Incorrect I,J, or K value. But the syntax looks right. (T7 - 3/8 FLAT ENDMILL - H7 - D7 - D0.3750" ) N100 G00 G17 G20 G40 G49 G80 G90 N101 (TOOLPLANE NAME - TOP) N102 G90 G54 X0. Y0. ( TOOLCHANGE POSITION ) N103 T7 M06 ( 3/8 FLAT ENDMILL) N104 M01 N105 (MAX - Z2.) N106 (MIN - Z0.) N107 M11 (B-AXIS UNLOCK) N108 M13 (A-AXIS UNLOCK) N109 G00 G17 G90 G54 A0. B0. N110 M10 (B-AXIS LOCK) N111 M12 (A-AXIS LOCK) N112 G00 X-5.55 Y0. S2500 M03 N113 G43 H7 Z2. M08 N114 G94 Z.1 N115 G01 Z0. F5. N116 G42 D7 X-5.55 I.25 J0. N117 G02 X-6.05 I-.25 J0. F10.

Good day all. I am new to running our Haas VF4 w/ AB trunion table and ran into problems with cutter comp. Is there a parameter to turn on / off 2D and 3D cutter comp? If so, does anyone know what they are? It seems to me like it's something that simple...

Not much to add, just confirming what others have said here based on my own experience. +1 on the Onsrud tools! Also the down-spiral flute for thin section materials works great, and the smaller diameter tool the better is a good rule of thumb. Speed / feed is also key as jfitch points out, and is dependent on the type of material. Again, the general rule of thumb is lower spindle speeds to prevent burning / glazing / chipping of edges, and also helps tool life. Unfortunately it often comes down to trial and error to get the speed & feed dialed in for any given material. However if you have a good starting point it's usually not too painful a process to tweak the s&f to get the best results.

Welcome! Look at the entry / exit parameters. You may be able to get what you want by turning those on or off. btw...it's probably better to post questions like this in the industrial forum rather than the educational forum. More people look in there, so you will have a better chance of getting a quick response. Good Luck.

Yeah I'm pretty sure you can do multiple machines from one terminal with Cimco too. Ask your sales rep for specifics. I'm sure if you buy either Predator or Cimco they will help you configure it for what you need.

Welcome to the forum, Richard! This is a fairly common occurance whenever you have vertical walls perpendicular to a surface you are trying to machine. One of the great things about Mastercam is that there are always several ways to accomplish anything. Both solutions above are good ones. I tend toward Mike's solution of picking the boss surfaces as check surfaces and adding a little stock to leave. A less elegant solution is to create a temporary surface over the top hole (Create>Surface>Fill Holes) then just run the finish toolpath over the entire part. Sometimes that is easier than messing with everything else!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This We have PDM Works to control all of our Solid Works models and it works very well. We also have a full-time administrator who oversees the vault in addition to his duties as a designer. The control factor for files going in and out of the vault is excellent. It is 100% traceable for tracking changes. We haven't fully integrated our Mastercam files into the system yet, but that will happen in the future.

Thanks for spoiling our fun, Glenn. Surely We Are Royally Fook'd

Have you looked in your X2 backup directory for an older copy of the same file? That has saved me a few times so it's worth a shot. As far as the current file iteslf, if the toolpaths were deleted and the file saved without them, I don't think you will get them back.

Thanks for the info, Roger! Very informative and interesting! As I understand Tim's dilemma, Windows would not give him the option to uninstall the correct way. As you said, a third party uninstall program isn't a bad idea, especially when dealing with huge programs like Mastercam or Solid-Works. I think it's also best if possible to have that third-party uninstall program working prior to your Mastercam install so it has a 'record' of the installation.

Not sure if it's just a language barrier or what, but there was a thread here earlier that gave that impression. I would think the appropriate people at In-House and Mastercam will take the appropriate action if that is the case. This forum is a great resource for help, but there are limits. The guy may just be ignorant of the laws, but as we all know that's no excuse.

