Roger & Keith, I'll definitely keep that post in mind(actually written down on a sticky note) if we do indeed go the MC route. But I'm no where near the point where I need a post yet. It doesn't even look like the boss will convert over to MC wire, seeing as how he just spent WAY(imho) too much money upgrading esprit(I'm not sure upgrade is the proper term). Thanx for all the input guys. It seems MC wire would be the way to go since I am comfortable with MC already and could probably help the wire guy out with learning it. We'll just hafta keep after the boss about it--maybe he'll cave.

----------------------------------------------- what machines do you have. I find MC great for the more common machines but a post issue for the more fringe machines. ------------------------------------------------ -We have a Mitsubishi FX10, which I believe is fairly common. As far an MC demo, I've been pushing it for a while, we just haven't been able to wrangle the time to do it. I guess I'll have to make time. CAMmando-- I'll check out that other thread a little later. My internet keeps crashing. This is the third time I've typed this message this morning.

Hey everybody, Just want some thoughts. Our wire guy is currently using esprit to do his programs. We just upgraded to the newest version, and everything is so different that he has to re-learn how to use it. He's really having a hard time. The esprit is very un user-friendly, imho. To me, seems like Mastercam would be way easier to use. Anyone agree/disagree with this? We may or may not be able to sway the boss on this, but I'd still like some opinions.

I also have had this problem. The mask works fine with Translate, but doesn't do anything in Drag--the window selects everything, regardless of the mask.

cadcam is right on by saying that the books won't help you become a moldmaker. But hey, that's how I became an unofficial toolmaker. Learned Mastercam from the books first, then figured out how to make molds as I went. Sure'd be nice,though, if someone developed a magic little pill that would give you all the knowledge you need to make molds just by swallowing it. Would've made things easier.

+1 to Isk for the shallow examples. I generally prefer Surface Finish Contour followed by a Surface Finish Shallow to clean up the shallow areas of the part.

Hmmm, some good thoughts here. Thanx guys. I'll look into all suggestions.

I think the servos are out of tune--they hum when not in use. Also, the y-axis will generally cut about 0.001-0.002 smaller than the x-axis, unless I mill the part at 45 degrees to the axis'. Then finished geometry comes out fine. The y-axis thing is an annoyance that I can work around, but the servos I think need to be addressed.

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone else out there is running a Defiance(now extinct) cnc mill. The reason I'm asking is that I'm starting to experience some machine issues with our VTX and was hoping I might be able to tune 'er up a little.

Zero-- I tried playing with the Screen/Surf Display settings and turning on/off all the lights. Nothing solved the problem, or even made it slightly better. cmr--gimballing(good word btw ) is hit or miss. Sometimes it will work. Sometimes, I can't see anything but the bottom no matter how I rotate the stock.

Yeah, for some stuff I do resort to rotating the geometry. But there is other stuff we do that I have to make 5 or 10 electrodes from a model using all the major WCS's(top, front, sides, bottom)--it's just not practical to rotate geometry each time. Oh well, it's an annoyance and not really holding me back as far as machining is concerned. I use the bottom WCS both in design and machining quite heavily. It would be nice if CNC would rememdy this in X.

Thanx again, Bullines.

Wow, thanks for the great response! As far as soaking the trodes in edm oil, it's not really an option at this point (mill cabinet leaks more than a sieve). Just out of curiosity though, how does the edm oil affect trode geometry? I would think the trodes would change slightly if they dried out. g huns: Do you buy graphite from 'trodes Inc? If so, do you use/like the I85 they sell? I've been wanting to try it, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hey all, Does anyone out there have any decent feeds/speeds for milling graphite? The data my cutter supplier gave me is not working well(cutters are wearing too fast and finish/geometry is not great). Defiance VTX, Creative Evolution control, 45k rpm spindle, 600 ipm max common cutter diameters are 0.03125, 0.0625, 0.125, and my big hogger is 0.2500