Cimquest Class Descriptions and Prerequisites

“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not train them and they stay”- Henry Ford

Mastercam Training

Cimquest offers comprehensive training solutions for Mastercam at our office locations in NJ, MA, PA, and CT. Most Cimquest classes are available as a remote online class (Post classes are in-person only at our Sterling, MA office.) Training class descriptions and prerequisites are shown here. If you have specific questions please contact our training coordinator at: 866-277-8778 ext. 2 or email training@cimquest-inc.com

Duration: 4 Days

Prerequisite: Basic PC skills and general CNC mill setup and operation knowledge

Pre-class Prep Download:

Description:

Our Instructor will mentor you in the basics of Mastercam to create 2.5D toolpaths. Students will learn from instructor lead exercises then perform student exercises covering icon functions, geometry and toolpath creation that will lead you to programming many different parts from start to finish. Students will build upon the foundational principles by working on over 40 different real world part files to develop their skills. Students will be able to create and work with wireframe geometry and import Solid models for tool path creation in drilling, advanced pocketing, helical entry and the basics of dynamic milling. Last you will be able to program rotary axis substitution parts and index units.

Details:

Mill Essentials covers the following topics

  • Mastercam Interface and layout
  • Creating/Modifying 2D wireframe geometry
  • 2D drafting (notes, dimensions, etc.)
  • Transforming geometry (rotate, scale, etc.)
  • Levels control
  • Preparing to Machine – machine definition and properties
  • Machine Group Setup – stock setup, workholding tools
  • Tool Path Utilities – toolpath manager, verify, back plot and posting
  • 2D contouring, pocketing, and drilling
  • Chaining basics
  • Tool control (ramping, lead in/out)
  • Helical entry
  • Dynamic Milling – advanced contouring and pocketing
  • Advanced drilling
  • Work offsets
  • Rotary axis substitution
  • Indexing

Duration: 3 Days

Prerequisite: Mastercam Mill Essentials

Description: Our instructors will mentor students to create 3D toolpaths. Students will learn from instructor lead exercises then work through over 60 student exercises to create and edit complex surfaces and curves, then program them using a variety of efficient 3D toolpaths with a focus on High Speed and Legacy toolpaths. In addition, students will learn to use stock models and apply different workholding applications, gap settings, tool boundaries, and gouge checking.

Details:
Mill 3D covers the following topics:

  • Creating/Modifying surfaces
  • Creating 3D curves
  • Surface Utilities
  • Stock Model applications
  • Workholding applications
  • 3D wireframe contouring machining
  • Legacy 3D surface machining
  • 3D High Speed surface machining
  • Toolpath filtering and tolerance settings
  • Gouge checking
  • Tool boundaries
  • Cut depths

Duration: 3 days

Prerequisites: Proficiency in Mastercam Mill 3 Axis or completed Cimquest Mastercam Mill 3 Axis

Description: Our instructors will continue mentoring students by building upon our Mill 3D class, to program essential 4 & 5 axis parts. Students will learn from instructor lead exercises then work on 40 different student exercises covering simple to complex roughing and finishing toolpaths. Important techniques of using containment boundaries, geometry applications and tilting strategies will be covered.

Details:

Mill 5 Axis covers the following topics:

  • 4 & 5 axis overview
  • Machine types/axes
  • Curve 5-axis
  • Swarfing
  • Flowline
  • Multi-surface
  • Drilling
  • Unified Toolpaths
  • Pocketing
  • Trim to Stock
  • Rotary 4th
  • Deburr
  • Circle Segment

Duration: 2 Days

Prerequisite: Mill Essentials. (For students that are only programming 2-axis parts just then basic Windows PC skills, fundamental operation & setup knowledge of a CNC lathe and turning tools and working through the following pre-class downloads.)

Pre-class Prep Download:

Description:

Our Instructor will mentor you in creating Mastercam 2-axis lathe toolpaths along with C&Y axis milling toolpaths. Students will learn from instructor lead exercises then work on over 30 different student exercises covering 2D wireframe then importing and manipulating Solid models for tool path creation for facing, drilling and rough & finish turning. Last, students will program several C & Y axis parts with live tooling. For each program created, you will post g-code, back plot and verify.

Details:

Lathe Essentials covers the following topics:

  • Mastercam interface navigation basics
  • Lathe Planes and Align to Z
  • Chaining
  • Geometry creation & importing
  • Turn Profile Creation
  • Common toolpaths- facing, drilling, rough & finish turning
  • Tool libraries
  • Plane setup
  • Dynamic Turning Toolpath
  • Prime Turning Toolpaths
  • C Axis toolpaths
  • Wireframe / 3D Custom Tools

Duration: 2 Days
Prerequisite: none

Description:
Learn the basics of the Mastercam CAD and drafting tools, as well as the tools and techniques specific to creating and managing efficient wirepaths. 2-axis contour and 4-axis synchronization, multiple contour, custom lead-in and lead-out, tab creation, and verification are some of the subjects discussed.

