Come See Mastercam in Action at Westec

If you happen to be in Los Angeles the week of March 26th, stop by the Los Angeles Convention Center and see Mastercam X2 in action!

In booth #3258, CNC Software will be demonstrating the latest Maintenance release, MR1. MR1 delivers significant new capabilities, including improved toolpaths for high speed machining, multiaxis enhancements, and much more.

Stop and sit through one of our daily presentations (on topics like high speed machining, Mastercam Art, and multiaxis machining) and get the chance to win a free copy of Mastercam Design LT.

Mastercam Selection Tech Tip

Q: I have a model with wireframe, drafting notes, solids, and surfaces in it. I want to select everything except the surfaces. What is the easiest way to do this?

A: You can use Mastercam’s “Quick Mask” tools to de-select as well as select items. A handy tip for the situation you describe is to select all items on your screen, then click the “surface” Quick Mask button. Since all items on screen are already selected, clicking that button will de-select just the surfaces. You can add the Quick Mask icons to your toolbar by dragging them from the “General Selection” group under Settings / Customize.

High Speed Machining Video

Specialized high speed toolpaths are becoming standard, even for shops without an actual high speed machine. Mastercam X2 includes many high speed machining enhancements to get your shop running more efficiently than ever before.

With the release of Mastercam X2, two new high speed machining toolpaths are being introduced – Spiral and Radial machining.

Spiral motion can be generated from a user defined center point while supporting both an inner and outer radius to control the spiral motion. And, this motion can be generated clockwise or counterclockwise. The Radial toolpath supports the same control as the spiral, with the addition of angular control.

Trochoidal motion has been added to core roughing to aid in high speed machining of harder materials. When your maximum step-over is exceeded by 2%, trochoidal motion will be added to maintain an acceptable tool load, allowing you to program feeds and speeds with confidence.

Some other enhancements to Mastercam X2 high speed machining are:

• Rest material detection expanded to all finish toolpaths (except Horizontal Area)


• Scallop height calculator has been expanded from the Scallop toolpath to the Raster, Pencil, Radial, and Spiral toolpaths.


• Check Surfaces has been added to the suite of high speed machining toolpaths supporting the Waterline and Raster toolpaths.

To view the High Speed Machining video that will demonstrate the power of these new tools in Mastercam X2, visit: http://www.mastercam.com/Products/Enhancements/HST_FLV/HST_FLV.html