Suite 407, 1595 Southview Drive SE, Medicine Hat, AB T1B 0A1
Answering Machine: (406) 662-0136, FAX: (403) 527-7508
2011-12-26: Insight-Live ready for testing
If you are interested in logging in, please let us know. Instructional videos are ready.
2011-07-11: Insight-Live
We are currently converting our recipe and material data translation page to a full fledged recipe and material management system that will act as a central collection location for data from a wide variety of programs (like Matrix, GlazeChem, GlazeMaster, HyperGlaze, etc and including INSIGHT). It will run as an OnLine recipe and material manager. It will export to an INSIGHT SQLite database file.
2011-05-16: INSIGHT 2011
We are working hard to ready this, currently efforts are centering on enabling the use of multiple material and recipe level properties, this is integral with the database structure and we do not want to release the final version until this aspect is working well. In addition, we need to integrate it will our online INSIGHT that is coming soon.
2011-01-07: Ceramic Consultants Page
We have updated the format of this page to more clearly identify private consultants and consulting companies (there are two sections). The individuals are listed first by last name, the companies after alphabetically. There are now well over 100, many of whom are world class professionals for decades. Remember also that everyone on the list is classified according to the categories at the top of the page so you can search for exactly the person you need. Thanks for the support, remember no one on this page paid for a listing, everyone is on an equal footing to create their listing.
2010-12-14: Converting GlazeMaster and GlazeChem Data
Convert glaze and recipe data from other software products using our data conversion online page. The page also shows all your data in a more organized way that you have perhaps ever seen it. We are looking for your input. Please try the page and let us know if there were any conversion problems and we will work with you to solve them.
2010-12-01: INSIGHT MultiUser Almost Here
INSIGHT multi-user is almost ready for testing. It has been one of the largest projects ever untaken here. For data storage you can choose File System, Database and now Server. This means that many Level 2 INSIGHT users can manage a single SQL data bank. The SQL server is SQLite based and backs itself up automatically. In addition, pictures are now stored in the database (they are automatically moved but still left on disk for backup), in Database mode this means that one file contains all recipe data, you can move it like an eBook to another computer and bring everything. Coming soon will be logins to separate data for users. We will also be moving the material data to the database also, this will enable automatic updating of material data from our website. There are lots of other improvements also.
2010-04-09: LLVM Coming to INSIGHT
The compiler we use to create INSIGHT is soon going to be adopting the LLVM open-source (LLVM.org) for the final stage. The expertise of this new team of programmers will bring many advantages (as did our adopting the SQLite open source database). LLVM will open new doors because it supports all the processors and platforms we support now and many more (including the ARM processor used by most smartphones including the iPhone). Additional code optimizations will make also make INSIGHT faster and smaller. And for Windows and Linux users, LLVM will eventually bring about the return of the single-file executable.
2010-01-16: Tile Industry
At Digitalfire we have partnered with one of the worlds foremost authorities on technical and practical aspects of tile manufacture, he is from Nilo Tozzi, from Italy. Given the scale of the tile industry and the amount of innovation and knowledge therein (compared to other branches of ceramics) we are excited about how this will improve our websites and products and about what it will do for you. The different viewpoint will be eye-opening to many, technicians in tile deal with much tighter production controls, state-of-the-art equipment and can accomplish things other industries might think are impossible. The ways in which they do it will open new horizons for your branch of ceramics.
2009-07-30: New INSIGHT Server
We have completed transfer of our site to a new completely dedicated server at http://digitalfire.com. We will be moving operations to there. All of the pages (around 5000) are dramatically faster.
2009-03-20: New Videos
We have completed updating all the lesson videos in the video tutorials section of digitalfire.com. There are now more interactive and match the current version of INSIGHT. You can even download them for iPod and iPhone or to play in Windows Media Player or Quicktime! Most have been rewritten and expanded. This is a great way to learn ceramic chemistry and INSIGHT at the same time. The videos are on a new dedicated server and are much faster than in the past.
2009-02-15: New MDT Download page
We have rewritten the INSIGHT MDT download page. Now you can translate the material names, use existing translations and see the table as you build it. Multiple typecodes are now supported and these mesh with improvements in the INSIGHT 2009-7+ materials dialog. Extra information is now included to help INSIGHT link materials with our website.
