+1000 to Charlie on the AB Tools - I have one of the 1-1/4 diameter tools and it really blows the chips out in a hogging operation. Only good for non-ferrous though and the inserts are a bit more costly (BTW - if you DO get one of these - they warn you about cutting yourself with the inserts - they MEAN it!!!). I use a Fadal 3016 at about 5500 RPM, DOC of .15, and feed of 100 IPM with only a 75% load. I found that a spiral conventional cut from the center was the quietest on my machine. It is fairly quiet (in comparison with a 1/2-inch MAFORD moving as fast as I can push it). Great tool for owners of low-power equipment (like me). I also needed to watch my setup on cuts - the stream of chips coming off blew the paint off of the doors on my mill - they also get into EVERYTHING in the machine. On top of the tool changer - in the tool changer - on top of everything in sight - they bounce off 2-3 walls sometimes inside the machine. My vintage of 3016 is open-topped - wasn't THAT fun! I now have an enclosed system (made up some 1/4 plex guards for the "roof" of the mill).

Someone needs to change the inserts on this threading die, they must be getting dull by now - DIE Thread, DIE! I rather prefer the Vegaroll taps myself (bright - uncoated) for aluminum, but I have had good use out of several other brands. Usually thousands of holes with full flood coolant at about a 10 to 12 percent mix. O.O just noticed - 500 posts!!!!!

CNMG Isn't that a Computer Numeric Milling Guy - who has no business near a turning center..... BTW +1 to Carl on the NIMS site - I have used some of their material before - along with a couple of "practical" tests.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we... "SMACK"...... I forgot to mention that MOST of the breakages on my roll taps in 6061 are either the first one in (because of a "dummy" move on my part)or after a long series of production (and I forgot to change out the tap for wear). I have lost a couple when the part moved (again traced back to a "dummy" move due to me).

Mine has arrived!!!!!

Quick and dirty area calc here. But I never try to hang onto a part with less than about 20 in Hg. If is less than this, I am looking for a leak somewhere..... I have an inexpensive automotive refrigeration vacuum pump that I use, coupled with an 11-gallon Husky air tank that I use as a vacuum reservoir. I can typically run a couple of hours worth of parts before having to fire up the vacuum pump for a minute or two (fire it up at about 20 in Hg and shut it off at about 22 in Hg). I did figure out pretty quickly that I needed to cut "runners" in the surface of the fixture to better distribute the vacuum to all areas. I usually just use an 1/8 ball emill to make a few shallow cuts over to the vacuum hole from the farther areas of the fixture. A fixture typically only takes 4-5 minutes tops, including index shoulders, etc. for flat parts. A good bit longer for 3D parts - but as long as you don't damage them, they last almost forever (you do have to replace the gasketing every now and then).

ABSOLUTELY don't run it dry!!!!! I rigid-tap roll-form all day (and night) at 1200 to 1600 rpm on the smaller taps in 6061 with flood coolant at about a 10% mix (Blasocut 2000SW). On an M8 tap I usually run about 1000 rpm. Use a hard collet (no floaters). The upper limit on my equipment is about 1800 rpm - at 1900 rpm it loses synch and "drills" the threads. After about 6-10 holes of "drilling" it - the tap gets partially left behind. I guess form taps arent really very good as reamers. Be aware, the "faster" you tap, the more "headspace" you need at the bottom of the hole to handle overshoot (I am talking about a Fadal here guys!!). For some reason, taps don't like to be smacked into the bottom of the drilled hole........ BTW - the first couple of holes with small taps still makes me cring waiting for that gut-wrenching little "pingggg-scritch".

+10,000,000 on the torque wrench. It is absolutely the only way to get repeatability between operators. I have even been guilty of starting the day by "torqueing" the vise handle pretty good and by the end on the day I am only hitting about half the force I started with. The torque wrench makes it a "no-brainer". 0.750 diameter is a bit small for a good vacuum hold IMO - especially when poking holes through it (reducing the vacuum surface area). I have gotten good results down to about 1-inch by 2-inch with holes near the edges. Smaller plates tended to walk up the drill bit and break the vacuum.

I have also used these Mitee-Bite products very successfully for large run production. They are a bit of a pain to set up (to much so for a short run) but they hold well and you can pack a lot of them in a small area. One bad part is that they are a little pricey. One good part is that they are great for fixturing a repeat job if you put them all on a base plate that you can index to your mill table. http://www.miteebite.com/

+1000 to bob - it does horrible things to your coolant.

