Mastercam Multiple Parts

[Justina Ky]

Im very inexperienced in dealing with doing multiple parts in one program. I have my dual station vice setup with the front part as g54 and the back part as g55. Where I am running into issues is keeping track of the WCS when I have the same tool doing the same op in on different parts. How do you normally keep track of what your doing to what part?

There are many ways to handle this. The best way totally depends on the situation, are you running each tool on both parts, are they identical parts that you need to machine, is there a rotary table in play here?

Transforming toolpaths is one way to go, or having multiple operations with a different WCS set inside them is another, if this is a one off deal, you may be better off just using 1 wcs & moving the geo in mcam once the fixtures are set.... Details of the process will be critical to getting you the "best" answer.

Use the ops manager and toolpath groups (and subgroups) to keep organized. It can get a little unweildly dealing with the same tool working on different offsets. Good idea to use clearance plane for all ops, just to make sure the tool is up between shifts from 54 to 55. Before you post, verify ALL the ops together. When verifying single ops you might not pickup the moves between parts which is where clipping can happen.

Multi part setups are pretty common here. We use alot of the practices that were mentioned above, and yes it gets really loopy and a PITA with same tools going back and forth between more than one offset.

I have some square cores that we do several times a year and I am gearing up for "lights out" machining and want to do 2 of them at one time. The cycle time on 1 part is 5.5 hours and we usually make 12 or 18 at a time.

My question is, can I do this and post it right out of MCX3 or am I gonna have to manually edit and paste code to get it to work correctly? (I've done multi parts before by copy & paste but I would like to learn how to do this in MC of possible)

There are several ways to run multiple parts. If your only going to run two at a time the transform operations may be the easiest way to go. The process is not hard to figure out. If you're going to run more than two parts at a time then you'll probably want to variable offsets and run all your parts on one toolpath (per tool).

Thanks for the samples and the info. It's posting out code that will work except there are no G54, G55. It's also posting 2 files and there is no text in my .nc file but it creates a .ext file with the same name as the .nc file and all the code is in the .ext file???? Crazy....anyone ever had this happen?

Murray, the ideas above are all good ones I'd like to offer another if it fits your use. I've tweeked my post to drop the WCS output (ex no G54. . .) and wrote a main program call on the mill to call the WCS I want the program to run on. Thus you can call the same program to multiple locations add in rotations if you wish.

The ideas above will get you going now but if you have a habit of doing this more often than not if you make this change you will step into a whole nother world of freedom for the operators and setup guys. Picture if you have a setup you don't wish to take out and want to run on another coordinate system, simply change the main program call. NO file editing necessary at the control or by a programmer. If your into a lot of one ups it's the cats meow for me.

Well don't let it fool ya buddy, with what I suggested the files would be your programs posted as normal. Your post would then send out the correct file and you would simply have your setup people place the correct WCS for the operations to be run on in the control. Or you could write the main quickly to go with the programs. With the lights out it can be very helpfull especially if like i mentioned above you are doing 1-ups and want to run different parts at different WCS's. It doesn't have to be the same program.

Turn your copy source operations off and your sub programs off and see what you get first....make sure you are only highlighting the translate operation when you post or you will get the first set posted twice....you can ghost the original so that they do not post out when you click on the whole machine def.

This video will show you how to create multiple stock for verify to be used in the stock setup tab in a Mastercam file. When programming multiple parts on a horizontal or across multiple vises on a table, learn how to create one file that you can then set as the stock in the stock setup tab. This will save you from having to select a stock model from the backplot options every time that you open the Mastercam file.

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If you import a 3D model into SOLIDWORKS that is either a neutral format or is being imported from another CAD file type, it may be translated into an assembly of multiple parts, or a single part containing multiple bodies. Depending on your final goal this may not be the ideal format. There are two options to address this problem that we explore.

First, the import options can be set to the preferred option, but that only applies to file types where the structure is not pre-defined. To change the import settings, go to Tools > Options > System Options > Import, and choose the file format that matches the imported file type. Files like parasolid (.x_t) or native files from other CAD packages will often maintain the original assembly structure and will not honor this setting.

To convert an assembly to a multi-body part, use the Save As option and choose the file type SOLIDWORKS Part to achieve your final outcome. To create an assembly from a multibody part, you can use the Save Bodies command to both create indiviudal parts from the bodies and to re-assemble them into an assembly.

It depends on how your parts are nested. If you have nested multiple drawings in SheetCan, this video should explain how to do it =zNkOMCfMsxc

If you want to set the cut order within one drawing then this video may help =2bi_wU-jPYk

This is a Spider. Or maybe spelled Spyder depending on your part of thecountry or world. When facing multiple parts to length in the lathe it ishelpful to be able to have them all the same depth into the jaws. Thatway, using a carriage stop, you can easily make multiple parts the same lengthquickly and accurately.

This one is made of 1/2" thick aluminum and was milled on the BOSS 8Bridgeport mill. It is certainly possible to make there on conventionalmachinery and they don't have to be all that accurate. A careful layoutand band saw to the line will do just as well for most needs.

This photo shows the fixture and spider together on the mill. As youcan see the holes are for clamping bolts to hold the part on the fixture. I counter bored the holes to get the heads flush with the top of thepart.

