Greetings, Superb topic. I feel Jeremy's pain while overlooking what can appear to be obvious to others. This is a helpful and appreciated thread. And thank you Bryan for sharing. Cool! Have a Super Day, Scot

Good Morning, Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but when I tried to import using the job setup option, nothing happened. I went into job setup, and then clicked on import, import from file, picked a file consisting of toolpath and geometry. HMM! Help Appreciated, Scot

I have experienced this or something similar. My problem was corrected by checking "tip comp". I drill mostly blind holes, so I typically don't check "tip comp" using a break through. For some reason I was gouging my part using a ball em while using the same parameters that I would typically use for drills. Now I just check the "tip comp" with 0 break through on all ball em's used for drilling. Good Luck, Scot

I'm also working the second shift. I'm pretty much with John on everything. I'm also with Chris, nights are for drinking, that's why I work the nightshift. Just kidding. Comparing both, I think nights can be much more productive. I just have to work on the dayshift to better communicate important issues with us. Hang in there!! Scot

Jimmy, Sweet "forum head" plaque!! One of our employees walked in when I was pulling it up, and he asked what the heck is a forum head. I just replied that it was a cult that I was proud to be a part of. He gave me a disgusted look and left. I will have to explain it to him later. I'll try to come up with some practical ideas. Cool idea, Scot

Hello Longbow, As a fairly new user myself, I can gaurantee you'll find this place very helpful with many generous and dedicated users. Good luck, and I hope the new job brings you many adventures. Scot

I'm with Rekd. Just a quick note to add. I live in the Chippewa Valley, WI and over 500 people (three different companies ) were notified that they would be losing their jobs. Times still don't seem like they are back to par. Good Luck, Scot

Sounds neat, I'll give it a try. Thanks for the hard work, Scot

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated, Scot

I have recently been running some unique programs with a variety of tools. The programs get quite long at times. Is there anyone who could help me with a set-up that would put the list of tools used in the program at the top of the program? This would allow me to view my tools easier instead of having to search through the program. I haven't had time to look into using a set-up sheet yet, but maybe that would be easier. Thank You, Scot

Thank You for the help. Makes sense now. Much Appreciated

Right on Gail, How could I overlook something so obvious. Thanks for the eye opener. Take Care,

Good Evening Everyone, First of all, this forum makes the nightshift easier. I look forward to viewing the interesting threads that took place throughout the days. Now for a question from a beginner. I set my cimco setting just the way I want them which have been working fine, but when I tried a different post, the setting defaulted back to the original settings. Then when I go back to the post I have been using, the settings are correct again. I am using the same config. I searched through the new post and couldn't find any setting to modify. I only have one Cimco editor in my computer, so this confuses me. Thanks for the help,

I wish our shop looked that clean. Awesome machine. 300 planes, WOW! Sounds like I should be spending more time doing my homework. Although I have extremely little experience working with posts, now may be a good time to start. Wanting to drill and mill at one set angle head tip don't seem complicated, but I have much to learn. Thanks Everyone, Scot

We have been making a slow transition to MasterCam and love the drilling short-cuts we have gathered from all the help within this forum. We are currently using Pro-E to accomplish our milling. I am hoping that MasterCam will surpass Pro-E in our milling procedures in the near future. We have been experiencing some set-backs with our current software (SmartCam) for 5-axis drilling and are very anxious to get MasterCam 5-axis drilling up and going. Scot

No names need to be mentioned. I am not trying to point fingers. They claim CNC software is working on it, but our company wants to verify that 4+ months is acceptable. With the little experience I have, I am not sure what to expect. My distributor has set us up with a 3-axis that is working wonderfully. Scot

The machine is a Gicamill 15 LS/5 Henri Line' with Fanuc control. I will upload a .tif file (5axis.tif) in "text and post files" folder showing the axis configuration. Scot

Although no additional information has been requested since 11/18/03, I would understand that us having an a## backwards control set-up might cause some delay. I have sent all information requested while keeping the communication open on a weekly basis. My management is getting quite persistent with me and they don't know what kind of time frame to expect. This is part of my reason for asking for some feedback from the helpful members of the forum. I just want to drill some holes! I have been patient this long, I can wait. Thanks Thad and James, Scot

