Chris Lang- My helix support was set to all planes supported so i made it only XY plane but that did not solve the issue. JParis- i tried the chook but got the error " operation contains no linear or arc motion" however the whole posted program is G01. The toolpath is the Multi Axis Rough using Dynamic strategy type. Leon82- this toolpath does not have the filter settings like most toolpaths do. It may have something that I don"t know about though. However even in the toolpaths that do have those settings it will randomly do the line segment thing. So much confusion.

So I've noticed Mastercam likes to output helix entry motion into line segments. On some toolpaths that have "arc filters" I can usually get around this and force it to output arcs with "Output 3D arcs". I notice this issure mostly on 3D toolpaths like OptiRough or "Rough Pocket", but on occasion even is 2D pocket or 2D dynamic. I'm currently seeing it on Multiaxis Rough but the entry in still 2D until it hits final depth. When it outputs line segments , our machines cant keep up, slowing things down. I know the machine can run fast because we push them pretty hard. 1000 IPM smoothly but that speed only works when it has arcs and lines of good length of 4-5". Note that I am not trying to Helix Entry at 1000 IPM . It can sometimes be hundreds of line segments long just to get .300 deep. Does anyone know if Mastercam has a fix for this? Is it in the post somewhere or Control Def or what? Running Mastercam 2017 but have seen this since X7 Thanks for any help in advance.

Hello Mcam world. So I have this part coming up that will require a lot of surfacing on pocket floors. For a while now I've known about Emuge Circle segmant endmills but never really needed to apply them till now. The pocket floors will all have 30" radius' and they are a pretty good size. The endmills that I think would work best would be the "Lens-Shape". The Pockets are not deep, maybe .300 but I want this for finishing only. Does anyone know whether Mastercam 2017 has multi axis toolpaths that support these tools? Is there ad on tools I can get to support it? Anything you know on the subject or a link to another thread if it's been covered would be great. Thanks in advance

I have messed with DOC some but maybe not enough. Have you found that RDOC plays into how it process's the depths of floors? I suppose there is a lot that goes into processing the toolpath. Thanks for the response by the way. :-)

Hello Mastercam world, Has anyone encountered a "Z" depth issue with OptiRough? A few times now i have had parts that had multiple depths of floors and when i go and select the "steep/shallow min and max" z-depths and generate the operation it will not leave the appropriate amount of "stock to leave". I wanted .01 on everything and on some floors it would leave that amount but others it would easily leave .100 or more. Even when using "stepup" ,thinking it would come back once it goes beyond that depth, it still doesn't. I messed with it for quite a while and never got it. I have also seen this issue on Surface Finish Contour. If this topic has been covered then i apologize. What am i missing??? Seems like when you select your solid and it asks for stock to leave that it would actually leave that amount everywhere. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the input and the links. This is probably a stupid question that i should know the answer to but what is "ModuleWorks". I keep reading about it but haven't figured out if it's an option for Mastercam or if it is it's own Cam software. If this is a topic that's been covered then i'm sorry.

So I’ve been researching toolpaths and have been messing around a little but can’t seem to get this toopath idea down. I’ve seen videos where guys will take a, say 5° taper mill (conical barrel cutter) and stub it up in the holder so they get maximum rigidity. Then they utilize the tapered flute for finishing the long walls instead of surfacing the whole thing with tiny step over/step downs. The tapered flute is parallel to the wall as if it were side cutting with a straight endmill. I have copied below a hyperlink that shows what I’m talking about. Mastercam may use different terms. I realize the video is a hyperMill advertisement but in a Mastercam “Whats new” video somewhere also shows this. Just wanting to know if anyone has done this and if so what is a toolpath that works? I do have Multiaxis available to me. At the 2min 30sec point, it will demonstrate what I'm talking about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow6JJhikolk We are an aerospace company and lately the parts are requiring long tool reaches. Example: 3/4" EM 7" reach (wicked long). At that length nothing is rigid therefore cycle time goes way up due to slower feedrates. There has to be a different, more efficient way and this seems to be it. If anyone has an example ".mcx" file that would help tremendously. P.S. I'm not asking you to solve all my problems, rather point me in a positive direction.