The scene is all too familiar to anyone connected with EDM machining, or EDM. The scenario goes something like this:You spend hours designing an injection mold core or cavity, days CNC milling and grinding to get the size and shape required. The only thing remaining is the EDM machining of the details. You have the graphite electrodes made up,which takes a couple more days, and finally everything is set up in your CNC EDM machine.Typically, you might make 4 cavities, which will produce 4 exactly identical plastics parts when everything is finally finished. Thing are going well, you have run the first 6 different shaped electrodes through the process, now there is just one more. Only another 16 hours and you will be done and onto the next project.So, you get it all set up to run all night, and you feel confident that everything is as it should be, you can sleep peacefully without waking up in a start, wondering if you did this or that before going home.You come in the next dayYou check on you job the next morning and inspect it while still in the machine, it all checks out, so you remove it, clean it up and give it to the mold polisher to make it all shiny and nice. Soon, he comes in and tells you he needs to show you something. Oh oh…Sure enough, right at the bottom of the deepest part, a rib that is there to make the plastic part stronger, is a pit. Another name for this pit is a DC arc, or zit, or some expletive that is unprintable. What this means is that there is a small hole, or crater at the most inaccessible region of your mold that looks like it was bombed when you view it through a microscope.Now you need to get creative and fix it, if you can. Usually there is some convoluted way to fix it by cutting out the bad part and making an insert to replace the pitted area. Sometimes though, it is just not possible to repair it and the entire piece must be scrapped!How to prevent EDM pittingDC arcs are primarily caused by one thing: bad flushing. Even with central flushing or lateral flushing, there can be dead spots where EDM sludge builds up; the bottom of ribs are a favorite hiding spot.The sludge acts like part of the electrode and attracts sparks that arc across the dielectric fluid and faithfully reproduce their shape in the steel. If this continues for a length of time, you get a pit. The longer it persists, the bigger the pit.Dirty oil is also a common culprit to DC arcing. This happens because the filters are full, or not fine enough to filter out the EDM sludge and grit. It should be able to filter down to a 1 micron size in order to ensure no pitting due to dirty oil.Some manufacturers claim that their machines have software that prevents DC arcing, and to a great extent they do. Mostly this is by retracting the electrode out of the cut so flushing can occur. Some have a high speed oscillating effect that improves the flushing as well. Then there are some that have improved cutting parameters that will adapt when the machine senses a DC arc.All of these methods really get down to improving flushing. Even high tech, new EDM machines will pit. I know because I have had to polish many surfaces EDM’d by these machines! You will find a nice looking surface that is not so easy to detect until you begin removing the first layer of recast.Then you will find many, pits, not big enough to scrap the part, but certainly big enough to make the polishers job much more difficult and possibly changing the dimensional integrity of the steel.Make more money and save timeIt might seem like a waste of time to make sure you have adequate flushing, but in the long run, it will save you time and money. Even with the high end, new EDM machines, you should keep this in mind. Whether you deal with it through the circuitry or mechanics of the orbiting or the filter, make sure you take care of the flushingElectrical discharge machining is an amazing machine tool with tremendous importance for manufacturing. It is possibly the least known and most used machine for producing the endless variety of plastic products we use and appreciate everyday. Just look around you!About AuthorRandy Hough lives and works in the Upper Valley of Vermont. His eight lively children and work experience have taught him more than he ever imagined. He has a site dedicated to helping with family stress and one about plastic injection mold making.Source: ArticleTrader.com

