Hello guys,

I have just uploaded a latest release of HSMAdvisor v0.801.

In this update i only added a few calculators to the new Reference Tab.

Lets review all those calculators here.
And since i last time got repremended by mr rlockwood for making my post too long and dry, i will spice it up with a ton of pictures and even a download link. BTW you can download the updated version over here http://hsmadvisor.com/index.php?page=Download

There are 3 new calculators.

Those are:

• Scientific Calc -a child of my labor over this weekend.
  The standard Windows calc was driving me crazy with its small buttons, so i whipped up this one. Maybe later i will make it a separate pop-up window or something
• Drll Point Calc - a handy tool that allows to calculate depth required to make a countersink of set angle, and tip flat size
• Partial Bolt Hole Calc- allows to find location of equally spaced holes laying on an ark. 

Here is a full list of calculators available at this point in the Reference Tab:

Scientific Calculator

Bolt Hole

Bolt Line

Drill/Countersink Point Calculator

I plan to keep adding more and more new calculators and features and improving existing ones.

Should you have any suggestions, please let me know.

I think it is time to reflect on latest changes to our HSMAdvisor and look at survey results.

Thanks to your input I was able to make changes that I believe addressed some of the issues you guys were having.

You can download and try HSMAdvisor for 30 more days here http://hsmadvisor.com/index.php?page=Download

This update resets your trial counter back to "30 days left", so if your old trial expired, you can use it for one month more.

First of all, I put all of the available overrides on plain sight. Now you do not need to expand a panel to access speed/feed overrides.

I also added cutting speed and chipload to the collapsed view.

Machine Panel now has  Max RPM on collapsed view.

Gages panel now is not expandable and has  deflection and torque limit on plain sight.

Warnings panel now displays cutting info and warnings boxes with scrollbars only when it is expanded.

All of the known font and screen resolution problems have been fixed.

Now lets analize the survey results.

It seems like most of you guys, liked the way the old UI worked.

But many wanted to see even more information on the screen.

It is obvious that the old interface was not scalable and it was impossible to accomodate any more information on the screen.

I believe the new UI addresses that problem by showing more relevant information at the same time than the inks one.

Secondly. It seems like the new UI has a pretty steep learning curve for the old users. While old UI rated got "good" average on almost all of the questions, the new UI while rating slightly above on visual appeal, rated below average on ease of understanding where information is located and how it got there.

I believe I tackled this problem by bringing more controls to the collapsed view.

Basically as it stands now, only controls that are hidden are rarely used anyways......

Most importantly while most people disliked the new UI, majority seemed to like the direction the new interface is heading. Possibly you see how this new framework will allow me to add even more features, without ever being short on screen real estate.

The last point Is very important. The reaction in the beginning was so lukeworm, that I was seriously considering rolling back to the old UI. Over 90% positive on the last survey question tells me you are not only confident I will make it work, but that I will make it work better than ever before.

That is all I had to say. Thank you for feedback and support!

Also thank you for letting the word out about my software and the sales I am having.

If you have any input on this, do not be shy and tell me your thoughts. 

Plugins Tab now has functionality to Download and Save webpages to your computer, so they are always available offline.

There is now an address bar on the bottom of the screen.
If you enter URL address and click go, you can load website in a new tab.

You can save it as one page by right-clicking on corresponding tab and selecting "Save Page on Disk":

Alternatively you can save your webpage in ".mht" format using Internet Explorer into HSMAdvisor\plugins\ folder.

Next time you launch HSMAdvisor, your saved web page will show up in Plugins Tab.

This is where all plugins are saved:

You can use *.HTML, *.HTM, *.MHT and *.TXT files.

If you have any Microsoft Word documents you would like to keep there as well, you can save them "As Web Page" and copy to the plugins folder.

This update resets trial counter back to "30 days left"!

New Things:

• New Reference Tab
  I am starting to port geometry calculators found in FSWizard:Mobile app to HSMAdvisor.
  You will be able to find them in ths tab. For now i have added 3 calculators: True Position, Bolt Line and Bolt Hole
• Ability to Download and save ALMOST any web page as a plugin.