2009-01-25: An MDT for Your Country
Would you like to create an MDT for your country? We have added functionality to the MDT download page and INSIGHT to make it possible to add a typecode at the Digitalfire Reference library to tag any material in an existing starter file. In the INSIGHT materials dialog users will then be able to filter the list of materials to only those. Please email if you are interested.
2009-01-19: Translated Material Names
We have added a special page where approved translators can go and enter the equivalent names (in any of 20 languages) for any of the materials on the site (however it defaults to only generic materials). Can you assist? (you could be eligible for a discount) Please email using the form on our home page.
2008-11-02: CAS Numbers Added Today
We have added about 2000 CAS numbers to records materials area in the Digitalfire Reference Database. CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) is a registry of chemical identification numbers maintained by the American Chemical Society. Although ceramic materials are generally minerals or processed minerals rather than chemicals, most do have numbers in the system. However many of the numbers do not have a high level of specificity (e.g. there is one number for kaolins, one for feldspars, one for clays). CAS numbers make it easier and faster to search online databases since the name of a given material can have many forms (sometimes dozens). Since regulatory bodies in many countries require that companies and individuals keep good records of the nature and hazards of the materials they have on hand, reference to these numbers is valuable.
2008-10-31: Recipe Conversion for Other Software
We now have a recipe conversion tool so that if you want to move from another glaze calculation package to INSIGHT you will not loose your information. We can do the conversion for you or give you the converter program. Given INSIGHT's powerful SQL database and XML exchange and backup formats, you will find INSIGHT to be a better home for your recipes. They will be easier to find and much easier to compare, adjust, fix and improve with INSIGHT's powerful calculation and research tools.
2008-10-27: Digitalfire Reference Library Home Page
This is the home page for the reference library and it is personalized to level 2 access (with a history list of all recently visited records in every area). It also has searches for each area. We have added a quick login at the top of this page and every reference page on the site.
2008-10-20: Videos Are Now Linux Compatible
We have republished all of the videos using an updated authoring system and they are now playable on any flash equipped browser on any platform. We are in the process of revising and adding various videos. New features in the player will enable us to add greater functionality also.
2008-10-15: New Google Live Search on Home Page
We have added a live search on the top right of the home page. It is very cool. Enter a term and click search. It will expand to show two sections, Digitalfire.com and Digitalfire Reference Database. Click the small icons in the box at the top to expand to show more than one hit. Click the x to collapse it back to a simple blank and button. This one addition revolutionizes the digitalfire site.
2008-10-07: New INSIGHT MDT Download Page
We have moved the INSIGHT MDT download page to the digitalfire.com website (from ceramicmaterials.info). The material information has been greatly expanded and your login at digitalfire.com carries over to it. We have added administration features so that we can easily add more MDTs and can quickly assign materials to multiple MDTs.
2008-08-28: August 2008 Newsletter
Read the latest announcements in the August 2008 newsletter.
2008-08-27: Ceramic Material and Body Test Procedures
The INSIGHT Level 2 Reference Database (in the Education section at digitalfire.com) now has a testing section that is completely interwoven into the website. You can find information about all kinds of common tests including procedures on how to do them (our 4Sight server database maintains data for these tests). This part of the Education section will be expanded an improved over the next few months and we import many recipes and materials and define them in terms of these tests.
2008-08-26: Material Search by Chemistry is here!
If you have a Level 2 key for INSIGHT you can now search for materials by their chemistry (click the Search link on any of the material section pages) at the INSIGHT Reference Database in the Education section at Digitalfire.com. You can specify that the amount for an oxide be within a range, or higher or lower than a specific value. For example, this makes it possible to find a frit for almost any need.
2008-08-26: Find the chemistry for many more frits
The INSIGHT Level 2 Reference Database (in the Education section at digitalfire.com) now has categorized interlinking between materials to help you find alternatives and subsitutes. In addition, it can help you find the chemistry of many unpublished frits because substitute frits are linked. You just need to go to the substitute to see the chemistry! Even where frit manufacturers publish only an approximate analysis, if these are industry standard formulations you can use the Search by Chemistry features to figure out what the chemistry is.
