There is a new enhancement to the solid direct editing tools. In previous versions of Mastercam any changes made with model prep could not be undone. Now, up to twenty-five steps can be rolled back or forward using controls completely independent from the main Undo/Redo commands. If you have some toolpaths already programmed on a part you will see the standard Undo/Redo arrows on the quick access toolbar as shown below . . . . [...]
There is a new enhancement to the positional transform in Mastercam 2018 called Roll. Seam control integrates a new dynamic gnomon and an on-screen seam position indicator to help make your results more predictable. On the screen below you can see two lines of text that need to be engraved on the outside of the part around the 12 o’clock position. Since we are unsure where the text will end up when its rolled we [...]
As we continued our training and application experience here at Cimquest to apply Mastercam Dynamic toolpaths, we ran into several issues, some big ones being the ability to hold a tool when power cutting and maximizing tool life when speed cutting. First let’s explain what power and speed cutting is. Power cutting is cutting at more than 50% tool diameter and 1.5 to 2 times depth using traditional type speeds and feed to maximize metal [...]
Scan-based files involve cleaning up the scan, optimizing the mesh quality, and ensuring that the scanned mesh is watertight. At this point we can generate the neutral file based on this processed scan data. CAD-based is bit more labor intensive. It involves interrogating the mesh, creating CAD sketches and CAD features and fitting them to match the scanned data. Once the scanned data has been recreated as CAD data, we can then generate the neutral [...]
The Tech Exchange page on the Mastercam website is a valuable resource available to all registered Mastercam customers. It has links to dozens of files you can download and use in your projects. Here are some examples of how it works. When you log in at mastercam.com and go to the Support button and select Tech Exchange from the drop-down menu. Near the top, there are several search filters you can apply if you want [...]
Mastercam 2018 includes a new enhancement to both the Solid and Surface Primitives tools called Angular Sweep Control. It allows you to dynamically edit round object geometry while you are creating it. Here’s a summary of how it works . . . Let’s start by executing the Primitive Surface Cylinder command. After you set the Basepoint, Radius, and Height, the new Dynamic Arrow Controls appear on the screen. You can click on an arrow to [...]
Today we are going to give you some tips and tricks using SOLIDWORKS 2018 when importing STL format files. The STL format file, or “Stereolithography” format, was developed by 3D Systems, and has been around since 1987. In these past three decades, it has been widely used in rapid prototyping, as well as in the 3D Printing industry. As for SOLIDWORKS, it has the ability to import STL files. The default import setting is to [...]
Now, in Mastercam 2018, the Recent Commands Manager can be docked and resized for easier access. When you go to the View ribbon, make sure the Recent Functions Manager is visible. Its default location will be in the stack with all the other Function Manager tabs like Toolpaths, Planes, and Levels. You can hold the left mouse button down on the title tab and move the mouse to tear it off and make it independent [...]
