hello, oo yes, machine parameters ... i spent almost all my time on okuma, and i have a few software cds for each machine
1st time when i saw the cds, i really had no clue about how important are those, but now i keep them organized for each machine, and a back-up ... i started to back-up things a few years ago ( mostly to save custom machine programs ), and sometimes i think that, if workplace and house burn down, i will lose my back-up :) i am not really protected against a huge earthquake and internet-going-down, so i consider to print them all and bury them under a tree :)
our local okuma dealer used to deliver the cd's each time :
... a new machine was delivered
... a software upgrade occured, because :
...... client ordered a machine accesory, or special function, etc
...... okuma requested that each client should receive latest software version, for some safety reason
* i have seen how, because of an update, the machine started to move faster when executing certain type of codes
in the end, our local okuma dealer decided to stop sending the cd's to the clients, after someone decided to re-install it's system and screwed it so nice, that in the end it was required for okuma-japan to come and fix his machine
i don't know
Al_The_Man from where did your idea come, thus i always thought that you only reply, not also start threads ( it may be just me, whatvever, i rarely see you, maybe because i am a bit blind, or something )
but what amazes me, is that each time a machine get's realigned ( because of a crash ), it may get bumped again in the next hours or days :) it happened to me also a few times, and i really started to think about machining regardless of alignment status, so i managed to:
... drill ( 8-10 L/D ) on inclined turrets
... align live tools with tir<>0
... skew programs, so to handle cases where s and z axis are no longer paralel
* thus i try to postpone machine alignment as looong as possible :)
last time when we could align it back, we simply leaved it like that, and aligned a different machine, which was in a worse state, not because it was critical to align it, but had not ever been aligned before, so at least to have a clue about how-to-fix-it :)
i believe that few persons, when buying their 1st cnc, are aware of parameters and back-up ... they simply wanna get it started to get their money back :)
and there is huge pressure, especially for those that get a brand new machine with their own money, in comparison to those that get a new one using help through a state-fund-project ( thus they pay only a fraction, not entire purchase cost ), or in comparison to someone that get a 2nd hand machine and tries to fit it inside the garage
so there is a huge pressure for each one, more or less, but sometimes, some shops, can not relief pressure, even after a few years ... their mind is always focused on short-terms, and costs, without being able to see far ahead ... in such a situation, losing the parameters may be "fatal", thus maybe parameter-restoration-cost is too high, or the cnc machine dealer simply vanished ... etc
this "huge pressure" normally lowers when operators/programers/technicians get's more experience and get-along with each other, and this combo does not fall from sky
also, this pressure may lower pretty fast, only if someone is eating cake, but is hard to keep it, because everybody wants a bite ... generally, this ends with nasty arguments :)
there are tiny strings behind all these, making someone believe that is his fault, or his employes fault that they coudn't relief the pressure, but in reality, this strings are forcing big companies to move their plants, and, a few years after, also they may determine a smaller company to move to other country, or shutdown ...
i have seen how clothes industry moved, slowely, but steady, through a few countries, ending up in places from where is no other place to go; now, this also happens with metal cutting industry
many people said that there will always be metalcutting from
https://cyberpunkclothing.net/, because is hard to move it, because is required to run with experienced operators, etc, but reality is different
these days, even a well organized shop is feeling this pressure ... truth is that pressure was always there, and some were able to manage it ... these day pressure increased because those tiny strings got stretched just a bit more
sorry for the long reply, ideas changed as i was writing it / kindly :)