I spent many a year on the floor, started as saw guy and went fron there. I have worked with 1 young man with no machining experience you talked his way into being a programmer. Parts that could have been made in 2 ops were done in 4 never had a clue as to what was or how to figure SFM or IPM. during the time he was a programmer life was miserable as a set up person until I started taking his programs and breaking them into pieces and sub them together to make them closer to what they should be and adjusting them until they ran better (livable). How about the guys today that come from school to the floor and claim to know all and do all but have no clue about how to set up read code adjust code report back to the programmer on changes or even understand what the programmer is trying to explain.

I feel for you it seems in some cases if it isn't broke don't fix it and as long as it moves and makes a dollar is the power at be main objective. Is Corona cal. Northern or Southern cal.? Southern I would guess. My maintenance guy does travel owns his own bussiness and FADAL is all he works on. If you would like I could see if he can travel that far or knows some one in the area if you have doubts about the one you currently use.

The last shop I worked at we did gate and test bar molds on a 6030 for a couple of different companys. Your looking at 3000 plus lbs. moving around on a 6030 FADAL. If your guy doing your maintenance keeps the machine tight 80 inches a minute even with surfacing should not be a problem. There is a G91.1 High speed execution code you can use on a FADAL (never used myself) G91.2 cancels it. Let me know if it works The new company I work for (5 years now) also has one, the info may come in handy one day.

What year, control and size of machine do you have? Also what type or brand of end mill are you using?

Found my old req. purchased from Western cutting tool a couple of years ago of on the price gave you the price of the cheapest mixer. ZEB MIX03725 1.0 BARREL MIXER FOR COOLANT 3GPM 0-25% EA 223.10 1.0 MIXER-MACHINIST Lead time from Factory 1 day turnaround Order Line Notes: 1-DAY TO SHIP FROM THE FACTORY***FOB OH

Zebra machinist's mixer around $130.00

That's all I cut anymore, from what I understand the chlorine causes micro tears in the Ti do to heat and chemical reaction. To be Boeing, Pratt,Goodrich ect. certified (not just compliant) all coolant used has to be free of any trace amounts of chlorine.

+1 for skimming and aerating the coolant I use HANGSTERFER'S S500 CF the CF is for chlorine free. If you machine any Ti you want to make sure not to use coolant with chlorine in it. Keep it clean and free from as much tramp oil as possible is always a ggod rule of thumb for any coolant. I can put you in touch with HAGSTERFER'S regional manager for the west coast if you want. He can help with any questions you might have.

+1 for the HANGSTERFER'S, running an aerator, and skimmer. If you ever run Ti go with the S500 CF cholrine is not allowed on Ti products durring machining. If your on the west coast your rep should be Randy Rice cell # 1-760-580-1357 he can help you answer any question you have.

Crazy, As I sit here at work an hour and a half before clock in time it's nice to here I'm not alone. I've been machining for about 13 years now, and programming for about 1. I have always believed if you tell all you know it will only help you to learn more.

Crazy^Mill/Turn since I have started here I have been told that I will work myself out of a job many times. 2 more CNC machines later 3 added machinist's and more CNC's and parts on the way I would have to say I am a long way off from being out of work. Truth be said I rarely get a day off and only seem to be getting busier. That is why I am looking forward to this You will probably see more questions in the future. Thanks for all the input todate.

At this point it is all 3 axis work. I'm new to using probes but have been machining for around 14 yrs now. Actually looking forward to doing more with them.

Thanks for the info Tim, Do your machinist's also balance the part in the machine (set -A- plane) or the pads being cut or is this done outside the machine? The new plan here will be for the machinist to take the casting level (balance) it then clamp it in position and run the probing routine to establish part origin so it can be machined.

Guy's The facility I work for will be adding Renishaw probes the CNC's in the near future. It is in an attempt to speed up the set up process and do inprocess checks and adjustments. We also do target machining to a large number of parts to establish the datums for the machining of the part later. Since these parts are 1 off and are in some cases cast from an SLA they currently run thru our latout department before going out to be machined. They give true centerline location of the part and a rotation value of the part that is mounted on a plate along with any Z offset value needed. The machinist then uses G52's and G68's to shift and rotate the part in the program to match layout data. If all is going well 5-7 target machines can be done in an 8 hr day. I am wondering if this process will speed up or slow down when we start using the probes. I know the repeatability and accuracy should improve my concern lays with thru put. On adverage we due 10-12 target machines a day ( 2 shifts)in the past I was the only one doing this about 25 minutes a set up adverage (from load part to push play). With the machinist's (have 3 helpers now) loading, leveling and clamping the part before running the probing routine can we get the same daily thru put. There is a lot of shops out there doing what we are doing and using probes to due it. Question is how many can they do in a day with an adverage program run time of 45 minutes?

I use a Kennedy box with dividers in it. The tools have been organized by drills, reamers, chamfer tools, end mills, ect....Each individual bin has a manufactures number tool discription and a min max on it. The min tells the machininst when to turn in a req. for more of that tool and the quantity needed to bring it back to max. I go through the box weekly with the local tool rep to insure nothing has fallen through the cracks.

The company I work for is looking at purchasing productivity plus. Is anyone currently using it and how do you like it? Thanks thainz

Thad, When you powered the machine down and restarted it the G52 should be cleared. I do believe if you do not cancel the G52 it will also stack up after each tool change. Thanks for the welcome

Thad, I use G52's all the time with the HAAS I have here. Just make sure you cancel the G52 at the end of the pocket routine. Example G52 X-0.0036 Y0.1701 Z0.005. At the end of your pocket type in G52 X0 Y0 or the shift will stay constant. I also use G68 and G69 regularly you will enter and cancel the same as you did on the FADAL. The only problem you may run into is that you have to purchase this option from HAAS to use it where it was standard with the FADAL. If you still have any of the free trial left for option packages you may be able to access the option from there. Hope this Helps.

open your verify and you will find an options folder right above the speed control slide. When you open this you will see stock up in the left corner. Pick the stock option you need ant you should be good to go.

Just wondering the opinions of who makes the best inserts and holders. Walter, Iscar, Sandvik, or ??? Thanks for any input.