You guys are smart and I don't know who else to ask, but I am looking for some software that will take a 2-d outline measured from a plastic extruded part and make a color plot that visually shows wall thickness variations. It seems like a simple thing but I've had no luck finding something. The current way is to sit with calipers and measure a whole bunch of different places and write numbers on a paper drawing. I would like to measure an outline with a CMM (or realistically an ordinary flatbed scanner is probably accurate enough) then have it color in the part with shades of red where it is thicker than nominal and varying shades of blue where it is thinner. It's easy to find something that will compare 3-d models but does anyone know of a way to do it with 2-d outlines?

Vericut seems to be able to process a lot of the Macro B statements. I've seen it go through fairly simplistic macro programs but I don't know if it would be thorough enough for what you are doing.

Does anyone know a way to make Mastercam bend surfaces? I have a model that is 30 inches long and is basically a cylinder with some fancy stuff on it. I need to bend it in a U shape. Someone suggested I try Rhino. It has a flow command that almost works. It looks good until you really look closely at the results. It may be a tolerance issue, I don't know. I need a good accurate way to pull this off. Any ideas?

The tool library I am using is standard and doesn't change. I spent the time to draw the holders and define the tools in Vericut. It took a few hours to draw the few different holders we are using and then putting a cutter in them is pretty easy. The tool list is generated by Vericut's report. I think the default template includes the tool list with little thumbnail pictures and a ton of info about the tool. I've pared mine down to include a picture, cutter description and the length it sticks out. I am using comments in the gcode to include the stock size. I think it is possible to so the same with cutter into. I looked into doing that but never actually tried it. If you use the Mastercam interface you shouldn't have much of a need for it. There is a setting you have to turn on to make it generate the thumbnail pictures of the finished part. I would have to go back and look it up but for some reason I think it's in the autosave menu someplace. I beleive the default report template puts a picture after every tool change or something like that.

I have been a Vericut user for just a few months. I spent about a week going through the online help and tutorials which are very helpful. I spent three days in class after that. Best thing ever. From purchase to usefull verification was stretched out to three weeks because I still had work to do in the middle of all that. But now on one machine, between some post mods and some configuring in Vericut the programmer doesn't have to do anything but feed gcode to Vericut and out comes a report including a detailed tool list, picture of the finished part, and oh yeah, catastrophic failures if any. This machine makes EDM electrodes and the fixturing never changes so it was pretty easy to automate.

Hey, you're right. I need to put someone in charge of keeping that stuff up to date. It's fixed now. I know a few resumes have come around but there is room for more.

I don't know anybody that works at Thiokol so I don't know what they pay but I would be surprised to find out they aren't matching that here. There is a fair amount of 4 axis wire work here. Just a little bit of 4 axis milling. but no fifth right now.

I've never been to Texas. How are summers there? I'm not allowed to sweat to death. It's bad enough here, south may be a bad idea for me.

Tek Tool and Plastics is expanding and looking for qualified Mastercam programmers who would like to work in an injection mold making shop in Logan, UT. Good salary and benefit package and lots of fun 3-D work. If you are interested, send a resume to: [email protected] or PM me here.

Okay, in the prapidout I changed the pxout and pyout to pfyout and pfxout. It seems to work now. It that a fair fix or did I do it the stupid way? Also what is the difference between pcom_movea and pcom_moveb? Cody Archibald Tek Tool & Plastics

