What's new
What's new

having LOTS of weird issues in featurCAM

wheelieking71

Diamond
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Location
Gilbert, AZ
So, the last few days, I have been experiencing all kinds of weird shit.
Preface: this install has been on this PC since 2015. Never updated. Never on the web. Has worked flawless for 5 years.
In the last week I have seen:
Tool numbers randomly changed. (scrapped parts/jaws, almost crash)
Missing M30 in posted code.
Missing cutter comp cancel (no G40 posted) (caused weird alarm in Brother it took me a bit to figure out. Then happened two more times).
Crazy lead-outs added in multiple fixture documents that are not in the part file (again, 6 scrapped parts. Luckily the jaws lived).
Feeds/speeds randomly changing (usually from my override, back to F-CAM's default. I changed for a reason goddammit!).
And, wrong tools selected. Never wrong diameter on a profile feature. But, several times different tool of same diameter.
And, chamfers keep grabbing all kinds of stupid shit. Usually out of the countersink tool group.

Anyone ever had their software go corrupt for no reason? Again, this PC never sees the web.
The only way something could get in is sneak in with a solid-model. I am NOT tech savvy. So, I have no clue what is going on.
But, it is pissing me off!

I might have seen stuff like this before? But, in using this install daily for over 5 years, if I have? Its been so minor and random, I don't remember it.
The last week has been a huge WTF is going on!? :eek: :angry:
 
Not featurecam, but recently (last month or so) have had a similar experience with Mastercam X6 (ya I know it's old). The other day had a random G55 inserted on second tool change? I checked my file and all the work offsets were set to -1 (first available), regenerated that toolpath then it was fine. Couple times posted with no coolant, even though all my toolpath defaults are set to coolant>on>flood. :confused:
 
So............
$1000 budget. Point me to a good CAM computer!
I have been using this one since 2012. I bought a DELL, threw a bunch of memory in it, a big power-supply, and fancy graphics card.
It has been a great computer. Plenty fast. Never been impressed with the graphics though.
I want to replace it. With something that works great straight out of the box.

But, I literally know nothing about computers.

There is nothing worse for a CNC machinist than not trusting his CAM
 
Last edited:
Hmm, I have had some really weird issues to the point where they have told me something is corrupted and had me go in and delete the UI file... and that has fixed things for me before, but it will completely reset your button layout and screen settings and such which is a major PITA. The thing that's really freaking me out here though is that it seems to be messing with your posts? I have no idea how that could be happening unless the actual NCI is coming out corrupted? Is your simulation still showing everything normal?
 
Is your simulation still showing everything normal?

Yes. Even the multiple fixture doc that had the fucked up lead outs. They did not show in simulation! But, you can bet your ass they were in the code.

It has taken me 4 days to get two good efficient proven multiple fixture programs for the Brother, from a part file that was already programmed!
These programs will be around for the long haul. So I spend some time ordering processes for efficiency (so the spindle is not jumping all over the table).
Even still, this would have normally taken me one relaxed day to have everything dialed and the machine running smoothly.
Not with all these issues. 4 freakin' days! I think between these two programs, I have posted at least 60 times.
And, when you are re-ordering a multi-fix doc with piles of features? That is a lot of damn work!
 
Not sure about featurecam, but typically you want a cad/cam (professional) style card, not a game card. BUT totally dependant on what your software wants. Not sure if it's true anymore, but MCX used to only support Nvidia cards...

DELL PRECISION 7920 TOWER XCTO BASE - 210-AMRM - Workstations - CDW.com

LMAO the price must be a typo???

Nothing wrong with using a "gaming" gfx card for CAM and CAD. Very few people on here actually need the power that a quadro type card brings, or the associated cost. Some of those GFX cards alone sell for 3k.
 
Nothing wrong with using a "gaming" gfx card for CAM and CAD. Very few people on here actually need the power that a quadro type card brings, or the associated cost. Some of those GFX cards alone sell for 3k.

Maybe the high end ones, but I have a crappy one and it causes visual issues in MCX. For example, the auto highlight sometimes doesn't show up, but if I click, it picks up the correct line/feature. So that to me seems more than likely a graphics problem. And yes tried updating drivers and stuff but it doesn't help.

The newest Nvidia quadro is a mere $5500.... :D
 
So, the last few days, I have been experiencing all kinds of weird shit.......

.......Anyone ever had their software go corrupt for no reason?........

I might have seen stuff like this before? But, in using this install daily for over 5 years, if I have? Its been so minor and random, I don't remember it.
The last week has been a huge WTF is going on!? :eek: :angry:

It's an Autod**k product. Whad'ya expect? :nutter:

:D
 
FC can do so some strange shit for sure, but the posting system is pretty robust. Things suddenly missing out of the posted code with no external influence is pretty suspicious.

How are you sending to the machine? Have you checked that the faulty code on the machine is actually faulty at post?

A little while ago I had an incident (think I maybe even posted about it on here) where the tool gouged a pretty expensive part that was nearly finished. Seemed like there was a missing retract, and I was jumping up and down blaming featurecam.

