Autodesk Inverter Pro 2012 - MasterCAM - CNC

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Jeff 801

I personally have used Autodesk Inventer 2009 with MasterCAM 9 and a CNC.

Basically what I do is I create the part as a 3d model (.ipt) even if it is just going to be a plate that will be machined. From there I create a drawing (.idw) at 1:1 scale and save it as a DXF. MasterCAM is able to import the DXF directly and from there I create the tool paths that are needed. To finish up in MasterCAM I export the tool paths into G-Code (also called post processing) and because the machine I work with does not have an automatic tool changer I post each tool of the program to a separate G-code file.

Why do you bother with the extra step of converting to .idw and .dxf when you could just save as a STEP, IGES, or Parasolid file and go directly to MasterCAM with that? Does 9 not allow those file formats? I know X through X5 allows nearly every format imaginable, with the caveat that you need to update frequently if you want to stick with native Inventor/Solidworks/ProE files that were created with the newest model year.

Also, depending how your machine works, you might be able to save time by posting out all your tools in one program, with a M00 command between each one. This will force the machine to always stop when the M00 is reached, allowing you to change tools, and then start up where you left off and machine with the next tool.