I see a lot here about going from SolidWorks into MasterCAM but the problem we have is this: The machinist imports the SW file into MC makes changes to accomodate tooling and then WE no longer have a valid drawing and can't find a way to bring it back into SW without having to completely redraw. This shortcoming has kept us from upgrading from SW07.
How pray tell do I import a parasolid, iges or whatever back into SW and have anything I can work with?
Thank you Kevin, how do I re-create the drawing from a "dumb solid"? What is the proceedure?
Do you know if I can get the "Feature Recognition Module" for SW'07? Doesn't seem to be a on my PC.
Thanks,
GW
Which edition of SW do you have? (Standard, Professional or Premium)
Feature Recognition is not packaged with Standard.
Go to Tools > Add-ins and if you have one called FeatureWorks, activate it.
For creating a drawing from a dumb part, just create the drawing views as per normal, and manually add dimensions.
I have SW-07 SP-2 and can't find anything like Feature Works within it.
if you would update your MasterCam it now supports SW inside of it! Meaning if you change the SW part in Master it update the SW file. then you wouldn't have to worry about the changes.
My question to you is WHY OH WHY didn't you modify the SW part and give the machinist the new one? I am a machinist that does work for outside firms and I refuse or they do not want me to change their stuff , because of the issue you are having.
or just modify your SW file to reflect the changes that the machist did and your drawing will be up dated.
JMO
I suppose updating MasterCAM may be a part of what we need to evaluate.
Are you saying that MasterCAM can now save as sldprt? This would be news to us.
I suppose the reason we wouldn't just talk to the machinist, change the part is SW and send it back is because:
1. We're both using software that's several years old because we're SOFTWARE POOR and the software companies seem determined to keep us that way.
2. He's more adept at making the changes needed than we are because he's an accredited engineer with machining experience, so in the interest of time we let him.
3. We're not trying to have total control, we don't know enough, so we want to develop in collaberation with the engineer/machinist.
3. We're, more or less designing and giving him the concept, he's finishing the part.
4. Any changes we made would just have to be translated back to M-CAM before he could use it.
Changing the drawings to reflect his changes is what we do now, depending on the severity of the changes. This works resonably well as long as the parts are simple. Shoot, as far as that goes, I've had to redraw from scratch stuff that I did myself 5 years ago because I didn't know how then, didn't draw it right and couldn't make alterations. We're all just learning here, this isn't exactly a full time job, drawing is just a part of redesign that we do every few years.
This is a long standing frustration. I'm cautiously happy that someone may finally be addressing it. Unfortunately, I'm sure, that means additional, quite expensive, software upgrades.
Thanks,
Jerry
Here is a link to MasterCam in SW... http://www.mastercamforsolidworks.com/
You say the software companies want to keep you poor...Well all I have to say is like with any machine tool that is out dated you will get a new one because it runs your parts faster and better. The same is with software...IT DOES MAKE YOU MONEY!!! if I did keep up on the new releases of SW and Surfcam I couldn't compete, now that is just me, the small cost of yearly maintenace is just like buying tools, coolant, oil, paper and most other expendibles needed to run a shop or buisness you are tring to save on the wrong side of your buisness.
JMO
You can compete?
This looks like it MAY be a step in the right direction BUT... Can you make mod's with this MasterCAM for SW software and save in an SW format that you can work with without doing back flips?
I don't see it as a question of saving money in the wrong places. It's being tired of doleing out money for software that doesn't like, or downright refuses, to play well with others. As long as I have to screw with it to make the programs work together, I may as well stick with the old software. Of course, I don't rely on it for a living either, it's just a design tool for me.
jerry
what I sent was the MasterCam verson that runs right inside SW....just like CamWWorks and SolidCam does. so when you are doing mods you are doing it to the SW part file and then you use the mastercam plugin to cut, so it's seemless no back and forth. design and machine in one eviroment SW not 2 different user interfaces.
now I've been doing this for 25 yrs and it all works, as I tell everyone if you put $125 bucks away a month, you've just payed your SW maintenance for the year. as for the CAM it's more. so maybe this yr you can upgrade and then this maybe all you have to do for the next 5, who knows.
So, then, this is as good as it gets? Rather than any attempt to "play well with others", SW has chosen to buldoze the competition. Capitolism at it's finest! Could be worse I guess, it could be government crony capitolism, a.k.a. socialism.
