As I mentioned in my first post here, I had messed around with the comment field on the tool parameter page and changing my header to read *progno, comment, e. This gave me the information where I wanted it but I didn't know if this was a bad place to get the output from. At least I don't have to answer prompts too many times. Maybe I'll just wait for v9.1. Phil

Chris, I agree prompting can be a pain. I will try Rekd's method and if it is too much trouble I will just turn the Mi# off. If you don't mind, Please send the email. Thanks, Phil [ 05-14-2003, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: PhilCott ]

Rekd, I am looking forward to 9.1 but it has still not arrived here yet. I was looking at what you put up for a solution to my question and I appreciate the jesture of letting out your trade secret. I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Thanks Phil Thanks as well for all the responses

Hi, I would like to be able to put some information in my programs to define the part being made. Here is a sample of my (edited) header. % :0237 (AMS SV TRANSDUCER BODY,TRIANGLE,Z7B923M3) G0 G18 G20 G40 G99 M46 G50 S3000 ... What would I us to put the bracketed information in? Is there a field already in Mastercam that I am too blind to see that will allow me to type in these comments? I was messing around in the post(mplfan) with PROGRAM NAME - ", progname, " but was unsure what Mastercam uses to pick the progname. I thought also about using the comment field on the tool parameter page but thought I should check with the collective first. Thanks, Phil v9sp1

Rick had it just about right. Pretty good from memory. Look on the thread cut parameters page. You can put in the number of starts in the box in the upper right hand corner. You can not use this if the nc format(upper left corner) is set to "canned". Good luck, Phil

Rich, quote: Hello (I'm new) - HELP! Brace yourself. Read the faq at the top. Contact your dealer. That is the best place to start. Phil By the way, nice plane [ 05-08-2003, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: PhilCott ]

Hi, I have never had a need to cut a variable pitch thread and can't really think of what it's function would be. Would it be used for something other than fastening two parts together? Is it used so the thread will tighten up on itself? "dazed and confused" Phil [ 05-07-2003, 05:17 PM: Message edited by: PhilCott ]

Thanks Andrew, Guess I was thing in two dimensions. Or just had a brain fart. Phil

I am not saying let go of the memory of all the people involved in 9/11. I am only saying that we have already walked down this road (thread) lashing out at everyone we possibly can. Phil

Let it go already! Phil

Hi all, I have created a round solid blank. I want to extrude flats for the hex. I drew a rectangle and extruded this through the part in both directions and got one of the six flats I need. Is there a way to rotate the extruded flat or do I need to rotate the rectangle and extrude them individually? Thanks Phil v9sp1

Jack, Here is an offshore recipe I like. My mouth starts to water just reading it over. Chicken Curry (Gaeng Gari Gai) Makes 2 servings Ingredients 12 oz. Sliced Chicken Breast 1 16 oz. can of coconut milk 12 oz. Water or Chicken Stock 2 tablespoons ground Peanuts 1 tablespoon sugar (optional) Fish Sauce to taste (or a dash of salt to taste) 4 - 5 Thai Basil Leafs 2 oz. Yellow Curry Paste 1/2 teaspoon ground Red Chili (add to taste only)! Technique: Start heating a sauteed pan over medium heat. Open the can of coconut milk, being careful not to shake it. Scoop some of the cream off the top and heat with curry paste until you see the oil starting to separate from the coconut milk. Add the sugar, Chicken, water or stock, and the rest of the coconut milk and mix together. When the Chicken is almost finished, add the Fish Sauce, Peanuts, Basil, Red Chili and Bell Peppers. Let simmer for 10 minutes and serve. note: You may substitute with Coconut Milk Concentrate for the canned Coconut Milk and the Dry Chili with Fresh Chilies. The Dry Chili seems to add more of a roasted nutty flavor. Green Curry Paste 1 ts Cumin seeds 1 ts Coriander seeds 6 Fresh green chilies, Chopped 1 tb Chopped lemon grass 1 ts Chopped coriander root 1 tb Chopped shallots 1 tb Chopped garlic 1 ts Chopped galangal 7 Peppercorns 1 ts Salt 1 ts Shrimp paste Directions: This is easy to make. Make lots and freeze it for future use. If you're not a fan of pounding you can use a food processor. Just don't overdo the processing. Green Curry Paste (Nam Prik Kaeng Khiew Wah) Place the cumin and coriander seeds in a pan, without adding any oil. Dry-fry them, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until they are aromatic and slightly browned. Pound them with the remaining ingredients to produce a fine paste. Thanks to Lawrence Wheeler for this recipe. Phil

