[Skin]

Ok this is a Noob question, and from the start I'm sorry )

I'm coming from a Solidworks background and trying to learn MasterCAM on the fly and also write a simple prog to cut a top yoke for a motorcycle to 'prove' what we're doing here, and I'm stuck!!!

We've got a simple 3 axis mill which can be drip fed programs

I have brought in my solid from SolidWorks, and set me bounding box around it with the 'real material to be removed, working slowly through adding all our tools, still nnot sure about feed rates yet, but I can handle that later...

I've gt the basics of milling from the top, but then I try ad get it to cut from the bottom, the idea behind this being that I want to do all the ops in the same Mastercam file and just nest them in groups, would that be what the ToolPath Groups are for? my idea was that I could simply select one and toggle posting for that ToolPath Group so I could easily break the program down in to three ops, but have all the necessary manufacturing info for that part in the same place... Does this make sense, can I actually use MasterCAM in this way?

Secondly and most implrtantly, how can I tell it to mill from the bottom and MasterCAM to relax and be cool with that?

Any help always appreciated

Thanks

J

[cadcam]

Download this video file and remove from Zip and see if this takes care of your issue.

http://www.mastercam-cadcam.com/sample1.zip

[Steve Arteman]

This link to the video might help too.
http://www.cad2cam.net/zany.html
Steve
www.cad2cam.net

[Skin]

First video was great but audio looked 5 secs out of sinc with the video, took me 3-4 watches before I worked it out, but it is a great video.

Second was really good and nicely loayed out, but I only have a 3 axis mill, the idea is that I want to nest the three program segments into one mastercam part,

-Mill from top
-Turn billet over
-Mill from bottom (effectivly, although by this time it will be the top)
-Mill from side to put in clamping threads for the yoke
-Take out yoke and smile broadly


At the moment I seem to be following the procedure for both tutorials and I get the error "Tool plane must be set to top of off in entity"

Is there something I'm missing or am I just being too organised for a 3 axis machine?

J

[cadcam]

make sure when using the next WCS that when setting in the view mgr that you set all three option ar one keeping the WCS and the construction planes and tool planes set for that operation.

[cadcam]

I program this way every day using the one file and doing many setups.
Also review picture for more thoughts.

[Skin]

I program this way every day using the one file and doing many setups.
Also review picture for more thoughts.

You're a bloody pain you know that!!! This means I actually have to learn this properly then????



Thanks for that. So let me clarify, you are using a 3 axis machine, and you use to ops as a 1st op;, then change position of billet from top to bottom, then second op and lastly the third from the side, so to speak?

If this is the case, it is seriously the work of a genius, and this software is actually way ahead!!!

And it means I need to find a proper decoder to look at the tutorial you sent again :S

Thanks a million for what you've sent and all you've helped with so far.

J

[Mastercam User]

"You're a bloody pain you know that!!!"

Yes he is. He won't put a CD together and sell his videos so he can make a profit on his knowledge. How Un-American.

[Steve Arteman]

free and easy now days it took me many years to learn this stuff why not sell it, I never got it for free when I learned, I helped pay for my dealers first Corvette when I learned with the classes I took and paid for. One thing with the videos you can reuse it over and over and over if you don't get it the first time it pays off quickly.
Jay your not doing it free enough you need to do sound to. Just kidding guy's, sorry I provide support and programming at many companies and I wish I could do it for free but my mortgage company will not let me live in my house for free and I'm pretty sure you guys wouldn't work for free either. While we are on the suject look for a new basic surface cd that should be out by end of April.
Steve
[email protected]

[cadcam]

Skin review this video I did to show Mastercam user a project I did. you will see some of what you are asking if I do. I have some with more ops and setup and machines then this project.

http://www.mastercam-cadcam.com/stlstock/stlstock.html

When I teach at the collage I push using the WCS for programming one part. you get this in my beginnings class and your semi test from me is to import a file and program 5 different side all using the upper left hand corner and accounting for removing stock and post all the ops at once and get 5 different programs with setups.

[Mastercam User]

"While we are on the suject look for a new basic surface cd that should be out by end of April."

How much?

[Steve Arteman]

I'm thinking about the same as the others but will offer a discount when I first put it out.
www.cad2cam.net

[weirdharold]

Keep Us Posted. Always interested in different learning resources. Any chance of 3-D Tool-path's ? Harold

[Mastercam User]

I'm thinking about the same as the others but will offer a discount when I first put it out.
www.cad2cam.net

To me that means between $150 and $200. I've set $200 aside. I don't want a discount. What I want is quality and variety in Mastercam X2 MR2 video training from a variety of sources (Mike, Jay, You). If Jay keeps making free videos and expanding the subject matter I'm just going to FEDEX him a hundred dollar bill.

Let me know when it's ready, Steve.

[Skin]

Skin review this video I did to show Mastercam user a project I did. you will see some of what you are asking if I do. I have some with more ops and setup and machines then this project.

http://www.mastercam-cadcam.com/stlstock/stlstock.html

When I teach at the collage I push using the WCS for programming one part. you get this in my beginnings class and your semi test from me is to import a file and program 5 different side all using the upper left hand corner and accounting for removing stock and post all the ops at once and get 5 different programs with setups.

You fancy doing an English tour any time soon?

I'll give it a go

James

[cadcam]

I would love to visit my fellow friends in the UK. I do not see this any time soon.

Well steve is going to beat me to the punch on the CD's as I am testing Mastercam X3 and will base my disks on this version.

[Skin]

I program this way every day using the one file and doing many setups.
Also review picture for more thoughts.

"Tool Plane must be set to TOP or off in entry"

Okay how do I just turn it off?? Where is this box? Is it simple something I'm missing here?

J

[cadcam]

I will make another sample later have to run off to due a little afternoon fishing with my boys.

[Mastercam User]

I would love to visit my fellow friends in the UK. I do not see this any time soon.

Well steve is going to beat me to the punch on the CD's as I am testing Mastercam X3 and will base my disks on this version.

Because Mastercam is such a comprehensive product I think there is room for lots of people to offer video CD training without overlap. I guess I wish that you would release some non-comprehensive stuff a little at a time rather than trying to do a big exhaustive work but I understand that's not my call. Besides feature based machining, which I don’t have an interest in, X3 really doesn’t appear to be much different. We don't create custom tool libraries at work. Maybe we should but we don't.

[Mike Stevenson]

There is a simpler method of doing all this. I save the geometry 3 times so that I make a different program for each operation. In each program the part is rotated with the side I am working on facing the TOP plane. Then it's easy to keep the layers and tools for each setup seperate. When you do all 3 ops in one program it can become confusing especially for the novice. Either way works but mine is easier all around.