LOL...yeah I think we've all been there. If it's not causing you any issue it is probably best to just leave it there and just ignore it. Short of formatting your hard drive and re-installing Windows and all your programs, you don't have much choice.

OK for that you get a vigorous Windows spanking from Bill Gates himself ----> ...AND... a :twak: upside the noggin from your eMC friends to remind you to NEVER do that again! It's called tough love here at eMC, and we only do it because we care.

Yeah I wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt...but he proved me wrong. Sorry dude. There are too many people here who earn our living with this software to condone someone stealing it. If you can get set up with a legitimate seat of Mastercam I would be glad to help you.

Oh no doubt! I think all 5-axis machining has a component of programming finesse'. Definitely part science and part feel. Molds are a particular challenge with their own set of variables. I work mostly with composites and polycarbonates which also have their own unique set of issues. +1,000,000 on the learning experience, Bob. Whatever I do, whether it comes out the way I wanted or not, I look at as a positive when I walk away from the job having learned something.

Yes, this all good stuff. Let's not forget the programming side too. As a rule, I try to NEVER blend surfaces with different tools unless it is absolutely unavoidable. The more surfaces I can finish cut with the same tool the better.

Drawing the straight unbroken line from the first endpoint of the first line (x-4)to the last endpoint of the last line (x4) is the right way to to it. Putting it on a different level is also a good idea so you can easily identify it when picking geometry for the contour toolpath. Giving the level an intuitive name like 'single line' is also a good idea in case someone else looks at your model and toolpaths at a later date. When they see the level named 'single line' they should be able to figure out what you did.

Welcome gaohongbin! There are many people here who can help you learn. It works best if you ask specific questions. It will also be helpful if you could get books and other training materials in your language from your Mastercam dealer. Most of it you will learn by doing. You will also make some mistakes but that is part of learning. Good luck!

Nah...if it's in the US they didn't build that. Hey, it works! I love the old-school CRT monitor.

OK thanks for the reply. Someone here is going to contact our dealer to find out the details.

Here's a good question for the Haas gurus here. I have recently been tasked to take over programming and setup for a Haas VF4. My question concerns the trunion tables on these machines. Is it common practice to send these tables back to Haas to be rebuilt if the accuracy begins to drop off? We were thinking of buying a new second table to swap with the current one, then having the current one rebuilt. Is that also a common practice? Thanks.

I guess I'm spoiled because I do this on my Deckel every day with canned software. Mount a part or piece of stock anywhere on the rotary table. Touch two points with the probe along any flat edge. Set C zero to align those two points to either X or Y axis, or assign a radial value. Same procedure works with a vise. Mount the vise on the rotary table. Touch two points along the fixed jaw. Set C zero to align the vise jaw with either the X or Y axis. It is a HUGE time saver!!! Of course, running a Haas is kinda like ridin' one of these ----> Ok I do have a couple of serious Haas questions: Can the Renishaw probe and / or toolsetter be retrofitted to a Haas machine that did not have it factory installed? Can you have either the probe or toolsetter retrofitted, or do they function together?

Glad to hear it! This place is a gold mine of experience. I've found that almost any problem I've encountered with a 5 axis programming job, someone else here has had it and can help solve it.

I've seen this happen using lead / lag, especially when trying to transition from one to the other in the same toolpath. It's not so much that the toolpath encounters a B or C axis centerline dilemma, but a positive to vertical (zero) to negative dilemma. I think when your post encounters that vertical zero condition when transitioning from lead to lag it is throwing that C move to try to deal with it. (Convert to 5 axis in general adds an extra layer of complexity for your post as it is.) I've used gcode's idea of breaking it into 2 separate paths at the point where it goes from lead to lag or vice versa and that usually works. There is probably something in your post that controls that movement, but if you are pressed for time it may be simpler to just break it into two separate toolpaths. Unless one of the post gurus here can tell you exactly where to look, I would try the simple fix first.

You can change the direction of cut in the flowline parameters. As I said earlier, you can work with the lead / lag or side tilt angle to keep the center of the tool from dwelling where you don't want it to be. Much of it is trial and error until you get a feel for it.