This website has recently become a target of relentless spam attacks.
Some dumbasses (probably bots or worse Russian hackers) post unrelated messages and such. Possibly looking for exploits in the security system.

I pride my self in openness to any meaningful content and do not want to pre-moderate comments or make registration (with email verification) mandatory.
So I subscribed to https://www.abuseipdb.com free API service that checks user's IP address before allowing to post any comments.

If you by any chance are wrongfully denied access, just let me know and i will clear the block.

On my part i will ban and report spammers with extreme prejudice. Let's make internet spam free one IP at a time!

For webmasters here is plain PHP code i used to enable IP checking and reporting:

I have just uploaded the latest update to HSMAdvisor hook for MasterCam x9 and 2017.
This is a catch-up update to the latest HSMAdvisor improvements.

Additionally i promised few guys a tutorial on how to easily install the hook into MasterCam 2017

So here it is:

Please excuse my lack of artistic prowess.
Hey, You can be ANYTHING but you can not be EVERYTHING

And i am more of a technical guy who, perhaps, lacks the hypnotizing narrating skills of a salesman :)

What is new in this update:

• Improved Engraving and Chamfering speeds and feeds
• Improved Deflection calculation for High Feed Endmills
• Removed annoying "Ding" sound on ENTER key press
• Some minor bug fixes and cleanup.

There have been lots of new functionality in the program and i am going to release a video showcasing that soon.
Keep an eye out for it!

Best Regards.

What is new and improved in this update:

• Added Custom Speeds and Feeds Tables selection on the Speeds and Feeds page
  You can now quickly apply custom settings to all tools in one click
• Materials that have custom Speeds and Feeds specified for them are now highlighted with green color in the drop-down
• Redesigned Custom Speeds and Feeds module.
  It is now on a separate dialog and is accessible not only through Edit Tool Dialog, but also from Speeds and Feeds page by clicking on "Custom Tables" Edit button.
  Dialog now uses Result "in/mm" setting for displaying default units.
• Fixed error on adding a Tool Library from Database Actions drop-down
• Improved layout drawing and resizing speed.
• Improved cut balancing for End Mills

As usual the latest update can be downloaded over here: http://hsmadvisor.com/?page=HSMAdvisor

Check this out, guys.

Been working on this for the past couple of weeks:

New FSWizard Speeds and Feeds Calc will have not only modern improved design. But latest tools and materials.
Special attention is being paid to have it produce EXACTLY the same results as our HSMAdvisor desktop app.

It is not complete yet, but it is almost there - making it catch up to the latest HSMAdvisor code is a big job.

The new calculator will replace our online calculator as well.....

Yes, you heard that right! You will be able to run exactly the same FSWizard Speed and Feed calc on your mobile phone, desktop and even Windows Mobile.

Heck, it will even work on Mac!

Best of all, it will be published as an update to our existing apps, so our existing customers will not have to buy an upgrade, unlike what some other "Machinist Calculator" has done in the past.

I will keep you posted.

Cheers!

Hello everybody!

I have not made many blog posts here lately because i have been working a lot on new features and simply did not have much time for anything.
So I decided i'd make a little report on how we are doing and where the project is.

First things first.

I just released an update to HSMAdvisor v1.503

• Drilling tools now consider Shank Diameter when calculating maximum allowed torque on the tool.
  This will lead to more safety when using, say 1" tool with a 0.5" shank.
• Thread Milling tools have been immensely improved.
  Shank diameter is now included into the calculations.
  Default Length is now 2.5 diameters
  Improved suggested cutting speeds and feeds

Our Multiple Language Translation Program is chugging along nicely

Several people messaged me about intentions to build translations so far.

At this point we have people working on translations for the following languages:

• Croatian
• Serbian
• Portuguese
• Perhaps Polish (I see someone uploading translations, but the person have not contacted me about it)

Mobile FSWizard app is due for major improvements

Major visual re-design is under way and we are working on making FSWizard Mobile accessible on more devices in more ways.
It is going to be a fully fledged WEB app, that can be run on any internet-connected device. Even on a desktop.

Integration with HSMAdvisor Machine Profiles and Tool Libraries is also planned.

Perhaps we are going to drop native support for Google Play and iOS stores. I am sick of them charging us 30% for their services.

Every time we add a tenth to HSMAdvisor version number our users know we are up to something completely new and exciting!

Please welcome HSMAdvisor 1.5

Now with International Language support!

I know this feature might not be as interesting to our English-speaking users, but I believe it is a major milestone in maturity of any application.

I have been semi-secretly working on this feature for the past year or so.

Let me just quickly show you how to switch between languages

• Download and install HSMAdvisor 1.5 as usual
• Launch HSMAdvisor and go to Settings->General
• Find button called "Select Language" and click on it
• Simply select an available language from the list and click OK
• You will be offered to shut down HSMAdvisor as you can not right now apply the new language mid-flight.
• When you launch HSMAdvisor again, the language of the User Interface will be of that you have previously selected

If you do not find your native language in the list, do not get upset!
You can easily create your own translation.The proper process for translating HSMAdvior to other languages is described here: http://hsmadvisor.com/?page=help&shell_id=241&article_id=4883_international-language-support

What is next

• In the coming months we will introduce tools for creating translations on the fly without the need to use a third-party tool.
• We will add ability for users to earn their free HSMAdvisor license by participating in translation program.
• And the main thing...

We will continue our hard work to stay the best software tool for CNC machinists!

By the way here are other changes that were introduced in this update:

• Fixed typos and improved the look of ToolTip messages
• Fixed 0 - WOC reset when changing tool type

Best Regards

It has finally Happened!

I have just released the first ever HSMAdvisor hook for MasterCam 2017!

You can download it over here: http://hsmadvisor.com/index.php?page=HSMAdvisor_for_MasterCAM

I ran it through its paces in the last couple of days and made sure it functions just perfectly.

However, be careful and should you notice any funky things please let me know!

Regards.

HSM with MasterCam Dynamic Milling has long been one of my favorite toolpath strategies when machining hardened and tough to machine steels.

The job at hand was to machine out a 5" disk out of pre-hardened 4340 steel. About 43RC hard.
Due to an island in the middle (leaving only 3/4" room for the tool) I could not use a bigger indexed cutter, so i decided to use the adaptive clearing toolpath.

I started out by calculating Speeds and Feeds with HSMAdvisor and come up with the following starting parameters:

Full depth, at 10% engagement.

Which worked just fine. But the tool was not new and I decided to sacrifice it in the name of science and maxed it up to see how long the tool was going to handle it.

So I adjusted the cutting speed to 170% and feed to 150% (which accounts to heavy roughing):

To be honest I was not sure the tool was going to last very long, but it exceeded all my expectations!
It lasted for about 2 hours and completed the whole run of more than 20 pieces.

I even took a video cutting one of the parts:

Note how there are no sparks coming out. This is because the chip is thick enough to not overheat. This works both ways. Chips stay cool and due to their larger mass carry most of the heat away from the cutting edge.

After the end of the run (and it was not new to begin with) the tool looked like it could do as much!

A few days ago a HSMAdvisor user asked for Hardness conversion chart to be added to our great product.

So. Here we go:

It is accessible on Reference tab.

This chart is now available in update v1.405 at the old address: http://hsmadvisor.com/?page=HSMAdvisor

Why i am stressing the location is because some file hosting websites are hosting something that claims to be genuine HSMAdvisor software without first asking for my permission.

Please always download our software from hsmadvisor.com website.

Our software is also signed with my name.
So you can be sure it comes from me directly and is not tainted by malicious code.

Also in this update i added Acrylic to the materials list.

Regards!