Since my previous post, two questions have come to mind. 1) Where are all of these protesters comming up with the money for these rallys (and being able to take time from work to be incarcerated) that are costing us taxpayers a fortune (not to mention taking money from various NEEDED government services ) and possibly more importantly 2)have any of these people who are saying that we are "evil" or "warmongers" or are acting "illeaglly", seen any of the pictures from Fox News (www.foxnews.com)? Our troops are "feeding Iraqi soldiers and civilians alike, giving them water, medicine . You know, the stuff that their leaders wouldn't get for them. It really doesn't seem like a war from a compasionate standpoint. I realize that bombs are dropping. I also realize that these people were not only abandoned by their government; they were disgarded by the UN .

Many in the forum have stated that we should have taken care of this during Desert Storm (with which I completely agree) however the stumbling block from back then is the same stumbling block we have now: the "United" Nations. The forces were not "allowed" to finish the job. This organization was instituted to keep this very thing (Saddam's various antics from invasions to gasing the Kurds, murder, rape, et. al.) but this organization is sending and acting in the most destructive way possible: it is acting like Europe during the 1930" when Hitler stormed thruogh various countrys then Chamberlin comes up with a signed document that will "give us peace in our time". We know how effective the "peaceful means" worked. Currently, France, Russia and Germany are spearheading this same effort of having the UN pulling this stunt. When you also consider that we fund one of the largest (if not the largest) financial portions of the UN operating expences, what are we getting for our money? The opportunity to become the "ultimate victim" ? I not only question the move of the past of not getting Saddam before, I now am questioning our move to continue with wasting our time and, yes our money (billions every year by the way) on the UN. Also like others, I'm tired of hearing about "the great satan America" while they have their hand out DEMANDING MORE from us. JM2C

$1.51 for unleaded Regular unleaded is $2.23 per gallon in Aliso Viejo, CA. It seems as though the prices are somewhat consistant all over, although I do like the price from Georgia .

2/7/66 I'm with Zero on how it feels taking something from paper (and now a video screen!) and machining it. This may not be the most prestigious or best paying trade, but I get alot of satisfaction from what I do and having something tangable at the end of the day to show for your time is great . I still can't believe that I have been in machining half my life now !!!

Elad, My deepest sympathy to both you and to the nation of Israel . Even in this tragaty, I hope more of your fellow countrymen (and women) will continue to hookup with the space program. I believe your country will continue to have alot to offer, just as Ilan had.

This would be an "acceptable practice" IF I were running Inconel 718 and I was only running 10 or 20 parts. This seems to be a much higher volume and, as I do not know what your criteria for inspection is (ie. what dimensions, how often, freq. of 100% inspect, etc.) and also not knowing the run time or quantity, I would press for more of the "expected and promised" performence in this machine. My curent question is are you confident that your group will be able to produce the part as consistantly as the machine applications techs? Renmember, at some point (hopefully soon !) the machine techs and service engineers will be out of the building and it will be you on the line everyday from here on out. HTH and hoping the very best

I am a very new Mastercam user and I hope that this point of reference/view might help. I looked for about 5 months doing research, going to Westec, having demos done and what I found out is that there are 2 extremly big benifits to Mastercam (and yes, I am learning more benifits every day). The first big advantage is that Mastercam is so user friendly that I have been able to figure out a lot of things on my own without tech support and that translated into machines running fairly quickly. The second issue is that out here in southern california, you can't swing a 3 iron without hitting someone who knows how to at least do some 2D work in Mastercam! The NTMA Training Centers (my favorite) and several community colleges teach Mastercam. Tech service may be great with some other but not having to special train people when hiring for a position; that is powerful and a great value for the dollar. Another note would be that tech support out here (Cad-Cam Consutants, HB) has been great. HTH and ciao

I may be new to Mastercam (and even newer to this forum!) but I have a lot of experience with Haas. The good news is that Haas is a great lightweiight machine. If you are cutting aluminum, beryilium copper, brass, etc. you'll love it . Materials such as titanium, heat treated 4140, or 304 sst, you will need to be carful of cutter size and your depth of cut. The machines are easy enough to do various repairs yourself (which will save you big money) and many of the replacement componets you can buy from Granger or other suppliers instead of Haas (which will save you even more!!!!!). Two big recomendations: 1) get the "thru spindle coolant" because once you get it, you can't live without it and ; 2)find an independant machine repair tech, as Haas distributors tend to be expensive and if you are not able to fix it your self, it will get pricey. HTH!!!

I like Scott's idea of the T's with the dragster and the sticker (how much for the leather jacket?????)

I'm with chris m! As a newer user, we never programed this way, but now it has proven to be pretty easy and the guys on the machines like having "0" cutter comp. I would encourage you to give it a try. Good Luck.