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G-Wizard Change Log

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Change Log

A log of what changed with each new version from newest to oldest. Remember, G-Wizard tells you when you need to upgrade with a message in the top right corner of the screen. If you need the latest version, it can be installed from this page.

8/13/10: Release 0.804

• Fixed some bugs in the chamfer calculators where you could specify a chamfer diameter larger than the tool diameter.
• Fixed some sorting problems on socket head cap screws.
• Fixed a diagram on the Points position calculator.
• Improved the chord calculator: there were some combinations where it couldn't get an answer, such as chord width + arc length.

8/12/10: Release 0.803

• Fixed several really annoying bugs in the Tool Crib that were identified by the User's Club. Thanks guys!
• Metric improvement: when in Metric, the up down errors on the stepper controls (like Tool Diameter) now cause the value to change by 0.1mm instead of 1/16 as in Imperial.

8/11/10: Release 0.802

• Tool Types are re-ordered on the menu to put the more commonly used tools first--endmills for mills and turning tools for lathes.
• Fixed behavior of Cut Optimizer when you keep pressing the Optimize button multiple times. Also, since it runs Optimize automatically when it comes up, Cut Optimizer doesn't enable the Optimize button unless you change a parameter.
• User Club button added.
• Increased maximum machine travels on any axis to 10,000.
• Enabled coolant m-codes.
• Enabled "From Feeds Speeds" button for Tool Crib tool definition.
• Got rid of garbage characters in the ballnose surface finish labels.
• Socket Head capscrew now calls out properly where the chamfer goes (bottom of counterbore).

7/27/10

• This is a more minor release than the last one: mostly polish and detail level fixes as we make our way into Final Beta Test.
• Bug fixes were largely in the areas of metric support and the tool crib.
• Added a "Slot" field to the Tool Crib so you can indicate which tool changer slot each tool is in.
• Added a command to move tools between Tool Cribs. This way you can have a crib for each tool changer, one for the tooling cart that goes with each machine, and one for your Tool Crib. By moving the tools, you can maintain crude inventory control. Eventually, more features will be added along these lines, but not in G-Wizard 1.0.
• There is a new "About" tab under the Setup app that tells you what version of the software you're running. This is version 0.801.
• Added carbide spot drills.
• Refinements to the micro-mill support so it meshes more smoothly with normal sized cutters.
• Initial work done to allow compensation when dry machining. Nothing you can see yet, the finished feature will be in the next release after this one.

7/8/10

• Big news is the Rigidity and Cut Optimizer.
• Add the ability to type a "d" in the relevant fields of Feeds and Speeds so you can access the Tool's diameter. For example, to make the depth of cut 1/3 of the tool diameter, just enter "d*33%" in the field. (Prompted by a Customer suggestion, though not exactly what he was hoping for. More coming!)
• Added Diametral True Position. (Customer prompted, thanks Mike!)
• G- and M-Code references were reworked to take advantage of some of the cool stuff in the G-Wizard G-Code Editor. Check it out!
• Added a Tool Life estimate based on slowing down SFM to the Setup tab. It uses Taylor's Tool Life Equation.
• Fixed a screen res issue that prevented use of the Threads tool on lower resolution netbooks. (Customer prompted)
• Modified the Tool Crib display to use checkmarks instead of True/False for ballnose and rougher to make it easier to read. (Customer suggestion, thanks Steve!)
• As always, a number of bug fixes for problems I found as well as problems reported by customers.

6/26/10

• New TiAlN endmill type added that is more aggressive than the HP Carbide Endmill for most materials.
• New Files tab under setup can be used to find your preferences file directory and to reset Preferences, Machine Profiles, or Tool Crib to their defaults. Be careful because reseting deletes any changes you made!
• There is a new Turner's Cube calculator under the Geometry tab.
• There is a new Hardness conversion table under the Quick Reference tab.
• A lot of work was done in this release to allow the upcoming G-Code editor to share the Tool Crib and Machine Profiles with the Calculator, so keep an eye on these areas for problems. This work is probably 70% of the way done.
• A number of problems associated with metric use were fixed or improved.
• Whenever any of the various limits are hit in Feeds and Speeds (e.g. HP Limit, Feedrate Limit, etc.), the limit and the actual parameter that is limited change colors to orange to let you know the limit was reached.

6/1/10

• Fixed a number of minor bugs around the tool list for lathes and the surface finish calculator for lathes.

