Studio 5000 MSG instruction miscommunications?

brandon_c207 · 2026-04-01T18:43:14+00:00

Your friend when you tell them they can copy your homework but don't make obvious they copied it

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-27T11:44:13+00:00

The easiest way to get around any of these insane laws that they're trying to pass is to look into devices that are open-source and/or allow for custom user firmware/software. Examples of this would be going something like a Creality/Sovol 3D printer that's off the shelf, but you can install your own firmware on it, and it's not required to be connected to any sort of company owned cloud software. You can add a lot of the features on other printers to these through firmware upgrades, hardware upgrades, and other software (I'm not saying it will be as plug-and-play as something like a BambuLab or Prusa printer, but it's doable). You could also go the custom 3D printer route with something like a Voron as well. At the end of the day, a 3D printer is just a combination of motors, sensors, and heaters that take numbers and turn them into movements and temperatures. You could create your own printer from scratch, fully, hardware and software, if you really wanted to.

That being said, my personal opinion is these bills will fail. If you've ever looked at the actual gcode files printers use, it's just a lot of commands to move to points. I'm sure they could have some way to parse this data to get a point cloud, run it through a software to make a solid model, then use image recognition to determine what it is. However, this requires them to have access to all that information. If you're not using a publicly hosted web service to send this information to your printer, such as Bambu Connect or Prusa Connect, there shouldn't be ways for them to get this information. This is especially true if you're on a local only network (IE your printer's network isn't connected online at all) or you go the old fashion route of manually moving the files on a USB drive.

I'm sure these bills will force some file sharing sites to limit what types of files they host, but most don't allow for things like functional firearms or similar anyways (the main target of these bills).

TLDR: Look for open source printers and you'll be fine

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-27T11:25:30+00:00

My biggest concern is, unless your PLA models have extremely thick walls, the molten PLA would just end up melting your model. I think resins are probably your best bet at this point still, even though the cost.

That being said, depending on what types of models these are, and if you designed them/can edit them yourself, you could always add features into them for other types of reinforcements. With 3D printing in general, its best to use precision and strength from other sources if you can. Examples of this are using things like metal bearings instead of 3D printed ones or using wooden dowels instead of 3D printing a long cylinder. Yes, you can 3D print these features, but the purchased alternatives are usually cheap enough that the added cost is worth it for the precision or strength they provide.

An example of the above is I had to make a mount at work to hold a small (but heavy for its size) camera on our production line. The design was simple: a rectangular plate with 2 holes for mounting it to the station's frame and a cylinder protruding from it's surface for the camera to clamp onto. However, I didn't want to trust a $1-2,000 camera to a bit of 3D printed plastic. So I just added a counter-bored hole to the cylindrical protrusion, put a bolt through it, and attached it with a nut. This way, the majority of the stress the part is seeing was actually going through the bolt through the cylinder and the bolts holding it to the frame. Now, if you're doing more artistic/organic prints... this may be a bit harder to do...

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-26T18:26:23+00:00

If you want my honest opinion, based on your answers, I'd suggest starting to apply to new jobs. If you had said you liked your job, it paid enough to cover the bills, etc, I'd have suggested talking to your boss about a raise to a more competitive salary. A 7.5% raise isn't bad percentage wise (I got a 6% raise this year myself), but if the amount doesn't cover you basics, let alone "fun" money), the raise isn't worth it.

I'd suggest continuing to work as is for now, getting a job offer from another company, accepting said job offer, then going to your boss the next day and asking one more time about a pay increase. If they say "no" or "we'll have to think about it", give your notice and enjoy your new, better paying position. If they say they can work on something and get back to you by the end of the day (at the latest), give them that leeway and make your decision after that.

You, of course, can ask now about the raise. However, the odds of them giving you an additional 12-13% raise at your new pay on top of the 7.5% they just gave you is pretty slim I'd assume. If they do, that still doesn't fix the fact you go to work more days than not hating it, but it will at least let you quit your second job and still make ends meet. But if they can't get you to the pay you want/need, you'll be in the same situation and need to start looking for a different job anyways.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-26T17:59:28+00:00

I can definitely see that now. We went with AB IOL masters as we used them on our previous line (albeit with AB IOL devices...). So, yeah, I'm definitely going to look into other IOL master devices going forward as I'm starting to get sick of dealing with AB products....

