Tech Tips

The Hole Table feature of Mastercam Mill was previously only an add-in in earlier releases but it is now integrated with Mastercam and has been improved. Select Hole Table on the Drafting tab to use this new function. Hole Table creates parameter notes for all holes (circles) in your part file, allowing you to gather hole data and record it in a table for part inspection. In previous Mastercam releases, it was limited to finding hole geometry only on the active plane and only recognized wireframe geometry. Selection As an add-in in earlier versions of Mastercam, Hole Table automatically recognized [...]

Coolant has three purposes for CNC machines. To cool To lubricate To flush chips away from the cutting tool. There are 3 typical delivery methods, flood, air, and mist and each is affected by pressure and volume. Flood is the most common method, which is directed either at the tool, through the tool, or both. Flood delivery is the best method to provide cooling, lubrication and is good at chip flushing. As coolant pressure increases so does the ability to flush chips and remove heat. In drilling, as you drill larger diameter holes you need more volume to fill the [...]

With Mastercam 2020 you can set up your max spindle RPMs for various machine types. Whether it is a Milling machine, a router, or a lathe, you will want to properly set up the max RPMs so you are using your machine to its full potential. Start with your milling machine selected and then go to the Machine tab to select the Machine Definition option. Click the checkmark in the box that appears and then right-click in the Machine section of the window and select Expand All so we can see the entire machine component list. From here, you can [...]

This article will show you how to adjust the coolant command options inside of the Machine Definition in Mastercam 2020. Setting up the names for the coolant is important to ensure that programmers and operators know exactly what style of coolant to expect for each tool. First, select the machine you would like to change and then go to the Machine tab on the Ribbon Bar and select the Machine Definition option. Click the checkmark in the box that appears and then click on the blue icon which will launch the General Machine Parameters window. Inside here, click on the [...]

With Mastercam 2020 you can make some simple yet effective changes inside of the Control Definition. Things, like setting up the proper G Code file extensions, having IJK or R output for arc moves, or enabling and disabling canned cycles, are essential things in Mastercam that we need to have properly set up for ideal output of our G Code. Let’s begin with a machine selected and go into the Machine Definition through the Machine tab. Next, select the controller icon to enter the machine’s Control Definition. Inside of the Files section, you can set up the proper NC File [...]

There is a new feature in Mastercam 2020 called Dependencies. In previous versions of Mastercam, the process of selection and regeneration of parent and dependent operations was a process of several clicks. Now, in Mastercam 2020, the regeneration and selection process are streamlined for us with just one click of a button. After clicking on the new icon in the toolpath manager titled Dependencies you will see inside of the drop-down arrow that you have 2 options: Selection and Regeneration. When the selection option is on if you click on a parent operation all of the dependent toolpaths that are [...]

There is a new feature inside of the Analyze Entities function in Mastercam 2020 that makes it easier to figure out associations between geometry and toolpath. This new feature makes it easy to check to see how and where geometry is being used. To illustrate, we are going to use a file that has many toolpaths and multiple machines. Most of the work has been programmed for a milling machine, however, there are two features that cannot be milled out. These would have to be completed with wire EDM. When we begin to analyze some geometry using the icon shown [...]