Dark Cover- Cracking the GCode

So Dark Cover, why the mystery behind your identity?

In the next few weeks, that will be made clear. It’s a very real CNC breakthrough for job shops. As for my role in it all, I started out as a machine tool programmer and operator, so I’m familiar with the so-called conversational CNC trend. It wasn’t until I got involved in beta tests for this new kind of CNC that I witnessed the potential of CNC in terms of faster setup times and accelerated operations, both from the standpoint of the machine and the shop floor.

What is RELIC CNC and why would they want to keep you quiet?

It’s not in the interest of the entrenched CNC to make waves, let alone acknowledge a new and better control. Job Shops tend to accept whatever control comes on a machine and that’s why RELIC CNC is feeling threatened. Job shops are familiar with RELIC and know what to expect even though the control is needlessly g-code intensive for many basic jobs. It’s good enough. It’s old reliable. Only now here comes this leapfrog CNC onto the market, built especially for higher job shop production, and RELIC is serious about protecting a market they feel they own.

How is the new control different than traditional G-Code driven CNC?

The new control takes graphically guided blocks of programming to the logical extreme, so a lot of jobs can be done with about half as many input steps, compared to a partly conversational RELIC CNC. Just as important, a smarter HMI design brings a higher level of operational efficiency. The new control uses g-code programming for complex jobs, but for any and all jobs, the interface is much more efficient because it is extremely logical and simple.

What surprise functionality can job shops expect from the new CNC?

All will be revealed before the EMO show in Milan, Italy. I can tell you this much, job shop owners and machine tool operators will be equally impressed about such performance leaps as 80 Bit Nano-FP Accuracy, Advanced Surface, Kinematic Transformations, and such advances as shopfloor communications, production status text messaging, and other cool advancements. For more details to come, your readers should check out www.crackthegcode.com

Interview with Brian Miller Vice President of Midwest Precision, Inc.

what is your personal history/experience in CNC and manufacturing:
I have worked in sheet metal manufacturing for about 16 years. 5 of those years were as a machine operator of cnc punch and laser equipment, with some manual machines for good measure. From there, I forayed into the CAD/CAM programming of those machines, along with cnc water jets, as well. I have been in sales and management for about 8 years, now. Through the course of selling our services to OEM’s and other contract manufacturers, I have seen most methods of manufacturing products available. The latest process I witnessed was the rotational molding of plastics.

What is it like running a small business in the manufacturing sector:
I really enjoy manufacturing. Being a manufacturer is not what I aspired to be when I was a boy, but my dad tricked me into working for him (not really!) and it turned out to be in my blood. Now, I just naturally begin dissecting things when I look at them.

In today’s economy, however, manufacturing is in a downturn. Unless you are heavily associated with certain markets, such as the military or infrastructure, you are experiencing some heartburn, right now.

how do you feel the current economy and world affairs will effect manufacturing in america?
The economy is not very good for manufacturing as a whole. There are certain fields or markets that still have requirements, such as the Department of Defense (DOD), Medical Supplies, and Infrastructure, to name a few. What usually happens is that the companies that were not as efficient as they should have been will go away, and those companies that survive will be stronger and have a period of growth. I guess that’s the free market at work, but it is certainly not painless, even for those that survive. We have had to lay off some workers and it is hard for those on either side of the lay off.

what is some advice you have for people getting started in your field
It depends on what level you are starting. If you have never been in manufacturing before, a good vocational school is a good place to start. A person could get exposure to various areas of the field; such as manual machinist, cnc machinist, sheet metal mechanic, plant operations, manufacturing engineering, process engineering, etc.
If that is not an option, I would interview at a manufacturing facility that offered a documented training program while working. Documentation is important because it provides the structure for goals and objectives concerning both education and pay. There are companies that are willing to train the right people. Those companies will need to have evidence of your reliability, such as a good list of references. They will want to know that there investment in training will have a return. Some will even require contracts with reimbursement clauses.

what are some tips you have for cad programming
As every program system is different, I will address methodology. As a job shop, one of our challenges is that we have to keep track of customer names, part numbers, and revision levels. To over come this, be sure to use a good filing system, if your system does not use a database for its shape files and coded files. Use a good naming convention for your files, as well. If you use certain operating software on the machines, it may relegate you to a very simple and limiting naming system (such as 4 numbers, like Fanuc.) Keeping your files orderly will facilitate your ECO’s (Engineering Change Orders) or whatever documented process you have for handling part revisions when they happen (not if.)
I have taught several people how to program machines that they have never operated. Although this is not the ideal situation, it is most easily overcome by having the programmer shadow the operator as much as possible and when faced with new setups, always ask the operator how she or he would like to receive the file and ask their help in developing the program. An operator can kill a perfectly good program, if they are not on board with the approach.
If your CAD software offers the use of construction lines, use them. Plotting holes or part features by coordinates can be tedious, even for the most focused and methodical programmer. Construction lines help catch mistakes during the part building process and avoid reprogramming or even scrap.

