You're going to need a card smaller than 128MB IIRC for pre 2000 machines. Honestly I'd go with a 64MB just to be safe.

That's a great multi-pallet starter... no question. Full Featured, 10 pallets, 90 tools, not a huge footprint either.

Get a Matsuura and we can DEFINITELY work something out. On a case by case basis, I will travel anywhere.

As a Machine Tool Dealer AE, I cannot stress this enough. SO many people will fumble their way through, find a way that works-ish, then get married to that. Then WHEN issues crop up they may find themselves painted in a corner. I've last count the number of individuals I've had to untrain and retrain. Personally I don't mind it, it's part of the job, but let's face it, sometimes there's some ego involved and that can make for a difficult training experience if one is not open to change. So, before you go down the 5-Axis MACHINE side blind, call your builder/dealer and schedule some training. It'll be worth the effort.

The machining envelopes I work in 90+% of the time are within a 1m x 1m Envelope... so, typically, I will "fast" position about 5,000mm/min. That seems to keep the sheet metal intact. and it's not terribly slow. The reason you DO NOT want Acc/Dec active while probing is because you need the machine in essentially exact stop check mode to get the most accurate positioning measurements. If I were working on large gantry equipment, I'd probably have graduated feeds so say start out at F2000mm/min for 25mm, F5000mm/min for 25mm, then get up to F15000mm/min, then back down the same when I come close to my final measurement position. JM2CFWIW

Well, that's just rude! I agree, not helpful at all. In FANUC-ese, if parameter #6019.0 = 0 it outputs the MACRO variables in hexadecimal. #6019.0 = 1, it outputs them in normal decimal. Not related to your problem but it's still a "Why on earth would you want that?" :headscratch: Anyway, good luck @SlaveCam

You can specify a feed rate in protected positioning moves... G65P9810XF200. My guess is your MACROS are set up so that if there is no F specified it moves at F12000 mm/min.

Got a request today to clarify/expand on SETVN command as well as update to current variable ranges (#1-#33, #100-#199, #500-#549 and #550-#999). https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4in9y0c8hzykhr71adnfi/Custom-MACRO-B-Simplified-Guide-Rev-E-Mill.pdf?rlkey=jokzh5hw9yna87pvac5no2hxr&dl=0 Rev-E.

Because terminology is CRITICAL in CNC Functions, it is important to understand Sub-Programs and Sub-Routines ARE different. Most people think the terms can be freely interchanged but they should not be IMHO. A Sub-Program is a call to an external program. M98/M198Pnnnn or M98/M198<EXAMPLE> A Sub-Routine is a call within the same program. M98Q1234 with the Q being the routing/section to jump to. And because we're taking about this stuff, may as well mention MACRO calls; G65Pnnn or custom G-Codes or custom M-Codes and perhaps passing some arguments along. Here's a PDF we pass along to our customers that is pretty rich in details/explanations about FANUC Custom MACRO B. Some of the credit as tonsome of the details in it should go to some of our fellow eMastercammers that like to talk trash about FANUC controls not being able to do this or that. We're at Rev. D. As questions get asked, and we get time, it gets updated. Hope this helps. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/w6fbkogex8wytpnqp7mgc/Custom-MACRO-B-Simplified-Guide.pdf?rlkey=ko1e4jlqgwt42x0829qwe62gg&dl=0

Sick burn!

Only ever had to grind drills, corner radii, and a few form tools. I'd say the VAST majority of guys that can do that now have gray hair or no hair. Generic carbide tools today are so inexpensive it's cost prohibitive for machinists to grind their own tools from scratch any more. IMHO of course.

@MIL-TFP-41 I think you're limited to 4 probes in a machine. The limitation is the number of variables required/probe software. IIRC.

There's A LOT of moving parts in software. Especially software that is as system intensive as CAD/CAM/CAE/CAV/PLM, etc... is. Sometimes something as (presumably) benign as a virus signature update in your virus protection software can flag a piece of code that runs in your software and then begins the cascade. This is one of the main reasons I stay as up to date as possible on all my software and drivers. If I were in your shoes, my pitch for staying up to date, or, if you absolutely must be behind, do not get behind more than one version, is 1) Drivers, OS Updates, Virus signature updates, etc... can have an impact on when bugs present, 2) Software Bug fixes, and 3) Up to date file importing. To me, there is no viable argument that overrides all 3 of those considerations. There may something that overrides one or two, but not all three. For you personally and professionally, some unsolicited advice; it is absolutely in your best interest to stay as up to date as humanly possible because you never know when things may change and you never want to be caught behind the curve. Get out in front as frequently as you can and your careerpath will thank you for it.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and if ti was easy, EVERYONE would be doing it. Just like unattended machining, there ARE a lot of logistical and process challenges to overcome. Think of everything that could possibly go wrong, because it will, and it will do so at THE most inopportune time. Murphy at your service. 1st and foremost, an industrial 3D Printer is a must, there are very good consumer printers out there, but they just will not stand up to the rigors of non-stop running without even more frequent maintenance intervals. Next, remove variables. i.e. material suppliers. Go with reputable media manufacturers and stick with them (BASF, ColorFabb, Filementum, etc...). They will cost more, but in the long run, you'll have fewer bad prints. Environment, environment, environment. Just like when you want to hold a couple/few .0001's or 1-3µm when machining, climate control that environment. Once I got my printer in an enclosed space, my prints got WAY more predictable then I could adjust accordingly. Those are just a few things off the top of my head I could think of. As like most things, the more work you do up front, the more benefits you reap on the back end. Cut corners up front and you'll pay on the back end. Guaranteed. JM2CFWIW

