I used to program a 3000G ( I think it was a G) for a friend. We had an interface for loading programs into the machine but it wasn't a Greco. When we shot the program from the computer it loaded into the interface and stayed there. There was another process we had to do to get the program from the interface into memory on the machine. Unless we dumped the interface memory we couldn't load another program into it from the computer. If we didn't dump the interface and screwed up the program in the machine making edits or something we could re-load it from the interface without use of the computer. In other words, the program stayed in the interface til we turned of the power or dumped the memory. I'll try to remember the process and post again later. Also, have you run the machine before? Those old lathes (I'm assuming lathe) had the X axis reversed from every other lathe I've run. Wanna talk confusing..... JohnF

I've been using MC 9.1 most often in the last years and have done mostly 2-1/2D operations where I edit in or modify the necessary Z dims. I work a little with 4 axis horizontal mills but it's still, basically, 2D ops with indexing. I need to learn how to do more complicated 3D milling ops. I've been working on some 3D modeling but I learn better when I'm shown than trying to figure it out from reading. I have 2 different video tutorial lessons that helped me a bunch but would like to attend a class or something where I fill in some basics I've probably missed along the line as well as going forward into better understanding of 3D and 3D programming. I started out with a student version of MC V3.1 and got into AutoCad a little but MC was more applicable to what I was doing so I stuck with that. Overall I can get by with what I've learned and what I do but my daughter is taking AutoCad classes and has made me realize how neat 3D is and how much more I could do......damned kids.... JohnF

I've been using MC in one version or another for almost 30 years. Everything I know I've learned myself with no formal tutoring or classes. I really need to fill in a bunch of gaps in my knowledge of MC. I'm 60 now and don't have a lot of money to spend for school let alone any of these outfits offering "for pay" classes or seminars. Any ideas where or how to accomplish this? Some kind of ROP or evening learning center type classes? TIA John Phoenix, Az.

Oh, yeah. I do show the XP updates in add/remove. Just had to tic the box at the top. Duh JohnF

Found it! I had slowed down my hardware acceleration level because of a video problem I was having. For some reason it affected the way MC9 generated the lines I was drawing. Boosted the accel rate back to 100% and all is well. Now I have to figure out why. JohnF

Yeah, did cold boot...no diff. With the XP syspak2 installed I don't show a list of installed updates on the "add/remove software" page anymore. I think I'll just re-install MC. JohnF

Been working fine until I did newest security updates to XP. Now it won't even draw a line without locking up. If I hit Alt-F1 I get a light blue fuzzy screen. ??? JohnF

I'm being a little over critical. The one guy over there is young but pretty smart they just have him doing way too many things to remember all the minute details necessary when changing programs and offsets. I've had to repair too many minor mistakes that caused major crashes. He's never run machines before and they have him in charge of 3 CNC's (2 of them horizontal pallet change mills) and a handful of people that don't know anything AND he has to assemble and rebuild the custom shocks. I'm trying to keep everything as simple and uncomplicated as I possibly can. Even now, since some major repair on the lathe, I'm re-adjusting all the programs so he can just switch the jaws call up the stored prog and run with maybe 1 or 2 calls to me for minor adjustments. They've just collected up too many different progs now to store them all in the control. Of the 1/2 dozen progs I've looked at so far the MCOMM is the best overall prog to work with in this situation. JohnF El Cajon by the way

Cimco is gonna be too complicated for these guys. I can't have them able to accidently change any data in the program and they aren't computer literate so won't be able to change directories or anything. With MCOMM I set up an icon for each machine and it opens into the right directory and displays the dozen or so programs they use. There is no one there that has any machining background, these guys have trouble figuring out calipers right now. Until they get a single person to handle loading programs and verifying them I really need something like MCOMM. All the programs use identical tool setups so all they have to do is switch programs and jaws, if there was more menory in the control I wouldn't have to worry about having one of them load different progs they could just switch between them. I'll just have to switch back to my old laptop for now. I'll be setting them up with an old 486 to load progs in the next couple weeks or so and MCOMM will work fine. Teaching these guys is a 12 step program and I'm only to step .001 JohnF

I didn't realize that the Cimco edit/com was a stand-alone prog. I'm new to the recent versions of MasterCam all my experience is with V3.1 in a DOS environment although I did find that my old lathe version, 3.0, will run in a DOS window under Win98. New horizons a-plenty here as I'm dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. JohnF

There is no option for that in the MasterCam Communicator applet that I can see. JohnF

The only place I find anything about different "compatabilities" is in the PIF file and it doesn't list DOS. The oldest OS it offers is Win95. JohnF

I turned off FIFO but where do I check for DOS mode? FIFO made no difference I can still download from machine but not upload. JohnF

My laptop has XP Pro and I cannot get it to upload to the Fanuc 6TB control. I can download from the control but nothing happens when I try to upload a prog. The flashing "edit" light goes out but that's it. I've tried on 2 different machines and they both work with my old laptop running Win98se but not with XP and MasterCam Communicator, all communicator settings are the same in both comps. Ideas??? JohnF [ 11-06-2003, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: upsidedown ]

I have an old laptop I'm trying to use V3.2 Mastercam in. It works fine but the display loses about 3/4 inch all round in DOS mode. I found 1 800x600 driver that works but it squashed the graphics so a circle looks like a football. Any idea where I can come up with a driver that might work on my old Compaq. My beater Toshiba has a video stretcher utility that does this but it don't got the processing power of my Compaq. TIA JohnF