What are some tips you have for gcode programming
I have only performed a little of this style of programming. Though I can read the code and write simple programs, my expertise is in CAD/CAM. I will say that ALL operators should be able to read their machine’s code. Being able to analyze a program “Matrix style”, or through reading the code on the screen, is essential for proper program vetting and operation.

What do people come to you for and why?
Our specialty is welded fabrications. We have focused on the CNC cutting for many years (laser, waterjet, and punching), but in Oklahoma, there is a lot of manufacturing. Where we used to be unique in our cutting solutions, there is now a laser on every corner. To compete, we have to do more than just cut the parts. We have to add value with such processes as forming, welding, installing hardware, paint or powder coating and packaging.

Do you have any experience with DIY projects,

I assume this is Do It Yourself? I don’t really have any experience with this.

what cad-cam software do you recommend and use and why
Our CAD/CAM systems include: SolidWorks, MetalSoft, SmartCAM, Trumpf’s ToPs 100, Mazak’s FG CAM and Smart System. We use SolidWorks for our 5-axis laser and checking any parts that we design, including fixtures for cutting, welding, or assembly. The other software is for our flat cutting machines. Although we use 3rd party software in some cases, I always recommend using the software that is either made specifically for the machine or recommended by the machine OEM. In the case of Trumpf’s ToPs laser software, we have seen a measurable increase in productivity due to ease of use and compatibility. Not only is it easier to use for our programmers, it is able to maximize all of the features of the machine. Prior to the acquisition of ToPs, our machine operators would start reworking the program, as soon as they got it. Even though the dimensional aspects of the program would be good, there were significant nuances to the cutting methods required to most efficiently cut a part.

what is the most challenging part you have made
Our very first 3D project for our 5-axis laser was the hardest part we have ever done. Called a spar, the part is an extruded tube shape that required slots and cut outs down the side, all at differing angles. It required several thousand dollars for a fixture just to orient and restrain the piece. In hind-sight, cutting our teeth on this project was not the best idea, but everything else was down hill from there!

Brian Miller
Vice President of
Midwest Precision, Inc.
Tulsa, OK
[link]

CNC and Hand-Machined Musical Instruments

The first solid body guitar made by Les Paul in the late thirties was so basic he called it “The Log.” Plagued with feedback and resonance issues trying to convert an acoustic guitar to an electric, Paul switched his focus to the solid body design, aided by a little bit of larceny. Late one night, he and a few friends stole a fence post. He attached some pickups and strings to it, plugged it into a phonograph and made history. When audience response to a man playing a fence post wasn’t quite ecstatic, he sawed an acoustic guitar in half and attached the sides to his log, and never looked back. Today, the original Log is in the Smithsonian. [http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/online_articles_detail.aspx?id=346]

The guitar has come a long way since then, and involves far less fence post steeling. Dozens of companies emerged produced electric guitars for legendary rock bands like The Beatles to small time garage groups. Technical advances have affected all instrument making, even in the classical field: it is rare to find an artisan who will handmake a violin a la Stradivarius in the 21^st century. Manufacturing equipment is the name of the game in instrument production, but the different between hand-operated machinery and CNC  machinery is a big question for musicians hoping for top quality instruments.

The Fender Example

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, the oldest electric guitar producer, opened a custom guitar shop in 1987. The demand for custom-made Fender guitars soon exploded, and in order to fill orders, the company turned to CNC machining for production. Because the CNC files can be saved and used later to fit specification, it allows Fender to produce bodies, necks, and other parts quickly, expertly, and with little variance. Traditionalists might be opposed to so-called “handmade” guitars being run through computer machining equipment, but, as Fender points out, even early guitars were machined using state of the art equipment available in the 1920s and 1930s.

Because Fender opened up to the new technology, they were able to corner a part of the custom-made guitar market before any of their competitors. But they were not the only ones to turn to CNC. CNC is very much the standard in custom guitar production, from small time hobbyists making their own axe, to entrepreneurial professionals marketing their services locally or through the internet. CNC machines can be very expensive, but the fact that they provide economy of space, materials and time make them desirable for different scales of operation.

The “Handmade” Option

For large operations like Fender’s, CNC is practically the only option. But for smaller craftsmen, hand operation can add to the sense of artisanship quality the customers are looking for. While no custom guitar producers are shaping wood by hand with a whittle, they are using hand-operated machines and their own eyes and talents to produce guitar bodies. The amount of focus, time and energy ensures a high quality instrument, but one which will take longer to produce. And while specificity and exactitude can’t be reproduced over and over by a human craftsman, the originality and uniqueness of each instrument is guaranteed. Many musicians look for the human care devoted to their instruments, and so talented luthiers (stringed-instrument makers) can charge high fees for their services.

