I have been really busy lately working on the large update for HSMAdvisor- Mastercam plugin that it totally slipped from me that Machine Cloud services were down.

Just had it fixed.

Thanks to everybody who reported the issue!

Best regards.

HSMAdvisor Machine Cloud

This update marks a major pivot in HSMAdvisor development.

Behind the scenes the groung-work has been laid for tight integration between HSMAdvisor and FSWizard.

Next steps will include sharing of the tool and cut data with the FSWizard mobile app.

Whats new in this HSMAdvisor update:

• New materials: DME Steel 1, 2,3 & 7 and others.
• Improved Machine Definitions: Program now does not allow to upload duplicate machines to the cloud: you need to clone your machine first.
• Fixed issues with acessing CutCloud Fixed labelling and incorrect cut filtering

Thank you, our supporters, for the continuing feedback and support!

I came across a very educational post on Practical Machinist.

The topic-starter used over-aggressive speeds and feeds for his tiny BT30-taper machine and the retention knob (a.k.a Pull Stud) snapped causing the holder to drop lower, disengage from drive lugs and mess up the spindle bore in the process.

Just in case you don't know. Retention Knob looks like this and is used to pull the tool holder in to the spindle bore, thus holding it in place:

(Retention knob is the detail on the right)

This whole article is to remind everyone the importance of proper tool holder and retention knob maintenance.

Retention Knob Tips

• Retention knobs (according to HAAS) have service life of about 6000-8000 hours.
  That means that if a tool holder is used 3 hours a day, you should replace the knob after 8 years in service.
  For smaller BT30 knobs, you should probably replace them every 4 years.
• Retention knobs should be lightly oiled or greased (if TSC is used) once a month to lubricate the draw bar.
• There should be no visible damage or rust on the knobs.
  
• Do not exceed the maximum cutting force recommended by your machine manufacturer.
  Some of those high-helix end mills create large down-force that could in certain cases cause the knob to snap!
• Also retention knobs should be torqued to manufacturer specs and the tightness should be regularly checked. Overtightened knobs may lead to taper of the tool deforming and causing uneven contact with the spindle bore.

Tool Holder Maintenance Tips

• Keep Tool Holders clean. Especially the taper part that is matching to the spindle bore.
  Wipe them with a clean cloth. 
• Do not use sand paper to clean tool holders! Soft Scotch-brite is acceptable to clean very dirty ones.
• Repair dings and notches on the taper.
  Even an aluminum chip will cause a ding, that will create a high spot around it.
• Replace worn-out tool holders with new ones.
  Signs of ageing is uneven contact with the spindle bore and fretting (blackening of taper in certain spots)
• It is also a good idea to re-grind the spindle as well when replacing the tool holders - there are lot's of services that do that for very reasonable price.
• Like wise when a new machine is purchased, only new holders and retention knobs should be used. Using old worn out holders on a new spindle bore will lead to its premature wear and even damage.

Those are all the things I could think of at the moment.
Let me know if there is anything missing.

Have a safe and productive week!

3D Prining is about to to take over traditional machining the same way CNC Machining took over manual machining.
Eventually 3D printing will replace casting too.

Since 3D Printing does not require complicated setup and programming, this in turn will lead to massive loss of machining-related jobs.

Read more to see if this is true!

Read More 

Previously when someone asked me whether HSMAdvisor works on linux or Mac I would steer them towards using VirtualBox or Parallels or some other virtual machine to run HSMAdvisor in the virtual Windows box.

As it turns out it is not always necessary.

Our customer has just managed to successfully run HSMA on Linux using package called Wine.

All he had to do was to use wine in 32 bit mode.

I, personally, did not think it was possible to run an app as complex as HSMAdvisor on linux without any modifications on my side. But i was wrong!

Here is a helpful link if you are running 64 bit version of linux and your Wine refuses to launch HSMAdvisor in 32 bit mode:

https://askubuntu.com/questions/136714/how-to-force-wine-into-acting-like-32-bit-windows-on-64-bit-ubuntu

Reportedly Reference and Geometry tabs do not work. But this is not surprising, since they use Internet Explorer to show the information.

