH.

The best part in the movie is when they are combing the desert.

"You guys find anything yet?

Nothing yet, Sir.

How about you?

Not a thing, Sir.

What about you?

We aint found sh!t."

XL please.

Light speed to slow. We need to go straight to Ludacrispeed.

What the he!! was that? Its Spaceball 1, they've gone to plad.

I went in and found the op that was causing the issue. I selected force toolchange, and it works. I have no clue.

I have a group of toolpaths I want to post out. I have two toolpath groups. The first group is for the roughing cycle of the toolpath, and the second is for the finishing toolpath cycle. These are being posted through a 5 axis post for a HAAS VF machine with a trunion.

If I select all my ops and hit post, I get a box that pops up and says:

But if I select my toolpath groups and post them seperate, it will post and I dont get the error box.

What is going on here? Thanks for the help.