These artisans, though, will never be able to parlay their custom talents to large scale operations. There is only so much time in a day, and CNC machining greatly speeds up an already long process. Making one custom guitar can take up to a year, even if CNC machines are involved, and dedication on the part of the custom manufacturer can increase if he is hand-machining.

Firebug Power !

Using Firebug to better understand the web- click on images for full size.
Firebug is a plugin for Firefox that has revolutionized web development. For many it has come to replace the Web Developer plugin for Firefox. Someone who works in internet advertising/media or web development should understand how webpages work. This intro to Firebug will cover some basic and interesting features of the tool. There seems to be too much emphasis on link building plots and SEO gimmicks that make a website into a house of cards. Nothing beats good site design and understanding of the web.

Pen Testing

Firebug is a good program for pen testing. Here is a website for a television station that will only show you the content if you are from a specific country. Client side validation should only be used for end user convenience such as making fields required on forms. Sadly many programmers use client side validation for much more. Here is a way you can find if your javascript programmer slacked off rather then using server side validation with Ajax and post requests. If you insist on using client side validation, obscuring the code to make it hard to understand adds at least some layer of protection. Other client side issues inlcude using “display:none” to hide elements which simply be set to display:visible in firebug. Another Firefox plugin used in pen testing from a the POST/REQUEST angle is Tamper Data.

Here is another example of bad client side validation. This site forces you to give up your email to view the content. This give uses the Built in javascript command line. Any javascript entered into the command line will run on the page, since javascript is weekly typed and runs one at a time, whatever you type will overright any previouse rules. This is a great way to debug your javascript.  you can also game sphinn like this,  the crappy SEO site where spammers hang out and stroke each others ego’s. another site where you can do this is Twibbs.com, the twitter directory. get yourself on the home page!

Design with CSS and HTML

Click the inspect element button and hover over the CSS box model or element, when the element is active a blue border will surround it. While the inspect element button is depressed wherever you mouseover on the page will be shown in the code in the firebug window . Now look at the style tab on the right side of the console. You can edit the CSS by clicking on the style rules, there is an autocomplete feature similar to Dreamweaver, you can cycle through the variouse autocomplete suggestions by pressing tab. This is for editing existing style rules on the page. The change appears instantly. Creating a new style rule is a little less intuitive and feature rich. You have to first click on the CSS tab, then click the “edit” button. The css will now be editable similar to a simple text editor, without the autocomplete feature.

At the top of the Firebug window you will see the CSS heierachy, you can mouse over this to drill down to your specific element and have a visual of how your box models and div wrappers fit together.

Creating Mockups

Firebug can be used with Dreamweaver and Photoshop in the design and layout of your page, pages can initialy be coded in Dreamweaver then tested and fine tuned in Firebug, so you can edit on the fly, with instant previews in your browser. It can also be used to gather inspiration from other websites, by exploring their design.
Quick Custom Templates
A) Find a template layout that you like.
B) Replace the images to this template with your own images that you create in Photoshop,
C) Change the HTML and CSS in Firebug untill you get your exact look, start with editing color values and your layout with relative positioning and floated divs.
D) Return to step B untill fine tuned

Network Load: Yslow and Net Tab

Yslow is a plugin developed by Yahoo for Firebug, the plugin analyzes your site for 34 best practices (as decided by Yahoo) divided into 7 categories; the page is then given a grade from A to F. A website should load fast for both users and search engines and this plugin helps you optimize your page for speed. YSlow is a combination of a DOM tree crawler and a packet sniffer. The DOM tree contains all the elements that might make up a web page. YSlow has a built-in DOM crawler and also pulls data from the NET panel to monitor different network requests.

Running YSlow.

Go to the YSlow tab and click run test, you do not want Yslow to automatically run whenever a page opens because it is memory hog and can cause the browser to freeze Do not run it on more than one site at once and restart your browser after running a test, or your browser may end up running at 1,000,000 K. Once your site is graded you can click to for an explanation and solution on speeding up your site. You can also monitor your network load in detail with the network tab; here you see all the GET and POST requests and the HTTP status code for each one. You can also see the size of each request, how long each request took to load and the order in which they were processed. You can expand each request for a detailed look at each individual header. To see the total network usage from one content type you can sort the files by, CSS, Javascript, XHR, Images and Flash. By sorting you can tell if it is one kind of file that is causing problems. Another interactive features include being able to mouse over the status code and if the request is for an image you will see the image pop up.

Yestermorrow 2009 Summer Lecture Series

All lectures begin at 7pm, are free, and open to the general public. Held at Yestermorrow, Route 100, Warren, VT. Directions. Questions? Call 802-496-5545

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June 24
Jeff Parsons (bio)
What Were We Thinking?
Reflections on how Place, Personality and Process Influence Furniture Design at Beeken Parsons
Hear about and view images of pieces, material procurements & processing, and design process of the fine furniture produced at Beeken Parsons, based in Shelburne, VT.

