It's been a long time since I looked at Visual Mill or RhinoCAM. I noticed on TenLinks that Mecsoft released RhinoCAM 2017 so I thought it might be time to take another look.
So far I find it very impressive. It's been easy to learn, and I've only had a few questions/issues that I need help with. I was going to post this on the official Mecsoft forum, but it looks like the one I'm familiar with has been abandoned. So I will ask here.
SOLVED: 1) I see where to set fixture offsets (G54, G55, etc.) but I don't know what I'm supposed to do with the entry that appears in the MOPS. Since I can't post and check code, I can't test to figure this out on my own.
SOLVED: 2) Does the licensing allow for installation on a desktop and a laptop as long as they are not run concurrently? (Like Rhino) If so, do you have to check out the license, since I read there are no more dongles?
3) What is the best strategy for dealing with symmetrically opposite parts that require climb cutting? In WorkNC one of the ways we do it is to copy the toolpath, change it to conventional, and post with a mirrored post-processor (G51.1, CYCL DEF 8, etc.)
4) How does RhinoCAM control the overlap of vertical and horizontal toolpaths? I'm used to setting a slope angle to control this, but I don't see that as an option in RhinoCAM.
The next points appear to be bugs to me, but I'm going to assume that my noobieness is just making me misunderstand or that I'm simply missing some options:
1) I expected that the "ignore holes" option would cap a hole and allow the toolpath to "glide" across the opening without making an indent. It doesn't work that way. Should it? Or am I misunderstanding this option?
SOLVED: 2) The stepover control for horizontal roughing doesn't seem to work. Whether I enter a percentage or type in a value, the stepover doesn't change and always appears to be around 25%. Please see the attached screen grab.
Attachment 343834
3) It doesn't seem to me that the entry and exit controls are working for slotting. I would like a helical approach, but I can't seem to get it. When I try various options, very little actually changes in the toolpath. What am I missing?
Attachment 343836
4) When I add a machine to the simulation, the graphics are pretty nasty. Is there a setting I need to be aware of to fix this? (I have questions about setting up my own machines, but I'll save that for if/when we purchase this product).
Attachment 343838
5) Is there a way to undock the simulation controls? If you want to step through the path you need to open the simulation tab every time to get to the step button. There's got to be a better way!
Thanks in advance for any comments on the above.
Dan