5/12/10

• Reformated the G and M-Code references to use the space more wisely and to improve legibility.
• Improved metric handling of spindle power and feedrates for machine profiles.
• Selecting a machine type (even indirectly by choosing a machine profile with a different type) now changes the contents of the Tool menu. For example, lathes have turning and mills have boring tools.

5/1/10

• Expanded the support for Field Operators to all the rest of the fields. Feels like there may be a bug or two lurking in this functionality here or there. Let me know if you flush one out!
• Made some improvements to the various screens for people running 1024x768 resolution. You can at least access both Internal and External threads now.
• Note that the update link is wrong in the prior version, fixed in this version. Unfortunately it means you'll need to navigate to the update page manually.
• Added tool tips on the feeds and speeds calculator.
• Added the #4.5 center drill size.
• Added a G and M-code reference page.
• Added highlighting when the HP limit is reached in the Feeds and Speeds calculator.
• Variety of minor changes and improvements to deal with various issues people have reported.

4/15/10

• Finally, some changes after a long hiatus!
• Improved back calculation so changing IPM back calcutes chipload and IPR.
• Chamfering with a countersink now uses the dimension of the tip flat.
• Most fields now accept an "i" or "m" after a number (similar to Gibbscam) to facilitate entering alternate units. For example, suppose you are running G-Wizard in Imperial (inches) and you want to enter 8mm as the diameter of a twist drill. Simply enter 8m and it will be converted to 0.315". The override fields (padlocks) don't yet accept this notation.
• If you have registered recently, you'll know that there is now an online registration page. You no longer have to send me an email!

2/16/10

• Made some changes aimed at enhancing readability. Font sizes were increased in a couple of places and some color changes were made to increase contrast.
• Fixed some bugs in Degree mode in the calculator.

2/13/10

• Added chipload adjustments for micro-machining (cutters less than 1/16" diameter) per guidelines by Makino's head of micro-machining R&D.
• Fixed a bug in metric mode: could not enter a full width cut on Feeds and Speeds.
• Upgrade to Adobe Flex 3.4 SDK.
• Improved Feeds and Speeds info for reamers: Now it only shows IPR, not IPT. Also gives the material allowance (hole size) for reaming.
• Added SFM and Chipload adjustment factors to Tool Crib. This lets you adjust a specific tool to have a high or lower SFM (by a % factor) than G-Wizard recommends.
• Smoother interpolation for cut widths when calculating feeds and speeds. It was a bit jumpy in places.
• Fixed a bug when computing minutes per pass with drills. They needed to use the hole depth rather than pass length.
• Improved implementation of HP limits. Originally, they just backed off feedrate. Now it backs off SFM by up to 20% before starting on feedrate. This will improve tool life.

2/10/10

• Fixed a bug where any tool created in the Tool Crib was always a ballnosed rougher.
• Fixed a bug where selection of tools from Tool Crib on Feeds and Speeds page was not working.
• Fixed a number of issues with metric support for the Tool Crib.

2/9/10

• New Tool Crib lets you define tool tables based on what tools you own or what's in your tool changer. More details on the documentation page.
• Fixed a number of minor bugs here and there.

1/30/10

• Fixed a minor bug on the center drill chamfer tool.
• Numeric steppers now move by 1/16" in Imperial and 0.5mm in metric in a lot of places when you click on their arrows. Before they moved by 0.0001, which was not convenient.
• Added an "Angle" column to the bolt circle calculator.
• Tuned down the chipload with steel on HSS endmills. It was a little aggressive for cheaper endmills.
• Plunge rate for endmills now takes into account the number of flutes the cutter has, which means it will feed more slowly than it used to with cutters that have more than 2 flutes.
• Made the interpolation of the IPT adjustment for depth of cut smoother. It had been a pure step function.

1/23/10

• Since the old "Logout" button was confusing some users, it has been changed to say "New Login". You only need to use it if you are changing your login credentials (e.g. switched to a new email).
• Added tapping feedrates for rigid tapping.
• Added "Torque" as a unit conversion type in the Calculator.
• You can undo an individual override by clicking the padlock on the Feeds and Speeds calculator. This way you don't have to reset all of them.
• The feeds and speeds calculator now recommends when it is best to use climb versus conventional milling per the thoughts from AB Tools who make the popular AlumaHog and ShearHog cutters. Note that if your mill has much backlash at all you shouldn't be climb milling in any event.
• Added thread cut depths to the Threads Quick Reference tab. These depths tell lathe users at a glance how deep to cut with either a sharp pointed v-tool or a UN/UNR form tool. Still need to add the equivalent to the metric and pipe threads.