2008-08-25: INSIGHT Level 2 Reference Database
It is here, the INSIGHT Level 2 Reference Database section at Digitalfire.com (in the Education section on our website). 4000 pages of hierarchically interlinked reference information in a material centric system. This is a big improvement over the existing site at ceramicmaterials.info, it is a static website entirely generated by our 4Sight Server software. These sections are now included: Oxides, minerals, materials, recipes, articles, glossary, hazards, library, MDT, pictures, properties, firing schedules, temperatures, tests, troubleshooting, typecodes, URLs, and others. Some key features only work for Level 2 INSIGHT logins: interlinking (there are 11,000 links!), material chemistry numbers, XML representation (for interpreting in INSIGHT), material search, etc.
2008-08-22: Database INSIGHT is Shipping
We have been perfecting it with with lots of help from beta testers (since April), now the standard INSIGHT download is Database INSIGHT. See the April 28 announcement for details about the marriage of INSIGHT with SQLite.
2008-08-01: Crystal Glazes, Glass MDTs
You can now download MDT files at ceramicmaterials.info for these two industries. The content was chosen with the assistance of experts in each field. We are about to switch to a new information website that is greatly expanded and there will be new features on the MDT download page on that site soon. You can see a chart showing all of the MDTs and which materials they contain at this link.
2008-07-01: New MDT Download Page
The MDT Download page (for Level 2 INSIGHT users) has been up improved (the video describing its use has also been updated). You can now rename materials (where you are using the chemistry of one material and the name of another, e.g. frit substitution). You can also translate material names into another language and start from a generic table that contains only 10 materials. We have also fixed a problem that was causing failure to generate some of the oxide columns for added materials.
2008-04-28: Database INSIGHT is Testing!
INSIGHT now has the well known SQLite Database engine integrated. As of version 2008-6 this database manages recipes in the default mode and automatic backups are done in the traditional XML files. Or you can choose File System mode and operate INSIGHT without the database to read and write previous file formats. The database enables us to move ahead with online recipe storage and uploading as well and the recipe database. Soon we will add database support for materials and this will enable efficient exchange of material information with ceramicmaterials.info on the individual material level.
2008-03-10: Website is going iPhone-Aware
The iPhone and iPod Touch are revolutionary products for web browsing and we are modifying all websites and pages to reconfigure themselves dynamically to fit comfortably on the small size screen (Palm and Windows Mobile are also detected). Many pages have been done already. 4Sight Server will be operable using a portable device also.
2008-01-25: 4Sight is now a solution product
We have altered our marketing approach for 4Sight Database Server, it is now being offered as a service rather than as a product. We offer to assist clients to set up a complete quality control system of which 4Sight is a part.
2007-12-19: Digitalfire on the web since 1995
We were one of the first ceramic companies on the world wide web when it was born in 1995. Want to see what our website looked like in 1996? In the years since then? Go to this link.
2007-12-10: CSV MDT Files Video
We have a new video available in the Learning Center to show you how to use this exciting new feature to maintain your materials files using Microsoft Excel or equivalent spreadsheet software.
2007-12-07: New Videos Available
Videos on downloading and buying INSIGHT have been updated. You can find them in the Learning Center and filmstrip icons on the download and purchase page will take you directly to the correct video.
2007-12-01: INSIGHT Sale
For the first time we are offering a special discount on INSIGHT to anyone until Jan 30, 2008. Login to find out more.
2007-11-30: INSIGHT for Leopard
We are now compiling INSIGHT with a new version of the compiler we use to create the application code. INSIGHT now has good compatibility with OSX Leopard and has numerous other improvements to all versions associated with improvements in compiler technology.
2007-11-20: INSIGHT Bug Fixes
We have located and fixed several important issues in INSIGHT and everyone should update. The reading and writing of MDT and recipe files are involved. See the readme files for more information.
2007-09-19: Live Chat Line Introduced
We have set up a live chat tech support system. We do not have the manpower right now to man it at all times but if we get a good response we will reevaluate. Click Support on the home page and the Live Chat link will be in menus at the top.
