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Lathe Stock Transfer


KPE
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I purchased the X8 lathe manual only because it is listed as having information about "Stock Transfer"  which I cannot find.  At previous workplace, If I did a stock transfer to the sub, it would move to the other side of the viewing screen.  With this post, it just moves to the other side of zero.  If I have it move 10 inches to the right, then the face off will read Z10.  So if it is just the other side of Zero, it presents a problem in that sub tools keep having errors saying they are hitting the material, and likewise on the main.  Hepl please.  I hace been to Mastercam shows and no one can answer my question of how to solve this problem.

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There are many ways to approach this. For me, I started using Mastercam using only Mill and when I got into lathe, it was non-stop frustation and keyboard-throwing. When you approach lathe, you have to pretty much throw out everything you know about Mastercam. I had to keep playing with it until I found a method that worked for me. Now I do spindle transfers all day long with no problems.

 

I despise the idea of having to sets of part geometry 20 inches apart on my screen and having to make multiple WCS zeros, especially since lathe handles everything so damn wonky. So, I only use one: the default TOP WCS zero point.

 

Assuming you program using Z zero at the face of the part-

 

When I define my stock, my stock length is only the length of my part, not longer as if to represent a bar. If I'm doing a chucker or using slugged material, it is the length of the material, but only then. I define my stock only in the main spindle, and I define my chucks: the main chuck in position, and the subspindle 32 inches to the right (the only time I ever use this geometry is for defining the spindle, after that it's blanked out.)

 

To do a transfer I set my options like the last picture below.

 

Notice the main spindle position. I have it move from my originally defined position, to negative 32 inches, because in the actual machine, it will end up being that far away. So, my geometry goes from looking like the picture name Position 1, to looking like Position 2.

 

Because the main spindle is 32 inches away, there is no interference from tools or stock. And using the same WCS lets me keep my sanity.

 

One thing I have to note is that we use a macro for the pick/pull/cutoff procedure in the machine. I modified my post to pull all the relevant information from the MISC OPS - STOCK TRANSFER parameters to feed the macro, and I use the custom parameters to modify feeds and speeds of my cutoff tool. This lets me use the same procedure for every part I make, including chucker parts where there is no actual cut off.

 

Hope this helps.

post-52560-0-46414500-1422528910_thumb.jpg

post-52560-0-29112000-1422528918_thumb.jpg

post-52560-0-32649800-1422528923_thumb.jpg

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Hi:  Thank you Cathedral.  1 question please.  What if you put the values in of -32. and 32, and nothing happens?  The part is still just to the right of zero, and if I define the right chuck for pick and pull, that is a mess.  Every tool programmed on the main spindle will now be marked dirty and if you regenerate them, most will not work, stating that they will crash into the sub, and visa versa with the sub tools.

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When you define your subspindle, make sure the original position is far away from the main spindle. That way there is no interference. Since I use a chain to define my chucks, I have the sub spindle chain drawn 32 inches away from the main. The sub spindle should only approach zero during a pick off procedure.

 

Also, the way that I program, the part does only move on-screen to the other side of zero. Again, this is so I don't have to create any more planes or zero points, and I just use the default TOP WCS. I know it is not the way most people program, but I have found it to be leaps and bounds easier than the way most people program.

 

 

Sub parameters post-52560-0-36908400-1422543782_thumb.jpg

before pickoff post-52560-0-47230600-1422543806_thumb.jpg

after pickoff post-52560-0-02829300-1422543816_thumb.jpg

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Hi:  Thank you Cathedral.  1 question please.  What if you put the values in of -32. and 32, and nothing happens?  The part is still just to the right of zero, and if I define the right chuck for pick and pull, that is a mess.  Every tool programmed on the main spindle will now be marked dirty and if you regenerate them, most will not work, stating that they will crash into the sub, and visa versa with the sub tools.

 

Don't forget to change your axis combinations when programming on the sub side of the machine, also tools will need to be oriented for sub work.

There is a pick off / cut off strategy in the lathe toolpath options but you will need a post that has the poco functionality built in.

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