MetalFlake, We use several different urethane compounds to patch up our vacuum fixtures. Here is the link to the BCC product specs sheet. http://www.liquidplasticsolutions.com/pdf/...nes_epoxies.pdf Check out their 8010 (Metal-Kast)or their 8163 rigid urethane compound. It sounds like either one may work for you. They are both 2 part A/B resins that you mix 1:1, so they're easy to use. One trick we have learned is to augment the Metal-Kast by adding clean aluminum chips to the mix for a bit of extra toughness in large volume pours, but it sounds like you can probably use it straight up. We usually dam up the area we want to pour with modeling clay, then fill the area with a bit more urethane than we need. After it hardens, we machine away the excess and are left with a clean, smooth surface that is ready for the next operation. I have used them on both aluminum and model board vacuum fixtures to fill in voids and gasket grooves left from previous operations, which sounds like what you are trying to do. I usually run them w/o coolant, but I think the 8163 stuff is moisture resistant. Hope this helps!

quote: Agreeed if you use the best you can expect the best but probelm is I.E is far from the best even the makers have tried brainwashing the world it is and not having much luck with that scam anymore.100% agree w/ Millman. If you are using IE you are ALWAYS at risk for security violations no matter which AV / firewall you use! I neglected to mention that earlier thinking that EVERYONE knows that! I switched to Mozilla a while ago and have had smooth sailing ever since.

quote: They said not to use McAffee or Norton because they are the most common, therefore the most hacked.This is faulty logic at best. I have tried most popular antivirus and firewall software packages on several different operating systems and have found most are very effective at what they do. The idea that since they are hacked most often, they shouldn't be used is illogical. They are most attacked because they are the BEST at what they do, and hackers can't stand it! I use the combination of Norton AV and Zone Alarm firewall and have no problems whatsoever. (I found that McAfee AV made my system a bit unstable, but it did work well at keeping virus attacks away.) A router is always a good idea for cable and dsl lines because it acts as a hardware firewall which provides a 'first line' defense against intrusion. That along with a good software firewall and AV program should be all you need.

...simple minds are simply amused... ooooOOOOOoooohhhhhh! aaaaAAAAAaaaahhhhhh!

You guys forgot a few other hats many of us wear...namely: "Sweeper of the floor" (I really 'clean up' once a week, only it ain't on payday!) "Maker of the Coffee" (I probably make more gallons of coffee per week than coolant!)

Thanks all for responding. John, I knew there was a way to change normality, I just wasn't sure how to do it. I do mostly the machining end of things here, so my modeling skills are limited. Thanks for the info. I took gcode's most excellent advice and created a ruled surface between the upper and lower splines then picked that surface as the wall. That seems to work nicely. I also switched from chord height to step increment and tried .025 steps to start. This looks fairly smooth...quite a bit better than before using chord height .001 and .005 max increment. I think the bigger step makes it less choppy and gives a smoother finish. The other way may have been too tight since my machine only has a 9600 max baud rate and gets choppy sometimes just from slow data transfer. Millman, I am running an older Fadal w/ AB table attachment so there is no comp capability at the control. Yes,the pionts were synced on the splines, but I think the step increment had more to do with it than anything. Thanks for your suggestions. Michael, I have never used the piont generator feature, so I am at a loss here. The lenses I'm cutting are coming off good now, so I'll run with it. I'll tinker with the point generator feature next week when I'll be writing a new toolpath to cut a different size lens. Thanks again all...this web board is an awesome resource!

Thanks, gcode. I had previously tried using a surface to define the wall and posted questions about that in an earlier thread. My problem there was surface normality which seemed to be reversed on that particular surface on the original model. However, I didn't try creating a new ruled surface as you suggest. I will try that approach and see what happens. Thanks for the quick reply! Anyone else wanting to contribute further thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

I am still trying to get the hang of using this toolpath, so please bear with me... I notice some spots on the wall have a smooth, clean finish, and other spots are a bit choppy. I tried minimizing the control points on the splines thinking that would reduce the choppiness. [*]Is this the right approach? [*]Can I also increase or decrease the maximum step increment to get a smoother finish? [*]Which would be better, chord height or step increment? [*]I am using chord height set at .001 for the wall following method with a max step of .005 on the finish cut... Should I try step increment instead of chord height, or increase or decrease either value? I realize my questions are many, but I know someone out there has gone down this (tool)path before! Thanks. ************************************************* Thought for the day: Alcohol and calculus do not mix...so don't drink and derive! *************************************************

Thanks for the responses. The part I'm machining is a polycarbonate lens for a flight helmet. I've used 5-axis curve toolpaths in the past, but the walls of the lenses would sometimes have material removed where it shouldn't be due to the fact that there is no tool axis control (or I didn't utilize it properly)when following the single spline that traces the trim line of the lens. I like the idea of the swarf toolpath because it gives me EXACTLY what the model shows since we can use the vertical wall as the tool axis control feature, thus ensuring no undercuts. The thickness of the lens is only .090, so any deviation in the tool axis vector is negligible over such a short distance, but I like to be as accurate as possible. (We are all kind of anal that way, aren't we?) And since the wall is a surface, it would be simpler for me to pick it instead of creating edge curves and splines. But if I must...I must.

