topic Re: Please add a stop generation button in PowerMill Forum

Please add a stop generation button

cheidenfelder — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 14:52:54 GMT

Can you please add a stop generation button? There is nothing worse than losing work because the generating fillets gets stuck at 5% and you have to crash out. Also stop inheriting this generate fillets on following operations.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

Sean571 — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 17:04:45 GMT

There already is one while calculating. It's the red X to the left of the progress bar or also pressing the Escape key runs the command to quit. It just doesn't always work the way you'd like it to, or stop calculating as fast as you'd like.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

cheidenfelder — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 17:31:40 GMT

I know about the "X", that only works on some paths. It will not stop the 3D fillet calculation.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

glen_h — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:06:20 GMT

@cheidenfelder

I agree...the stop button is rendered mostly useless when 3d arc fitting is calculating. And I cannot stand it when the 3d arc fitting is inherited from one toolpath to another...some times I will forget to turn it off, then once you get down to some tiny cutters...Powermill just goes for a permanent snooze...so up comes Task Manager! Been burned countless times. (same deal with corner finishing)

Re: Please add a stop generation button

evo80 — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 20:35:27 GMT

When I get in this situation I bang away at the Pause/Break key, this quite often does a much better job than the X at the progress bar.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

cheidenfelder — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 20:47:25 GMT

I will give the old pause/break key a good try next time it happens. I will let you know if it worked.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

M_Hennig — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 12:23:34 GMT

The pause-break key does nothing for me, although I do bang on the escape key, sometimes it works, but most of the time a message pops up that says "break hit" and the computer just hangs up, sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes minutes, and sometimes forever, and I have to kill the process in the task manager. The more intense the toolpath, the less likely you can kill it mid calculation.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

evo80 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 12:56:20 GMT

@M_Hennig , I agree totally, the key to a successful calculation stoppage is to catch it quick

Re: Please add a stop generation button

armin.bosnjakN3JE3 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 13:29:16 GMT

Same here, as @M_Hennig said, we bang Escape until something happens, because sometimes one tap is not enough. But, again ocasionally we have to kill complete PMILL process.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

iamcdn79 — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:51:31 GMT

@glen_h wrote:
@cheidenfelder
I agree...the stop button is rendered mostly useless when 3d arc fitting is calculating. And I cannot stand it when the 3d arc fitting is inherited from one toolpath to another...some times I will forget to turn it off, then once you get down to some tiny cutters...Powermill just goes for a permanent snooze...so up comes Task Manager! Been burned countless times. (same deal with corner finishing)

What I have done in this situation is I created my own most used Finishing toolpaths and created a macro inside the ribbon that calls the template with 3D fillet turned off every time it is used.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

glen_h — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:59:20 GMT

@iamcdn79

Excellent workaround!

Re: Please add a stop generation button

cheidenfelder — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 10:49:29 GMT

When you start a new tool path the macro runs automatically, or you start a new toolpath than fire the macro?

Re: Please add a stop generation button

iamcdn79 — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 11:03:48 GMT

Make a macro that opens the toolpath form with fillet corners turned off by default. Then add the macro to your Ribbon bar.

Here is a sample for a constant-z toolpath

IMPORT TEMPLATE ENTITY TOOLPATH TMPLTSELECTORGUI "Finishing/Constant-Z-Finishing.002.ptf" EDIT PAR 'CornerRadius.Active' '0'

Re: Please add a stop generation button

cheidenfelder — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 11:15:24 GMT

I see what you are doing, thanks. It is pathetic we have to constantly come up with work arounds to get the software to work correctly. They never fix anything.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

todd.murphy8YH67 — Fri, 03 May 2024 14:48:17 GMT

Cant this be achieved by adding all this to the PMuser.mac, during startup?

Re: Please add a stop generation button

cheidenfelder — Fri, 03 May 2024 16:22:04 GMT

The problem is it will inherit from another path that you had 2d fillets, for some reason it will turn on 3d fillets on if the new path doesn't have 2d fillet.

Re: Please add a stop generation button

todd.murphy8YH67 — Fri, 03 May 2024 17:41:53 GMT

hmmm, seen interesting issues on redistribute- arcs and filtering