Wire many punches and dies tpath

[edmBosto]

I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to tab die shapes and punch shapes so it does all the cutoff at the end for one job.

 

Here is one method I use but I need to have 3 operations.

 

Op 1; Partial chain of die and punch shapes

(overnite burning)

 

Op 2; Single entity chain of die shapes

Op 3; Single entity chain of punch shapes

 

Tpath preparation:

 

I will break the chain near the thread point where it starts to burn the contour. Or sometimes I will have "break at closest entity" checked if the shapes allow this or for any other logical reason. This way I don't need to break the entity near the thread point as it is done automatically on all the chains.

 

I will then enter the trim function and break the entity at a -.600 for my tab if a punch shape

or what ever length I need and then again at

-.100 for the die shapes. So now I can have a single entity chain for ea. contour (2nd op)which can be used as a tab. I hope you can follow this

 

Operation #1;

 

I will chain as a partial leaving out the

area for the tab such as the -.600 and the -.100 as I mentioned above. Again, the partial chain has no tab and it's the 1st operation in the toolpath.

 

 

The 2nd operation:

 

Will be a single entity chain for ea. die shape. In my case this could be up to 20 to 30 contours. In the settings for this I will have it stop leaving a .030 tab so the machine will run as long as possible overnight. I also combine the tab with the finish cut so it doesn't leadout at the stop. I have a lead in lead out set to .030 and then it skim passes only at the endpoints of the single entity with the leadouts.

 

The 3rd operation in the tpath will be only for the punch shapes since it's only one pass with a .030 tab leaving material to grind on the tab only. I use .010 dia. wire and for this pass I lie to Mastercam telling it the wire dia. is .014

and I have it burn as a rough setting so it actually leaves more like .003 material for grinding off on the tab.

 

Does anyone have a better way?

Acually this seems to work well for me and maybe someone switching over to Mastercam wire might want to try this method.

 

Merry Christmas all and a happy new year.

Vern

[Guest]

edmbosto,

this is how i would do it if it was me.

say you have 3 die openings and 2 punch shapes.

i would first change the color of my punches to another color.

 

window contour you die openings using the color mask.

set max leadout to .020

also trim final leadout

auto pos cut point

st pt set to thread pt.

tab cut leads set .020

additional skim cuts before tab set to 0

check tab

tab width .100

# of tab cuts 1

rough tab and finish seperatley

skim cuts after tab 3 generate stop for all tab cuts bfor and after

reset pass # on tab cuts

one way cutting method

 

this will rough all of your die openings

go back and cut all of the tabs

take 3 skims passes

no need to be there except for the tab cuts

 

as for your puch shapes everything is the same except for your color mask.

break only the point perp to your thread pt.

set your additional skim cuts before tab to 1 or whatever you want

use reverse passes.

this will rough your punch shape

and skim it once while leaving the tab

and at the very end go back and drop the parts one at a time.

[edmBosto]

Del,

Trying various methods is good to see what one likes best. I'm trying to get some conversation on wire in the forum as Toolman suggested in the "wire stop" thread topic.

 

2 things I like about your method is masking which I've been too lazy to do, and the fact it takes less time to program.

 

The one thing I don't like is it machines all the die shapes then stops for the tab overnite

before machining the punch shapes.But the drawback is it takes alot longer to program it my way. So that's something I would need consider.

Maybe we'll hear some on this from others that they'll like your way which is faster programming.

Thanks for the tips.

[Guest]

edmbosto,

 

i see what you mean.we have to be able to figure how much nightime burning there is. if the wire is going to stop during the night,then i would do what you do and just program my tab cuts as a seperate operation.the good thing about the other way is you can drop all of your slugs at the same time and not have to worry about having it get hung up.you can atually take all of your skim passes,drop the slug and skim the tab area as many times as you want.i don't do that very often,

because just like tool pressure on an endmill,you can still see where the tab was barely.

[edmBosto]

Del,

All true.

 

 

Any other topics on wire we could start?

I can only think of .......

 

 

Oh, maybe 30 or so

 

Anyone else?

[ToolMan184]

edmBosto

 

Maybe if we start several topics on wire, CNC may see there is a need for input. I wouldnt mind BETA testing the Wire side for them. Also, did you see in the other thread where John said there was suppose to be some new things coming for the wire side. I would like to see what it is.

[edmBosto]

Toolman,

It's worth a try.

Like you stated earlier there isn't much wire talk.

quote:

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some new things coming for the wire side

---

I'd like to see it become a faster way of putting in stops.

