Not posting out first rapid move in toolpath?

[huskermcdoogle]

Guys,

 

I am just getting into five axis, anyway. I have a situation that is quite annoying, and I cannot for the life of me figure it out. This post we purchased from our machine tool builder is a mess..... Anyway, I can't figure out if this problem is with me, mastercam, or the post.

 

Description:

 

Between any and all rapid re-position back to feed moves, say for a depth cut on an open chain, when I have the head tilted to be perpendicular to the chain plane, it erases the clearance start point see code below.

 

Now I think I just figured out what it is doing, just not sure what the best course of action is to fix it. Currently the post is outputting everything in machine xyz. TWP is setup in the post, but is turned off currently, and is a global post setting. I am thinking of putting it on a misc int, and turning it on as needed. at that point not sure where i would put the setting to toggle in the post. How have you all dealt with this situation in the past?

 

Z32.047
X828.769 Z31.612
G1 X828.099 Z18.701
X431.347 Y.024 Z37.975
X412.373 Y.025 Z38.96
G0 X412.961 Z50.28
G1 X827.947 Y0. Z15.777
X431.195 Y.024 Z35.05
X412.221 Y.025 Z36.036
G0 X412.809 Z47.356
G1 X827.795 Y0. Z12.852
X431.043 Y.024 Z32.126
X412.069 Y.025 Z33.111
G0 X412.657 Z44.431
G1 X827.643 Y0. Z9.928
X430.891 Y.024 Z29.201
X411.917 Y.025 Z30.187
G0 X413.135 Z53.64

 

should be

 

 

Z42.034
X828.769 Z31.612
G1 X828.099 Z18.701
X431.347 Y.024 Z37.975
X412.373 Y.025 Z38.96
G0 X413.739 Z65.26
X829.396 Y0. Z43.668
G1 X827.947 Z15.777
X431.195 Y.024 Z35.05
X412.221 Y.025 Z36.036
G0 X413.587 Z62.336
X829.244 Y0. Z40.743
G1 X827.795 Z12.852
X431.043 Y.024 Z32.126
X412.069 Y.025 Z33.111
G0 X413.435 Z59.411
X829.092 Y0. Z37.819
G1 X827.643 Z9.928
X430.891 Y.024 Z29.201
X411.917 Y.025 Z30.187
G0 X413.654 Z63.626

 

Now I think I just figured out what it is doing, just not sure what the best course of action is to fix it. Currently the post is outputting everything in machine xyz. TWP is setup in the post, but is turned off currently, and is a global post setting. I am thinking of putting it on a misc int, and turning it on as needed. at that point not sure where i would put the setting to toggle in the post. How have you all dealt with this situation in the past?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Husker

[huskermcdoogle]

Another thing to note is that the rapid along the spindle axis to feed plane is not there and won't output even when no tilting is going on.

[crazy^millman]

Sir without a .z2g going ot be real hard to help you nail this down. The folks over at MLC CAD should be able to help you out. If not please feel free to shoot me an email with a .z2g and I will see if I can help you nail it down. Have a good day.

 

HTH

[huskermcdoogle]

Ron,

 

I will throw together a simple .z2g this weekend and send it over. I do not know if the post is unlocked for dealers, that being said, I need to ask, but I don't know if it was bought through MLC or not. The post was bought from the machine tool builder who is in italy. I have worked MLC in the past and have worked with Jeff White on a different post, sharp guy, but not sure if they will be willing to help out or not. I suppose the best thing I can do at this point is get a .z2g together and see if anyone will bite here, as well as send it over to italy and let the builders dealer try to sort it out as well.

 

I think long term it will be best to get up to speed on 5 axis posts and develop one for it myself, as this machine has a rotary as a "6th" axis, and it is difficult to deal with at times switching between A axis vs BC axis modes, seems to me there would be a way to preread the NCI and see what would be the best output based on angle ranges, or use planes and do one or the other based on if you are in an orthogonal orientation.

 

Thanks for chiming in!

 

Husker

[crazy^millman]

With 6 axis machines you really start getting nito some logical stuff you have to dig into. If all else fails I will be glad to assist as best I can.

[huskermcdoogle]

Well I think i nailed it down to a specific area in the post, just have no idea how to fix it yet as I have not done much with altering motion output.

 

See attached PDF and Z2g links, they outline the problem pretty well.

 

https://dl.dropboxus...ING PROBLEM.Z2G

 

https://dl.dropboxus...nge Problem.pdf

[crazy^millman]

I think you problem is this problem.

 

http://www.emastercam.com/board/index.php?showtopic=77598entry922770

 

That is a mill post not a lathe post. The logic and understanding needed to handle lathe matrix and kinematics are not built into any of the 5 axis Posts that I am ware of. You need to get back on the phone or in some type of communications with the post builder and have them fix their errors. They have in my humble opinion started with the wrong post for build one for a turning center. Now that is not to say you are doing turning operations, but since they call it a Lathe, but then used a Mill machine definition looks like a cheat was done no mimic turning operations with a milling posts. You are saying 6 axis, but if this a is a Mill/Turn Machine then I still consider it 5 axis machining. Machine can have a many axis as the want, but what machining are you trying to create here? I have programmed machine that have 9 to 16 axis on travel, but at any one point at time the tool would in all reality on move at the most 5 axis of Travel. I see that as the case here, you need the machine to preform 5 axis of travel at any given time or does it need to preform 6 axis and none of this was defined correctly in the machine definition? Thanks for putting at that file, but that really tells or explains to me anything fo what you are trying to achieve. Why I always hated getting Machine Builder made posts. You have to get out of what you know and do it their way. Problem is just because they build the machine and have envisioned what they want their machine to do, does not mean they have thought it all the way out how to make the Software that needs to program work for every customer situation. Hopefully I am wrong here and once you bring these errors and problems you are having to someone attention it gets addressed promptly, but the fact you are in X6 worries me. Either you are old school and hate updating which is the lesser or all possible problems here. your company is cheap and decided not to renew maintenance and you are stuck where you are which mean getting support is ve3ry unlikely. Or they just do not have the understanding they think they do at the machine builder and they need to be educated where and how they gone wrong, but they know it all and not open to anyone telling them where they went wrong. Again I hope I am very wrong and they have a perfectly good reason for all of this and you were just not training correctly and once trained you will rock and roll with this and make me eat my words, but since I have done this for a day or 2 and also the lack of response to this thread tells me I might be on to something here.

[huskermcdoogle]

When they say lathe it really isn't. The machine is a 5 axis router, with a 6th axis mounted to the table. See video below. The "turning" is just a multiaxis path using the rotary and a mill. See video below.

 

 

All that being said, the post writer got back to me just haven't had time to sit down and do any testing... This is for a side job, not my day job.

 

Thanks,

 

Husker

[crazy^millman]

Well in that sample file you have Lathe as your base. If not doing any turning toolpath then need to start with a base mill machine not a lathe machine. You started with a Lathe and that will throw some conflicts. Starting with a Mill Machine doing what you are after might clear up some of your problems since the post was built around Mill post to do the work and not really a lathe post to do work. Again without some real to look at these are all guess dart thrown to a dart board in the dart with a blind fold on.

 

HTH