What's New in Mastercam 2024

May 2023
 What's New in Mastercam 2024

May 2023
© 2023 CNC Software, LLC – All rights reserved.
Software: Mastercam 2024

Terms of Use
Use of this document is subject to the Mastercam End User License Agreement. The Mastercam End User License
Agreement can be found at:

[Link]

Be sure you have the latest information!

Information might have changed or been added since this document was published. The latest version of the
document is installed with Mastercam or can be obtained from your local Reseller. The Resolved Issues website—
installed with each release—includes the latest information about Mastercam features and enhancements.

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 Table of Contents
Table of Contents 3

Introduction 7

Release Highlights 7

Mastercam Resources 7

Contact Us 8

Milling Enhancements 9

Cutting Holes Based on Previously Defined Processes 9

Viewing Graphical Planes and Geometry Color with Toolpaths 10

Viewing Linking Parameter Planes 11

Setting and Viewing the Color of Selected Geometry 13

Maximizing Your Tool Engagement 14

Viewing Your Selection Count for Hole Making and Multiaxis Toolpaths 15

Smoother Milling Toolpath Motion 16

Including Add-In Functionality to the Swept 2D Toolpath 17

2D Toolpath Enhancements 17

Area Mill Enhancements 17

Machining with Open and Closed Contour Directions 18

Setting Lead Motion 19

Outputting Feed Moves and Fitting Arc Moves 20

Overriding Your Feed Rate When Cutting Around Corners 20

Reducing Tool Wear When Using Roll In 21

Creating Smooth Tool Motion in Sharp Corners for Contour Remachining 21

Hole Making Toolpath Enhancements 22

Process Hole 22

Consolidating Parameter Locations 23

3D Toolpath Enhancements 23

Controlling Your Cut Order for Raster Toolpaths 24

Setting First/Last Leads for 3D High Speed Finishing Toolpaths 24

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 Machining Flat Areas with Area Roughing 25

Setting the Minimum Clearance Distance when Retracting 26

Dynamic OptiRough Improvements 26

Using the Same Wall and Floor Stock Values for 3D Toolpaths 26

Reversing the Cut Order 27

Detecting Undercut Stock When Machining 27

Removing Excess Material with Blend Toolpaths 28

Controlling Tool Motion in Shallow Part Areas 28

Selecting Regions to Avoid for Pencil Toolpaths 29

Multiaxis Toolpath Enhancements 29

Pocketing and Roughing for 3-Axis 29

Pocketing for Automatic Tool Axis Control 29

Collision Checking for Blade Expert 30

Deburr Enhancements 30

Specifying the Cut Type 30

Avoiding Contact Point on Tip 32

New Supported Tool Types 33

Load Save Defaults 33

Machining Angle Controls 34

New Machine Angle Controls Supported Plane Types 35

Straighten cuts on boundaries 35

Turning Enhancements 37

B-Axis Contour Turning Enhancements 37

Editing the Toolpath Vectors 37

Manually Defining the Usable Portion of the Insert 40

Adjusting the Stock 42

Using Turret-Mounted Angled Milling Heads 43

Using Angled Milling Heads in Operations 44

Tool Locator Components 46

Creating a New Spindle Origin for Spindle Move Operations 49

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 Creating Separate Lead In/Out Moves for Semi-Finishing Passes 51

Enhancements to Variable Depth of Cut for Lathe Rough 51

Designing Enhancements 53

Controlling the Orientation of Disassembled Solids or Mesh Bodies 53

Solid Hole Enhancements 54

Easily Smooth the Edges of Solid Holes 54

Creating New Operations from a Single Hole Operation 54

Changing the Direction of Existing Through Holes 56

Modifying Your Drafting Dimensions Directly 56

Trim, Break, and Extend Wireframe Entities from One Function 58

Smoothly Attach Spline Endpoints 59

Note Workflow Improvement 59

Simulation Enhancements 61

New Mastercam Simulator Workflow for Mill and Router Machines 61

Exporting Collision Reports 63

Improved Move List Pane 63

Checking Your Tool Orientation During Simulation 64

Viewing Tool Tip Positions and Comments 65

Setting Custom Background Colors 65

Toolpath Utility Enhancements 67

Changing the WCS, Cplane, or Tplane of Selected Operations 67

System Enhancements 69

Controlling Your Graphics View with the Gview Cube 69

Reversing a Chain or Changing Its Side in the Graphics Area 70

Warning of Corrupt Planes 71

System Configuration Enhancements 71

Updated Screen and Spin Controls Pages 71

Setting Import and Export Options 73

Unblank Parent Surfaces Option 74

Adjusting the Translucency of Glass and Outlined Entities 75

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Machine Systems Enhancements 77

Accessing Machine Definition Parameters in [Link] 77

[Link] function 77

[Link] function 77

Specifying the component type 78

[Link] function 79

Machine Group Setup Enhancements 79

Viewing the Page Status 80

Viewing Stock Dimensions 81

New Stock Selection Methods 82

Pushing and Pulling Your Stock 83

Overriding Your Stock 83

Creating Mill-Turn Coolant Strategies 84

Working with the Coolant Strategy Editor 85

Enhancing MCO Conversion Options for Component Models 87

New Options for Creating Multi-Stream Views 88

Duplicating Existing Part Handling Strategies 89

File Management Enhancements 91

Working with Content Files 91

Updating Content Files 91

Opening and Extracting PDF Files 91

Replacing and Extracting Files 92

Posts and Machine Environments 93

Generic .machine Files Can No Longer be Migrated 93

New Posts and Machines for Mastercam 2023 93

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 Introduction
Welcome to What's New in Mastercam 2024! Mastercam 2024 features new functionality focused on delivering
speed and efficiency to your machining jobs.

Release Highlights
Only have a few minutes? Listed below are a few of the highlights from this release:

l "Cutting Holes Based on Previously Defined Processes " on page 9

l "B-Axis Contour Turning Enhancements" on page 37
l "Trim, Break, and Extend Wireframe Entities from One Function " on page 58
l "New Options for Creating Multi-Stream Views" on page 88
l "Viewing Graphical Planes and Geometry Color with Toolpaths" on page 10
l "Controlling Your Graphics View with the Gview Cube " on page 69
l "Using Turret-Mounted Angled Milling Heads" on page 43
l "Creating a New Spindle Origin for Spindle Move Operations " on page 49
l "Solid Hole Enhancements" on page 54

Mastercam Resources
Enhance your Mastercam 2024 experience by using the following resources:

l Mastercam Documentation—Mastercam installs a number of helpful documents for your version of software in
the Documentation folder of your Mastercam installation.
l Mastercam Help—Access Mastercam Help by selecting Help, Contents from Mastercam's File tab or by
pressing [Alt+H] on your keyboard.
l Mastercam Reseller—Your local Mastercam Reseller can help with most questions about Mastercam.
l Technical Support—Our Technical Support department (+1 860-875-5006 or support@[Link]) is open
Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. USA Eastern Standard Time.
l Mastercam Tutorials—We offer a series of tutorials to help registered users become familiar with basic
Mastercam features and functions. Visit our website, or select Help, Tutorials from Mastercam's File tab to
see the latest publications.
l Mastercam University—Mastercam University, an affordable online learning platform, gives you 24/7 access to
Mastercam training materials. Take advantage of our many videos to master skills at your own pace and help
prepare for Mastercam Certification. For more information on Mastercam University, please contact your
Authorized Mastercam Reseller, visit [Link]/, or email training@[Link].
l Online Communities—You can find a wealth of information at [Link].
l Follow us on Facebook ([Link]/Mastercam), Twitter ([Link]/Mastercam), and
Instagram ([Link] for the latest tech tips and Mastercam news.
l See Mastercam in action on YouTube ([Link]/user/MastercamCadCam).

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

l For more information on CNC Software, LLC, to find and apply to jobs, and connect with people using
Mastercam, visit us on LinkedIn ([Link]/company/cnc-software/).
l Registered users can search for information or ask questions on the Mastercam Web forum,
[Link], or use the Mastercam Knowledgebase at [Link].

Contact Us
For questions about this or other Mastercam documentation, contact the Technical Documentation Department by
email at techdocs@[Link].

