quote: I won't be visiting this thread again. It ceased to be respectful a long time ago. The best way to be respectful of those lost on 9-11 is to make damn certain that such an event never happens again. There are many terrorists still out there that would take as many souls or 100x more tomorrow if the opportunity were to present itself. There are also people in our own government that do not feel that the United States should be able to defend its own sovereignty. Presidential candidates state openly that if they were president they would gladly delegate the responsibility of the defense of this nation to a foreign body. Our votes matter more now than ever before, if these people are allowed to take power we will have our freedom defended only at the convenience of countries like France, Germany, Syria, or Saudi Arabia. We should take the opportunity to grieve on this anniversary, and also to redouble our efforts to prevent it from ever happening again. This isn't about partisan politics, its about life or death. Never forget and never, never forgive, Clayton “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Barry Goldwater

Lets not get carried away with this “non profit war” thing, I find it amazing that in the two years that have passed not one movie has been made of 9-11. Check out a movie from 1942 called “Air Force”. It is a pure propaganda flick. I loved it. (It also has some great footage of some early model B-17s if you like war-birds.) My point is that we need now, as we needed then, something to rally us, something to build up our momentum, to maintain our focus. If a profit is made, so be it. Nationalism isn’t necessarily a bad thing, neither is hatred for the enemy. All we get from Hollywood are lectures on how we can’t let hatred and nationalism cloud our judgment. All I hear from media is how sad people were as a result of 9-11. How about a little RAGE!! Some righteous ANGER!! Let those who lost loved ones feel the sadness, let us who were enraged by this focus our anger, as well as our grief, in a fight to make sure that it never happens again. I have every right to be enraged, I have every right to hate, I have every right to fight. Over and over again I hear libs say “I love my country, but”. The only thing I have heard that gives me any confidence I hear on the news straight from the soldiers on the ground. They are the best of us; we cannot afford to lose a single one. During the war I heard ordinary soldiers interviewed that you would think were military spokesmen. I have the utmost respect for our military, and I can’t help but think that the wrong people are dieing in this conflict. If this were the USSR circa 1941 the “I love my country but” folks would have been rounded up, given broomsticks and sent straight to the front to catch German bullets. Now, I do support the right to descent, I would just prefer that they keep it to themselves until terrorism is nothing but a bad memory. For when descent is taken by our enemy as weakness it is little more than treason light. Long live the USA!!!!!!!! Clayton P.S. At least Neville Chamberlain had the decency to be ashamed of himself.

Well, the liberals consider this a job well done, no guns used in either crime. Gun control is working. Now on to knives, fire, maybe even penises. Clayton

I have that problem, how do I change the post so that I can get the g28 home move and shut off coolant / spindle etc. and not get the tool change? I need this for the times when I am using a single tool to machine a part, (i.e. plastic / sheet metal profiles etc.) and I need to send the machine home and turn it all off so that the operator can change clamps and the like safely. Thanks Clayton

We have a horizontal machine that requires a series of “m” codes prior to and after a table rotation for clamping and pinning the table. To complicate things, the pin in/out codes can only be used at 90 deg increments. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how this can be accomplished in the post? Thanks in advance, Clayton

Is anybody out there using a Haas rotary table on a machine from a different manufacturer in conjunction with a Haas servo controller? If so how are you interfacing it with the machine control? Currently we have ours set up with the four wires hard wired into the control, using a simple “m” code to tell the control to rotate the table to a pre programmed increment and the servo controller sends back a signal that it has completed its rotation. The haas controller must be programmed with all the rotations in the proper order for it to work. We do a lot of set ups and this is quite cumbersome and time consuming. I have been toying with the idea of interfacing it with the rs232 cable and using a sub program that is pre programmed for several rotations. Perhaps every 5 deg or so, and the program would stay in the control at all times so it would be there whenever I need it. I could use the angle output as the call for the subprogram, and have subprograms that correspond to the angle calls. Does this sound too complicated? Thanks in advance, Clayton

