Mastercam Training Tutorials

Mastercam training tutorial books are comprehensive, step-by-step curriculum courseware for all your Mastercam training needs. Each tutorial contains projects with step-by-step instructions that guide you from geometry creation to g-code generation. Helpful hints, tool and material libraries, as well as toolpath parameter descriptions are included in the general notes chapter. Each tutorial has additional drawings to challenge you to practice what you have learned. Books can be purchased online via Volumes, or contact In-House Solutions at (519.658.1471).

The latest training products for teaching and learning Mastercam are also available. Check out the latest product offerings from the Larken Machining Instruction Manual for the 1st Ed. to a whole New 2nd Ed. Mastercam High School Curriculum for X2, which includes machining instructions for the Techno CNC Machine.

COMING SOON - All current tutorials are now in the process of being updated and improved for the release of Mastercam X3. Each tutorial will include updated parts and the Mill, Lathe and Router tutorials will also include mini quizzes to help guide your learning.

Cunningham Motorsports Teams Up With Mastercam

Determined Ford Pro Stock player signs Mastercam as a major sponsor!

One simply cannot miss Jim Cunningham because the quiet man from Maryland marches to the beat of a different drum. He’s running a Ford Pro Stocker in the GM and Dodge dominated world of NHRA Pro Stock.

Now they’ll have even more of a reason to remember him. Cunningham has signed CNC Software Inc. of Tolland, Ct. as a major manufacturing partner. The team will promote CNC Software’s signature program Mastercam as part of the agreement.

“CNC Software and Mastercam CAD/CAM software have been instrumental in our recent gains with our engine program,” explained Cunningham. “When we started our in-house engine program, our first priority was to establish an engine shop that was capable of generating a competitive Pro Stock engine. We realized that we needed to get ahead of the curve when it came to machining capabilities and in doing so; one of our first purchases was a 5-axis CNC machine.

“We chose this machine primarily for the inclusion of Mastercam CAD/CAM software. Mastercam allows us to machine our cylinder heads from raw castings to a finished product right in our shop. In addition, it allows us to design and produce parts and fixtures that would take weeks to procure and cost quite a bit of money.”

In a short time, the partnership has yielded dividends for the single representation the Ford Motor Company has in NHRA POWERade Pro Stock competition.

“The investment that we have in Mastercam programming has paid for itself in the first year of operation,” Cunningham added. “With Mastercam we can take a concept and then design, produce a toolpath, and machine the part in as little as a day, depending on the complexity. This has proven to be one of our best decisions and we are absolutely ecstatic that Mastercam has decided to expand their relationship with us.”

This program provides a major boost to Cunningham, who first entered the NHRA Pro Stock wars back in 1999 with the first 2000 Mercury Cougar designed for professional drag racing. He embarked on an in-house engine program in 2005. Crew chief Tom Sweeney heads up the program.

Creating Lowercase Box Font Letters

When you choose the default MCX (Box) Font in the Create Letters dialog box, all the letters will be displayed in the Mastercam graphics window as uppercase letters regardless of how you type them in the dialog box. For example, when you choose Create, Create Letters, and choose MCX (Box) Font, no matter what letters you capitalize, Mastercam will create all the letters as shown below.

To set the MCX (Box) Font selection to display a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters (exactly as you type them in the Create Letters dialog box), follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer to display the files and folders on your computer.
   
2. Choose the \common\fonts\Box folder in your Mastercam directory.


3. Open the Box Lowercase X2.zip file and extract all its files to the \common\fonts\Box folder. Note: Allow the letters.dat file to be overwritten.
   
4. Create your letters to see that they display with both uppercase and lowercase letters.
   
   
   

To reset the MCX (Box) Font selection to always display uppercase letters, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer to display the files and folders on your computer.


2. Choose the \common\fonts\Box folder in your Mastercam directory.


3. Select and delete all the MCX files that begin with “char” (such as char033.MCX, and char034.MCX).


4. Open the Box Uppercase X2.zip file and extract all its files to the \common\fonts\Box folder. Note: Allow the letters.dat file to be overwritten.


5. Create your letters in a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters to see that they display only as uppercase letters.
   

For more Mastercam Tech Tips, please visit www.mastercam.com/Support/TechTips.

