I have been hunting for a very rigid but small machine for the last year or so.

And when I finally found one for sale on an auction in Minnesota, I could not pass.

Now the machine is in my garage.

It is a surprisingly heavy machine with a solid epoxy granite frame.

The features are as follows:

• 1.5HP 5000 RPM spindle
• Closed loop servos on all axes
• Power draw bar and a rack tool changer assembly

I built a table with casters for it and upon plugging it to a computer it turned out that.... It's dead!

The proprietary Animatics control in the back is not working, which means 95% of all electronics in the back must be replaced.

I was actually almost hoping for that because the original software is DOS-only. It is hardly convenient to work with it.

I want it to work under mach or LinuxCNC

So I ordered the required parts online and when all of them are here, I will start the retrofit process.

I will be documenting my process in comments.

Wish me luck!

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HSMAdvisor/FSWizard got featured on DIY Engineering!

It seems like HSMAdvisor's machine profile settings and power compensation work just fine even for as small of a CNC machines as  Nomad  Carbide 3D:

Great news for our many Fusion 360 users!

Starting with HSMAdvisor v2.1.0, you can import HSMWorks hsmlib files into the HSMAdvisor database.
Holder import is not yet supported, but I will add it in one of the next updates.

Please have Fusion export the tool library in HSMWorks .hsmlib format

Not sure what to do with allowing HSMAdvisor to export tools into F360...
Please let me know if you are interested in this functionality, and I will work on it.

Take it for a ride and let me know if there are any issues with it!
https://hsmadvisor.com/?page=Download

Cheers!

F360 Tool Database Import

I just uploaded a new standalone and Mastercam 2021 hook version of HSMAdvisor Machinist Calculator.

In it fixed the issue with the loading of older database files and updating DB UI.

Also from this point on HSMAdvisor will switch to Semantic Versioning in the following format: major.minor.build

• Major: big update that makes older version non-forward compatible.
• Minor: a minor update that does not break any existing functionality
• Build: a bug-fix that does not add new features, but fixes the existing ones

Check out the latest version here: https://hsmadvisor.com/?page=Download

Have an enjoyable and safe weekend, everybody!

In version 2 we tried to keep the familiar layout of HSMAdvisor.

HSMAdvisor 2 is currently at the "Release Candidate" stage.
Every month I will be publishing an update that will reset its trial counter, so people can use it for free until it is finally production-ready.

The best thing of all is HSMAdvisor 2 license is completely compatible with its predecessor!

Download HSMAdvisor 2 from here!

Centerdrill Calculator added in FSWizard 1.7.9!

Check it out at https://fswizard.com

Calculator shows reference for Imperial and Metric centerdrills and allows to calculate the depth of the drilled hole based on the countersink hole diameter and vise-versa.

Also this new version features better support for wide screens.
The input fields are now stacked in 3 columns when screen width is large enough to fit them.

If you want to sign up for the beta test, please read here: https://zero-divide.net/?shell_id=151&article_id=5271_free-fswizard-pro-for-everybody

Cheers!

Centerdrill Calc

The 2020 New Year's Holiday sale will end this weekend!111!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

Let this new year be more productive with HSMAdvisor.

To kick it off let us start it with a massive 30% off for all products in HSMAdvisor store ONLY!

FSWizard now has ISO Fits and Tolerances calculator.

Best of all - it is available in all versions. Free and PRO alike!

https://FSWizard.com

Because the latest version of MasterCAM 2020 was just released last month, we too had to create an updated version of HSMAdvisor plugin.

As usual you can get it here: https://hsmadvisor.com/?page=HSMAdvisor_for_MasterCAM

There were quite a few changes on the back end, but users would not notice any of them, so why bother with proper release notes?

Just download, install and enjoy!

Do not forget to tell you MCam-loving friends about HSMAdvisor!

Cheers!