Hicel 23....It's just a single spindle CY with the majority of code the same as a Fanuc?

Looks like Siemens shopmill/turn.....offline = NX or Top Solid....?

You've answered your own question....If the part comes back with unknown sizes, it has to be measured. Or as Matt says - you cut safe (air).

Click Click Clickety Click Clicky. Hmmmm....extra mouseclicks sounds familiar.... :lol:

That's what killed this place - too many emotions and the overlords shut it down.... Pretty ironic - I just earned "top rank" (?) for December 2006. I know I'm stuck in my ways - can I return back there please?

I know we all laughed....and laughed.....but the reality is I found it quite offensive TBH. There's a ton of things that can and do go wrong in our game, and thinking them all through to ensure REPEATED good parts only comes with experience. Not a mouse click.... Oh, and IBTL

Hahahaha - yes, as Klaus Schwab said, "we can't all be robot polishers"..... If AD bought them, they're as good as history.....

A few years ago a local shop had Mazaks and #2 came in with the spindle direction flipped so had a new post. Then they bought #3 so had 1x post for 2x machines, and another post for the other. I would have changed the spindle direction parameter and had 1x post for all 3....

This. Drill to nearly break through, then spiral ramp with an 8mm cutter so you have plenty of tool movement through the cross hole to the solid, then continue drilling.

Depending on application....I've mentioned before that in a couple of times the only thing that worked for me was an ER25 holder. Schunk hydraulic, Showa micron chuck, shrink, all rang like a church bell. ER25 was quiet as a mouse. Just checking and these parts were ally, and the tools were:- 6mm Dia 2Flute x 7mm LOC x 88mm relief x 130.0mm O/A - 90mm out 10mm Dia 2Flute 40Deg x 10mm LOC x 90mm Relief x 130mm O/A - 90mm out Harmonics are a funny thing....

Haven't read all....but holders. I had a feature similar dia to length ratio (although a 5mm cutter) and couldn't stop it ringing like a church bell. My mate said use a ER25 holder. I told him he was having a laugh, as we tried hydraulic shcunk, showa microchuck (mechanical), and just tried a shrink and was now outta ideas. ER25 was gravy. Harmonics are a funny thing....

+1 Dream drills in the UK, are one of if not, the best value for money carbide available. Great size and finish.

+1 as they work REALLY well in this situation. Other option is Seco Jabro/Tornado - can't remember the number, but it's a 2 flute slow helix but sharp hook. With extrusions, 3 flutes and high helixes can drag in or lift, where the straighter flutes (high hook) just cut a treat. I'd use a 12mm dia max..... I snapped a 12mm VX5 once cutting 304 - it didn't shatter, just snapped at the top of the flutes. It had only done a couple of parts and the snapped/bottom still had razor sharp teeth. The sound it made was like a shotgun going off - one hell of a bang! Only one I ever had a problem with - great cutters!

#CrazyCAM

My rules, treat toolpath groups the same as WCS - a separate one only for every operation. OP1 G54 VICE (#1 toolpath group) T1 T2 Blah Blah OP2 G55 FIXTURE#12345 (#2 toolpath group) T1 T2 Blah Blah Then if a simple fixture (a couple of tools etc such as chick jaws) was to be made with the job, another separate toolpath group with the fixture toolpath within that so it's saved with the main prog. If it was a more involved fixture, then a file of its own. And for Rotary work, the 1x toolpath group with the 1x WCS and planes planes planes!

The money is good! But there's not much of it.....

Hahahahaha! The thing about losing your mind, is that um errr, now, where was I.....

G's got a twitching trigger finger....although OT is a distant memory, he misses the halcyon days of swinging the 'ol banhammer....

Have they changed the algorithm in the last couple of releases then? Specifically if you just dynamic a square block? Unless some manual jiggery pokery, first pass round was brutal on the corners....?

Yep as Ron says, enhancement request to lock levels I submitted in the X7 era (I'm sure others too). Loooongggg time ago now....

3??? MACH4 has been released for sometime now. You're so last Wednesday.... :

How the heck did he get that level without using 3x surface plates to get it flat first?

ISO is not that big of a deal. I got it at my place when there was just the 2 of us. It was a mandate for the Aerospace work and just before I sold up, my Customers were talking AS9100 would be needed in the near future. I was pretty much there - just needed to implement full stock control detailing EXACTLY how many inches of what material and wire inserts and PEMs etc were in the stores. Ref you saying about work prioritisation.....I ran my place off a big whiteboard and spread sheet which wifey would print out in due date order and update on the white board. It never allowed for start dates because the spread sheet had no times/process - that was down to manual intervention to group jobs for cells and prioritise because plate/paint/assy obviously wasn't allowed for on the printouts etc. But a Sunday morning and that prioritised everything for the coming week.... I sold my place to a group and integrated it into one of their local shops - they dropped my old spreadsheet because they had a mrp although no one knew how to run it. Last I heard (I stopped contracting 6 months ago but had proj managed the amalgamation) was they still didn't have work to lists on the shop floor and had the exact same situation as you were saying - stop that job, set this up NOW etc etc (gold mine ran like a coal mine)....

THIS is a big thing. As soon as I could afford one, (2 years in) I bought one with CAD inspect - direct to model. Customers loved it for the prototypes because they could cut their own lead time by not having to supply full prints. It gives a HUGE tick where customer QA audits are concerned.

Dang - sorry the d!ck peed on your fireworks Aaron In the UK we say he's all mouth and no trousers! As Colin said, yes you dodged a bullet. You cannot teach pork - leopards won't change spots etc - the fact that he used the phrase "playing on the computer" in reality tells you all you need to know about him. Onwards and upwards!