JMasterCAM

If you are (attempting) to work on the computers in the Furniture Computer Lab and you get a message that says “No Sim found” when you launch MasterCAM, it’s an annoying but easy to fix problem. For these two licenses of MasterCAM, a USB “sim” (or dongle, hardware key, etc) is required for the software to work. If you look behind the iMac, you will see a black lock box with a USB cable running out of it – you just need to make sure that this USB cable is fully inserted into one of the USB portse for it recognize the “sim”.  After you’ve made sure it’s fully inserted, try launching MasterCAM again.

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Mikyung asked for help with MasterCAM:

“i got it to cut my shape but i cant cut the tabs out…
it only cuts the contour outline out and it seems like its not leaving the tabs…
please help me!”

She attached her file and after taking a look at it, there were two causes of her problem:

1. linking parameters
The “linking parameters” need to be set properly for the software to recognize the top of the stock and the desired depth of cut. Here is a screen shot of the settings you should use when cutting a 2″ thick piece of stock. keep in mind

• everything should be set to “absolute”
• the “depth” is expressed as a negative value

2. tabs

The tabs are a little finicky, but there are a few key settings that will help to make sure they work.

• Make sure to turn on “Tab all”
• Use “vertical moves” – “ramp moves” tends to cause problems
• make sure the “tab thickness” is significant enough to actually provide some connection – .125 or more should be good for foam.
• In most cases “automatic” tab position will provide adequate placement. If you do need to manually position tabs, make sure you understand how to do this (See the demonstration video.)

Here is a screenshot reviewing settings you should use for this project:

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As you are working on your toolpaths in MasterCAM, please don’t forget to set the Tool Settings properties to NOT “assign tool numbers sequentially”. Please also check the box next to “Warn of duplicate tool numbers”. Both of these settings can be accessed from your machine group’s properties.

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Apparently some of the computers in the BEB might be missing the tool libraries. I’m working on this, and this afternoon I made sure the computers in the Furniture Lab are up to date. If you can not find the tool library, I suggest you look in the following directory:

C:/Users/Public/Public Documents/Shared McamX5/Router/Tools/RISD_Tools.toolsdb

One note: in the videos I say to look for RISD_Tools.tools, but RISD_Tools.toolsdb is the preferred file, if you have the option.

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