Chris, It kind of reminds me of Scotty's transparent aluminum in the Star Trek movie(voyage home??). Guess it could be called ferrous aluminum. Phil

Art, Looking at the part brings another question to mind. Are you milling the hex before turning the taper and thread dia? If not, you should as you will have more support for the hex. Is it just me or is the part in the photo some strange new ultra-secret aluminized 4130 material?? . Phil PS as others have said, climb mill and rolling around the corners are both very good ideas. Also slow down RPM

Art, Chatter can certainly be a problem milling a hex in 4130 due to the amount of surface contact. Go back to the basics. Reduce tool overhang, stub up the part as much as possible, make sure all bolts are snug, use one tool to rough and another to finish the hex. Another process I have had success with is to finish with a cutter mounted perpendicular to the hex, call up the individual flats and machine in the "z" minus direction. The limitation of this is that you can't machine up to a shoulder due to the radial sweep of the cutters diameter. Phil

Hi Art, I will guess you are bringing a tool in parallel to the "z" axis and then walking around the circumference to cut the hex. I have to also guess on the kind of tool marks you are getting. (try to post a bit more detail in the future to reduce the amount of guessing) If the mark you get is a line in the middle of the flat it is mostly caused by machine backlash. The hex is cut by the tool moving in the "x" minus direction to the middle of the flat then changing direction to feed back out to the corner of the hex. If this is your problem make sure you do a rough and then finish cut and also try to adjust your backlash for the "x" axis. hope this helps, Phil

James, quote: Being of French Ancestry, gives me license to criticize it's Government(s) ideals, Not to stir the $#!t pot but I don't understand your reasoning with this statement. In some of the previous "heated" topics I seem to recall a number of "people of American ancestry" having their patriotism challenged when they used their "license to criticize" to air their views of their governments actions. I have heard many people say I'm "fill in the blank" so it's ok if I tell "fill in the blank" jokes. Generalized statements can often hurt large numbers of people. What happened at that hockey game was shameful but if you ever have a chance to go to Quebec you will see there are around 8,000,000 people living there. Most of which were not at that game. Phil

Saw this on a "t" shirt but thought it could be made into a bumper sticker. "If it's called tourist season, why can't we shoot them?" Phil

Trevor, I had a look at the extended version. looks great. Must be fun seeing it live. thanks phil

Hi Trevor, I viewed the video but it was jumpy and not smooth. Is it suposed to run smooth? For example I see the cutter on one side of the neck then the next view it is on the back side and I never saw it machine around the end. Phil

CP... quote: their "cheap" line of semi hand mades Nothing is cheap from Martin. Less expensive is the term. I was trying some of them out yesterday as well as some Taylor and Larravee guitars. I am in the market for a new instrument. Phil PS Trevor any word from Bob?? [ 04-23-2003, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: PhilCott ]

Thanks for your responses. We will pursue some tooling. Phil

Hi, I'm trying to find one of the spot facing tools that close up when spun in one direction and opens up to cut when turning in the other direction. Do you know any brand names of one that works well?? Thanks, Phil

Had a week of training in gig harbour when I first had the software. Spent a bit that week helping other students along. Some didn't even know how to save a file (huge frustration). Took 1 week od advanced lathe training at the home of emastercam in Cambridge Ont. All this helped to get me started but the real training is from using the software every day and staying evenings to try new things. Many of which I learn here. Phil

Peter, Thanks for the information. The reversing chain did exactly as I wanted. I had thought I could do this by performing a "reverse toolpath". In operation manager right clicking on an operation will open a window, go to options then down to reverse toolpath. I tried to do it this way but nothing seemed to happen. Any thoughts on this. Should this not also reverse the direction my tool travels? Phil