HI O'MY GOD!! Is that thing made out of gold?? What kind of machine is that thing? Man, if one of my machines cost that much to fix, I'd have to scrap it. GOod Luck John

HI I'd like to see it (the test) just to know where I'M at?!?! John

HI Definitely read EVERY topic on this forum, you never know when it will come in handy. Also, use the Search function and don't be afraid to ask questions. THis forum is by FAR the best value included with MC. Also, taking a dedicated MC class will help you get past a lot of the common problems, where the books will probably just confuse you. At least that's what happened with me. Good Luck John

HI What?? WHo the heck reboots a computer by throwing the breaker? I'd make them pay for the time you lost out of THEIR pocket, and see if they don't think that maybe they can just unplug their computer next time. Jeez!! O'yeah, Autosave after EVERYTHING, and before you hit FILE-SAVE. John

HI Thanks. The only taps I can find here are 4 flute uncoated, so I'll just run these by hand, and order some good ones for the machine. I hate pulling broken taps oout of parts!! Thanks for the input. John PS I'm from Rosemead, about 30 minutes West of Claremont.

Hi I need a good baseline for tapping through holes in .375 thick 1018 Cold roll. The tap size is 4 mm, and the drilled size is .1299 (3.3mm?). I'm using my Tree VMC, with rigid tapping. The control figures out the feed based off the spindle RPM, so what would be a safe RPM for that small of a tap? It taps 10mm all day long with no problems. Thanks John

"James teh Character is who you are when you think nobody is watching." Uh oh... John

Hi Can anyone please email me thee files? I can't get them from the FTP, and I'm dying to try to build my own body on one of my machines. Email them to [email protected] Thanks John

Hi Wow. I love my tree VMC, and when I got it you could tell it had been through HELL. It is such a rigid machine, I can take huge cuts using cheap inserts, and still outperform my much newer (and more expen$ive) Haas. Send some pix!! Mine has a Delta Dynapath control, which is pretty much the only thing that I'd change, but you should be set with the Fanuc's. Good Luck. John

Hi Document everything, because if they find out (or even suspect) what you're up to, you're gone. CYA JOhn

Hi Thanks for all the help. Right now I am too slammed to play with it, but I will, and I'll let you know. As soon as you get that post working, send me a copy! Is that the one that outputs the tool table at the top. Schweeeeeet. Thanks John

Hi If you're trying to save $$ I have a copy of Bobcad i'd be willing to let go of CHEAP. John

Hi Every part I sell!! We made some headers recently, to a customers specs, only to find out that the car he supplied for the prototype did not have standard A/C, which causes a major clearance issue. ANyways, guess what I just saw on Ebay, BAD chinese copies of some parts that don't fit in the first place!! Karma!! He actually tried to return the first and only run, but of course, he signed off on the proto so see ya...

Hi Anyone know how to get this to work? I do a lot of multiple parts runs (ex, 5 pcs on 1 fixture, 1 work offset, whole drawing in MC9). So far I can't get it to work properly. Im using a slightly tweaked dynapath post updated from the version 8 dynapath post. Thanks John

Hi Well, that is where I would like to be headed. I have read the "Cheese" books, but haven't heard of the other one, i'll have to pick it up. Thanks again for the responses. PS, we just had a huge UGLY meeting about production on the OTHER side of the shop (tube bending, and fabrication) so I get to spend alot more time over there now, cracking the whip, and getting parts out the door. It's amazing how people have to be SHOWN the efficeint way to do things, or they'll keep working twice as hard, and half as productive for as long as you let them. Geez. John

Hi Thanks for the responses. I actually intended to buy a Horizontal last year, but the wife said NO!@! It was going to be a Haas, so it's probably better I didn't buy... I _Barely_ managed to talk her into the tree VMC that I just happened to find on Ebay with a pallet switching system. Now, a year later, the machine has paid for itself 3 x's and I just got the switcher set up about 2 months ago. After reading everyones responses, I think the deciding factor is how well you know your business and customer base, and how much of a commitment you are willing to make to stay in the game. My competition does NOT play fair. Now if I could just do something about the price of steel....

Hi OK, well that doesn't sound like ti would work to good around here, but my machines are set up in a small semi circle, and we do have dedicated fixturing... If that's the basic "theory" behind this type of manufacturing, we're already doing it. I use sub plates on all my machines, and am able to switch jobs quickly and pump out parts to feed my production guys on a daily basis, without having much overstock, or falling behind. Wow, feels good to be doing SOMETHING right. See Ya John

Hi OK, well back to the original question, since I have no background in even understanding what they are referring to when they speak of "cells". DOes anyone know where I can get any info on this?? With the direct competetion I am fighting against from China, it seems like James has a point. But, I manufacture and sell my own products, and do very little job shop or outside machining work, maybe it will benefit my company more than a typical machine shop?? All I know is that I need something to level the playing field a little. Thanks John

Hi Why?? From what I've read so far, it seems like another one of those buzz words that pops up every couple of years, and I wanted to see if there was anything to it? Care to explain?? Real world experience with it should be worth more than some $50 book from Amazon. Thanks John

Hi Just wondering if anyone could recommend any books on cell based or "flexible" manufacturing? Thanks John

HI Rekd are you saying that if for the first op, I'd picked 2 chains (centerpoint, and first chain with .25 depth) that I could select the third change at the proper depth (-.375) and it should work?? I'll try it and see what happens. Thanks John

Hi How can I go about this. I need to pocket a 1" dia. hole, 3/8" deep, but for the last .125 I want the hole dia. only 7/8" Is there any way to pocket this in one step? I am doing a tableful of parts, and transforming and copying ops for 20 holes clutters up the op manager and makes changes hard to track. Thanks John BTW, the drip feed to the dynapath has been working great. Thanks everyone!!

Hi Well at least they have the choice whether to be there or not. Still sucks that they got killed. John

Hi So. Cal premium for the Subaru Impreza WRX is at $2.499 per gallon,(for stinkin' 91 ocatane!!), 13 gal tank and I have to fill it up every 3 days. Woo Hoo!! John

That was awesome!!! I was gonna bid on it, but the auction ended, darn it.