It's time for another Mastercam rant

[implmex]

Hi All:
So I blew up a computer in December and had to get a new one.
I had an old version of Mastercam on it (V8.1) and decided to upgrade, specifically for the wire EDM.

So 3 grand for the box and another 8 grand for Mastercam Wire 2022.

I'm trying to do really simple things in the new software that were pretty easy to do in the old software, and I'm having a really hard time with it.
I mean really basic things like copying entities from one layer to another...simple to do in V 8.1 and an absolute nightmare to try to find out how to do it in V 2022.

Why do they do these things to us...this shouldn't be this hard and it's damn near everything that is fucked up in the new version.
Nothing is easy in the new software...it's like a pack of idiots tried really hard to make it as counter intuitive as possible.

And this is supposed to be "better"??

Sigh...I guess I have a looong looong learning curve ahead of me again.

Rant off...time to figure this shit out.

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

 

[kustomizer]

I use version 9.1, I bought upgrades to X5 then quit, I can do what need to do in 9 - 10 times quicker than the newer ones, my biggest problem is they turned the names into pictures then rearrange where they are based on how much you use them

 

[plastikdreams]

I'm still on x2...does what I need

 

[empower]

in for mastercan't trash talk.

 

[mkd]

in for mastercan't trash talk.

boo hisss

 

[mkd]

going from a literal 20 year version to a new one is going to be some growing pain.
I'm not disagreeing with you on skepticizim of weather an actual upgrade has happened on the interface.
Them getting module works is a objective improvement. Now if they could stop re-arranging those, it'd be great, mkay Sandvik?

you could be running solidworks that hasn't changed for 20 years and is objectively worse.

 

[norb]

You should have spent your money on PEPS edm software. None better for wire edm.

 

[mhajicek]

going from a literal 20 year version to a new one is going to be some growing pain.
I'm not disagreeing with you on skepticizim of weather an actual upgrade has happened on the interface.
Them getting module works is a objective improvement. Now if they could stop re-arranging those, it'd be great, mkay Sandvik?

you could be running solidworks that hasn't changed for 20 years and is objectively worse.

Wire and lathe have had maybe a dozen minor improvements combined in that 20 years. Meanwhile the interface was trashed twice, and objectively worse both times. Their primary goal (actually stated) was to make it feel more similar to Microsoft Office, rather than professional grade CAM software.

 

[pr0xify]

You should have spent your money on PEPS edm software. None better for wire edm.

Tell me why PEPS is better than every other edm software.

 

[norb]

Tell me why PEPS is better than every other edm software.

PEPS was built for edm right from the start, not some add on to somebody's milling software. I have been using it for many years and it has put out bulletproof code for my Agie and Agievision machines. I have had the opportunity to use other programs and find PEPS far superior and easier to use in my opinion.

 

[Mtndew]

I mean really basic things like copying entities from one layer to another...simple to do in V 8.1 and an absolute nightmare to try to find out how to do it in V 2022.

It's still easy, just different than it was back in V8-V9 days.
Firstly, make sure that you have your level manager shown on the bottom left, do this by going to VIEW in the top and select levels.
I always have Toolpaths, Solids, Levels and Planes selected FWIW.


Select everything on screen that you want to copy/move
right click
select the little blue icon for "change level"
select move or copy
enter the level number
enter the level name if you want to name it.
Done.

OR

open your level manager
right click on a level
select copy entities or cut entities
select a new level
click paste

CTRL+C and CTRL+V also work for copy/paste
It doesn't get any easier than that.

 

[len_1962]

Marcus that's the issue with not upgrading every year, it would have been small changes along the way that hit, know the your hit with it all in one swift kick in the a$$.

I had that happen to me with surfcam, but mine was only a 3 year hiatus.

lenny

 

[mhajicek]

Marcus that's the issue with not upgrading every year, it would have been small changes along the way that hit, know the your hit with it all in one swift kick in the a$$.

I had that happen to me with surfcam, but mine was only a 3 year hiatus.

lenny

When 2017 came out after X9 I tried it. I couldn't get over how it took literally ten times as long to do anything. I can't afford to turn a one hour programming job into a ten hour programming job just to stay "current". I kept trying once a year with each new release, but it never got any better.

 

[mkd]

Guys at CNC software just had a look at a file that got corrupted. It's my bad for not implementing backups. Pretty awesome that they can spend some time to see if there is anything salvageable.
Weird that the file got destroyed sitting on my PC untouched for a few weeks.

 

[BluishInventor]

Weird that the file got destroyed sitting on my PC untouched for a few weeks.

It's those cosmic rays, man... Soft error - Wikipedia

 

[empower]

Guys at CNC software just had a look at a file that got corrupted. It's my bad for not implementing backups. Pretty awesome that they can spend some time to see if there is anything salvageable.
Weird that the file got destroyed sitting on my PC untouched for a few weeks.

good old mastercan't!

 

[Volitan]

I feel your pain Marcus. When I started this new job about 5 years ago I went from 8.1 to 2017, but at least I had the advantage of using it part-time at a night job.
Copying levels isn't so bad, right click in the workspace and you'll see an icon for "Change Levels", it'll copy or move stuff etc...

Still, I missed the old one for quite awhile.

 

[Bigdawg]

I am lucky, I never had to use a version older than 2017.

It does take some time to find things, but once you know where something is it becomes second nature. I also created my won toolbar on the ribbon to add things I don't use often but have a hard time finding, which helps a lot.

 

[Mike1974]

It's still easy, just different than it was back in V8-V9 days.
Firstly, make sure that you have your level manager shown on the bottom left, do this by going to VIEW in the top and select levels.
I always have Toolpaths, Solids, Levels and Planes selected FWIW.


Select everything on screen that you want to copy/move
right click
select the little blue icon for "change level"
select move or copy
enter the level number
enter the level name if you want to name it.
Done.

OR

open your level manager
right click on a level
select copy entities or cut entities
select a new level
click paste

CTRL+C and CTRL+V also work for copy/paste
It doesn't get any easier than that.

It's not just Mastercam, most softwares change how things are done. As dew said, it's all "easy" once you know how/where to go to. And the command finder will do wonders while getting up to speed with the new version.

 

[Shawnrs]

Wrote a program 4 weeks ago and two weeks ago upgrade my camworks on a new computer. The old one was working too hard to render and simulate toolpath. Then last week all of a sudden one program lost all it toolpath. For some reason it was gone. I believe the problem was that my solidworks turned the assembly to lightweight when I loaded it onto the new computer which then can strip out the programming portion. Now silly me I hit save instead of closing out the file. Had I just closed out the file and not hit save I would only have to go into the solidwork settings and change the increase the file size for assemblies and then reload the program with the programming portion. I think it is time for a Camworks rant thread.






















PS, later on that day I went home and kicked the dog.