No drive surfaces selected

[justCNCit]

Hey, I've been fooling around with the Mastercam 9.1 we have at work. I imported a model into it, from DWG, and whenever I try do a surface parallel rough, it says there's no surfaces selected, or none found, and no drive surface.

I've had it working once or twice before, why is it that MC can't find the model? One clue is that when I select real time solid shade, it doesn't shade in the model, it remains wireframe. What do I have to do to this model to make it work.

Thank you.

[psychomill]

Dwg model?

I'd say your file doesn't have any solids or surfaces. Here's a few checks first though.

Click on the "levels" button and click "all on". Then in the menu, click "Screen" then "Attributes". It will tell you everything in that file.... lines, arcs, splines, surfaces etc. My guess is, the file doesn't contain any surfaces.

[Matt Berube]

+1 psychomill. One thing, though... It's supposed to be Screen, Statistics, I think...

justCNCit, try importing a .igs(IGES) or a.xt(parasolid) if you can... That should have some surfaces/solids for you...

[psychomill]

Matt, you're probably right. I'm trying to remember off the top of my head. I know the buttons like phone numbers. Ask me a phone number and I might stumble. Give me a phone and I can dial anybody.

[cadcam]

So you know surface data is not handled by DXF but in some cases from Autocad we can take a solid from DXF.

Like they have said you can do the following to check what you have:
Main Menu
Screen
Statistics

Look in the lower left hand corner of the screen and see what you have usally just lines & arcs.

What software are you bringing from?

[justCNCit]

Found out that the "solids" I was saving out of autocad in DWG format weren't solids at all, I was testing on some 3d models I found on the net. Apparently, those models were just 3d meshes of some sort, and Autocad didn't consider them solids.

I've yet to figure out a way to convert them to solids, they are closed geometry. How can you have any fun with this machine, when none of the objects off the net are technically solids?

I don't know of any way to convert these to solids. Originally they came as 3DS files, I imported them to autocad, and saved them as DWG's. Before I saved them as DWGs, for Mastercam's sake, I had to change them all to Autocad layer ASHADE in order for the 3d properties (Z value) to save also. If the model was saved under any other layer, they imported to mastercam as flattened 2d data.

That's beside the point, probably. The root of the problem seems to be somethwere in Autocad, where it can't seem to register the model as a solid, which is should be. I wonder if any 3DS file will import to AutoCAD as a solid? or, what do you have to do to make it a solid.


That'd sure make this machine a whole lot of fun. Want an AF-15 as a desk ornament.

[cadcam]

Can you send me one of the files?
I like to look at using Autoview to see whats there.
Email is just fine.

[justCNCit]

Sure, but I can't seem to find your email address.

One thing here is that I created an object in Autocad, basically a block with a surface with cavities and boss's in it, which autocad treats as a solid. Thing is, when importing this to Mastercam, it keeps telling me there are no drive surfaces. Once in a blue moon, it seems to detect drive surfaces, but I'm not sure why it doesn't usually.

I've been saving these files as DWG.

So the file is attached to this thread. Tell me what you think?

oh, and btw phsychomill, I tried that method but don't see Attributes in the screen menu. mastercam tells me under statistics that there's 45 lines, 10 arcs and 11 splines. . . . that's all

[cadcam]

OPk brohgt you file right into mastercam and go wire and a solid.
What version of mastercam are you running.
All data needed to cut this shap is there.

[cadcam]

Here is a screen shot of what came in.

[justCNCit]

ver 9.1

what's this about wire and a solid? there's nothing about wire under the solids menu. Must be a diff ver of mastercam

[cadcam]

no but under Screen statistics it tells you what enitities are on the screen.
How long have you used MC?

When I bring it in I have the option by default to bring in the solid data from your file along with the edge curves being the wire fram.