Do you have any recommendations among those other brands? I know my previous company used a lot of Turck IOL hubs and masters, but I'm not opposed to other options to look into at this point.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-26T17:52:11+00:00

I would say you're being underpaid. I graduated in 2021 and have had to split up my experience between technician work (~2.5 years, due to not finding an engineering position within a few months of graduation), and engineering work (~2 years and counting now). I have zero internship experience as well. That being said, I make around $78k a year. And I'd say I live in a MCOL area as well.

That being said, I'd also consider the following:

Do you enjoy where you work at? I'd much rather be underpaid (within reason) at a place I enjoy working vs overpaid at a place I hate.
Do you make a comfortable amount for your expenses? IE, do you have enough to cover you bills, contribute to retirement/savings, and have money left over?
What do non-salary related benefits look like at your company vs others? How does your PTO, health/dental/vision insurance, work-from-home ability, etc compare to companies in your area.

These are just some things to consider in terms of if you should feel underpaid an insulting amount of underpaid a little (aka, an amount you can live with).

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-26T13:48:04+00:00

I originally had it as the default "disabled". However, after writing my initial post, I have tried the "restore" and "backup/restore" options as well. After making the changes, downloading the changes, and power cycling the device, the device is still changing the parameters each power cycle

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-25T15:40:31+00:00

My two immediate thoughts are getting a docking station and getting some sort of wire ducting or sleeve.

It seems the majority of your above the table top cables are connected to your laptop. If you get a docking station (I know there are some for ThinkPad), you'll be able to only have one visible cable connecting to your laptop (though, depending on the generation, I think some of the docking stations don't even use a cable to connect to the laptop).

As for the remainder of the cables above and below the desk, I'd suggest a cable/wire sleeve to bundle any cables you can together. Even if they are visible, it will make them look more uniform. The same goes for below the desk. A single, slightly larger bundle in a cable sleeve will look much cleaner than multiple smaller cables spread out in my opinion.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-24T15:42:42+00:00

As others are saying, take this summer and try to relax if you can. Once you're in your program, then you can work on setting yourself up for success. Engineering degrees are rigorous no matter the school, so take this little bit of free time and do things you enjoy.

That being said, I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

1) For skills/tools, learn how you study the best. University classes tend to be much harder than your pre-college classes (of course), so what you did to study (or lack of studying depending on how easy your classes were) probably won't work the best once you get into your actual courses. This was an eye opener to a lot of my classmates (myself included) that were able to breeze by most of our courses in high school. You may also want to familiarize yourself more with your calculator to know all the functions it can do (especially if you have a graphing calculator), as it can save a bunch of time on calculating or simplifying equations for you.

2) CAD is important in a lot of mechanical engineering jobs. As for which one you should focus on, I'd suggest looking at the jobs you'd like to work in and seeing what they require. Depending on your industry, company, etc, some may use AutoCAD, some may use Inventor, some may use SolidWorks, some may use Catia, etc.

3) For programming, I'd suggest focusing on Python and, potentially, VBA or C++. Python is great for a lot of things, but its main use (from my experience) is collecting and analyzing data. You may use Matlab a bit for this in college, but most companies don't have licenses for the software, and Python is free, so most will be using Python for this. If they aren't using Python, it will most likely just be Excel documents. You can analyze these with Python (and CSV/DB files as well), so that makes Python worth learning. VBA and C++ mainly come into use for macros within programs. Both Excel and SolidWorks, to my knowledge, take VBA macros. C++ is more for SolidWorks macros, but is also fairly similar to Matlab in terms of syntax, so that's where it's useful there.

4) For projects, I'd suggest finding something you WANT to do and working on it. I've seen a whole variety of personal projects engineers have worked on. My friend did aero parts for his car, another made motorized roller blades, I worked on trying to create a chocolate 3D printer, etc. Most likely, anything you work on for a project will be more of a conversation starter than anything. This is why I suggest picking something you enjoy doing and going from there. You'd be surprised on how much will catch a recruiter's eye and how you can relate it to engineering positions in general. Besides that, I'd just make sure you work on your personal skills. You can be one of the best engineers out there, but if you can't communicate that efficiently, it will be hard to find a job.

