I sure like the quick reply feature at the end of the forum. Makes quick work.

I do what Dan indicates. I am not certain if the tool library can be specified as part of the post processor.

John, If the insert was not shimmed and layed in a horizontal plane it would cut an angle greater than 60 degrees and you would experience some flank rubbing on the sides of the "V". The inclined plane achieved by shimming - would put the thread form of 60 degrees perpendicular to the helix of the thread and produce a true shape. I think that you and I are speaking of the same effect here and that your error amount was measured across the inclunied "V" - Correct?

Formulae for the calculation of the proper inclination angle P=1/TPI D2=Nominal Diameter of Thread A=arctan(P/(Pi X D2) Sandvik Lit Cat 03-T Page C85. John, I think that you are not taking into account the requirement for flank clearance and this is why the inclination is required. Inserts are easier to manufacture in this manner and so the shims are used to account for the error. Peter, these instances are why Lathes are much more difficult to machine and program...

Thanks Scott Bond - Great story to relate.

If you shift the part into the machine along the Y-Axis, there is consideration to the actual amount of room that there is between the spindle and the column. If the part is wider than this distance, then the only way to do this is a rotation of the part.

The interpretation that I liked to say was (Way-Shan). Good solid Mori Clone with standard spare parts - you can get spindle and other bearings at the local industrial parts counter rather than a special Custom Job from from the Machine Tool Manufacturer only.

Chris, Have you ever considered moving to Canada? We sure could use someone here with your work ethic, panache and plain old manufacturing appitude. I'll even sponsor your immigration papers if we get that far - just claim that you are fleeing an opressive regime and the rest is easy.

With a Mill, The accuracy of the finished part is for the most part - Tool Dependant. On a Lathe, the program and the process of operations have a much greater influence on the finished component. I would suggest that a Lathe is a much more difficult machine to program and a MillTurn is the next and an Integrex 5ax is the HolyGrail of All. (Right Chris...)

Put it on the FTP and we will give it the once over.

Nice Phil - I don't know if anyone else got it though - Canadian Humour Eh!

Put the file on the FTP and we will see what we can do.

quote: The Iron Chef® You can change your dispalyed name at will. All your posts are assigned to your user account login name which will remain the same - look under your user profile - and the recipe for success will be revealed. Sorry couldn't resist the word play there.

quote: Running a drill press for a big aerospace company for that long should not qualify you as being "in the trade". But the Union grandfathered me into the classification so I must be worth the extra money...

quote: I haven't figured out the birdnest of chips on the part yet either. Stringy chips suck. Good luck. I can already see the cause, your tool nose radius is larger than your radial depth of cut. If your process will allow it, the stock allowance for finishing should be increased - or - the nose radius decreased. The chip will then land across the chipformer on the insert and you will be able to start to control it. The other way to control this is to change the insert geometry slightly so that you use a chipformer with a shorter land. Similar to a change in the Sandvik PMK line from a PM to a PF. Also of note - the stainless grades have different geometries that are designed for stringly materials - word of caution though, they are softer so you will need to slow down a little.

Chris, Great feed back on the chip breaking - this is some excellent knowledge to pass on and something that an insert salesman will waste hours on "Testing" at your plant. Thanks, I will remember you in my will.

I would suggest the IHS Tutorials avail from this website. This is how I learned to use the software and the rest was by application of what I learned. Oh and reading the post CD as well. Until the divinly inspired "Book of James" is published with credit notes I am sure to the deciples of Productivity; St Rekd, St Jay, Cardinal Dave, Pope Bullines II, Sir Chris Turnsalot and the rest, come here often and share your wisdom and experience

Start singing the old Rawhide Theme - Get those threadies rollin' Rawhide!

Material group for this type of an alloy steel will help you make some impressive parts. If you are grinding after the fact, I would use a CNMG or similar insert. If you are deforming too much, use something a little sharper in the profile like a "D" style knife edge from Sandvik. Their steel grades are great and I think the only pitfall that I can forsee is the notching on the insert at the depth of cut line. If you want to get a little fancy, change the depth of cut as you go and distribute some fo the wear along the edge of the insert. Good luck - Nothing smells better than cutting at full powers and making alloy steel chips pop off of a workpiece.

Thread rolling is an excellent productivity boost. I used a Fette Axial unit on 3/8" and 1/4" 316 Studs and made a forturne. As we only used coolant, the life of the rolls was a little shorter than we would have liked but even still, the savings over single point were substantial. There are also systems available from Winter and Landis. Screw Machine Suppliers will have more information for you - Stainless roll flows real nice and there is some technical assistance that the manufacturer will provide to help you optimize your process. Good Luck

Brother machines are murduously fast and are known more in the crew machine industry and small part manufacturing circles. Most mainstream guys offer a DTL type of a machine and for the money, they are doing nice work.

G-Code - The machine overwrites the entire directory. Fille attributes can't stand up to that sort of brute force.

I wonder if anyone with an Integrex or other has solved the problem when the machine lives on a network, how do you keep the machine from over-writing all the files in a save to directory? I have the same problem on the Floppy as I do on the Hard Drive. Help is appreciated, I feel though that it will not be successful.

Myriad Engineering Viewer

quote: U-Drill style drills rock; I hate spade drills for large holes. I don't know about max dia for the SL2, it is a pretty small machine but those early vintage Mori machines have a lot of balls; I think I'd start with 1-1/2" or so and see what she does. Again, Chris has some excellent advice. Indexable drills in the lathe are the only way to go, a lot more forgiving to mis alignement than a tool that is self centering trying to find the rotational axis (ie broken twist drills). The other benefit with an indexable drill is you can control the size using a diametrical offset. Be cautious that you don't exceed the published offset amount in the catalogue though. The other benefit, you can use the drill to bore a finish the hole. Read the Sandvik catalogue, they are excellent for application ideas. As a contrast to what Chris is suggesting by using as many corners of the carbide as possible, I will suggest that you use the right tool in the right application, for facing operations - use a 15degree lead facing tool and for turning operations use a turning tool similar. If you like Iscar Milling, you are going to love thier turning, Extreeme Machining at its finest. Use the same coolant but with turning, there is a greater amount of evaporation so keep and eye on the consentration percentage and keep the sump clean to promote good sump life. Any one can mill/drill/tap/ream, Turning is a much more complex set of rules - and making good high tolerance parts can be very profitable.