Ref ISO9001, there were 7xmandates when we got approval (2x man shop) back in 2007. It (9001) was updated in 2015 and the mandates were changed, but at the time I remember the assessor saying he knew of 1x UK company that was a 1x man band who had got approval and another company whose manual was 2 pages....the manual then consisted of flow downs to other documents which specified/controlled the said mandates. My manual was total of 35 pages, which was very padded out as the 1st half was design requirements and the tail end were copies of the things like CofC, Job Traveller, Invoice etc - I reckon I could have consolidated it to 15 pages if I'd removed the padding, as the design stuff was only for "sales" as we weren't "ISO approved" for that. But yes to quote Margaret Thatcher...."sometimes it is best to be specifically vague"....ie if you state ail job cards need sign off in ink, just state ink. If you state black pen, someone will use blue and you'll unnecessarily fail the audit (simplification but you get the idea). AS9100 (aero) was the next step with the only real main difference (at the time) being stock control - you had to control every inch of material, every rivet and screw and washer etc - ISO9001 you could just state (for the same material batch number) job 12345 had 10", job 12346 had 20", job 12347 had 10", of material batch number AXXXX and that was okay. AS9100 took that further by stock control monitoring so you had to detail incoming delivery of batch number AXXXX was 50", and you used 10, 20, and 10" on the 3x jobs above, so you now have 10" still left in stock (unsure of exactly how you get around tolerance of cutting and width of saw blades....for billets, washers, screws (ie "items") it's easy). Initially...."getting approval" can seem daunting, but if you break it all down to bite size chunks, the dauntingness rapidly diminishes. Certain practices you should really be doing anyway - such as material batch traceability gauge control and calibration, and office things like "contract review" which catches things like repeat purchase orders which have a revision/change, so you don't make at previous (old) issue.... Overall, it helped focus my business and got a 2x man band approved to be Tier 1x supplier for some major OEM's. Which then allowed us to grow but with control and focus.

@James - great comment ref your #1 above. I would also add the obvious that part shape material and workholding comes into it too. Measure the part xxxx on! Unclamp the part and distortion.... And Ron - Ref many Inspectors and their job choice...."If you can't do it, View it"

Thanks for the write-up Aaron - very informative. So basically....ultimately, for this machine, the actual "solution" would be to program on the control - or if they offer one, an offline/PC control....:shrug:

Put yourself forward Aaron for a PO from rusty! You're well into MTM and having worked at the ivory tower, I bet you still have the right numbers to phone if needed - unless they changed them all when you left

I'm afraid at over 2 years....it's so long ago....it'll be seen as "not a problem". As Aaron said - see if you can get direct contact into HQ and see what's the score. The problem with these situations, is machines are often more expensive than homes....but don't get treated accordingly. The old saying of he who shouts loudest, is very true, when you need a response Damn Machine's Garbage....was by memory....

Every day goes by, is a day too long. Both DMG and your reseller need holding to account....

As JP said, Right click all the way - even have flyouts if you need it (I never did but Crazy does). Next the QAT across the top. Nearly, as important (is it larger icons now post 2020?) The round buttons on the right of the screen were suitably dispensed with. And a few hot keys for GView, Line, etc but can't remember all of them now. I had wished there were WAAAAYYYY more customisable hotkeys - AKA autocad programmable PGP file - but that was being looked at as a "good idea" back in the days of X7. It's probably a lonnnngggg meeting....

When I bought the lathes with Shopturn (this was 810D), I had looked at Fanuc Manual guide and laughed. And also wasn't "that" impressed by Mazatrol (on an Integrex i200). The Siemens was awesome, and latterly fully endorsed by the late Tim M. I never looked at the Okuma though - didn't know anyone in the UK with one but was also far too spendy for my short arms

I'd absolutely LOVE a 2002 Turbo to smoke around in. But only on weekends....not a day-to-day. Same for machines. Horses for courses - depends upon what work you're doing, and whether you have a constant steady product. If you have high turnover having to compete in the big wide world as a job shop, you need the flexibility of all the latest tools, machinery, and processes. Otherwise, you're not competitive....

Programmed by MasterCimaGibbs, post output using Postability, and simulated using IcamiCut verification. One. Stop. Shop. Just think how fast and efficient, a fully customisable hotkey driven interface would be....

But chalk and cheese.... you're talking macros and 'grammin at the control. The work that you are doing, is not the work that a lot of the other guys are doing. Because you need CAE tools to efficiently 'gram, verify, and inspect a part when all you have is a customer supplied multi-surface model, or with no print, or a very basic print just detailing part number, material and finishes.... And I say efficiently, because yes the newer controls can import a step model, but while you're messing with it, 10bucks says the machine isn't running....

Tell me you're 'Murrican....without telling me you're 'Murrican....

That was a heavily modified machine....I had a fab company next door and I had a powder coater as a supplier. So one Sunday morning armed with cardboard and masking tape, I removed/scrapped all the original guarding and made cardboard templates. The front plastic guards had a couple of pins sticking out the bottom so I could lift them out the way and they ran in a channel so I could slide left to right. Worked well. Another Sunday gone though.... Top tip for the cardboard guarding is to first coat it with parcel tape - keeps it waterproof for a surprisingly long time....

All was well - but I had to play to get to grips with the settings. And confidence....as Bus partner was still of the belief that you get the largest cutter you can and plough it through the part shaking the machine to pieces and sod consumable cost and part distortion But....it was faster than I thought - F2250.00000000000000HHHHH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PZHd73Ovis

I have I nice vid of X4 dynamic pocketing a big ally block on a Prototrak 2axis SMX1500 mill running flat out at 4k rpm and 2000mm/min feedrate. But this was 2009/2010 and I am soooo last Wednesday....