I was hoping for a little more "enhancement" wise other than a new arc filter, cutter comp for peal mill & a new lathe library. If they fixed all the bugs (highlighting, ect) this should be a service pack, not a "MU"

quote: If so, how can I create an axis in the hole?Try Verisurf Holeaxis

1X

quote: I've seen tests done by a Mastercam competitor that prove it. unbelievable....A competitor showing how their system is better than someone elses. quite unheard of.

Did anyone else see the CamPlete Demo at IMTS??? They are coming out with a mill/turn solution that will put everything I have seen to shame. MTD's should be drooling over this......

quote: Don't confuse yourself B335 = B-25. (not B-335.)Depends on the machine. On our Toshiba (Tosnuc 888 control) B-90 and B90 are the same position. The positive or negative number just tells the machine what direction to go to get there.(clockwise or counter-clockwise). Confusing as hell compared to the "regular way".

quote: This is great software from what I've played with so far. The only shortcoming I see is no way of importing more detailed tooling info from Mastercam. (we'll figure out a solution, just getting into tool libraries here at my new job.)In Camplete you can load tools into your toolchanger...so when you import your .nci file they are already there & defined. Wait till you see the new version (I got a peek at IMTS)....very cool things are coming in the future.

There are other ways around this also, provided you are using a newer Fanuc/Siemens/heidenhien control. quote: originally posted by MMT-USA Basically TCPC is an option from Fanuc that instead of feeding the control direct XYZ ABC machine coordinates, you instead feed it cutter location coordinates that are always relative to the part. The controller will make the necessary calculations on the fly to account for the effects of the part rotation. Some maybe familiar with this on the Siemens control called Traori or RTCP. Programs using this function in Type 2 are independent of machine kinematics and machine zero. This means if you change the location of the part on the machine you do not need to repost it. You can also use the same program on a machine with completely different kinematics since the controller will make the necessary calulations to adjust for this. TCPC automatically adjusts the axis feeds to make sure that the feedrate of the tool is relative to the part. No need for Inverse Time Feed G93 The controller modifies the axis motion so the tool follows a straight line relative to the part avoiding linearization errors do to kinematics. Very cool stuff. I have also used Fanucs "Rotary table dynamic fixture offset" (G54.2) with alot of success. Basically it lets you put your X, Y & Z position error in a offset & the control adjusts for it.

What if a suggested "enhancement" is already available???

quote: Another question guys cant you use G41/G42? depends on if your control & post supports 5ax cutter comp. The easy way around this, especially for your chamfer, is to have the operator adjust the Z offset for the chamfer tool.

Have them check the ballscrew tension....I have seen that one before

In their infinite wisdom, CNC Software has decided not to support old versions of their program. X3 can not bring in anything older than a .mc9 file. While I don't understand the reasoning behind not supporting older versions, I can live with it. At least the older versions had a different file extension, so a batch conversion was/is easy. The question I have is in a few years...will X5 be able to open a X1 file????

I see this problem in lathe only. Right now the default machine def is on called Mori NL-3000. Now say I work on a file using a different definition, say Toshiba TMD-16. I close the file, do some other work, open the file back up & The TMD-16 gets replaced by the Mori NL-3000. It replaces the whole machine def, not the op defaults. Never have seen this problem with out mill defs.

The highlight bug is the one that keeps messing with me...pretty frustrating one.

I also doupt the BDX cutter is the way to go....if the part were alum, it would be a no brainer. I also have had good luck with the AJX cutters in stainless. with that big of a pocket....I would expect the part to go into a taco shape after you rough the material. Stainless is not exactally what you would call stable.

woohoo...thanks Mic

Has anyone else tried this yet? When I try to run the hsm.dll I get the error "The appropriate Mastercam .NET Support dll could not be found" If only Adaptive Clearing was included with X3.... anyone else find this issue???

quote: Our mothership in Japan just bought [3] V-Plus 550s for this purpose, but I think the main reason they picked Matsuura of the Okuma is that their operators are used to the Fanuc control. I know that the V-Plus has a fanuc option, but the one we own has the siemens 840di. I am suprised that the ES does not have the scales option....we have a Plus & a ES setting right next to each other & you can tell they use the same casting (or very very close). One other machine brand option for what you are after would be Dixi...they claim better than 1 micron (.oooo4in !!!!)accuracy throughout the range of travel. Big Big $$$ tho

quote: Mori comes standard with a big plus spindleAs does the Matsuura. We have a V-Plus 800 & it runs like a Matsuura...that it is pretty damn good. It does have the 840Di control on it, which I personally think is better than any Fanuc, but others might not think so. I think to get the tolerances that you are after, no matter what machine, you should get one with scales.

Tosnuc 888 control setting parameter 10 bit 1 1=linear rapids (straight line) 0=non-linear rapids (dog leg)

Thad, There is a parameter in the control that will get rid of the dog-leg rapids...its one I ran across by accident. I will check my notes & see what I can find.

Sorry bout the off topic rant....but when people use Mastercam & 2 turrets in one sentence it gets me going. That being said...I am sure that Esprit is quite capable of producing quality 5 axis toolpaths. I believe that they did thier toolpaths "in house" rather that going through Moduleworks. Whether thats an advantage or not...I dunno. I can say that I have not heard the most positive things about support when it comes to Esprit...definate minus If you are already using mastercam & it is working fine for you needs.....I think it would be insane to change. The cost of the software & the training to use it could well be spent on making more parts.

quote: If your bet is 2 years out... you will loosedealer told me not to expect a whole lot till X4...will see some things in X3 MR1. I am going by CNC Software's history....So I really don't expect full support till X5. Point is...if you need a mill-turn solution now...don't look toward mastercam.

quote: I think they will be a contender with the multi-turret/multi-spindle lathes in the near future.[sarcasm]What do you mean....Mastercam have been doing MATSS since V9....I have PROOF...check out the Icon.... [/sarcasm] My personal bet is 2 years from now we will be using it. Prove me wrong CNC Software.

I like Lyndex/Nikken's SK collet series. Balanced to 24K or something....