tutorials...

[I M Hooked]

So Im in school for cnc machining and they cover the basics for Mastercam using x4. While my instructor is more than willing to help me out with any questions I may have, I am hungry. My instructor left today on vacation for 2 weeks. Our substitute knows only what I know about mastercam. I only have about 1 month left of school. Aside from school I found someone who will let me use their version of 10. I looked at the mastercam website and am depressed at the money i wil have to spend to buy their tutorials. Is there any tutorials that I can download for free?

[leptihor]

I wish, Mike will offer big discount . His tutorial looks very good, but not affordable for all students.

[Mike Mattera]

Just to be clear about this... You can afford $350 for a class, with an instructor who know Mastercam marginally. You can afford $80 for an In-House Solutions book (or 2), but you cant afford a step by step training CD from a guy who has been teaching Mastercam for 22 years.

The same guy who does the video training for Mastercam (CNC Software).

I dont mean to seem cold, but I've been hearing these things my whole life....

"I dont have time to get training, were so busy".
Your busy because your doing it the hard way. Training will solve that.

"I cant afford to go to a training class".
But somehow you can afford to take 2 hours to do a 20 minute job. Hmmm!

"I really want to be a Mastercam programmer, but I'm a student and I spent all my money on a class that isn't teaching me anything".
Well, I'm the guy who teaches the teachers. But I need to make a living too.

I understand that money is tight. You cant spend what you dont have. So you have to figure out,
do you have.....
1 - a Hobby
2 - a Job
3 - a Career

A Hobby is for fun. A Job pays the bills. A Career will last you your entire live and make you a valuable person to have around.

Maybe I can come up with some kind of Student special. Let me know which CD's your interested in and send me a copy of your "current" student ID.

I'll have to give this some thought.

In the mean time, here's some freebee's on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/TFMTraining

Have a Great Day!

Mike Mattera

[I M Hooked]

Originally Posted by Mike Mattera Just to be clear about this... You can afford $350 for a class, with an instructor who know Mastercam marginally. You can afford $80 for an In-House Solutions book (or 2), but you cant afford a step by step training CD from a guy who has been teaching Mastercam for 22 years. The same guy who does the video training for Mastercam (CNC Software). I dont mean to seem cold, but I've been hearing these things my whole life.... "I dont have time to get training, were so busy". Your busy because your doing it the hard way. Training will solve that. "I cant afford to go to a training class". But somehow you can afford to take 2 hours to do a 20 minute job. Hmmm! "I really want to be a Mastercam programmer, but I'm a student and I spent all my money on a class that isn't teaching me anything". Well, I'm the guy who teaches the teachers. But I need to make a living too. I understand that money is tight. You cant spend what you dont have. So you have to figure out, do you have..... 1 - a Hobby 2 - a Job 3 - a Career A Hobby is for fun. A Job pays the bills. A Career will last you your entire live and make you a valuable person to have around. Maybe I can come up with some kind of Student special. Let me know which CD's your interested in and send me a copy of your "current" student ID. I'll have to give this some thought. In the mean time, here's some freebee's on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/TFMTraining Have a Great Day! Mike Mattera

Mike, hey man I completely understand your point. I just dont understand where the hostility came from. I was just inquiring. Obviously this isnt the first time you have been asked this question, and it seems that after being asked people seem to complain about your prices. I would have been ok with a simple " no you are going to have to pay for these tutorials wherever you go". Now I know. I dont ever fool myself with dilusions that Im going to jump right into a job being a programmer. Does that ever really happen? Ill probably have to start out being an operator as sad as that sounds, but Ill have to start somewhere. Hopefully when they see that I have the ability to edit programs and write manual programs they will promote me or I will look for work elsewhere, and the same will go accordingly to whatever skills I learn about programming.
I didnt pay 350 dollars to go to a class to learn Mastercam or pay 80 dollars for these books that you are talking about. Now my couriosity is piqued on that level too. I took out a loan from FASFA to attend a training course called C.E.T. I dont have to start paying back my loan for 6 months after I graduate, which by then Im sure I will be able to afford.
I simply got into a school whose instructor did take classes like the one that you mentioned (who knows maybe you taught him) and then purchased X4 from mastercam to help teach those of us who are interested. I happen to be one of the few who are truly interested and I push him to the point where he doesnt always have answers for my questions.
I may not be in the best school that there is, but I certainly do take advantage of it, and from reading your post I am glad that I have knowing that the cost of attending a Mastercam training course costs so much.
I am not mad that your courses cost alot of money. That is obviously your specialty. In fact I will probably attend your courses as my career begins to flourish and I can afford to do so, because as I said I am hungry to learn. I have no doubt in my mind that with these courses being so expensive, what I have learned so far is only the tip of the iceberg.
So now that that is out of the way I hope that I have not offended you for that was not my intention at all.
May I ask how much would it cost to attend one or more of your courses?
And since I have you online I would like to ask you a simple question. Whether or not you choose to answer it is ok, because no one else has been able to give me an answer so far. Why is it that I cannot make a chamfer on a solid (rounded) part? I have been told that actually making the chamfer is not important because I can cut the chamfer regardless when running the toolpath. Example: I created a simple tube using extrude. Then I created a hole thru the tube using cut boss. Now I am able to place a fillet on that hole without a problem, but I have beaten my head against the wall trying for the life of me to create a simple chamfer on that hole. Is this possible?