July 1
Joel Glanzberg (bio)
Patterns: Key to Sustainable Communities
Living in a technological world we often try to address every problem with technological solutions. These solutions are often generically applied. Every place is unique and living. Every problem is connected to every other problem. Trying to solve them in isolation merely moves the problem. In order to understand communities and how to address community issues systemically, they need to be understood as a whole. This can only be done through understanding patterns.

July 8
Jacob Deva Racusin (bio)
Bridging the Gap: Bringing Together the Worlds of Natural and Green Building
The modern natural building movement has been growing slowly but steadily for decades across the globe, yet much misunderstanding still remains about its form, function, purpose, and potential. The growth of the green building movement has helped increase awareness of energy efficiency, building performance, and ecological sensitivity. Developments in natural building and design in our cold climate are addressing these concerns, while continuing to support core issues of social and ecological justice and affordability. Come find out how the natural and green building movements can—and must—learn from and work with each other to reach mutual goals.

July 15
John Ringel (bio)
Thoughts on Designing Additions: From Context to Content and Intention to Invention
An “addition” attempts to transform an “existing condition”–with its unique history—into a new configuration for the present owner’s future aspirations. The Design has to account for the existing context with all its foibles, implications and technical challenges. The Design has to articulate the present intentions both stated and implied. The Design becomes an invention—a product of the imagination—that will be a future owners’ existing condition. This lecture will reflect, with examples, on some of the speaker’s experiences “adding on” to numerous residences over the years.

July 22
Matthew O’Connell (bio)
Continuous Transformations:
Something Old, Something New in Making Next Generation Buildings
This talk will present highlights from twenty years of transforming buildings and discuss the specific mechanics of integrating the design and construction processes with examples from collaborations that produced dynamic environments at various scales, from rooms to buildings and landscapes.

July 29
Dan Reicher (bio)
The Power of Information in a Clean Energy Economy
Dan will discuss his 20+ years of experience in business, government and non-governmental organizations focused on energy and environmental technology, policy, finance and law. He serves as Director of Climate Change and Energy Initiatives at Google.org.

August 5
Li Ling Young (bio)
Residential Energy When the Energy Runs Out: Beyond Energy Efficiency
You’ve replaced all your lightbulbs with compact fluorescents, insulated your water heater and sealed air leaks in the basement. What’s next? In this presentation we’ll discuss why energy tinkering is not enough. Come hear about the leading edge of energy efficiency. You’ll be invited to think about your next steps to reduce your reliance on purchased energy, the best places to spend your energy dollars, and what happens when one takes energy efficiency to the extreme—or maybe logical—conclusion.

August 12
Melinda Moulton (bio)
Redevelopment of Burlington’s Waterfront:
A 25-Year Journey of Green and Social Design & Construction
Melinda Moulton, the CEO/Redeveloper of Main Street Landing, will share with you her 25-year journey creating a healthy, vibrant, and socially conscious environment on the Burlington Waterfront. From developing a “team approach to design, development, construction, and management” Melinda has taken a unique and unchartered course in creating over 250,000 square feet of built environment on the shores of Lake Champlain.

August 19
Buzz Ferver (bio)
Beyond Compost: Advanced Uses of Compost and Geotextile Materials
Learn about advanced uses of compost and geotextile materials for stormwater treatment, urban gardening, building “living” retaining walls, greenroofs and more. Join compost visionary Buzz Ferver for a night of pictures and stories on how compost can help restore and regenerate the built environment.

August 26
Mark West (bio)
Pressure Building (Concrete Falls in Love):
Flexible Fabric Molds for Forming Cast Concrete Structure and Architecture
Mark will describe a wide range of simple techniques for forming concrete in inexpensive fabric sheets. For the past 20 years, he has developed a series of unique and efficient fabric formwork methods for constructing reinforced con­crete columns, beams, trusses, walls, precast panels, and thin-shell vaults and panels. This work has been developed from a sculptural practice as well as fundamental structural (and construction) logic and is focused on extraordinarily beautiful and practical de­signs given by the natural deflections offered by simple flat sheets of fabric loaded with concrete.

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Giving up your Data to the Cloud?