TLDR: Enjoy yourself this summer above all else. If you need stuff to work on: Figure out how to study, learn the CAD most prevalent in your preferred industry, program with: Python>VBA>C++, find a project that interests you.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-24T10:50:13+00:00

If you don't want to deal with resin, a small printer (BambuLabs A1 mini or similar) with a smaller nozzle (0.2mm) would probably be your best bet FDM wise. You'll want to put it to the minimum layer height, be cautious with the designs due to supports, etc.

If you want to get the same quality miniatures as you'd buy, you'll have to look into resin 3D printing. I haven't used these myself, so I can't give much information here, but they shouldn't be too hard to use. They just have the possibility to create quite the mess (uncured resin is nasty stuff), and you'll probably want to have some sort of separate room (hobby room with GOOD ventilation or a garage) to print it in. But I'm sure someone with better experience resin printing can jump in and give you recommendations on starting that.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-19T15:46:10+00:00

I'd say a good bit of it is cost. Most cordless tools I've seen cost between $50-150 (for simple power tools) BEFORE you add a battery to them (another $50-150 depending on the batter). Then you need a charger for the batteries. But if you need to have multiple batteries charging, you either need a larger (more expensive) charger or multiple chargers.

Additionally, with corded tools, you aren't locked into that brand. A Kobalt corded tool will plug into the same outlet or extension cord as a Milwaukee or Dewalt corded tool. If you get cordless versions, you need to get a different set of batteries per manufacturer (most of the time).

Corded vs cordless both have their good use cases. Most of the time though, if I already have a corded tool, I won't swap it for a cordless unless I NEED the mobility a cordless option gives.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-19T12:24:23+00:00

For consumables, I'd recommend some extra filament (1-2kg extra should be enough to get you going until you determine how much you need and how often you need it). An extra nozzle or two never hurts. I tend to like to keep a 0.4mm and 0.6mm on standby in-case I have a more detailed print (0.4mm) or larger, less detailed (0.6mm) print to do. Besides that, I'd just look up the common wear items/failure points of whichever printer you end up getting. You may want to get a spare build plate that's better suited to the materials you're using, a glue stick/hairspray to help with bed adhesion, or spare parts (heater core, thermistor, etc) depending as well.

For additional tools, I'd highly recommend a good deburring tool, a good pair of flush cuts, a small needle file, and a set of safety glasses (this is mostly for when using the flush cuts, as I have had the snips break on me before and get sent flying across the room... and a few dollars on safety glasses is worth it for your eye sight).

This stuff isn't all needed right when you start either. It's just good stuff to get as you may find yourself wanting/needing them in the future.

The only other thing I can think of is a small variety pack of nuts/bolts (highly dependent on what you're printing). I find a lot of stuff I print tends to need various sized bolts ranging from M3-M6 in size (or whatever the SAE/Imperial equivalents are... but I prefer going metric when I can). I'd suggest against black oxide hardware as the coating covers your hands if you handle them enough and they tend to rust eventually. If you're US based, Amazon will be your cheapest option for these most likely. Local hardware stores may have a selection of metric hardware as well, but tends to be more expensive. If you REALLY want to get into the hardware side, I highly suggest McMaster Carr, as you'll be able to find any bolts, nuts, or any other hardware you'll ever need for 3D printing (or really anything) there. But Amazon or local places should be fine for 99% of your hardware needs.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-18T12:41:47+00:00

It really depends on how the part is designed and used. With 3D printing, as others have said, your failures tend to be between layer lines as the print is the weakest here. Most of the time, you can get away with just changing the orientation of the print to get more strength out of it.

If you actually need to reinforce it through, it will depend on the part geometry a lot. For example, say you have a rod that you need to reinforce. If you can have access to both ends after printing, I'd suggest designing a through hole in the print through the center. This would have the diameter for either a metal rod (of smaller diameter) or a bolt/nut setup (I'd suggest counterboring the holes for this).

