PM problems So Whats New!

[Nick M Singer]

I have another problem in PM this time with the file attached. It loads fine into PM and i can see the entire part but it only recognizes one region instead of 5. Can anyone else with a machine see what happens if they load it, Would be most grateful to hear.

[Jon Kenworthy]

My machine only recognizes one region also.

[Nick M Singer]

Thanks for the trouble you went to Jon. It is as I thought it would be, which brings me to my position on software from Thermwood that I have held over the last 5 years "Ambitious but Buggy". Despite repeated pleading they keep on releasing new versions with new features without fixing the old problems or release new features that break things that worked before. V6 of eCabs has a few improvements but still has a lot of the old problems and is still unstable and has memory problems that slow down the program to snails pace. Just wish they would listen to their users and get what they have working 100% before they try do do new fancy things

[Daniel Vonderheide]

Nick,

I looked at the file when pm'ed it to me and also only saw one region. I never received a response when I asked for step by step instructions on how it was created. Most profile Modeler issues are a result of an improperly created tool or in how the profile was applied. This is why I requested the tool and step by step instructions on how the piece wass created. Please email those into program@thermwood.com as I asked before and then we can proceed with troubleshooting the issue. Thank you.

[Nick M Singer]

Daniel I sent the files requested yesterday as well as the procedure which is worth replicating here. I cut a part from a display panel in the part editor and applied a tool to the edge. The shape of both the tool and the part were created from DXFs. The point though is that it all worked fine (after the normal battle) in eCabs and looked perfect in render mode, even creating CNC code. One would think that once one had jumped through all the hoops required to create a part and profile it succesfully in eCabs there would not be a problem. I won't bore you with the woeful tale of how much effort was required to achieve this seemingly simple task, "non manifold body " errors and all!!! I will mail the two files to you again. This song and dance is much the same I have had with other problems we have experienced in rolling nest or PM, in the end never really resolving them. Pitiful!

[Daniel Vonderheide]

Nick,

When I open the esj file I see that you have the part in a room layout. If you highlight the part, then right click and choose edit options and then part editor, you will see the piece in the part editor having only that one small section of the profile. If I delete all profile cuts and then reapply your tool using the partial choice, selecting the lower left section as the beginning and the lower right as the end, it applies the tool correctly. I can then take that back to the room and save the job and everything shows in the profile modeller. This is why I need to know how you created the part. The job you sent in has an error in it and I cannot reproduce it. I can see it, but not reproduce it. If I had step by step instructions, I would have a better chance of figuring out just what went wrong. I also noticed that the arcs in the geometry of the piece are non-tangent to the exterior straight sections on the top. This could be a contributing facter to the issue.

[Daniel Vonderheide]

I cut a part from a display panel in the part editor and applied a tool to the edge. The shape of both the tool and the part were created from DXFs.

What size was the panel? What thickness was the panel? When you applied the tool, did you choose single, partial, or chain? What piece of geometry did you select and what direction was the red line showing? What were your settings when you applied the tool? How deep was the tool? Did you use an right or left offset and if so how much? Did you send in the dxf files used?

These are the type of details we need when we are trying to troubleshoot an issue. The more details the better. Statements such as the one above do not have any details therefore are of little help to us when troubleshooting an issue.

[Nick M Singer]

Daniel when you say "everything shows" in the PM do you mean you can see the part and the profile and all the regions?

[Daniel Vonderheide]

Sorry for the delayed response, I was out of the office last week. When I said that everything showed I meant that I could see the piece, the profile ran along the whole thing, and I was able to select the region(because it was only one) and apply a tool group to it. It then wrote the code succesfully also.

[Nick M Singer]

No problem Daniel I redrew the DXF and redid the whole thing. Part is now machined. Clearly it had something to do with the arcs. Be that as it may, there is clearly something wrong if I was able to produce the whole thing without any problem in eCabs but then there is a snarl up in the PM. We had a similar problem over a year ago when a gable topped frame with a moulded edge drawn in eCabs without a hitch caused the the controller to lock up. Never got that one right!