We have a Haas VF-4 with two rotary tables combined to work like a Trunion. We also use the Haas VR-Trunion series 5 ax post. Even with no air connected for the brake the rotary has a stop-go-stop-go motion unless the brake is released with M code but I have been editing the code manually and thats getting old. How do I make brake codes show up in the nc file using the post or machine/control def? Also I noticed when the B axis is smooth it's after I inserted M11 which is the 4th axis brake release. Is this common to just Haas or do all CNC machines use the 4th ax brake command to control the 5th axis?

I don't know if Vista or Vista x64, or Windows 7 is it but at some point V9 won't run on the installed OS. "Sorry Mr. thumb sucker, V9 won't run on the new x64 OS we need for (insert program name) to run correctly so you will have to accept change and deal with it." Maybe you can update the hasp so MC9 won't work. If you can that would be an easy way to slide him into X3, as opposed to the slap in the face of coming in one morning and it's been removed.

We bring in most files from Catia using the STEP format. It is free and does a better job for us than the converter MC sells. STEP files come in on different levels in the colors drawn in and usually as solids. Some files seem to do better with IGES conversion but igs comes in all on one level, all in one color and only as surfaces so I don't bring in more than one part at a time. It's almost impossible to seperate parts that way. Hope some of this will help you figure out your issues.

cnc_ machines, config, & mill is all we copy but it must be an exact match for MC version as well as file location. If your moving settings from X3 or earlier to X3-MU1 you should use the File/Import directory command in MU1 because settings must be converted/compatible this way or MC won't be happy.

One thing I've learned is if the install folder is not identicaly named your config files are worthless. During X2's run here we would do a fresh install to a new folder if the SP or MR asked. With 6 seats we set up the first PC using the exact version name like C:McamX2-MR2. Once PC #1 was up and running with posts and config's set then we copied settings and posts between the rest of the PC's. Settings are like links on a web page, if the folders the settings are copied from and to are not named exactly the same they are uselessl

Different problem, same suspects. On my laptop when I open MCX3 a window comes up "XP is installing Solidworks" which I have to cancel out of so MC will finish loading.

We are machining 24" X 48" aluminum coupons for a customer from 8" thick to .300 through the center to test heat treat in center of thick aluminum. Also for 2" thick SS and Ti64. We hold it with a venturi pump on a Fadal 8030 and a vacuum table about the same size as Fadal table.

This is a no brainer. Forget Quadro cards. At your budget you can get a lower end to mid level Quadro but I assume you want the rest of the PC. You did mean $1500 per PC? If you meant $1500 for 3 or 4 PC's you may have a problem. MCX3 is not multi threaded but is sensitive to L2 cache size. Get the bigger cache size before faster speed in Core 2 Duo, not Pentium, 2 sticks of RAM, at least 1Gb each but 2 sticks of 2Gb RAM is better and cheap right now. Then the Gigabyte board and they will be OK for a while. I have that Gigabyte board and an old E6320 1.86Ghz CPU running 24/7 at 3.57Ghz, GF 9800GT video card 2 x 1Gb PC9600 RAM does the benchmark in 4:05 and spent about $700 on it.

Did you try starting in safe mode? Try system restore? Is it RAID 1 or RAID 0? It kinda sounds like you have a RAID 1 mirror setup and the boot drive went bad. Remove it and the system defaults to the mirror and your running. But you also said you had nothing on the array so you have 3 drives, a boot and an array? If a drive goes bad it can keep windows from starting. The start up window with the "blue marching ants" is when Windoze is configureing the drives, RAM, video card and is where XP would normally lock up with a bad drive. I bet it wasn't the update but coincedance.

Don't use the web download that is X2-MR2 all in one. There is something wrong with it. Our IT guys wiped my HD 3 times trying to get it to work right but had no luck. They ended up making an image of an identical PC that works and loaded that. A few weeks later I was loading my new homebuilt PC, I used that web download and the same thing happened. As soon as you load new graphics drivers MC goes berserk. Load Solidworks or any other graphic software like photoshop it will have lockups, screen go black, etc. Use any other combination of X2 SP or MR's to get up to your hasp maintence date, just dont use X2-MR2_web.exe

Multi-threading is a BIOS option but turning it off makes the CPU run on one core only so graphics and toolpath share one core just like a single core. It's like the difference of quad core vs. single core and the times posted look like they match that scenerio.

I have a 9800GT in one machine and 260GTX in another and they both work great.