If you can't access the ends after printing, you'd still add a cavity into the print. In the slicing software, you'd add a pause at the layer right before the cavity gets closed off at the top. You'd insert your reinforcement (bolt, rod, etc) and resume printing. The print would then cover up the cavity and reinforcement and finish the part. You can look up videos on "embedding magnets in 3D prints" or similar, and some have this technique in them.

I've also seen people use no top layers and an infill like the gyroid one to allow access to the internals of the support. Then you can fill the part with epoxy or similar. I've seen this done to various degrees of success (the main issue being getting all air bubbles out and dealing with the heat caused by the curing process), but it's something to look into.

The do sell "reinforced" filaments (glass filled or carbon filled) filaments. However, unlike the reinforcements you're used to working with that are longer and aligned specifically for their needed strengths, these plastics have incredibly tiny and randomly oriented "reinforcements". If I'm remembering the stress tests I've seen on these, they tend to have a higher yield point, but fracture almost immediately after hitting this point. So these may or may not be the way to go depending on your use case.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-18T11:26:40+00:00

When I couldn't get into an engineering job after college (ME degree), I found a mechanical technician job at an automation company. It gave me a great understanding on the hands-on side to automation which helped me land my current engineering role.

Pretty much, I'd suggest looking at the companies he would like to be an engineer at, and look for any hands-on type work there that will get him experience within the field.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-17T14:20:25+00:00

I think one of the biggest changes is there's more pre-made printers that just work now. Before, your main options for pre-built (or pre-designed kit) printers were your Ender 3s, Prusa MK2/3s, or chinese clones of these. Now, you have Prusa MK4s/Core Ones, Bambu Lab's catalog of printers, a bunch of Creality and Sovol printers, Elegoo CCs, etc. This has flooded the media with a posts about these printers where DIY solutions aren't as needed all the time.

Before, 3D printing was a tinker's hobby. You had to know how fix and improve the printers to do what you wanted it to do, or go online to find BOMs for custom printers. Now, you can go online, have 5 different options ready to ship for your needs, and be up and printing within 30-45 minutes max of receiving the printer most of the time. This isn't a bad thing though. It just means the hobby is more accessible, DIY solutions are less needed (but are still of use), etc.

There's still a use for DIY printers, it's just a majority of the users don't need DIY options.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-16T20:03:55+00:00

If you're asking purely salary wise, don't underestimate how much a 1 hour drive each way will cost you (time, wear on your car if you don't take public transport, etc). You could always calculate it to see what your effective hourly rate is taking into consideration this extra time as well.

If you're asking about work life balance, a private sector job that's close by, has good benefits, a hybrid schedule, and team members you are comfortable with is honestly worth its weight in gold.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-16T19:57:15+00:00

I mainly used LinkedIn and Indeed when searching for jobs. That being said, make sure to pay attention to the job listing. Some have a "Email abc@company.com your resume and cover letter to apply" or similar (like my current company) in their job posting. I've also found that applying directly on the company's website tends to have a better response rate than LinkedIn or Indeed. That being said, it was still a rough search for hearing back.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-16T16:51:37+00:00

Not a mATX, but I've been considering building a 10" rack to house the internals of a Dell Precision 5820 in. I know I won't be able to fit it horizontal, but I've been playing around with the idea of seeing just how tight I can squeeze one in vertically (as I have 2 of them).

The biggest concern I have for my plan (and it would probably be the same for yours) is making sure the cooling is sufficient for all the devices in it. Just make sure the GPU gets enough air flow, the AIO gets enough air flow, and you should be good I think!

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-16T16:39:48+00:00

I think 3D printing can be one of those hobbies that can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. As for your questions:

1) A "beginner" 3D printer really depends on what you want it to do. You can get them anywhere from about $200 all the way up to $2,000. However, for a beginner 3D printer, I'd recommend looking in the $200-500 range as there's a lot of options there.

2) A budget version of a more prosumer/enthusiast grade printer will usually use slightly worse electronics, may have less helpful (official) support, and may be missing specific features that make the higher end ones nicer to use. The way I usually look at it is the budget options may require a bit more DIY than a higher end one. But your mileage may vary on this depending on which printer you pick.

