mastercam/postability and heidenhain?

any users out there using mastercam with a good working post for a heidenhain 530 control?
we purchased sim 5 axis package, 'custom' post and machine simulation for about 12k, and one month since we still dont have a working post processor.
they had some of the most basic stuff wrong like m codes in the wrong places, wrong syntax etc. those got fixed and 3 axis/3+2 stuff works ok now. but simultaneous 5 axis wants to crash the tool into the part even though their machine simulation (worthless, since it doesnt simulate the code itself) showed it perfectly fine.

dealing with our reseller has been nothing but a pain, through a good friend i got contact info for an actual mastercam engineer who was blown away at the issues we're having and is gonna try to look into it for us.
just wondering if anyone has had a good experience.

not being able to call and talk to the guys writing the post is fucking bonkers if you ask me, trying to explain everything through emails is absolutely horrible.

i was not a fan of mastercam before this fiasco, even less so now

I feel your pain went thru the same thing. I was told that everyone was using this post it was perfected nothing could be done to this post to improve it. Ok how much 6 k with simulation damn if it’s that good I’m down. Get it installed won’t do shit!now I’m pissed it had absolutely no refinement done at all. We finally got it pretty descent going back and forth with postability. I helped set up a machine in Austin they finally brought a guy in from Tennessee his last name was white was a master cam post developer he had no problems fixing everything you just tell him what you want instantly done so there is definitely people that can fix it. If you need me to get his contact info I bet I can reach out for a favor for you
Dom


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D Nelson said:

I feel your pain went thru the same thing. I was told that everyone was using this post it was perfected nothing could be done to this post to improve it. Ok how much 6 k with simulation damn if it’s that good I’m down. Get it installed won’t do shit!now I’m pissed it had absolutely no refinement done at all. We finally got it pretty descent going back and forth with postability. I helped set up a machine in Austin they finally brought a guy in from Tennessee his last name was white was a master cam post developer he had no problems fixing everything you just tell him what you want instantly done so there is definitely people that can fix it. If you need me to get his contact info I bet I can reach out for a favor for you
Dom


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thats EXACTLY what they told us. "yeah we've got lots of machines running this post and it works perfect!"

YA RIGHT...

the off the shelf heidenhain post for fusion works perfect, i just changed configuration from a/c to b/c.
its fucking pathetic that a <500/year piece of software does a better job that cost 30k.

i'll see what the guy i reached out to yesterday can do, if not, i'll pm you for sure.

empwoer said:

thats EXACTLY what they told us. "yeah we've got lots of machines running this post and it works perfect!"

YA RIGHT...

the off the shelf heidenhain post for fusion works perfect, i just changed configuration from a/c to b/c.
its fucking pathetic that a <500/year piece of software does a better job that cost 30k.

i'll see what the guy i reached out to yesterday can do, if not, i'll pm you for sure.

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This guy is awesome I will start getting his contact info ready for you. Once you get it going I think you will like master cam
Don


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D Nelson said:

This guy is awesome I will start getting his contact info ready for you. Once you get it going I think you will like master cam
Don


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not a chance that will EVER happen. i know mastercam well enough to be dangerous, i understand its capabilities and limitations. i will never like it because of the core workflow. its archaic and inefficient.
the only way it would happen is if they implemented dimension driven sketches and joints like solidworks/fusion/nx etc. and i dont see that happening.

regardless, this is my last week at this company, new place will be using NX so i will not have to deal with incompetence like this, at least from mastercam/cadcam consultants.

The push pull feature is pretty fast at changing parts. But if I can help you out I sure will
Don


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D Nelson said:

The push pull feature is pretty fast at changing parts. But if I can help you out I sure will
Don


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its a very tiny step in the right direction at best.
i'm talking about things like creating and editing sketches to drive toolpaths, especially 5 axis. if i create sketch geometry in mastercam and then need to change something, its almost easier to just start from scratch rather then transform/translate, then extend and trim entities to join everything together. like i said, that part of mastercam is absolute trash and my opinion on that will never change.

edit: appreciate the offer to help out with the post for sure.

empwoer said:

any users out there using mastercam with a good working post for a heidenhain 530 control?
we purchased sim 5 axis package, 'custom' post and machine simulation for about 12k, and one month since we still dont have a working post processor.
they had some of the most basic stuff wrong like m codes in the wrong places, wrong syntax etc. those got fixed and 3 axis/3+2 stuff works ok now. but simultaneous 5 axis wants to crash the tool into the part even though their machine simulation (worthless, since it doesnt simulate the code itself) showed it perfectly fine.

dealing with our reseller has been nothing but a pain, through a good friend i got contact info for an actual mastercam engineer who was blown away at the issues we're having and is gonna try to look into it for us.
just wondering if anyone has had a good experience.

not being able to call and talk to the guys writing the post is fucking bonkers if you ask me, trying to explain everything through emails is absolutely horrible.

i was not a fan of mastercam before this fiasco, even less so now

Click to expand...

They've already got their money. You're on the back burner now.

dodgin said:

They've already got their money. You're on the back burner now.

Click to expand...

par for the course, thankfully he paid with a credit card and can file a chargeback.

empwoer said:

par for the course, thankfully he paid with a credit card and can file a chargeback.