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 Milling Enhancements
Listed below are major enhancements to the Mill product. These include improvements to 2D, 3D, and Multiaxis
toolpaths.

NOTE
Unless otherwise stated, the new features and functionality listed in this section apply to both Mill and
Router licenses.

Cutting Holes Based on Previously Defined Processes

The Process Hole toolpath is located on the Toolpaths tab for mill and router machines.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

The Process Hole toolpath applies previously defined processes to a part's solid hole features. A process consists of
one or more hole-making operations that you build in an operations library. You can import applicable processes
into the working part file when creating a Process Hole operation to make your operations quicker and repeatable.

The operations library controls tool type and number, feeds and speeds, and operation order. The Process Hole
operation determines geometry selection and linking parameters. You can use both 3- and 5-axis scenarios for
Process Hole geometry selection. At any point after creating a Process Hole operation, you can explode the
operation into its component operations and work directly with those components like any other toolpath.

Viewing Graphical Planes and Geometry Color with Toolpaths

A Display graphical elements button has been added to hole-making and multiaxis toolpath dialog boxes. This
control allows you to show or hide graphical elements such as selected geometry colors and graphical planes,
depending on the toolpath type.

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 Milling Enhancements

Viewing Linking Parameter Planes

When you create a hole-making toolpath, Mastercam can now display on-screen indicators of plane types and
values. Use the Display graphical elements button to turn on graphical elements. Then, in the Linking
Parameters page, select the planes indicators you want to display in the graphics window, as shown in the
following image.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

When you change values in the dialog box, Mastercam updates the graphical planes in the graphics window. You
can also change the position and value of a plane by dragging its graphical representation in the graphics window,
as shown in the following image. During this dragging, you can type a value into the box that appears with the
gnomon. Additionally, you can drag the plane indicator to an Auto Cursor point.

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 Milling Enhancements

By turning off the Display plane labels option in the Display graphical elements drop-down, you can remove the
labels from the plane indicators, leaving you with a simpler display. When the labels are off, you can hover your
cursor over a plane to see its label.

Setting and Viewing the Color of Selected Geometry

You can now set the color of selected geometry in the graphics window for multiaxis toolpaths within the Cut
Pattern Dialog box. The selected color remains in effect as long as you are in the dialog box. You can also use color
with collision control groups and cut pattern rows. Change the color by clicking the color box and selecting a new
color from the Colors dialog box.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

The display of colors for selected geometry is controlled by the Display graphical elements button in the dialog
box's toolbar. To hide the colors, turn off the Display graphical elements button. This button is on by default.

Maximizing Your Tool Engagement

The Dynamic Mill, Face, and Dynamic OptiRough toolpaths now include a new Maximum engagement option on
the Cut Parameters page. When selected, it produces more nominal chips and minimizes the number of small
chips. Additionally, Mastercam moves the tool towards the entered Stepover as quickly as possible.

Maximize engagement view:

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 Milling Enhancements

Disabled Enabled

Viewing Your Selection Count for Hole Making and Multiaxis Toolpaths
Options on the Collision Control page for hole making and multiaxis toolpaths now show the number of surfaces
selected for avoidance, compensation, and check geometry.

The same type of counter is available in the Toolpath Hole Definition panel for hole making toolpaths. This
counter shows the number of features selected for holes and is handy when the number of selected features is
greater than can fit in the list. panel.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Smoother Milling Toolpath Motion

Milling toolpaths no longer use the Curve chord deviation tolerance found in the Tolerances page of the System
Configuration dialog box. Instead, the toolpaths use a new internal tolerance resulting in smoother, more accurate
and more consistent motion at times.

Mastercam 2023 Mastercam 2024

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 Milling Enhancements

Including Add-In Functionality to the Swept 2D Toolpath

The Swept 2D toolpath now includes all of the functionality that was previously only available in the Swept 2R Add-
in. The Add-In is no longer provided with Mastercam and the functionality is now included in the Swept 2D toolpath.

All Swept 2R cutting methods and rough pass options are now on the Swept 2D Parameters tab. Use the Cutting
method drop-down to choose either the Zigzag or One way method and select Rough Passes to enable the
roughing pass options.

2D Toolpath Enhancements
Listed below are enhancements to 2D milling toolpaths.

Area Mill Enhancements

Listed below are enhancements for 2D Area Mill toolpaths.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Machining with Open and Closed Contour Directions

The Cutting method drop-down on the Cut Parameters page has been replaced with two new drop-downs:
Closed contour direction and Open contour direction. These drop-downs were previously only available to
certain 3D high speed toolpaths.

l Closed contour direction orients the cutting direction of the closed contours. Closed contours contain
continuous motion without a need for a retract move or reversal of direction. Choose between Climb or
Conventional.
l Open contour direction orients the cutting direction of open contours. Choose between One Way or
Zigzag.

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 Milling Enhancements

Setting Lead Motion

The HST Leads page for Area Mill toolpaths now includes four new options: Horizontal arc entry, Horizontal arc
exit, Ramp angle, and Sweep angle. Previously, you could only change the Vertical arc entry and Vertical arc
exit. These parameters specify the entry and exit radius values. The arc is created vertically and horizontally to lead
on and off the material.

l Horizontal arc entry/exit: Sets the horizontal arc size as the tool approaches the cutting depth or comes off
the part.
l Sweep angle: Sets the sweep of the horizontal arc between 0 and 180 degrees.
l Ramp angle: When you enter a value other than 0 for the Horizontal arc entry, the entry move becomes a
small helix when moving into a new region. This parameter sets the angle of the arc into the helix move.
l Vertical arc entry/exit: Sets the vertical arc size as the tool approaches the cutting depth or comes off the
part.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Outputting Feed Moves and Fitting Arc Moves

Model Chamfer and Dynamic Contour toolpaths now include the Arc fit maximum radius and Output feed move
options on the Linking Parameters page. Previously, this option was available to other 2D toolpaths.

Arc fit maximum radius attempts to fit 90-degree arc moves into rapid and clearance moves. If the entered radius
does not fit, then the output creates a 180-degree arc.

Output feed move outputs all rapid moves between passes as a feed rate move instead of a rapid move. This is
helpful when the tool needs to make irregular moves per pass to jump between different areas of the part.

Overriding Your Feed Rate When Cutting Around Corners

The following toolpaths now include the Override Arc Feed Rate option on the Arc/Filter Tolerances page.

l Dynamic Contour
l Peel Mill
l Model Chamfer

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 Milling Enhancements

Override Arc Feed Rate increases and decreases the arc feed rate when cutting around corners. The base feed
rate is set on the Tool page.

Max ID decrease sets the maximum feed rate decrease for movement around inside arcs as a percentage or an
exact feed rate. Max OD increase sets the maximum feed rate increase for movement around outside arcs as a
percentage or an exact feed rate.

Reducing Tool Wear When Using Roll In

You can now set a Clearance option when using Roll in for 2D Face toolpaths. Previously, this value was hard-coded
and always set to 10%. Clearance controls the connecting move between the roll in arc and the toolpath motion. By
having more control over the roll in motion, you have the ability to reduce tool wear when cutting into hard
materials.

Creating Smooth Tool Motion in Sharp Corners for Contour Remachining

When creating a Contour Remachining toolpath, the Internal corner rounding radius is now available. In previous
versions, this option was disabled. Internal corner rounding radius creates smoother tool motion in sharp
corners. Corner smoothing reduces tool wear and creates efficient tool motion.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Hole Making Toolpath Enhancements

Listed below are enhancements to hole making toolpaths.

Process Hole
Process Hole is a toolpath allowing users to apply a "Process," consisting of one or more individual holemaking
operations to solid hole features on a part model in Mill or Router toolpaths. Processes are built in Operations
Libraries. These libraries are simply separate Mastercam files within which each toolpath group is considered a
Process. Applicable processes can be selected and imported into the working file by the user by creating a Process
Hole operation.

Tool type and number, feeds and speeds, and operation order are all controlled by the Operations Library, while
geometry selection and linking parameters are determined within the Process Hole operation. Both 3 and 5 axis
scenarios are valid for Process Hole geometry selection. Process operations can be individually edited to adjust
parameters in the local file without affecting the Operations Library. After creating a Process Hole operation, you
can right-click in the Toolpaths Manager, the Process Hole panel and Explode hole operation into its component
operations and work with them like any other toolpath.