DASA Racing, Mastercam, and Centroid: A Turnkey Success

Mastercam and Centroid Corporation have produced a customer spotlight video on DASA Racing. DASA Racing felt that they had hit a wall in their advanced engine development, that is, until they brought in a Centroid machine and Mastercam software to program it. They attended training at Centroid’s facility as well as in their own shop. Now they have reduced their head porting time by more than 90%, and have opened up new avenues for engine design.

Mastercam allowed them to analyze their cylinder ports, so that they can fix areas they normally couldn’t even see with the naked eye. Changing the parts allowed them to reach higher horsepower than ever before.

ThreadMill - a Mastercam Third Party Product

Inner and outer threads can be milled with appropriate thread milling cutters. The advantage of this method is that a thread cutter can be used for any thread diameter. The ThreadMill add-on creates NC paths for thread milling and contains a database for standard thread types and thread cutters, shafts, and material information. For more information, please visit http://www.camaix.net/threadmill.html.

Small Shop Breaks into Competitive Market

In 2006 when Dale Griefe decided to open his own machine shop – Aspire Machine in Union, MO – the first thing he did was place an order for the tool he would be relying on most to build his business. It wasn't a CNC machine, although he bought the first of two Okumas (both of them 40" x 20" with a full 4th axis) shortly thereafter. It was a versatile CAD/CAM package that would give him the capability to do just about anything.

Griefe uses Mastercam X. It was his first choice of CAD/CAM software because it readily accepted any type of CAD file. “It was the best rounded package. I can do anything with it,” he says. Griefe got the word out and started picking up whatever jobs were available — piece-work, motorcycle parts, medical devices. Soon his expertise in CAD/CAM combined with his willingness to pull all-nighters led customers to give him intricate rapid prototyping parts that needed to be completed within a day or two, if not overnight.

Griefe reasoned that if he could deliver the part overnight, he would be sure to get more rapid prototyping work from the customer next time the need came up. He was right. Griefe estimates that he has done about 30 of these fast-turn jobs in about 12 months, and these jobs have turned into regular business from three new customers.

To turn around prototyping jobs fast, you have to be able to multi-task. Griefe finds certain Mastercam tools particularly helpful in his prototyping business:

• Backplot — provides fast confirmation of toolpaths and protects tools from breaking


• Verify — lets him visually ascertain that appropriate amounts of stock have been removed from all areas of the part


• Mirror imaging — instantaneously creates toolpaths for symmetric surfaces or portions of holding fixtures that must conform to the contoured surface of a part to hold it securely


• Solids — a Mastercam-integrated add-on solid modeling package that allows him to mix and match modeling techniques for free-form design and toolpath creation

Once the CNC machine has begun doing one part of the job, Griefe returns to the CAM system where he enters an intense world of his own. “The boys are always laughing at how fast I am clicking around,” he says. “They don't think I am really doing anything. They think I'm just clicking. Everything in Mastercam is so second-nature to me, it’s hard to isolate a single process I use. I don't think about what I am doing anymore; I'm just getting it cut.”

On average, Aspire Machine has been taking on two or three of these rapid prototyping jobs a month during the past year. This rapid-delivery service has had a very positive effect on the growth of the business. Griefe concludes, “A lot of people are tied into their current machine shops and it’s hard to get in the door. But when you can turn around prototypes overnight, that's pretty hard to refuse. They can't stay away from you. They have to use you, and it gives you a chance to show them what you can do.”

For more information on how Mastercam has helped Aspire’s machine shop, please visit http://www.mastercam.com/SuccessStories/ProductionShop/articles1.aspx.

Another Source for Mastercam Training

camInstructor offers a variety of Mastercam training products to better serve the Mastercam community. Because people learn in different ways, their training products have been designed to suit each person’s own personal style of learning. Their product line includes books, multimedia, and online courses. The materials can be used by individuals teaching themselves, or by qualified teachers and trainers as part of a Mastercam course.

Books - Each book contains lessons that include geometry and toolpath creation. All lessons utilize parts that can be machined cost-effectively, thereby making the experience more realistic. Part drawings, exercises, and quizzes are all included. A Teacher Kit has also been created that includes lesson plans, tests, PowerPoint presentations, and completed Mastercam files.

Multimedia - Available on CD (included with each textbook), multimedia demonstrations show how to create the part and toolpaths in the lessons contained in the books. The multimedia instructions compement the books, but can be used on their own, if desired.

Online Courses - For people who prefer to learn using an online method, camInstructor has developed self-directed courses that lead the user through a series of lessons, quizzes, and a final test.

For more information, contact camInstructor at 1-877-873-6867 or go to www.camInstructor.com.