Building a Virtual Haas VF3 with 4th Axis in Mastercam for Machine Simulation - Part 1

Machine Simulation is used to acuratly check for collisions in your program before you take the gcode file to the machine. Machine Sim is one step beyond your typical Verify. Verify is really only checking your Stock, Fixture, and Tool for collisions. Machine Simulation can add machine components as well.

Typically, Machine Simulation is not used until you get beyond the 3 Axis machine, which does not mean you cannot use for simple parts but, more often it is employed in the 4+ Axis setups.

Mastercam does include several prebuilt machines of all sorts of different configurations but none that fit our desired setup...a 4x Haas with the rotary on the right side of the table. Modeling the machine accurately would be extremely time consuming. Luckily, some machine builders will provide you will basic models of your machines. Typically you will have to contact your MTB and ask for the files. Haas, being the super swell people that they are, have all the files you need directly on their website. Simply find the machine and rotary combo you are after, and click download.

Once you have the files, some file cleanup will be needed. There will be some extra solids that are not necessary for simulation. You may even need to modify some of the existing models to better suit your intent with simulation. Once imported and cleaned up, the axis origins must be aligned.

With alignment done, each group of components will need to be exported as an STL. These STLs will be used in building of the machine in the Machine Simulation environment.

The next video will look at the next steps of the machine build.

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[maxcox]

Nice video can you make one showing how to make a lathe as well as a mill/turn?

[chazz.zaragoza.]

I literally spent the day doing this same thing for a VF2, VF3, VF4, VF6, & UMC-750. Great minds think alike lol

[woutjjs]

Thank you for this video. Do you maybe know where I can find 3d models for the mikron hpm 450u 5axis milling machine?

[VictorHernandez-nttw]

Wow nice video. Lots of work but good explanation!

[theperez]

Thanks for the info. I’m new to mastercam, and wanted to learn more.

[MasterCraftFishing]

Well i got thru all this build and was almost successful. I had a few troubles 1 being the HML file not being able to be read when picking machine. The folder and the XML file must read the same name exactly don't miss a thing .So i get it to work machine comes in except my machine is like an inch big and my part is like 20 inches bigger. So im about to start over the model is scaled in solid works correctly. I saw another vid that said you have to build in metric or it wont work. Well that cant be true as i see inches all over this build. I did convert the file to a Parasolid file from solid works . So now im going to convert the file to metric the send it as a metric Parasolid file. . Then create the STL files from Mastercam to a folder. Do i have to scale it in mastercam ?

[ivan]

HI...caminstructor...do you have a video ..how to build virtual UMC750 hass on mastercam?

[ThePointlessBox_]

Got confused on how to actually accomplish this in a machine like the HAAS UMC750
the same entities have to be set as X Y and Z

[fuentesmtbcnc]

How did you make X axis Y axis and Z axis a single component from the assembly?

[SuperAWaC]

if your reseller doesn't have all these already you need to find a new reseller lol.
still, it's interesting to see done. it's too bad mastercam can't do actual gcode verification because this is way less of a clusterfart than setting up vericut is.

[danielfernandez]

I've been building my own machine for Machine Simulation in mastercam X9: HAAS trunion TRT-160 into HAAS VF4-SS. I did something wrong and I modified the "5_5AXGEN_VMCTTAB" and "5AxHeadHead" (I thought I copied them and then modified, but I modified the originals ). Could anyone please attach the XML and STL files for that machines? It was my stupid fault... Maybe the X7 or X8 files are good as well.

Thanks, and best regards!

[Malledeus]

I literally got all the way through, made all those deletes and couldn’t save the STL file type because I have an educational version at home.

[nedaayousif]

please i need postprocessor control siemens lathe