The Standards for information security in the modern, fast-paced business environment will continue to grow and evolve as the tactics and techniques that hackers and other criminals use also evolve. The PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) was created by the five major credit card companies to be a tool and a standard by which merchants can employ and maintain a secure business environment for their customers.The PCI DSS is a set of 12 requirements that any merchant that processes, stores, or transmits sensitive credit card data must adhere to. These requirements are not all easy, nor are they necessarily cheap to implement. They are, however, very necessary.So what, exactly, are the information security requirements of the PCI DSS? Some are more simple than others, some are (or should be) common sense, others are more complex and, because of their less-than obvious nature, are included specifically because they get overlooked by merchants and targeted by hackers.We’ll begin with the more obvious requirements. The first and second requirements are about building and maintaining a secure network. This includes installing a firewall and keeping it up-to-date, and changing any default vendor-supplied passwords that may have come with your system. Firewalls are important components on any system for information security as they give you control over the traffic that can get into or out of your system. And most vendor-supplied passwords have already made it into the hacker community and are unsafe to keep around.The next two requirements of the PCI DSS involve taking the necessary steps to protect cardholder data. This begins with simple steps like keeping stored data to a bare minimum, and can also include making sure that you keep all your own passwords encrypted, and all physical access limited to specific people. It gets a little more complex when you start encrypting all transmissions of credit card data.Again, some of these requirements seem obvious, but many merchants have been caught without implementing this step sufficiently. The recent decision in the famous TJX case, in fact, concluded that the company did not do everything they could have and/or should have done to protect cardholder data. This included storing and transmitting unencrypted data. What’s the lesson here? Anyone can get caught not doing everything necessary for their customers’ safety.Requirements five and six of the PCI DSS deal with maintaining a vulnerability management program. This includes using and regularly updating anti-virus programs - because not all threats come from hackers. Any programs or applications you develop must also be secure. This means that you must use all patches and updates that are necessary to remain current with all the new technologies.The next steps are about implementing strong access control measures. This includes limiting access to carholder data to business need-to-know, assigning unique Ids to everyone who has computer access and restricting physical access to cardholder data. This is important in information security for the simple reason that a lot of security can be added by knowing exactly who can see th info. And if there ever is a problem, tracing the source of the problem can be a much more efficient process.The PCI DSS also requires that a merchant regularly tests and monitors their systems. Why? Because simple implementation isn’t enough. Doing something once and expecting it to be self-sustaining isn’t going to work. Regular testing is the only way to ensure that you will find any problems in the system before any criminals do.The twelfth requirement of the PCI DSS states that you must maintain a policy on information security. What this means is that it is your responsibility to make sure each part of the company understands their own responsibility toward the PCI DSS.It’s about knowledge and information. And in the end, this knowledge can help you provide your customers with a safe environment in which to conduct electronic transactions.About AuthorAndy Eliason is a writer at Main10, Inc. If you’d like to learn more about the PCI DSS, or the necessity of information security, visit Braintree Payment Solutions today.Source: ArticleTrader.com

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was created by the five major credit card companies to guide merchants that store, process, or transmit credit card data toward creating a safe environment for those transactions. The goal was to help merchants identify and correct problems before hackers can take advantage of them.The question then becomes: is the PCI DSS enough to do this?Security breaches are a dangerous thing for both merchants and consumers. The detrimental effects on a consumer losing their personal data should be obvious. The effects to merchants can be far reaching and just as painful. The consequences for a merchant could include regulatory notification requirements, loss of reputation, loss of customers, financial liabilities, and, of course, litigation.As security breaches are analyzed after-the-fact, there have been a number of common weaknesses that allowed unauthorized access. These included: storing magnetic strip data, inadequate access controls around poorly installed POS systems, default passwords still in place, unnecessary or vulnerable services still in place, poorly coded web applications, missing or outdated security patches, no logging, no monitoring, and a lack of segmentation in the network.The good news is that the PCI DSS addresses all these problems. If you have reached PCI compliance then, in theory, you have taken care of these weaknesses and implemented the security necessary to protect cardholder data on your system and in transit. If you are compliant, you are then also granted a safe harbor of sorts if you are still breached.Wait a minute. Still breached? But wasn’t PCI DSS compliance supposed to eliminate that possibility? If you can still be breached, what, then, is the point of expending all the money, resources, and time on becoming compliant?In recent history we’ve had an example of just this problem. A chain of grocery stores on the east coast suffered a breach and thousands of credit card numbers were stolen. The breach was bad, but not near as bad as some of the other breaches that have made the news. So what was the big deal here?The big deal was that this chain of stores was validated as PCI DSS compliant. Things should have been safe. They had reached compliance and that compliance had been verified. So what happened?Immediately the questions were asked: is the PCI DSS enough to protect sensitive information? What will the Payment Card Industry do if all investigations prove that they had strictly followed the proper requirements? Will the PCI Security Standards Council provide that safe harbor, or will they claim that the grocery chain had let the requirements slide at the time of the breach and thereby preserve the integrity of the PCI DSS? Or did the grocery store chain really let their adherence to the standards begin to slide?We’ll have to wait for the final results of the investigation to find many of these answers. However, there are still of number of things that can be learned.The first is in answer to the title question. Yes, the PCI DSS is enough… to combat those problems that were listed above. Is this a good thing? Yes. These are problems that have caused a lot of trouble in the past, and taking care of them is the first step toward stronger security.Then what about the grocery store example? How can you maintain strict adherence throughout the year when other business concerns demand your attention?A popular option these days has been to remove the PCI DSS compliance measures from your company’s area of responsibility. Outsourcing your payment processing needs is one way of making sure that the personal data you need is stored with a company that is uniquely positioned to maintain the strictest adherence to the PCI DSS.So is the PCI DSS enough? The answer appears to be both yes and no. It is enough to start building strong security. No, it’s not enough if you don’t maintain it. It appears that continual maintenance is just as important as the initial compliance.About AuthorAndy Eliason is a writer at Main10, Inc. If you’d like to learn more about the PCI DSS, or outsourcing payment processing, visit Braintree Payment Solutions today.Source: ArticleTrader.com