Hourly here, would have been salary if I would have taken the engineering gig here but who wants to look up mill spec. till the wee hours for salary? 2X for over 60, have never worked over 60 though. I have the utmost respect for the business owners out there, it really takes guts, and if I have learned one thing about myself is that I can be a chronic procrastinator. Bad mojo if you own your own biz. I have to give my sincere thanks to all you entrepreneurs, America wouldn’t be the same without you. Clayton

quote: Hear about that priest convicted of child molestation? Got murdered in his cell. I might be climbing out on a limb here, but I will wager he won’t molest any more children. Who said the death penalty doesn’t prevent crime? Do I sound cold when I say that even if rehabilitation were 100% successful I would still like to see criminals thrown in jail for a long time? quote: I agree---where's the debate? That’s exactly my point, why is debate even necessary. If something is debatable there must be opposition to it, otherwise its not debate its consensus. How can anyone other than a criminal debate the value of incarceration? Its like debating weather the world is round or flat. The jury is in, its time to do what needs doin’. Have a nice holiday, Clayton

A few hours later and CNN radio news got their minds right. I thought the first story sounded funny. I guess the boss heard them talking about the guys arrest record and put the squelch on it. Now they blame it on the easy access to a gun, no mention of his record now, it was just a matter of time. How about blaming this tragedy on this a-hole’s easy access to society? Once again, if the j***off was still sitting in a cell somewhere it couldn’t have happened. PERIOD….. Aaaah what was I thinking? The obvious problem here is freedom, what we need is a whole lot less of it, that’ll solve it. Good night all, Clayton

Thanks every one, I took advise from all you guys and here is what I came up with: I treat the part in mastercam normally, I modified a post to make y=z and z=y, j=k and k=j and then had to come up with some way to make positive z’s and k’s negative and vice-versa, got some help from the mastercam distributor in the area for that. Now I have everything that I have ever dreamed of. Life is good. Thanks, Clayton P.S. It’s a FEMCO (Fare East Machinery Company or Fix Every Month or Cannot Operate) with a Fanuc 15M controller.

Today a man walked into a warehouse and shot and killed 6 people. CNN radio news reported that he had a lengthy arrest record. John W. Hinckley Jr. is allowed to leave the mental hospital on his own reconnaissance. This is a man who attempted to assassinate the president of the United States. A man abducted a young girl, raped her then hacked off both of her arms and left her to die. He got a short prison sentence for “attempted murder” He was released and he killed again. Are the lunatics running the asylum? Lock ‘em up and throw away the key already. Why does it even require debate? quote: he's from Flint, MI Wishful thinking I guess. Clayton

Hello all, I have what probably amounts to a stupid question. It stems from my inexperience with G18 vs G17. I am going to break the cherry on our right angle head for our horizontal mill. I need to use G18 so that I can use cutter compensation in the x and z plane. My question is this: Does G18 also alter the tool length compensation axis? I assume it does but I would like some confirmation, as well as any advise you all wish to give me as far as programming x and z plane in mastercam. Thanks in advance, Clayton

quote: guns+America= murder Give me liberty or give me death. I have an idea; lets try real prison sentences, in real prisons, for a real long time. If we don’t have criminals running around in society then we shouldn’t have to worry about who buys a firearm do we? My cousin was getting gas at a gas station; she went in to pay for the gas. A parolee who was “tired of waiting for the bus” got into her car and drove off. Her two year old was in the back seat. This was about 1993 or 94 and the car he stole was a less than mint 1978 mercury marquis. Luckily he didn’t make a turn into an alley a couple of blocks away and nosed the beast into a telephone pole and ditched the car, and the kid. No one was hurt and the little boy has had a chance to grow into a fine young man. No gun involved in this crime but this illustrates the point that if this individual were still rotting away in jail he would not have been physically capable of committing this crime. He is due to get out soon if he hasn’t already. Does that give you a happy feeling? Wouldn’t you just as soon see individuals like this warehoused or otherwise disposed of permanently? Do I sound cold? Do I care? What would have happened to that child if he hadn’t had a wreck in the car and abandoned it? Perhaps the parole bored should have thought about the damage that this degenerate could do if released into society. Perhaps they share the responsibility for his actions. It certainly makes more sense than holding the gun industry responsible for the inanimate objects that they produce. Perhaps the individuals that produced this vermin (i.e. parents) are also responsible. I did not make his choices for him, I didn’t teach him his morality. I should not bare the consequences for his misdeeds. Michael More is Canadian, yet he comes here to make his millions, if only through criticism. The same freedom that gains him his wealth can, at times, put us in jeopardy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I completely tune out any argument that compares this great nation to another. Germany? France? Australia? Canada? Lets compare freedom not crime rate, capitalism vs. socialism. If your not impressed, you might consider a change of address. Clayton