2007-09-01: New Reference Website Coming Soon
In the fall we will be releasing version 3 of CeramicMaterials.info. We have been working together with several industrial partners to shape the direction in which it is moving. However it will maintain material and oxide related data only. The physical testing, recipes, properties and related databases will be moved to the Digitalfire.com. Lots of new information and data will be included, there are hundreds of improvements. The interlinking system has been greatly improved and we have in place a more maintainable project that will evolve in more frequent smaller steps from now on. Some really exciting things are going to be happening soon.
2007-08-06: Excel Format CSV MDT Files
Starting with INSIGHT 2007-5 you can now save your MDT data as a CSV (comma separated values) file that Excel can read. In addition, the chemistry data in the file is stored in percentage analysis format rather than as formula values. That means you can work on your materials table in Excel, add rows or columns, rearrange, etc. Since the file stores analyses you can plug in the numbers directly from a materials data sheet. INSIGHT knows now to read the file also, all you have to do is put it where the other materials files are stored so INSIGHT can see it. The Materials Dialog also has a button you can click to immediately switch to Excel and open the table. This means that you do not need to edit materials within INSIGHT.
2007-08-01: Version 2007-5 is ready
We recommend that you upgrade to this since it fixes a couple of potentially serious bugs and a few other small ones. These are summarized in the readme file.
2007-07-07: Recipe Database Coming Soon
Level 2 INSIGHT users are soon going to have access to thousands of glaze recipes (many with pictures). These recipes have been gathered from all over the web and other sources by special capture software we have written. Recent changes to INSIGHT will enable it to search and open these recipes directly from the internet. Stay tuned for more news in the early fall.
2007-01-25: INSIGHT 2007-1 Ready
We have released version 2007. It is evolutionary and has a number of bug fixes. The most notable change is a rewrite of the recipe import/export and internal/external file handling. This makes it easier for people to manually specify a filename when writing recipe files. It is also created with the latest version of the compiler we use. The installer will show it as the new version however it continues to install in the Program Files\2006 folder in Windows. We have uploaded Windows, OSX and Linux versions to our website.
2006-11-30: INSIGHT Videos Redone
We have redone all the INSIGHT lessons and training videos and made the whole package available for download and install. We have added more ceramic chemistry related information as well as clearer instruction on program mechanics. Anyone teaching or learning INSIGHT should be using these.
2006-11-15: INSIGHT 2006-30 Ready
Fixes a number of problems in version 29 and adds file system recipe management.
2006-11-08: Digitalfire Website Redesign
We are working on combining our ceramicmaterials.info reference website and the main digitalfire.com site into one menu driven unit. A new menuing system has been implemented as the first step along with contact forms on most pages.
2006-09-15: Mac Universal Binary Support
INSIGHT universal binary version for Macintosh should be available in the first week of Oct 2006. INSIGHT should run much faster on Intel Macintosh computers after this development.
2006-08-16: INSIGHT 2006-29 Released
Many small improvements have been made in recent months. We are creating the application on a newer compiler and have improved report template interpretation and recipe combine/copy/add, added a recipe lock, added RonRoy materials file download button to the materials dialog and fixed lots of problems.
2006-06-01: Digitalfire.com ISP Problems
Over the past few months we have experienced some problems with the ISP hosting our digitalfire.com site. During the period we moved the site to another server at digitalfire.us. It is now back at digitalfire.com on a reliable ISP and running well. Moving the site twice really helped flush out problems and streamline its operation. Thank you for your patience.
2006-05-01: INSIGHT 2006 for Linux
This version is identical to those on Windows and Mac and is running better with every update. We have confirmed that it runs on many versions of Linux. You can learn more in the Linux readme file on the download page. If you do not know what Linux is you really should learn, it is the product of world wide effort to create an operating system based on the Open Source rather than profit model. The Linux programming and user community are smart leading edge people, this is no hoax or flash in the pan. You can try Linux easily on your Windows or Mac computer by downloading VMWare player (free) and a free Linux Image (e.g. SUSE, Fedora).
Then start VMWare, open an image and Linux will be running in a
Window on your computer!
