Technical Support - FAQs, Tips and Techniques
Installation & Licensing FAQs
I'm just starting out with Prospector. Is there a good installation guide to get me started?
This PDF document is great starting point to get you going:
Prospector Installation Guide
After installing the software, the USB key for licensing Prospector doesn't seem to be working. What now?
The driver for the USB keys used to license AMT applications may be out of date.
The USB license key supplier publishes regular driver updates to adapt to new and updated
releases of the Windows operating system. First let's make sure you have the latest version of the driver.
In the bin\ folder where your AMT application software is installed (e.g.
C:\Program Files\AMT Software\Prospector\Bin), check the version of the file
haspdinst.exe by selecting the file in Explorer, right click and choose
Properties. Click in the Details tab in the Properties dialog.
The latest version is:
If your version is older, download and update the driver:
1. Extract the program haspdinst.exe from the zip file.
2. Login locally to the problem computer as Administrator.
3. Unplug the Sentinel HASP USB key from the computer.
4. In a command prompt window, run the program twice.
The first
time with the command line options -kp -purge. This will remove any older version of the driver currently installed.
Run the program a second time with the -i -ld option to install the new driver:
5. Reboot the computer.
6. Connect the USB key and run the License Manager application to confirm that the computer recognizes the key and licenses on the it.
Installation and licensing is still not working for me. What else can I try?
Login as Administrator to the problematic computer. Temporarily disable anti-virus software that you have running on the computer.
Some anti-virus software applications are particularly aggressive and will defeat attempts to make system changes such as writing changes to the Windows
registry and/or installation of necessary drivers. With the anti-virus software disabled, install your application software. Remember to restart the
anti-virus software after installation.
I can't find my USB license key for Prospector. Can I get a replacement?
If you have a subscription license, it is possible to get a replacement for a nominal fee. Contact your AMT Software representative for asistance.
If you have a legacy perpetucal license, the answer is no. Therefore treat the USB key as though it is as valuable an
asset as the computer it is connected to or any other capital equipment in your shop. Check with your insurance
agent as your business insurance may cover the expense of replacing your software license.
I think my USB license key is defective. I've tried updating and installing the new drivers. Tried it on other computers. Nothing works. Can I get
replacement?
A key
exchange may be possible for a nominal fee. Contact your AMT Software representative to discuss how best to resolve your particular situation.
I licensed Prospector on a subscription basis so I have an iLicense (internet license). How do I move this license to a new computer?
Contact us and we will be happy to assist you. Before you call or e-mail us, install Prospector on the new computer you will be putting into service. From the Prospector
program group, choose License Manager. Click on the iLicense tab and write down the Host ID (the 12 digit hex number). Once we have
this Host ID, we will enable it for Prospector and disable your former computer. We can do this over the phone while you are on the line or send
us an e-mail.
I just got a new computer. How do I setup Prospector so it's just like the old one with all my custom settings?
There's a built-in migration setting to assist you in setting up the new computer.
Click here to learn more. There's also
a video in Prospector U. about how to do this.
I need to send a large file to AMT Technical Support. How do I ftp the file?
Open a Command Prompt window and change directory to where your file is that you want to send us.
Now type in the relevant ftp commands. Text in red is what you should type:
C:\Users\Dewey>ftp ftp.amt-software.com
Connected to ftp.amt-software.com.
220 ipage FTP Server Ready
200 UTF8 set to on
User (ftp.amt-software.com:(none)): amt
331 Password required for amt
Password: <contact AMT Technical support for the ftp password to type in here>
230 User amt logged in
ftp> bin
200 Type set to I
ftp> put "ExpertCAD Problem File.ddd"
200 PORT command successful
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for ExpertCAD Problem File.ddd
226 Transfer complete
ftp: 100205 bytes sent in 0.22Seconds 457.56Kbytes/sec.
ftp> bye
221 Goodbye.
C:\Users\Dewey>
Notes:
• Contact AMT Software for the current password for the ftp site for AMT. The password changes periodically so make sure you have the current password.
• The 'bin' command specifies a binary transfer. This is normally what you will want to use when sending large data files such as Prospector project (*.prz) files.
• When using the 'put' command to send the file, wrap the name of the file in double quotes as shown above if the file name has one or more space characters. If there are
no spaces in the file name, the double quotes are not needed.
Post Processors
How do I install a custom post processor?
A custom post processor is an executable program (.exe) that is created specifically
for you and your machine tool to generate the exact output you have told us you need. When you receive your post processor from customer service,
follow the instructions in this document to install the post processor and tell Prospector all about it:
Post Processor Installation Guide
Importing CAD Data
I'm having no luck creating a project using Parasolid (*.x_t, *.x_b) data from my CAD systems. Any suggestions?
Your CAD system
is probably writing a newer version of the Parasolid format. Most CAD systems allow writing an older version of the format.
Choose version 27 or older
when exporting Parasolid data for use in Prospector 2021 or earlier.
Prospector 2022 and later can read version 34 and earlier.
Performance Considerations
Got Memory?
