Copy and paste hole /drilling/threading ops

not sure if this has been discussed on here or not…if this is a repeat please feel free to delete…but…when copying and pasting hole operations…i’ve found that if you copy and paste a hole routine from one program to another the depth automatically changes to .500…example is a tapped hole is the same on both parts…the only change between parts is the width…i copy the hole operation from one program .562 depth for example…to another program…the parts are the same except one is an inch wider that the other…one hole centered…i paste it to the new program and it changes it back to the default which is .500… not a huge deal as it’s happened so often that i always check…but now say my hole was only 375…that same copy and paste could result in a crash and laughs all around the shop because i didn’t catch it this time…i believe copy and paste should be just that…i know what i had in the first program…and that’s exactly what i want in my new program…let me know what you all think

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I agree. Very frustrating.

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Totally agree. Copy one thing and paste another is not a true copy and paste. I am sure you are aware, when using copy and paste on Mill 2 Axis profile or pocket you get a pop-up asking “Do you wish to load the Top of Feature and Depth values ?” Having an option like that could work.

Good Feature Request.

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I’ll have to check, but I am pretty sure that has already been requested.

One thing that I do to get around it though, is to Uncheck the “Use Cutting Conditions” option after I get my depths setup for the drill. That way, the system isn’t looking at the depth you enter on the Feature Page. So even though is says .5000 on the feature page. The Depth on the Parameters page of the drill should be the same after the copy and paste.

Not really a fix to the issue, but you can use this workaround if you want.

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Hi,

totally agree, too. Copy/Paste must be a 1:1 (if possible)
I also always get frustrated, when Copy/Paste of a Feature looses the Geometry in the pasted operation. And I do not speak of pasting it into another project.
I would like to see, that all parameters in the pasted operation remain the same - clear to say where possible - like the origin.

Regards, Harald

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Yes, there should be a way to copy geometry from one operation to another. Many times reselecting geometry.

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@GCSRT
hihi… just did a topic on that.

Bigman first let me say the fix is to uncheck the box Use Cutting Conditions (just uncheck that box every time you use a drill or tap feature) 2nd I have tried to get something done with this as far back as V-27 .

Hello,

I think that the trouble is that the hole feature can have multiple groups (with multiple different depths). The challenge is figuring out what you would want as your depth when the hole op is pasted.

Example:
Let’s say you have 2 arcs of 1/4" dia. One depth is 3/4" and the other is 1". (this would create 2 separate groups in the feature. One for each depth)

Now, paste this into a new file. If you only have one hole selected, which depth should be applied? What if you had 2 or 3 arcs selected? What depths should those be?

I think you can see how this could get complicated really quick.

That is the main reason that something like this for holes has not been applied. You run into many scenarios with too many unknowns.

I would like to hear your guys input on this and if you think there is a better solution here. I personally am not sure of what a good solution to this would be. I would love to hear your feedback!

Hi,

@TheWeave
I think we have to consider if we talk about pasting (1) in a new file or just pasting (2) into the same job/file.

ad (1)
You are right: doing the (1) can run into problems. But isn’t that pretty much always the case here because the geometries are mainly different? So yes: in such cases BC should not copy these parameters. But it also should not set a default one (uhh… there is something in my head about tool numbering and creating default tools). If a value is needed for the pasting to succeed, set it to 0 or something that generate G-Code milling in the air and display a popup warning.

A deeper and more complex implementation in cases where multiple choices harm the system to make a good decision:

  1. do not copy the parameters conflicting the operation
    and
  2. all parameters should be copied, if they are not conflicting and/or parameters are the same on the pasting side.
    and
  3. let the user decide, which one to copy for unsolved parameters

ad (2)
Within the same Milling Job and even the same file having multiple Milling Jobs (I claim), a copy must paste all parameters as geometries are the same.

Regards, Harald

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Makes sense.

Basically, you do not want the software to give you default numbers if it doesn’t know what else to put in there. I know that the default tools / tool numbering is something that has already been submitted to development to change.

So, if there is an unknown when pasting, do not set the depth to a default value. Set it to Zero, and/or, have the software show a pop-up dialog box when pasting to prompt for more information to adjust the depth values.

Does anyone else agree with this method of pasting the features?

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Sounds good. Thanks to all.