2006-02-15: Country Discounts
The INSIGHT sales and information page has been programmed to deliver up to 60% discounts for people living in selected countries around the world (e.g. Turkey). Your login email address must be in the countries domain for this to work (e.g. myname@myisp.tr). Just login and you will see the discount.
2006-01-12: INSIGHT Download Page Rewritten
This new page is much easier to use and less cluttered than the old one. You select your computing platform at the top and it redisplays specific for that. It has a place where you can check the status of your serial number, a feedback email, links to download, buy, update, get answers and more information, etc.
2006-01-05: INSIGHT 2006 Released
While this has a number of new features, the most important is the complete move to strict XML files for storage of all data. Most of the features are small changes and fixes to various problems. We will be releasing other improvements throughout the year in an evolutionary way so keep an eye on the site. Click the Release Notes link on the download for more information.
2006-01-01: INSIGHT Serial Number Change
INSIGHT now employs a KEY activation system. Digitalfire.com stores your INSIGHT registration and connects it to the account that you login to using your digitialfire.com personal password and its corresponding email address. Thus you no longer need to remember your serial number, INSIGHT has a Get Key dialog and it can get your key for you if you supply it with your password and email address. The key is quite long and so you need to copy it from the web page and paste it into INSIGHT. The key encodes your name, account number, INSIGHT registration and other things and in future it will automate upgrades.
2005-12-04: Digitalfire Gear Available
Buy all kinds of clothing with Digitalfire and INSIGHT "Fight the Dragon" logos. You can also buy hats, bags, aprons, mousepads, etc.
2005-08-16: Main INSIGHT Page Rewritten
Using our all-new INSIGHT combination purchase/information page you can upgrade and get a discount if you are a contributor, live in certain countries, are an educational institution or are able to assist in translating INSIGHT into other languages. You can also pay in a variety of ways including purchase order and Proforma invoice. The page also features dozens of popup windows and a cutting edge shopping cart with popup windows and parent page update at each step.
2005-08-05: INSIGHT KNaO Problem Solved
INSIGHT has been failing to combine the K2O and Na2O oxides when the KNaO checkbox is checked. It turns out the MDT from CeramicMaterials.Com has a material named Navajo Pumice that specifies a amount of KNaO as if it were an oxide. This conflicted with the algorithm to combine the other two. We altered the chemistry of the pumice, please download the MDT again or just remove the pumice and KNaO oxide from your MDT.
2005-07-11: Localization Rewrite
We have completely redesigned our online translation site so that translators can see the INSIGHT dialogs, menus, windows, and messages and each control label is cross referenced. More news soon...
2005-07-01: INSIGHT Ver 5.4.33 is here
-Added detail recipe template and associated token
-Added batch size field for printing mix tickets to batch total
and adjusted reports and added associated report tokens
-Added preferences-enabled percent column to recipe list
-New mac dmg based installer
-Redesigned opening and saving of all files to enable running from
CD or disk image download
-Added data folder locations to Recipe Open and MDT dialog title bars
-Added ability to open manual over internet
-Removed % signs for analysis listing in formula list
2005-05-15: INSIGHT Ver 5.4.32 is here
Here are some of the changes:
5.4.30
-Added features to bootlogging file
-Added path to bootlog file in preferences dialog
5.4.31
-Added limits menu item and limits page to manual
-Renamed debug.txt to signals.txt file and filled it with possible parameters
and troubleshooting information
-Added latest version check item to help menu
5.4.32
-Added thermal expansion calculation to MDT dialog and CSV Export
2005-03-24: Improvements at digitalfire.com
We have fixed problems and added features to the login page. It can be used if you forget your password, to remove duplicate records, change your password, email us, get a new password. This page also supports ceramicmaterials.info which now requires an email and password for login. Problems have been fixed and features added to the shopping cart, register and downloads pages also.
2005-03-24: INSIGHT Localization
(Language translations)
If you are a language translator for INSIGHT note that we have greatly improved our online translation site. For example, tooltips now appear under control labels they refer to, there are links to pictures of the pertinent INSIGHT window with cross referenced legend numbers to help you see the context. In addition, you can now specify a search word or phrase to limit the items shown and translate only those. You can also tell it to show only outdated and not-done items and there is a help section to demonstrate. The page will new export a file containing all the phrases you have translated so you can run them through your spell checker. Simultaneous translation on single languages my multiple translators is now also supported.
