AD Professional Edition to Mastercam: best file interchange

[DDoerschuk]

I've got a 10-part assembly that I'm sending to a local machine shop next week. They use Mastercam to run their mills, but claim to have no particular preference as to input file type. I've never used a CAM program, and don't know the difference between the various file formats that Alibre P.E. will let you export to.

Here are what I think are the important points about the parts I'm exporting:

1. All are fairly small parts: the biggest fits into a 3D rectangle 1" x 1" x 2".
2. The units on all the parts are millimeters.
3. Several of the parts have machining operations on 2 faces, the rest are machined on only 1 face.

My questions are:

1. What file format should I export to?
2. Given the description of the parts above, is there anything I should be looking out for?

Thank you very much for the help!

Dave

 

[depasquale]

You can probably use STEP, IGES, or SAT files STEP will be best for solid models in MasterCam. Lay the parts out in Ad so the machining zero and the origin in AD are at the same point. If the machine is a vertical type cnc then your top view of the part ( the area you are machining shouldbe on the AD xy plane. If you loke I can show you how to lay them out, it will be basucally like you would orient them for AD cam.

 

[denisgb2]

With standard PE you can only export to STL.

Most CAM systems can import the STL file, but you might run into trouble with an assembly. I would export each part as its own, and include a STL file, a PDF or DWG or DXF with standard detailing, and also include a clean DXF: part outlines only, no tile box, no notes, and in 1:1 scale; just in case it is easier to use the dxf rather than the STL file. If the parts are not complicated, the vendor might just want to model or draw the part in their CAM system.

I normally export to an STL file, and then import that into my CAM software, but often need a standard drawing for details that are missing from the solid.

Also, I have found that some customer supplied solids are not exactly what the customer wants. They sometimes "adjust" dimensions on a drawing and do not update the solid. Also, tolerances for production can become a headache, depending on how the solid was modeled. I tend to model parts without consideration for fit, or stacked tolerances, since most of my work is done in house, and I have the luxury of making changes as I go.