Threept82, Many people have experienced similar problems when switching to XP. It sounds to me like a .dll file somewhere may be corrupt and is not reading properly. There are a few very knowledgable folks around here (both human and non-human)who will probably be able to give you a better explanation. quote: I had to reload MC as well and I had no backup of anything. There are 2 simple rules to remember when doing anything involving computers: Rule #1: ALWAYS make backup copies of anything important!! Rule #2: NEVER violate Rule # 1!! Having said all that, I would make sure that your maintenance releases are up to date. If you reloaded MC as a clean install with a new operating system, the maintenance releases you had before are gone and need to be reinstalled. Also, it's probably a good idea to make sure you have the latest XP service pack as well. Lastly, make sure your IT person has given you full read / write priveleges in the MC directory since this has caused problems too. If it still won't launch properly after that I'm sure someone here can tell you what to try next. Good luck!

Glad to hear you got the desired outcome, Smit! I also occasionally use Curve5X but I use Swarf5X more often. I often cut lenses for flight helmets which have a vertical wall along the entire outside edge that may not always be normal to the torroidal lens surface. Using Swarf5X, my cutter axis follows the normality of the vertical wall exactly as the engineer has designed it. If I use Curve5X, the tool axis can change along the spline and possibly change the normality of the intended vertical wall surface in some places. Most lenses are only .09 thick, so the difference is usually negligible, but I do like to give the engineer the most precise rendering of the model I can. So for my particular need, Swarf5X is an excellent choice. One of the things I like most about Mastercam is the WIDE variety of ways we have to choose from to do a particular task!

DUH!! My bad. I just realized you mean THRU holes!! I thought at first you meant traditional pockets with floor surfaces. If they're thru holes, then Murlin is 100% correct! 3D ramp contour and drop the slug is the quickest way.

quote: Guess I need to be patient to get better quality. Good observation! However, if it's aluminum and your machine can take it, I say crank that mutha up and watch the chips fly! WOOHOO!! It's really kewl! Jim teh crank that feed rate override knob!!

Smit, I use 5X swarf alot and I agree w/ gcode on the tip control issue. I always the use vertical wall surfaces instead of top & bottom rails, and I always use a surface as the tip control instead of a plane or a spline. It also helps if you have a continuous vertical wall surface or several pieces instead of many small surfaces. Using the top & bottom splines is OK, but if they aren't trimmed and synced just right you will usually have problems. Lastly, it helps to verify the nc code if you're set up to do that. Jim teh been there, done all that, gouged many a part w/ 5X swarf! Sorry, I can't look at your model right now, but it sounds like you're getting good advice here. I'll try to look at it later. Let us know how you do.

Welcome to the forum Sai! I agree w/ jmparis. It depends on a few factors. If the cutter overlap from the contour cut will remove all of the material from the center of the pocket, then it's virtually the same as a pocketing routine. I personally will use a pocketing program whenever possible b/c I think it is more efficient and the finished pocket usually looks nicer. All you need to do is verify your toolpath to see if all material is removed with the contour program. If not, pocket is the way to go.

Welcome to the forum hermes! I often have the same thing happen when I backplot a 5 axis drill program. On the parameters page, try setting your retract height to incremental instead of absolute.

Greetings and salutations! Now pay attention in class and you just might learn something...

quote: I had my handshaking change on it's own on the PC. Windows update issue perhaps? I've seen these Windows updates make my terminal do some wierd things...

One other technique if a 5 axis machine is used is to play around with the lead / lag angles to keep the center of the ball from dwelling on the surface. I can usually get a really sweet finish on aluminum without much effort.

I like Toolpaths>Surface>Finish>Parallel for most simple applications, but there are a number of ways you can go about it. A tight step increment and proper speed and feed will give you a decent surface finish. HTH

Sorry for asking David, but there is a separate restricted forum area for beta testers so questions about version 10 in the general forum are unusual. I forgot to say earlier...Welcome to the forum!

I know this may sound like a silly question, David, but are you running version 10?

No overheating problems here either. I have 2 Fadal 4020's that are mostly problem free. Does yours have a chiller Rex, and if so, is it working properly? Mine both have the metal strap as Thad described and that seems to hold them in pretty tight. In fact, the service tech once had a heck of a time getting one out! We did have a control wire vibrate loose from a board once and the spindle wouldn't turn, but that was an easy fix with a crimping tool. If nothing else seems to work you may need to resort to adding some vents and possibly rigging some kind of exhaust fan to draw the hot air out.

