I am going to cover this over 4 sections (Part1 – 4) I will cover what I consider “The good” stuff for Mastercam Mill Level3 and Wire.
Part2=FBM Milling and Drilling (This is what Mastercam want to put directly into Solidworks interface)
Part3=2D High Speed (This is what Mastercam want to put directly into Solidworks interface) Part4=WEDM
So just like the “Whats New” documentation coming with MastercamX3 we are going to start with Solidworks.
You can now finally import the Solidworks tree and actually use it, there is only one catch……. you need to have Solidworks installed on your system and be current on version. Go => File Open => Select File Type => .SLDPRT => Before clicking the “Green Check Mark” click Options => check “Import Solidworks History”
This is something that there should have been from the beginning of the X area, but good to see CNC Software finally got around to it. If you do not have Solidworks 2008 (Mastercam are making patch for 2009) you are out of luck in regards to the tree. I will show in upcoming blog how to import a Solidworks file in a couple of different ways in regards to have the right rotation of your part.
“Xform move to Origin”
This is one of these feature that sounds like it comes right out of a beta-tester request “Big appluse” it will save me some mouse clicks. The feature is pretty self explanatory when you know it is there. And off course like most MastercamX features it is in 2 places.
“The Flip button”
Keep an eye out for this feature around Mastercam it is very handy, it works on 3 clicks “Up(One side)-Down(Other side)-Both directions” in X3 it has now also been added to “Create” =>”Line Perpendicular”
“Choose start point for engraving” I don’t know if this is a special request from Router or Art people, but if not………its a joke in my opinion. Come on, you give me this? it does not even make up for the 1/32 of the 35min download I had to make to get MastercamX3. Personally I still haven’t found any reason to use the ‘Engraving toolpath” I am still using the old contour => window approach with “stick” letters , well here it is, if you disagree with me please feel free to comment :D, and if need be, we can go over what the “old contour=>window with stick letters” is, just leave me a comment 😀
Other new things: There are a new “Silent mode” you can set in the configuration. Basically if you have more than one session open and the one in the background is regenerate toolpath but gets and error, it will not make your computer coming to a screaming hold, but wait for you to maximize that session.
You can now in the configuration turn 3D Connection product on or off, I have no idea why you want to turn it off, but someone must have been loud enough about it, seems a little silly to put something like that in a somewhat “short” “whats new” pdf. By the way 3D Connection is something I would like to blog about at a later point. Conclusion of (Part 1) Well I personally do not pay the maintain fee, but I am the person who am somewhat hold responsible from our company, and I am not sure how I feel about this. A little disappointed? I think so, you go a whole year and this is what you get, well maybe it is what you get, but it doesn’t seem right. I know I left some things out, I do not have the “Mastercam Solid Option” so I am not going to beat to much on that subject. I know from www.emastercam.com that the Lathe people really felt left out, and supposedly has been feeling that for awhile. From the pdf file it looks like “art” got some new stuff, but reading through “whats New” I would expect CNC Software to do better.
Hang on for Part 2 on “Whats New”in MastercamX3