quote: But what two people do in the privacy of their own home should somehow limit their rights as a couple? I'm sorry, but I cannot see any way to define the argument that does not come down to a personnal decision regarding private behaviour. I can’t shoot heroin, snort cocaine, grow marijuana, xxxxe myself, print currency, build machine guns, pipe bombs or nuclear warheads in the privacy of my own home either. Hell I can’t even have a 5-gallon flush toilet in the john. Some of us conservatives feel that the issue isn’t about gay or straight; it is about states rights, and the constant assault on state sovereignty that we are undergoing from the big guys in D.C. every day. Clayton

James: quote: Could Grey be gay? Hmmm, the world may never know. You know what, people without kids are not even fit for high office as far as I'm concerned. He needs the boot! Considering the fact that while his state is spiraling downward in decay, he signed a bill that protects transsexuals, cross dressers and drag queens from unfair hiring practices it does make one wonder. Sexual orientation aside you would at least question his priorities, moreover, question the priorities of the state legislature. Millman: quote: Ok just one thing to add to the whole thing it is only costing 66 million dollars to do this. How many hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost in the name of democracy? 66 mill is comparatively cheep. The people of California are simply using the democratically instituted, constitutional process for the removal of their governor. Any attempt to stop the citizens from this endeavor would be anti democratic, and an affront to the constitution of that state. If it seems silly, cumbersome or flawed, it may well be, but it is the system that they have and they have the right to use it. Once this is over the people can decide to amend their constitution to prevent a similar debacle from repeating. Fair enough? It’s a strange world we live in were a guy like Tim Robins can snap his fingers and gain an audience with the national press corp. Then use the opportunity reserved only for people of his societal status to decry talk radio as destroying free speech. Even though talk radio is the one medium that the individual citizen can use to have his voice heard by millions. Odd. Clayton

quote: Do I dare spell it out that the Republicans engineered our state’s energy crisis that bleed most of the budget. Dick Cheney & Enron anyone? HUH?? Check the Bill of Rights. Each of the Sovereign States is responsible for its own governing. California’s energy crisis is California’s problem. If it is the 5th largest economy in the world then it should be more than capable of maintaining and improving its own energy infrastructure. In stead the world’s 5th largest economy is propped up by its bordering states. Over 50% of the nations electricity is produced by coal burning plants. About 20% by nuclear plants About 15% by hydro electric plants And about 10% from oil burning plants The remainder is produced by windmills, solar, geothermal, and other enviro-friendly approaches. Historically, the majority of California’s efforts toward energy infrastructure improvements have been confined to that last 5%. It is easy to blame special interest for the energy crisis that confronts California and, as exemplified by last week’s blackout, the entire country. But if the energy industry were that special interest, then the country would be rife with electrical generation plants and we would have the lines upgraded and replaced more often than necessary. The last thing the energy supplier’s want is an energy crisis that will bolster the arguments of those who would force us into alternative energy prematurely. Indeed the special interest that is responsible for our energy crisis is the anti progress, anti improvement, anti energy, retrograde environmentalist left. This special interest has found a perfect home in California, as it is a politically friendly environment. The environmentalist left tends to put the cart before the horse. They could maintain and improve existing power facilities while developing more environmentally friendly systems; thus maintaining supply and avoiding any potential crisis. In stead they neglect the current foundation of their energy production and focus myopically on their agenda. This inevitably results in the collapse of the current system. While this collapse may make the environmentalist platform seem prophetic, it will impact sharply on the economy as a whole leading to high deficits and limited resources that can be expended on said agenda. The current political environment in the U.S. is prime for alternative energy sources, at least until we hear what it will cost. So it is the responsibility of the advocates of these alternative energy sources to create an economical alternative rather than just an alternative. Common sense dictates that putting the people to work improving infrastructure will do more good than harm to our economy, particularly in California were I hear there are a lot of transsexual cross dressing drag queens looking for jobs. However, I would like to respectfully request that those drag queens that become linemen wear a pant suit rather than a skirt when climbing utility poles. California was called the land of fruits and nuts long before this recall and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Clayton