IT TURNS OUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN I PAID GOOGLE TO RENEW THE SITE, THEY NEVER REALLY DID.  OR DID SO LATE.  ANYWAY THE DOMAIN WENT ON GODADDY AFTERMARKET THE WHOLE AND WAS ON THE WHOLE TIME WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE FOR THE PAST MONTH.  NO ONE CONTACTED ME ABOUT THIS AND I HAD NO ADMIN SCREEN TO TELL ME.  THE DOMAIN WAS RECENTLY SOLD ON THE GREEDY GODADDY AFTERMARKET FOR 107 DOLLARS. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF EITHER BUYING IT BACK AND CONTACTING GODADDY. (PAYING A 65 DOLLAR BROKER FEE)

as I post from a WordPress hosted blog…

please vote for this on reddit

It all started when I started my little arts and culture blog on blogger, http://www.thegonzojournal.blogspot.com, I was a freelance journalist in my spare time, writing on issues ranging from technology to the art. Eventually I wanted cultivate my own media outlets one of these was a culture blog I started on blogspot http://www.thegonzojournal.blogspot.com. I started getting a ­lot of traffic and people really liked my writing, so I decided to spring for a custom domain address. It would cost ten dollars and as long as I set it up through the backend of the Blogger Dashboard, Google would handle everything for me. Google would purchase the domain from Godaddy and act as the middleman while giving me no access to the server settings of a usual Godaddy account. They would simply point the nameservers for the domain to the blogspot servers I figured this would be a sure way to keep what Pagerank I already had. All I had to do was type the desired address in a little input field. “Wow this couldn’t be better or easier I thought.”

Things went very nice for a year, I had the advantage of not worrying about my large database of blog posts and Google handled everything with 99% uptime; my site started getting recognized and had lots of inbound links and great SEO value. This all changed when it came time to renew my domain. I procrastinated until about 2 or three days before my domain would expire, I did not think this would be a big problem. I paid for two years this time around and everything went through, with a receipt from Google. The Whois information was updated to having my domain expire in 2010 and everything else on Whois stayed the same, I was registered through Godaddy/Domains by Proxy. Unfortunately it must have taken the Google team a while to process that I made the payment and the page started redirecting to one that said “this page parked free by Google Apps.” I could then and even now can still log into the backend of my Blogger dashboard and access, update and edit my blog posts. Shortly after I got this first warning sign, I got contacted by a person asking to buy my domain, apparently it had been placed on a watch list of available high pagerank (PR 4) domains by Godaddy. I resubmitted the site, filled out a contact form to Google and whether this did anything or not my site was back up in a few days. Webmaster tools gave no indication that anything was wrong at any point in this process showing all paged indexed.

Phase 2 of the problem started when the site stopped showing up in Google, (see help link here http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Apps/thread?tid=41bd8853577bd706&hl=en) this only lasted for one day but it told me something was still going on with the hosting. The next day I was back in the SERP’s and ranking great as usual, this went on for another week until my site was down again. First it gave the ubiquitous “This Page has Been Parked Free by Godaddy,” then a few hours later it would redirect to the default search engine page by my host Roadrunner, “Sorry we can not find this page.” I checked the Blogger dashboard and under the little input field where I get to type in my custom domain, it read…

“The DNS record for your domain is not set up correctly yet. If you just purchased this domain the set up process may take up to a day.”

This is when I knew that DNS hijacking had taken place. The next day my New York city music blog for all the eccentric techies, freaks and artists in New York was redirected to a one page spam site. I picked up on something suspicious when I looked at Google Analytics for the time period that my site was de-indexed from Google. The only visits to my blog were coming from a “site:” command somewhere in India. There was nothing I could do, I had given up my life and soul to the great cloud computer in the sky run, run by what I thought was the ironclad braniac team of Google. I have no access to FTP, server settings or DNS, Google handled all of that for me through Godaddy. I only hope that when Matt Cutts gives his presentations at WordCamp on why we should blog, encouraging us all to start up blogging, that he cares enough about his company’s own blogging software and security. Or maybe this is why he uses WordPress? My only hope is that I get this message to someone at Google to take a look at the DNS settings and problems on their stealth servers, as it would be hard to know which server to redirect back to in the first place even if I could Hijack the NS records myself. I still believe Google is one of the best companies ever, besides it’s too late to turn back now. Google If you can read this SEND HELP!

trying to contact Google through any of this has been futile, i have spent hours scouring for contact information on phone, email, and support ticket forms,

It all started when I started my little arts and culture blog on blogger, http://www.thegonzojournal.blogspot.com, I was a freelance journalist in my spare time, writing on issues ranging from technology to the art. Eventually I wanted cultivate my own media outlets one of these was a culture blog I started on blogspot http://www.thegonzojournal.blogspot.com. I started getting a ­lot of traffic and people really liked my writing, so I decided to spring for a custom domain address. It would cost ten dollars and as long as I set it up through the backend of the Blogger Dashboard, Google would handle everything for me. Google would purchase the domain from Godaddy and act as the middleman while giving me no access to the server settings of a usual Godaddy account. They would simply point the nameservers for the domain to the blogspot servers I figured this would be a sure way to keep what Pagerank I already had. All I had to do was type the desired address in a little input field. “Wow this couldn’t be better or easier I thought.”

