Hello All, I am having difficulties understanding how buffers are used in a HTML set-up sheet, I wonder if anyone could help ? I would like to include the tool 'Overall' length in a tool table which is written at the top of a HTML sheet. What I have is buffer4 being loaded from somewhere with the following data; tno, tloffnott, tlngott, tldia, tcr I would like to add the values of (I think) oa_len to this buffer for each tool. I don't see where the buffer is getting loaded with the other tool parameters. I have tried creating another buffer just for this purpose but it is not getting any data passed from the oa_len variable. Oa_len is the variable name used later on in the sheet when listing the tool operations. Is the overall tool length from the tool definition saved somewhere else ? I think it would be better, if poss, to add the data to buffer4, and use it from there. The buffer is defined below; # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Buffer 4 - tno, tloffnott, tlngott, tldia, tcr # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- rc4 : 1 wc4 : 1 size4 : 0 fbuf 4 0 6 0 # Buffer 4 Cheers if anyone can help.

Rob, You prompted me to look at the pst file settings and that has solved my problem ! I had only changed q1501 & q1502 in the set file, thinking that this drives the set-up sheet without realising the values need setting in the post. By setting q1502 to y in the post, the values I need are now being returned, and it all works. Thanks once again for taking the time to help, Regards, Rob aka ronengineer

rob p, Thanks for the reply, sorry I took so long to respond I got called away to do other things. My post didn't have a pwrttparam in it so I added it but I am still not getting any values returned. Did you fmt your sav_tosz parameter ? Could I ask what your q1501 & q1502 are set to ? Cheers again for your help. rob b (aka ronengineer)

Hello All, I am trying to configure a set-up sheet in mill to auto calculate the tool length required and I have hit a bit of a brick wall. I hoped to be able to subtract the max z depth (which I have) from the top of stock (which I need) to give me the min length of tool needed sticking out. I have looked a the TOSZ variable but this works only for drilling cycles, and I have tried to capture 10027 using pparameter but I think I am doing something wrong as this always returns 0. The set file is configured to write the values to the binary ops file (q1501=n q1502=y). I have tried writing the values to the NCI but they don't appear in the file as 10000 lines. I need this to work on all planes (so it's good for our multi-axis stuff). Is there another variable name which stores the top-of-stock ? Can anyone help ? We are on v9.1 sp2. Cheers.

We have 3 seats of Mastercam and have been using it with the Cimco Editor for some years. Recently the Cimco Editor has refused to work on some PC's. Is there any way we can persuade the Cimco Editor to work again?

Zero, Cadcam, Iskander teh lazy, jamman, Kwolf, Bullines, Mayday. Thanks a lot guys. I shall consider your comments and then come up with the 'forum PC'. I'll post how we got on in a couple of weeks. Much appreciated again guys. Ron-e-verso happy.

Hello everyone, We are about to re-specify our PC's and would like any comments on the following spec. in case you have heard any bad things about the components used..... We are doing more and more tricky 5 axis stuff and seem to spend so much time re-gening that we want a big performance boost. We are thinking we want: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ EPOX EP8HDA3+ mainboard 512Mb DDR400 Ram (any advantage to 1Gb?) 2 off 120GB 7200 with 2 Mb buffer Hard drives (one is used as a backup in case of HD faliure - we do this on all our systems after suffering 2 faliures at very inconvenient times.....) 256 Mb DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Graphics. (this plus a few bells costs about £1200 in the UK for the box) Oh, and please don't let this thread degenerate like another recent one did about systems...made us laugh though. Everyone in the UK knows that my Grandad won the war on his own with an old broom handle, a biscuit tin and a 32 piece stainless steel cutlery set. The decision to use a 64 bit processor comes from some magazine stuff in the UK showing these to be about 20% faster than 32 bit equivalents on existing software. Thanks in advance for any replys ron-e

OK guys, you've seen it all before so who's is the best verfication software that you have used for multi ax mill op's? I have trawled thru so many half hearted attempts at demo's so far (I'm sure the demo's don't do the software justice) that I am just confused!!! And our Mcam reseller has no suggestions (?) Thanks Tornado Ron.

