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

It has finally Happened!

I have just released the first ever HSMAdvisor hook for MasterCam 2017!

You can download it over here: http://hsmadvisor.com/index.php?page=HSMAdvisor_for_MasterCAM

I ran it through its paces in the last couple of days and made sure it functions just perfectly.

However, be careful and should you notice any funky things please let me know!

Regards.

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!

A few days ago a HSMAdvisor user asked for Hardness conversion chart to be added to our great product.

So. Here we go:

It is accessible on Reference tab.

This chart is now available in update v1.405 at the old address: http://hsmadvisor.com/?page=HSMAdvisor

Why i am stressing the location is because some file hosting websites are hosting something that claims to be genuine HSMAdvisor software without first asking for my permission.

Please always download our software from hsmadvisor.com website.

Our software is also signed with my name.
So you can be sure it comes from me directly and is not tainted by malicious code.

Also in this update i added Acrylic to the materials list.

Regards!

As you may have noticed there have been changes in the look of his very web site.

Here is what has been changed and improved:

• I got tired of it's old appearance, improved layout and changed styles.
• Improved and updated social buttons throughout the website.
• Redesigned Reference page and added GD&T Interactive Reference

GD&T Reference has been available in our FSWizard Mobile app and HSMAdvisor Speed and Feed Calculator for some time now and adding it to this website was a next logical step.

There is more changes coming. But i will not tell you what those are because competition is watching :)

By the way...

When you find useful information on this website, please help others too and share it with your peers using the new social buttons!

This mainstream "social" thing has been overlooked by me in the past and not many people are aware of our great software and resources for machinists.

Spread the word and help this project do even better!

I have been several times asked to add a right-angle triangle to the Geometry calculators list.

And every time i dismissed the idea because there is already an oblique triangle calculator, which works exactly like a right-angle if you set one angle to 90 degrees.

Basically i was being lazy to add it because i felt like users of my software should not be so lazy and use the Oblique triangle calc instead...

Finally someone asked for the Right Triangle in the new Suggestions form (the blue balloon on the bottom task bar) and having no way to contact the author (suggestions are anonymous) i have decided to finally implement the damn calculator!

So. Enjoy, guys!

Also in this update I fixed one glitch with the S&F Calculator as well.

You can download the update over here: http://hsmadvisor.com/

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. 

Hello Frends,

After the latest changes in HSMAdvisor and addition of free features lots of people ask me to clarify (repeat?) what those are.

So those include:

1. Thread Reference.
2. All Geometry Calculators (Bolt Hole, Triangle, etc)
3. Screw Reference.
4. All Tool Database functions including access to Speeds and Feeds page where you can edit parameters of the tool.
5. Full Acess to Speeds and Feeds for One material (1018 steel)

Basically ALL functions except Speeds and Feeds calculations are included for Free.

Check it out here, if you haven't already : http://hsmadvisor.com
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!