You may want to read through some student’s review on Online MBA Course before you sign up for one.Many of the students who signed up for an MBA online, wanted to earn the degree but simply do not have the time demanded by a typical graduate school. If you are one of those people, then studying for an online MBA course may be the answer for you. Many review by students agreed that an online MBA program is a viable way to earn the degree. Online MBA course accommodates working adults by offering flexible schedules, online study groups, and one-on-one chat sessions with professors. Almost all online MBA course do not require students to be ever on the actual campus. MBA courses offered by the Robert Kennedy College and Aberdeen Business School are such examples. The students studying for all these online courses seem to be giving very good review about the courses that they are attending. Online MBA course also allows you to take classes at your own pace. If you take two classes, spring, summer and fall, you can likely complete the whole MBA degree in 20 months. However, online MBA course is not for everyone. Review received from some students doing their MBA online has not been so positive for those who would prefer the traditional classroom learning and interaction with lecturers and friends. Here is what some students say about their online MBA course: Mike reviewed that he enjoys doing his MBA online because it mimics a medium that he is very familiar with. He spends hours online on his work, and he wanted the facility, convenience that he is so used to in his works. MBA graduate, Michael from Chicago reviewed, “I have just completed my MBA from Keller Online. As I neared completion, I took two classes that were for that time frame, online. I converted the BS credits to a certificate in IT and did an MBA on line exclusively via University of Phoenix.”Joe, an MBA student reviewed, “With University of Southern Australia offering MBA studies online, I was able to conveniently continue and complete my MBA after I had moved interstate (and even when I was overseas briefly). Offering the MBA online gives great flexibility to continue study no matter where a person’s career takes them around the world. Communicating online for group work projects and assignments is increasingly becoming typical of how many people conduct their professional business, and helps to develop the skills that will become increasingly important in future.”Jathin, an MBA student reviewed, “My MBA experience at University of Southern Australia changed my business outlook and structured my thinking process. The campus facilities, staff/faculty contributions and participative class discussions, all made the experience an invaluable learning process.”Suzanne, a working mother reviewed, “As a working mother and wife, my time is extremely valuable. The UW Consortium online MBA program allows me to work classes around my schedule, advance in my career, and still have time for my family.”David, an MBA student reviewed, “When I graduated from college, the furthest thing from my mind was going back to school for graduate studies. The online program took my book knowledge and real-life experiences and projected them beyond what I thought imaginable.”Kellie, an MBA student reviewed, “After being out of school for ten years before pursuing my MBA degree, I was very overwhelmed with the online setting of distance learning. We believe that the students’ review about their Online MBA Course is helpful to you in making your MBA choices.”Therefore, while some of the students gave some negative review about online MBA course, most of the comments are positive. It is up to you to decide if an online MBA course is really suitable for you.About AuthorFind out more about Students Review on Online MBA Course from Online MBA Course site at http://onlinemba-course.blogspot.comSource: ArticleTrader.com