Aaaa, let'em read it, I don't care anymore. Take this for example; about 3 years ago the owners of this shop had the Christmas party in a surprise location. We were all to show up at work were we would board chartered busses that were to take us to the party. The busses went up to one intersection on the interstate and got off at the next and made a big circle ending up right back at the shop. It turned out that the President, VP, VP of engineering (brother of the president and one of the smartest people I have ever met) and the plant manager busted their xxxx for two days decking out the shop for the party. They had a band, a piano player, and an open bar. Lights were affixed to the roof rafters including a disco ball. The sons and daughters of management were in the parking lot directing traffic and checking our coats at the door. They had first class catering and the hors d'oeuvre were put on the rotating table or our horizontal mill (ultimately resulting in a costly repair to the mill). The whole deal cost far more than any of the nice restaurants that they have taken us to. Now, call me crazy, but that seems like genuine appreciation for the employees, personally I found it quite moving. But a good number of the guys were not impressed, not everybody, but some. “If I would have known it was going to be here I wouldn’t have worn a tie.” Ingrates.

It never ceases to amaze me how little is expected of employees, and as a result, how little effort it takes to get ahead in any occupation. I’m not trying to sound like I’m bragging, or that I am some kind of genius, it just seems that people are not willing to put forth any effort, and are reluctant to show any initiative. Any person that shows initiative, and a desire to achieve success, not only for themselves, but also for the company that they work for, will succeed. Complacency seems to me to be the real problem, a great number of people have a genuine indifference toward their employer as long as their paychecks keep coming. I started working for this company over four and a half years ago, fresh out of tech school. After a year I was programming. All I had to do to get here was apply myself. I am a conscientious employee and I put forth the required effort to improve our processes and I do my part to keep this company competitive. I have been offered other positions including supervision and process engineering, but programming is my niche, it is the area that I can make the greatest difference. Other guys have been here for 10+ years and are still pushing the same button on the same machine. Their idea of initiative is to declare a job or process “stupid” if it doesn’t make rate or otherwise runs poorly. Of course when I was asked if I would like to program I was given the stink eye from the same people. “Who’s c**k did you s**k to get to sit in the a/c and program while I sweat my b**ls off out here?” is what I would here from them, only half jokingly. This attitude cannot be blamed on environment, as our environment is superb. I guess I sound pretty down on my fellow Americans, but it’s just the way I see it. Call it tough love. Hey, these guys have had the same opportunities as I have had; nobody has an anvil dropped on them for trying to make their company better. If they desire education, our company will bend over backwards to accommodate them. I have worked with Bosnian refugees and I have heard first hand the resentment that natives have toward them. They come across as arrogant at times because they are certain of their impending success. Why are they certain? Because, for no other reason than perseverance, they will succeed. This attitude is bolstered by the laissez-faire attitude that they see in us Americans. Clayton,

Not realy sure, it came from the magical post editing gods, you know what I mean. Greek to me. Clayton

Thanks for the input. The guys at the MC dealer figured it out at no extra charge. Now it works like it should. Millman, I'm not clear on the canned text. I tried doing like you said, but I don't get the G99 G98 in the canned text menu. I get op stop on and off options, block delete on and off option and M5 thru M10. Can I add to this list of options somehow? Thanks again Clayton

