I've asked about this in the past, but does anyone here use a ballbar system to check their 5-axis machines? Is the information useful? Does it take long to do the test for 5-axis? I appreciate any information you can give. Thank you

Does it always happen in the same position? If so it could be a weak or open wire at the spindle or in a cable carrier somewhere. Just a thought.

Thanks guys! I'll pass this info along to our IT guy and see what happens.

Has anyone had issues with the nVidia Quadro FX500 card? Right now I'm running Mill v9.1, vX, Solidworks2006 and looking to upgrade cards. After searching here and other places, it looks like it plays nice with all three. Any comments or other recommended cards? Thanks for your help.

For our router we had the factory thread holes 6-in on center in our twin 5x5 aluminum tables before it shipped. They did this with the machine, but I don't know what type of tap or drill. This works out to be 100 holes in each table for fixturing. After the machine was set up we surfaced the table with a fly cutter and threaded steel inserts into the holes. Works great! 2 or 3-in of lost clearance would have caused us a major problem also. HTH

www.endmill.com will get you to Melin Tools. They have a carbide 4-flute listed. We have used one of their 3/4-in, 2-flute cobalt tools with a .125 corner radius. HTH

you can say that again

you can say that again

Be careful when converting from v8 to v9. File compare programs to make sure they post out the same, especially if have proven programs you use over again. Depending on the operations, you may need to tweak a few settings to get the same tool moves in v9. I asked the same question awhile back. Here's that thread for more info. v8 to v9 thread HTH

I like the beam type for simplicity, no other reason. As far as accuracy, even if it is +/-4% (96 to 104ft-lbs range) that is OK. We've used the same beam-type wrench, daily, for 3yrs and checked it against a new wrench and there is virtually no difference. I've had experience with only one click type that we have here. It must have been worn out, I don't know. The adjustment knob didn't seem to change anything and the "click" was very difficult to detect. This particular wrench is used very little and sits in a drawer most of the time. We may have to get a good click type in here and try it. Either way, a longer wrench would help smooth the tightening motion without needle bouncing/jerking. How often do you have to calibrate the click types and how much more accurate are they? Thanks for the information.

Does anyone know where to find a round-beam type torque wrench with a 0-200, 250 or 300 ft-lb range?

Eric: Yeah, I wondered how the fixture would grip our holders. If it uses drive tangs then it won't work for us. We have a tightening fixture bolted to the table with a steel slide to grip across the flats. We use the spanner wrench "end" on a torque wrench to tighten. We check torque to prevent tool slippage and over-tightening which can ruin collets. Here our operators setup and change tools so we want something quick, easy and consistent. If we know torque is correct, that is one factor we don't need to question when troubleshooting.

JSP: Kennametal fixture Jeff: You've never had a tool slip or ruined a collet from overtightening?

Thanks for the info Mike, I found the Kennametal fixture and it sounds like just what we need, but I don't know if I can justify the cost vs a new torque wrench. This one is electronic. I haven't found any others, but maybe someone makes a non-electronic version that is a little cheaper??

What torque wrench does everyone use to tighten collet nuts? We have ISO30 toolholders and ER32 collets tightened to 100ft-lbs. We have been using a round-beam type with 0to150 ft-lbs range. It takes ~75lbs of force to get 100ft-lbs making it difficult to tighten smoothly while watching the needle. No one seems to make a longer beam-type wrench anymore. We have tried the click type, but those are too easy to overtorque and need to be set to zero when not using. I like the beam type without a lot of parts and pieces to re-calibrate, replace, etc. I don't know much about the dial type, but that may be what we have to go to for a longer wrench. Any thoughts? I appreciate all your suggestions.

We have a Techniks 3/4-in diameter extension with an ER16 collet. The wrench is a 5 fingered type that fits into the grooves of the nut. It's difficult to get a good grip and easy to slip off when tightening. We've only gone through a couple of wrenches in the last 3yrs though. I've always thought a couple of wrench flats would give a more positive grip, especially since these nuts don't require a lot of torque (~20ft-lbs.)

In the file get window, at the top, click on the 2nd button from the right.

I take Mastercam time and add 30sec. That gets me suprisingly close on cycle times similar to yours. Most of your difference is probably from tool changes. Measure your tool change time and put it in the post like chris suggested. It will make a world of difference. This may be stating the obvious, but make sure feedrates are not edited on the floor and the feed override is at 100%. HTH

Backplot and Verify here too, although Verify is a challenge to use with the watertight issues. I'm hoping this will all be better in X. For one-off patterns and molds, I check the gcode at the start and end of each operation for clearance problems. If needed, I add a clearance op in Mcam or change Misc values and repost until I get what I want. Or for the sake of time, I just edit the code or add a couple of lines for clearance. Once the cutter is in the part, no worries, it's the transition moves between ops that I look at closely before going to the machine.

I don't know about ABS, but have cut plenty of other fiberglass reinforced parts. Solid carbide, maybe a diamond-cut burr. Diamond coating like Tim said is even better. Onsrud Cutter can get you started with the right cutters. They have some new diamond coated tools also.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. To give you a quick update, with Quintax' help we've narrowed it down to a bad wire/connection going into the top of the spindle. This goes to the spindle sensors, one of them being the "drawbar locked" sensor. If this isn't locked, or it doesn't think it is, then everything stops. Hey Eric, it's been awhile. How's everything? Ours is Q1062.

I'll throw in a couple bucks. The FTP is a great timesaver, plus you've helped me out a great many times putting files up before I could FTP at work.

Thanks Jimmy, The speed is 15000 or 6000, depending on the tool, and the feed is either 100 or 300. The programs should all be fine.....unless something got scrambled in each program?? Our operators don't tweak the programs at all and we don't use inverse time, but I'll double check by deleting these programs from memory and reloading from the hard disk. This is a case where the operator has cycled through these programs 50+ times today and the last time he pushed the button...feedhold error. Also the feed override is at 100%, running through the program like normal until the feedhold error pops up, then all axes stop moving and the spindle brakes to zero. Thanks, you've given me something else to try in the meantime.

Late today we started getting "Spindle not running - Feedhold" errors in both programs that have been cycling most of the day. This is with a xxxxor 8055M control and a twin table Quintax router using proven prgrams that have ran several thousand parts in the past. New toolholders don't help and there is nothing obvious up inside the spindle. I've turned the power off/on and re-homed. Also re-compiled the PLC with no luck. Our safety mat used to give this message and the green start button would have to be pushed 3 times to resume once someone stepped off the mat. The mat was disconnected a long time ago though. I've got a call in to Quintax and will see what they say tomorrow. I thought I would take a shot here and see if anyone can point me in the right direction before then. Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

To be honest, I clicked this thread to see what kind of smarta$$ response "milling nylons" would get. Thanks Rekd, I knew someone would step up! Seriously though, I would try changing directions of cut, from climb to conventional or conv to climb and see if that helps. Increasing spindle speed may also help. A downcutting endmill may just move the burr from the top edge to the bottom edge. It may also cause problems if the chips have nowhere to go. Onsrud (and others) also makes a double-edge "straight-cut" endmill. This is supposed to leave no burr on top and bottom edges. HTH