To be honest, I did not know that there was a funktion in mastercam called Hide, but sinds I love you Chooks Bryan I had to try it. Now I could see if you are working with huge files that the hide funktion could be cold, but normaly I (smaller files) creat different levels. If someone could give me a reason using the Hide funktion on smaller files, please help me. Back to the Chook, it takes 10 seceond to redraw the image that I want to keep when using the CHook, were the image I want to hide pop rights up.would be faster just having as a differnt level. I am not complaning , just giving my testing result. Thanks Lars Mcam Version 8.1.1

Millman, I agree I would never buy "non brand" cutters from ebay. From what I understand you are runing some very complex parts, with alot of time into them, then I would also run with a "good quality" cutter. Sadly my runs are not long what makes it hard for me to do real good tests, but I ran my "non brand" 1/2 cutter in 420 SS with 1140rpms 6.8ipm .094 doc with about 1/4 radial. My counter on the Haas said the tool ran for 1 1/2 hour, and it ran fine (23% spindel load). Lars

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL I love this country Lars

biss03, hope he is ok. Last night a operator came to me, the robodrill he works on would not make a pallet changes. The door would open and it would throw the pallet out, but not posision over and grab the other pallet, I spend 15 min indside the machine cleaning chips out, thinking it was the door switch there was jammed. On the way out I realise that the spindel is turning with 6000rpm holding a 1/2 endmill 2 inches from my head. I hate when the operatores puts rubber bands on the door switch Lars

Peter, I hope you are going to be ok, would hate to loose you help and comments on this forum Jack, I found a old piece of chesse in the refrigioater, that I will bring to work today, stinky stinky stinky Gary, LOL, no I actelly work a place were managment listens when you speak. When they came and asked if we would prep our onwn blocks (because me and my co-worker, always was bitching) it was a deal-breaker that we could have our own tooling draw. So far I have not had any problems when requested tooling, and production loves it, they can always come and borrow. Guy's I verly apreciate your response, I owe you a round. I think I will put my "Non brand endmill" to the test tonight in some 420 SS. Thanks Lars

Hi guy's -------------------------------------- Where'd you get them, Ebay? -------------------------------------- LOL, no I think some sales guy stopped by the front office. I have never had a problem trying something new, and if it is cheaper, hey we are trying to run a buisness here, right? If you take a look at our shelf were we stock spools of wire, you will find all kinds of brand names. Now when it comes to wire, there is onely like 5 places around the world they makes wire, then they just put different labels on, but we are actelly running with a low brand wire on our wires, and it is doing a better job than the recomended wire from Mitsubishi. Now milling is so new to me, and I am not milling full time, so it is alittle harder for me to make a statement. I am milling D2, 420SS, A2 so I have a feling these endmills might not last long. Our production in the other hand are running alot of aluminum and plastic. Thanks for the response I will talk our production manager into try some HSS endmill next time we are running plastic, I asume they got to be cheaper. Thanks Lars

Yesterday I got a pair of "non brand" endmills in my hand, with the comment, "These endmill was cheap, and they cant be that bad, it sayes they are 100% Made in the US". I think that I have heard that there is very strict rules about working with carbide (grinding) in the US. So the companyes get the endmills from over seaes because it is a better grade of carbide. Am I right???. And a side note: I have also heard that when milling in plastic or aluminium you should use HSS endmills because they actully have a sharper edge. Am I right again???. Any response would be highly appreciatet. Thanks Lars.

Hi Toolfab, Put Lucky 1st on your list. The shop I work in, do not have a sinker good enough for this job. However I can go over to a body of mine, and use his if needed. It is not a problem doing the pockets in the EDM. Did you do the helix on a 5 axis mill? If things do not work out, let me know. I am still corius about the twisting carbide. Lars

Never heard of twisting carbide, how accurate can you do that? Lars

I might be way out of my league, but to me the pocketes do not look that tough to CNC EDM, I would make a electrode with one pocket and having the part indexing around. Are we talking onely one part? What is the tolerances? I once had a crazy part that I could not machine, it ended up that we contacted Uddenholm and they molded the part for us right from the factory, that could might be a way to get the helix shape, and then WEDM the center, and EDM the pockets. Lars