Anyone know of any other web sites similar to 3D Content Central? I am particularly interested in finding models of different objects and scaling them to Pinewood Derby size. I found some great models on 3D Content Central that really fit the bill, but I would also like to find other sources of 3D cad models to play with.

Thanks for the quick replies. You guys ROCK!! Jim teh "I love this place"

A simple question... I have a rectangular 3D model with outside dimensions of 2.92 x .665 x .394 inches. What I want to do is scale the model up so that it fits as nearly as possible into a rectangular 3D box that measures 6.875 x 1.75 x 1.25 inches. What is the best way to do this? Thanks. Jim teh doesn't do much modeling.

JCLM, Thanks a million for mentioning that 3D Content Central web site! I feel like a kid in a candy store! So many models to play with...so little time...

Welcome aboard, Ro! I will echo what everyone else has told you so far. The more time and effort you put into it the quicker you'll be ready to make chips. As others have stated, you can learn the basics rather quickly, but it takes years to become really proficient. One additional word of advice... PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep safety at the forefront of everything you do while using the machine! Here's a good general rule to follow: If you're not sure if something is safe, DON'T DO IT! As you progress, if you have any Fadal-specific questions you can lob them my way as I have 2 Fadal mills and will do my best to help you if you get stuck. Good luck in your new venture!

Welcome to the forum scooch8292! Did you try using absolute depths with min / max values instead of incremental depths w/ adjustment to top cuts? This has always worked for me. edit: OOPS...Just reread your post and see you did try absolute depths...sorry. You may consider separate toolpaths for the sides and bottom to get what you need.

quote: Check to make sure your cut depths are not reversed(you're not cutting from a min depth of -.250 to a max depth of 0.0000, for example) and that your wcs is actually what you think it is. +1 El Scotthead Having your abs and inc settings mixed up will do that too. Jim teh been there done that lotsa times.

Leandro, I believe what is happening is that the arc projects onto the surface as an approximation that follows the surface as closely as possible, but not exactly. Thus, the center of the arc shifts slightly. Try this: Create>Curve>Project Select the surface Select the curve Select Options In the Projection Curve menu: Select 'fixed step' (You will see Parametric Spline option selected automatically when you select 'fixed step') Select OK Select Do it Now you have a parametric spline projected onto your surface which will represent the original arc much more closely. There is one more step to complete the process: Create>Arc>3 points> Select the endpoint, midpoint, and endpoint of the projected spline and there you have it! Now you can delete the spline and analyze the arc. The center should be X0. Y0. HTH edit: Steve and I answered at the same time, but his solution is even quicker!

It's tough to visualize this from your description, but I think I know what you mean. quote: it doesn’t seat perfectly flat on the jaws You probably won't come close to .002 tolerance until you solve this problem. Two possible alternatives: 1. Fixture it differently so you get a consistent placement of the part. 2. Skim cut (if possible) the surface to establish a flat plane to work from, then set your countersink Z depth accordingly. Holding .002 on a countersink diameter is a tall order, but not impossible. edit: I LOVE MayDay's idea!

Welcome to the forum, Cindy! I believe the short answer is that the customer may make changes to any of the 'off-the-shelf' posts that come with the software. If there were a problem with one of these posts (i.e. a malfunction in the post itself) your reseller would probably fix it at no cost. However, if you need a post customized for a particular application, then you will most likely incur a charge from your reseller for the time spent either customizing an existing post, or writing a new post from scratch. You should contact your reseller for the specifics. There are 2 very simple rules to remember if you are going to edit your own posts: 1. Always make a backup copy so you can go back to where you started! 2. Try to only make one change at a time in the post file, then see if the desired result appears in the output NC code. HTH

Welcome to the forum highrevtrev! I do the same thing as mcpgmr. (from 3D construction plane)Create>Surface>Trim/Extend>Fill holes. This works 99% of the time unless your surfaces are trimmed in such a way as to prevent you from covering the entire hole. In that case, I usually just create edge curves on the top edge of the hole then create ruled surface(s) and include them with the rest of your surface toolpaths. I also create my 'fill holes' surfaces on a separate level so I can toggle them on or off as needed, but that's just a personal choice.