Yellow entities define the geometry of the arc i want, which is shown in red.

the arc should be tangent to the line, the reference arc, and then run through the point i'm showing.

what i'm showing is accurate within a tenth, but it's not dead-on. also, it took a little time to keep redrawing it until i got it right.

i'm on board with everyone else. i just finished machining an intricate logo with recessed cross hatching using a 1/32" ball end mill, and mastercam performed flawlessly.

and... i'm a noob. been running CAM and a CNC mill for a total of 6 months now. never had any problem with mastercam producing detail of any level.

every broken tool has been 100% my fault. never mastercam. it does what it's told.

So, I can't seem to find a function in Mastercam that lets me create an arc that is tangent to two entities, and runs through a point. Obviously, you would not need to supply a center or radius for the arc since all the required information is provided by the selected geometry.

I'm sure I could just google the formula, but I'm taking some math classes right now and feel like challenge myself, so I'm going to figure it out on my own. I'll probably write an add-on for mastercam once I'm done.

Has this feature been added since X2? Would anyone else be interested in having this function?

welcome! i'm somewhat new to this forum myself.

seems like a bunch of good guys.

Oh, and when I say Varimill, that happens to be the brand name that I have most experience with. There are other brand names that will provide similar performance. Variable helix is the important feature.

thank you, sir.

If you hit the Planes button at the bottom of the screen, there is an option (I've never used it) to make "Planes ALWAYS = WCS".

Also under CAD settings in the sys config, there is a checkbox for "update c & t plane when changing Gview"

that's what i need. thanks

thanks guys.

i chose to rough with a BEM because using a flat endmill left large chunks of material to be machined on my finish pass.

just leave it that way and let the BEM hog out those areas, or should I add another rough operation before my finish to remove those areas?

X2 MR2 (really hoping we upgrade soon) :/

Absolute machining noob issue here, i'm sure.

I recently had a project where I was basically machining a 1" radius half-pipe shaped channel out of 1018.

I decided to rough this out with a ball end mill. (mistake?)

Using a 3/4" 4-flue cobalt ball end mill, step down of .200, speed 560, feed 4.0.

The cutter makes it about 2" into the first cut (slotted width at this point because it is the first cut) and burns up. The part and the cutter are glowing red from underneath a constant flood of coolant.

E-Stop.

End Mill ruined.

Load in a piece of carbide to clear the wreckage.

Someone mentioned chip clearance being an issue, so I switched to a 3/4" 2-Flute HSS ball end mill, and made no changes to the speed and feed. After that it cut fine. No problems, even without lowering the feed to take into account fewer flutes.

I've had other issues with this type of cut with a 4-flute ball end mill. Should I just avoid using 4-flutes for this type of slotted ball cut? Should I raise/lower my feed?

I'm laying out some complex curves and surfaces, and need to repeatedly set the WCS to new planes based on geometry.

After I do this, I have to click on WCS > View Manage then select the most recent view and set the WCS and construction planes to this view. (i just click the equals sign)

Is there an easier way?

I'm basically looking to save four mouse clicks each time I need a new plane, which may not sound like much, but I run into this extremely often on various drawings.

Maybe I'm going about it wrong. I just need to be able to set a plane and origin so when I switch to 2D mode I can draw splines, and everything can be trimmed regardless of Z depth and plane relationship.

I'd love to go.. but it's not happening

this

thanks. i figured it was something to do with the geometry.

i'm only going to be cutting some 1018, so i might just run it through to see what happens. i'm very familiar with the location of the E-stop.

http://bit.ly/Nxp3Sd

lol. sweet link. great way to be helpful and narcissistic at the same time.

Brings up this:

 

http://www.cnccookbo...CCGWizardE.html

 

"G-Wizard works on PC's and Macs. It requires an Internet connection once every 2 weeks. Detailed System Requirements available here, but for most people it just works."

G-wizard Editor will not be free. While I haven't worked with it, I do have a subscription for G-wizard Calculator. ($70 per year i think) From what I understand, the editor is still in beta testing. Maybe you can test it for free?

The calculator is a wonderful toolbox for speeds/feeds, drill sizes, taps, geometry... most of the common reference information you'll need throughout the day, all easily accessible.

CNCcookbook makes some great software. I'm definitely a fan of their work.

i understand the difference between ferrous and non ferrous, but why are certain cutters specified for materials that are either ferrous or non ferrous? it seems to me that carbide should cut through both pretty easily.

i have 3/4" ball end carbide inserts that state they are for non ferrous material. can i still use these inserts for ferrous material? something i should know?

i'm most concerned about functionality. CAD software and i have a natural bond. i usually master a new program in a couple months max.

mastercam was definitely the easiest one i've learned, which took about two weeks.

I don't know much about mold design in SE, I think SW is more popular in this field considering they have a bunch of add-ons to do it plus native functionality for mold makers. SW has also add-ons to simulate mold filling simulation (Moldflow) - It's very popular in the mold industry using SW.

Oooooh. I'll have to look into add-ons. that may play a HUGE part in our decision.

I read somewhere that SW can't handle imported surfaces/solids well because they are not ordered? (something like that)

Can you use imported geometry in SW without having to redraw everything? Can you modify imported geometry and integrate it into your design?

I'm looking into some new design software here at work. The owner keeps going back and forth on whether to spend the extra $4k+ to get a new design suite.