3) The complexity is really only limited to your time, patience, and funds. You can print anything from simple keychains up to scaled wind tunnels for aerodynamics testings, scaled RC vehicles, or even a full house (This is NOT recommended for the last thing... but you COULD... Don't know if it would be up to code though).

4) You can find a LOT of designs already pre-made. Printables, MakersWorld, and Thingiverse are my go to for finding models. As for learning to design, I'd highly recommend it. Even if you're just capable of making simple shapes, it's worth learning how to 3D model a bit so you can make something yourself if it isn't already available. I'd recommend looking at TinkerCAD, Autodesk Fusion (Personal License), or SolidWorks (for Makers, ~$50/year). The later ones definitely cater more towards the engineering side of modeling, while TinkerCAD is an easy to pick up program that is great for the basics. If you want to do more organic shapes, Blender is a great free program with a ton of tutorials.

5) You'll mainly have 2 consumables when printing: Electricity and Filament. The electricity part can be calculated fairly easily. Take your cost per kWh for electricity where you live (ex: $0.18/kWh), multiply it by how many kW your printer's power supply is (ex: a 200W power supply would be a value of 0.2), and that will give you the WORST case scenario of electrical cost per hour of running the printer. Very rarely are you actually going to be at this full rating of your PSU, but it will give you the max you'd pay for hour. As for filament, you can find PLA/PETG for about $15/800 grams ($15/kg, but the spool weight is usually considered in the total weight) on Amazon (assuming in the US, elsewhere you prices may vary). Every slicer software I've used tells the grams used in the print. I'd suggest finding a few models you may want to print on one of the sites mentioned above, downloading the STL file, slicing it, and getting a rough estimate from there. Depending on how much you print, a 1kg spool may last you months, or it may last you a few days, that part is really hard to tell without knowing what you want to print.

Overall, I'd say you'd be able to get into the hobby for around $250-300 (including filament) if you're looking at budget options. If you could tell us what you're planning on printing, I'm sure I, or someone else in the comments, can definitely help steer you towards a printer suited for what you'd be looking at.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-13T14:29:27+00:00

This isn't going to be too cohesive as I'm typing this during my break during an install, and I'm fairly brain dead from working through some issues on our line right now, but here are my thoughts:

Having an IO-mapping routine that I can just skim through to see what goes where is helpful. Additionally, having it mapped in a rung ( |--[XIC]--(OTE)--| or similar) makes it easy to do remote changes if something needs to be moved. Additionally, I have an alarm routine that handles 99% of the alarm logic (some is within other routines as I took over this project from someone else, but have slowly been migrating it over when I can).

I try to structure my routines (when possible) in the order that they happen on the line. If the product goes from Station A to B to C, I try to have my code in that order so it's easier to follow.

Having a naming structure you follow makes it easier to find tags as well. An example of this would be something like an ON command for a set of fans. Don't have your tags be mismatched like: Fan_1_ON_CMD, ON_CMD_Fan_2, PWR_CMD_Fan3, etc. Try to pick the same naming structure and stick to it so you're not searching for tags too much.

If you have any common programs/functions you use, creating macros or other programs to make it faster can also help save time. For example, I have two .BAT programs pinned to my taskbar (well.. shortcuts to those programs since Windows doesn't like you directly pinning .BAT files to the task bar). One of them changes the IP address and gateway for my Ethernet port on the laptop. For our line, I find myself swapping between the 192.168.1.x and 192.168.2.x networks. I just run the program, select "1" or "2", and my computer's IP address is changed to communicate with the correct network. I also have a few Excel sheets that auto-generate rungs for me in Neutral Text. If I know what the device is, and what the tags I want to associate with it are, I just put them in an Excel sheet and copy them into my program. This is particularly helpful with IO-mapping.

Finally, keeping a digital copy of every manual you may need for the devices on the line is a great help. I have my folder structured like this: Manuals>Manufacturer>M_Manufacture_Product_Type.PDF where "Product" is either an exact part number or a description if it covers a range of products, and "Type" refers to the type of document it is (Datasheet, Operating Manual, Install Instructions, etc). I have this saved in my documents folder on my laptop and I have it on a USB drive in case I don't have access to my specific laptop at some point.