Of course we can only speak from our own personal experience. We have Yasnac M3X, i80, J300, G-Tech (Siemens) Siemens 840C, 840D Fanuc 16, 11, 6, 5(oh yes and still going!!!) Simple set up's and changes for someone who know's what they are doing Fanuc or Yasnac using ISO code. High Speed/Feed 3/4 axis Heidenhain/Siemens/Yasnac(IZ1/IZ2 option). (Fanuc lags a bit here) Rugged + Reliable : Yasnac (I have 1 system with only 1 board fault in 12 years - which is 2 board faults total for all Yasnacs), Fanuc is also good. Don't know about Heidenhain, Mazak. Conversational: I have Siemens which are OK but I think Mazak are probably better. Don't use it much. Worst file handling ever and over complex procedures - Siemens 840D. Oh yes, folders for everything, canned cycles stored seperate from the main prog, subs with different extensions etc. etc. High Feed 5-Axis - DMG say Heidenhain, Fanuc is not so good here, I have a new G-Tech (Siemens-Yasnac love child) which, er, is doing it (controlled feeds to 60m) but is currently having a software re-write as the file handling and editing is poor. (Cimco editor on a 486-100 is 5 times faster than the machine editor which based on p3-500!). My favourite control (as a fairly competent ISO coder) is the YasnacJ300 with IZ1-50 high feed option. This spent a 6 month period doing constant high feed work at 120+ hours per week this year with no probs. Now thats what I want from a control.

Phew, it it getting a bit warm in here. James thinks that we English are still sore at the US for events that happened 2-300 years ago rather than accept the (totally and utterly undeserved and wholly to be condemned) consequences of an arrogant and insensitive foreign policy. The events that you describe (and many later on) were a consequence of our arrogant foreign policy at the time. As a country we are your strongest ally - but generally we think this is true. Trevor wants to kill the world and is dreaming of ways to kill another group of what would be largely innocent people. People like you scare me. Grow up. And in terms of my gun's bigger than your gun forget it. Even a small Island like ours has enough nuclear firepower to destroy every major city in the US. Nuclear arms are a real leveller and as Bill pointed out Pakistan is a nuclear nation (just). Never in my lifetime have I seen the civilised world so united in supporting any one. The sacrifice that has been made by our people's (as remeber that this is likely to be the United Nations of disasters as the UK is predicted to lose between 100 and 300 of it's citizens) has not been in vain as this moment is a rare one in world history and could never have been predicted. Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu etc. united against this foul act. So stay civilised. Don't be foolish enough to think that you can just do what you want now and to hell with world order. God forbid, There are several countries in the world that could (mutually) destroy you in a full war scenario. You have been given a precious and unprecedented mandate to lead this revenge. I am sure your leaders will not waste it. Ron. It is good to vent this here but I am finished commenting on this now. I look foward to quieter days after this situation has been resolved.

Charles, I agree, Bush is pretty impressive at the moment. As for Afgahnistan then a good insight into this country is the book by Nick Danzinger where he travels the old silk roads across Afghanistan to China at the time of the Soviet occupation. The Mujahedeen looked after him well during his travels. However, this current Taliban regime is pure evil and, well, basicly, needs a good kicking. I am sure they will be duly obliged. Ron.

Slow down fella's. In this thread people are suggesting a full take over of the Middle East and the use of nuclear weapons. Remember that Afghanistan is bounded by The former Soviet Union on one side and also borders China on the other. Any use by anyone of a nuclear weapon is suicidal, we all lose. As for enlisting, forget it, go down this route and you will fry in your bed. As for evil Islam. The Koran is no more evil than the Bible. As always it is simple minded human beings that let us all down. The vast majority of Muslims are appalled at this action. Some of the comments in this thread are stupid beyond belief. "I know that if I go out and run into any Palestinian I would jump right to his throat." What? Christian Palestinians as well? Get a book. Read it, and understand who you are dealing with and why their hatred is so entrenched. Ron.

