Tech Tips

In Mastercam 2018, toggling the CPlane 2D/3D construction mode enables different construction modes for Curve One Edge and Curve All Edges. Setting the construction mode to 2D creates geometry parallel to the current CPlane at a designated Z depth. This eliminates the extra steps that were required to project the 3D geometry to the defined CPlane. Mastercam has added a feature to automatically select tangent solid edges. Holding down the [Shift] key and clicking an [...]

There’s a new utility in Mastercam 2017 called Analyze Toolpath that helps you investigate what is happening at any point in your tool path. This feature is available in both Mastercam and Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS. In the standalone version of Mastercam you’ll want to make sure you're on the Home tab and then you can head to the Analyze section to take a look at Analyze Toolpaths. This works very similarly in Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS. [...]

In Mastercam 2017 you can modify the Function Manager Tabs to personalize your Mastercam interface. For instance, you can quickly shift it from bottom to top and turn on the large icon display option for the managers. In previous versions, the Function Manager Tabs were on the top edge by default but this was changed in the later X versions. Also, while there was an option for large icons on the toolbars that option did [...]

There is a new utility in Mastercam 2017 that can significantly improve the quality of imported model data. The Optimize Solid function automatically repairs whole bodies or individual faces, improving the accuracy of edges and face blends. If you import a model that was created in a different CAD system Mastercam’s file converters can make it easy to simply drag and drop the file into the Mastercam graphics window. To help you determine what size [...]