GeForce FX5600 256M here with no problems. Driver Version : 6.14.10.6693 Bios Version : 4.31.20.39.00 Full acceleration with write combining 1024 x 768, full color Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.20GHz with 2 GB memory Windows XP Pro SP2, Version : 5.1.2600 Been running this for a good while now. HTH also

Sounds a bit like the problem I was having with the MPFADAL2 post for back-to-back tapping cycles. The second tap cycle would set the spindle speed and would drill rather than tap the hole. I finally went to the MPMASTER_FADAL.pst. You should be able to get the MPMASTER_FADAL.pst from your reseller. A lot better post, IMO.

Thanks for the link - definitely would have missed the opportunity.

Have to agree with you on the Mits cutters - it was like a 4-inch fire hose of silver chips blowing off the block - a veritable blizzard when it hit the inside walls of the mill. The Mits cutters I have use about 1/2 the spindle load that another companies' offering was using at the same speed and feed. I converted roughly 2400 pounds of 6061-T6 into chips with it and the inserts were barely showing some edge wear under magnification(these were the nice, shiny, dead-sharp inserts). I was pushing it hard enough that I had to add extra holddown clamps to the vise because it was moving.

Working today and tomorrow....with any luck I won't hose TOO many of the parts due out Monday.

quote: BTW, my seat isnt cracked but the casters are all wore out [Frown] I just bought a new seat because my old one WAS cracked - one of the caster legs broke off. The concrete floor wasn't very comfortable to sit on. Now I have a nice new seat that isn't cracked. Oh wait....Umm .... my MC seat is legit and not cracked in the least (well, except for occasionally tanking during a toolpath regen). With regard to posts: I have enjoyed and hated working on my Fadal post (MPMASTER_FADAL is the best starting point yet!!!) and would be happy to pass it on to another user - through their dealer. I paid for my MC seat out of MY pocket and it DOES bug me that someone steals MC to compete with me.

I occasionally have th same thing happen to me - same error - the whole works. I also did a clean install and updates. It seems to be random and has happened in a variety of circumstances (no other programs, other programs running, etc.). I have never had two sessions of MC running. The only common factor when it crashes is regenerating a tool path (sometimes a new one, sometimes regenerating one that I modified). I don't have the logs - I will save them next time (I just did a full system rebuild, starting with a low-level format). I now SAVE very frequently and shortened the auto-save interval - it is annoying when you have done several toolpaths, haven't saved, and .......crash....

Interesting... I am still running the same configuration and have had zero trouble even with some very large tool paths (multi-days runtimes).

I think I am jealous Thad - ONLY a 16-page report! I WISH! It has to be at least a REAM of paper....to be "properly" done. BTW - I also had one of the "knock-off" Kurt replica vises with this problem. Turned out to be that the seat for the fixed jaw was slighly domed and it would rock back under clamping pressure. I got rid of that hummer and went back to a real Kurt.

You probably should talk to your reseller about a copy of MPMASTER_FADAL.PST. It really works very nicely for the Fadal machines.

Thanks, Roger. It seems to only be used if the wcstype=1 and outputs a G92 move to the supplied xh, yh, zh position. Since I am running a wcstype=2 (E1, E2, E3....) setup, it won't ever post a move using the Home Position. Makes sense now! THANKS!

quote: Ever try setting magnets around the part your cutting and getting the "needles" stuck there instead ? just a thought... Great Idea! I tried it this morning and it really worked pretty good - stuck some disc-type ceramic magnets along the toolpath and I think it grabbed most of the "needles". Pulling the magnets off was fun though - miniature porcupines. Wish it worked for stainless.

I am using a multi-face toolpath on an x-axis oriented rotary with the MPMASTER_FADAL.pst on a vertical Fadal. I wished to set up a "safe" toolchange position since the part is taller in two of the positions than some of my tools (at the toolchange Z-height). After reading up on the Home Position and Reference Postion buttons - I ended up using the Reference Position, since it outputs the expected code. My questions deal with the Home Position button on the Tool Parameters Tab. This button does not appear to "ship" anything to the post (Reference Positon does ship data in the expected way). I would have expected the Home Position to work exactly like the Reference Position - except that it would use only one point. Questions: 1. Does the Home Position button "connect" at all to the MPMASTER_FADAL.pst? (I have not been able to see any code output changes at all) 2. What are the variables in use by the Home Position button for a post that does use it? 3. Why do the two buttons exist if the Reference Position button would serve for both functions? [ 11-02-2004, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: MetalMarvels ]

I realize that you probably already tried this - but what about a wood-type drill. The kind that is a brad-point that cuts at the diameter of the drill before it cuts the main body of the hole. I have successfully used them in formica-covered chip board with little or no tear-out on the back side. However, I have only found them in HSS at local sources and the "wings" at the tip do tend to wear fast. They do give a good clean hole. DON"T get one from your local hardware store or lumber yard - they aren't worth the money. You need a quality one from your tool supplier. M.A.Ford has one that works well - P/N 20718750 - it is a carbide tool (listed as a brad and spur composite drill).

Always the center of rotation here.