Is it just me, or is Mastercam Lathe unnecessarily convoluted?

[Jeff]

Have you thought about requesting graphical toolpath editing? 

I don't know what that is.

[Jeff]

You haven't known pain building tools till you do it in hyperMill.

You quoted the wrong person lol. But I'll take you're word for it.

[RobertELee]

I don't know what that is.

I shall not name he who beats that dead horse.

[Jeff]

I shall not name he who beats that dead horse.

OHHHH!!
Yeah I know now lol.

[MIL-TFP-41]

For a product that has been available since X7(2012), here we are in 2023 and while they have done a lot of work under the hood, I am amazed it still feels SO MUCH like an incomplete product.

Sure, I can get the jobs done I need to but man, it never got over that "lipstick on a pig" feeling or workflow.

We have been using it since X9. In those versions, it would create a plane for every operation. Didn't matter if you already had a plane made that a previous operation used, it would invariably create a new plane. I remember trying to program something, and the mastercam file kept getting laggy and running like shit. Come to fine out it had created 500+ planes....some of which were used, some not...and none of which could be deleted. Opening an old file like that in a newer version is an adventure.

But if you attempt to deviate from the workflow that Mastercam wants you to use...it turns into a fucking mess. One of the beauties about mill is there can be 100 ways to do something, which brings you tons of flexibility. In Mill-Turn, there is one way of doing a task, if you try to deviate from that one way, you get a mess.

Lathe tho....I'm not convinced it has had any love since V8. Tool library still looks the same. The places you set your cutting parameters look the same. I guess now you can create solid tools, but that process is pretty convoluted.

[mkd]

MC Lathe is like walking into WalMart. You just know you'll be 20 points lower in IQ walking out.
What a hot mess Lathe is.

[mkd]

You haven't known pain building tools till you do it in hyperMill.

tool builder for importing holders can't be beat. But I still haven't been able to wrap my head around mixing metric/inch cutters. Speeds and feeds with the 'technology' tab is pretty sweet when it's setup.

[gcode]

MetrInch - ER collets FTW - they close down nicely....

Barbarian 

[neurosis]

ER collets FTW - they close down nicely

We hired a guy that came from Boeing several years back. He was setting up some drills in ER collets and couldn't find the right sizes.  We asked what he was looking for and his answer was - "I can do with the loose fit or the tight fit, but I can't seem to find either".   

[Brian]

It's a good thing you caught him in time; he was probably going to reach for a hammer next!

It's kinda like kids riding around on their BMX bikes with vise grips locked onto the axle nuts...the one and only tool you'll ever need to work on your bike!

[neurosis]

It's a good thing you caught him in time; he was probably going to reach for a hammer next!

It's kinda like kids riding around on their BMX bikes with vise grips locked onto the axle nuts...the one and only tool you'll ever need to work on your bike!

It's just amazing to me that people call themselves machinists and don't know those things. 

[Brian]

It's just amazing to me that people call themselves machinists and don't know those things. 

Right? Those pesky "unknown unknowns" will getcha every time....like, don't use the hairdryer in the tub! Doh!

[CNCAppsJames]

I don't know what that is.

You're DEFINITELY new around here.

 

 

[TSmcam]

It's not even that it "covers unnecessary ground". It just does things in a confusing way. The planes make no sense. Defining chuck jaws, and I'm sure that this is mostly the new interface and will be fixed, but it makes no sense the way it's set up. It would be faster to draw  your own jaws and use that geometry.

The stock flip doesn't appear to give you any way to easily go from a side 1 chucking on the id, to side to, chucking on the od with a different set of jaws.  Are you supposed to start a new machine definition?  lol. 

This stuff was all pretty simple in TS.  If you want to talk overkill, TS was super overkill and yet still some how less convoluted. 

TS isn't super overkill. It is more complex but has to be to handle the design, programming, and mechanisms

But you're right, it handles part transfers (even between mills and lathes, and vice versa) well.

[Jim at Gentex]

Have you thought about requesting graphical toolpath editing? 

Yup...
IIRC Bonkers said a six year old can do it...