Charles, I believe the USA is approx. 25% of world GDP. It's good to hear of a positive attitude towards pollution. The loss of the USA on the world stage would not be desirable as it the strength of it and it's allies that has led to so many years of world peace. But be honest, not all external intervention can be regarded as noble (and no one is saying that you are alone on this one either). Bill, No it does'nt make any one feel better and probably should not have been mentioned here as instead of vilifying each other we should be turning on those who conducted this foul act. I hope you can get through to your family soon and that they are all safe and well. Ron.

$5 a gallon is cheap compared to what we pay in the UK everyday!. However, during our recent fuel protests (too expensive etc.) some garages tried to do the same over charging trick and were charging the equivalent to $10 per gallon. I am pleased to report that all those in this area have since been boycotted and have now gone out of buisness. People power strikes again! So remember to withdraw your future buisness from the cheats.

It is good for people to be proud of what they have achieved but as a nation but you need to get a sense of realism. I understand that Charles Davis mean't not to claim total responsibility for saving the world in 1939-46 but as an Englishman this seems to be a very American thing to do, you often focus on yourselves irrespective of anybody else. And James, by who's measure is the USA the best? You most certainly are the most developed Capitalist Economy but at the cost of being the Worlds Greatest Polluter and (current) abuser of cheap labour. In the days of the British Empire this title belonged to us so there is no innocence here. The point is that for all the up sides, there is a down side. For all your actions there will be a re-action. This is a small crowded planet and America upsets a lot of people so is it really a suprise that something like this has happened? Fiction writers have been writing about this for years. I am totally horrified at this action and fully support a strong American re-action to stamp out this murderous and pointless terrorism. Nice people, nice country but IMHO maybe you should think harder about what you say and do sometimes. This is probably true of us all. My thoughts are with the innocents. Ron.

You have time for hobbies in the US ?

Excellent stories, mine goes like this; One day ,a long time ago, we were turning a prototype job on a Mori Seiki Tl-5 Lathe. This job was an unusual shape so a lot of time was spent making special wrap-around jaws which held the part a treat. The other unusual thing was that the datum for the programme chosen was the far left of the job (ie inside the jaws on the face which the part located). So the programme was all in Z+ . Now all was going well untill a modification was required. Someone (OK it was me ) edited in a Z change and out of habit put in Z- ! We watched in horror as the tool turned along the part, past the point it should have stopped, straight into the chuck going at 2000 revs We were still staring blankly ahead as the remains of the job, pieces of chuck, tool, turret and carefully created jaws were duly dispached into the bin by the swarf conveyor...

Nvidia GeForce3 64Mb, 512Mb DDR ram, Athlon 1.33GHz, Windows 2000, EIDE HD with no problems so far. Excellent Performance. Also using P3-933, 32Mb GeForce2 ,256Mb PC133 , EIDE HD , Win98. no probs. Performance Adequate. Oldest System P3-500 , 32Mb Diamond , 256Mb ,SCSI HD. Not good enough for complex parts now retired. We don't miss the SCSI on the later systems. There are a number of people not happy with WinME so we are led to believe and 2000 behaves fine.

I have just set up MC v8.1.1 on a Windows 2000 prof PC and I set the regional date settings to UK format (ie DDMMYYYY). The problem is when I use the MC File-Get dialogue the format is MMDDYYYY. It is annoying as I always change the view menu to details then sort by modified (to get to my latest files). I have resorted to the Standard Windows File-Get dialogue (without thubnail previews) as this displays correctly (DDMMYYYY). Any UK users with the same problem ?