That's HEAVILY dependent on the machine, environment, calibration, etc... Some machines I'd not trust for tolerances less than ±.0100" - my world is a little different than most. We helped a customer set up some inspection (on a Matsuura LF-160). The customer did some testing. They found the sweet spot in their shop (climate controlled 24-7 and temps held to between 68-72° F and humidity was measured at the very least) was ±.010mm (.0004" rounded) and above. Below that environmental factors just played too big a role thus necessitating sitting in QC lab for the 24 hour time period specified in their QC documentation. As stated before, volumetric error mapping, regular machine calibration, coolant temperature management, etc... . A ball-bar test can be telling, but it doesn't tell the full picture and I would DEFINITELY not be buying parts off from a machine that had only been ball-bar'd. There's WAY more to it than that. JM2CFWIW

Properly formatted data from a CNC can be imported into reporting software. "Machine Verification" is merely a mental hurdle not a physical or mechanical limitation until the decimal places move beyond 4 places metric and 5 places inch. A properly calibrated, and volumetric error mapped CNC is nearly as capable as the highest of high-end CMM's. Elect to get the Renishaw SPRINT scanning probe and limits become even fewer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying a CNC should replace a CMM. I'm just saying that a CNC CAN be used to take some of the load off the CMM department successfully in many situations, but because of mental hurdles that people cannot or have a REALLY hard time overcoming it gets dismissed. I liken this discussion to the "SPC" discussion. There's a TON of misconceptions out there, and the misconceptions have been passed down for so long nobody questions them anymore and the misconceptions and waste persist. #FACTS

SO much this ^^^^^^^^^ Myself, I only wait as long as it takes to get the CAMplete TruePath Plug-In or until I finish a project... whichever is longer. It's usually within a month or so of a new Mastercam version release. Then, I uninstall the old Mastercam version. There have ALWAYS been software bugs and there will ALWAYS be software bugs.

This is always the fun discussion with QC. If 1) one maintains the same coordinate system the parts were made in, or, 2) there's a requirement the parts me measured in the unrestrained condition, then that is absolutely correct. However, if there is no specification for 2), then creating a new coordinate system, then measuring, provided the machine has glass scales, you "can" yield the same results as a CMM. And if you have a Renishaw SPRINT scanning probe, you can even check freeform profiles. I had a QC manager tell me I was "Full of $#!+..." so I asked for their CMM stylus size, point position and cycle measurements. The individual indulged me (to my surprise). The machine produced results within 5µm of the CMM report. No features were closer than .010µm. I suspect machine envelope/coolant temperature was the culprit for the differences as the part were aluminum. Now, because they were so specific in their ISO/AS manual, they could not add CNC Inspection to their procedures, but the point was made, the results spoke for themselves, and the QC Manager said "I stand corrected, but, I am not allowed to deviate from the ISO/AS procedures, however, they would discuss adding CNC Measurement for 'certain' part buyoffs so long as reports can be generated from the CNC directly (they can). Once you break the work coordinate system link (G54, G55, etc...), the part and CNC are no longer connected in the traditional sense. If you maintain the same coordinate system then the CNC and part are connected.

If "inspection" is a bottleneck (meaning it's holding up part shipments) then it's worth further serious examination. If available spindle hours is a limitation, in machine enspection is going to exacerbate the situation. If you're referring to setting work offsets, checking stock size/location/orientation, critical features for re-machining, etc... then my answer is I do one or all nearly every time.

Does your budget number include tooling or is that the machine budget? The kind of work you intend to do will dictate a lot; table size, travel, number of tool positions, etc... I agree with spindle probe being a MUST. Tool Measurement system is REALLY handy too but, that can be added in the future easily enough. What control features you are going to need will be dictated by what kind of work you intend to do.

He said "online" and "free". Mastercam is nether. As with all things "free"... caveat emptor... or Buyer Beware. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Good chance the data you convert is retained by them in some way, or becomes part of the Public Domain. Read the fine print. https://convert.emachineshop.com/ https://miconv.com/sldprt-converter/ Personally, I'd never do it, but you asked so here you go.

As an aside for odd shaped things, yo chan change the probe search distance with a "Q" argument. Default search distance is 10mm. Add a Q and a value (i.e. Q1.0) to increase the search distance to what you need. Beware of interference/collision possibilities when increasing the search distance. Ask me how I know.

On it's way.

Yeah... shoot me a PM and I'll get you squared away.

I've exported "assemblies" from Mastercam as STEP files and imported them into my CAD program and they come in as a single part with multiple bodies and no names. Good chance names are not supported on export. Haven't tried IGES. There's a saying about IGES... it is really just a misspelling of I guess. Meaning if that is your last resort and the only thing available then it may be better than nothing but not always.