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 Milling Enhancements

Consolidating Parameter Locations

In previous versions of Mastercam, Tip Compensation and Break Through Amount were on subpages below the
Linking Parameters and Cut Parameters pages, respectively. To check your tip compensation or break through,
you had to switch to these subpages. Mastercam 2024 moves these parameters to the main Linking Parameters
page, eliminating the need to switch between pages.

3D Toolpath Enhancements
Listed below are enhancements to 3D milling toolpaths.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Controlling Your Cut Order for Raster Toolpaths

3D High Speed Raster toolpaths include a new Cut order drop-down on the Cut Parameters page to further
customize your toolpath. Cut order sets how the toolpath machines your part, either by Lanes or Clusters.

Lanes cut the part in one direction. Clusters finish a section before moving to the next.

Setting First/Last Leads for 3D High Speed Finishing Toolpaths

3D High Speed Finishing toolpaths, except for Horizontal Area, now include the new First/Last Leads page. This
new page provides more granular control over the first and last moves of the toolpath.

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 Milling Enhancements

Machining Flat Areas with Area Roughing

Mastercam 2022 introduced Critical Depths to Area Roughing, which customizes how Mastercam handles flat areas
when machining. In Mastercam 2024, this functionality has been expanded to the Area Roughing toolpath.

The type of flat area to be machined by a single Area Roughing contour. Choose the Type dropdown:

l Include flats: Includes flat areas when machining.

l Include manual: Includes manually selected flat areas when machining. Use the Select button to choose the
flats.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Setting the Minimum Clearance Distance when Retracting

The Part clearance option is now available when Type is set to Full vertical retract for 3D high speed toolpaths.
Part clearance sets the minimum distance the tool maintains above the part while it is rapiding between passes.

The actual retract height is set by the Clearance plane. However, if the retract height is less than the Part
clearance, Mastercam adds an additional linear move between them until the total height equals the Part
clearance.

Dynamic OptiRough Improvements

The Dynamic OptiRough toolpath now uses more efficient helix start heights and retract heights. This is especially
helpful when there are various Z depth heights.

Using the Same Wall and Floor Stock Values for 3D Toolpaths
The new Same wall and floor stock option on the Model Geometry page now sets both the Wall Stock and Floor
Stock columns to the same value. Each geometry selection grid has a corresponding option.

When selected for a specific grid, the Wall Stock amount is copied to the corresponding Floor Stock and the Floor
Stock column is locked. This new option helps when you want to keep both values the same, making it easier to edit
the stock values, especially if you have more than one set of geometry groups.

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 Milling Enhancements

Reversing the Cut Order

The Expand inside to outside parameter has been renamed to Reverse cut order to better explain the
functionality. The parameter has been renamed for the following toolpaths:

l Equal Scallop
l 3D Scallop
l Surface Finish Scallop
l Surface Finish Leftover
l Surface Finish Shallow

Reverse cut order starts the toolpath in the center of the part and cuts towards the outside. When you have
Reverse cut order and Curves selected for Equal Scallop or 3D Scallop, the toolpath is instead created toward the
curves. If Reverse cut order is deselected, the toolpaths behave normally and are created outward using the
curves as a starting point.

Detecting Undercut Stock When Machining

Waterline toolpaths are now aware of undercut stock conditions resulting in improvement to the toolpath motion,
including less air cutting. This awareness was previously introduced for Dynamic OptiRough and Area Roughing in
Mastercam 2023. This option has also been renamed from Detect undercut stock to Detect stock break through.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Use the Detect stock break through option to eliminate air cuts where no stock is below the previous pass. This
option is only available when Previous operations is set to One other operation and the operation is a stock
model.

Removing Excess Material with Blend Toolpaths

Blend toolpaths, when Cutting method is set to Spiral, now machine a full pass at the start and end of the spiral.
This helps eliminate small amounts of stock that may be left behind after machining.

Controlling Tool Motion in Shallow Part Areas

The 3D high speed Waterline toolpath now includes the Allow partial cuts option. Allow partial cuts adds or
removes tool motion only from the shallow areas of the part. This option also does not create closed cuts at a
constant Z level around the part. This option is on the Cut Parameters page.

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 Milling Enhancements

Selecting Regions to Avoid for Pencil Toolpaths

You can now select avoidance geometry for 3D high speed Pencil toolpaths. In previous releases, the Avoidance
Geometry selection grid was disabled.

Multiaxis Toolpath Enhancements

Listed below are enhancements to multiaxis toolpaths.

Pocketing and Roughing for 3-Axis

Mastercam 2024 features a new tool axis control method for Pocketing/Roughing that can lock a Pocketing path to
a specific tool orientation. You can create gouge-free toolpaths for 3-axis machines or create simplified Multiaxis
roughing paths on certain geometry.

Pocketing for Automatic Tool Axis Control

Pocketing’s new automatic tool axis control generates the tool posture for a floor or wall finishing toolpath. This
feature enables the toolpath to automatically determine the proper contact point and cutting posture depending on
the tool type you choose. This option reduces programming time by simplifying tool axis definition.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Collision Checking for Blade Expert

The Blade Expert toolpath allows a user to generate a collision-free path even with large holders or tight tolerances.
The toolpath specifies a more comprehensive collision check than previous versions of Mastercam. This toolpath
now includes checking the tool and holder against all blade geometry. This option increases calculation time, but is
useful for situations with reduced clearance or large holders.

Deburr Enhancements
Listed below are enhancements made to the multiaxis Deburr toolpath.

Specifying the Cut Type

Mastercam 2023 introduced the ability to cut with the flank of the tool. This option was presented as a checkbox and
a value field that controlled a contact percentage along the flute on the Toolpath Control page.

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 Milling Enhancements

For Mastercam 2024, those controls are consolidated into a drop-down menu where you choose whether to cut with
the tip or the flank of the tool. If you choose to cut with the flank or taper, the percentage option appears. With that
option, you can specify the contact percentage along the flute.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Avoiding Contact Point on Tip

A new Deburr option, Avoid contact point on tip, angles the tool to avoid cutting with the tool's center tip. To see
this option, Machining type must be set to 5 axis (simultaneous) and Cut with must be set to Tip.

Use this option to prevent the possibility of additional burrs when cutting, such burrs can occur because of the zero
SFM at the tip of the tool. You can find Avoid contact point on tip in the Tool Axis Control page for Deburr
toolpaths.

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 Milling Enhancements

New Supported Tool Types

The Deburr toolpath now supports the following tool types.

For Tip:

l Ball end mill

l Lollipop mill (supports undercutting)

For Flank/Taper:

l Bull end mill (supports cutting with flutes, but not the bull radius)
l Corner chamfer end mill (supports cutting with flutes, but not the corner chamfer)
l Taper mill
l Dove mill (supports undercutting)
l Chamfer mill

Load Save Defaults

For Mastercam 2024, we've made some changes on how loading and saving Defaults works from tree-style toolpath
dialogs. Click a toolpath’s Save toolpath parameters to a file or Load toolpath parameters from file button,
and Mastercam displays the panel shown in the following image. (There are Save Toolpath Settings and Load
Toolpath Settings versions of the panel.)

To load defaults for the current operation, leave Default selected, and click OK. Mastercam loads the defaults from
the .mcam-defaults file specified in the Library path.

Select Custom to enable the Select Operation Library button, which, when clicked, displays the Select Operation
Library File dialog box. Use this dialog box to choose any Mastercam file from which to load operation parameters.

From the selected operations file, Mastercam populates the Operation table with all operations appropriate for
your current operation (see the following image) and from which you can load your defaults. Mastercam uses the
operation’s name for the operation’s comment and the ID for the toolpath ID number. In the Operation table, click
the toolpath to load, and then click OK to load defaults.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

In the toolpath parameters dialog box, click the triangle next to the Load toolpath parameters from file button to
see a drop-down list of operations in the currently selected library. You can select from this list without having to
enter the Load Toolpath Settings panel and so speed up your workflow.

