compatibility with Mach2

[chas]

Forgive me as I am a newbie,
Can Mastercam be used directly with Mach2.
I have read that some type of convertor is used,
can someone shed some light on this??

[HomeCNC]

I have used MasterCam and Mach 2 for quit sometime now. The converter you are talking about is the Post Processor you need to use. The standard MPFANC post that comes with MasterCam, works fine with Mach 2.

[chas]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a post processor?
and what does it do?
Thanks

[Rekd]

After you create toolpaths in Mastercam, you have to convert those binary toolpaths to ascii (text) toolpaths that the controller can read, (X Y Z moves and G & M codes etc)

This process is called "Post Processing". Mastercam's post processors are ascii based files that give you complete control of the text based output for your machine type and your preferences.

Post processors can be found in the Mcam/Mill/Posts, or /Lathe/Posts or /Router/Posts etc. They end in a .PST extension, or sometimes .SET for the setup sheet posts. There is an option to install specific or all posts when you installed Mastercam.

HTH

[chas]

Thanks for your response, I am looking into purchasing a cam program.
Looking at all avaliable options and how they will work with mach2.
I want something that is easy to use, however one that I will not
run into block walls after I purchase it <sorry it doesn't do that>
if you know what I mean. I have heard that mastercam, covers
all the basis, however at a big $$. Still just looking.
Once again, thanks Jeff and Matt.