Plastav, I could really use your help on an issue with a local customers machine that has.....wait for it...a *Siemens 840D* controller (I know I know ) If you're willing, could you email me off the board to discuss this? (I dont want the board clogged with Siemens slagging I'm keen on your input, since you've had some experience with this control. If you can't be bothered, I can also understand that as well Regards, Mick

Plastav, I agree about the "monster" Unigraphics. I used it for about 6 years, and prefer Mastercam. Sure, its a powerful modeller, but there was too much to set in the toolpaths, and their post processors sucked big time. Give me Mastercam any day And, I rarely use the WCS...but I need to start using it more...when time permits me to practice with it Mick

Rick, The routers (there's three of them) are all Shodas (with a Fanuc 6M, 6MD, and 7M respectively). I've got a MPSHODA post here, but it will need quite a bit of work to make it compatible with what they have. They have upgraded from V3.21 (Seriously!) to V9.1 and so the old posts, which worked perfectly, wont now Could you email me the MPMCAM.PST? I dont have it, and as you suggested it would be a good place to start, I'm all keen BTW, thanks for all the responses you guys. Just goes to show how great this forum is Mick (not Dundee)

Thanks for the replies. I want to be able to have the graphics area in Mastercam reflect the inverse Z as well. ie: Flip the Z axis. Is there any way of doing this? So, basically, they draw the way the part is programmed and posted.

Greetings, I provide local technical support for the local Mastercam reseller. They have a user with Router, and there are a couple of setup issues I'm trying to resolve for them. 1) Is there anyway to configure Router to orientate the system axes to be the standard top (with X positive to the right, and Y positive to the top) but with Z positive in what is normally Z negative, ie. into the table (in other words invert the Z axis). This is how they programme, and I cant find anywhere to change this (I have a vague suspicion I am missing something obvious) 2) When they use the multi head option, the posted co-ordinates for the second and subsequent head operations are not offset the head distance. Can anyone offer advice as to why this isn't happening? I'm experienced with Lathe and Mill, and this is the first Router installation I've handled, so I'm relatively green to the Router enviroment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Kind Regards, Mike

Hehe...I still run 6.13a occasionally. Maybe for nostalgia than anything

Yeah, Big Plus is the one. It is awesome. And the Big tool holders are a work of art Cheers, Mick

Sorry for my delay in replying, but I've been bunged up with the flu :/ Thanks for all the replies. The controller certainly appears to be good. I have an associate looking at one. Its a 40 taper, but its a double contact taper, so it'll add a bit more rigidity. Again, thanks for all your comments. Regards, Mick

Does anyone have any experience with these controls? It could be a misprint, and maybe should read Fanuc 16BiM..I'm not sure. Its a control fitted to the Kitamura Mycenter 3xiH, and has AI Nano Control (180 Block Look Ahead), 1280 Meters Memory and a Fanuc Data Server for high precision machining. I'm curious as to how anyone has found this particular control/machine for machining blowmolds and injection moulds. I was told a while ago the Fanuc high speed machining had limitations, such as only being able to use incremental, etc. Do these limitations still exist? Regards

Jack: W00t! Easytalk! Thats a great little product. We have an old 486 running DOS 6, and its sole purpose is to feed the machine. All that's installed is DOS6 and Easytalk.. And it works a treat. Its an old program that wont die

Hi there, A customer of mine has asked about spark eroding titanium. He has both a piece of Commercially Pure, and a piece of 6AL4V, and was wondering what settings etc should be used. He has his own spark eroder, and doesn't have any experience with titanium. Any help would be appreciated. If need be, anyone can email me off the board to avod clogging it up Regards

Ok...that sounds cool. Maybe I could post a program to my HP1120c deskjet printer and make it peck drill! Now that would be something... Heheheee....Sorry guys, its late, and I felt like a laugh

I've struck these issues as well, and for a few versions now. Maybe its got something to do with assiciativity. I used to run Unigraphics, and it used to exactly the same thing. Save a file, then exit, and it would ask you if you wanted to save the changes....weird

I have a colleague who has a small electronics business. He wants to build a small PCB routing machine (all the parts are pretty much avaliable over the counter), and he was wondering if there was anyone out there with experience in doing something like this. I figured, since that we have a diverse range of talent here, that it might be worth putting up an enquiry here. If need be, email me off the board. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers.

Thats the great thing about Mastercam. There's always something new to learn

I've worked pretty closely with designers using Unigraphics (I used UG myself), ProE, Solidworks, SolidEdge, SDRC and Autodesk (Inventor and Mechanical Desktop). Out of all of them, I'd hasten to say (noting that this is purely my experience) that ProE seemed to perform the best at free form modelling. I had a couple of problem fillets in UG (I was a UG user at the time), that just couldn't be made to work. I exported the model to a friend of mine who runs a design business with ProE, and he modelled the fillet within minutes. He's produced some really nice designs using that product. Of course, I've heard horror stories about the CAM side of ProE, but I've never really seen much of it myself. Still, I've seen people do great things with all of the products above. I guess it comes down to experience

heh...yeah...well....software huh... Still...the beer was good, the bourbon even better.... La Habra...now, thats a serious sounding Californian name...And for some reason, I knew something about La Habra a long time ago, and I cant remember what :/

Ok, to remove the error, I extended the surfaces, and the toolpath generated ok. Weird.... Still, its Friday....

I get this error when trying to generate a Flowline toolpath. The folder commontemp is read only, but making it writable in windows doesn't work. It resorts back to Read only. I'm Mill 9.1 in Windows XP with Service Pack 1 I get that old "I'm missing something here" feeling

Noel, What kind of machine/control is it? Is that a Yasnac i80M, with high speed machining?

Count me in.... Nice buttons too...hehehe

Mastercam has made vast improvements to its product, ever since I started using it at V4.11, and I like it more and more. I've had other reps try to convince me to switch to their systems, but I've not seen anything yet that would make me switch. And with the rate of improvements, I'm not likely to either Ah...made it to Friday... And Friday afternoon means....Beer o'clock!

Hmm...Fathers Day? Down here in NZ thats not until September... Well, Happy Fathers day to all of you that have it now

>Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling a pig >in the mud.After a while you realize the pig >enjoys it. Now, thats funny. Hehe...I laughed so much I almost spilt my coffee

Hi, If someone here is in close proximity to the San Diego Sheraton Hotel and Marina, at 1380 Harbor Island Drive, and could do me a HUGE favour, please email me off the board. Thanks, Mick