Machining Angle Controls

Listed below are enhancements made to the Multiaxis Unified Plane toolpath.

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 Milling Enhancements

For Mastercam 2024, the Machining Angles controls are now available on the majority of plane cut pattern options.
The angles offered for adjustment correspond to the plane style choice.

New Machine Angle Controls Supported Plane Types

l WCS Z
l WCS XY
l Construction Plane Z
l Construction Plane XY
l Tool Plane Z
l Tool Plane XY
l Custom Angles

Straighten cuts on boundaries

Enabling Straighten cuts on boundaries avoids rolling effects when the machining surface is wider than the drive
curve or when cuts are in the shadow of a hole or the construction of the machining surface. The setting mimics the
Extend edge curve option available for other cut types and reduces wrinkling or rippling to produce a more
uniform pattern across the extents of the selected geometry.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

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 Turning Enhancements
Listed below are major enhancements to the Lathe and Mill-Turn products.

NOTE
Unless otherwise stated, the new features and functionality listed in this section apply to both Lathe and
Mill-Turn licenses.

B-Axis Contour Turning Enhancements

Three major enhancements have been added to the B-Axis Contour Turning operation:

l Ability to manually edit tool axis vectors.

l Ability to manually edit usable insert area.
l Adjust stock function.

Together, these new features give you even more control over how the tool contacts the part. These enhancements
further the optimization of tool life and surface finish, while also streamlining the workflow.

Editing the Toolpath Vectors

If you have manually defined the tool axis vectors, Mastercam now lets you edit them after they have been created.
Do this to fine-tune the resulting toolpath without editing or creating additional geometry.

The new options are on the Basic Motion Control page. Select Modified, and then click the Edit vectors button.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Mastercam displays the current tool axis vectors in the graphics window. Click on a vector and use the angle dial to
rotate it to the desired orientation. Press the [Shift] key to display an outline of the tool along with the vector. While
you are editing the vectors, the tool rotation is stopped and boundary is displayed in red if a collision is detected.

Double-click anywhere on the contour to add additional tool axis vectors. Sections of the contour, where the tool is
not able to contact the part, are highlighted in red; if you double-click in a non-contact area, Mastercam will add the
new tool axis vector at the closest possible location.

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 Turning Enhancements

Press [Enter] to return to the function panel. Mastercam does not edit the original wireframe geometry that was
used to create the initial tool axis vector.

Note that if you are working with a part that was created in an earlier version of Mastercam with the Automatic
setting, you will need to regenerate the part before the Modified option is available.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Manually Defining the Usable Portion of the Insert

Mastercam now lets you manually define the allowable portion of the insert. Do this when you would rather define
the insert visually instead of entering a dimension, or when you wish to define a usable insert area that is irregular
or non-symmetrical.

The new options are on the Advanced Motion Control page. Choose Manual, then the Edit depth button.
Mastercam returns you to the graphics window where you can edit the boundaries of the usable portion. Use your
mouse to drag each colored ball to the desired location on the insert boundary.

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 Turning Enhancements

Also, a new Preview button has been added. Click it to see the updated insert boundaries in the graphics window.
This can be used no matter which method you use to define the usable insert area.

l Mastercam displays the insert with the proper insert-up or insert-down colors.
l The display takes into account the Holder clearance value.
l For collision-checking purposes, the unused portion of the insert is treated like it is part of the holder.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Adjusting the Stock

Many turning operations in Mastercam include the Adjust stock function. B-axis Contour Turning operations now
also include this feature. However, the interface has been completely redesigned for an easier workflow.

Click Adjust stock to edit the stock model at the beginning and end of the toolpath. Do this to control how the tool
enters and exits the stock.

When you click the button, Mastercam displays the existing remaining stock model relative to the chained geometry
in a temporary viewsheet. A green ball indicates the beginning of the chain, and a red ball indicates the end. The
gray dashed line indicates the current stock boundary.

Click and release one of the balls to edit the stock model at either end of the chain. Drag the ball to the desired
location on the stock boundary, and then press [Enter].

White dots indicate up to three locations to which the cursor will snap:

l The location perpendicular to the direction of the cut.

l The location parallel to the direction of the cut.
l The location parallel to the direction of the chain.

42
 Turning Enhancements

In these pictures, the white dots are displayed in red for sake of clarity. For example, you can drag the ball to the
stock margin to extend the stock to the face of the part, or drag it down to create a chamfer.

When you are done, click [Enter] to return to the function panel. Click Reset to undo the changes and restore the
original stock.

Using Turret-Mounted Angled Milling Heads

You can now use turret-mounted angled milling heads in Mill-Turn operations. This lets you create toolpaths on
angled planes using turret-mounted tools.

Prior to Mastercam 2024, tool locators for turrets supported both turning tools and milling tools in live tooling
stations. While turning tools could be mounted in an angular orientation, live tools could not.

Mastercam 2024 divides turret tool locators into two separate component types: one for turning tools, and a second
for milling tools. You can create milling tool locators for face milling, cross milling, or at an angular orientation. You
can specify a fixed angle in the component properties, or read the orientation from the operation. This lets you
create tilted plane, G68-style toolpaths with turret-only machines.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Using Angled Milling Heads in Operations

When Mastercam detects that angled milling heads are available or when you load a tool into an angled milling
head, Mastercam enables the Plane Rotation option in the Setup page.

Typically this setup type is not available for turret-only machines, but will be required whenever the milling head is
oriented at any angle other than 0 or 90 degrees. The orientation of the head also filters the allowable axis
combinations.

Angled heads can be created with a fixed angle, or you can configure them to get the angular orientation from the
operation. This affects how you set the toolplane.

l If the head is set to a fixed angle, you will typically want to ensure that the orientation of the toolplane
matches the angled head. If it does not, Mastercam displays a warning message.
l If the head is set to read the angle from the operation, you will be able to select a toolplane with your
operation, or select Derive from geometry if your toolpath geometry supports it.

44
 Turning Enhancements

Once a tool has been selected for an operation and mounted in an angled milling head, you cannot change the tool
number. The only way to change the tool number is to select a new tool or delete the operation. The Assign tool
numbers sequentially option in your machine group is not applied to tools mounted in angled milling heads.

Some live tooling heads are geared to increase, decrease, or reverse the programmed spindle speed. These settings
are available in the component properties for the tool locator. The spindle speed adjustment will be applied
automatically when you select the angled head.

45
Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Tool Locator Components

To implement the new functionality, the component architecture for tool locators has been overhauled. You will see
this first when you add a new locator to a turret, and need to choose from the two different types:

The interface for both turning and milling tool locators has been redesigned for a smoother workflow, using the
same interface that was introduced for steady rest components.

46
 Turning Enhancements

Milling tool locators can include a barrel subcomponent. This represents the portion of the locator that rotates, and
typically is associated with its own solid model. A barrel is optional; you do not need to include one if it is not
necessary. In the picture below, the orange model is the barrel subcomponent.

The key properties of the barrel are the center of rotation, the angular travel limits, and the solid model.

47
Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Finally, each locator component includes one or more tool stations.

Milling tool locators can be oriented for face milling, cross milling, or angular. Face- and cross-milling tool locators
support multiple stations per locator, while angled heads allow only one.

Angled heads can be locked to a fixed angle (select Manual and enter the angle), or can be set so that the angular
orientation comes from the operation. Other new properties include a Speed multiplier factor plus the ability to
Reverse spindle direction; these should be set to match the internal gearing on your head.

48
 Turning Enhancements

Creating a New Spindle Origin for Spindle Move Operations

Spindle move operations now give you the option to define a new spindle origin at the new location. This creates an
entire set of planes whose origin is at the new location. Use these as tool planes for operations that you create at
this location. The name that you enter in this dialog box for the destination will be used as the name for the new
views. You can also choose to associate a work offset with the new location; this will be invoked automatically
whenever you use one of the new planes.

49
Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

In addition, while bar feed operations already support this feature, the layout of the Bar Feed dialog box has been
refreshed so that it matches the look of the Spindle Move dialog box.