I did a forum search on this before I posted and this is what I found out: When posting code, the post compares the initial plane and the reference plane, and if they are equal then it outputs G99. If they are not equal then it outputs G98. So when I use the “use clearance plane only at beginning and end of operation” option in mastercam I get code that looks like this: N20 G90 G54 ( 1/4 DRILL / .250 DIA ) N30 G00 X.8348 Y-.3746 S1069 M03 N40 G43 H1 Z5. M08 N50 Z.1 N60 G99 G83 Z-1. R.1 Q.15 F4.28 N70 X1.1024 Y-.899 N80 X2.7719 Y-1.3164 N90 X3.0716 Y-.6207 N100 X2.1833 Y-.7064 N110 X1.9693 Y-1.3485 N120 X1.3806 Y-1.7766 N130 G80 N140 Z5. N150 M09 My question is, what is the point in this? If the initial plane and the reference plane are the same then G98 and G99 do the exact same thing. I would prefer to have code that looks like this. N20 G90 G54 ( 1/4 DRILL / .250 DIA ) N30 G00 X.8348 Y-.3746 S3500 M03 N40 G43 H1 Z5. M08 N50 G99 G83 Z-1. R.1 Q.15 F12.5 N60 X1.1024 Y-.899 N70 X2.7719 Y-1.3164 N80 X3.0716 Y-.6207 N90 X2.1833 Y-.7064 N100 X1.9693 Y-1.3485 N110 X1.3806 Y-1.7766 N120 G80 N130 Z5. N140 M09 The extra “Z” is the problem, is this the way most posts output? We are almost done tweaking our posts with the help of our local mastercam dealer, I asked them about this and they acted like it would be a big deal to get rid of the Z move. I also noticed that the “edit jump” feature outputs a G80 and a whole new drill cycle. Wouldn’t it be simpler just to use a G98 in the places that you want the jump and then switch back to G99 for the other holes? Provided that you have a clearance plane selected in the operations manager. Thanks in advance, Clayton

A-RON, Similar story, maybe this is the same guy. He was cutting a weld prep chamfer on some 1.25 dia. .1875 wall aluminum tube about 10 feet long on a lathe. The idea was to rotate the spindle at a slow rpm so that the 7 or 8 feet of tube sticking out the left side of the headstock would not wip around. The guy tried it out at about 2500 rpm. It didn’t work out. I have never heard so much noise come from one place. It kinked the tube in 2 places and beat the living s**t out of an SPC stand that was next to the lathe. Nobody hurt, and we still use the SPC stand. Same guy got his shirttails caught in the lead screw on a different lathe on a different day. Coworker to the rescue, nobody hurt. Same guy, running a horizontal CNC when he started the program in the wrong spot and a 6 in. face mill tried to mill with the side of cutter without using the teeth. Actually wrenched the entire tool holder out of the spindle broke the tension knob and messed up the spindle taper real bad. Still nobody hurt. (Not that I am disappointed I just wonder when his luck is going to run out) He still works here and as it happens he is my boss. Different guy, FNG, double cocky, was busy telling everybody how great he was, and that he had never, never, never crashed a machine, KABLAM!!!!, From his mouth to god’s ears he drove a 4” face mill straight down into the top of some 17-4 stainless before he could finish the sentence. He no longer works here.

Thanks all for your input, Here is what I ultimately did, I converted my library to text, and then created a library from text but I made sure to use a short file name. The previous file name was "STANDARD TOOLING" which was fairly long and it had a space in it. It never gave me any trouble in 9.0 but I think it might be the cause. I had tried converting to and from text before when perfecseal mankato suggested it but I didn't change the filename other than to add a "2" to it to keep from overwriting the original. Now I named it STDTOOLS and it comes up in about 10 seconds or less. Thanks for all the help, Clayton

Here is a twist on this thing, not only does it take well over a minute to open the library, it also will not let me get some of the tools. Not all, just some of them. It replaces whatever I select with a .469 dia end mill. I don't get it but I sure hope they fix it soon. Thanks Clayton

You get the big bucks because they send you to law school before you ever touch a machine that makes guns. If they don't make a lawyer out of you, you will not have developed the vocabulary and thought processes that allow you to understand ATF regs. Without the degree these regs will confound confuse and irritate you on a daily basis.