I believe you can't beat a 2 turret lathe. AOT makes it simple to program, as Mr. M said, but even without AOT it's not very difficult. Even on small runs of parts you will see a benefit. Extra tool capacity is nice, especially if you do a lot of different width grooves because you can load multiple groovers of different widths. You can also get a lower turret mounted steady rest. Gives up a few turret stations but VERY nice to have when you need it. Okuma has an LU with a sub-spindle coming out if you want a sub as well.

App debugging is definitely challenging. I have only written a few, but every time I think I have them bullet proof there's some dumb little thing that proves me wrong. Shows how badass the OSP control is though, IMO.

gcode-The OSP doesn't need to see an F100. like a Fanuc would. It reads F100 as the same thing. No decimal point = whole number, not smallest increment. Out of habit, however, I still usually command F100.

Another note to add to the G94 situation. Depending on the software rev, it is possible you will need to command an M808 (Feedrate interlock release) to get the axis to move in IPM. Typically only when no spindle rotation, but nice to know if you run into this.

Depending on what you are doing, canned cycles written with variables make life easy, especially for cutting jaws and simple shapes. OSP control on Okuma's make it nice because if it runs on one machine, it will run on the next one.

There is a basic programming and operation class at York Tech if you are new to Okuma in general. If not, as Mr. M said we would be glad to come out to train or have you come to our facility for training. Anything specific you are looking for?

Yo Doug. Do you ever use VTIME? Also a handy date and time tracker for OSP.

I started using OSP controls less than a year ago. I had primarily used Fanuc and Haas for the last who knows how long. It took a bit to get used to it but now I wouldn't go back if I had the chance. The OSP is very user friendly and I love the fact that any app that will run on windows will run on the OSP. Just my 2 cents

Hey Mick. It was good to meet you. Have a safe trip home.

Chris

I am trying to mirror a 5 axis curve path. I am using type-mirror / method-coord / cut direction-reverse order. i have 3 curves each selected as single entities and each feeding the same direction. When i do a transform/mirror it changes the it should replicate what i have in reverse so i assume. However, it mirrors 2 of the curves perfectly but the 3rd curve cuts the wrong direction as if its not reversing the cut order on that 1 chain. I can check create new operations and reverse direction on that 1 line and it runs fine but i don't get why it only screws up 1 of them. Any thoughts?

The interlock code is M157 but it is an option.

robk - how do you like the mike lynch book? i've been thinking about adding it to the collection

All we use at work is pro-e so i do have a translator but in the past trying to open step files i have encountered missing walls and features where you can see right through the part. Not sure on the cost of translator but for our shop its worth every penny.

I have done both and thought they were both very helpful. I definately use my books as a reference long after the video's 12 weeks were up. I think I learned quicker with the video's but if I were to choose I would go with the books just to have a reference forever.

i haven't ordered on in awhile but harvey used to have an engraving cutter that was slightly off center so it would knock the burr off as it went. down side was it had a small flat on tip so your depth might not allow that

have you checked harvey tool? depending on the size they have a decent selection i think

are you cutting zigzag or one direction? i think .002 finish is a bit light and shouldn't cause any tool deflection however finish has the look of pushoff like a zigzag cut would look with that direction change

i attend "tech days" at barefoot whenever i get a chance. i use x6 every day but leave there with some new piece of knowlege every time. i agree with cncapps guy entirely about dragging the class down. i'm in a 5axis advanced class and can promise at least 80% of class has no buisiness in there. i believe all 2 of us that have some slightly more advanced knowledge could be much further along if there wasn't the need to cover so much mill level 1 stuff

hello all. i am in kyle's class and would like to offer a suggestion to all current and future teachers. either a test to get in or a more strict pre-rec than what cpcc has. our class has (in my opinion) about 80% of the students who have no buisiness being in a 5 axis class. i understand that everyone learns at a different pace and in different ways but when you need help to draw a rectangle and change colors you might be in over your head. props to kyle for the patience he has with the class.

I had this happen in X5 awhile back and here is what fixed it as per Jason @ barefoot cnc. Go into registry editor(regedit), hkey current user, software, cnc software. Make sure mastercam is closed first. Right click on mastercam x5 then rename it (I renamed it mastercam x5-1). Then when you reopen mastercam it thinks its the first time you've run it because of the new registry name. Worked perfectly.

flow line works well for me as well. i also like surf finish parallel. it is more predictable than flowline in its toolpath i think.

i have a little bit older vf2. i go into settings, page down a few times, then switch door override. pretty quick and simple. have to do it every time mchine is powered on as it resets itself.

Between picking a start point and playing with the machining angle (0,90,180,270 for starters), I have never not been able to get what I was looking for.

More info is needed, a screenshot of the surface would help and the more info the better...

I am unable to send a screenshot due to confidentiality agreements. However, it is about 10 inches wide, 5 inches long surface on about a 10 degree angle. I have to use a 1/4" b.e.m. due to corner radius constraints and the tool protrudes from the holder 2". Mastercam forces the start point at the top and climb mills down, but deflection going from top to bottom causes surface finish issues. Feeding from bottom to top still has slight deflection but since its pushing away instead of into the part surface finish is not affected.

Between picking a start point and playing with the machining angle (0,90,180,270 for starters), I have never not been able to get what I was looking for.

More info is needed, a screenshot of the surface would help and the more info the better...

I am unable to send a screenshot due to confidentiality agreements. However, it is about 10 inches wide, 5 inches long surface on about a 10 degree angle. I have to use a 1/4" b.e.m. due to corner radius constraints and the tool protrudes from the holder 2". Mastercam forces the start point at the top and climb mills down, but deflection going from top to bottom causes surface finish issues. Feeding from bottom to top still has slight deflection but since its pushing away instead of into the part surface finish is not affected.

Does anyone know how to force the toolpath to climb mill? If i let mastercam pick my start point it does climb mill, however, when i choose the start point i want it only conventional mills. Cutting angle is 90 degrees and setting that to -90 degrees doesn't change anything. Thanks for any help.

So, I frequently have some complex surface machining to do. Sometimes, it takes a while, but how long is too long? Right now, I have a small part, roughly 3.5" in diameter, a cavity. The surface, which I cannot show, would look similar to perfect ripples in a pond if you dropped a pebble in the water. My finish toolpath is a .020 ballnose, surface finish flowline, .001 tolerance with filter set to output all arc moves in x/y, and a .0005 stepover. So far, it's been rocking out over 6 hours. The HST are the only ones that multithread and that leaves Mastercam frozen and, pretty much my whole computer almost worthless.

Is this normal?

Does my computer just suck?

Should I just shut up and quit whining?

I have had a similar problem using flowline after i created a lofted surface with it not posting arcs. I switched to waterlineand it wasn't entirely arcs, but it wat better.