John, I can duplicate using your steps! Thank you!! We're on it... CamMan, After revisiting the previous thread, it looks like the steps above apply to your workflow as well. We've also got the dirty operation issue logged and will be working on that one next.

The warning that your seeing probably could have been worded a little differently. The word 'corrupt' could have probably been replaced with the word 'duplicate'. I don't know all of the technical details but I do remember seeing some issues where people couldn't delete tools from their part files. After investigation we found that they were duplicate tools and the only way to fix it was with this "clean-up" functionality in X7. The check is done when you first open the file so you don't get yourself into any trouble. The cause of this has been corrected so once you remove the duplicates you should never see this again. It seems to crop up mostly when importing X6 files. CamMan, I'm not sure why you had to save and re-open the file. I haven't seen this. If you still have the original file can you send it to [email protected] so we can take a look?

In older versions of Mastercam the first segment of the holder was defined as part of the tool. Now the holder is always defined seperately. You're not required to define the holder any more than you where in previous versions. If you don't select a holder (or pick an assembly that already has one) we will go ahead and add a default holder behind the scenes and set the tool projection equal to the tool length. Basically, we're just creating that single segment holder that used to be part of the tool automatically for you.

I have given this a lot of thought but unfortunately I don't have anything I can distribute right now. We are thinking along the same lines though! We would like to retire the older text import / export format in favor of a more structured format (like XML). The old one is very lossy and hard to maintain.

Yes, I couldn't agree more. I work the same way. We ran into a small technical issue with that but I'm sure we can get past it!! It's definitely on the list.

This is good feedback. Thank you for taking the time to give X7 a try during your breaks! You won't be able to add new properties but just let me know which fields you need added and I'll get them on the list. The "corrupt tool" warning detects when a two or more tools share the same internal ID within Mastercam. This condition was due to a defect that has already been corrected in X7 but we still want to scan the files and do some housekeeping if necessary. Sometimes we will find invalid tools in a file that were never even used in an operation. This is the best case scenario! It means you don't have to re-select the tool and regenerate any toolpaths. Keep in mind that this test is currently being run anytime you open a file (including update folder). This behavior may change depending on how many files we find with this issue. So far, we haven't found that many. Also, you may see this warning if you use update folder to convert tools-6 files. Updating tools-6 files is one of the cases where it's safe to say "No" because there are no operations in these tool library files so nothing is actually referencing the ID.

Joe, Sorry I dropped the ball on this. I know your company has been using Mastercam since February '06 and the request wasn't made until this spring so I guess I underestimated the urgency of this request. Typically, when a customer has an enhancement request someone takes down the information and enters it into the database and the customer is given a request number for future reference and it ends there -at least until the enhancement becomes an official project. Because I know this particular application isn’t something that would quickly bubble up to the top of the enhancement list I really wanted to see if there was something else I could do to help. I’m spread a little too thin right now but I will contact Snehal today to discuss your options. Again, I apologize for the delay in getting back to you.

Which communications module are you using?

Good luck Chris!!

Good feedback so far! We're going to let the poll run through Friday. Thanks!!

Please take a minute to indicate what you think the default value should be for this setting in each product.

Here's a little tip for editing posts using the Mastercam Editor: If you type the first few letters of a variable name and hit [control] + [space] a handy little list will pop up so you can select the correct name. The same type of functionality exists when editing VBScripts too.

Jacob, Assuming you are running Mastercam X toolpath nesting allows you to use the shift and/or ctrl + click (extended selection) in the file open dialog. If you're using V9 you will probably want to contact your Mastercam dealer to obtain a copy of the Toolpath Nesting Manager for V9.

Marc, Are you going to be at the conference this week? If so, I'd be happy to sit down with you and go through it in detail. It's fairly straightforward once you get someone to show you the basics.

Jimmy said if things ever got to crazy he's going back to raising beef cows, or become a goat herder. Man, I hope he gets caught up before it's too late!

Jr, don't worry about the email thing. We just removed it to avoid spam. Lynne, Today was a little hectic, but I'll contact you tomorrow if you are going to be around.

Hi Dave, Are you using the wr_five_axis() function? I haven't been doing much with C-hooks so I'm a little rusty, but it looks like they added 'position' to replace the global ctour_flags. I don't know if that will help, but it will at least get the question bumped back up to the top so somebody else can chime in. Good Luck!

It matters, because that is what gets output to the NCI file. Your post uses these vectors to calculate the angles. If the vector is too small you will loose some accuracy. You might want to try turning off the toolpath on the backplot menu and just show the tool. [ 12-04-2002, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: Rich Taft from CNC Software ]

RStuart, Thanks for the email. I'll take a look at your B-Axis idea to see if we can get a path within machine axis limits that way. One other option that can be helpful in cases like this is the G12.1 (G112) machine cycle. You can program Y-Axis output in Mastercam and turn on this cycle via the Misc. Integers and the machine will do a polar conversion. It is typically tied to Misc. Integer two or four depending on what version of the post you are using.

RStuart, Mastercam Lathe offers you a choice of Y axis, C-Axis or Axis Substitution in the Rotary Axis Dialog on the parameter page. This parameter is set at the operation level and is active for the entire operation. As far as posting speed, if you turn on Y-Axis in the BEADFEEDER.MC9 file you can expect to post in about 1/10 of the time because we don't have to break up your toolpath into XC motion. I hope this helps.

Ken, You should add the code snippet to the ‘pcom_moveb’ postblock. A postblock definition always starts in the first column. The indented ‘pcom_moveb’ you found is actually a “Call” to that postblock. Try searching for the postblock again and just hit “find next” until you see the word ‘pcom_moveb’ in the far left column. When you find it open up a line below and insert the code (don’t forget about the indentation). If it still gives you trouble, you can just email me and I’ll send you an edited post and you can compare the two. Best Regards, Richard Taft Post Processing Services CNC Software, Inc. 671 Old Post Road Tolland, CT USA http://www.mastercam.com

Ken, The error message you received is indicative of an NCI problem, but you can work around it in the post by validating the plane variable prior to accessing the string select function. The less desirable alternative would be hand editing the ASCII NCI prior to posting, or using the runold C-hook to force the variable to zero (Version 6 and earlier Mill posts), but you will lose too much information to make that a feasible workaround. If you decide to work around it in the Post Processor (I thought you might) you should be able to get away with adding the following line of code to the ‘pcom_moveb’ postblock of MPFAN (indent at least one space). if plane < zero | plane > two, plane = zero This should do the trick. Best Regards, Richard Taft Post Processing Services CNC Software, Inc. 671 Old Post Road Tolland, CT USA http://www.mastercam.com