50
 Turning Enhancements

Creating Separate Lead In/Out Moves for Semi-Finishing Passes

Dynamic Roughing toolpaths now let you create separate lead in/out moves for semi-finishing passes. Since most of
the stock will have been removed by the roughing passes, this lets you create more compact and efficient moves for
the semi-finishing passes. The only difference is that lead in/out moves for semi-finish passes cannot include any
modifications to the chained contour; these options will not be present for the semi-finish passes.

Enhancements to Variable Depth of Cut for Lathe Rough

Lathe Rough toolpaths now let you adjust the depth at the start of the cut by up to 100% of its calculated value.
Previously the adjustment was limited to 25%. This lets you vary the point that the surface contacts the tool insert to
prevent notching and to improve tool life. This results in an angled cut:

l A value of 100% means that the cut will be twice as deep at the end of the pass.
l A value of -100% collapses the cut, resulting in an effective cut depth of 0.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

The adjustment is applied to alternate passes, meaning that your cutting passes will alternate between straight and
angled cuts. However, in flat areas, a straight cut will be made instead of an angled cut. If the cut length is less than
the cut depth, a straight cut will be made instead of an angled cut.

All cutting pass types are supported, as well as ID, OD, face, back, and angled cuts.

52
 Designing Enhancements
Listed below are major enhancements to designing functions.

Controlling the Orientation of Disassembled Solids or Mesh Bodies

By default, Mastercam orients disassembled solid and mesh bodies on their largest, flat face. In previous versions of
Mastercam, the only way to control the orientation of the disassembled solids was to enable Face Selection and
disable Body Selection on the Selection Bar. This action made it possible to place specific faces on the layout
plane. Unfortunately, you could not use this method if the opposing faces of the selected bodies were equal.

To provide more control in these situations, Mastercam 2024 lets you use the color of a face to orient the
disassembled bodies. To do this, click the Sample color button in the Disassemble panel's Face Color section and
choose a color from the graphics window.

If you cannot easily select the face color in the graphics window, you can also click Select color to choose a color
from the Colors dialog box. Mastercam continues to disassemble the part placing the largest, flattest face of a body
towards the layout plane. However, it will also place any face of this color that is the same size of its opposing face
towards the layout plane.

53
Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Solid Hole Enhancements

There have been many enhancements to Mastercam's hole-making functions. Many of these will be helpful in your
drilling and Process Hole operations.

Easily Smooth the Edges of Solid Holes

Mastercam 2024 now offers an easy way for you to break the hole edges in solid parts. Hole operations in this
release now include options for edge treatment from within the function panel.

While in previous versions of Mastercam, you could only create a chamfer at the top edge of a hole, Mastercam
2024's new Top Edge Treatment parameters allow you to create either chamfers or fillets on your hole edge.
Mastercam has also expanded options to generate a chamfer by giving you the option to specify the size of the
chamfer by entering either its diameter or its width distance.

Additionally, you can now smooth the bottom edges of through holes. Simply select the Match top and bottom
option to apply your top edge treatment settings to your bottom edge, or enter specific values into the Bottom
Edge Treatment section in the function panel.

Creating New Operations from a Single Hole Operation

Mastercam 2024 makes incorporating design changes to existing holes in your solid easier. New options in the
Solids Manager and the Hole panel allow you to create, move, or copy hole operations from hole operation groups.

54
 Designing Enhancements

In the Solids Manager, the Explode hole operation option creates an operation from each instance in a group of
holes. For example, to create eight, separate operations from a single operation with eight holes, select the Explode
hole operation command from the Solids Manager's right-click menu. Mastercam instantly creates and displays
each operation in the Solids Manager.

To apply design changes to specific groups, open a Hole operation from the Solids Manager. Select the individual
hole positions in the Hole panel and choose the Move to new operation or Copy to new operation commands
from the right-click menu. Then, click Regen on the Solids Manager toolbar. The new, independent operations are
reflected in the Solids Manager.

55
Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Changing the Direction of Existing Through Holes

In Mastercam 2024, we have added a new Reverse Hole button to the Hole function. This option allows you to flip
the direction of selected through-holes. It moves the hole's associative point (the point that was selected to create
the hole) to the opposite end of the hole and reverses the vector (the direction of the hole).

NOTE
To enable this feature, you must have Through all selected in the panel's Depth option group.

Modifying Your Drafting Dimensions Directly

Mastercam 2023 introduced in-panel methods to the Drafting function panel to modify font format and drafting
entity placement. This enhancement removed the extra steps necessary to make modifications. Mastercam 2024
expands those changes.

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 Designing Enhancements

The new Drafting panel incorporates dimension attributes, text, and witness and leader settings into three new
pages. This eliminates the need to exit the panel and edit these settings in the System Configuration dialog box.

In addition to the Basic and Advanced pages available in previous versions, there are three new panel pages.

l Dimension Attributes: Sets properties for coordinates and symbols.

l Dimension Text: Sets properties for text size, point dimensions, text direction, and text orientation.
l Leaders/Witness: Sets properties for leaders, witness lines, and arrows.

The changes you make in the function panel do not change Mastercam's default settings. If you need to make
changes to the defaults, use the pages in the System Configuration dialog box.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Trim, Break, and Extend Wireframe Entities from One Function

With the new Dynamic Trim function, Mastercam 2024 reintroduces multiple trimming functions into a single
panel. Dynamic Trim combines the Trim to Entities, Divide, Trim to Point, and Modify Length into one panel so
that you can easily apply any of these functions to wireframe geometry without having to open a separate panel.
This new function is located on the Wireframe tab.

If you are more comfortable using the functions separately, you can still access each one individually from the same
Modify group on the Wireframe tab.

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 Designing Enhancements

Smoothly Attach Spline Endpoints

Mastercam 2024 adds more improvements to wireframe modification. A new option in the Edit Spline function
creates a smooth transition from the endpoint of the selected spline to an endpoint on another entity.

When you select the Align end tangents option in the panel, Mastercam matches the tangency of the repositioned
spline endpoint to that of the destination endpoint. The blended geometry results in a continuous curvature of the
geometry and a better foundation for surface creation.

Note Workflow Improvement

Mastercam 2024 improves efficiency with a simple change to the Note workflow. In previous versions of
Mastercam, you would have to interact with the panel every time you wanted to add or delete a leader line to a
note.

Now, you can simply indicate the new position in the graphics window to add additional leader lines. To delete the
last leader added, press [Esc]. The leader workflow remains live until you press the [Enter] key.

59
60
 Simulation Enhancements
Listed below are major enhancements to Mastercam Simulator.

New Mastercam Simulator Workflow for Mill and Router Machines

Starting with Mastercam 2024, the Simulator Options are changing to help reduce redundant workflows, and
provide one single location for all settings related to the active machine group and Mastercam Simulator.
Mastercam Simulator now only uses the information in the Machine Group Setup panel to populate the simulation.
Options previously found in the Simulation and Data tabs of Simulator Options dialog box are now in the
Simulation panel. The Simulator Options button is still available for lathe, mill-turn, and wire machine groups.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

The options in the Components tab are now in the Stock Setup and Workholding pages.

Additionally, the Verify selected machine group option in the Verify selected operations drop-down has been
removed. The changes to the Simulator Options dialog box and the Machine Group Setup function panel
automatically include this functionality, and it is now a redundant option.

NOTE
The Simulator Options dialog box includes the option to use the new Stock Override option upon
entering simulation. You can choose between a stock model in the current part file, from a file, or selection
from the graphics window.

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 Simulation Enhancements

Exporting Collision Reports

Mastercam Simulator now includes an option to export collision reports. Use the Save Report button to export the
results to a CSV file. The generated report includes the moves, the event, the objects involved in the event, and the
range of the event. This may be helpful when you need to share information with another user or technical support.

Improved Move List Pane

The Move List pane now includes new columns for Move Type, Feed Rate, Machining Time, and Move Length.
Previously, you could only view the move ID and the XYZ coordinates. Use the Plus button to hide and display
columns.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Checking Your Tool Orientation During Simulation

When simulating a mill-turn machine, you can now check for tool orientation issues when checking for collisions.
After selecting Tool Orientation in the Collision Checking drop-down, the Reports pane notifies you when a tool
insert does not match the spindle direction.

You can also select Tool Orientation as a Stop Condition, which is set on the Home tab. When selected,
Mastercam Simulator pauses your simulation when a tool insert does not match the spindle direction.

