used one for a long time when I was programming full time, now that I work from a Laptop at different customers shops I had to "relearn" MCX as I don't want to pack around anything extra, and I am lucky to have a stool to set-up at most customer shops... they could use some 5s....

I have a few customers who use them, they are.. ok. Drivers are not optimized for workstation type programs. IMO.......If you are building a new workstation use a workstation card, less heat, comparable price (a bit more expensive) and drivers build spacificaly for a 3d Cad/CAM environment.

I use the "theoretical" Rad the catalogue defines but, I leave a few 0.001 extra on the surface for finishing, I have had some roughing machining marks show after finishing if I don't do this.

Order does matter on some toolpaths, it is a better to have consistency. Yes some paths will work fine in any order, other paths will skip entry point if point is below chain. therefore if you always put points above chains you never have to worry about it not doing what you expect.

tool comp control in 3d HST.. I want wear!!!!!!!

what control? what rotary? what are your feedrates? does your post output rotary feed in inverse time?

There is no "max" for delay, the higher you set it the slower the program will dump into the control, up-to any timeout value the control might have set. 3ms should be enough as you are running at a low baudrate. My guess is that cimco was dumping code in faster than the buffer could handle it, so some code was dropped (Not supposed to happen but can with software) your cable is wired for software software handshake is better than none, but not as good as hardware. None = no checking if code is received Software = code is sent to confirm code is transferred (If code is dropping it can miss these confirmation codes) Hardware = Voltage is sent to confirm code transfer using the extra wires in the cable (most stable and reliable but not all controls can handle this properly)

I have wired well over 1000 machines for DNC, both wired and wireless, Ethernet, ftp, directory sharing.. the works. I can say 1000% the USB to serial is not reliable for Drip feeding. You should be ok with the serial PCI card, the Cimco editor port does not nearly the amount of setting as the DNC-Max solutions so not as many options to try. Start by setting the Transmit tab to the same settings as the machine baud, stop, parity , etc... on the transmit tab set "Delay before each line(ms)" to 3,and work your way up from there. This helps your CNC buffer to read each line in before receiving the next.. how long it needs to be depends on your cable quality, length, serial device interference, where and how you routed the cable(near power lines) lots of reasons code can be dropped. Edit * Hardware handshake is more reliable but you need the correct cable wiring and not all machines support it

xform scale multiply or divide by 25.4 depending on which direction you are going, this way you can work in the format you are used to. Us cunuck's get to work with both

The "Activate Solid Selection" button is my #1 pet peve about Mcam, if there are solids involved I always want this active, its an extra annoying click of the mouse.

The books are a really good starting point, you will get all the basics and fundamentals of the software in the books, most of what you find works best for you will be through experiance but for what $60? its a good investment. Also highly recommend "Secrets of 5-axis machining" Not a lot of differents between the X6/X7 books, really depends on if you can wait for the X7 version or you need to start toolpathing asap

Most cutters can only handle 1-3 degrees of Ramp, so on a small arc it does not equal much Z depth per helix. as for the off-topic Q, check your tooling catalog, they almost always have maximum ramp angle, etc, Only time they don't is if the tool is not "designed" for ramp, but that's never stopped me you just have to be conservative Helix bore is favourite holmaking path, why put 10 drills in your toolchanger when 1 endmill will do all the same size holes (not always the best time wise on production parts)

Greg Checkhout the X+ setupsheets, much more powerful and more user friendly then the mastercam ones. http://www.gmccs.de/?page=downloads.php&m_id=13&pt=Downloads+f%FCr+Mastercam+(Chooks,+Servicepatches,+u.a.)

Toolpath>Multiaxis>Wireframe>Morph between 2 Curves (Hands down the best multiaxis path, my goto path 98% of the time) you can control the direction of cut based on "First" and "second" Chains, Like Mr. Wizzard said.

No Worries, I spend more time then I should have solving the same issue for a customer.

Set Tool and Comp Plane to Bottom.. its dumb but it works

Surface finish Flowline would do that, just pick your Bottom edge for step direction

If your profile is a circle (backbore from the sounds of it?) Threadmill toolpath is usefull for more than just threads.

Salary is directly relative to the cost of living. Here in Alberta, we are the hotspot in Canada for Oil & Gas, I know programmers who make between $30-$45/hr depending on skill-set, and the complexity of the parts the company manufactures. But you go to buy a house in Alberta and you pay for it. I cry when I see Houses on the DIY network, some places in the USA you can buy a mansion for $200k... I cant even buy a trailer at the dump for that much here....Relative

The wireframe toolpaths are very useful for Mill1 users who need to do simple surfacing from time to time, If your creative enough you can do complex surfacing with them, just alot of extra geometry creation and toolpaths to get the desired result. I have a lot of Mill3/Multiaxis users who use them because you can toolpath certain shapes with just a few clicks instead of 1000 settings in the surface paths.

You can define specific paths for each machine, I usually set it to the "CNC Programs" folder and map from that point if using customer/job based sub-folders.

http://www.master3dgage.com/ http://www.verisurf.com/

The only time I crashed was the one time I made a minor change and didn't rerun Vericut But that was after a year or so of proving out the Vericut Post. Just keep in mind if your fixture is out 0.005 on the machine as to how it is set in the Vericut file the simulation will not be 100%