Hello Everybody!  Long time, no see.  I need advise on setup sheets and tool lists.  Which format do you use?  I am over several programmers and trying to get them all on the same page.  The shop has it's preference, but the programmers are not all outputting the same format.  Help or advise is greatly appreciated!

Personally, I would rather deal with a troll than with somebody who hides behind multiple identities.

Boy, do I feel silly! All this time I thought it stood for "Walmart Clearance Sale" Thanks for setting me straight.

You tricked me! I just got up & checked & there is no Ducati in my garage!

Louie, do you need a hug? C'mon, I'm just playing with ya. I have never been anything but nice to you. FWIW, I am glad that it is going well for you. Really. {{{HUGS}}}

Yea, we know. You keep reminding us!

Heh, being thought of as "uneducated" is far better than being thought of as an arrogant jerk. It is easy to prove that you are educated, but once people think of you as arrogant, it is hard to get them to think differently. So tell me SAIPEM, are you having a bad day, do you need to get laid or is your underwear too tight?

:::YAWN::: My guess is that Iskander accidently replied to the wrong topic.

Now, now. You all need to stop picking on poor old Randle. Can you imagine how much time he wastes looking for this all day long?

Yeah, but now you will probably never find out! LOL

Umm, right. Considering that it has been 3 days & you are still hoping that somebody takes pity on you & gives you the answer. I bet you are a real treat to be around at the office. Go back to the hole you came out of before you get swatted like the fly that you are.

*** BUMP *** Good luck, Lou. I know you guys are looking forward to getting this resolved.

I have a good friend who can help you. She goes by "Helen Waite".

Wow thanks Midwest. Didn't know that.

+1000

I have a HP Pavilion ZD7000 series. It works very well.

Hey Gus, welcome to the forum. I can't add to the excellent advise already given, just to say that I agree 100%. Remember, at one time everybody here was new to MasterCam. Actually, I am fairly new to MasterCam myself! I used a Unix based programming product for many years before I came to work for my current employer. I think that MasterCam is the best as far as machining software goes.

Connormac, why can't you be satisfied with the buttons that you already have? Methinks that you just like to mess with stuff!

Shop Wench bows in reverence to all of you.

Personally, I have never tried these. Depending on the part tolerance & material, I would stub drill & tap, which is what you are probably already doing!

Duh! I actually had a life before I joined this forum! I happen to collect quotes. Sounds to me like you need a punishment.

I have used that one for a long time! You have good taste. What can I say. Check out my new sig.

The only thing I can add is, once you have read the file in, save as an .MC9 file right then. See Toolfabs post about MC Shutdowns. Welcome to the forum. I am new here also.

Fish, this can be really hard to answer. It depends upon your & your friends exact situation.

Are you a self employed contract programmer, or are you planning to do this on the side at your regular paid job with or without the knowledge of your employer? Our company charges $65 an hour for programming. We have even been known to write programs gratis for other companies. People always remember a favor. Personally, I would never take in programming work without the knowledge of my employer. (I'm not saying that this is what you are doing, BTW) So, that being said, I agree with Paul. Personally, I wouldn't charge a friend for something like this because my employer would most likely let me do it anyway & if he was a good friend I wouldn't feel right charging him to begin with. However, if the job is really complex & is going to require everal operations, I would probably work up a quote for programming & machining. This way I could let my buddy know what exactly it was that he was asking for. If your friend is not in the manufacturing field, he may not realize how expensive it is going to be to not only have a part programmed, but to have it machined. I have been in the situation more that once where friends want to copy a product and assume that because I work in a machine shop that I can copy anything & it won't cost a thing. OK, I am off my soap box. Somebody hand me a towel.

Hey Toolfab, I have had MC shutdown on me when I am working on an imported file. As odd as it seems, I rebooted, inported the file again & saved it immediately as an .MC9 file. Once I did that, no more problems. This is the only time that I have ever had MC do that to me.

OK, I have a question. Please pardon my ignorance. If we use Solid Works, is it better than using Solids Option available for Mastercam? Or are they used in tandem? Our company actually has both & I have often wondered which is best to use. As it is now, I haven't used either. Please enlighten me.