Thx Ezra. Downloading mine now. Mike, We use our STEP translator all the time and have had no problems.

I do some nylon prototype parts now and again and yes it is difficult to work with. I've found that a SHARP end mill goes a long way toward minimizing burrs, but it's almost impossible to completely avoid them. Most of what I do is 1 or 2 piece prototypes, so I don't need to worry about time spent deburring each part. I usually use an X-acto knife with a new blade and just very carefully drag the blade along each edge which usually peels the burr right off. I also have a whirly-knife deburring tool which also works quite well with a new blade. I also sometimes do as Greg and Tom suggest with a sharp countersink when a small chamfer is permissable on the part. No matter what you use, SHARPNESS is the key.

I would use Psycho's method and clamp it down resting on 1/2" dowel pins in the grooves. Like Roger says, this will be the most rigid setup you'll get. If you do use the sine bar, it shouldn't matter where you place it as long as your jig plate is parallel to the sine bar.

Psychomill! Jim teh LOVES teh 'quick & dirty' methods!!

I think you need a .131 pin. The calculation is the sine of the angle x the length of the sine bar, so the .022 pin would work if the sine bar were only 1" long. In your case 1.25 sin = .0218 x 6 = .1308 edit: Sorry...I haven't done this in a while either so I could be mistaken. One more thing... The length of the sine bar is measured center to center between the two round drums, so your bar may be 6" overall but actually is a 5" sine bar. If that is the case, you need a .109 pin.

Welcome to the forum mpotim! Try: Start> Settings> Control Panel> Mouse> Pointers> Scheme> (Dropdown menu) None or Windows Default is probably the best setting. HTH

camman36, There are lots of threads here you can search about MC and video card interface problems. Like Brad suggests, get the latest driver from the mfg first as that may be the quick fix. Gcode may also be correct that win 98 may no longer support MC, but I'm thinking vid card. MC runs best on almost exclusively nvidia cards so you probably should upgrade that driver and see what happens. HTH

Welcome to the forum, Chuck! I'm not 100% sure about the Yasnac control. If the machine has an RS232 port you should be able to communicate directly from your PC to the control w/o the interface device. But I could be mistaken... Chances are pretty good that someone here in the forum knows exacttly what you need.

Love the siggy, Rick!

If you have internet access, a good intro to machining titanium can be found here. Here are some general rules: quote: Although the basic machining properties of titanium metal cannot be altered significantly, their effects can be greatly minimized by decreasing temperatures generated at the tool face and cutting edge. Economical production techniques have been developed through application of these basic rules in machining titanium: Use low cutting speeds. Tool tip temperatures are affected more by cutting speed than by any other single variable. A change from 6 to 46 meters per min (20 to 150 sfm) with carbide tools results in a temperature change from 427ºC to 927ºC (800ºF to 1700ºF). Maintain high feed rates. Temperature is not affected by feed rate so much as by speed, and the highest feed rates consistent with good machining practice should be used. A change from 0.05 to 0.51 mm (0.002 in. to 0.020 in.) per revolution results in a temperature increase of only 149ºC (300ºF). Use generous amounts of cutting fluid. Coolant carries away heat, washes away chips, and reduces cutting forces. Use sharp tools and replace them at the first sign of wear, or as determined by production/cost considerations. Tool wear is not linear when cutting titanium. Complete tool failure occurs rather quickly after small initial amount of wear takes place. Never stop feeding while a tool and a workpiece are in moving contact. Permitting a tool to dwell in moving contact causes work hardening and promotes smearing, galling, seizing, and total tool breakdown. More detail along with some speed / feed tables can be found on the link above. HTH

quote: What I am trying to say here is let’s forgive and forget so long as this sort of thing does not present itself again. +1,000 Jack! No sense beating a dead horse.

quote: Something has been bothering me for the last few days Jim (...facetious...) Hey, Mark...No problem, bro!! I learned a long time ago that when we carry grudges, they get heavy after a while. Ours was just a very mild misunderstanding that was mostly my bad. As far as I'm concerned it's water under the bridge. I hope techschool student is getting the picture here...

Welcome Ketil! You've come to the right place for help! Techschool student...not cool dude. This forum is worldwide and some members have English as a second, third, or even fourth language. We usually overlook spelling and grammar as long as the point gets across. If not we nicely ask them to clarify. Getting yourself on Bullines' ****list after 4 posts is not cool either! I think an apology to Ketil would be a good start...

Finish radial would be my choice too.

I have a sine rotary table that would be perfect for this part, but if you don't have one of those... If you make it from round stock (assuming you do and you have a lathe big enough to hold it) I would do this: -Set your piece of bar stock up on a Bridgeport either lying on its side or standing up and tilt the head to the correct angle. -Mill or fly cut the entire top surface. -Take it out of the bridgeport and chuck it in your lathe. -Turn the OD, bore the ID, part it off at the correct length. HTH P.S. If you don't have a sine rotary table or a big enough lathe you will need to be creative! edit: I went back and re-read. I thought you would make it on a manual machine, not CNC. Sorry! If making it on a cnc, a ball end mill is the way to go.