Can you help translate INSIGHT so it will run in your countries language? We will give you full credit and work out a profit sharing arrangement for versions sold in your country. At this time we can only do the ones that have western style scripts (others are in the works). Click the contact link on our home to contact me.
2005-03-20: New INSIGHT Videos, Manual
We have completely harmonized the videos (in the Learning Center on our web site and on the CD) with the lessons in the instruction manual. We also added more lessons. This has added 50 pages to the tutorial section of the manual. We have redesigned the tutorials and added more pictures with legend numbers to link the text with the pertinent areas of the pictures.
2005-02-27: INSIGHT Ver 5.4.29 is here
We have fixed some things and made quite a number of improvements (better support for translation, added recent checkbox in recipe open window, better font size changes in windows, added things to preferences folder, changed installer to install in shared documents folder, added a video, and more). This version also lays the groundwork for filesystem recipes, more than 2 side-by-size recipes. Check the readme file on the download page.
2005-02-27: Translating INSIGHT to other languages
We have an online translation site, people from around the world are translating translating INSIGHT now (Danish, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Portuguese, Swedish, Italian). Can you help with one of these? We will give you full credit and work out a profit sharing arrangement for
versions sold in your country. At this time we can only do the ones that have western style scripts (others are in the works). Please contact us using the contact link on our home page.
2005-02-24: Digitalfire.ab.ca Being Phased Out
Until recently INSIGHT went to the above website (the former home of ceramicmaterials.info) for lookup. However now it goes to ceramic-materials.com (an alias of ceramicmaterials.info). The search method and data display have been improved also. Older versions of INSIGHT will now display and information page that reminds users to upgrade (when they use the Info buttons in the Oxides and Materials dialogs).
2005-02-24: Send in Your MDT
Please help us maximize the number of materials reported at ceramic-materials.com. Please visit http://digitalfire.com/insight/uploadmdt.php to upload your MDT. We would like to examine it for materials we currently do not have listed and add them to the MDT for your part of the world if appropriate. Thank you.
2005-01-05: INSIGHT for Linux is here
Check our download page and click the readme file there for more information. It works just like the other versions.
2004-08-01: CeramicMaterials.Info (Great New Feature)
There is a new page where you can create a chart to compare the chemistry of an arbitrary selection of materials. The page also has a powerful search mechanism where you can specify a range for the amount of each oxide you need in the material. One of the videos deals with how to use this. Also, there is a presentation on how to download an MDT for INSIGHT.
2004-07-19: 4SIGHT Server Coming Soon
An industrial strength record keeping system that runs on your web server or across the internet.
2004-06-27: INSIGHT in University Discount Program
Many new universities are site licensing INSIGHT for use in their curriculum. You can use the INSIGHT video presentations at digitalfire.com and the reference material at ceramicmaterials.info as part of your curriculum. We extend significant discounts to universities and students (Use our contact page for more information).
2004-03-01: New Low Price for entry level INSIGHT
We have reduced the price of Level 1 INSIGHT to $59. We were able to do this by adding value to Level 2 by including our new Digitalfire Ceramic Library product.
2004-02-19: Crystal Glazes II is here
The number 1 requested topic at Digitalfire! This is the best book if you really what to understand, not just look at pretty pictures. And you can download it from our website in all its glorious color.
2004-01-19: INSIGHT seminar tour coming
Can you give us feedback on its content?
2004-01-19: Digitalfire Ceramic Library for Palm
The Digitalfire Ceramic Library is a huge eBook that runs on Palm Pilot, PocketPC, Windows CE and Windows in iSilo format. It is an interlinked illustrated 10mb reference work on materials, oxides, terms, troubleshooting, formulation, process, etc. It is generated from ceramicmaterials.info and changes constantly. It is a whole library of information in your shirt pocket! INSIGHT Level 2 users can get it from our download page. For more info click the Palm Pilot on our home page. To Upgrade your INSIGHT click the Upgrade link on our home page (your password is [password]).
2003-10-19: Magic of Fire 2003 Revision
Visit our download page and get it for free using your INSIGHT Level 2 serial number.
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