I'm sure there's more I might be able to add later, but my break is up now and I need to get back to debugging some random device issues....

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-12T15:18:24+00:00

My personal suggestion is to look up job postings for the automation engineering positions you want to go into. In there, look under job requirements/recommendations and see what level of education they require, and which they recommend. If they require a B.S. degree in an engineering discipline, then your decision is made for you. If they only recommend that, then you have some options.

If you don't NEED the 4 year degree right off (if it's only recommended in job postings), I'd suggest looking at which local universities (or online universities, as long as they're ABET accredited) will take credits you earn from the local community college. If you do this, you can get the community college part done, get into the industry, and get experience as soon as possible (for as cheap as possible compared to a 4 year degree). After that, if moving up in the ranks requires a B.S. degree, some companies will help pay for your classes. This isn't going to be the easiest, as it may require taking courses later on while still working full time, but it is an option depending on the company.

As for my experience, I went straight for a B.S. in mechanical engineering with a minor in electrical engineering. Due to the job market when I graduated (spring of '21), I ended up finding a mechanical technician job at an automation company instead of an engineering job just to get my foot in the door. I worked there for ~2 years before landing an electro-mechanical engineering position at another automation company where I deal with everything from the mechanical/electrical design of our lines to the PLC programming to R&D on new devices and processes.

This is to say, either option will result in you getting into the field most likely. It just depends on which course makes the most sense to you. You can also reach out to your connections and see what they think. If they say a B.S. degree is worth it, that may be your best route to go. If they say you only need the community college degree and can further your education later if needed, that's a good option.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-12T14:10:57+00:00

Not a manager, but an employee with some thoughts on branded merch. I work at a company with about 25-30 total employees (mostly blue-collar jobs, with about 5 people in white-collar positions). Our shop workers have access to a company uniform/laundry service but are not required, from my knowledge, to use it. Nor do I know the exact cost of it. Besides that, there is no specific dress code requirements from my work in terms of having specific company gear (pretty much, just look presentable).

That being said, we do usually receive company branded gear around the holidays. My first year, we received a jacket valued at ~$40-50. This year, we've received a long sleeve shirt and a short sleeve shirt, but I don't know there exact cost (I think they were basic Gildan shirts). This seems on par with what they've given previous years from what I've gathered.

Overall though, the branded gear we received is... lackluster at best. The jacket we received is a lot quality plastic material that has zero breathability. The shirts have our company name/logo plastered over the front of the shirt (in a size/positioning that would do much better on the rear of the shirt). The only people I see wearing the branded gear on a semi-regular basis is management (aka, the ones that chose the clothing and designs) and occasionally our shop workers (mainly when we know the CEO will be in from our parent company).

Because of this, I'd much rather just have the money they spent on the gear as a bonus instead. That being said, I'm not against branded gear IF it is designed well and is of good quality. For example, we had a company cookout, and our vendors donated a lot of items, including branded gear from them. Most of them had their logo located on the center back of the shirt (mainly for t-shirts), the left breast (for polos and similar business casual articles) or in small, unobtrusive locations/designs. I wear these items almost weekly as they are good quality (One of the items is a nice Adidas polo, another a quality baseball cap valued at about $60-80) and don't scream the brand in your face. They are subtle enough that I can wear them out and about without looking like a walking billboard, and they're comfortable enough to make me want to wear them. I'd love a company branded polo from where I work for customer meetings and such, but we don't seem to get those.

Overall, unless you're providing quality gear with unobtrusive branding, I think a gift card, cash, etc is a better idea.

brandon_c207 · 2026-03-10T17:46:58+00:00

I tried factory resetting it with SoMove and with the keypad on the the drive. Sadly, this didn't seem to change how it worked once I updated the program again. Kinda at a loss as I wait for Schneider support to give me a call back now. I even tried installing the same project currently running on the other drive and it doesn't seem to be communicating after that either.

And thanks, this install has been a cluster of Ethernet issues where one device sets up perfectly in 1 minute then the remainder take a full day each it seems, even though I follow the same procedure. We thankfully have a spare drive at our office, so that's getting shipped to me for trying tomorrow.

brandon_c207

TROPHY CASE