I am modeling a multi pitch auger with the coil command. Each section with a different pitch has its own coil command butted up against the previous flight. I am importing my model into MasterCam which does not like the demarcations or seperations of the faces between the pitches. I have tried Deleting faces, Boundry Patches, and Stitch surfaces to no avail. The only other option I can think of is to draw a 3D spline attached to 3D points and sweep a profile. But the number of 3D points required to make a smooth continous path is a concern.

When you created each coil, are they all joined as one part? Or are you working with multiple pieces? If they are all joined as one and the geometry is good you should have no issues bringing it into MasterCAM. Is your part a surface or solid? Which version and level of mastercam are you working with?

The model is one part (.ipt) with multiple coil commands to accommodate the variable pitch. The tool head is leaving a demarcation in the part at these joints in the faces which are being blended in by hand.

Is anyone running the new bSolid software from Biesse or Wood CAD CAM? I'm curious how good these packages are for high end residential work where everything is different all the time.From what I can see of Wood CAD CAM, building boxes with flat doors is easy but five piece doors are not available.The canned software demos from the sales guys show you the cool stuff but doesn't show you the real nuts and bolts of the software.Comments please!

10/19/15 #2: Biesse bSolid or Wood CAD Cam ...

Phil B.

I have also seen the demos at trade shows and they were nice. The Bsolid seemed more like a product that would work with the design software, it was not a cabinet program from what i saw.it was If i were you i would also reseach Micro Vellum and Cabinet Vision. From what i know they are a little more evolved for what you are looking to do.10/20/15 #3: Biesse bSolid or Wood CAD Cam ...

Alan F.

The Bsolid Manual is about 630 pages and very extensive.At the AWFS show we had them do a sample of a drawing of a wood product with metal, wood and glass parts and export the 3d geometry for the metal bits so we could send the metal out to be made that fit to the wood. It seems like a very well thought out program.This was more a what if I wanted to do this question than actually trying to solve a business problem but they were able to do it on the fly.For just machining parts it seems like a very good program, if you need other information that manufacturing software has then you need a combination of solutions.Our intent is to start with a 2 or 3D ACAD drawing and then apply 4th and 5 axis tool paths in Bsolid.Once a machine ships you can get the software so we don't have it yet.10/21/15 #4: Biesse bSolid or Wood CAD Cam ...

Jason Scott

They showed us the B cabinet program at AWFS this year that looks pretty slick. Not sure about the 14-22k price tag we got quoted.10/22/15 #5: Biesse bSolid or Wood CAD Cam ...

yaakov

as i know the b cabinet is spazio(italy software)

its not the top of the lineif you want poerfull softwre

that suport 5 pices for doors or any other parts of the furniture why not take alook at Polyboard?

price very good ,and its wwork with biesse also very good12/17/18 #7: Biesse bSolid or Wood CAD Cam ...

es412

Ive been using bSolid for about 6 months now. I was trained by Biesse at their Anaheim showroom. I am not a huge fan. I also use vCarve, adobe illustrator, and Fusion 360. Bsolid is glossy on the surface but can some strange limitations, and un-intuitive modes of operation if you have used a lot of other vector based design systems. I currently do all my vector drawling in vCarve and then import them into bSolid for CAM because bSolids drawling tools are so un-intuitive. I am currently frustrated with bSolid because I cannot seem to find a combine vector function that works... anyone know what im doing wrong or if this function is actually possible? In just about any other vector drawling program I select the two overlapping vectors and hit combine... this does not seem to be possible in bSolid. FRUSTRATING.3/27/19 #8: Biesse bSolid or Wood CAD Cam ...

reluctant user

Biesse Bsolid = Hell portal2/25/20 #9: Biesse bSolid or Wood CAD Cam ...

No Idea

I think you compare something totally different here.

BSOLID is a machine programming software from BIESSE with 3D CAD design capability (or import of 3D models to assign machining to it). It works as "normal" machine programming software for all BIESSE, but the 3D capability will obviously get interesting with a 5-axis machine.

If you know HOMAG software you couldd compare it to their solution WOODWOP 7 (with optional CAD and CAM plugins).

In the past you would have needed (for either brand) for example ALPHACAM for machining of 3D models - now this software eliminates the need for external software.BUT!This is not a design package like Cabinet Vision (fine for kitchens, but I would not consider it for commercial jobs or shop fitting - let's say for anything you need real CAD), Microvellum or WOOD CAD CAM.There are plenty of other packages around, some look good, some are cheap - most of this alternatives will lack a good machine integration.Microvellum and WOOD CAD CAM are similar in the basics (based on Autodesk AutoCAD as front end, but with customized menus to make design and operation as easy as possible, also provide good libraries to start with which can be customized by yourself).

Microvellum has generally the better cabinet library and windows to customize these articles quickly. WOOD CAD CAM has a less extensive library for the simple reason that is is way easier to create your own fully parametric cabinets.

What works better for you only a good demonstration will show.WOOD CAD CAM does not offer full 3D design, but also "multiple parts". You can create one part (like a door, but actually any kind of part) from multiple single parts (which can be all shaped and change based on your rules in parametric ways with the change of the part size.

In short - yes - 5 piece doors are not an issue (or stone benchtop parts for a purchase list, but the support substrate on your cutting list - from one multiple part benchtop - and so on).I agree with the previous comment that BIESSE's BCabinet software is not playing in the same league. I am sure it is good enough for some customers, but for more serious designs I would look only for solutions with CAD capabilities which are also seamless converted to any brand machine program.

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