When I actually calmed down and did the postmortem, I found that the code on the PC was good. On the machine it was missing a couple of lines randomly in a many thousand line program. Took a file compare to find it.

The program was transferred to the machine on a usb pen drive. The program on the pen drive was indeed missing the lines, the program on the hard drive of the pc was not. No reason, no explanation. I obliterated that pen drive with a big fucking hammer. Has never happened again, but I no longer trust pen drives, and I no longer trust windows to copy reliably onto a pen drive. Too bad that I need to do it every day.
 
Nothing wrong with using a "gaming" gfx card for CAM and CAD. Very few people on here actually need the power that a quadro type card brings, or the associated cost. Some of those GFX cards alone sell for 3k.

It's not about power, it's about what's enabled and supported in the drivers. Quadro cards (except at the very high end) are actually pretty pathetic cards. Plenty of industrial 3d software doesn't work properly on a non-workstation card. Many people argue otherwise, but in many cases they are simply wrong.
 
are those errors and glitches repeatable? meaning - when you post the same program 3 times in a row - is the resulting code the same or different in every posted code? doesn't matter if the errors are there or not, trying to understand is it totally random or repeatable

is it a Windows 7 machine?
 
are those errors and glitches repeatable? meaning - when you post the same program 3 times in a row - is the resulting code the same or different in every posted code? doesn't matter if the errors are there or not, trying to understand is it totally random or repeatable

is it a Windows 7 machine?

Very early Windows 8. Repeatable as in, once featureCAM makes a change it stays that way? Yes.
I can close without saving, re-open, and the issue will still be there.
If I fix it back to how it used to be? Does it automatically do it again? No.
As a matter of fact, I have yet to see it revert after I fix. And, its not like I haven't opened this part file in years.
I just set-up and ran these two weeks ago in a haas just to tide us over with some parts until I got them jammin' in the Brother.

So, I guess that would be the only variable here: haas post vs. Brother post?
 
So, I guess that would be the only variable here: haas post vs. Brother post?

I mean that is a very big variable. But I'm assuming you've been using that brother post for years right? Have you ever posted out this job for the brother before? Are you doing anything in this program that you don't normally do on the brother/haven't tried before?

When I got my current job the feature-cam posts for our doosans were complete garbage, so I spent a ton of time fixing them up, but every once in a while when I try something new it uses a different part of the post and I find something else broken.
 
I mean that is a very big variable. But I'm assuming you've been using that brother post for years right? Have you ever posted out this job for the brother before? Are you doing anything in this program that you don't normally do on the brother/haven't tried before?

When I got my current job the feature-cam posts for our doosans were complete garbage, so I spent a ton of time fixing them up, but every once in a while when I try something new it uses a different part of the post and I find something else broken.

Brother post has been reliable to this point.
And, no, nothing new here. Same shit I always do.
 
if it is repeatable, and not totally random, then it is most likely something inside the FeatureCAM, and not hardware or Windows related

you could still run some basic troubleshooting just to make see if there any OS or hardware issues (these are not definitive, just basic tests): save all your work before proceeding (and this is for Windows 7, I don't have 8 at hand, but it should be the same)

1) right click on the C: drive > Properties, switch to Tools tab and in the Error-checking box click Check now, it will say something like - this is a system drive, need to schedule test on next start up - press yes/OK (basic scan, DO NOT check the bad sector test), if it prompts for restart - do it, if not, do a manual restart and on boot up it will automatically run a file system check on that drive, if it finds something - allow it to fix it automatically, 99 out of 100 times it won't harm anything, that 1% is when the hard drive is making bad noises already and this extra stress on it kills it completely

2) when 1) is all done and good, go into Windows control panel, Administrative tools, click on Windows Memory Diagnostic, it will also say it needs a reboot, do it, this RAM test will take 5-10min to complete

these tests were very basic, but available to anyone, other things to check would be better left to a specialist, if that is a desktop PC, open up, use vacuum (not compressed air!) and brush to clean out dust, check for bulged capacitors on the motherboard, if adventurous, you can open up the power supply and check for bad caps there as well, bad caps here manifest usually more severely - odd blue screen now and then, won't power up on the first push of a button in a morning, that sort of thing - hot weather (if there is no A/C) usually makes these worse, next would be to remove the CPU radiator and clean the heat conducting compound off, apply new one, put back together, remove ram modules, use a pencil eraser to lightly abrade the contacts on the chips to remove any oxidation if there is any, don't overdo it, reinstall

if it is a laptop, similar things apply, disassembly, dust vacuuming, especially the cooler fins, fresh heat paste where it was used, same with RAM modules, that's it

all this may not fix those software glitches of course, but this preventative maintenance should be done on a 5yo PC anyways
 
Wheelie, I thought I read you did an ADSK update here recently. Different machine?

Hell no! I keep paying my maint. like a fool. But, update? NO!
I'm still running my last update from 2015. 21.6.0.27 to be exact, LOL.

And, I have paid my last maintenance payment as well. Wasted money! About $8k worth.
 








 
Back
Top