Any lathe guys out there willing to tackle this?

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm looking at adding a 5th axis trunnion to a Haas VF2. Should I get a Haas TR160 or should I look at other brands? Do I need to relocate the OTS table probe? Lastly, can you recommend a tooling plate system to quick change/locate the trunnion and Kurt vises? This will be used in an educational setting. Thanks, Steve

Hi, I just got a Haas ST10Y up and running and need some help on a few things. I've tried using the generic Haas ST 4X MT_Lathe and generic Haas SL 4X_Lathe posts. I was told to use these posts. The big difference is the ST outputs G53 X0 Z0 and the SL outputs G28 U0. V0. Z0. Which is better? As an instructor I want to make operating the machine as bullet proof as I can with students as to limit disasters on the shop floor. Is the following a post or MC programming issue?: If a student accidentally jogs the Y axis off zero I noticed the machine will start a new program without first making sure ALL axis' are returned to zero. Just Z and X start at zero. How do I fix this? Obviosuly having the Y off zero will cause the tool to not cut on the center-line of the part for regular lathe cutting tools. The end of the program posts G28 U0. V0. W0. This causes an error so I had to delete V0. to make the program work. When I use Misc. Ops, stock flip and add a manual entry M0 the code does not post any spindle on or feedrate commands. Any help would be appreciated, Steve

Themachinist you are right it did take longer to write the post than draw a few lines, but this is an ongoing task for dozens of different parts. CAD/CAM is about doing things efficiently by removing repetitive time consuming tasks in my opinion. Brandon, that worked great especially with the extended moves. It plowed down the center with a clean-up pass on each wall. Is there a way to keep the tool down during the 3 passes? I didn't see a check box for keep tool down. Thanks!

In Router I have a simple rectangular part(1" thick) that has a dado cut that is 3/4" wide and 1/2" deep through the middle of the part. What is the simplest way to put a tool-path on this using a 1/4" bit? I want the bit to completely move off the part on both ends like a facing tool-path. I was trying to avoid drawing extra geometry to make a closed rectangle which would work fine, but would require extra drawing work. MC doesn't recognize a pocket that consists of two parallel lines with the ends open. Since dado's are very common with router programming I figured there has to be a simple way to take a cad drawing into MC and not have to draw a bunch of boundaries to define the slot. Thanks in advance, Steve

It's a Dell XPS system. I did update the driver, but no improvement. In the Nvidia software there is global and program specific options. I could make a custom profile for MC, but there are probably 20 settings from anisotropic filtering to virtual reality pre-rendered frames that can be turned on/off or modified. I'm not a tech guy, where would I start?

I disabled hardware acceleration in MC. The picture now only shows up(flickering) when the mouse is moving. Is there another setting in MC or Windows I need to change?

My graphics screen displays fine except when I use Raster to Vector in Art. My screen goes grey/black and no picture shows up in manual trace. I've read old threads on changing video card settings in MasterCAM and in Windows, but I don't see anywhere to change these settings in X9 or Windows 10. What am I missing? Thanks!

Thanks for the info! It does take some getting use and has pros and cons compared to programming from the top of part. We just made our first parts and all went well.

Hello, Does anyone know how industry programs CNC routers? I have a new Onsrud machine and they program with positive numbers from the spoil board. Basically part zero is the bottom of the part. I'm beyond confused coming from a machinist background with Z zero being the top of part in most cases. I don't understand how to approach cut depths and tool clearances. Is Mastercam Router setup for this or do I need to make changes in the program to cut this way? Thanks!

Are more posts buried somewhere on the X4 install CD(couldn't find any)? I noticed in my Mill post directory there are only a handful of posts that were installed. On older versions of MC like version 8 there was a ton of posts on the install CD. Am I missing something or do I need to contact my MC rep for it? Thanks, Steve

Thanks for the help. I got it up and running and made a part today. No crashes 1)Is there a single block mode? 2)Any way to slow down the rapid moves in a setting somewhere? Thanks in advance...

