Ployd, a good rule of thumb for 3D surface machining is to use z-level type cutting on steep surfaces and not drive a toolpath vertically because of the problems you're encountering...the same thing will happen on a relatively rigid VMC cutting tool steel because the tool is getting pulled into the material as it travels down and pushed away from material as it travels up. HTH, steve

Is your lathe a Haas "sl30 LB BB"? There's a local guy around here that bought a new haas lathe and had to hang a 5 gal bucket of used carbide inserts off the turret just to dampen vibration on general turning for heavy cuts. Probably not the most rigid machine no matter how the setup is.

Thanks, I'm told all manuals are available for the 15M...a real bonus judging by what James mentioned earlier.

John, I can't speak to the offset package but the 15M comes with a renishaw probe so I'm guessing macro B is enabled. You're correct about the age of the machines the 15M is on a '93 and the 16MB is on '95. After speaking with both companies I'm leaning toward the older mill...anything I should know about a 15M?

I'm looking at purchasing a used vmc in the near future...of the machines I'm interested in they have either a 15M or 16MB. I'm looking to set these up with a trunion table for 5 axis... advantages or disadvantages? Steve

check your communication settings in cimco and make sure they're the same as you were using before. If the control just keeps blinking LSK then it's not receiving anything and your computer won't know if it's been sent succesfully. HTH

Hi Curt, how's life in the 'Peg? I'm a native manitoban...apprenticed at Forte Tool & Die, sat on Grand Beach, ate mosquitos, etc. Back on topic...HSMWorks is very similar to Mastercam in that the data fields available for controlling the toolpath are familiar. It has big potential because it's just as strong in the basic 2D stuff as it is in 3D...also the fact that 5ax positional can be done using planes in the same manner as solidworks is a plus. Anyway, enough adverts for the competition before I get the punt

I just started running an HSMWorks evaluation and so far impressive results. Anyone familiar with Mastercam and Solidworks will find it a shoe in and HSM strategies are incorporated into every toolpath (with the exception of drilling of course). It's new and likely needs some more time in development to work out bugs but this software is definitely going to start taking a chunk out of market share for the other CAM guys. I can only expect that 5ax simultaneous and machine simulation are around the corner.

Colin, I like your ideas to expand on the clamp avoidance idea a little... I'd like it if a safety zone could be set for any solid, not just stock. Avoiding clamps and the like would just be a matter of selecting a solid from the safety zone page, setting an expansion amount (to gaurantee clearance) and letting mcam do the figurin'. muchas easier IMO. steve

I agree with Matt. Add a comment after your milling op that contains a call to a sub-program, transform the toolpath between origin and origin ? number of times and write a sub-program with an incremental rotary index move. Might save a little code editing

Thanks Dave, that's a relief. ...to all fellow users of Mcam who just want to get their job done and go home at the end of the day... steve

Why does anyone waste time arguing with a joker who doesn't use Mcam? It's like listening to a virgin describe how it should be done in bed...a waste of time. ...just my humble opinion.

...forgot one thing. High depth of cut with decent radial cut works much better than shallow depth of cut since the corners of the cutter just burn out too quick. Depth = diameter, 60% width, 25 SFM and full coolant flood worked well in Hastelloy...hopefully it'll give good results in Inconel also. steve

I've machined Hastelloy C276 in the past which has some properties similar to Inconel. I found the biggest problem results from work hardening in the cut surface and edge burr which pretty much burns out the cutter in a short time. Sharp is key, slow RPM and maintain a decent CPT. If it rubs at all, the cutter is done. Inconel is notorious for notching inserts in turning operations from the hard burr that rolls up. My recommendation would be an uncoated, high helix, multi-flute solid carbide. HTH

Ralph, here's a short list of 5 axis gantry type machine manufacturers: Thermwood www.thermwood.com DMI www.5axiscncrouter.com Quintax www.quintax.com CNC Auto-Motion www.cncmotion.com Shoda www.shoda.com Nicolas Correa www.correa.es Zayer www.zayer.es CMS www.cms.it Fidia www.fidia.com FPT www.fptindustrie.com Parpas www.parpasamerica.com MECOF www.mecofspa.com Breton www.performancemachinesystems.com JOBS www.jobs.it MAKA www.maka.de Anayak www.anayak.es Handtmann www.handtmann.de Droop & Rein cheers, steve