Lars, if your creating curves from the solid "body" you should be getting no double entities and all the curves (wireframe). If your generating from each face you will have doubles (which should delete with the duplicate option). Now when your importing the solid and if by chance your bringing the solid in as trimmed surfaces and you go to create curves you will get multiple entities that are very close to each other but will no most likely delete with the duplicates option due the translation into surfs and then curves (they will vary most likely just enough that the program will not recognize them as duplicates)thus a headache to get just one contour sometimes. quote: I take my time selecting individual surfaces instead of using all surfaces. I find it faster then trying to delete too much geometry. +1 to Bill, Before you generate a lot of geometry just create what you need at the minimum level.

Sorry Lee, I maybe should have added that you can download their free viewer from their website. If you can't get it let me know and I'll email it to you if you wish. Hope this helps.

Solidworks edrawing, it's a viewing file.

Good morning and Welcome to one and all!

Sorry to hijack again but Yep, that was him G dude! I worked with him and by brother worked with him originally here in Wi. Ditto on not talking to him, going probably about a year now. Short and red and full of fire, but I believe his latest wife has settled him a little, at least I hope so. World gets smaller and smaller eh, too cool. thanks for replying.

Gavetta, cryotenically treated.....rapid prototyping in your description...: Are you by chance working with a gentleman with the initials of T.H. by chance? I know someone down there that researched a lot of that years ago and it just kinda hit home is all. The one other factor with polishing trodes to keep in mind and with scallops is the final operation in the sinker. What kind of orbit is going to be done. The diferent types of orbit patterns will help you sometimes. And 3. you don't suck, it all just takes time and patience. You will be the one who learns your machine better than we will so you'll be able to get the results you need. Not us.

+1 to Betts, also try to avoid cutting with the bottom of the tool. Night and day between having a cutting relief or just rubbing with the bottom of the cutter. My other post is for using as a reference Three but its a start if you have nothing else.

Three point, check your options inside of scallop. The calculator in there for flat to angle. Just a quick way, I could send you the formulas if you email me direct so I can send it back to you if you want. Try the scallop though if anything for a reference. Hope this helps Brad

Doug, we had thought about what you are thinking of years back when they were first talking about pc based controls to allow the operators to backplot the programs prior to cutting. Like James mentioned we went to a sepearate pc stationed on the floor and went so far as to put a mill level 1or2 on it for the guys on the floor to program from for the eztraks. It was used by 4-5 people and proved very useful.

At least the office door around here says MEN on it and being equally considerate the Ladies have one also!

Doug, I would guess that you should just look at the basic requirements for cam and go from there. Not real sure about the video.... that would be my guess on your first real hangup. This sounds like a good question for James M. Good luck

+1 to Tony, sorry I missed the reference to the diferent model. I was thinking diferent print layouts. Sorry mold.

The best way to do this is with solidworks explorer. Have you used it before?

mold, are you copying to a new directory?

If doing a lot of ruffing you may want to consider diamond tooling. +1 on all the above about the dust, if you run coolant you will want to consider changing it out and flushing your system after running this stuff. Otherwise it will just cycle in your system and eat up your next tool's in other runs.

Ernie, are you looking for an in house programmer only or possibly a telecommuter? Just asking the question for others out there that may be able to do this. Brad

Bill, this may be related and it may not but an issue with autocad was just covered in a post from Surface, here was an important reply: qoute: One problem we have importing this file is our inability to properly import Solids which are defined as part of a Block Reference. If you open the part in AutoCAD, select the Solid, and right-click for Properties, it tells you it's a Block Reference with a translation vector. We currently can't handle this case - we lose the translation vector on import - therefore the Solid and the dimensions are nowhere near each other. But... If you use AutoCAD's Modify/Explode function, it'll remove the BR and you'll be left with a solid in that location. If you save the DWG file now, the dimensions and the solid will show up properly placed in Mastercam. And the paper space border comes in, but it's blanked (at least by default). We'll take a look at handling the Solids that are part of a Block Reference with a translation vector. -------------------- Pete Rimkus CNC Software, Inc. here is the link to the post: http://www.emastercam.com/ubb/ultimatebb.p...ic;f=1;t=015010

+1000 to Ernie, if they could come up with something that would allow the parts or prints to be saved as a viewing file that would be awesom. Solidworks e-files really spoil you and your customers with the versitility, power and functionality of it. Maybe with X........

I bought draft for my personal use at home. When I was in between jobs a couple of years ago that's exactly what I did with it was design with it. I even did a few mold layouts, with all the free downloads for mold bases and depending on the customers needs it worked real well for me. All the 3-d stuff came to me prepared, all I had to do was layout and dimension components. Like I said above, for the money it's a great tool just to have at home for play or whatever. Hoping greatly that X comes with one also, I've heard it may and it may not. PLEASE PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT IT CNC! Thanks Brad

This topic from the past: http://www.emastercam.com/ubb/ultimatebb.p...t=013579#000000 http://www.emastercam.com/ubb/ultimatebb.p...t=011033#000002 Peace, this is not a pirated version

Rekd, Mastercam draft is like the lite version or a glorified viewer. Not to upset anybody but the price of it has been discussed in this forum before and was in the range of what I paid for it up here. quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- it works without the dongle and I may add it works well -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just my sick humor dude, Draft does not need a dongle. Check with your local reseller, it's really a great tool next to the demo for showing parts or viewing them with the added function of being able to draft (with the limits stated above).

The dongle is relative to the angle of the dangle contrived from the spindicularity of the perpendicularity of the thingy. Sorry, couldn't resist that one The dongle is another name for the Hasp key for Mastercam. HTH Brad

BISS, it works without the dongle and I may add it works well. You are limited to just wireframe and no surf or solids generation. You can however read in and verify surf and solids files or move enities, you just can't manipulate them. It's well worth the money even in house if you have detailers in house that's if that's all they do.

Mike, we were running into memory issues doing bmp imports with MC Art. No real messages, the program would just kick out of the Art c-hook and go back to mill but it was pretty much toast at that point anyway and we'd have to resart cam. We're running Dell workstations, the one's that had trouble are p2.4 with 1 gig of ram, when we bumped to the better stations with 2 gig of ram we could bring things in at the fine settings no problems. Not sure if this is your culprit but sounds kinda similar. HTH Brad

I'm assuming this but deeherk mentioned the wire dept. When it comes to wire, solids will give you cleaner geometry (lines and arcs) than surf bodies when you slice and dice for cut paths. Just like when you import an iges as compared to a solid, the translation is cleaner with a solid than the iges. Now for 3-d toolpaths, yep I love surfs for manipulating them also. You want to extend an edge you do it only, nothing tied to the whole block. Hope you get your solids someday big D.