64
 Simulation Enhancements

Viewing Tool Tip Positions and Comments

You can now view the current tool tip position (WCS and Tplane) in the Move Info pane while in Mastercam
Simulator. The position is shown in XYZ coordinates. Additionally, if you enter a tool comment in the toolpath dialog
box, the Move Info pane displays it.

Setting Custom Background Colors

You can now set a background color in Mastercam Simulator independent from Mastercam's color settings.
Previously, the background color was inherited from Mastercam and could not be changed. Select File, Options
inside Mastercam Simulator and use the options on the Graphics page to set your preferred colors.

65
66
 Toolpath Utility Enhancements
Listed below are major enhancements to toolpath utilities.

Changing the WCS, Cplane, or Tplane of Selected Operations

The Edit Common Parameters dialog box (available from the Toolpaths Manager's right-click menu) sets values
for one or more toolpath parameters for several operations at the same time.

In Mastercam 2024, we have improved how we display shared planes and your ability to modify the planes of
selected operations when you use this dialog box to access the Toolpath Coordinate System.

To modify the planes of multiple selected operations, click the Planes button in the Edit Common Parameters
dialog box to open the Toolpath Coordinate System dialog box. When the dialog box opens in Mastercam 2023,
Mastercam populates all the fields in the dialog box. When the dialog box opens in Mastercam 2024, Mastercam
only displays the planes that are common to the operations, and planes that are not shared are left blank. This
enhancement allows you to easily change any shared planes without effecting planes that are specific to individual
operations.

67
Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Mastercam 2023 Mastercam 2024

68
 System Enhancements
Listed below are enhancements made to Mastercam's core features, including graphics, planes, and levels.

Controlling Your Graphics View with the Gview Cube

In Mastercam 2024, the traditional on-screen gnomon has been augmented with the Gview cube, a more graphical
way to show plane orientation. The Gview cube, which is relative to the WCS by default, also features many options
that let you control the cube, thus the on-screen representation of your part.

The cube itself has many interactive features. For example, double-clicking the cube fits the part to the screen
(same as the Fit command). You can click a side, corner, or edge of the cube to switch to that view. Drag any part of
the cube to change to a view, unconstrained by the preset views represented by the sides and edges.

The buttons next to the cube allow you to pan or rotate the view in various ways. The actual effect of dragging
depends on whether you are holding the button down and whether you are pressing [Alt], [Ctrl], [Alt+Ctrl], as
shown in the following lists:

Arrow buttons

l Click: Pans the part up, down, left, or right.

l [Alt]+click: Rotates the part up, down, left, or right by a set number of degrees.

Flip/Rotate button

l Click: Flips the part 180 degrees.

l [Shift]+click: Flips the part 90 degrees.
l [Shift+Alt]+click: Flips the part - 90 degrees.
l [Ctrl]+click: Rotates the part counterclockwise in the view about the center of the screen by a set number of
degrees.
l [Ctrl+Alt]+click: Rotates the part clockwise in the view about the center of the screen by a set number of
degrees.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Right-click the cube to display a context menu, which includes the follow commands:

l Show Cube: Click this option to toggle the Gview cube on and off. When the Gview cube is on, a checkmark
displays in the context menu next to Show Cube.
l Relative to WCS: Sets the world view relative to the active WCS. When enabled, a checkmark displays in the
context menu next to Relative to WCS.
l Create dynamic plane: Lets you create a new plane using the Dynamic Gnomon. You can also select this
function by clicking the cube's axes.
l Settings: Opens the Screen dialog box, where you can adjust the cube size, text size, opacity, arrow button
pan/rotate, and arrow button rotation (degrees).

Reversing a Chain or Changing Its Side in the Graphics Area

In the graphics window, you can now reverse a chain by double-clicking it. Double-clicking the side arrow (the
smaller one) changes the side of the chain. (Note that this functionality does not work with the Saw toolpath.) These
new functions provide a streamlined way to manipulate chains, without having to select these options in the Chain
Manager dialog box.

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 System Enhancements

Besides reversing a chain or changing its side, you can now select a chaining arrow to have the associated entry
selected in the Chain Manager dialog box, as shown in the picture following.

Warning of Corrupt Planes

Previously, if you opened a file with corrupt planes in Mastercam, you received no warnings or entries in the log.
Now, a dialog displays informing you of the plane errors when you open a file.

System Configuration Enhancements

Listed below are enhancements made to the System Configuration dialog box.

Updated Screen and Spin Controls Pages

For Mastercam 2024:

l The Screen page has been changed to accommodate the new Gview cube settings.
l The Wire settings option group that was on the Screen page has been moved to the Toolpaths page.
l The Spin Control page has been renamed to General and now also contains the MRU options group, which
used to reside on the Screen page.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

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 System Enhancements

Setting Import and Export Options

The Converters page in the System Configuration dialog box has been split into two separate pages, one for
import options and one for export options. In addition, the Import page contains two new options for handling
GDML files.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Unblank Parent Surfaces Option

Unblank parent surfaces is a new option on the Solids page of the System Configuration dialog box. This option
is selected by default. When you select the option, only user-defined, blanked surfaces are available to display
(Unblank). Trimmed surfaces will not be available.

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 System Enhancements

Adjusting the Translucency of Glass and Outlined Entities

Enhancements to translucency in Mastercam 2024 make it easier to control the part display. A new opacity setting
for glass material is available on the Shading page of the System Configuration dialog box.

Additionally, in Outline Shaded mode, adjustments to the opacity of a translucent entity now affect the entity
edges. In previous versions of Mastercam, the opacity setting affected the translucency of the entity but did not
affect its edges. The examples below are set to Glass level 4.

Glass Opacity set to 0% Glass Opacity set to 100%

75
76
 Machine Systems Enhancements
Listed below are enhancements made to Mastercam's machine systems.

Accessing Machine Definition Parameters in [Link]

[Link] developers have always been able to use the [Link] function to query MP operation parameters in
their [Link] post. However, this function does not let developers query machine definition parameters or
parameters for individual components. Three new functions have been added to [Link] to provide this
functionality.

l One function lets the post developer query specific components or the machine definition itself for
parameter values.
l Two additional functions address the need to identify the specific component whose parameters the
developer wishes to query. One function queries the axis combination in which the component resides; the
second function identifies components based on their relationship with a known component.

[Link] function
Use this command to query the machine definition or specific components for parameter values. This is the main
function for accessing the machine definition parameters that are available to MP posts (parameters 17000–17999
and 60000–64999). Use this with a single argument to query general machine definition settings or supply a
component ID as the second argument to query a specific component.

The general form of the function is as follows:

[Link] (paramNum [, componentID])

The functions are defined below:

l paramNum is the number of the machine definition parameter to access. This can be either a number or the
name of a numeric token.
l componentID (optional) is the ID of the component to access. For example, your machine definition might
have several of the same type of component, such as linear axes, turrets, or spindles. Mastercam uses this
number to select the specific machine definition component to query.

If this argument is not supplied, Mastercam will query the general machine settings. These include the
information in the General Machine Parameters dialog box and the main Machine Definition Manager
dialog box.

Typically you will get the desired component ID with the [Link] function or the
[Link] function.

[Link] function
Use this function to get the component ID of either an axis combination or a component within an axis
combination. Typically the ID that is returned is used as input for the [Link] function.

The general form of the function is as follows:

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

[Link] (mode, spindleID, streamID [, componentType])

The functions are defined below:

l mode specifies the information that will be returned by the function: Title, or ComponentID.
o Specify Title to return the name of the axis combination.
o Specify ComponentID to return the ID of either a component in the axis combination or the axis
combination itself.

Do not add quote marks around this argument.

l spindleID is the number of the spindle in the axis combination that you are querying. The SpindleID token is
commonly used for this purpose.
l streamID is the number of the stream associated with the axis combination that you are querying. The
StreamID token is commonly used for this purpose.

