I have just uploaded the latest version of HSMAdvisor

In this one I made some changes (again) to the layout of the FSWizard tab.

Changes were made according to Your feedback, so i hope you guys like it!

As you can see from the screen shot above Tool Type selection drop-down lists have been moved to the Tool Data panel.
This was made to make it more obvious which values get saved and loaded when user does operations with saved tools.

For the same purpose Saved Cut drop-down is now located on top of all cut parameters that it affects.

The top-most panel (Workpiece) now contains Machine and Tool Library drop-down lists.

I urge everybody to download this update as it fixes all of the existing issues regarding layout changes.

Also in the previous version, when Trial version gets expired, the Splash Screen blocks the License Activation dialog, which would make it impossible to purchase a license or enter your license information.

This glitch and many others have been fixed and i would like to ask everybody to download the latest release as soon as possible!

Cheers!

We have changed a Web-Server hosting company

This will translate to much better loading times for our users. Especially those who use the FSWizard:Online Calculator

Thank you for patience.

Our Halloween Sale is now Officially Over

Once again I would like to thank everyone who invested into development of this software.

Each one of you is not just a customer, but a co-creator. Thanks to your contributions our software gets better and better with every release.
And all of it comes back to our users in a form of features they have suggested or asked for.

At this point in time i can see the results of adding the subscription-based floating licensing model.
NOT surprisingly the Permanent License Type is still more popular than the subscription-based one.

Perhaps it is attributed to the fact that most people only use HSMAdvisor on one computer anyway, which most of the time is their CAD/CAM station and relatively few people need to move their seat from one computer to another.

More User Interface Improvements are Coming

I am in the process of re-vising the work-flow of loading a Tool/Cut From the database.

Tool and Cut drop down lists will disappear from the screen. Instead a couple of buttons will be added that would allow loading a Tool/Cut from the database, editing/viewing parameters etc.

This should greatly unload the screen and make things easier to read.

Have a good and productive day!

New version 0.900 includes one big improvement:

A new "Load Tool" button was added on the Toll Data panel.
When you click on that button, a brand-new "Select Tool/Cut" dialog box appears.

Using this dialog box you can quickly find and load any Tool/Cut from your Tool Database:

When you click on the "Toll Library" header, panel expands allowing user to filter out the tools and cuts that he wishes to see.

Also Expand All checkbox allows to expand all tools on the table.

In the future updates i am planning to completely replace the functionality of the two separate Tool and Cut Drop-Down lists with this single dialog window.

If you have any feedback, positive or negative or any ideas, please let me know!

Cheers!

Yesterday I uploaded another update to FSWizard:Mobile app.

Apart from the newest materials and coatings that are already present in HSMAdvisor PC calculator, i also added Socket Head and Imperial Flat head screw reference.

You can download the updated app on Google Play appstore

FSWSHCS.PNG FSW82degFHS.PNG

Trial Reset For Everybody!

I have just uploaded another update to HSMAdvisor. You can download the updated version over here -> http://hsmadvisor.com/index.php?page=Download

This update resets trials on ALL unlicensed computers.

In it i addressed some of your concerns  regarding readability of the screen.
A qualified committee, consisting of me and my lovely wife, who no-doubt has better taste than me, decided upon the new screen layout.

Behold:

Basically i am returning to the old layout where controls are grouped in blocks and not in rows like in previous version.

Please let me know if you have any feedback and want something improved upon!

Other new things in this update include 2 new high performance coatings - nACo and nACRo.

Also in this update i improved licensing by granting floating license holders a grace period when they are unable to connect to the server.

I listen to my customers.

A lot of people really favoured the old interface. At first i thought it was more about getting used to something new. But i myself had hard time getting into the workflow after a few days of away from my program.

The last straw was when i accidently opened a screenshot of the old interface.

I saw how clean and simple my original design was.

Whole last week i spent re-aranging things around. Those of you who liked the old interface will surelly love what i have done.

To let people whose trial has run out try the imorovement, i am resettimg trial counters in the very next update.

Keep checking here for the update announcement!

Whats New:

• Update Notification Added
  (when a newer version is available you will see a notification on the bottom of the HSMAdvisor window)
• Number of Flutes and Corner Radius now display on the Tool Drop-Down list

Whats Improved:

• Chamfering tools improved significantly. Almost everything has been redone and works very solid.
• High Feed Mills Tool Display has been changed and internal model has been improved.
  Tip Diameter now specifies the maximum Diameter of the mill.
• A typo has been fixed in the material list. Now It displays 15-5 Stainless steel instead of 15-8

Here is how  Update Notification looks:

Since you will be downloading this very update it will say you are up to date.
But next time i upload something, you will know right away!

Also Big changes happened to chamfering tools:

In the latest update to HSMAdvisor i have added Machine Definition Import and Export.

To bring a new machine in to the active machine list

• Click on "Edit" button next to machine list on FSWizard screen
  Machine Definition manager opens up and there you click on "Import" button.
• A standard windows file-open dialog appears prompting you to select a file that contains the machine you wish to import.
• After selecting a file and pressing OK, you will be asked to choose which machine you would like to import from the file.
  This is necessary as each file may contain many definitions.

To Export a machine or many to an outside file

(to share it with your friends, coworkers, or maybe even me)

• Click on "Edit" button next to machine list on FSWizard screen
  Machine Definition manager opens up and there you click on "Export" button.
• A dialog appears where you are prompted to choose which machines from your current list you would like to export.
• After choosing your machines, click OK and select a file where you would like to save your machine list.

I know you guys have created your own machines for your self.

If you could use this new feature and send me your machines, that would be super sweet!

You can also upload them onto our support forums by creating a thread.
If there will be enough interest i will create a forum sub-category where users would be able to share their machines with each other.

This weekend was very productive

I have finished work on floating license scheme and volunteers have begun testing it.

Licensing like that requires a lot of work on both the web side AND the client side. So a lot of things can go wrong and hopefully testing exposes all of the possible problems before a paying customer has the opportunity to face any.

Aside from cleanup here and there i have added the material search feature.

"Material" panel is now expandable and it is hiding a search field.
When you type anything into that field, material list right above will filter out items that contain the text being searched.
To clear search results user can just click the red x button to the right of the search field.

Here is how it looks:

You don't really need to click on the magnifying glass button as searing and selecting of material is done in real time as you type text.

In fact in many cases simply typing things like "D2" will select the material you need.

What's New:

• Material Search Feature
• Added several new machine profiles to the default machine list
  (When you install over existing installation, use machine import function to add them to your current machine list)
• Finished floating license module (pending testing)

What's improved:

• Added Aluminum 6061-T4 to materials list
• Fixed missing Aluminum 6061-T6
• Added floating pop-up box to pretty much all fields on the FSWizard screen
• Cleaned up various things.

Whats new:

• New "Reference" Tab now hosts all old Tap and Drill charts along with 2 new interactive Fastener Head Clearance tables (For SHCS and 82Deg FHS).
• New additions to Aluminum, Copper, Stainless and Steel material groups.

Fixed:

• Manufacturer Chipload loosing default value in metric mode condition fixed.
• Improved Plugin Download workings in "Plugins" page. Now external links do not get broken. Also it works a lot faster too.

So, Let's see what new goodies we got here.

As you see i re-arranged some stuff around.
All data tables are now in "Reference" tab. and all geometric calculators are not in "Geometry" tab