If you read in the points as ASCII you have the option of reading them in as points, lines, or splines. The good thing is that you have ordered data. If you go through the file and put a blank line in the file when you have a new scan line (if you are scanning in XZ, the Y will be constant, when Y changes enter the blank line here) then read the points in as splines, Mastercam will create a spline thru each segment of points. Without the blank line, only one spline will be created.

How about on the lead in/lead out line = 50% of cutter - perpendicular

Apogee is the same as Metrolog II. What level of Apogee do you have? This from a CMM forum > To export geometries other than points requires Apogee Level IV. If you have Level IV you will need to create IGES entities from measured features and then export. Because of the different versions of Apogee the steps on how to acheive this are somewhat different. [email protected] http://www.cmmtalk.com/welcome.htm Go to > software > Apogee

Problem with Cimatron is their financial health. From their 4th Q 2005 report. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2005 were $5.42 million, compared to $6.40 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2005 was $(1.72) million, or $(0.22) per fully diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(249) thousand, or $(0.03) per fully diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2004. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2005 were $20.92 million, compared to $23.16 million in 2004. Net loss in 2005 was $(4.59) million, or $(0.59) per fully diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(388) thousand, or $(0.05) per fully diluted share in 2004. http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinves...-Feb-2006%20PRN Significant drop in sales (when everybody else is increasing), sig increase in losses, 4th Q and for the year. good package but how long will they be around? With the rate that the big boys are buying smaller competitors, I bet it's only a matter of time.

Anybody still have this problem in X? You might check the tolerances in config. I was having this problem and somehow the system tol, min arc size and max arc size were changed. Sys tol was .000000000001 or something like this max arc size was set to .78 Reset to normal and problems went away.

Will do. AmadaDraftPart.prt In unspecified files

Brent, When I open the file in notepad, most of it is junk, but there is some you can read, One thing you can read is "Amada Vipros 1999". thanks for the reply.

Does anybody know of a way to convert an Amada AP100 program into DXF or similar format? The files have a prt extension and are not read-able in notepad. Jim Eastburn EasTech Louisville, KY

Some things to check. If you are using Mastercam communications, there is a check box for "Read PST parameters (Q.80-89)". This could be changing the format for transmission. If you are getting garbage, this is usually an indication that the baud rate, data bits, or parity is set incorrectly. Also, Fadal has at least 2 different format to send programs. One is native Fadal format and the other is Fanuc emulation. This should be set to Fanuc. Another problem with using COM ports with later versions of Bill's Windows: FIFO (First in, First Out) Buffers. The buffers will store portions of your program. You have to go into System manager or device manager and turns these off.

I don't know about anyone else, but I want the best of the best working on any plane that I am going to be flying. Reducing pay of the machinist is not my idea of saving money when peoples lives are at stake. For example, the commuter plane that crashed this week in NC. Initial cause of accident is pointing to recently performed maint.

Mark, some more info on RevQuick can be found at www.QTEcad.com. RevQuick is Geomagic Ver 2 at a big discount, from full blown Geomagic. RevQuick will take point cloud data and give you edit and filter tools. A plus is that it will output an STL file that you can cut direct in Mastercam. So you could, within hours, have roughing toolpaths. Then, refine the data and create surfaces. RevQuick will output a watertight IGES surface file that you can import anywhere. Jim

To change default Job setup settings: Screen>Config>NC Settings>Operation Defaults Select you default - normally Defaults.df9 Select 'Job Setup' on middle right. Exit by selecting 'OK'. Any changes you make will be your system defaults.

Anbu, There are customers that use Excel for time utilization planning. Having this option gives the customer a lot of flexibility in setting up docs that comply with reporting systems currently in use.

Hi Anbu, I would like the option to output in a format that would go straight into excel. Customer would then have the option to configure to their needs. Setup sheet would output column headers and the customer would be able to select which data he needed for each op. Jim

Andy, Go to Mastercam home page, support, free downloads. Its at the bottom of the page.