What are the system requirements? Can I still use WinXP, Intel Core 2 CPU, 6600 @ 2.4Ghz, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA Quatro 560, or do I need a new PC as well?
Gerald Watts wrote:
So, then, this is as good as it gets? Rather than any attempt to "play well with others", SW has chosen to buldoze the competition. Capitolism at it's finest! Could be worse I guess, it could be government crony capitolism, a.k.a. socialism.
What are the system requirements? Can I still use WinXP, Intel Core 2 CPU, 6600 @ 2.4Ghz, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA Quatro 560, or do I need a new PC as well?
Gerald,
I am not getting your point. It is not SolidWorks responsibility to make sure stand alone MasterCAM updates can be brought into SolidWorks. They are not bulldozing any competition.
MasterCAM has chosen to write the add-in that interfaces directly with SolidWorks. I am sure this is at the request of many of MasterCAM's customers. This is MasterCAM's choice to offer this option to their customers. You can still buy good old stand alone MasterCAM if you wish.
There are also many other CAM packages that have chosen to write add-ins that work directly within SolidWorks. CAMWorks and SolidCAM to name just a couple.
If your CNC people are always making updates to your SolidWorks models that you have to spend time bringing back in SolidWorks then this may be an option that you want to consider.
If it is not an option for whatever reason you can work the way you are. Downside is there is no magic button to automatically bring their stand alone MasterCAM changes back to SolidWorks.
Cheers,
Anna
That he is brining it into Mastercam and modifying the model is really no different as if he brought it into Inventor or any other CAD program and made changes. If he need to be able to modify a Solidworks model and keep all references to drawings, feature tree or whatever, it should really be done in Solidworks. Best solution would be to give him a seat of Solidworks, then you could downgrade his Mastercam seat to a level 3 and cut the Mastercam Solid module(Save $) (That's what I got) or convert his Mastercam seat into an integrated CAM package, such as Mastercam-for-Solidworks(This product is missing some of the toolpath option compared to the stand alone version).
As Anna said it's not SW issue, try the same thing from MasterCam to ProE, NX6, Inventor, SolidEdge they will all bring in a dumb solid and not to say the mastercam model could be full of issues and never form a solid part again. Parametrics is how the SW part model is held together and the features have the smarts that control them, how is another package to what you ment by adding or subtracting or is that hole a taped or plain hole how would it fix surfaces that aren't trimed together. Yhis is just the way it is.
Again as I have said berfore sometimes you have to spend some money for tools to get the job done or update to the lastest to get things done fast with less work arounds.
Everyone will buy a new drill press, saw, milling machine or some other tool needed, but isn't SW and MasterCam a tool? don't complain it's the price of doing buisness, I'm tried of poeple thinking that software isn't a tangible tool need and putting the blame or saying the software companies are out to screw us.
HEY we are the ones that ask for all the bells and whistles that get put into them.
just my opinion.
Has anyone ever found a solution to this? I have an old tool file that I think was originally created in MasterCAM and I want to export it from MC into SW so I can manipulate some of the geometry and export it back to MC to get it cut. Our machine shop is using MC 2017 and the file type is MCAM. Our machinist has sent me IGES, Step and DXF files. Only DXF opened and it was just some wireframes, no surfaces. He was unable to generate a parasolid file.
Please let me know if anyone has found a solution to this. I'm really surprised that 8 years later there's still no way to do this.
Cheers!
I suspect that the only things in the MasterCAM file are wireframes...which is why exporting as a parasolid isn't an option. Have you asked your MasterCAM guy if the file has anything other than a wireframe in it?
Can you upload the iges file?
Thanks Doug, I just asked them and the MasterCAM file does include surfaces. We've cut this tooling previously and it's time to refresh and update the worn-out dies. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to upload the file since it's proprietary customer information.
Unless the IGES and/or STEP files are corrupt they should open directly into SolidWorks. Try opening the files again and playing around with the options tab...
Depending on the export data in the IGES and/or STEP file there may be an option to get the surfaces to import correctly.
Casey, there does exist an add-in for SolidWorks from MasterCam that allows bi-directional manipulation (I believe) of the solids data.
Check out...
Mastercam CAD/CAM Software > Solutions > Integrated CAD Solutions > Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS
Import the part as a dumb solid and re-create the drawing if needed.
-or-
Use the Feature Recognition module (if you have it) to re-create editable features ... but you may still have to re-create the drawing.
-or-
Modify the original part to reflect the changes made. The drawing should need only minor, if any, modification.