Prospector can and does use a lot of computer memory especially when generating complex 3D cutter paths on multi-core
processors. Each thread started to work on part of the job requires a good chunk of RAM to compute and store the partial results of the complete
cutter path. Now multiply the demand for RAM by the number of sessions of Prospector you usually have running concurrently. When the demand for
RAM exceeds the amount of physical RAM installed in the computer, the operating system uses virtual memory. Virtual memory uses the computer disk
to swap in and swap out entire threads and/or processes to service all demands placed on the system by the programs running at the time. This swapping
is very expensive in terms of performance. Accessing data stored on disk as opposed to physical RAM is many magnitudes slower. Take the time to get
familiar with the Windows Task Manager. Task Manager will tell you exactly how much memory you are using relative to the amount of RAM in your
computer. If you're bumping up against the amount of physical RAM, then it's time to add more. All other things being equal, adding memory
to your computer is the best way to get get better performance.
Where's your cache directory?
The Cache Directory is scratch space on disk that Prospector uses to store temporary files
during the cutter path generation process. You set this directory in your PowerSource database using the program PowerSource Insight:
You want to make sure the directory you choose has these characteristics:
The partition where the directory is located has sufficient disk space. 100MB should be more than enough. If you run out
of disk space, programs will fail to generate!
Never use a mapped drive or network drive for the cache directory! Reading and writing data to a network
drive is many magnitudes slower than writing to the local disk. You always want the cache directory local to the computer.
If your system has a solid-state drive - SSD - (or it's a hybrid with a solid-state drive and a conventional drive), put your cache directory
on the partition that is the SSD. An SSD is many times faster than a conventional drive.
Prospector removes temporary files from the cache directory when they are no longer needed. It's a good idea to check once in a while
to make sure that the cache directory is indeed empty. If there are files or directories there when Prospector isn't running, you can go ahead
and delete them all.
A computer with 4 cores is twice as fast as one with 2 cores. Right?
Well not really. If you have a computer with 4
cores that doesn't mean it will
run twice as fast as a computer with 2 cores. Think of it like a horse-drawn carriage. If you add a second horse to pull the carriage, you can't go twice
as fast. Horses only run so fast. Adding more horses doesn't add speed to any of them. But doubling the
number of horses means you can pull twice
the load! The same holds true for computers. Adding more cores or
an additional processor(s) is additive to the overall computational capacity of the
computer. This means the computer can tackle many more tasks concurrently which is a
good thing. It allows Prospector to break up the generation of a single large program into a number smaller parts and farm
out each part to a separate core to work on concurrently. That certainly helps performance.
You can read more about multi-processing here.
Choosing a proper tolerance.
PowerSource Programming Tips
How can I prevent my guys from using a tolerance other than .005" for finish machining?
All settings in the PowerSource database can be locked. This means that a user can not change the setting during program creation in Prospector. To
lock this setting, follow these steps:
Login as the Administrator or as a user that has administrative
privileges.
Start PowerSource Insight from the Prospector program group.
Edit the system database:
Set the rule for Tolerance in the strategies in the Finish category. In the example below, we'll set tolerance for finish lace cutting:
Now lock the Tolerance setting:
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Choose Permissions from the Tools menu. |
Enable the Lock switch for Tolerance under the Lace strategy in the Cutting Strategy Selection folder. |
Save the system database.
Locking setting can only be done in the system database. To edit the system database, you must have Administrative
privileges. Provided your users
do not have administrative privileges associated with their logins, they can not go into the database and unlock this setting. Because user databases are
derived from the system database, you have full control over the settings you want to enforce and what settings you want your guys to be able
to change. To learn more, dive into the Help for PowerSource Insight and learn about all the features available to you.
My machinist on the 2nd shift doesn't agree with the settings the machinist on the first shift has in the
user database. Can she get her own PowerSource
database or do they have to share the same one?
Absolutely. In fact, give both their own databases. Here's how:
Give the 1st shift and 2nd shift separate logins on the computer they share.
Copy the user database (user.udb) they are sharing now to the home directory of each login.
Login as the 1st shift user. Start Prospector and point it to the database you copied in step #2:
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Choose Settings from the Tools menu, click the PowerSource navigation key on the left side of the dialog then browse for the
database - user.udb - in the users directory and click OK.
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Logout then login as the 2nd shift user and repeat the previous step.
Now both users have their own user.udb database they can edit however they wish. Prospector remembers which database to use on a per-login
basis. So now everyone is happy.
NC Programming Tips
Save machine time using a fast feed rate when retracing. Fast Feed Rate specifies the feed rate to use when the tool must retrace its last
path to return to the start point to descend to the next level. Because retracing is not removing any material, you can use a much faster feed rate for this portion of the
cutter path:
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This is an example of retracing for a Z-Planar No Clear program.
The style is Plunge One-Way No Lift.
After each cut, the cutter steps away from the part and retraces
it’s path back to the start point where it will descend and cut the next level.
Because we are not cutting any metal during the retracing, this part of the path
can be done at a much higher feed rate than the cutting feed rate.
Here's how to speed up the program:
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Fast Feed Rate can be set on the Finish page of the new program wizard for 3D Z-Planar programs and for 2D pocketing and profiling.
This is the feedrate to be used anytime the cutter must retrace in order to reposition in order to descend to the next level to be machined.
Since we aren't cutting anything, we might as well go at a feedrate much higher than the cutting feedrate.
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If you're really clever, you'll want to program this into your PowerSource database so you don't need to change this setting
each time you make a Z-level program.
In PowerSource Insight you can change this setting to a default you like.
In the example to the left, the Fast Feed Rate is set to be 5X the cutting feedrate. That should speed thing up!
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