Thanks so much, I'm glad to hear that - enjoy!

Will do, should have some more videos coming soon. Thanks!

Thank you!

So glad to hear it was helpful. Thanks for watching!

Thanks so much for watching, glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you for watching!

Hi, you can usually purchase soft jaws from companies like Schunk via websites like MSC Direct. There's some other options too, however I think making my own soft jaws is a very affordable and easy process. I can also control the modeling heirachy using Parent Child references in SolidWorks. Thanks for watching! :)

@@artofthepart Got it. Thank you :)

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for watching, glad you liked it!

Also another thing that came to my mind. When doing large pockets for example, is it maybe a good strategy to drill a hole in the center of that pocket so that the endmill has open and nice space to cut it? Or is this a waste of time? For example: A square pocket of 4x4 inches, and we drill a hole about 5/8 inches in the center, and then with an endmill slightly smaller use it to cut the pocket Is it more optimal for the tool, or is the ramping/helix better?

Hi Andy, sorry for the late reply. What you're describing is how I would approach both scenarios. Re: your first comment, I would say that circle milling holes to their desired size gives you the most control because you don't have to use multiple reamers if you eventually need to open the hole up +.001 on the next part. Re: your second comment, I'm going to make a video on what you're asking soon. But we just did a comparison in class where pre drilling and finishing slots was magnitudes faster than helicaling and finishing every slot with an endmill alone. Likewise, pre drilling takes a lot of the cutting pressure off the endmill when it plunges in Z. Thanks!

Thanks so much for watching, glad it was helpful!

Hi, I actually just started working on a better way to share files. I'll be sure to make a video and send out an update when that goes live.

Thanks so much for watching! Working on the follow up video now

Thanks for watching!

Will do, just posted two more today! Had to take a little break when the semester started.

Glad it helped, thanks so much for watching!

Absolutely, thanks for watching! I'm gonna be posting a handful more videos soon. Just uploaded two more today. I took a little break when our semester started a few weeks ago.

@@artofthepart Thanks a lot

Thanks so much for watching! These videos took a lot of time to make for first and second operation, glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks so much! Spent a lot of time on these tutorials for First and Second Operation.

Would like to see tutorials on 3-D tool pads on how to use them and where they are best suited at how to select the geometry and faces would be very helpful

I actually just posted a video recently on some 3D toolpaths for Mold Making - specifically Opt-Rough and Equal Scallop. It's under my Arbor Press Case Study Playlist.

Thanks for watching!

Thank you so much for watching! I'm glad these videos are helping your learn MasterCam - there's so much this software can do. I'll have a few more videos coming soon!

thanks for watching!

I believe there are some parameters in the drill command that allow you to set avoidance regions. However using the example shown in the video, MasterCam viewed all the stock as available material to remove. So it's actually doing exactly what we're asking it to do. Although, it would give us a warning if we hit a fixture we setup or if the tool holder collided with the part.

Oh yeah, no doubt about that - I love OptiRough! This is just the first project for my CAD/CAM class so we're only focusing on the 2D Toolpath Gallery for new users. I also wanted to show off the power of Dynamic Mill and copying toolpath.

working on a file sharing system for this

Thanks so much! I've done a lot of logos over the years, so I feel your pain. Glad I could help!

Believe it or not, I'm actually working on some mold making videos right now for the students. I should have some content on how to convert a milled part into a cast component and then make a mold from it in SolidWorks. Then we'll take a look at programming in MasterCam. Should take me another week or two to finish.

I can't wait to dive into the content you're preparing Thank you for putting in the effort to create such valuable resources for us students. Looking forward to it!

Hmmm, I've always had really good luck with my Face Mills cleaning up to Z0 on the final pass. In the example used for this video, I set the depth cuts to .01 and had a top of stock value of .015. The tool made two passes in verify. Maybe try troubleshooting with One Pass or One Way and divide your top of stock value into an equal number of depth cuts. For instance, .05 for top of stock with a .01 depth of cut should make 5 passes. That, or you might also have a finishing pass turned on somewhere. I think there's a tickbox in cut parameters or depth cuts that might be forcing an additional Z0 pass.

@@artofthepart my bad i ment when the tool is not big enough it needs to do multiple side steps and on the last side step it almost always does a air cut because there is no more material left.

I might have something similar in my Intro to 5-Axis Programming video under the Business Card Holder Case Study around minute 31:00. I use a 5/8 endmill to face a larger surface and control using stepover percentage and entry & exit approach.

Thanks so much, definitely feeling much better now. And I'm about halfway done with the second operation video! :)

Second Operation is uploaded in the playlist now.

Yeah, I've actually been thinking about that a lot lately. I want to start organizing a file share system over the next few weeks. I'm also going to do a tutorial on how to draw this part in MasterCam soon too!

@@artofthepart thank you so much! Great videos!

Absolutely, working on that video now. I'll hopefully have it up in the next day or two! Fingers crossed 🤞

Second Operation is uploaded in the playlist now.

We just got to 3D and Multi-Axis toolpaths in my CAD/CAM class at school. I keep telling my students that you can do nearly every part out there with Dynamic 2D and OptRough 3D if you know how to use them. Some of the best features in MasterCam for sure.

Wow, thank you so much for saying that!! This video took so long to make trying to explain every little detail. I'm glad it's a good resource for new and experienced users!

You definitely nailed it with all of the important details. 👍

Thanks, more videos coming soon. I've been sick for like decades (flu season 🤧) so I'm just starting to feel well enough to make these again.

thanks for watching!

that's great to hear, thanks so much for watching!

That's so great to hear! Hope they continue to help, more videos soon!

Hi Michael, I'm still working on a website to host files like this. Hopefully soon!

Thanks so much for watching! Glad to hear that my ramblings sometimes make sense :)

Sure thing, while cutting a surface in one pass might look nice but it's actually putting more cutting forces on the tool itself and dulling the tool quicker. It's common to cut in ratios of 20% or 70% of the tools diameter. So in this example you have a 3inch face mill cutting a 3 inch part. This would be 100% tool engagement. Better to make two passes with smaller stepovers.

Thanks. Where can I find such information compiled in the form of a textbook?

Right now I just have my free lessons online via KZfaq. I do teach at Illinois Tech if you're interested in enrolling.

​@@artofthepartI was a programmer in Illinois moved to Texas. I have a new opportunity that is mastercam based so I have to refresh the basics. Been a couple years since I've used it professionally. Your videos helped a lot thanks man.

⁠that's awesome, I would highly recommend my MasterCam videos in the Soft Riser and Bracket Exercise Playlists. There's some really good content in both of those.

​@@artofthepartI got some 5 axis stuff going already it was mainly the basics that I forgot. The interface stock, etc. Really everything up to the point of getting to toolpaths. I know Gibbs, esprit, mastercam, fusion... It starts to get jumbled as I switch back and forth. But I'm definitely going to watch the riser video to familiarize with machine side set up. You really go into detail with the "what should be expected to know" components of programming in a way that a lot of the other content creators are not and if your videos have helped me out I can tell you right away that there's a lot of new programmers out there that are getting a lot from this. A lot of people it seems rush straight to the toolpaths component. Your students are lucky.

Glad you liked it, thanks for watching!

Appreciate the feedback. Thanks so much for watching!

Hmmm, I'm not actually sure on that one. I don't do a lot of rigid tapping on my end. We usually use thread mills in class, but I can look into it!

You may want to check your Simulation Settings. There's an icon next to verify and you can also check in your configuration from the File tab.