I have been working with the downloaded trial of Solidedge, but can't even get a reply email from Solidworks.

Anyone care to explain why one is better than the other? I've read numerous posts on other boards, but everything is so biased. Everyone has an opinion, but no information to back it up... just "I LIKE SW/SE BETTER...."

Also, if there is another design package out there i should be looking into, please let me know.

We will eventually be designing and machining plastic injection molds, and we definitely want the ability to see assemblies in motion. Stress analysis is a plus, but not an absolute necessity.

Be warned ... you will quickly become dependent on it and incapably of

working without it.

lol. i first experienced something like that when i purchased a razer gaming mouse. after i got used to it, i literally wouldn't play video games without it. (literally)

yes it has native Mastercam supoort.

The 3D Connexion drivers support Mastercam and install 2 different profiles

you beat me to it!

sweet action. yes, i'm definitely getting this.

i'm contacting their technical support staff to verify it works in Mastercam X6. I see that they support X2 - X5. I need to make sure it's going to work before I spend $300 on a peripheral. :/

P.S.

Want to see your pruductivity go up and the pain in your mouse hand go down?

If you don't already have them, toss dual monitors and a 3D connexion Space Navigator or Space Pilot in with you rig setup.

OMG! This is amazing! Does it work flawlessly in Mastercam? I imagine you use it left handed while selecting with the mouse in the right hand?

I'm going to cut back on RAM and Processor if I have to just to get this thing!!!

i have no input, but this interests me.

i've been using a Faro arm to record measurements from an engine head, then exporting to iges, then importing into mastercam where i can tweak the geometry.

it's not as 'cool' as i thought it would be.

i may be able to persuade the owner into getting the 6-core with the 32GB Ram, but i may be pushing it. we'll see if i can't, which would be the better choice?

We do not run Solidworks yet. This is something i'm pushing for as i've been doing a lot of design in MasterCAM, and the revisions are getting frustrating...

That's a pretty nice machine..

16 gig of memory is OK.. but you can never have too much memory, especially if you're doing

large SW files.

I'm pretty much at my maximum budget, but I can swap from a 6-core 3.2ghz to a 4-core 3.6ghz to bump up to 32GB of RAM

I'm looking at the choice between the following machines:

Power Mega II 2000 CAD (NO MONITOR) $1,952.00 × Qty Total: $1,952.00

Configuration

• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3820 Quad-Core 3.60 GHz 10MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011 (All Venom OC Certified) [-310]
   
  
• HDD: 240 GB OCZ Agility 3 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 525MB/s Read & 500MB/s Write [-15] (240GB x 2 (240GB Capacity) Raid 1 High Performance with Data Security [+126])
   
  
• MEMORY: 32GB (4GBx8) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory [-72] (Corsair Vengeance [+0])
   
  
• MOTHERBOARD: (SLI/CrossFireX) ASUS P9X79 Intel X79 Chipset Quad Channel DDR3 ATX w/ UEFI BIOS, 7.1 HD Audio, Intel GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 3 Gen3 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI [+10]
   
  
• SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
   
  
• VIDEO: NVIDIA Quadro 2000 1GB 16X PCIe Workstation Video Card [-305] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
  

Power Mega II 2000 (NO MONITOR) $2,091.00 × Qty Total: $2,091.00

Configuration

• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3930K Six-Core 3.20 GHz 12MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011 (All Venom OC Certified)
   
  
• HDD: 240 GB OCZ Agility 3 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 525MB/s Read & 500MB/s Write [-15] (240GB x 2 (240GB Capacity) Raid 1 High Performance with Data Security [+126])
   
  
• MEMORY: 16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance [+0])
   
  
• MOTHERBOARD: * (3-Way SLI Support) GIGABYTE X79-UD3 Intel X79 Chipset Quad Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ UEFI DualBIOS, Dolby Home Theater 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 4 Gen3 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI
   
  
• SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
   
  
• VIDEO: NVIDIA Quadro 2000 1GB 16X PCIe Workstation Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
  

If you are upgrading Mastercam, make sure you get a Win7 x64 machine.

this is what i'm thinking of upgrading to. is 16gb enough ram? i am considering solidworks for my design suite.

Configuration

• CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [-64] (BLACK COLOR)
  
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3930K Six-Core 3.20 GHz 12MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011 (All Venom OC Certified)
   
  
• CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
  
• FAN: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) [-30] (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) [+9])
  
• HDD: 240 GB OCZ Agility 3 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 525MB/s Read & 500MB/s Write [-15] (240GB x 2 (240GB Capacity) Raid 1 High Performance with Data Security [+126])
  
• IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
   
  
• KEYBOARD: (Keyboard & Mouse Combo) Razer Cyclosa Gaming Keyboard & Abyssus Gaming Mouse [+0]
   
  
• MEMORY: 16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance [+0])
  
• MOTHERBOARD: * (3-Way SLI Support) GIGABYTE X79-UD3 Intel X79 Chipset Quad Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ UEFI DualBIOS, Dolby Home Theater 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 4 Gen3 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI
  
• NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
   
  
• OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional (64-bit Edition)
   
  
• OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
   
  
• POWERSUPPLY: 800 Watts - Standard Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
  
• SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
  
• SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
   
  
• SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers [+15]
  
• VIDEO: NVIDIA Quadro 2000 1GB 16X PCIe Workstation Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)