Things went very nice for a year, I had the advantage of not worrying about my large database of blog posts and Google handled everything with 99% uptime; my site started getting recognized and had lots of inbound links and great SEO value. This all changed when it came time to renew my domain. I procrastinated until about 2 or three days before my domain would expire, I did not think this would be a big problem. I paid for two years this time around and everything went through, with a receipt from Google. The Whois information was updated to having my domain expire in 2010 and everything else on Whois stayed the same, I was registered through Godaddy/Domains by Proxy. Unfortunately it must have taken the Google team a while to process that I made the payment and the page started redirecting to one that said “this page parked free by Google Apps.” I could then and even now can still log into the backend of my Blogger dashboard and access, update and edit my blog posts. Shortly after I got this first warning sign, I got contacted by a person asking to buy my domain, apparently it had been placed on a watch list of available high pagerank (PR 4) domains by Godaddy. I resubmitted the site, filled out a contact form to Google and whether this did anything or not my site was back up in a few days. Webmaster tools gave no indication that anything was wrong at any point in this process showing all paged indexed.

Phase 2 of the problem started when the site stopped showing up in Google, (see help link here http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Apps/thread?tid=41bd8853577bd706&hl=en) this only lasted for one day but it told me something was still going on with the hosting. The next day I was back in the SERP’s and ranking great as usual, this went on for another week until my site was down again. First it gave the ubiquitous “This Page has Been Parked Free by Godaddy,” then a few hours later it would redirect to the default search engine page by my host Roadrunner, “Sorry we can not find this page.” I checked the Blogger dashboard and under the little input field where I get to type in my custom domain, it read…

“The DNS record for your domain is not set up correctly yet. If you just purchased this domain the set up process may take up to a day.”

This is when I knew that DNS hijacking had taken place. The next day my New York city music blog for all the eccentric techies, freaks and artists in New York was redirected to a one page spam site. I picked up on something suspicious when I looked at Google Analytics for the time period that my site was de-indexed from Google. The only visits to my blog were coming from a “site:” command somewhere in India. There was nothing I could do, I had given up my life and soul to the great cloud computer in the sky run, run by what I thought was the ironclad braniac team of Google. I have no access to FTP, server settings or DNS, Google handled all of that for me through Godaddy. I only hope that when Matt Cutts gives his presentations at WordCamp on why we should blog, encouraging us all to start up blogging, that he cares enough about his company’s own blogging software and security. Or maybe this is why he uses WordPress? My only hope is that I get this message to someone at Google to take a look at the DNS settings and problems on their stealth servers, as it would be hard to know which server to redirect back to in the first place even if I could Hijack the NS records myself. I still believe Google is one of the best companies ever, besides it’s too late to turn back now. Google If you can read this SEND HELP!

assembling a DIY CNC

The step-by-step methods used to construct a basic CNC mill are a useful example of how computer controls can be applied to a relatively small machine. In addition, home CNC machining projects illustrate the fundamental principles by which most computer programmed controls operate. As with any do-it-yourself project, however, it is crucial to first obtain the proper skills and training necessary for working with CNC equipment. Personal preparation and observance of safety protocols are important, as is the close adherence to manufacturer recommendations before attempting to construct or modify any device.

Preparing the Components

Assembling a home CNC machine requires a particular set of components, most of which can be purchased from hardware suppliers, obtained from surplus devices, or built with commercially available products and tools. While there are numerous variations on the types of components that may be used, as well as a wide range of different combinations for them, the following list of parts may be used as a general guideline:

• Stepper motor: This is a relatively high-torque motor with multiple coils and wires, and is available in both unipolar and bipolar configurations.

• Drive screw: The drive screw can be made from a threaded metal rod coupled with a complementary nut to reduce drag.

• Linear Slides: Linear slides may be taken from a multi-axis cutting table or manufactured from machined steel with ball bearings and an angled roller.

• Controller: The controller unit regulates the machine’s motors and provides an interface for the operator. For a more detailed list of the components used in its assembly, see “Components for a Do-It-Yourself CNC Machine.”

Assembling a Controller Device

Assembling the controller unit for a home CNC lathe or mill largely depends on putting together translator chips and networking cables that will be linked to the motor. Do-it-yourselfers often use standard 8- or 16-pin sockets to mount the translators onto a pre-printed and drilled processor board. The controller can then be attached to a parallel port array with soldered connections.

A typical stepper motor has four electrical coils with six wires attached. Each pair of coils has corresponding common and dedicated leads. The resistance between the leads can be measured by a multi-meter in order to identify each wire. The resistance across a set of coils is generally double that of a single coil and wires connected to separate coil pairs will provide higher resistance as well. In some cases, the motor may have linked common leads. There are normally six output connections on a controller unit and a group of three wires should connect to each pair of coils on the motor.

