New and updated features

• New workpiece materials
  Cutlery stainless steels have been added
• Better scaling and control positioning on "Speeds and Feeds" page
• Tool Database page now displays Libraries in multiple rows, which makes it easier to find stuff.
• HSMAdvisor now installs by default into "Program Files (x86)" folder
  It will still copy data files into your "AppDataRoamingHSMAdvisor" folder. So it will still pick up your old tool library and license file.
• HSMAdvisor.ZIP archive now does not contain installer files, but rather ready-to use application folders, which you can unpack and use without installation.

As usual check our downloads page to get the update.

Now i know you are wondering when i will release updates to the mobile versions as well.
That should (hopefully) be done by this Monday.

Cheers!

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!

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!

Read More 

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

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!

Another week another update!

A few days ago a topic popped up in CNCZone's BobCad-CAM forums regarding why speeds and feeds in above mentioned BobCAM were so crazy and unworkable.

Users were complaining and raving about such a "simple" thing like a good speed/feed calculator being missing from there.

This is actually a trend in pretty much any other CAM software package.

They sell tool to create toolpaths.
Many give tools to create 2D geometry and even real solids.

But very few CAM packages offer anything that even remotely resembles working starting cutting parameters.

It does seem bizarre and strange. But every CAM program "knows" type of material being worked on. It knows type of tool, its diameter and length.
It even knows flute length, cutting depth, width, ramp angle... pretty much everything.

But given all that they are unable to combine all this data and produce Speed and Feed that would not either break the cutter or melt it into the work-piece!

Anyway. Back to the topic.

Someone on that forum thread mentioned my old FSWizard.
It sparked quite a lot of interest, and i popped in and dropped a link to the latest version of HSMAdvisor, so that they actually try and see what a good calc can do.

As a result i have received a ton of emails filled with suggestions and thank-yous.

Apparently many did not even know anything about it and were surprised how well it worked for them.
One guy who just bought a license even said that his copy already paid for itself several times over within the first couple of days of using it!

To thank for enthusiasm, i quickly implemented some of those suggestions and i am now releasing them in this version 0.710

New thing are

• Adjustable font size and style. (in Settings) Allows to adjust global application font.
• Adjustable default values for Speed&Feed Overrides, Tool Productivity, Deflection and Torque Limits. (in Settings) You can now set values to which overrides reset by default.
• New Plunge Feedrate field shows up for milling tools.
  Non-Center cutting tools like Indexed endmills etc. will have plunge feed equal Zero.

Thanks everybody for support and suggestions!

As usual you can download the latest release on the Download page.

Happy New Year !

First of all i would like to thank everybody for their continuing support and feedback - without you my work would not be this rewarding and fun.
This holiday season sale has been a success and it is only reassuring me that i am moving in the right direction regarding development of this software.

Also 20 days after the very first release of FSWizard for iOS, sales for it and the Android versions have been going very strong. Which means i will be putting even more effort into improving the mobile versions as well.

New things in HSMAdvisor 0.701:

• Cut and Form taps have been added.
• Boring Bar has been added to the tool type list
• Scallop calculator has been added for ballnose type endmills

Updated and fixed things:

• Effective diameter for tapered endmills (like V-Bits) has been fixed
• Deflection model for endmills has been improved
• BallNose endmills are now considered slotting (floor milling) only when their WOC is set equal to the diameter of the tool.
  When WOC is not equal to the tip Dia, it is presumed the cutter is milling the wall rather than the floor
• Some Tool Geometry fields have been moved to a new tab.

Again after this release i will shift my attention back to mobile versions of FSWizard

Tapping Tool Type BallNose Mill Scallop Calc

I have just completed revising HSMAdvisor's material library.

Around 20 different materials have been added.
Some speeds and feeds were adjusted as well.

New library is not yet available in the official release, but you cen get it as a separate file from here

Just scroll to the bottom of the page there and download the file.
Instructions of how to use it are there as well.

Once a new update is ready to be published i will include the new library into the official release.

The list of added materials includes Toolox, Weldox and other pre-hardened steels.

Also graphite was added to hard non-metals.