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 [...]
There are some new enhancements to the Curves commands in Mastercam 2018. The 2D/3D construction switch will determine if the curves are created on edge or projected to the current construction plane, and there are several new Selection and Filtering options available for both Curve One Edge and Curve All Edges. When curves are created on the 3D face edges in 3D mode the curves stay on the face edges. However, if you switch from [...]
There’s a new feature in SolidWorks 2018 called Tab and Slot that helps you to create a design to interlock two parts, whether in the context of an assembly or multiple bodies. Rather than doing it the traditional way, with several sketches and features, you can now use this new feature in SolidWorks 2018 to get it done much easier. In the image above, we have a box and a lid which we want to [...]
Mastercam 2018 includes a new enhancement to the 3D highspeed hybrid toolpath. In previous versions, sharp corner smoothing was only available in surface finish scallop, which did not take advantage of multithreading calculation. Now, in Mastercam 2018, one simple checkbox makes this option available in the 3D highspeed hybrid toolpath. Let 's take a look at how this works... To begin, let's compare two scallop toolpaths to show the effect this option has on the [...]
Let’s go over how to download and install the new Sandvik Prime Turning module for Mastercam Lathe and Millturn. This innovative new system integrates both specialized cutting tools and toolpath engineering to produce phenomenal efficiency gains in material removal rates. The first thing you need to do is log into the Mastercam website and then go to the 2018 Downloads landing page. From here, select the Prime Turning Installation zip file. Once the download is [...]
There is an interesting new option in the linking parameters for Mill toolpaths in Mastercam 2018. In previous versions there were only two options available on this page – Absolute and Incremental. Now, in 2018, a new option called Associative Linking has been added which takes full advantage of the intelligence built right into the model. And, it will adapt automatically to changes in the model structure. In the example file above there are several [...]
There is a new enhancement to the dynamic turning toolpaths in Mastercam 2018. In previous versions of Mastercam, you had to be careful not to gouge the part with the tool holder. Now in Mastercam 2018, one simple checkbox and an adjustable clearance angle can help prevent upcut motions which fall outside the tools useable cutting angle. If we examine a toolpath in a previous version we can see that, based on the chained geometry, [...]
There’s a new option in the Mastercam 2018 Simulator to save full 3D executable presentation files. In previous versions we could capture and save MP4 movies, but viewers could not change the capture perspective or zoom level. Now in Mastercam 2018, the presentation exe files are standalone files that can be run on any computer and they allow full flexibility of the 3D viewing environment. The file below is all set up and ready to [...]