Improved Things:

• Improved Scaling and layout when using larger Windows Font Size and lager App Font size.
• Changed position of several controls withing the app to improve usability.

Now lets look closer what has changed....

New Reference Tab will have all the handy calculators found in FSWizard:Mobile

For now i only had time to add 3 of them: True Position, Bolt Hole and Bolt Line Calculators.
Eventually i will add remaining ones as well.

This is how it looks now:

Also Plugins Tab now has functionality so Download and Save webpages to your computer, so they are always available offline.

There is now an address bar on the bottom of the screen

If you enter URL address and click go, you can load website in a new tab.

You can save it as one page by right-clicking on corresponding tab and selecting "Save Page on Disk"

Alternatively you can save your webpage in ".mht" format using Internet Explorer into HSMAdvisor\plugins\ folder.

Next time you launch HSMAdvisor, your saved web page will show up in Plugins Tab.

Just wanted to let everybody know that the current sale will run until the end of April.

I also wanted to ask everybody again to participate in the survey posted earlier and help decide the major direction the software needs to be moving.

Edit: I have received very valuable feedback so far.

Please fillup the survey if you did not already.

So far reaction to the new user interface has been somewhat mixed.

Those who like it, i guess keep quiet, and those who don't are voicing their discontent :)

I guess i need everyones feedback on this.

Please fill up following survey, so i can get a clearer picture of what i should be doing.

Here is a link to the survey on SurveyMonkey Website https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HN75QGC

New User Interface Old User Interface

Up to now people who wanted to use HSMAdvisor Speed and Feed Calculator on their Windows 8 machines had to install .Net Framework 2.0

I have decided from this point on to supply HSMAdvisor in both .Net versions.

As much as i would like to move completely to 4.0, too many people still run archaic versions of .NET framework.

I also fixed quite a few other things in this update.
So, if something looked wird before, it now should be fixed.

Edit: I have added a fix for metric taps in version 0.777

Happy Good Friday and a Happy Easter!

It has been over one month since the last sale. And i would like to kick this one off by releasing the latest improved version of HSMAdvisor.

Starting Today all HSMAdvisor licenses are on 25% discount!

Well, i actually released it a day ago. Just could not hold it to my self and wanted to share it with all the customers who are anxiously awaiting for something new!

As i mentioned before, in this update i completely redesigned the Speed and Feed Calculator's interface.

Typical workflow would consist of filling up all available information top- to bottom.

The most important input fields are now located on horizontal panels.

Each panel has a name and carries a certain set of data:

But wait, there is more!

Most panels can now also expand revealing all the secondary less important fields that you can use for fine-tuning your calculations:

Again starting NOW you can get any HSMAdvisor license at 25$ discount

I have received a lot of praise and thanks for the easy to navigate interface in FSWizard:Mobile calculator.

Those collapsable accordion-style sections that carry some information in header portion come in really handy when having to put so much information on one small screen on your Android or Apple device.

Lately I felt the need to do something like that for HSMAdvisor as well. It has been over two ears since I came up with that design. And since then massive amount of features I believe overloaded the visual part of it.

It seemed very crowded and busy looking.

So, knowing that collapsable accordion panels do work, i moved all UI elements into them.

This has somewhat changed the percieved workflow of the program and at a later time I will release a series of videos showing off major hints on how to use my tool efficiently and achive best results.

For now please download the latest update. Take it for a spin and tell me what you think.

My email and forums are always open for questions and suggestions

Happy April Fool's day!

Seriously though, i have just published another update.

This update adds a floating Speed and Feed mini-window that stays on top and displays most relevant information to help users with populating S&F values on their CAM software.

To show/Hide this window, click the red-and-white "Float" button in the status bar.

Upon right mouse click on the floating window you can choose what kind of information you would like to display in there.

Also one bug was fixed where when no machine was selected from the drop-down list, deflection and torque limits were not firing for milling and drilling tools.

But wait! There is more!

I will not open all my cards, but right now i am working on a massive update to HSMAdvisor's Tool Database.
Keep tuned in.