I don't want to give anyone the impression that I am complaining, I just want some feedback. I have been waiting since November of last year for a five-axis post. Our company had an agreement upon purchase with our distributor to include this post. We are only looking at posting some simple angle drilling programs at this time. Is this an unusual amount of time to wait? By the way, I really enjoy using MasterCam. That is the main reason for my frustration and becoming impatient. Thanks, Scot

Thank You for the replies. Using a contour toolpath ended up giving me what I needed. The "plunge after first move", and "retract before last move", as Rick suggested gave me exactly what I needed. Thanks again for the help. Much Appreciated, Scot

Greetings to all and Happy New Year, I have multiple holes that I need to mill to diameter. The holes are drilled to the closest nominal size and then have to be circle milled to tight tolerances. When I use the wear method for cutter comp the G41 turns on during a Z move which our machines won't read. Also the cutter comp turns off and back on between each hole. Is there any method in MasterCam software to turn cutter comp. on during a X or Y move and leave it on throughout the process? I have added my posted program below. Thanks for the help. O0000 ( JOB 03-23 DATE=07-01-04 TIME=10:23 ) ( MasterCam File - ) G0 G17 G20 G40 G49 G64 G80 G90 T99 T1 ( 1-3/16 FLAT ENDMILL H-Offset 1 M6 M00 ( SET CUTTER COMP. 'D' VALUE TO ZERO ) G54 X0. Y0. G43 H1 S1286 Z.1 M3 X1.6943 Y.0084 G1 G41 D1 Z-.125 F20.59 G3 Y.4147 I0. J.2031 Y-.3978 I0. J-.4063 Y.4147 I0. J.4063 G40 Y.0084 I0. J-.2031 G0 Z.1 M00 ( SET CUTTER COMP. 'D' VALUE TO ZERO ) G41 D1 X0. Y-2.2 G1 Z-.125 G3 Y-1.7938 I0. J.2031 Y-2.6063 I0. J-.4063 Y-1.7938 I0. J.4063 G40 Y-2.2 I0. J-.2031 G0 Z.1 M00 ( SET CUTTER COMP. 'D' VALUE TO ZERO ) G41 D1 X-1.7533 Y-.0169 G1 Z-.125 G3 Y.3894 I0. J.2031 Y-.4231 I0. J-.4063 Y.3894 I0. J.4063 G40 Y-.0169 I0. J-.2031 G0 Z.1 M00 ( SET CUTTER COMP. 'D' VALUE TO ZERO ) G41 D1 X0. Y2.3349 G1 Z-.125 G3 Y2.7411 I0. J.2031 Y1.9286 I0. J-.4063 Y2.7411 I0. J.4063 G40 Y2.3349 I0. J-.2031 G0 Z.1 T99 M06 M30

I am a MasterCam 9.1 user. Although we have had the software for quite sometime, I have only been fortunate to use the software on a part-time basis. There are two reasons for the hold-back. One reason is because are company is busy (good thing), resulting in limited training. The other reason is where I could use some suggestions. I work with two senior programmers who have been holding on to SmartCam for dear life. I am not going to downgrade what they have done with SmartCam, because I used it for three years and it makes chips productively. Now I have been exposed to MasterCam where I see a promising future. Just when I start to make some progress with MasterCam, they seem to put me on other projects pertaining 5-axis machining using either SmartCam or Pro-e. I am currently working with my dealer in developing a post that will hopefully work for our 5-axis applications, but until then how would you recommend convincing them of accepting MasterCam? Thanks for the feedback,

Unfortunately I haven't had much time to browse the forum, but I just ran into this topic and can't wait to explore some helpful tips. Sometimes I wonder how and where I can expand my techniques using MC, well now I know where I can look first. Thanks for all the time put forth in attempt to help beginners such as myself. Greatly Appreciated, Scot

After talking with my dealer, I now realize the pipe dream that you are referring to. I have some posts that I will try. Constant learning curve. Thanks for the replies. Scot

Can anyone help me with a message I recieved about a new machine we purchased at our sister company in Germany? I am currently sending out programs used for fanuc control. "Thankyou for the program I have tried to get it to run on our Correa which is fitted with a Heidenhain 426B controller, but have been unsuccessful." Thank You, Scot