[Mike Mattera]

My intention was to be more factual. After reading it again, I can see where you might have thought I was mad. I wasn't. Just explaining the facts.

I wasn't trying to beat up on you. I was actually taking comments from several other threads and kind of replying all in one place. Which made it seem like it was all directed at you. Sorry for that.

For the past 9 years that I've been producing these training CD's, someone will tell me that they seem expensive and that they've seen others that were cheaper. Eventually they buy 1. Then they call back to tell me that (now these are their words) "these are nothing like the cheap ones that they bought". "These have more detail and clearer descriptions". "They wish that hadn't wasted their money on the other ones". "Far superior to the on-line training class they took".

And it's not that we don't give deals. Last year we had a special offer for CNCZone members. Few took advantage of that offer. Sometimes we email special offers to existing customers.

I enjoy using Mastercam and I enjoy teaching. I hope that someday I can help you learn Mastercam also. So, were good!

Now, your question: If the end of your tube is flat and your only trying to put a chamfer on a solid, that should work. If the tube face is irregular (wavy) Mastercam wont do it. That's a job for Solidworks.

Or.. are we talking about cutting the chamfer on a solid?

Mike

[I M Hooked]

Originally Posted by Mike Mattera My intention was to be more factual. After reading it again, I can see where you might have thought I was mad. I wasn't. Just explaining the facts. I wasn't trying to beat up on you. I was actually taking comments from several other threads and kind of replying all in one place. Which made it seem like it was all directed at you. Sorry for that. For the past 9 years that I've been producing these training CD's, someone will tell me that they seem expensive and that they've seen others that were cheaper. Eventually they buy 1. Then they call back to tell me that (now these are their words) "these are nothing like the cheap ones that they bought". "These have more detail and clearer descriptions". "They wish that hadn't wasted their money on the other ones". "Far superior to the on-line training class they took". And it's not that we don't give deals. Last year we had a special offer for CNCZone members. Few took advantage of that offer. Sometimes we email special offers to existing customers. I enjoy using Mastercam and I enjoy teaching. I hope that someday I can help you learn Mastercam also. So, were good! Now, your question: If the end of your tube is flat and your only trying to put a chamfer on a solid, that should work. If the tube face is irregular (wavy) Mastercam wont do it. That's a job for Solidworks. Or.. are we talking about cutting the chamfer on a solid? Mike

Mike, Thank you again for replying to my post. The actual world revolves around the fact that you get what you pay for when looking for quality, accuracy and precision. Ive taken a mental note on your training courses and hopefully I will be contacting you as it will be my intention to eventually find someone who will give me the opportunity to use my skills as a programmer. My life will be in machining. Im not going anywhere.
As to my question yes it has to do with the irregularities of the hole thru the side of the tube. If I remember correctly the actual note says "angles on face varies. Cannot create chamfer". I know nothing about Solidworks. So maybe after school it is something I need to look into. I guess I am a little obsessive in my frustration over the fact that I cannot create the chamfer even though it is easy enough to cut the chamfer. Or maybe it is just because I have found another instance where my proffesor could not find an answer for me. Either way Im glad to hear that it cant be done with Mastercam.
By the way is all of your training on CDs or do your do seminars also?
Thank you for your information and replying to my thread.
Dave

[Mike Mattera]

Hi Dave,

You dont need to draw it, to machine it. Contour - Pick the edge - In the parameters make sure it's set to 3D Chamfer and not 2D or 3D . Then set the width of the chamfer you want to create. Make sure you pick a chamfer tool.


All training is on CD's. Lasts forever. Easy to review. Take it with you to work/home. No internet needed. Never expires. Watch a seminar and retain 35% (if your lucky). Watch my CD's over and over, and you'll get something new you didn't see last time (so everyone tells me).

Mike