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!

Before we start milling away our stock we first need to get down to the required depth.

This is not a problem with external features when we can plunge outside.

When machining closed pockets, however, we need to find a way to get down to the machining depth first.

As usual there are several ways to get the job done. The plunging methods listed here are not ordered by their preference.

For various machining operations on different materials some may be more preferable than others.

Straight Plunging into a larger Pre-Drilled hole

This is one the best ones in my opinion.
Very few machining modes can compete in effectiveness with drilling and this method will get you the best combined tool life on most materials and (in case of many deep pockets) the least machining time, even when tool change time is factored in.

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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.

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

Huge "Farewell to MasterCAM x9" HSMAdvisor Hook update has been released.

The MC 2017 has been out for a few month now and because it has received quite mixed reviews from the machinist's community, i decided to release one more big update to our MCx9 hook before starting to fully work on adapting it for MC 2017.

This update v1.402 is a double update. The hook version has now caught up to the standalone AND we have some new features in standalone HSMAdvisor as well.

Here is a quick video showcasing most of the new features:

What is new and improved in this HSMAdvisor update

• New Hardened D2 and M2 Steels
• New 17-4 and 13-8 Stainless Steels in various conditions
• Mew DB Contents Tree in Select Tool Dialog
• Plunge Speed Lock
• New Free GD&T Reference Tab
• Updated Look and functionality of Scientific Calculator
• Updated look of all Geometry Calculators.

Whats new and improved in HSMAdvisor Hook:

• Improved Toolpath import and export
• New Improved Select Tool/Cut Dialog with Side Contents Tree
• Plunge RPM lock for toolpaths, that do not support Plunge RPM different from the main RPM
• Ability to choose which data is read and written into the toolpath.
• Full ToolDB Functionality including editing and saving tools is now free.

As usual Here you can download the latest updates: http://hsmadvisor.com/ 

Questions, troubles? Let us know via email or our support forums!

Regards. 

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!

This update fixes the no-message shutdown when your trial expires!