To the Mastercam Police. So why not start up a phoney warez site promising cracked mastercam products and manuals in exchange for an e-mail address. Set your site up written in broken (russian) english and then see how many hits you get and thus how widespread the problem. Hell, if you wanted too you could even write a small piece of dialler software that when downloaded would connect with the PC details of the recipient of your file and send the details out. This could even be embedded in the Mastercam demo disks and thus if activated could dial out. You may even get traceable e-mail addresses from it and James can sue them for lost buisness!!!!! ron - 2 fully paid up seats honest - engineer. James, To be a salesman takes a certain type of person, and it certainly would'nt suit me. Stick with the tech stuff as it leads to a more interesting life and keep the posts coming. And as an aside when we started the 5 Axis post up (what a runner!) we were looking at a seat of D***** as an alternative. Instead we have come to a deal upgrading our basic Mcam seat to a full seat and incorporating the 5 axis post and a translator with our UK dealer. Mcam is the better bet and we are sticking with it. I still think that 5ax posts should be cheaper but at least this way I can get value for money.

1) We have never had a problem importing and using parasolid files .x_t 2) .IGS files often have gaps and other problems. Our worst looked like a 100000 piece jigsaw assembled by a 3 year old.

I am confused. What sort of standard Carbide takes that long to deliver? In the UK I have 3 suppliers capable of delivering standard micrograin carbide cutters (flat/bull/ball) twice per day. However, I mail order various different items from different suppliers. For example FHT in Southam, Warwickshire, UK have 3 different grades of Carbide tooling for sale 1) Europa - basic (made in Ireland!) 2) Tornado - as 1 but better carbide and Vital coated and 3) Depo - Superb stuff for 3D machining of Ti/M300/300M etc etc but pricey. Also recommended in the 'expensive' league are Hitatchi Epoch tools. I nearly always get next day delivery. If this is the kind of thing that you are after then e-mail me for various addresses.

Claus, Thank you Claus for your honest appraisal. This is what we thought at the outset but you are the first person to confirm this.

CycleTimeCharles, Thanks for the help, however I have already found met_tool in the mp.hlp file and have discovered that it doesn't change (from 1) when the inch values box is toggled in tool setup. I have solved my problem by passing (parsing ?) the 20007 paramater (variable 11) from the nci by rpar into my own variable names. This was taking up on the suggestion of LutherHeggs (thanks Luther) and it does work but is a bit long-winded. It would be simpler to use a MC internal variable name like met_tool instead, is it possible this name is out-of-date for v8.1.1 ? I welcome any feedback.

Michael Reynolds and Yenkls This has been a very long running thread and you miss the point by thinking that we want something for nothing. In the UK the cost of one Mcam PP and 1 catia translator (we need both) is nearly 40% of the cost of a more expensive competitors (and on paper better 5 axis system D***** but if anyone knows better let us know) system which includes 5 axis post and translator. It is about value for money and a post at $6000 and translator at $3000 sucks. We are new to 5 axis machining (we don't even start till june!) and so having thought we had the basis for the programming we were shocked at the additional cost necessary to process the toolpath info. that was already there included. We never did object to paying but we wish we had known more up front about what the additional costs could be. But it is not just about money, it is also about risk. Just how much Mcam info can you get to read about for 5 axis?, How much help info is there?, We haven't seen anything so we do not even know what we are buying into and what guarantees are involved. We have seen no more than the demo's that are included in the v8.1. Up until now Mcam has been a really useful system, it has been practical and value for money. For us to use it in the next stage of our companies progression serious doubts have occurred. And no one has really addressed these, and I think only Mcam can. 1) We want infomation. Good detailed technical infomation about 5 axis. You dealers say that it is a seperate commodity so create a technical document to sell it's merits against your competitors. 2) It has become apparent that if we worked in the good ol Americas then we would pay about 40% less for our product. Unreal. Is it no wonder that it seems bad value for money. Now answer me this (anyone). For an expanding company what is the best value: $9000 in extras for an existing seat. Which you do not really know what it can do in 5 axis (although is proven in 4 axis) or $24000 for a whole extra (better?) system set up for 5 axis machining. This is an excellent forum and thanks to all contributors.