I have a vertical wall that is a surface projected onto another surface. I tried to select a swarf 5 axis path with the walls as surfaces instead of chains, and the bottom surface as the tip control surface instead of the lower rail, but the outcome was strange. If I selected the top edge of the wall surface when prompted, the toolpath would write 'upside down'...a common error. However, when I went back in and tried again selecting the bottom edge of the wall surface, clikced on OK, and nothing happens. No toolpath is generated. I tried several times from scratch with the same result. I ended up creating splines on the top and bottom edges of the wall, and defining the walls as chains and the lower rail as the tip control, and it works fine...but I am wondering why it didn't work correctly with the walls defined as surfaces. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance. ************************************************* Jim teh dyslexic NCN Mogprammer.

I don't follow NHRA too much...I'm more of a NASCAR fan. But my heart does go out to this young man and his family. Auto racing of any kind is a dangerous business as we are sadly reminded once again. Even with all of the safety innovations, bad things still happen. Many NASCAR fans still feel the loss of Dale Earnhardt...myself included. I'm sure NHRA fans will feel the same way about Darrell. If there is any consolation at all, we can rest assured that both Darrell and Dale died while doing something they loved to do.

One from my archives... Old Paddy O'Grady and three of his mates played golf together every Saturday morning from May through September for as many years as any of them could remember. Paddy had, over the years, developed somewhat of a reputation for being a cold and calculating sort who never gave his mates an inch, much less a short putt. Since the traditional wager for the day's round was for the loser to buy each of his mates a pint afterward, this was serious business for a man like Paddy! Sympathy was just as hard to get from 'ol Paddy as a shilling. One beautiful June morning, the regular foursome was preparing to tee off. As Paddy was lining up to hit his first ball of the day, he suddenly backed away and stared off toward the road that ran alongside the golf course. His friends were perplexed at first, but then they realized that a funeral procession was approaching slowly along the road. As the hearse passed by Paddy slowly removed his cap, held it over his heart, and stood staring straight ahead like a granite statue. The four men stood silently and reverently until the last of the mourners had passed, after which the other three turned their gaze toward Paddy. Needless to say, they were shocked and amazed at this sudden display of emotion from their usually gruff and seemingly heartless mate. "What's all this then, Paddy?" chuckled one of his friends. "Goin' soft on us are ye?" asked another. Paddy placed his golf cap back on his head and turned back toward his friends. "Lads..." he began in his crotchety old brogue, "There goes one of the foinest hewman beeins God ever placed upon this here green Earth", pointing a crooked finger in the direction of the receding funeral procession. As he stepped toward his ball once again, his friends couldn't resist asking. "So..." , the first friend declared, "Ye knew the dearly departed then, did ye?" "Aye..." , answered Paddy as he lined up his shot. "She and I'd 'a been married forty eight years come next Tuesday!" ************************************************* Jim teh dyslexic NCN Programmer *************************************************

Sorry Phil...we don't have the full-up model here in house. I think we only have bits and pieces. Actually, it's a rework of an older model helmet we used to make for NASA, so all they needed to do was tweak it a bit and send it on its merry way. Yes, my company is really paranoid about its proprietary rights to many things b/c of the level of competition. I would probably get my private parts brutally stomped upon if I disclosed any secret design materials! (Not to mention the fact that I would probably be selling shoes for a living at the local mall shortly thereafter instead of having my COOL CNC Programmer job.) Have a great day! Jim

Hey there camdude, I recently attended a 4&5 axis training session of yours and thought it was most excellent. Keep up the good work! If you remember, the company I work for is Gentex Corporation. (I'm one of the the lowly Homer Simpson-like carbon blobs from sector G14.) We at Gentex had the distinct pleasure of designing and building the flight helmet used in the Space Plane flight, so we can honestly say that Mastercam helped get this thing off the ground in more ways than one! Jim at Gentex

quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I just though that MC would have or should have a much simpleler way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOL... Just like Microsoft always claims to have a 'better' way... We just haven't found it yet!!

Click on the 'Information' link at the top of this page, then scroll down to the "A Discussion on Recommended Hardware' link near the bottom of the information page. I found this link very helpful since my employer is considering laptop use as well.