Note that in the machine definition (*.mcam-lmd file), the stream IDs are 1-based (in other words, on a dual-
stream machine, the streams are 1 and 2), but inside [Link] they are zero-based (the two streams are 0 and
1). This function uses the zero-based [Link] stream IDs.
l ComponentType (optional) specifies the type of component in the axis combination that you are querying—for
example, CAxis, Chuck, or Turret. A complete list of allowed types is presented below.
o If you include this argument, Mastercam returns the ID of the component of that type that is present
in the axis combination.
o If you omit this argument, Mastercam returns the ID of the axis combination itself.

Specifying the component type

The allowable component types are listed here. The value specified with the function must exactly match the list
below. Do not use quote marks.

l XAxis
l YAxis
l ZAxis
l AAxis
l BAxis
l CAxis
l RectangleTable
l Fixture
l Vise
l Chuck
l ColletChuck
l MultiHead

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 Machine Systems Enhancements

l PiggyBack
l WireUpperGuide
l WireLowerGuide
l ToolSpindle
l MultiTool
l Turret
l AggregateHead
l DrillBlock
l GangTool
l MTTurret

These are the component types that are considered to be part of an axis combination. For example, chuck jaws or
collets are not considered part of the axis combination and their IDs cannot be retrieved with this function. Each
axis combination should only contain one of each type of component.

l If no component of the requested type is present, then nothing will be returned.

l If a ComponentType argument is supplied, it does not matter what the first argument is (Title or
ComponentID)—Mastercam will always return the component ID.

[Link] function
Use this function to get the ID of a component based on its relationship with another component—for example, a
child or sibling component. You can also use this function to get the ID of a component that is not in an axis
combination. Typically the ID that is returned is used as input for the [Link] function.

The general form of the function is [Link] (navigationType, componentID [,

generation]).

The functions are defined below:

l navigationType specifes the relationship between the component whose ID is supplied and the component
that you are querying. Allowable values are Parent, FirstChild, NextSibling, PreviousSibling, or Root. Do
not add quote marks around this argument.
l componentID is the ID of the base component in the relationship.
l generation (optional) represents the generation to access. If this argument is not supplied, it defaults to 1.
For example, if navigationType is FirstChild and this argument is 2, then Mastercam will find the first child
of original starting component and then the first child of that component, returning its ID.

Machine Group Setup Enhancements

In an on-going effort to improve Machine Group Setup, which was introduced in Mastercam 2023, the following
improvements have been made to the overall functionality.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Viewing the Page Status

The Machine Group Setup panel now includes a status indicator on the page icons. You can quickly check the
status of each page within the panel. This can be helpful when there is an error, but you are unable to locate which
page contains it or to determine if a page is active or not.

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 Machine Systems Enhancements

Viewing Stock Dimensions

The Stock Setup page has been redesigned and now includes an on-screen display, including dimensions.
Additionally, you can customize the on-screen dimensions using the Stock Dimensions page of the System
Configuration dialog box, under Dimensions and Notes.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

New Stock Selection Methods

Three new selection methods have been added: Add from two corners, Add rectangular stock, and Add
cylindrical stock.

Add from two corners returns you to the graphics window to select two opposite points which represent the
corners of the stock. Add rectangular stock creates a rectangle around the selected entities and Add cylindrical
stock creates a cylinder around the selected entities.

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 Machine Systems Enhancements

Pushing and Pulling Your Stock

The Push-Pull function has been included in the Machine Group Setup panel. Simply click on a face to enable the
use of the feature. Push-Pull allows you to extend the selected faces in the graphics window. You can set the mode
to Absolute or Incremental. Additionally, you can select Both directions to modify both sides of the stock.

Overriding Your Stock

The new Stock Override option on the Simulation page allows you to choose which stock to use upon entering
simulation. You can choose between a stock model in the current part file, from a file, or selecting from the graphics
window.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Creating Mill-Turn Coolant Strategies

In Mastercam 2024, all Mill-Turn users can access the Coolant Strategy Editor. Previously, this utility was only
available to licensed Developers. Use the Coolant Strategy Editor to create, edit, or delete the coolant strategies that
are stored in your Mill-Turn .machine file.

Coolant strategies organize individual coolant on/off events into complete sequences. You select coolant strategies
in the Sync Manager:

Coolant strategies are different from coolant options. For example, your machine might have three different
coolant options:

l Flood coolant
l Through-tool coolant
l High-pressure coolant

Coolant strategies organize the on/off commands for one or more coolant options. For example, you might create a
coolant strategy that turns on flood and through-tool coolant before the approach move, and turns both off before
the retract move. You can then create a different strategy for high-pressure coolant, etc.

Follow these steps to open the Coolant Strategy Editor:

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 Machine Systems Enhancements

1. Open the .machine file in Code Expert.

2. If necessary, open the Machine Explorer panel by clicking Machine Explorer on the View ribbon.

3. Double-click the Consumer layer.

4. Select Output Settings from the Category list.

5. Open the Coolant group.

6. Click the Open coolant strategy editor button.

Working with the Coolant Strategy Editor

Each column in the Coolant Strategy Editor represents an individual coolant strategy. The rows represent different
nodes in the approach or retract sequence where coolant options can be turned on or off. Build coolant strategies
by adding coolant events to the proper row.

l Click the Strategy Name or Strategy Description to rename a strategy or edit its description. The Strategy
Description will be visible to users as a tool tip when they select coolant strategies.
l You can create different strategies for physical tool changes and null tool changes. The Physical rows are
used for physical tool changes and the Reposition rows are used for null tool changes.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

l Double-click a cell to add or edit the coolant events.

l Select a coolant option to activate it, then choose the desired On/Off event.
l Deselect an option to remove it.
l You can add as many different options in each cell as you wish.
l Click on the column header to drag and reorder the columns. This also changes the order in which
strategies are presented to the user in the Sync Manager.
l Make sure that each coolant option that is turned on in the strategy is also turned off later in the same
strategy. The Off strategy is only used when users wish to force all coolant options off. Otherwise, each
strategy should explicitly turn off each option that is turned on.

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 Machine Systems Enhancements

Enhancing MCO Conversion Options for Component Models

Typically, the solid models in .machine files and component libraries are converted to Mastercam's proprietary MCO
format before being released. This is an encrypted mesh format that prevents the models from being edited,
preserving the intellectual property of the person or company who supplied the models.

For Mastercam 2024, this functionality has been enhanced so that models can be converted to either regular
Mastercam mesh entities or MCO entities. In addition, this functionality has been added to the Machine Assembler
utility so that models can be converted automatically when the .machine file is built.

To access the new functionality, click the Convert To Mesh button in the Machine Definition Manager or
Component Library dialog box. This replaces the MCO button found in earlier Mastercam versions. The new
button opens the redesigned Mesh Conversion Options dialog box.

You can choose between two desired output formats: Mesh or MCO. Mesh converts the solids to Mastercam mesh
entities. MCO converts the solids to an encrypted mesh format.

It is possible that the models in a machine definition or component library are already a mixture of solid and mesh
entities. Select Convert STL meshes to MCO meshes to ensure that both solid and mesh entities are converted to
MCO format. Leave this option deselected to convert only the solid entities.

Use component chord tolerance for tessellation tolerance reads the tessellation tolerance from each
component's properties. Otherwise, enter the proper Tessellation Tolerance in the dialog box.

You can also choose to Delete original geometry. If you do not select this option, Mastercam leaves the original
model in your file untouched. The new mesh or MCO version is placed on the same level and location as the original
model, so that both entities will be on top of one another.

Licensed machine developers can also access this functionality from the Machine Assembler and save the
conversion settings in the manifest file. You can convert a single machine definition or component library. You can
also use the Machine Assembler to include the conversion as part of an automated build process. This lets you
preserve the original solid models in your source machine definitions or component libraries.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

New Options for Creating Multi-Stream Views

When organizing files in Code Expert to create a multi-stream view, new controls have been added to streamline the
workflow.

l Mastercam displays the streams in the order in which the NC files are listed. Once you have selected the NC
files, right-click in the list to organize the files so that the streams will display in the desired order.
l Click Remove All to clear the list of selected files.

In addition, the order of the files will persist within the Code Expert session, even if you load a different part or
.machine file and then return to the original NC configuration. Each NC configuration will have its own ordered list of
files.

