Our most recent sale is over and it has been a huge success.

I would like to thank everybody who helped me make this software better with every update.

I just wanted to tell you about an incoming update here.

One of early users- Kevin, expressed his desire to install HSMAdvisor on 9 CAM computers in his shop. Now all computers are connected to the network, so he was wandering if it was possible to make all seats share the same tooling database.

It was not possible back then, so I decided to add that functionality in there.

The testing is almost complete and soon everyone will be able to download an update that lets multiple users share the same tooling database over the network. You could even share it over the internet if you use software like DropBox.

I bit later I will create a tutiorial on how it is done. 

This goes to show how important user feedback is for software makers like me.

So if you have any idea and would like to see it implemented, please let me know.

It it looks stupid but it works, it is NOT stupid!

A quick remainder:

This sale ends in one week on March 8th.

Be sure to cash in on huge 30% discount and invest in software that works for you!

I have uploaded the latest version of HSMAdvisor today.

It is a minor update that adds in-app registration for existing users with unused seats.

Also have just completed MasterCAM x2 integration profile for the Capture Wizard.

I did not have time to include it into this update yet, but you can download it below.

MasterCAM Mill X2 MR2 SP1 English.xml

This update is mainly a bug fix and has some usability improvements.

New Things

• Persistence in Threads Tab
  Now Threads Page will stay the way you left it when you shut down the program
• Persistence in column selection for Drill Chart for both the Treads Page and Tap Tool on FSWizard Page as well.
• Capture Wizard can now capture target windows with dynamic controls. (Still working on SprutCAM integration profile that required this feature)

Fixed and Improved things

• Tapping tools had a bug in metric mode. Now it is fixed
• Text color for selected row in myCut Database page is now white on blue background. Which makes things easier to see.
• Capture Wizard is now a lot faster and should be less prone to hang ups.
• Improved Machine Limits behavior
  Power Overload now causes feedrate to reduce.

Up here in Canada we are celebrating family day today!

I wish you all more time to spend with your loved ones.

Because of that and just "because" all HSMAdvisor licenses are on hefty 30% sale.

Get your work done faster and go home to your wife and kids!

Version v0.735 has just been released.

We now have 2 new tool types: Counterbore and Chamfer Mill.
They were added to match with similar tools in most CAM packages

Also we now have tool simulation graphics in the Results' area new Tool tab.

Here is a simulation of the new Chamfer Tool type:

Capture Wizard now has Tab Name field that allows Wizard to only capture the Target window when selcted tab is active.

Also Detault Tool Type, Tool Material and Tool coating fields were added.
you can now specify which tool will be picked if Wizard fails to recognise the tool type.

Oh pardon me!

Forgot to mention: We now have Surfcam 5.2, BobCAD-CAM v25 and v26 integration profiles.
you can load those from Profile manager tab on Capture Wizard form.

On a side note somebody from SprutCAM has asked me to create a profile for their package.
Looke like they have demo available for download, so i will probably do that very soon.
As far as I know, I do not really have any customers using that CAM.

But hey, Things change!

Manufacturing seems to be going back to North America, but thousands of college graduates who finish various CNC -related courses have a very shallow understanding of metal-cutting processes and forces involved.

Frankly i believe Speeds and Feeds should be a separate subject all together.

To help students fill the gap, I am offering US and Canadian educational facilities help with setting up their classes with free HSMAdvisor seats.

Update: Countries of EU and England are now included into the offer!

The total maximum number of seats handed out will be limited to 200.

If you represent a college or a university and want to sign up, please send me an email with your name, position, and number of seats requested.

My email address is cnc@zero-divide.net

I will set up your license and reply with information on how to obtain the license keys.

If you know a place that could benefit from this offer, please share this message.

Eldar Gerfanov, developer of HSMAdvisor and FSWizard machinists calculators.

HSMAdvisor has got a brand new CAD/CAM integration profiles manager.

It is now possible to import/export profiles to and from HSMAdvisor.

For now i only had time to add SurfCAM 5.2 to the list. MasterCAM x2 is coming a little later.

While using Capture Wizard yields very satisfactory results in most cases, it does not take a long time to set up either.
The whole procedure of creating a brand new profile takes just about 30 minutes.

If you created your own profile for a CAM system that is not already in the lest, please send it to my e-mail address: cnc@zero-divide.net or create a thread on the support forums. There you can upload XML files directly.

I would like to add it to the next release for everyone to enjoy.

Very good things happen to those who contribute!

If you need any help figuring out CAD/CAM integration. please refer to "HSMAdvisor Tutorials" category of this site, create a thread on support forums, or send me an email!

In this tutorial we are going to explore different options and techniques when programming cutter movement.

Lets begin with a simple part shown in a drawing below.

Basically it is a rectangular piece 4.00x2.00
For the purpose of simplicity lets make the depth of our profile (z- dimention) 0.75"

We are going to use a 0.5" dia endmill, again because it is a very common size and is easy to do basic math with.

I took a liberty of puting locations for our part/toolpath, so it is easy to extract numbers from the drawing just by looking at it.

Notice the green rectangle. This rectangle represents the path that the center of the tool will have to take to produce the part with required dimentions.
The thing is: because endmills have certain diameter, the center of the tool must be always offset by its radius.

There are two ways of doing that.Read More 

At my day job I am starting to do more and more manual programming.

Which i do not realy like, but since am at it anyway i have decided to keep piling little articles about G-Code programming into this new category.
This way when i forget things again i will be able to quicly refresh my memory.

Program Start

O0001 (COMMENT OR PROGRAM NAME)

Starting safety blocks

(G20 IMPERIAL UNITS, G21-METRIC)
(G17 XY ARC PLANE, G18-XZ, G19-YZ)
(G40 CANCEL TOOL RADIUS COMPENSATION)
(G49 CANCEL TOOL LENGTH OFFSET)
(G80 CANCEL CANNED CyCLE)
(G90 ABSOLUTE POSITIONING MODE)

G20 G17 G40 G49 G80 G90

Tool Change Routine

(T14 - call 2.5" Face mill)
(M6 - Perform tool change)
(G0 - rapid feedrate)
(G55-G59 - Choose Work Offset)
(X, Y - Command a Position to move to)
(S - choose spindle speed)
(M03 - Turn spindle on Clockwise, M04 - Counter-clock wise)

T14 M6
G0 G54 G90 X{X} Y{Y} S{SPEED} M03;

Apply Tool length offset at retract height, Turn on Coolant

(G43 H14 Z2.0 - All codes must be in the same line Apply cutter length offset from record #14 to cuttent tool, move to 2.0 above work at the same time )
(M8 - Turn on Coolant)

G0 G43 H14 Z2.0 M8

Rapid tool to plunge height

G0 Z{Z_PLUNGE}

Plunge to cutting depth at plunge feedrate

G01 Z{Z_DEPTH} F{F_PLUNGE}

Make a straight cut in xy direction at cutting feedrate

G1 X{X_POS} Y{Y_POS} F{F_FEED}

Retract to plunge height at either rapid or retract feedrate

G1 Z{Z_PLUNGE}

Retract to rapid height, turn off colant

(M09 - Turn OFF coolant)

G0 Z{Z_RETRACT} M09

Retract to tool change height, turn off spindle

(G28 G91 Z0 - all coes must be in the same line, move Z axis to HOME POSITION through a reference point)
(G91 Z0 - Causes reference point to be the current location, thus sending axis straight up )
(M05 - Turn off spindle)

G0 G28 G91 Z0 M05

Perform Next tool change or end program

M30(end program)