For at least 5 years, the battery in the VQC 15/40 was very low and would cause the internal floppy to read when I turned on the machine. This takes about 3 minuets as I am sure that others would also agree. The sealed motorcycle type battery on the left inside door was the culprit. I was told that the replacement would cost 200US and therefore opted to replace this with a new tractor battery. It’s huge but does the trick. It fits nicely in the cabinet and not the door. Regards, Jack

+1 CAM Regards, Jack

The form tap will require a larger tap drill. Please consult Machinery's handbook for the exact size. Sometimes the correct size is stated on the tap as well. Fear not - just blow it off right to .03" of the drill shoulder - piece of cake, don't ya know! Regards, Jack

Hey motodog, Loose the floating tap holder - you'll be glad that you did. Just lock it up with a collet and call it a day. Regards, Jack

Here's Brucie Couldn't help myself here since it's my grandsons favorite as well as mine - I'm teaching him to sing along the closing song as well...Somewhere beyond the sea, waiting for me... Regards, Jack

The one I want to buy, but it's still unavailable http://pctorque.com/9860.php Regards, Jack

quote: Send it back and demand the right material. Excellent advice, otherwise be prepared to expense four times the tooling cost and four times the machining quote. Regards, Jack

quote: Most excellent!!! You gents have a good weekend!! Reminds me of Bill & Ted's excellent adventure. Insert air-guitar here. Regards, Jack

Your topic reminds me of when I was hired at an aerospace shop in Mississauga Ontario many years ago. The owner walks out into the shop on my first day and proceeds to tear a strip off the shop supervisor and says”so where in the hell is this guy that walks on water” he looks at me, sneers, and walked away. Apparently I was hired for about $6 more per hour than their most senior man – it still makes me laugh today. Good luck Ron. Regards, Jack

quote: They are equally important and deserve lots of respect. Awk Regards, Jack

quote: Roll Dies for Pepperidge Farms Goldfish (The Yummy little crackers) That is so cool - my grandson loves those. Regards, Jack

I machined the tray molds for Tim Horton's take out coffee; also machined the hanger molds for horticultural plant holders - it's so neat to see your work when walking around at gardening centers. Regards, Jack

quote: So do I anneal first? or rough first?I would anneal first although the stress imparted through workpiece clamping will likely present the biggest challenge. You're sort of in between a rock and a hard place with this task. Regards, Jack

Try cutting mill.cfg and pasting this to your desktop. Of course, you must not have Mastercam active while doing this. Then click on the Mastercam icon and see if it self configuers the missing file. Regards, Jack

phowell, Years ago I purchased a fast graphics card. The computer ran along OK for 10 minutes or so and then would hang or reboot just as yours seems to be doing. The fault was the graphics card - inconsistant fan speed which would go quickly then sputter out after a few minutes. Depending on what software I was running, determined how much life I was getting. To solve I swapped backed a cheap graphics card and drew upon the conclusion - this took days I might add. Another problem might be a warped motherboard that does not give complete and full contact. Try running without the case side covers and observe the fan - do not touch the graphics card when under power; I have fried both graphics and motherboards in the past. Constant self rebooting leads to immanent motherboard death, I have the keychain processors to prove this (from my younger days of overclocking) Regards, Jack

I re-read your post and I think you should check the leads going into the spindle itself, these might be loose, be touching on metal, or perhaps crossing. Check that all wire insulation is intact and not bare at any point. If this is occurring at the near home position then the wires might be bunching up and shorting. If there is a short there should be some carbon around the affected areas. Also check your leads going into the spindle controller itself – power down & lock out the breaker before attempting these inspections. Take care since the capacitors retain a charge even after being disconnected. A thermal overload would kick out the way that bimetal contacts work – this excess heat condition is within the motor itself and not something that sensors are usually attached. Regards, Jack

quote: For some reason, the spindle is cutting off at the bottom of the plunge. It has happened on different tool holders and different... I wonder if the spindle is overloading then tripping with a thermal protect somehow. It seems odd that the machine tool would continue processing as if the was no error present. This might even be a flaw in the control/manufacturer interface. Regards, Jack

I would tend to agree with Murlin on this but you need to keep in mind what the purpose of the runner really is – the collection of volume has little to do with final finish and more to do with the indirect since it gets trimmed off in the process for a remelt anyways. I also agree that there is more to this than meets the eye. Aluminum injection – don’t you just love it. I would shoot the runner in 2-D and taper with a 15 Deg draft mill myself, but it's really up to you. Regards, Jack

Reading between the lines on the furtherance of this topic, I would agree that the forum dynamics has changed somewhat in the last few months. Is this a good thing? It’s hard to say – but I believe that with your contribution, you get what you pay for. As of late there isn’t much happening by way of discontent politics or outrageous personal opinions but maybe I’m just getting old and tired; ten more months and I get to choose from the 50+ seniors menu at our local restaurant. Regards, Jack

George & Travis, Is it possible that this machine is using stepper motors instead of servo motors? The basic thought of closed loop and open loop or direct feedback comes to mind. I also had an issue with AH-HA controllers at one time and had to tweak the control in order to get a round interpolation (whether programmed in quadrants or full circle had no bearing on this). Regards, Jack

Agreed Rekd, perhaps this thread did get a little out of hand. I guess the Cheech and Chong story that I have been at all morning ain't gonna fly. Regards, Jack

What is the defined size of your cutter? If the cutter cannot enter an area because it's to big, then it quite simply will disregard otherwise there would be an overcut. This might explain why the tool is jumping over some of the letter features. I might suggest using a smaller cutter. Oh Yes, and welcome to the forum. P.S. - never make it brief in the hopes of not embarassing yourself; we have all learned things the same as you are so ask away because there are no really dumb questions. Regards, Jack

Working from a DXF would only allow the base sketch as imported geometry. From here he would need to transform and join the feature to establish a part thickness. Next involved would be surfacing all geometry. – Huge overkill. Really, all of this is unnecessary since the occurring machining does not require the dedication to make the picture pretty. As an owner I would only entertain this effort to impress a customer. Another method would to design it all in Mastercam, Inventor, or Solidworks and export as a Parasolid or an SAT. Basically, I ain’t after pretty and would prefer a quality workpiece and an accurate record of information. Besides, I believe this might even be an example from the install disk. Regards, Jack

quote: Hey Jimmy, Could you pick up a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread on the way home? Is it possible that we could have an Emastercam classic responses thread? That was awesome. Regards, Jack

Ron, That is such a cool response back - I can't help but wonder if you originated the thought or just relaying the information back - such an astounding comparison. Regards, Jack