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Are you guys working (or attempting to work) directly with Postability or are you having to filter everything through your reseller?

dodgin said:

Are you guys working (or attempting to work) directly with Postability or are you having to filter everything through your reseller?

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reseller, they are very good guard dogs...
another reason i hate mastercam, shit like this is just insane.

empwoer said:

reseller, they are very good guard dogs...
another reason i hate mastercam, shit like this is just insane.

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Fuck, that's really annoying.

Not sure if you bought a new machine, but any chance you could switch channels and try to go through your OEM instead? I figure that would be a bit more expeditious.

dodgin said:

Fuck, that's really annoying.

Not sure if you bought a new machine, but any chance you could switch channels and try to go through your OEM instead? I figure that would be a bit more expeditious.

Click to expand...

i personally have been using fusion, and it works wonderfully with this machine. but i'm leaving at the end of the week and the new guy only knows mastercam. i did reach out to George fischer, but they wont give/sell us a post due to potential liability issues.

this is the email i just received from cadcam consultants:
As Frank said in a previous message, the post developers are essentially out of the office until January 4th.

I apologize that it was not made clear that post customization is a process. Unless your machine has exactly the same revision of a control, the same options and the same parameters of a machine that we’ve written another post for, it is going to take time to get things perfect. Also, we do not know what your machine needs to run correctly. Normally we have the customer get output from the post we send, adjust the output so that it works correctly, then send us the updated code along with the Mastercam file so we can see what settings were used in the toolpath and what needed to be adjusted. For the most part we have been making guesses as to what’s wrong with the code and adjusting the code to see if that works.

I will be looking at this today to see if I can get the output to match the format of what you sent as working. I cannot promise anything since I do not have full access to the developer’s post code but I will do what I can.

Thank you.


and my response:
nobody mentioned ANYTHING about developers being out of the office until the 4th...

what are you talking about? we have sent you sample codes from a working post processor that works on this machine, as well as code from YOUR post processor, with specific line numbers that showed the errors...
we have provided EVERYTHING anyone asked for, the communication has been atrocious throughout the process, i have had to chase you guys for answers or a call back.
the machine is standard, there is nothing in this control that is different in how it reads the code from any other heidenhain machine.
like i mentioned before, an OFF THE SHELF post from fusion, which is less than 500/year works perfectly on this machine, and other heidenhain machines i've run before.
i'm well aware that post editing is a process, and we've been going through that process for a month now, with no end in sight still.

the lack of willingness to resolve this issue on CADCAM consultants part speaks volumes, i recommended having someone come on site to see whats going on in person, yet no effort was made to do so.
the final decision lies with Chris, but i will be recommending that he gets a refund on the post, machine simulation, as well as simultaneous 5 axis package and just go with fusion, as it works better than what you've offered to us so far for a fraction of the cost.

mastercam guy fixed the problem in an hour...
something that we've been going back and forth with cadcam for a month now.

empwoer said:

mastercam guy fixed the problem in an hour...
something that we've been going back and forth with cadcam for a month now.

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I stopped using our reseller for anything a long time ago. They aren't worth a bent dick.

empwoer said:

mastercam guy fixed the problem in an hour...
something that we've been going back and forth with cadcam for a month now.

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Great to hear. I’m going to try and learn more about post modifications for the new year
Don


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D Nelson said:

Great to hear. I’m going to try and learn more about post modifications for the new year
Don


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i dont believe mastercam posts can be edited?
my understanding was that its pretty locked down and only certain software is able to edit them.
another beauty of fusion...

empwoer said:

i dont believe mastercam posts can be edited?
my understanding was that its pretty locked down and only certain software is able to edit them.
another beauty of fusion...

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Just the machine definition and control definition would be a great help
Don


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I've gone thru the exact same thing with mastercam resellers in the northeast for support with my customers running Mazaks (I'm an AE). Constantly ran into the same problems that I had them fix in the past with every new machine. The last shop made such a stink about it that Postablity reached out to me directly. Finally got in touch with one of the post writers (a former Mazak guy as well) and he said if you have any problems with the posts from now on just contact us directly and leave the resellers out of it. Music to my ears!

This is why I'm such a big proponent of Hypermill and Esprit. All the posts are handled internally, so once something is fixed it's actually fixed!

CNC Hacker said:

I've gone thru the exact same thing with mastercam resellers in the northeast for support with my customers running Mazaks (I'm an AE). Constantly ran into the same problems that I had them fix in the past with every new machine. The last shop made such a stink about it that Postablity reached out to me directly. Finally got in touch with one of the post writers (a former Mazak guy as well) and he said if you have any problems with the posts from now on just contact us directly and leave the resellers out of it. Music to my ears!

This is why I'm such a big proponent of Hypermill and Esprit. All the posts are handled internally, so once something is fixed it's actually fixed!

Click to expand...

i truly believe the issue is with the resellers. postability doesnt have any phone numbers on their website, so unless you know someone personally there, or from previous dealings, you're stuck going through the reseller, and if you happen to have a SHIT one like we do, you cant do anything about it because you cant buy from outside of your territory.
its a fucked up, archaic system designed to line the pockets of the middle men.

within 24 hours of me talking to an actual person at mastercam and him looking into this situation, he reached out to postability and got us squared away.
words cannot describe how much distaste this has left for me about the whole setup.