You just received a text message from your wife that you favorite fishing pole is packed along with the big cooler, and ready for your trip to the lake. It is Friday afternoon, life is good because you just got that rush job burning happy and well in the WEDM for the next 16 hours.
~You know it is to good to be true~.
A call from the engineering department that a new Solidworks model has been send your way, and the change results in re-programing the part because someone by mistake added one leg too many. Fishing trip down the drain?….
Last month… There was the blog post Easy to Track Solidworks files with Mastercam that will secure you catch every detail changed in the Solidworks model, now the next step…
Change Recognition
Mastercam compares the currently loaded file (called the original file) with the specified file (called the incoming file), and let you view the differences and also update the toolpaths.
As you can see, with options from the “Geometry Display” drop down it is fairly easy to key in on the differences.
* Features of the original file
* Features of the incoming file
* Features of the two files have in common
* Features unique to the original file
* Features unique to the incoming file
* Both files combined
Many old school people will in this case lower there head and start over, but with a little playing around to get some confidence with this feature, your fishing trip is not in danger and redoing you toolpath is piece of cake. 1) This drop down menu will help you select which toolpath you are modifying. 2) Choosing “incoming file” to use the now model for toolpath picking. 3) Just like normal this button will take you to your chain manager you know so well. 4) With the now model selected in “Geometry Display” and you old toolpath selected from you drop down menu (1) it is clear what has changed but also easy to pick your new path.
Conclusion I think this is a great feature that came with the X series, as we see more and more models handed down and fewer actually drawings filled with revision tables, this feature has proven to be at value. The problem is that it does take some time to get comfortable with when you have a $13,000 mold Cavity sitting in your WEDM, and I do believe that some of the innovating heads at CNC Software should spend some time trying to make it a little more user friendly, maybe something in style with the new “tree style” menus they got for 2D and highspeed toolpaths could be used here?.