Also pressing ENTER key causes the app to crash.

I am going to install a test Linux system on my workstation in the near future and figure out how to fix those issues and make Non-Windows support more readily available.

On another news.

Having made a new FSWizard App design and right before publishing. I decided to rewrite the whole core almost from scratch.

This was needed to make room for new modules like User Tool Libraries and Machine Profiles.

The work is going ahead at full speed and in due time i will roll our the brand new spanking FSWizard!

Out of all kinds of feedback forms on HSMAdvisor (we have Forums, User Feedback and Unistall Feedback) web site the only one I dread opening is the "Uninstall Feedback".

When someone uninstalls HSMAdvisor, on the last step the program asks to provide the final feedback to maybe help us make HSMAdvisor better.

I do not like reading this form very much because it means that would-be users left in some way dissatisfied with the program.

And that really breaks my heart!

Among the most common answers is stuff like "does not support metric" even though IT VERY MUCH SUPPORTS METRIC.
We have, without a doubt, one of the most flexible units system of all machining-related software products.
I guess I have to improve in helping people learn how to use many unit switches within the program.

But the one that stood out is this one:

Thank you Jeremy! Really made my day!

Just a heads-up.

Another update is coming this weekend.
I am adding some materials and this threads specification drawing:

Requested by one of the users, I am sure it will be a big help.

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.

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!

Just saw this very impressive machining video on Practical Machinist forums.

A very nice example of using machine and the tools to their full potential.

This is 21st century and we all live in the age of the Internet.

While some software developers claim to use it for the benefit of the customers they in fact only care about license protection benefits it can provide.

Here is how HSMAdvisor Speed and Feed Calculator uses the big WWW for the benefit of its users:

1. Tool Database and Cutting Data Sharing
   Not many users realise that simply placing the Tool Data Base file on a shared network drive or service like DropBox or Google Drive will keep their Tool DB in sync on all of their computers running HSMAdvisor.
   Oh, regarding the "running on multiple computers" thing.....
2. Floating License allows users to run a single seat of HSMAdvisor on multiple computers non concurrently.
   All you need is internet connection! Permanent Licenses do not even need internet connection at all.
3. Cloud-Hosted Machine Profiles.
   Machine Profiles are important part of out calculator tool. Among other things they allow to prevent machine stalls and resulting machine damage and tool breakage.
   You can upload your Machine Profiles to HSMAdvisor Cloud for Public or Private access.
   Or you can request a machine profile to be added and I will upload it for you to easily download.
   All within the HSMAdvisor Machine Definition dialog!
4. Cut Cloud. The place to get other Machinist's experience at your fingertips.
   Another great feature that we are actively developing right now is the Cut Cloud.
   It allows Machinists to share their cutting experience with other HSMAdvisor users.
   It is still in development but shortly we are going to populate out public online library (Cut Cloud) with cutting data from popular tool manufacturers.
   Anyone running HSMAdvisor will be able to just dial in their cutting tool, connect to the Cloud and see how others run their tools in similar cutting conditions on similar machines.
5. Immediate and Accurate Licensing.
   A few times I got emails from disappointed machinists who were not aware of HSMAdvisor and thus chose a competing software product.
   They all were complaining about misleading Licensing schemes some software developers were using that hindered their work. Things ranged from not being able to register their seats for hours after completing the purchase to having to keep their computers online almost uninterruptedly (despite claims it could run offline for weeks) to keep their software running.
   HSMAdvisor uses transparent Permanent and Floating Licensing scheme that will not leave you hanging.
   All purchases are handled automatically and our new customers do not need to wait for a next business day to get their purchase functioning.
   We constantly work on making your experience as flawless as possible and do not linger on past achievements.

There is a lot more work planned and already in progress.

In the age when everyone is talking about how internet is turning the world around we are doing our small part in making it happen!

Thank you, everybody for your support and feedback!