Threaded Rods

Before beginning work on the structural components in a small CNC machine, it may be helpful to invest in a couple of sturdy cutting boards for use as workpieces, as well as a sharp table saw or circular miter saw. The threaded rod must be able to move within the motor apparatus while also being anchored for stability, and ball bearings can be used for installation. First, holes around the same size as the diameter of the ball bearings are drilled into the cutting board. Next, a slot is cut using the miter saw, and a machine screw hole is drilled into the cutting board workpiece. The ball bearings are positioned between nuts tightened along the threaded rod with a wrench, and the machine screw and bearings are secured into the machine block.

The Mechanical Frame

Constructing a mechanical base usually requires some careful design planning to evaluate the overall size of the finished machine and the subsequent amount of material that will be necessary to fabricate it. Measuring the machine’s axes and positioning the components is one way of planning the layout. Next, the table or miter saw can be used to shape the cutting boards into pieces for the machine’s framework. A flat base can serve as a foundation if holes are drilled for machine screws to be threaded into the material. A bearing block can be added into the rectangular frame once holes have been drilled and rods are installed to maintain the structure’s integrity.

The Upper Axis

The upper portion of the CNC machine can be constructed with a pair of simple sliding rails or with a larger slider at the base. A three-sided tower can be attached to the edge of the base, with the center piece shaped from the same cut as the bottom section. To drill more accurate holes, screw the pieces together first and then use the drill press to make mounting holes. The central sliding device must have holes aligned for both the slider and the threaded rod, while a nut can be used to properly secure them. Using a sander or other smoothing tool to contour the sliding unit can make it easier to mount without weakening the stability of the metal components.

After the slider has been installed, the holes for the axes need to be drilled and screws may be used to position them. A dremel shaft can be used to create a mount for a rotating tool, and one with greater flexibility can help reduce vibration. Motor mount brackets will serve to secure the stepper motors in place. Finally, after these components have been fitted together, various CNC software programs can be set up for use on the machine. The controller interface allows the user to control the machine through these computer programs.

Firebug and SEO

Understanding javascript with the Command line DOM and script tab
Another important feature of Firebug is the Javascript Command line and DOM tree which is beyond the scope of this article, Firebug allows you to browse all the elements in the DOM and inspect that element further in the javascript script tab or html allowing you to quickly locate functions and variables. In the script tab you can also set breakpoints and step through code. The javascript command line allows you to write javascript directly to the page, because javascript runs one at a time(no two functions can run at once) and is weekly typed any line that is written will overload whatever has already run on the page. If you want to learn javascript Firebug is a great tool to do so with features like autocomplete and many more that give a great learning experience.
It will over right what has been already because JavaScript executes one at a time and is weekly. Typed funny how mat cutts is number one spam fighter and he is assigned to be friends with all the seos. Keep your friends close and enemies closer?

SEO in 60 seconds.
Make sure you sign out of Google when you check rankings as they vary. Google rankings is on multiple servers (see map reduce) and they are not always 100% synched all day so results by IP, time of day and other factors also change. What increases ranking most is Links (see pagerank paper) the anchor text for the links determines the keywords links that look like they formed naturally and wouldn’t set off any flags are usually best. Use common sense. Use and understand Google search, Yahoo site explorer, google analytics maybe webmaster tools and light use of some other tools. Get some social media accounts, then have fun with them. Know that www is a subdomain understand this as well as other technical info about servers, html and css.

Enivornmental Ideas for your Shop

Sorry for the formatting on this one

Making a shop warm is a relatively
straightforward task, and you have bushels of
choices: from portable electric heaters to
stoves that burn wood, biomass pellets,
or even corn. (No, it doesn’t pop.)
But making a shop into the comfortable
and inviting retreat that you want
requires more than raw Btus. To make
your energy dollars more efficient, you’ll
want to make sure that your shop has
well-insulated sidewalls. And if your
shop is in a garage or freestandingbuilding,
be certain that the attic space above
it has adequate insulation. In addition,
you’ll also need to plan for air movement
within your shop.
Transform concrete lnto a
warm and reslllent surface
If standing on a cold concrete slab
keeps you out of your shop or garage, a
modular air-gap system, such as DRICore,
above, quickly and easily creates a
vapor barrier and insulating air gap
above the concrete surface. As an added
bonus, the new resilient floor reduces
leg fatigue. As a result, you’ll discover
that your shop time is far less tiring.
The 2×2′ tongue-and-groove panels are
easy to transport and simple to install. You
can cut and drill the panels with power and
hand tools. Place %” spacers along the
perimeter of the room and around fixed
obstructions, then tap the panel edges
together using a hammer and block of
wood. For maximum strengtfi stagger.the
.joints between rows in a brick-bond pattem.
At low spots, use the company’s plastic
shims to level an uneven shop floor.
For shop use, you can leave the
oriented-strand-board (OSB) surface as
is, or apply a stain, sealer, or paint. If
you ever convert the space into a living
area, the system serves as an excellent
subfloor for carpet, or “floating” installations
such as laminate or engineered
wood flooring.
When installed over a concrete
floor, a modular air-gap system
creates a vapor barrier and
insulating air gap. The 2×2′
DRlCore panels slide together.
The inset image aboveshows
the air gaps.
The panels have an impressive load
rating of 5,000 pounds per square foot,
and have a low retail price of about
$1.50 per square foot. For more details
about air-gap flooring, see page 20.
Choose the rloht tvre and
amount of iniulatioh
Whether you’re building from scratch
or want to upgrade the energy efficiency
of your existing shop, you need to know
the recommended levels of insulation
for your part of the country. Energy Star
is a joint program of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency and
the Department of Energy. The prograrn
goal is to help people save money and
protect the environment through
energy-efficient practices and products.
Energy Star estimates that a knowledgeable
homeowner or contractor can
saveu p to 2Oo/oo n annual heating and
cooling costs while enjoying additional
comfort as well as the savings. For more
Best-Ever Home Shop ldeas 2009
lnsulation Recommendations for Existing
Wood-Frame Houses.