If you live in one of the many states or countries that are affected by a hurricane season, you may want to start investing in some tarps. This is especially true if the meteorologists are predicting a rough hurricane season. It is important that house owners and renters alike stock up on necessities like flashlights, food, water, batteries, and even a generator if at all possible. However, you may want to make sure you are stocked up on a couple of tarps as these are becoming more and more important to those who are effected by this sort of extreme weather. A is very affordable and can be one of your greatest assets in a hurricane situation. Tarps are used for literally hundreds of things around a home and even more in the event of a hurricane. One of the best uses for them in the event of a hurricane is for your roof. After losing some tiles or shingles from your roof, you will be ecstatic to have a tarp handy for covering the holes up. They are also great for covering up appliances and furniture until you completely patch up a hole in your roof or one of your walls. Tarps are also wonderful for covering up a broken window to keep the level of debris coming into your home to a minimum. These tarps can also be used for covering your outside vehicles and other outside properties in the event of a hurricane. It will not save your vehicles from heavy flying debris, but it will save it from some of the damage that may occur.There is no particular tarp type that is used just for hurricanes. However, investing the money in hurricane tarps is a great idea for anyone who lives in an area that has the potential to be affected by a hurricane. Investing fewer than one hundred dollars in some quality blue tarps is money that will be well spent to any person living on a rough coastline, especially Floridians. You can even look at these tarps as a sort of insurance against hurricanes. You may save yourself a whole lot of time and money by investing in this versatile tool. You can purchase tarps in any hardware store or retail store for decent prices. You may even want to look into investing in some heavy duty tarps for more important items that you would like to keep safe.About AuthorBob Page has worked in the tarps industry for over twenty years. For more information about tarps go to http://www.tarpaflex.com or hurricane tarps to to http://www.tarpaflex.com/acatalog/Hurricaine_tarps.htmlSource: ArticleTrader.com

I just bought the CU515, and I’ve got text messages from my old phone that I desprately don’t want to lose.  I can only copy 30 to the SIM at a time.  How do I move the messages from the SIM to my new phone so I can free up the memory to copy 30 more from the old one?  Please help! Thank you.

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I have a TRAX REFURB, all is well with it, you know ,dandy, peachy, you catch what im getting at, i just wanted to know if it was NORMAL for a DIALOG BOX to pop up when i make a call that says " CALL DIVERT SET " when there is no mention of this or how to attain this in the user manual…
Next stop: Brazil, 1978 It was Nelson G. Bardini, a Brazilian scientist, who developed
the inductive technology used in calling cards. This technology involved a system
that used a series of small coils embedded in the phone card. One of the coils was
designed to burn out after the time on the card had been used up. Although created
in 1978, this technology wasn’t presented to the world until the national inventors’
exhibition in 1982.

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When will the mobile Tv be available in Lexington Kentucky. Im getting ready to buy the Lg Vu online and was wondering if and when the mobile tv will be up and running in my area. The map dpesnt show a purple blob in my area so i assumed it wasnt available here yet.

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So far I’m very satisfied with this phone. I love pretty much everything about it, but the only complaint I really have is the speaker seems so low in volume compared to other phones I’ve handled. Is there any way to make the speaker like it’s in speaker mode when playing an audio or video file like you can when making a call?

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I am on my third LG Shine right now. My fourth should be arriving in the mail tomorrow. My first one developed a nasty habit of shutting off when I slid it open. And the sliding mechanism itself was messed up causing the phone to become hard to shut, and carving a deep scratch into the back of the sliding part. That Shine would also show an antenna symbol instead of the normal E for edge signal. This antenna would have three to four (sometimes five) bars next to it, apparently showing good signal strength. But there would be no AT&T logo on the main screen, and any call or text would fail immediately due to lack of service. Towards the end that event occured about once every thirty minutes. The only way to correct that issue was to wait a while or turn the phone off and back on. My second Shine just plain got terrible signal, and dropped calls like crazy. My third one, which I got on Friday as a BRAND new phone, does the antenna symbol and bars thing, but it also slides open and shut hard and has developed the scratch, and it makes a high pitched ringing noise constantly that gives me a headache when I talk on it. My fourth Shine (third warranty replacement) should arrive tomorrow. Before you assume I’m a phone abuser, let me state the following: I take especially good care of my phones. I do text a lot, but I keep the phones clean, I don’t expose them to extreme temperatures, I charge the batteries as I should, and I don’t drop them. I don’t understand why I have such bad luck with phones (and Shines in particular). Anybody else had it as bad as I have? I also had three Motorola V3 Razrs and one Samsung A727. The Razrs were okay, but they warned me to "INSERT SIM" constantly when it hadn’t been taken out of the phone at all. They also shut themselves on and off frequently.

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Cramming Beware of anyone practicing cramming. This is an illegal activity practiced
by some long-distance carriers, who will bill you for additional services that you
never requested. If you have long-distance service, always check your statement
- if you find you have been crammed, contact the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) immediately! Also see slamming.

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