1/5/10

• First release of the New Year!
• Doing some better chipload compensation for deep cuts.
• Calculator got a % key
• You can now copy values from the Bolt Circle calculator to a spreadsheet
• Weights and Volumes now has foot/meter checkboxes. Lots of material is sold by longer units instead of in/mm
• Fixed a whole bunch of Calculator problems relating to keyboard input. You can now use <Enter> as an "=" too.
• Added a bunch of Flat Head Cap Screw dimensions.
• Added support for "Corncob" roughers. Just click the "Rougher" checkbox on an endmill for Feeds and Speeds.
• Made degrees and radians on the Calculator into modes. Previously, the buttons just converted one time. Now, whichever mode is lit, that is what the units mean.

12/13/09

• Updated tapers and Chamfer/Drill to handle metric.
• Added colored text to show overrides on the Feed and Speeds tool so it would be more clear.
• Dovetail tool now shares information between the male and female.
• Overriding the feedrate now updates the chipload.
• Added feeds and speeds for plastics. These are general guidelines as plastics are pretty finicky. You'll need to take these as a starting point and hone in on the optimums based on the exact plastic formulation you're machining.
• Fixed a nasty bug involving the "<-Use" unit conversion button on the Calculator.

12/11/09

• Added a Troubleshooting Page to the online documentation.

12/10/09

• Changed the "Machine Configuration" name to "Machine Profiles" on Setup page.
• Pressing "Reset" on "Machine Profiles" only adds back the default VMC and Lathe. It no longer deletes custom profiles.
• SFM and Chipload Adjustments (e.g. "Fudge Factors") now work on Machine Profiles.
• Deleting a Machine Profile now requires confirmation.
• The override controls on Feeds and Speeds now use a little padlock icon to tell when you've locked out the calculation of that field with an override value you have provided. The old radio buttons were just too hard to see.
• Added metric support to the lathe and ballnose surface finish calculations (e.g. microns instead of microinches in metric).
• Added online help via the "Help" button at the top right of the screen.
• The Geometry calculators now lock out "Calc" after you press it to signify that you must "Clear" before you can try new parameters.
• Made a lot of the dropdown menus longer so less scrolling will be needed.
• Added a Drill Picker button to the Twist Drill tab of the Chamfer page.
• Modified AFPT value on Feeds and Speeds so it shows you what the actual chipload (IPT) will be if you run at the non-chip thinning feedrate. Now you can see just how thin those chips were getting to be.
• Added a search box to the various twist drill charts to make navigation to a particular size faster.

12/08/09

• This update a long time in coming relative to others!
• New Machine Profiles feature let's you customize the Feeds and Speeds limits to your machines and save the profiles.
• Switched to Adobe Flex SDK 3.2, a later version that presumably fixes more of their bugs.
• Note: Due to the update to Adobe Flex, some user's are seeing a message telling them they can't install because G-Wizard is already installed. If you get that message, manually uninstall G-Wizard from the control panel and reinstall it. You can also just delete the G-Wizard directory and reinstall.
• Fixed a number of odd bugs in various places including unit conversion and fractions.

12/03/09

• Published a set of documentation pages for each function of the G-Wizard. See the "User Guide" links on the lefthand side of the G-Wizard home page.
• Fixed a bug in ballnosed cutter compensation. It was misbehaving for depth of cut > cutter diameter.
• Fixed a bug in the Right Triangle calculator. It did not computer when given the hypotenuse and the vertical side like it should (helpful for sine bar calculations!)
• Fixed a bug in the Chord calculator: it didn't properly handle angles greater than 180 degrees.
• Added a flat-to-flat height to the UN threads page.
• Made the calculator more keyboard friendly. Try it!

12/01/09

• Fixed a rounding error on calculator units conversion so 1" = 25.4mm exactly.
• Fixed a bug where SHCS counterbore depth was not being converted to metric.
• Made a number of updates and corrections to the UN thread data.
• Set up the thread page so when you change families it picks the first instead of the last size by default.
• The thread page now only has one shared set of Family/Size/Class so that Internal and External are always for the same thread size.

11/30/09

• Minor behind-the-scenes changes to make G-Wizard compatible with the new online registration capability.
• Added a link near the update message at the top right so you can click through to install the latest version. It only appears if you need to upgrade.

11/26/09

• NPT pipe threads completed.
• Drill picker now scrolls to and selects whatever the tool diameter or recommended tap drill size (on Pipe Threads) is.
• Fixed bug: Plunge rate label wasn't changing from "IPM" to "MMPM" in metric mode.
• Fixed bug: Feeds and Speeds wasn't respecting HP limits as well as it should.

