Ah ha, the curve tool path. I had forgotten you could grab a chain in that function. I don't think I would have gotten using the upper chain for tool axis control. All the routines I was trying had me defining drive surfaces. I do a lot for 3+2 programing so when I have to dive into the multi-axes universe I get a little lost with all the option available.

Here is a tool path that uses a ball endmill. I would like to create a single path with a chamfer mill to walk around this contour in one pass and not change tools. Any curve tool path I try seems to be limited to using an endmill. I am using Mastercam 2020. Chamfer Radius.mcam

Here is a model of the end of the tube. I forgot to mention I am running the in an older Haas VS3, a vertical mill. Chamfer Contour.pdf

We have a square tube that is on a rotary 4th axis (A). The tube has radius corners approx. .5. We need to apply a 45 deg chamfer to the edge of the part. I am trying to develop a tool path using a chamfer mill that follows the contour of the edge. I can mill the flats but I can't figure out how to get a tool path along the radius. I have used axis substation to get a contour to cut along a cylinder in a tutorial but I don't know if I can get that to work here. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated .

I did post this and ran it in the MC and it did what I was looking for. I was getting a drill motion with the z axis and the y axis moving together. Guess I just didn't trust my programing. This is a new environment for me and we do not have anyone with 5 axis programing experience to learn from. I have to learn by trial and error. Anyways, what in the code clues me in that it posted a 5 axis drill motion? I assuming its in the I J K of the g68.2 line?

I did a search on this but there was so much content to sift through I couldn't find just what I was needing help with. My Machine is a 5 axis with a head (A axis) and table (B axis) as its rotational axis of motion. I have a weldment with a plate that is tipped about the x axis by 3 deg. I am able to tip the head and face off the surface. That's the easy part. My problem is that I have 8 holes that I need to drill into it that are perpendicular to this surface. Can I accomplish this with a 5 axis tool path? I am using Mastercam 2020 and experimented with tool axis control but the posting doesn't look like it will do what I am looking for. It looks like a typical G81 drill cycle with the A axis rotated 3 deg. This looks like its going to push my drill through the part at an angle and not give me a hole perpendicular to my tilted plane. Do I need to modify my tool to present this surface normal to the spindle? Drilling Post.nc

Yes, the centerline for the X and the Z distance are now both adjusted. Ran a quick test and my location were spot on. Everything is now copasetic in the world again.

So after 6 months of kicking and screaming and everyone telling me I didn't know what I was talking about it finally took my lead programmer actually having to deal with the error for someone to believe me. They brought a proven program over from a sister machine and not to my surprise the part didn't come out. Since they want to be able to use my machine as a back up should something go wrong on the other they realized that with this error that would not work. The manufacture came out and found the X was off almost .070 and the Z was off too, I forget the amount but it was significant too. So now I have a machine that works again although now I have to go through all my programs and reset my work offset values. It is worth the work knowing I can count on an accurate machine again.

As I was thinking this through that is where my thought process was going to create an ending point and a beginning point then creating an arc between these two positions. I forgot about creating vectors but that makes sense to me.

My Post is coming from the Mastercam Vendor and it is still a work in process. As far a Verification programs we have none. I use Back plot to check my tool paths and like Husker I use my knowledge to read my program lines and a steady hand on the feed override to proof out my programs. This machine center has about 48" travel in the Z and somewhere in the range of 72" in the X so I have quiet a bit of travel to get back to home which is typically how we transition between planes. I too would love to see a sample of a 5x Curve tool path for this type of motion. I have a part that I am working on that is on a Tombstone that I have to work around in an A0 on 3 planes and in a A-90 on one plane.

So my boss is sold on the idea that if we have a tool transition in a 5 axis motion from one plane to another that we should be able to save some cycle time. We primarily do 3+2 programing with our 5 axis. What I am looking for is a means in Mastercam to create tool a path motion in transition from one plane to another with multiple axis's in motion at the same time. For those that have tried this my question for you would be, does it really save time? My thought is that it may look cool but in reality the machine synchronizes the axis motion to whatever is the slowest axis thus it ends up being a wash,

This too is currently what I am forced to do. I create a work offset for every plane and then manually figure out what the deviation is. I don't think they care that it takes a lot of work to not only proof a new tool path but also to dimple or just buzz a .005 profile cut to see where you are and what changes in your offset need to be. Oh, so anyone following this we are still sitting on the two bids I have a trying to decide what to do. I did offer up the renishaw option but my supervisor didn't think it would make corrections to the rotational axis.

So still working with this issue. I did get them to listen to me and we went as far as calling the Manufacture to come in re-level and adjust the rotational axis. After they got the estimate the howling and screaming started about how unreasonable the price is and we that we can't fix the machine. I told them why invest $xxx,xxx.xx in a machine and then not maintain it. Anyone use any software solutions for calibrating a 5 axis?

We don't have one in our dept. but I think I seen our QC dept use one to calibrate our CMM. I'll have to track this down. Any web site that has a walk through on how to do this?

Ah, therein is one of my challenges. The table is 48" and has been covered with a home made sub-pallet. No prior thought was put into having to verify the center of table position so I have no bore to indicate. One of the other challenges, which is one of my greatest gripes with this machines capabilities is that I only have 18" of reach into the pallet when the spindle is vertical and my Y travel limits me to 2" above the pallet in a horizontal configuration which is the native mode. This makes any operation into the center on the pallet quite challenging to say the least.