Details:
Wire covers the following topics:

  • Wirepath basics
  • Contour chaining concepts
  • Advanced editing concepts
  • No core toolpaths
  • 4 axis toolpaths

Duration: 4 Days
Prerequisite: Basic PC skills and general CNC Router setup and operation knowledge

Description: Our Instructor will mentor you in the basics of Mastercam interface navigation , geometry and tool path creation, leading you to program many different parts from start to finish. You will learn the foundational principles of basic 2½ axis tool paths and build upon them by programming many real world examples to develop your abilities. Upon course completion you will be able to create, manipulate and import basic 2D wireframe and Solid models for tool path creation in drilling cycles, contouring, pocketing, nesting and tabbing.

Details:
2D Router – covers the following topics:

  • Mastercam Interface and layout
  • Creating/Modifying 2D wireframe geometry
  • Basics of Solids
  • Transforming geometry (rotate, scale, etc.)
  • Levels control
  • Preparing to Machine – machine definition and properties
  • Tool Path Utilities – toolpath manager, verify, back plot and posting
  • 2D contouring, tabbing & pocketing
  • Block drilling
  • Engraving
  • Chaining basics
  • Tool control (ramping, lead in/out)
  • Patterns
  • Nesting
  • Work offsets
  • Standard Aggregate tool heads (90 degree heads)

Duration: 2 days with Mill Ess prerequisite 

Prerequisite: Basic understanding and reading of mechanical drawings. Cimquest Mill Essentials

Note this class is Remote or in-person at our NJ office

Description:

Mastercam Solids Design course enables you to create and modify various types of geometry including wireframe, solids and surfaces. Then create part fixturing, soft jaws and work pieces through multiple student exercises in order to prepare them for toolpaths or save as a file for 3D printing. In addition, you will learn to create basic sectional & auxiliary views then identify and fix given geometry issues. Lastly, review proper dimensioning methods and apply dimensions to multiple exercises.

Topics:

  • Levels 
  • Solids creation
  • Solids edit/modify
  • Solids pattern/impressions
  • Model prep functions
  • Surface from Solids
  • Analyze & attributes
  • Geometry transform
  • Merge
  • Saving for toolpaths or 3D printing
  • Identify & fix geometry issues
  • Dimensioning

Cimquest has a dedicated Post Processor team for all custom posts that require actual “code” changes. Learning post-processor code is learning another language and is best for those who speak the language regularly to write your Post.

Our Post class will teach you how to make very minor edits to common output of the code. Any changes to motion and other extensive modifications need to be done by our Post Team. This class is only offered several times a year at our Sterling, MA office and is in-person class only. No remote training available.

There are some common changes that previously were done in the post and can be done through the software settings. Check out our 2 Minute Tuesday videos to learn how to make these changes:

https://cimquest-inc.com/machine-definition-max-spindle-rpms/
https://cimquest-inc.com/coolant-command-options/
https://cimquest-inc.com/control-definition-changes/

Duration: 2 Days
Prerequisite: Familiarity with Mastercam and an understanding of basic G-Codes.

Description:
Learn how to create and edit post processors in order to customize G-code output for your specific machines.

Details:
Posts covers the following topics:

  • Machine and control definitions
  • Post structure
  • Hard coding and string usage
  • Basic variable manipulation
  • Format statements and value manipulation
  • Formulas
  • Post questions
  • Lookup tables

Geomagic Training

Learn the basics of Geomagic’s Design X, Contol X and Wrap in Cimquest’s state of the art classrooms.

Duration: 3 Days

Prerequisite: Understand and use Windows conventions. Understand basic scanning techniques and basic CAD modeling concepts

Description: This three-day instructor-led course covers the usage and concepts of 3DSystems Geomagic Design X. The user will learn how to interact with the application, edit point cloud data, generate and edit STL models and generate surface and solid bodies for downstream applications.

Details:
Geomagic Design X covers the following topics:

  • Intro and overview
  • User interface
  • Point fundamentals
  • Mesh fundamentals
  • Region Group Editing and Utilization
  • Aligning Scan Data
  • NURBS surface fitting
  • Parametric Surface and Solid Modeling
  • Exporting Data
  • Accuracy Analyzer

Duration: 2 Days

Prerequisite: Understand and use Windows conventions. Understand basic mechanical part inspection practices.

Description: This two-day instructor-led course is designed to help users evaluate the benefits of computer-aided inspection and how to succeed in developing automated inspection processes. The user will learn how to align scan data with CAD models, compare the scan data to the CAD models, perform additional 2D and 3D analysis, generate reports and automate this inspection process for repeatability.

Details:
Geomagic Control X training prepares students for the following topics:

  • Prepare the scan data for the inspection process
  • Perform alignment between the CAD model and the scan data
  • Evaluate scan data using 3D analysis tools, e.g. GD&T, Annotations
  • Perform 2D Analysis, e.g. Dimensioning
  • Generate an inspection report in various output formats
  • Reapply the initial inspection process on additional scan data

WrapDuration: 2 Days

Prerequisite: Understand and use Windows conventions. Understand basic scanning techniques and basic surfacing concepts

Description: This two-day instructor-led course covers the usage and concepts of 3DSystems Geomagic Wrap. The user will learn how to interact with the application, edit point cloud data, generate and edit STL models for downstream applications.

Details:
Geomagic Control X training prepares students for the following topics:

  • Processing of point cloud scan data
  • Processing of STL data
  • Create water-tight STL models for rapid prototyping
  • Export data for downstream applications