On Thursday 17 September 2020 17:10:08 Chris Albertson wrote: > > Your designs are yours according to copyright law. Any EULA that > > says otherwise or holds that data for ransom should not be signed, > > to me its a full stop, back away. If you can't save your work, in a > > standard format understood by other similar SW, on your own storage > > media, full stop, you are dealing with rectums. > > You are right but EVERY CAD system allows you to save work locally in > a usable format. But many times machinists are anything > but sophisticated computer users and they don't understand about > backup and file formats and they allow themselves to be painted into a > corner. Don't blame the paintbrush of lack of planning. But on the > other hand without experience, you don't know that planning is needed. > > Every business needs contingency plans. What if you are force to > switch CAD systems. What if a motor fails on a machine or there is a > building fire? Even hobby users need to think a little about this.
Absolutely Chris. One of the things I've learned in my lengthy wanderings about the electronics landscape, from '47 to '20 now. Yup, I'm an old old hand with vacuum tubes, even some bigger, very expensive ones, like 4km100la klystrons. Only $125,000 new 50 years ago. Technologically superceded in the '80's, I might be the only one left alive who could lift one out of its shipping casket, dress it up with all the rf cavities and cooling plumbing, lower it into its 2200 lb magnet dolly, adjust it and put it on the air. All the rest of the old hands who knew all that have fell over in the passing of time. Ticklish to do, 10 seconds with a missadjusted magnet coil and you just made junk from $125,000. Less than that if the 15 hp cooling pump got single-phased, about a second from recognizing the loud hum telling me the pump had lost a phase and had stalled until the buildings 1200 amp entrance breaker went down like a 10 gauge shotgun. The electron beam had blown a hole in the copper funnel that had 70+ gallons of water a minute flowing around it one second before. Filled the tube full of water, shorting out the 20kv beam supply. Standing at the monitor/control panel, my arm was on its way to hit the off button but wasn't fast enough. Not in the years budget, the Nebraska gov had to call 2 quorum sessions of the legislature to pass the authority to put it out for bid, and again to write the check before Varian would ship after they had built a new one for us. Needless to say, as it was being installed, so was a couple 50kv, 50 amp Jennings vacuum relays to shut down the 20kv beam supply in 50 milliseconds the next time that $100 pump breaker that started all the excitement failed. That was an expensive lesson in "insurance" engineering. And thats just one of the war stories I can relate. This last 70 some years has been an interesting ride. Cheers, Gene Heskett -- "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable. - Louis D. Brandeis Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene> _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
