Changes on the supreme court

[CNCAppsJames]

Ahh.. you still did a good job.  You wrote a program in about 20 minutes or so. 

The only real reason I was sent down was to see the footprint of the machine and look at a Fanuc control that didn't have a Mori front end (we a lot of Mori's back in those days).  We knew nothing about Toyoda machines. The hard metal (4340 so not too hard) was to see how rigid the machine was.  We machined almost all hard metals back in those days.

You guys still sell the Toyodas?  If not, what's your opinion on them today? 

We ended up going with the Mori and it had nothing to do with you. We had a very good relationship with Ellison at the time so it wasn't going to matter. Or at least that was the feeling I got. Local support was really important and I don't think that Toyoda had any at the time.

Thank you.

We do still sell Toyoda in most regions IIRC. We parted ways for a time. They had some up and coming management and sales staff in the US that was not happy with our relationship with Matsuura and felt that we were not representing their product well enough... nevermind that we held "Matsuura Dealer of the Year" and "Toyoda Dealer of the Year" simultaneously. Fast forward a few years, the up and comers came and went and we're back.

My opinion of them is they make a great HMC... it's like THEIR THING, they fill a great niche for us in the Bridge Mill segment too. GCode has one... I think it has worked well for them...   Here's the REAL problem though... the HMC market is on the downward slope and has been since the early 2000's. The HMC market has been steadily losing ground to the 5-Axis platform in MANY regions all across the world. Matsuura... they've been building palletized 5-Axis machines since the EARLY 1990's. They were first. They got it... a LONG time ago. Most of the HMC builders believe the glory days of HMC's will make a comeback. Makino's core business is the HMC, or bastardized HMC to make a 5-Axis. My crystal ball tells me the HMC market will decline further as JIT continues to evicerate old batch production business models.

HMC's will ALWAYS have a place in production manufacturing. Guaranteed. It's the perfect platform for that. High mix, low volume multi operation parts that really is the VAST majority of what I see... not so much.

Having a solid dealer is the key to machinery success. It really is. WHEN things go wrong, if the dealer is squared away, you're going to have a better experience. All we ever ask for is a shot. You gave us that, and I appreciate the opportunity.

[mowens]

Was Bob Wolcott the baseball player?


I see old movies that take place in LA and the air is just brown. I've never been there, but, from what i see in movies and TV the air looks a lot clearer now. Is that the case?

I remember Jimmy Buffet's first big hit had a line about a "brown LA haze". For a long time, I couldn't figure out what a "brown elly" was and why it was hazy.

[CNCAppsJames]

I'm not smart enough to claim that I know either way. This is sorta like the vaccine debate? We pick and chose studies. 

As long as you remember that big ball of fire in the sky, ALL the volcanic activity, AND the things going on in the interior of the earth get a vote on this planet's climate, you'll know more than the vast majority of the climate change turds ever will.

I'm literally surrounded by mountains that were carved up by glaciers LONG before automobiles, dairy farms, and arsonists were around to make their mark.

[CNCAppsJames]

Was Bob Wolcott the baseball player?


I see old movies that take place in LA and the air is just brown. I've never been there, but, from what i see in movies and TV the air looks a lot clearer now. Is that the case?

I remember Jimmy Buffet's first big hit had a line about a "brown LA haze". For a long time, I couldn't figure out what a "brown elly" was and why it was hazy.

He was. Pitched for the Seattle Mariners during the A-Rod, Randy Johnson, and Griffey Jr. era.

The air in SoCal is definitely cleaner than the 70's, 80's and early 90's. The problem now is that the practical changes have been made. Population has increased exponentially and even if they were to eliminate ALL ICE's in the region... which during COVID we saw VERY few vehicles on the road for a sustained period of time and yet, there was still smog. The topography of the region is such that it collects air until there is sufficient wind to carry it away. Nothing ANYONE does will change the region's topography.

[MIL-TFP-41]

Was Bob Wolcott the baseball player?

Yes, I believe most of his baseball career was with Seattle. Last I remember of him, he was trying to sort out Mastercam's Mill-Turn & he was less than impressed, rightfully so. I'm guessing he is now in the Esprit camp. 

[mowens]

We have a brown haze in our air now. The weather people tell us it's from Canadian wildfires. That's been happening every summer for the last few years.

It used to be that brown air meant a dust storm was coming.

[CNCAppsJames]

Yes, I believe most of his baseball career was with Seattle. Last I remember of him, he was trying to sort out Mastercam's Mill-Turn & he was less than impressed, rightfully so. I'm guessing he is now in the Esprit camp.

I believe he's out of the machining business completely... as of last year IIRC anyway. I saw somewhere online that he and his wife were divorcing closing the business and parting ways.

[neurosis]

I believe he's out of the machining business completely... as of last year IIRC anyway. I saw somewhere online that he and his wife were divorcing closing the business and parting ways.

Damn.  I hadn't heard from him in a while but it sounded as though he had a good business model.  I've talked to him privately several times and he sounded as though his goal was to have a group of people working for him that were all fluent in the trade. 

That sucks if he folded. 

[neurosis]

Yes, I believe most of his baseball career was with Seattle. Last I remember of him, he was trying to sort out Mastercam's Mill-Turn & he was less than impressed, rightfully so. I'm guessing he is now in the Esprit camp.

I was a huge baseball fan during that time. Yea, he had some good outings but uh.   

[Del.]

I believe he's out of the machining business completely... as of last year IIRC anyway. I saw somewhere online that he and his wife were divorcing closing the business and parting ways.

It always seemed he was depending on his machines running 100% capacity to survive.

[neurosis]

His site is still up. I wonder if it's monitored anymore?

https://rapidmachiningsolutions.com/about-us/

[MIL-TFP-41]

His site is still up. I wonder if it's monitored anymore?

https://rapidmachiningsolutions.com/about-us/

looks like the sale of the business did happen.....

https://www.linkedin.com/company/rapid-machining-solutions/

[CNCAppsJames]

Damn.  I hadn't heard from him in a while but it sounded as though he had a good business model.  I've talked to him privately several times and he sounded as though his goal was to have a group of people working for him that were all fluent in the trade. 

That sucks if he folded. 

I don't know that it was a fold, because he was successful from every thing I'd ever heard... the divorce seemed to be focal point of it IIRC... I'm just not finding the post. Wolcott Design Services probably had to dissolve in order to divide up the assets... just a guess.

[riverhunter]

I do remember Bob.  Back when dynamic milling came out he was always posting some impressive feeds and speeds.  he also loved his makino's.  I thought his shop was on his property, but may be wrong.  that was around the time Collin was still at THE Boeing and another guy on here was keeping a spreadsheet on proves feeds and speeds with dynamic milling.  that sheet was a great reference in the beginning.

[neurosis]

I thought his shop was on his property, but may be wrong.

It was. He started on his property and outgrew it I believe.