I'll be here today until 5pm today. I sent you email. I too have been learning this mostly with the help of this forum but I continue to be surprised by things that happen with this rotary axis stuff. Just too much to it to know it all.

If Merritt (MLS) chimed in I think we'd have all of doodah on here at once. Where are you at austing? I'm running Haas 5th axis machine right now. If your anywhere near the University you could come by and I can show you some things in MC if you haven't figured things out yet.

In X3 only one core is working but in task manager under the performance tab, in the CPU usage all cores appear that they are being used when in reality it's the cache that is shared showing up on the graph. On a quad core typically one core shows very high use, 2 show medium use and one low use. The high use is the tool path, medium is shared cache and low is video card use. If you move the part you will see the low use cpu get real high use.

This is kind of a crapshoot. You have Core 2 Quad with 12Mb of L2 cache (no L3 cache) and i7 with 256Kb L2 cache and 8Mb L3 cache it may never compete with the C2Q in X3 benchmark speed. But if X4 or X5 are capable of using more than 4 cores at once the i7 may have an advantage. It has Hyperthreading which makes it behave as if there are 8 cores.

Should do fine. You list a 420W PSU early on which is a little light, and a 700W toward the end which is about right. One thing that's still up in the air is if the new i7 CPU's are better for MC than a Core 2 Quad with 12 Mb L2 cache. We've found the cache size makes a BIG difference to MC. L1 is the fastest and closest to the CPU followed by L2 then L3. Your i7 has 8Mb of L3 and I think it's 256Kb at L2. Bottom line is the i7 CPU has been out for 3 months now but none has yet to pass the C2Quad benchmark leaders. Maybe it can't in Mastercam, just isn't known yet.

You may look at what type work you want to do. As already stated Mastercam is for machining, AutoCAD is best with architecture, Catia if aircraft is your thing, Solid Works is mostly non-aircraft work. I was a conventional machinist so I started in Mastercam, I played with AutoCAD, and have had formal college Catia & Pro-E classes. I've been playing with Solidworks too every so often. Catia and Solidworks are the ones I like best. Didn't like Pro-E or AutoCAD much. My only experience with Rhino was a C-130 wind tunnel model which didn't convert very well into MC. A major difference in them is in Catia/Solidworks you can create parts and assemble them, make them move. If you change a feature like a hole or bolt pattern in the part level the change updates all instances of that part. These things Mastercam doesn't do. Personally I would like to design in Catia or SW and make parts with Mastercam. This University has gotten away from AutoCAD and Pro-E and now only teaches Catia and Solidworks. My 2¢

quote: IT just installed an Nvidia g-force 6200 graphics cardThats a 4 year old card. My question is if they just put that in, what was there before?

Is there such a thing as a laser etcher for a cat 40 CNC machine? We machine coupons for stress testing constantly. Steel aluminum, and plexiglas coupons are common for us and it seems an etcher that fits in a cat 40 tool holder or is bolted offset onto the spindle and then etch text using MC would be failsafe for idenity of coupons and make use of the machining set up for labeling too.

Is it an OEM PC or an enthusiast board? If not OEM would you be willing to try overclocking it if I found you information on how to do it? I'm interested because it's time for new shop PC's and they tend to do what I suggest on PC purchases.

Good job Matt. Here I was thinking I still had the lead. I knew you passed me in X3. Guess I never saw your post from MU1. I couldn't have done anything about it anyway. Until now. Just got a new board. The one I've recomended to several people on this forum. The one Matt has. I've seen this board run a quad core at 4.4Ghz. I might have something interesting to post on this thread in the next few days! The i7 boards have been out a couple of months now. It doesn't look like any of them are yet able to challenge a C2Q board. That would be disappointing considering their cost

I've been considering one of these: D-Link DNS-323 SATA RAID Gigabit NAS http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?opti...id=58&Itemid=70 It has a print server for everyone attached to your router but does so much more. Has up to 2 Teribytes storage, will continue a bit torrent download after your PC is turned off, lets you access your files from any PC on the web and even host websites from it. Can store video files from security/survailence cameras and back up your critical files on your schedule.

We are pretty busy. Research usually picks up when the economy is down. Companies are looking for the next big product that customers must have to stay competitave with the competition who are also looking for the next big thing.

I am interested to see if parallel computing with the GPU will speed up toolpath creation. Like multithreading the application has to be written to make use of it and if MC does go that way think about a GeForce 9800 GX2 SLI or tri-SLI setup.