Hi, I'm getting an EZ Trak 2 axis Bridgeport mill up and running at a school I teach at. Since the keyboard only has numbers and no letters how are you suppose to type in a alpha file name to retrieve or delete it from the directory? Nothing in the manual unfortunately. I did not find a plug-in for a standard keyboard. Also I'm using a EZ Trak post, but it outputs Z's which is a problem for a two axis machine. Any suggestions? What is standard operating procedure when you have a manual Z axis? Do you put in a program stop for every Z change? I'm use to 3 axis milling only. Thanks!

Thanks for the ideas. I guess I really need the backplotter more than verify. Just want to check the movements like feed and rapid. Thanks again

Hi, I'm taking a lathe programming class with a Fanuc controller. We're writing the code by hand(no wise comments). Mastercam will be used later on. Is there a free g-code verify program out there? Or does Mastercam have some utility that I haven't found yet. I just want to plot my hand written code written in Windows Notepad to make sure I didn't make a typo and then crash the cutter into the chuck. I'm using X2 and have older versions if needed. Thanks for any help

I have a retrofit Bridgeport mill with a 3 axis Servo II controller. I was thinking of upgrading to their newer Windows based interface instead of the current DOS based system. Has anyone made the switch and is it worth the cost? Thanks in advance...Steve

Thanks for the ideas. The one panel that I had to replace I cut up into strips and used several types of epoxy for plastic and Elmers Ultimate Glue(same as Gorilla glue, but couldn't find Gorilla on a Sunday)The epoxies did not bond as well as Elmers. Elmers left glue on the mating pieces where the epoxies failed to stay adhered to the plastic. Thanks again...Steve

Can anyone recommend an epoxy or adhesive to repair a broken plastic side panel to a machine? From Internet research I think it is a thermoplastic (sample floats in water) and probably is from the polypropylene family. It is dark gray to light black in color and pretty ridged. What type of plastic is typically used these days for large molded parts? JB weld and Crazy Glue will stick to it, but is a pretty weak bond. Also had no luck trying to plastic weld it. When heated it will deform well. A new panel is too expensive. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thad, The engraving toolpath is an awesome and powerful tool. After you rough the pocket with a standard toolpath the engraving toolpath then cleans out all the areas the pocket tool can’t reach including contouring all the geometry. Also, the engraving toolpath is capable of doing 3-D moves to create sharp inside corners. For example, when students engrave Times New Roman fonts they are very crisp and raised 3-D letters like a rubber stamp would look. Tommy, That makes sense since it is more like a C-Hook. Thanks everyone for the input, Steve

Tommy, That's exactly what I was looking for. It works on all the tool paths except an engrave toolpath. Is this a bug? It gives me an error message "Error occured getting chains of existing operation". When I reselect the geometry it crashes MC. I'm running MR0303. Steve

Hello Jim, I don't want the compensated geometry of the toolpath just the original selected geometry that the prior toolpath used. Sometimes it takes awhile to select all the chained geometry in a specific toolpath(lots of text, etc.). I would like to copy this data into the operations manager for the next operation rather than reslecting all the geometry again. Can this be done without leaving the operations manager? Steve Steve

Hello, Is there a way to save just the chained geometry in a tool path, not the whole operation? If I right click on the chained geometry and copy it I get the whole operation. I want to reuse just the chained geometry in a different type of toolpath. For example use rough pocket then use same geometry in engrave toolpath. Thanks in advance, Steve

Hello All, I just loaded MC Art and updated the educational SIM per the MC Art instructions. I am running MR0304, which the install requires. Now NOTHING works. Lathe, Mill, Router, and Art give me the error message “You have not purchased Mastercam maintenance and cannot run this add-on. You must delete C:MCAM9MILL9.EXE or contact your Mastercam reseller”. Any suggestions? I was planning on playing with Art over the weekend. Looks like I might have to wait until they are open on Monday. Thanks for any ideas in advance, Steve

Chuck that is a good idea, but the goove is at an angle across the part. The material is aluminum with a loose tolerance. Do surface toolpaths only work with ball / bull nose cutters? I will try the contour toolpath. Thanks for the help. Steve