yeah what Dave and Jay said... AND they really don't like EDM guys!

AHHH, dirty geometry comes in many many forms and causes the biggest problems I think. It comes along with 1. Xforming things too many times( as Reece points out), 2. Creating the same thing more than once because they don't know what to expect when performing a function so they do it over and over! 3. Bad Breaking and Trimming operations, due to not knowing what the heck they are doing. for example BREAK-MANY PIECES-SEGMENT LENGTH=.010" These are some of the bad habits that you should try to break immediately! Robert Winters Programmer/Instructor/Snowboarder

I don't think they don't like EDM guys! ha ha! Robert Winters Programmer/Instructor/Snowboarder

HAHA! Well if Peter and Paul don't know, then I guess my answer doesn't hold to much weight! Ok, are we scared yet? Robert Winters ps Peter ... quote: -------------------- Bootleg V9.1 from Ebay, XP Pro -------------------- Too Funny!

I know how much they cost as I just purchased them. Wish I could share here on the forum but I don't want to make any enemies! LOL Anyhow, I know that doesn't help but I wanted to mention, that they work great! Robert Winters

+1 to Kannon123 but I use it on more than just holes... I always have seperate operations for roughing and finishing, whether it be a pocket profile or bore.

Disclaimer: That was what I was last told... I guess they could always change it like they keep changing the release date.

LOL mayday! Solids will still be an add-on. Sorry KingLouie.

Crazy Millman points out the most important issue between the different methods of cutter comp. When I teach cutter comp, I instruct my students to ask themselves whether they want to put zero's in the tool table in the control for every tool or whether they want it to reflect the actual cutter size. Regardless, I always tel them to use computer for all rough passes and either wear or control (depending on which method they want) on only the finish passes. This way it removes a lot of confusion when manually editing if necessary. This way if you see a G41 or G42 you know that it is a finsh pass. Both wear and control work great. I would probably say that wear is a little more reliable if you don't want your machine to make unexpected moves. But most of them are avoidable if you use the rule of making your lead in/out arc greater than 50% of your cutter. I use 60 percent all the time! Keep in mind that if your cutter is .25 and you arc in with a .15 arc, the control will subtract half your cutter from what you enter in mcam. so... .150 radius-.125 tool radius = .025 actual radius moved on machine. One other thing you want to avoid is mixing wear and control. Although you can do it if you add seperate d#'s I would suggest you stay away from it if you are unfamiliar with all the differences. Robert Winters Mastercam Instructor NTMA Training Center Ontario, CA

I would like to second Gcode's motion! MpMaster is great... I as well would like to see it continued, and If my brain is not totally fried from staring at this computer screen too long and I remember correctly, I asked that same question at the last user group meeting and recieved a Yes answer. Good news for Gcode, myself or anyone else who uses it. Can any of you mastercam guys back me up on that, or am i out to lunch?

Bill, I, as well program 7 Fadals ranging from small to big, using 3 to 5 axis, and we also use Format 1. A quicker way to do a mass modify than to go into the table and select option 3 and then enter your value is to simply type in at the command prompt... SL,F#,L#,Z Increment where F# is the first tool number and L# is the last tool number that you want to modify. For example if you wanted to lift tools 1 thru 7 up .785" you would type... SL,1,7,.785 (enter) Of course it is a great idea to include a tool register that initially had a zero value (as betts was saying) so you know what the offset value has changed in case you ever want to get it back to where it was.

I noticed that if you try to change certain things using the change common parameters particularly tool planes and origins that if one is diefferent than the others that is when it seems to fault out. If I leave all of them how they default and they all match when I go to change common parameters (or random parameters if you will) it will work 100% of the time. But If they do not match look out, then it works like 1% of the time... sorry B747US

I think the key factor is confidence. I have been working for the same company for 9 years, and one thing I notice as I see certain people get ridden is that it destroys their self confidence. It starts off with them just wondering if they are going to get hassled for everything they do. It causes them to focus so hard on areas they think there may be a problem that they miss the really easy glaring mistakes. It doesn't matter whether we are talking about Programmers, Setup guys, Operators or Assy people! The bottom line is that when you start this cycle of screwing up even when you think you are paying more and more attention, that is where the self doubt comes in. I have sort of learned to be a rock... whether they are riding me to get something done/do something better or not hassling me at all, I need to just work at my own pace (which is pretty darn fast), tell them i will be done when I will be done and not listen to their negative comments. They may think so, but the shape up or ship out idealogy will not help make better parts. You just gotta trust yourself and considering you have plenty of experience that should be easy! Good Luck! Robert Winters Programmer Upland Fab, Inc.

In the Transform operations Parameters - Types and Methods page, there is a Work offset numbering section, try clicking on the radio button for Assign new and set your numbering increment.

oops "T/C Plane" button not "T/C Pland"

On the Tool Parameters tab in any individual operation, if you click on the T/C Pland button, in the lower left corner there is a work offset button. If you set it to 0 it will output a G54. If you set it to 1 it will output a G55. 2 gives you a G56... so on and so forth. Hope it helps!

Hi radanman, welcome! We do alot of 5 axis work on composites here as well... most of the work requires fixturing but it also requires that the layups have tooling tabs. I would need some more info in order to help you any further.

Henri, I would be more than willing to help while I am there on Saturday. If he wants to come in I could show him the projects/textbooks. Robert