HSM Crashing SolidWorks

[designNQVPS]

I went to open a part on Friday last week, but it crashed SW. Investigated and narrowed it down to being the HSM add-in: turn that off and the part opens. If you enable HSM once the part is open it also crashes SW, so I can't figure out what in HSM is causing the crash and fix/delete it. I've tried retrieving an earlier version from my Dropbox but the problem persists. 

I'm not really sure how to proceed. I've got a near identical part with near identical toolpaths that opens and I can work on. I've also opened, programmed and posted other parts, so it's not 100% broken. Any advice? 

[lenny_1962]

sounds like the file is corrupted.

save the part as a new name and see if you can then add toolpath.

your programming in the part not an assembly, correct?

I use assemblies that way you never corrupt the part file.

lenny

[jeff.pek]

If you can share the crashing file with me, we can take a look at what may be happening.

Thanks,

  Jeff

[designNQVPS]

@jeff.pek What's the best way to send it to you? 

[designNQVPS]

Tried copying it in Windows Explorer, opened in SW, started HSM... Crash.

Tried opening it in SW and doing a Save As Copy, started HSM... Crash. 

[jeff.pek]

You can PM it to me here, or can e-mail, to jeff DOT pek AT autodesk DOT com.

Thanks,

  Jeff

[designNQVPS]

@jeff.pek Emailing now 👍

[lenny_1962]

Have you tried to load into an assembly and then add toolpath there???

reason is you are not really loading the part file fully, the assembly is where HSMWorks is working not in the part.

as I said earlier I do all my parts in an assembly because at the assembly you can add sketches for boundries, planes, vise, tooling or like parts or configurations of a part if you need to hide\supress features.

big plus is you are not modifying the part, keeps it in it's original state.

[designNQVPS]

@lenny_1962 I have: that also crashes it. 

I think it depends on workflow and several other factors as to where you program. I can add sketches and planes at part level and I can add/suppress features via config's. I would probably make an assembly if I was using soft jaws or more complicated workholding, but I see advantages to programming at part level too. For one, it travels well: if I Save As Copy a part somewhere, the programming goes with. I don't have to P&G. Each to their own. 

Pro's and con's aside, I should be able to do either as necessary without crashes. There's clearly something screwey with this one part as everything else is working. 

[lenny_1962]

But have you tried the problem part in an assembly? 

it maybe a work around if it works???

only takes 2 minutes to see if it crashes, plus could help others save time searching.

that's why I keep asking if it crashes the assembly.

[lenny_1962]

You know in an assembly you can make the part internal and it travel with the assembly as well as any new part you create top down in the assembly like material.

plus if you drop each config of the same part in the assembly your toolpath is locked to that config and will not overwrite the other configs ..... 

I use alot of config's for the parts we get from the students, they design some crazy parts because they are just learning solid modeling and don't have time to redesign correctly alot of multiple sided parts to machine on a 3 axis.

[designNQVPS]

@lenny_1962 I felt I'd answered your question in my previous post, but to expand: yes I can open the part in an assembly, but I can't access any of the programming, so I'd have to re-do it all at the assembly level. Plus then I've still got a (possibly) corrupt part, so to open it I'd have to disable HSM each time. I'm really hoping to retrieve the work I've already done before doing that. 

Further to this, if I try to open the part from the assembly, it also crashes. 

[lenny_1962]

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@designNQVPS wrote:

I went to open a part on Friday last week, but it crashed SW. Investigated and narrowed it down to being the HSM add-in: turn that off and the part opens. If you enable HSM once the part is open it also crashes SW, so I can't figure out what in HSM is causing the crash and fix/delete it. I've tried retrieving an earlier version from my Dropbox but the problem persists. 

I'm not really sure how to proceed. I've got a near identical part with near identical toolpaths that opens and I can work on. I've also opened, programmed and posted other parts, so it's not 100% broken. Any advice? 

---

Sorry no you didn't as you don't want to try.

Dude of course you can open in the assembly and the toolpath is in the part and doesn't carry over, but does it crash HSMWorks when you try to put a toolpath on it? You can copy and paste jobs from a part to and assembly and they just reselect stuff, I do that alot when I have like jobs and material.

You said your dead in the water at the part level, correct?

How long are you going to wait to see if AD can fix it, they may not be able to because they are not SolidWorks and cannot fix a SW corrupted file.

I'm just trying to help you get your part cut.

Yeah it sucks you may have to reprogram, been there and have done that many time in CAD\CAM since 1983.

never hurts learn new tricks