I don't know a ton about changing posts, just enough to cause trouble and not enough to get out of trouble. I need some advice. I have this post set so when the WCS changes, the machine G28s out of the way and puts in a M00. It's worked just fine until this program came along. Take a look at the code: ... N7750X.1672Y-2.105Z.1614 N7752X.1686Y-2.0962Z.1609 N7754X.1775Y-2.0379Z.1526 N7756X.1851Y-1.9754Z.1448 N7758X.1895Y-1.9286Z.1402 N7760X.1925Y-1.8837Z.1373 N7762X.1957Y-1.8068Z.1341 N7764X.1963Y-1.7898Z.1333 ---- This Y value needs to be down there N7766G0Z.2583 N7768Z5. N7770M05 N7772G05 P0 N7774G91 G28 Z0 N7776G28 X0 Y0 N7778M00 (G55 EROWA UP) N7780(T426#100) N7782G55 N7784S12000M3 N7786G90 G00 X0 Y0 N7788G43 G00H10Z5. N7790M46 N7792G05 P10000 N7794G17 N7796X-.1753 --------- I need the Y value here! N7798Z.3137 N7800G1Z.1887F15. N7802Y-1.7908F45. N7804X-.1745Y-1.8222Z.1891 N7806X-.1723Y-1.874Z.1874 N7808X-.1686Y-1.9266Z.187 N7810X-.1633Y-1.981Z.1878 N7812X-.1556Y-2.0397Z.1899 N7814X-.147Y-2.0936Z.1928 ... If you look, after the M00, the machine is supposed to go to the correct XY value before going down. It always has but these two operations have an odd coincedence. The ending Y value for the first op is exactly the same as the starting Y value for the second op. I guess the post decided since it didn't change, no sense putting it in. Bad times. Anyway, here is a chunk of the post that outputs this section: ptlchg0 #Call from NCI null tool change (tool number repeats) #"(im doing a null tool change)", e if oldie<>workofs + 54, [ "(wcschanged. I'm doing stuff.)", e pbld, n, "M05", e pbld, n, "G05 P0", e pbld, n, "G91 G28 Z0", e pbld, n, "G28 X0 Y0", e pwcs pbld, n, *speed, *spindle, pgear, strcantext, e pbld, n, "G90 G00 X0 Y0", e while tlngno>100, [ tlngno=tlngno-100 ] pbld, n, "G43 G00", *tlngno, pfzout, scoolant, next_tool, e pbld, n, "M46",e pbld, n, "G05 P10000", e #pcan1, pbld, n, "(out1)", *sgcode, *sgabsinc, pfxout, pfyout, e #pcan1, pbld, n, "(out2)", *sgcode, *sgabsinc, pfxout, pfyout, e pcom_movea ------------------------------------------------- this is the line that's blowing off the Y value ] else, [ #"(wcs didn't change, do't do anything crazy)", e ] pcuttype pcom_moveb c_mmlt #Multiple tool subprogram call comment pcan result = newfs(15, feed) #Reset the output format for 'feed' pbld, n, sgplane, e pspindchng pbld, n, scoolant, e if mi1 > one & workofs <> prv_workofs, [ sav_absinc = absinc absinc = zero pbld, n, sgabsinc, pwcs, pfxout, pfyout, pfzout, pfcout, e pe_inc_calc ps_inc_calc absinc = sav_absinc ] if cuttype = zero, ppos_cax_lin if gcode = one, plinout else, prapidout pcom_movea c_msng #Single tool subprogram call It looks like that pcom_movea is the culprit. Do any of you guys know where it's butt is so I can kick it? It just needs fixed. Thanks for your help guys. Cody Archibald Tek Tool & Plastics

http://www2.shopping.com/xPF-Lantronix_UDS200_01 If you don't mind some interesting setup issues, I have just started trying these things out. They all seem to work pretty well except on one old Fanuc controller. I think with some finessing of settings I will make it work. They are definately not a turnkey solution like a DNC package.

Alright. It's almost kind of working now. I still have a few things to work out. The tool change doesn't move the machine up and out of the way. It doesn't add G28's in there anywhere It's up to the tool change program in the mill to do those and if it is changing to a tool it already has it just blows them all off. I think I can cram them in the post somewhere. As long as I'm in there does anyone know how to make the post output a space between each word in the program? It is a lot easier to read that way.

I need some advice on the easiest way to do this. On my mill I have some Erowa pallete system holders. Most of the time the part needs to be rotated a few times before it's done. In the past I have just loaded a new program every time I rotated it. I want to post the whole thing and have the mill stop and prompt to rotate the part the correct way. What's the easist way to pull this off? I have tried putting a manual entry at the top of every new group of programs. It's getting close. % O0000 (Z.NC) (TOOL - 6 DIA. - .125) N100G20 N102G0G17G40G49G80G90 M00 (G55 EROWA DOWN) N104T6M6 /N106G106T6 N108S12000M3 N110G05 P10000 N112G55G00 X0 Y0 N114G43H6Z6. N116M46 N118G0G90X-2.0884Y-3.0349 N120G1Z.35F40. N122X-2.0259Y-2.7724F80. ... N456X-1.1624Y-1.8084Z-.015 N458G0Z6. M00 (G55 EROWA UP) N460X2.0884Y-3.0349 N462G1Z.35F40. N464X2.0259Y-2.7724F80. ... N258X1.1078Y-1.7305Z-.015 N260G0Z6. N262M5 N264M47 N266G05 P0 N268G91 G28 Z0 N270G91 G28 X0 Y0 N272M99 % Problem is, I need the mill to go g28 z0 x0 y0 to get out of the way and then do all the right steps to get back where it came from. Maybe stick a tool change in there or something. I don't know. What's easier?

With sharp tools this stuff will cut fairly well. Drilling it isn't any fun though. I don't remember exact numbers but I beleive 15 SFM or something like that with a fairly agressive chip load. Keep the drills sharp and stop the instant it makes any noises. Don't think it's going to be okay because it's almost to the bottom.