Well normely it is not a big deal with the snow here in upstate NY. But yesterday on the way in to work I made a 180 deg. in the car, with 60 mph. because of hight wind and drifting snow, ended up into somebody's front lawn. lucky no one was hurt, and I got the car out. Came home last night and got stuck in my own driveway because of 2 feet of drifting snow. Got up this morning, got the blower and startet cleaning out the driveway, so my son could go and get a valentine present for his girlfriend, now the belt on the blower bustet, so now it is out with the showel, so I can get to my John Deere dealer and get a new belt. There goes the plan if fixing the hot water line to my bathroom that bustet last weekend because the pipe froze and flodded my basement. Sorry just hat to went.

congratolations Scott

I am to slow

You can also "right click" on you countur in the operation manager, then ajust point, pick a corner and it will popup with a box that give you a option to change the feedrate + some other good stuff. Lars

gilsu, It sounds like your offsets are good for 0.3 dia wire (0.012 inch). Like Murlin said it sounds like your cutter comp. is screwed up. In mastercam: Do you have cutter comp. activated in control and in machine??. so you actully are double your cutter comp.? I always use cutter comp in machine, in that way my code is norminal. Ultrasonic Cleaner is a nice little cleaning device there is great to clean you guides with. Your dealer should be able to give you some priceing on one of those. Lars

Murlin, So your electrodes are within .0001, and on a new machine you should have movement within .0001, and your spark should be controled within .0001, so you should be able so get within .0003. Now on the wire, they are talking linear geometry accuratsi. so each line segments is with in .0001, and as soon you are putting that wire in a taper cut, your repeatet accurasi just went bananas. Lars

Murlin, How many electrodes did you have?? When you are taking tolerances on the wire within .0001, you are talking "ABOUT!!" 5 passes. 1st pass will be within .003-.001 of geometry accuratsi. So go on a sinker and burn til your part is within .003-.001 and then have 4 brand new electrodes and burn with gradili lighter power settings as you go thru your 4 (trim) electrodes. Electrodes cost alot of money to make, at last place I worked, it took me 2 years to convince them that you can not have a rule that there is 3 electrodes for every job, no matter what the job is. Lars [ 01-15-2004, 02:20 AM: Message edited by: Lars ]

I got the "Premature Z touch detected" alarm to go away. The manuael for the probe said that "Invert Skip" should be set at 1 on the Haas control, seems like changing that one back to 0 took care of that problem. But I still cant figure out how to set up tools in this machine with this Marposs probe installed. Lars

Hi Millman, That is how I normally would do it. But when I tryed that, onely me reaction time saved a crash. So now I am trying using this probe thing, that tells me to go G65 P9019 H05 in the MDI-page. And it keeps giving me the above alarm. Lars

Hi guy's, Stuck here at work with a hot job. And the onley open mill is our VF-3 with a tool probe. No one here including me know how to set up and measure the tool length, so with the manual in my hand I have been trying like crazy for the last 2 hours. Now I get a "Premature Z touch detected" alarm, and I can not get rit of it. Can anyone give me the basic instructions for touch off on this device. I have not been appel to find any model number, onely thing I know is the manual is from 1996 and the macro program is activated with G65 P9019 Thanks Lars

Hi Gilsu, 1) Make and model? 2)What are you trying to do? straight cut,taper cut, angular start up, trying to cut special types of steels.??????? Most manufacteres have some kind of training classes for "new" edm people, it is worth sending a person to school for a week, if no one in the shop have any edm eksperience. Lars

Hi guy's I finally got the steel trow the mill, and it came out perfect, thanks to your help Thanks again Lars

arhhhhh christmas shopping, knew I had forgot something I am starting today Lars

I have more than once told a Boss that I would not be running a job before I had cleaned and done maintance on a machine, told them that I am trying to be as profesional as I can be, and that he never would see Mario Andretti start a race without having a clean race car, and made sure that there was oil in the motor. Lars

You guys are unbelievble, I am so greatfull for all your help. And Iskander you are my hero, to take the time you do, sitting down and posting this file to ftp + your dirty tricks....wow. I hope that I get some time at work tommorow to play around with the real geometry, thanks again you guys are the best. Thanks Lars