I'm sure this has been discussed before but we have a question about cutter comp. When programming in Mastercam what settings do we use to get Mastercam to generate the codes to tell the machine control to read offset tables. For example we're cutting a .500 dia. hole and it is undersize. We want to go into the table and tell it to be .001 bigger. How do we generate the code?

As a Toolmaker I feel one the keys to our trade is our ability to get things to work. Say we get a design for a fairly complicated progressive die,and we machine all the components and assemble the die. The debugging of a design is often times more tricky then the build. That is one of the differences between a traditional machinist and a traditional toolmaker. Now a days the definations have become so cloudy that in some cases there is no difference. Either way both machinist and toolmakers are often asked to do the impossible by ill-knowing engineers and usually figure out a way to get it done.

How about your role in the coming attraction "Die Hard 4 Machining With A Vengence"

Great Thread! My question is this, I'm drilling a .052 hole with a solid carbide drill and this hole has a pretty tight tolerance. If I can get a .053 gage pin in the hole the part is junk. How should I be starting the hole? With a small spot or center or nothing at all?

Does anyone out there know where I can find speciality drill bits. I'm looking for a .050 or .051 dia. carbide bit preferably with a .125 shank. Any help would be great.

Is anyone familiar with workpiece conveyers? We have a Hanwha Swiss Machine with a Fanuc control. Now I turn the conveyer on simply by pushing the workpiece conveyer button on the control. The trouble is it runs till it nears the end of the cycle then stops. How can I get it to stay on? Does this have to be a programmed command to get it to keep running? Thanks for any help.

When posting a MC program, is there something special such as a toggle you need to turn on so your program will refer to a machine's offset table? For example we're milling a bore and it's undersize so we want to go into the machine's offset table and tell it the tool is smaller so it mills larger. Now we manually type the code into the program to get it to look at the tool's offset number on the offset page. Should this code come automatically when we post. Thanks for any help!

Thanks to all who helped. My next question is this: If I'm broaching a hex for a .050 hex wrench, how much deeper should I drill my pilot hole? For instance, if I want my hex to be .060 deep, how deep should the pilot hole be. Thanks again.

Tommy, Thanks for the help. The material is 304 stainless.

I was wondering if anyone out there does any broaching on lathes or screw machines.I'm specifically looking for any info on broaching hexes for hex wrenches. Any advice on speeds and feeds would be great. Thanks for any help.

Thanks for the replies. On our offset table we have 2 choices. There are wear offsets and geometry offsets. If I want to change a dia. by .0015 do I use the wear offset or the geometry offset?

I was curios if anyone out there has ever has trouble with offsets in Fanuc controls. We have a Fanuc Series 18i-T control on a Hanwha swiss. When we enter an offset to change a dimension for one tool it seems to effect other tools. Our most recent problem was while turning threads. If we're turning the major o.d. with lets say tool#4 and enter a .001 offset to change the major o.d. we've seen it also change the minor o.d. which is cut by tool #6. Also when turning threads how tight of tolerances can we expect to get. We are trying to cut a class 3a thread. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Well, it's going pretty well. Running it goes well after alot of repatation. In two weeks we're getting trained on the software to program it. This should be a big help. The two really go hand in hand as far as helping you understand them goes. I wish Master Cam could run screw machines since I already know the software but thats the way things go. MasterCam is much nicer and has more friendly features. How is your project going?

Carriopaul, We really didn't decide on this machine. We bought an entire operation from the screw machine all the way down to the office furniture and Hanwha was the machine they had. I believe it is about a $185,000 machine. It arrived yesterday.

As I said we get ours next week. I had a 2-day intro. last week. It seems like its pretty complex with alot to remember. I guess I'll have to crash and learn.

Jim, Thanks for the response, it's a big help. What kind of machines do you run and which software do you program your screw machines with? Ours should be here in about a week. It's a Hanwha using Partmaker software.

Does anyone with screw machine experience have an idea as to how long it takes for someone with no screw machine experience to become somewhat comfortable with the machine. We don't have any experience with them or cnc lathes but we're quite comfortable with cnc mills, machining centers, and MasterCam. Any help would be great.

T_MALENA We just got back from the company which is selling us the machine along with the rest of their operation. In your opinion, how long does it take to learn the machine if you have no background in swiss and limited background on cnc lathes. Thanks.

Has anyone else out there had trouble communicating with their machine tools after loading a windows sp2 upgrade. Thanks for any help.

We are trying to machine stainless hardened stainless, hardened to 62-63 Rockwell C. This will be machining a unsupported plier tip. We're looking for advice on tooling. We can't exceed 3/8 dia. on the endmill. This is for a production operation so we need a good finish and long tool life. Thanks for any help!

I was curious if any forum users are fimiliar with Hanwha screw machines or Hanwha in general. We may bring one in house so I was hoping to get some intel on them. Any help, tips, pointers, or pros and cons would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

Welcome aboard Joe, I'm just down the road from you in Sheboygan.

This may be a great opprotunity for you. Getting to know the field of robotics may be a BIG help in the future. With everything being automated now it's only in your best interest ti know robotics. It may open some doors down the road. Speaking from experience, try to learn all you can about automation. Robots and other automation such as vision systems are now what CNC's were 25 years ago. Best of luck.

Some say we've lost our civil liberties after 9-11. How come I haven't noticed? I guess it's because I'm not a terrorist planning attacks on innocent Americans. I dont feel any law abiding American has lost any liberties.

About Reagan being an actor before being President the only difference between him and most other politicians is he was an actor before taking office the others become actors after they decide to run for office. They soon learn how they need to act and what they need to say to get elected and re-elected. Ronald Reagan was a great man who came along at the right time. That may be the key to his success. At that time we needed his personality in office. He wasn't perfect and did make mistakes but I'm not sure we'll see another President like him soon.