11/24/09

• Lots of work done on NPT pipe threads this evening. They're almost done and quite a bit of function is working in this version.

11/22/09

• I think metric is finally now all caught up and works everywhere in G-Wizard. Now I can finish the rest of the product!

11/19/09

• Greatly expanded the ISO threads database for metric users.
• Fixed a number of bugs associated with metric support. Feeds and Speeds should be in good shape now. Threads and several other pages need more work for metric.

11/16/09

• Completed metric support of the SHCS reference data.
• Added an indicator on the status bar that shows Inches/Metric status right next to the copyright notice.
• Fixed a bug that was complaining about non-login status on the Calculator tab.
• Fixed a whole bunch of problems with the MRR and HP calculations. They were just plain wrong for everything but milling cutters.
• Implemented HP Limits. G-Wizard will scale back the feedrate until the MRR is such that HP is within the limit.
• Fixed some update problems on labels on Feeds and Speeds. For example, Tool Diameter wasn't switching properly to "Turning Diameter" when turning was selected.
• Added a suggestion by Gerry Pryor to the Taper calculator that computes the distance along the taper.

11/15/09

• Fixed bug identified by Kirk Beson: Bolt circle doesn't clear hole list if you change parameters.
• Fixed some nasty update bugs in the Feeds and Speeds calculator.
• More progress on metric support: G-Wizard now remembers whether you've set it to metric or inches from one session to the next. Still a lot more metric work to do yet!

11/13/09

• Twist drill sizes for tapping added to the UN thread pages.
• Added a point calculator to the Geometry page. It's useful for g-coding. It shows distance between points in x, y, z as well as polar (a, b, or c axis angles).
• Add an angle popup to Calculator for degrees:minutes:seconds as suggested by OldTiffie.

11/10/09

• Made email logon case insensitive.
• Feeds and Speeds provides plunge rate for end mills.
• Fixed a number of serious bugs. Among them: indexable and facemills were completely wrong on their IPT information and carbide twist drills had some bad feed and speed data.
• First metric support has been added. The Feeds and Speeds calculator now switches between metric and inches units. The switch is located on the "Preferences" tab. There is quite a lot more metric work to be done, but the groundwork has been laid so it ought to go by pretty quickly.

11/2/09

• Spent the evening adding functions for Twist Drills. G-Wizard now handles parabolic bits (just select a Twist Drill and click the "Parabolic" check box to tell it you have one), and will automatically slow feeds and speeds for deep holes as well as recommend when you need to peck drill, and when you should be using a parabolic. If it says "Not Recommended", you're trying to drill too deep a hole in all likelihood.

11/1/09

• New fractions capability on the calculator. Press the "Frac." button to add a fractional amount to the current value. For example, enter a "1", press "Frac.", click "1/2", and the calculator now displays "1.5". In addition, the "Frac." button will display the fraction any time the calculator display is within a tenth of any 1/32. So enter "0.375" and the button's label changes to read "3/8". This makes it easy for you to deal with fractions.
• Finished entering data for Structural Steel Areas and Volumes for: I-Beams
• Per a suggestion by Widgitmaster, I have added a True Precision calculator, which may be found under the "Geometry" function. True Precision is a Geometric Tolerance concept. It is the square root of each of the error components squared. In other words, it is the Euclidean distance of the error. To make room for "True Precision", I moved "Areas and Volumes" to the "Quick Ref" tab.

10/31/09

• Finished entering data for Structural Steel Areas and Volumes for: Channel
• Finished entering data for Structural Steel Areas and Volumes for: Angle
• Finish filling out the SHCS data with metric
• Cap Screws now limit their dimensions to thousandths
• Add Surface Finish for lathes to Feeds & Speeds
• Tool radius from a list of standard insert nose radii on Lathe Surface Finish
• Forcing RPM directly or by limit now recalculates SFM
• Added Spot Drill as a tool type
• Finished entering data for standard tapers
• Added License Agreement w/ Acceptance
• Chord Calc now tells % of circumference

10/21/09

• Mocking up the UI for the Thread data to use a graphical presentation.

10/16/09

• Added ballnose cutter compensation to the Feeds and Speeds calculator. It now figures out the effective diameter of the tool based on depth of cut and can also figure the stepover needed for a particular scallop height or surface finish.
• Added lead angle compensation to the Feeds and Speeds calculator.