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 Machine Systems Enhancements

Duplicating Existing Part Handling Strategies

Machine developers who are working with .transfer files can now create a new strategy by copying an existing one.
Right-click on the strategy that you want to copy and select Duplicate.

89
90
 File Management Enhancements
Listed below are enhancements to file usage and converters in Mastercam.

Working with Content Files

Listed below are enhancements made to Mastercam's content files.

Updating Content Files

You no longer need to run the Migration Wizard on .mcam-content files. When you drag an old version of an .mcam-
content file into Mastercam, a prompt asks if you want to update the file. If you click Yes, Mastercam copies the old
version and puts it in a folder called Older Versions in the same location as the existing content file. Mastercam then
extracts and updates the files.

Opening and Extracting PDF Files

When you open an .mcam-content file containing PDFs, Mastercam now prompts whether you want to open the PDFs
in your default browser or PDF reader. If you click Yes, Mastercam opens all the PDF files listed in the PDF Files
dialog box.

If you do not wish to be prompted each time you extract a PDF, you can deselect this option in the Files page of the
System Configuration dialog box. It is selected by default.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Replacing and Extracting Files

When you open an .mcam-content file containing .config or .workspace files, you can opt to replace your current .config
or .workspace files with those in the content file. This will update your current session of Mastercam with the new
configuration and workspace file.

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 Posts and Machine Environments
Listed below are the new post and machines for Mastercam 2023. These can be downloaded from the Mastercam
Tech Exchange.

Generic .machine Files Can No Longer be Migrated

Beginning with Mastercam 2024, Mastercam will no longer migrate generic Mill-Turn .machine files from earlier
versions of Mastercam. This applies to the generic Fanuc .machine files that are installed with Mastercam and to the
generic Siemens .machine files that are available on the Mastercam Tech Exchange.

This is to ensure that all generic .machine files include all of the latest content and enhancements associated with the
current Mastercam version. Machine files that have been migrated from earlier versions lack the most up-to-date
system layer resources. This missing support can include machine components, post engine tokens, and other
resources.

If your generic .machine files have custom content or features, contact your Reseller or machine developer for
assistance in porting any desired modifications to the current Mastercam version.

New Posts and Machines for Mastercam 2023

The following machine environments and posts are now available for Mastercam 2023. These machines can be
downloaded from the Mastercam Tech Exchange.

NOTE
Not all machines and posts are available for download. Contact your local Mastercam Reseller for more
information about acquiring a machine or post. You can also contact your Mastercam Reseller for more
information about the Mastercam 2024 versions.

Lathe machine environments

The following machine environments have been released for Mastercam Lathe. These let users take advantage of
Mastercam Mill-Turn's interface and features (including Simulation) for single-stream machines with no more
than one rotary axis. These machines require only a Lathe and Mill license to run.

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Machine Control Configurations

Haas

ST-30 Y_C_Hybrid Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

ST-10 Y_S_Hybrid_v2 Dual Spindle / Single Turret

ST-25 Y_S_BMT65_v2 Dual Spindle / Single Turret

ST-25_C_BOT_v2 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

ST-25_C_VDI40_v2 v Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

ST-25_C_BMT65_v2 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

ST-25_C_BMT65x24_v2 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

Haas CNC
ST-25 Y_C_BMT65_v2 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

ST-25 Y_C_BMT65x24_v2 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

ST-25 Y_S_BMT65x24_v2 Dual Spindle / Single Turret

ST-28 Y_S_BMT65_v2 Dual Spindle / Single Turret

ST-30 Y_S_BMT65_v2 Dual Spindle / Single Turret

ST-35 LY_C_BMT65 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

ST-35 Y_S_BMT65x24_v2 Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Hwacheon

Hi-TECH 230AL YSMC_BMT45x2 Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Fanuc 0i-MF
Hi-TECH 350BL YSMC Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Mazak

Quick Turn 200MSY 500U Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Nexus 2
Quick Turn 250MY Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

Takisawa

LA-250YS Fanuc 0i-TF Dual Spindle / Single Turret

CMZ

TD35 YS Z800_16st BOT Fanuc 31i-A Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Doosan

PUMA 2600YII_BMT65 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

PUMA 2600LYII_R_BMT65x24 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock / Steady Rest

PUMA 3100XLY_R_BMT65 Fanuc i series Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock / Steady Rest

PUMA 5100MLB Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

Lynx 2100LSYB_BMT45_16st Dual Spindle / Single Turret

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 Posts and Machine Environments

Machine Control Configurations

Okuma

LB4000 EX II MY x1500C Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

LB4000 EX II L x750C Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

LB-45III MY 2000C Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

OSP-P300L
Genos L3000-E MYW Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Genos L3000-e MY x1000_BMT60 Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

Genos L3000-e MY x1000_VDI Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

DMG

NLX4000MC 1500TSY_R_12st BOT Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock / Steady Rest
Mitsubishi (CELOS)
NLX4000MC 1500TSY_12st BOT Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock

Hardinge

Talent 42 MSY Fanuc 31i-A Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Spinner

PD 32-S_VDI 16 Siemens 840D Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Tsugami

M08SY Fanuc 0i-TF Dual Spindle / Single Turret

Mill-Turn machine environments

The following machine environments have been released for Mastercam Mill-Turn. These machines require a full
Mill-Turn license.

Machine Control Configurations

Mazak Integrex

i-100 Single Spindle / Tool Spindle / Tailstock

i-300S 1500U_R SmoothX Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Steady Rest

i-400S 2500U_R Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Steady Rest

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Mastercam 2024 • What's New in Mastercam 2024

Machine Control Configurations

i-100H 590U Single Spindle / Tool Spindle / Tailstock

i-100HS 850U Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle

i-100HST 850U Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

I-250HS 1500U Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle

i-250HS 1500U_R-Tandem Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Tandem Steady Rest

i-250HST 1500U_9st SmoothAI Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

i-350HST 1500U Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

i-450HS 1500U Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

i-450HS 2500U Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle

i-450HS 2500U_R Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Steady Rest

i-450HST 1500U Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

e-500H-SII 1500U Matrix 2 Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle

Mazak Hyper Quadrex

200 MSY 1300U_16st VDI Matrix 2 Dual Spindle / Dual Turret

DMG Mori

NZX2000 800STY3 Dual Spindle / Triple Turret

NZX4000 3000Y_R_B-Type Single Spindle / Dual Turret / Tailstock / Steady Rest

NTX1000 S – Gen 2_HSK-63A Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle

NTX2500 1500S – Gen 2 Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle

Fanuc 31i-A
NTX3000 1500S_R – Gen 2_BMT40x12 Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Steady Rest

NTX3000 1500S_R – Gen 2 Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Steady Rest

NTX3000 3000S_R – Gen 2 Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Steady Rest

NT3150 DCG 1000SZ Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

Doosan

PUMA SMX2100ST Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

PUMA SMX3100L Single Spindle / Tool Spindle / Tailstock

Fanuc 31i-A
Single Spindle / Tool Spindle / Tailstock / Steady
PUMA SMX3100L_R
Rest

Eurotech

Rapido B438-Y2 Mitsubishi M700 Dual Spindle / Dual Turret

Nakamura

96
 Posts and Machine Environments

Machine Control Configurations

MX-100 Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

JX-250_1T Fanuc 31i-B Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

JX-250_2T Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Dual Lower Turret

Emco Powermill

Emco HT 110 PM-SB x1700 Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle

Emco HT 65 PM-SMY2B x1300_BMT55 Siemens 840D- Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

Emco HT 65 PM-SMYB x1300_VDI30 SL Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

Hyperturn 45-G3 SMY_BMT45x16 Dual Spindle / Dual Turret

Index

RatioLine G220_HSK-T63 Index C200 SL Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle / Lower Turret

Okuma

LU3000 EX-L 2SC x600 Single Spindle / Dual Turret / Tailstock

LU3000 EX-M 2SC x1000 Single Spindle / Dual Turret / Tailstock

LT2000 EX-2T1MY OSP-P300L Dual Spindle / Dual Turret

Single Spindle / Single Turret / Tailstock / Steady

LB3000 EX II MY x1200C_R
Rest

Tsugami

TMA8FE Fanuc 31i-B5 Dual Spindle / Tool Spindle

97
 Attention! Updates may be available.
Please refer to [Link]/product-
downloads for the latest downloads.