we are cutting a gear with 21 teeth using a form cutter.. we are copying an existing gear so we know the o.d. of it which is fine .. but if we want to cut the same gear with the same tooth profile but this time the new gear only has 20 teeth what formula do you use to work out the new o.d which should be smaller.. thanks

hi all, this may be off the subject a little but we ae designing ford clevo timing case covers which allow the cam and crank gears to be exposed.. they are belt driven also rather than chain... does anyone know where i can find a model or drawing of an original timing case cover that has the exact dimensions of the bolt holes ect rather than copying an original timing case cover..thanks

using hss drilling about 1600 holes ... i'll be using several drills..

hi all , does anyone know what sort of spindle speed(rpm and feedrate you would be looking at for a 1.5mm drill ? the material im driling is k110. depth is 10mm thanks paul

hi all im looking to machine a contour thats similar to a ruled z constant toolpath(stepping down z 0.2mm at a time) with a contour on z 0 and one at z-10.. but then my contour is rotated around a center poing 30 times.. Now instead of machining each ruled contour to its final depth then rotating around to the next slot and doing the same thing again i want to machine the first contour to my z-0.2mm depth then rotate to the next slot only going to z-.2mm then the next ect.. till i end up on my first slot again then move to my second z depth cut and go again... any help appreciated thanks...

just a general all purpose chart.. like the ones ya have hanging in your toolroom... thanks

thanks for the quick answer my email is [email protected] ive been trying to change it on this web site but cant.. thanks

thanks for the quick answer my email is [email protected] ive been trying to change it on this web site but cant.. thanks

im trying to drill 3 holes at 120deg apart on the circumference of a part using 4 axis.. does my part have to be drawn up as it will be machined or can i program it in a top view then use the rotate option to give me the desired angles ( a0, a120, a240).? any sample parts would be great thanks paul

thanks for the quick reply.. if you have something in a word doc or excel that would be great email is [email protected] next time i see a tool rep i'll ask them too! thanks

Hi all, does anyone know where i can find a speed and feed chart for the drilling and milling of various materials that i can print out? preferably in metric thanks

hi all what exacly does this error message in mcam 9.1 sp2 mean ? memory item table (2) or any number in brackets mean? it seems to happen after ive imported a dxf file from cadkey once in mcam if i need to rotate or translate my file is sometimes comes up with this error message . i just hit enter to continue and it seems to ignore the error thanks Paul

hi all, when mastercam decides to lock up it says its creating a log file containing the errors. where can i find this log file so i can send it to mastercam and try to work out why mastercam locks up on average once every 2 or 3 weeks....

we usually develop our blanks using the grid method . we have tried to fine tune it as much as possible but when drawing around the rad the material just bunches up .. maybe we need a spring loaded stripper to hold the material and actually stretch it first then draw it down.. i was just after some ideas on how to do this.. as for the software to develop the blank that would be a bonus.. the rad is only 14mm but the flange height is 24mm its not sure of the exact makeup of the steel strip but its like a mild steel..

ive tried to upload it to the ftp site but it doesnt seem to work . best guess is there any chance i can email it to you? thanks paul

hi all , i have a mc9 file of a bracket that we are wanting to stamp out .. but we need to develop a blank for it.. we have tried with varying success but we are having trouble when it tries to wipe up a 20mm high flange around the part. one area has a radius with the flange running around it and when its formed the material just bunches up and looks bad.. does anyone have any suggestions in this type of forming or is there a program that will flatten out my bracket to give a better result.. i can supply the mc9 file if needed thanks paul

hi all just a quick one.. ive got a plate with 10 blocks screwed onto it one next to the other with each of the blocks a different height.. i'm machining a curve into it so rather than machine the curve into a solid block we're using the stepped blocks.. now when roughing im machining a lot of fresh air till all the blocks clean up.. then i can do a parallel cut and all is sweet. is it possible to somehow draw the insert blocks up and include it in my toolpath so that the cutter does not cut so much air but concentrates more on cutting only the stepped blocks .. hope this makes sense! thanks in advance

hi all, just recently we are starting to receive our cad files from our customers in the *.tif file format.. as far as i know its just a picture file.. while this is fine to look at and to print from you cant create a surfaced model from it like an igs file .. aparently my boss says that everyone is moving to provide shops like us these tif files to work with.. anyone out there know a little more about this thanks...

hi all in v9.1 mill how do ya reverse post an nc file so you can backplot it? we had a couple of jobs programmed outside and i just have the nc code.....i would like to backplot it on the screen.. i could do it in v7 but im buggered if i can find where to do it in v9.1 thanks paul

thanks for the quick reply... its not exacly a formula o want its more a program that will do it automatically..i want to import the part hit a button then it will flatten it out for me.. then i can use the new cad data to develop my flat blank with my holes ect in it...

Hi all, i have a bracket that has holes in it on a couple of angled faces.. what i want is a program that will take into account the shift in hole positions when the part is flattened out.. is this possible .. i would really appreciate any help on this one thanks paul

hi all just a quick question.. when i open certain files as soon as it loads to the screen the view suddenly snaps to a weird orientation.. now i didnt save the file in that veiw so im wondering whats going on.. also sometimes the cplane and graphic view buttons on the menu bar has an astrix next to it .. what exacly does this mean?? thanks Paul

this expression of mine want not intended as a bashing but mearly to point out the fact that in all likelyhood our local dealer will probably never return for a minor editing of the post when he has other more lucrative jobs to persue.. so rather than carry on about it if anyone out there can help with what i call a minor editing problem please let me know so i can email a sample file and a post .. i think this forum is a valuable resource of knowledge and im sorry i cant offer any of my opinions as i feel you guys are completely out of my league and beyond so far as programming is concerned.. thanks..

well what a reaction from my comments... to those of you who offered help with the post side of things thanks.. but so far as making excuses for resellers well thas going a little far some of you people are soooo touchy...

how can you resolve issuses with your reseller if he isnt interested in getting back to you about your problems?? we are not interested in leaving message after message for this guy who just gives us the brush off... thats why i would rather go over his head and go straight to mastercam ..