Mastercam B-Axis Adjusting the Stock
In previous Mastercam posts, we explored the first and second of three Mastercam 2024 b-Axis Contour Turning enhancements. You can find the first post here and the second one here. Today we are going to move on and talk about the last one – the Adjust Stock function. Many turning operations in Mastercam include the Adjust Stock function. B-Axis Contour Turning operations now also include this feature. However, the interface has been completely redesigned for an easier workflow. Click Adjust stock to edit the stock model at the beginning and end of the toolpaths. Do this to control how the tool enters and exits the stock. When you click the button, Mastercam displays the existing remaining stock model relative to the chained geometry in a temporary viewsheet. A green ball indicated the beginning of the chain, and a red ball indicates the end. The gray dashed line indicated the current stock boundary. Click and release one of the balls to edit the stock model at either end of the chain. Drag the ball to the desired location on the stock boundary, and then press Enter. White dots indicate up to three locations to which the cursor will snap: The location perpendicular to the [...]
Exploring the Control X Measure Menu
This blog post will delve into the Measure Menu of Geomagic’s Control X software. While most users of Control X are interested in producing color maps, whisker plots, dimension checks, and GD&T analyses of the scan as compared to the nominal CAD model, it is important to note that there are several “mesh-only” functions for measuring a scan model that do not require a nominal CAD model. Geomagic Control X Measure Menu Options The Measure Distance menu simply measures the distance between two points. You just need to keep in mind that the distances are generated from the nearest vertex points on the mesh, not the actual selected point. The Measure Angle menu will measure the angle between two mesh faces, such as the chamfer and body scan below. The Measure Radius menu simply measures the radius of a mesh by selecting three points at the edge of a mesh cylinder. The Measure Area menu measures the surface area of the selected mesh. This measurement is in terms of units squared (for example, in^2, mm^2, etc.). Surface area calculations may be for both closed and open mesh files. The Measure Volume menu measures the volume of a fully closed, manifold mesh. The units [...]
Materialise Magics – Packing Programs for 3D Printing
Let’s take a look at how to incorporate 3D packing software into your plastic powder workflow. While most machines come with their own packing programs, Materialise Magics can be a fantastic addition to your process. In this post, we’ll explore an example of a build for Formlabs, XYZprinting, and HP plastic powder printers that were packed in Magics. Magics is a mesh manipulation software that specializes in 3D packing. The program uses the geometry of your model to efficiently pack your parts, whereas other programs simply use the bounding box of your models. Due to this, Magics is able to increase the packing density of your builds, reducing the overall waste material that you generate and the time needed for printing. The first thing you need to do is import some files into the program. Magics can interpret almost every 3D file type including STL, 3MF, STEP, Solidworks, Creo, Inventor, and other native CAD files. When using STL files, you will need to confirm the sizes of your parts, since the file type holds limited information on the units. Using the handy scaling tool, you can convert between millimeters and inches with the click of a button. After importing, the next step is [...]
More Mastercam 2024 B-Axis Contour Turning Enhancements
Manually Defining the Usable Portion of the Insert In our last Mastercam post, we covered the first of three Mastercam 2024 b-Axis Contour Turning enhancements. You can find that post here. Today we are going to move on to the next one - Manually defining the usable portion of the insert. Mastercam now lets you manually define the allowable portion of the insert. Do this when you would rather define the insert visually instead of entering a dimension, or when you wish to define a usable insert area that is irregular or non-symmetrical. The new options are on the Advanced Motion Control page. Choose Manual, then the Edit depth button. Mastercam returns you to the graphics window where you can edit the boundaries of the usable portion. Use your mouse to drag each colored ball to the desired location on the insert boundary. Also, a new Preview button has been added. Click it to see the updated insert boundaries in the graphics window. This can be used no matter which method you use to define the usable insert area. Mastercam displays the insert with the proper insert-up or insert-down colors. The display takes into account the Holder clearance value. For collision-checking purposes, the [...]
Concept 3D-Printed Sneaker Made of One-Piece Construction
(Article reprint from AdditiveManufacturing.com) A new concept sneaker revealed at Paris Fashion Week makes use of 3D printed TPU not just for the sole, but the entire body of the shoe — a consolidation that hints at how additive manufacturing might further streamline footwear production in the future. The Reebok × Botter shoe was engineered with the HP 3D printing team based in Barcelona and manufactured using the latter’s Multi Jet Fusion technology. Reebok x Botter Concept Sneaker Engineered by HP premiered at the 2023 Paris Fashion Week. Photo Credit: HP Inc. Taking design inspiration from the shell of the predatory murex snail, the shoe features a distinctly ridged sole and a laced upper. The pairs showcased at Fashion Week were hand-painted to complement the colors of the Caribbean Sea found throughout Botter’s FW23 collection. Read the Full Article
Our CEO Wins the Distinguished INnovator Operators Award (DINO)
Congratulations to Rob Hassold, our CEO, for winning the DINO Award at AMUG2023 The DINO Award is AMUG’s most prestigious honor and is bestowed upon those with the highest levels of additive manufacturing expertise as well as a willingness to share that knowledge through contributions to AMUG, its members and the industry it represents. Each year, the DINO Selection Committee reviews submitted nominations and the list of conference registrants to select no more than 10 deserving individuals. The committee considers contributions to AMUG (speaker, volunteer, etc.); contributions to the AM industry; years of hands-on work with an AM technology; willingness to share and assist; skill level; and other subjective factors. Over AMUG's 35-year history, only 177 individuals have been awarded DINOs. We are very proud to be at the forefront of the Additive Manufacturing industry with a DINO award winner at our helm. Congratulations Rob!