I agree w/ cmr. I save my STL files in stages after verifying each operation, i.e., partname_stage1.stl, partname_stage2.stl, partname_stage3.stl...etc., OR partname_top.stl, partname_leftside.stl, partname_bottom.slt...etc., until all my operations are complete. Then you can verify each operation on the stl file that is at the correct stage and orientation for that operation. This is especially helpful when you need multiple setups to work on top, sides, or bottom of the part. In that case, your stl file will always be rotated to the proper cplane and tplane for the particular side of the part you are working on. Hope this helps.

...and on the 8th day, God created c-hooks!

I never realized they were the same! I always use a rough toolpath w/ depth cuts to step down, near the surface, then a finish toolpath w/o depth cuts and a tighter step increment. Works like a charm!

Hey Chad...Awesome work! What a sweet ride! I am interested in designing / machining Pinewood Derby cars when one of my CNC's is free. I got the idea from the old "car.ge3" sample model that came with an earlier version of Mastercam. All I needed to do was tweak the model to fit inside the standard size Pinewood Derby car block and then machine it. It came out very nice and it was lightning fast. Unfortunately, my designing skills are limited. I have many ideas for some radical cars, but I don't get to use Mastercam for designing much, so it's hard for me to implement my ideas. I am almost exclusively at the machining end of the process, so I never really learned to construct a freeform 3D model from scratch. If anyone else here is interested in this side hobby, I would love to hear from them. I'd love to get my hands on some other car models to play around with when time permits. Any input or resource would be appreciated!

I'm a Knicks fan and will generally pull for an Eastern Conference team when the Knicks are out of the running; 76ers, Nets, Celtics, etc...but NOT the Pacers...our arch-enemies! I also think the West has a few quality teams, i.e. Sacramento, San Antonio, Dallas, etc. who I wouldn't mind seeing win a championship. But I would especially love to see Detriot win for 2 reasons: 1. I think Larry Brown is among the best in the business and would love to see him vindicated with a championship that eluded him in Philly. 2. I HATE the Lakers! They are the Yankees of basketball. Their starting lineup could have been the NBA West All-Star roster of a few short years ago. I don't like the Steinbrenner-like mentality that believes you can BUY a championship in any sport. (I didn't say it doesn't work...I just don't like it.) I'd rather see the scrappy teams like the Pistons come in as underdogs and clean house! GO PISTONS!!!

************************************************* RE: If you have not looked at the MPMASTER_FADAL post that in-house has you might want to talk to your dealer and see if they can get you a copy to try out think you might like it. I have set up one of the post to do the A & B manunally was well as the A fully in the vertical with B in the right hand position. I can show things I have done to get this if you are intrested. ************************************************* Yes, I am most certainly interested. I am currently running a 12 year old 5-axis custom post that I'm sure is outdated. I will contact my dealer to try the MPMASTER_FADAL post as you recommended. (I thought that was a 4-axis only post.) I would love to be able to post process a program and NOT have to edit it to death!! I would be interested in whatever you could show me concerning the 'A vertical; B right-hand' setup, since that is what I mostly use. Thanks in advance for your input. Anyone else wanting to weigh in on this, please feel free.

If you don't use mold plus, I have one thing to add to Code Breaker's advice... I never use create>curve>ALL>surfaces. I use the same technique but I only create curves on the surfaces I want to extend. If you have a HUGE model and you create curves on ALL surfaces, you'll be deleting duplicate and overlapping splines till the cows come home!

WOW! What a welcome! Thanks to everyone who responded. To machinemasterg...yes, the training session was at Prism...you weren't sitting next to me, were you??

Hey all... I didn't even realize this board existed until I recently attended a Mastercam training session and was introduced to it there. I've been reading some of the posts and can't wait to try some stuff I've already learned here! I am also thoroughly impressed with the technical knowledge of many of the members here and am looking forward to sharing useful information when I can. A bit of background... I have been using Mastercam since about version 4 (remember the 'good old DOS days' guys?), but there are MANY things I still don't even pretend to know! I am currently running Version 9.1 on 2 Fadal VMC 4020's (1 with A/B attachment)and have recently began using Cimco-Edit Pro to edit files and communicate w/ the CNC's. These machines are 10-12 years old, but still get the job done. I do mostly 1 and 2 piece prototype work as well as small injection molding and vacuum-form tooling. I hope some of my experience may benefit someone else here. I also like the social nature of this web board and enjoy reading a good joke now and then, as well as sports and news discussions. I am looking forward to perusing the board when I have one of those LLLOOOOOOONG finish cut toolpaths to run and I start climbing the walls. CHEERS!