which postblock  posts before  a buffer is defined ?  I  could trick  the  post  to  output  a  file thru' the LCC so it won't have to use the  sbufname10$ ,  but the fle has to be in the 

NC file directory before the buffer is defined.  I tried pwrtt$ and pparameter$ but they are too late in the game....

Gracjan

thanx Colin, solid as ever 

Gracjan

I'll check out the knowledge base ....

and Ill post more details tomorrow.

Gracjan

I was thinking more among lines  of :  can I use a buffer , close it  , redefine it  and use it again... I have not had the need to use buffers before ...

Gracjan

I have  a camaix post base which is using all the 10 buffers. I have been now trying  to implement a cimco  c-hook which also uses a buffer .  That makes 11 buffers I need , but

ten are available . Any ideas how to overcome this problem ?

Gracjan

The control is so good that you do not need it.  But by tweaking it you can accomplish some things...

If You have the 640 control you really don't need it .  With the 530 , you could use it with 5-ax toolpaths  and an angle of 2 degs to smooth out finishing. Yes you can

use a value of 2 degs and you will have no gouging. This is mentioned in the user manual.

We had some plastic pieces machined where the tolerances were inconsequential. By changing the tolerance to 0.1 we managed to speed up the feedrate up to 22 meters.

For normal finishing the loosest tolerance I've used is 0.015  (mm)

Gracjan

uninstall code meter ?

Gracjan

if you install the free version of Verisurf , there is an option to merge files which has worked on cases where a normal merge would not. 

Gracjan

Ernie , 2020 Verisurf XYZ ABC angles don't work properly. I downloaded  the  newst version  in the hope  that this would be corrected , but  sadly no...

Gracjan  

Also one should remember when playing with the Workspace file is that the this file gets saved  every time you exit Mastercam , so if you are developing the QAT or some other 

interface detail and you have several sessions open on your computer , the last session being exited is what you will end up saving  on the disk... 

So first  exiting the newly developed session and the exiting the older version will leave you with the older version of the Workspace file...

Gracjan 

X5 was the last Mcam to have the whole manual in one book/file. So if you look inside the mcam 5 directory for .pdf files , you should find a 20 meg behemoth . That will be the user manual.... 

I think it's under \documentation...

Gracjan

Since they are  editable , I'm sure people will find this useful . Personally ,  I don't use them ....

GRacjan

3 min 39 sec for 2020. (the official v3.0  test )

Gracjan

At least on a Heidenhain this  movement  is  set by the  control . M126 code  is shortest path , M127 is shortest path off.

Gracjan

yes, choose the line , hit RMB (Right Mouse Button) and choosing one of the three colors for wireframe, surf or solid will change the color of the line.

Another method would be to choose Analyze and change the color from there, RMB is more natural and the designed method for color control in 2019..

Gracjan

This is not my opinion , as to have an opinion one would have to have a good practical knowledge of what one is saying (I only know HH very well) , but someone once wrote on the CNC - arena that Heidehain is the ideal control for a 5-axis machine. With other widely used controls , not so much...

Gracjan

In my opinion you will be thoroughly amazed by the Heidenhain control.  Yes , the code looks a bit different, but otherwise , pure pleasure to use. 

Gracjan

This number changing was only a thing in X9 . After that came Mcam 2017 and then all the bets were off again.

Gracjan

Usually this happens when you are extruding splines.... When a spline has a large point count , I don't know the head count above which the parasolid kernel produces these facets. Usually I reduce the number of points in a curve using  Wireframe/Refit Spline to reduce the point count.   

But since you say that an analysis of the curve yields an arc as an answer, I'm a little stumped....

posting a file would help to help

Gracjan

#variable definitions
swcs_name : ""   #PRM20014
swcs_name1 : ""
swcs_name2 : ""  # to check if there are different WCS's , they should all be the same

fq 53  swcs_name2 "OOPS , rogue  WCS in your program!!!! "

pparameter$    # Initialize variables, and Run parameter table
         
         if prmcode$ = 20014 , swcs_name = sparameter$  #WCS name

pheader$

        swcs_name1 = ucase(swcs_name)  

ptlchg0$     # Null tool change 
        
         swcs_name2 = ucase(swcs_name)
         if swcs_name2 <> swcs_name1 , q53

ptlchg$
         swcs_name2 = ucase(swcs_name)
         if swcs_name2 <> swcs_name1 , q53

very basic stuff for anybody who dabbles in posts

Gracjan

In the case  you  presented you could have the built in warning system of checking the WCS , but since you know  that  it's OK, you get warned by the post , but post it out anyway knowing all is fine in THIS CASE .

it*s the 50 ops where one is  programmed with a different WCS than all the rest that will overwhelm You ,  that's where my WCS check would be worthwhile ...

Gracjan

I would say that a demand that all the WCSs in an NC-program are identical is a pretty universal demand. So why not make your post check that all your WCSs are the same as the 

one  specified in the first operation ? That takes you out of the check loop.  I have been doing that now for many years.   

Gracjan 

jlw , wanted more info about setting up the post , so here it goes :

it's a table - table  , with  the B-axis vector always provided by DMG  as in the picture:

other than that , nothing special about setting up a post for it .

So it turned out that my C-150 was just one special solution for one problem , but it would not have worked in general.  It turned out that by tweaking two parameters

in  my Camaix post I was able to output the right angles  without the C shift .  

Gracjan

So , did not get an answer here ,  I will have to continue my snooping work the next time a 5-axis (M128) case comes around . ....

Gracjan