Welcome to the forum camman36! Methinks AFX (Animation Frames Extension?)and Rich Edit has something to do w/ loading drivers for your video card, but I'm not sure. There are a few computer gurus here on the forum who can probably offer a better explanation.

I'm with James on the simple drawing scenario. Just allow the applicant a few minutes to study a fairly simple part drawing, then verbally tell you step by step how he or she would approach the job. You'll learn much from this little exercise and possibly save yourself some interview time if the person doesn't have a clue! I would also delve into the 'team player' aspect since that is one of those important intangibles which may separate a good employee from a great employee. For example: "Would you have a problem if you were assigned to a project along with several other people, or do you prefer to work alone?" And then as a followup: "If one of the more experienced people were put in charge of that project, would you have any issues with doing what that person directs you to do?" The answers you get from these questions will tell much about a person's willingness to work closely with others without conflict. Lastly, it helps if they can make a decent pot of coffee!!

Welcome to the forum, Rameshkumar! Create>Line>Polar... Select one endpoint... Enter the angle (90 degrees or 270 for a vertical line depending on which direction you want it to extend from the start point.) Enter the desired length. That's it!

Chris, this topic was covered recently here.

+1 Bernie... Welcome to the forum, girocl. I agree w/ Bernie...your problem is more likely in the video card than the processor. I know people who run graphics intense games with Centrino processors and they handle them quite well as long as the video card is fast enough. Maybe if you told us the specs of your computer someone here could give you more specific advice? Have a nice weekend! BTW your English is better than some people I know who have English as their FIRST language!

quote: I use Highfeed on every job and I love it...+1,000 Murlin teh "Git-R-Dunnn" Thanks for this discussion guys. I really did learn something from y'all today!

Yep...you got it. Works like a charm. The Likewood takes the place of the material you removed with a solid resin that will match the exact shape of the part when you pour it in, and hold the part suspended in the block of material when it hardens so you can machine the bottom surface(s). You can apply it in or out of the machine, but I prefer in b/c sometimes the block of material will flex a bit when you release clamp pressure if you've removed a good amount of material. It takes about 20 min to 1/2 hr for the likewood to cure, then you can machine the top of your block of material to establish the reference plane then flip it over. Info on the Likewood is found here I use the #8007 which comes in 1 Gallon A and B kits and is great for holding most plastic and aluminum parts.

I run a simple and very small vacuum pump on my 5 axis for routing visors for flight helmets. Depending upon the visor blank itself and how well it seals to the fixture, we generally get about 20-22 in Hg on the gage. This is plenty of pressure b/c you can barely break the seal by pulling the visor off the fixture with your fingers. I have had some come loose during machining, but those were always at the lower end of sealing pressure, say around 14-15 in Hg. I don't know how to calculate it exactly, but I do know what works. I'd say anything around 20 or more should be good to go. Jim teh 500 posts!! WOOHOO!!!

The idea of leaving tabs is what I do most often when I need to fabricate a small thin part. As Iskander suggests, you can mill almost through leaving a few small tabs of material, snip the tabs away with cutting pliers, then deburr the edges. Works like a champ! Another method I often use for small parts is to use thicker material as suggested above in this thread. What I do is start with a sheet of material that is at least .12 thicker than my finished part and I lay out the parts in an array so I can put tooling holes wherever I want between the parts. I mill a .1 deep pocket that is wider than each part to start, then I mill / engrave / chamfer or whatever using the floor of the pocket as the top surface of the part. Then I fill the pocket in with a 2 part resin called "Like-Wood" which 'captures' the part in the sheet by replacing the removed material with the Like-Wood. (One caution here. Sometimes I use a coating of mold release on the part at this point depending upon the type of material being cut. This makes the later step of removing the Like-Wood much easier if it doesn't bond fast to the part itself.) I then skim cut the excess Like-Wood level with the top surface of the sheet, flip the sheet over, and pocket each part to the correct depth to form the bottom surface of each part. The Like-Wood holds the part in place as long as I don't try to hog too aggressively. Then I bandsaw the rest of the sheet away which gives me the individual parts, then I chip away the Like-Wood from each part with cutting pliers, deburr, and inspect. A time consuming process...but works every time!! Also a great method for small 3D parts when all other methods of holding them don't work. Jim teh been there done that many times!

Thanks for asking for input, Paul! I have a Fadal trunion type 5 axis attachment (which is actually a 4-1/2 axis) for which my company had a custom post written years ago. Even with the custom post, I still do alot of manual editing of my NC programs which I want to eliminate. I will most likely take the generic 5 axis post that comes with X and have someone customize it for my needs. I could probably do it myself, but it would take me forever to do and there would be no guarantee I would get what I want. Sometimes it's best just to let the pros do their thing and pay them for their finished product. If the generic 5 axis post is close to what I need and I only need to tweak it a bit, then I'll probably do that. It all depends on how close it is to what I need. Looking from the front, I mount the 5 axis attachment on the right side of the CNC table with the A axis rotating about Z and the B axis rotating about the Y. The A axis has full 360 capability, but the B has only 90 degerees positive (CCW) travel, and only 5 degrees negative (CW) travel. If one of the generic posts is close to this setup, that would be great.