Insulation amounts are specified by
R-value, which is a measure of the
insulation’s ability to resist the movement
of heat traveling though it. The
larger the R-value, the greater the
insulating ability of the material. Refer
to the USA map and chart above for
recommended R-values in your climate
region of the country.
Start by sealing air leahs
Most air leaks are easy to find because
you’ll feel them as cold drafts in the
wintertime. A stick of incense is another
way to help you find an air leak. You’ll
see the gentle smoke trail deflected by
even the tiniest air leak. Likely locations
to begin your investigation include
windows and outside doors, as well as
electrical switchplates and sockets.
Seal leaks around electrical devices
with inexpensive closed-cell foam sealers.
(Shop in the weather-stripping aisle
of your hardware store or home center.)
Around doors, examine weatherstripping
at the top and sides of the
door. Don’t neglect the seal and sweep
at the bottom of the door.
For tight spaces, aerosol foam sealant
performs well. (Great Stuff and DAP
products are distributed nationwide.)
Use the ordinary variety for generalwoodmagazlne.
com
purpose sealing, but purchase the lowexpansion
formulation for improvements
around the frames of doors and windows.
That’s because the standard
formulation can expand too aggressively
in these applications, and could even
bow the iambs, making it difficult to
operate your windows and doors.
Duct sealing is another important
step. If your home’s ductwork is accessible
(in an attic, basement, or crawl space,
for example), seal the joints with a special
duct sealer (also called duct mastic)
to help eliminate the loss of heated or
cooled air. Don’t rely on ordinary duct
tape because it simply doesn’t have the
sealing ability to deliver the energysaving
results you want.
Fiberqlass and other
insuliting choices
Fiberglasso ffers an affordablea nd widely
available form of insulation. You’ll find
it in 1-6″o r 24″ widths suitable for studs
or ioists that are spaced on center. Some
batts come factory-cut for standard studbay
lengths so that you don’t need to
trim each batt; other fiberglass products
come as a continuous roll.
As a final consideration, choose
whether you want the fiberglass to have
a kraft paper facing. In most areas of the
United States, the paper faces the living
space. However, in some humid locations
(such as the Gulf Coast), the paper faces
outdoors. Check with your buildingregulation
official for which orientation
is appropriate for your location.
You’ll also find expanded polystyrene
(Styrofoam is one brand) in sheet thicknesses
at your local home center. The
material easily cuts with a handsaw. If
you need to glue these panels in place,
select an adhesive specifically approved
for the application.
You’ll be a fan of this ldea
Unless your shop has an air-circulation
system, the area will probably suffer
from hot and cold spots, air that settles
into temperature layers, and moistureladen
air that collects in corners and
other dead areas. Stale air can produce
a musty smell or even bloom into a
serious mold infestation. Moving the
air helps solve those problems, and it
can also relieve a claustrophobic feeling
in small shops.
If your shop has a high ceiling, consider
a ceiling fan. Manufacturers’Web
sites will help match your shop’s volume
with the recommended number of
fans, their blade diameters, and mounting
heights. In warm weather, you run
the fan so that it blows downward
on you, creating a cooling evaporative
“wind chill” effect. Reverse the fan’s
rotation in cold weather to harvest
warm air from the top of the room and
guide it down the walls without creating
a draft. Both ways, you’ll be more
comfortable.

Welding Aluminum Foil

Although we primarily focus on the chip-making operations shops perform, this welding “parlor trick” on Miller Electric’s Web site is worth a look-see.

The trick—welding together two pieces of aluminum foil—is performed by Ron Covell, owner of Covell Creative Metalworking. Mr. Covell’s customized cars and motorcycles have been featured in a number of magazines. His Web site has examples of his handiwork and numerous welding instructional DVDs that he offers. Give this trick a shot!

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