When you are trying to select a chain, in your chain select dialog box you have the option of "C-Plane" or "3D"

Make sure "3D" is the one selected.

The other one limits your ability to chain only parallel to your construction plane (2D).

We use M02 at the end of our programs (although we don't use DNC to run the program.) If you put an M331 before the program end code, that will stop the buffer from reading beyond that block, so it won't alarm out until the code actually gets read.

Ron's example is good; I usually write mine as macros or using WHILE/DO

 

N22 (BROACH)
G0 G40 G90 G57 X-.187 Y0 M19
G43 H22 Z.1 M8 T23
M84
#100=0
WHILE [#100LT115] DO1
G91 G1 Z-2.36 F200.
G0 X.3
Z2.36
X-.302
#100=#100+1
END1
G90 G0 Z1.
M9
G0 G91 G28 Z0
G30 Y0
M6

I do broaching by drawing a line for the toolpath with a line for retract off the bottom. Then I chain it and do multi-passes. Works every time. Easy as pie. A whopping two pieces of geometry.

Harvey Tool, hands down. Their AlTiN Nano coating is durable, and they have pretty much any geometry you could want.

It's pinned to the top of this forum.

Yes, understand 4:1 with plating as flank angle build up (trig etc).

But it surprised me with the shrink rates and that's a straight diameter like for like ie 5thou oversize tap so part shrinks 5 thou.

huh?

Threads usually shrink/grow at a 4:1 ratio. Whether it's heat treat or plating.

nuke gibbscam.

Lathe and the way it defines tooling is in serious need of an overhaul. It's still basically the same as it was in V7 over ten years ago.

if you are loading knives or blades or other impaling type objects the robot would not sense the load until it was too late. 

Uh-huh. That's just what it wants you to think...

Well,   it's going in an Okuma,   so its obviously going to be ran in the best lathe possible.  

Thanks for the advice.   This is going to be fun.   The operator is a fraddie cat,  so trying to keep him from slowing it down will

most likely be my biggest challenge.  LOL

 

Thanks again. 

All we have are Okuma lathes! New one coming next week.

That's not that bad considering your cutter is about half the size I was using. I just dug up another part I did in A36 steel using a .250" diameter insert. I ran that at .025" DOC and .035" feed, but that was a narrow, deep groove. The stainless one I mentioned earlier was a very long groove, about 10" and 1.5" deep.

You can get aggressive with the feed rate as long as you are sure you have great coolant supply and chip evacuation. I'd try pushing your feedrate up to .03-.035 ipr, and if you think the machine can get more aggresive I'd keep the feed the same while bumping up the DOC.

That really depends on your whole setup. Rigidity, between centers, etc. I've used it several time on steel (17-4 and 316). On the 316, I used an Iscar .472" dia button tool at .06" DOC and .025" feed and it ran great. If it were aluminum, I would probably only have bumped the DOC up a bit more, but cranked the feed way higher.

Does anyone have experience with the Zoller Hyperion system? That's the one we've been looking at but I'm skeptical it can do what we want it to.

Make sure you use a lead in/ lead out. Make sure you have a number in the "entry amount" field. If this is set to 0, and you don't have a lead in, the toolpath will try to start at right at the edge of the stock. If you're using a multi-spindle or multi-turret, make sure you have the right axis combination, and the tool is set up for the correct spindle.

Zoller will do that for you (at least that is what I was told). We are in the process of purchasing a unit from them. From what I was told we will be able to scan and record different shape tools. Zoller will become our main tool library. Tooling info for our CAM system as well as verification system will be pulled out from Zoller. I am not 100% sure of what unit we are getting, but it sure is pricey. Somewhere between 150k and 200k.

We were looking at a Zoller. I think you just changed our minds.

Hi Jmick, 

 

I replied to your post on the other forum.... 

PM me if you'd like to dig deeper. Or post whatcha got here... or there... it's up to you. 

 

Cathedral, please send the MT "teet" thing into QC to my attention. 

(I didn't know you were an MT user...)

I sure am. The guys around your shop probably refer to me as "that mother f#$@r from Ohio."

The purpose of a variable flute is to reduce chatter caused by harmonic vibration. Other than that it's the same as any other endmill. The differences you have to keep in mind is that some are have a variable distance between the flutes, and some have a variable helix angle. You won't see any advantage from the variable helix unless you have a deep enough DOC to engage the angle variation, so that would be pointless in shallow paths. However, variable spacing might give you an advantage over a standard endmill, especially in nickel and stainless.

Nine times out of ten when this problem occurs it is because your graphics driver is either out of date, or your graphics card is too old. Try updating your driver first, and double check on www.mastercam.com for the minimum/recommended specs for your computer.

Feeds calculation > from tool is checked?

Are you talking about the stock display, or actual code output? I use X9 lathe, and it works and displays as it should. However, in X9 Mill/Turn, the stock display always shows a little tet from the tool not passing center. In the actual code output, it comes out correctly and compensates for the tool nose radius. So I just ignore it.

Thank you for confirming I'm not hallucinating. Every time I trim a solid I think to myself, "Wasn't I able to offset this before..." but I thought I was just making it up.

Lathe? It was a problem that got chased around and finally nailed down in of the the latest X8 updates. It is triggered when you post. So, if you post a program and then exit, when you come back they will all be dirty. If you can't get the update, the only thing you can do is force a regen after you post and then save before exiting. 

It's not happening for me at all. Everything appears as it should. My solids are solid and my tools behave, so it may be a graphics card issue for you; however the technical aspects of Mastercam are beyond my scope of experience. So hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

I do know that hitting things with a hammer will always result in one of two outcomes: 1) it will make things better, 2) it will make things worse.