 

I'm not prepared yet on how to get that point across as I'm not totally sure how I would like it to work .

I've seen in Esprit where you can create a tab and place the stop quicker than I can in mastercam since I need to change at point.

I find that time consuming since I'm still trying get used to it as I'm sort of new to wire.

But no excuses right since I need to be efficient with it asap.

[Roger Martin from CNC Software]

"...since I need to change at point"

 

Sure you can use Change At Point, but do you need to is the question.

Are you doing something "special" is with the tabs on this job?

I'm trying to understand why the auto tab & stop controls work for you.

[Guest]

roger,

 

what i would like to see is the ability to add multiple stops for multiple contours with all the contours being 1 operation without having to use change at point for each contour.

[edmBosto]

Roger,

I find myself needing a tab within a tab

many times during the day. Like I stated earlier I'm not quite sure how to state what I want, but maybe the 1st sentence states it best.

So we change at point to make the operation work. It does work well.

quote:

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I'm trying to understand why the auto tab & stop controls work for you.

---

Yes they do work. On only die shapes I just leave a .100 tab with a stop. It's fast this way in mastercam. For overnite I'll leave for the tab to be machined in the morning with extra tab cuts.

[ToolMan184]

quote:

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I've seen in Esprit where you can create a tab and place the stop quicker than I can in mastercam since I need to change at point.

---

Yep, with Espirit 3 clicks and Im done. Select start point, end point, contour and parameters and Im done. I dont have to tell it where to thread and cut, it knows the start point is thread point and stop point is cut point. To create a tab you simply tell it how far from the end point it is and bingo its there. No matter if its a line or an arc.

 

But, I did just learn MC will kinda do the same thing. As described in an earlier thread. Now Im trying to figure out how to drop all my slugs during the day and skim everything later. I tried doing 2 operations but I cant get my power settings for pass 2 to stick. It will stick if I have it to skim after I drop the slug. I normally rough all my holes and drop the slugs then go back and skim all the holes in seperate operations while Im sleeping. But cant seem to figure it out in MC unless I need a power setting just for the skim pass. Shouldnt the pass 2 power settings stick even if it is another operation?

[Matt Berube at Ferron Mold]

What do you mean about getting pass 2 to stick ?

 

Are you getting the codes for pass 1 instead ?

 

There is a choice in there somewhere to choose which pass to start with...

 

I think you are on the right track with using 2 ops.

[ToolMan184]

The conditions for pass 2 always goes back to pass 1. I think I tried to set the pass # to 2 and it still done no good. I will double check and make sure.

 

I would think using 2 ops would be best as well if I can get my conditions to stick.

[edmBosto]

Lets see if I got this proceedure correct.

You wish to drop the slugs asap during the day and skim all the contours 100% at night.

 

So your cutting die shapes and your creating a tab say .030 with a stop at the start of the tab.

 

You have "cut tab with skim cut" so there is no lead out at the start of the tab. The machine stops .030 from the start of the chain, you start the machine and the slug falls, you stop the machine to remove the slug. Then restart the machine to finish the 1st cut of the contour. Then it leads out .02 to .03 and cuts the wire,(still 1st pass) then moves to the next thread point and repeats the process for all the die shapes.

 

 

Now you need to skim ea. shape 2,3, or 4 times as a complete chain with no stops (so you can sleep .)

( I'm trying to think if this can be done in 1 op.)I believe it can if you select the correct

statement in the dropdown of 3 choices. I can't remember exactly what they state.Sorry.

 

Your pass cuts should probably be set to one way for this. Since ea. contour has had pass #1 all done, mastercam knows to skim with pass #2 for ea. contour. If your settings are not correct for pass 2 when you post your power library isn't correct. If so you need to do what I stated on the other thread, such as unassociate to library and make your power setting changes for your other passes. You can save these settings to your library as you wish.

 

I think this is what you want?

If you do this in 2 ops have the 2nd op start with pass #2.

[Guest]

toolman,

 

put thread pt icon where you want to start at for all contours.

 

window contour all of your contours

set the direction for closed chains in your options

select the search pt which will be your first contour st pt

set max lead out for contours and tabs to .020

also trim final leadout

enter your tab width

additional skim cuts before tab set to 0

select rough tab and finish seperatley

skim cuts after tab set to 1,2 or 3 whatever you want

generate stop for all tab cuts

select before and after by holding your shift key down

 

this will rough all contours while holding the slugs with the tab

 

it will then go back and drop all slugs 1 at a time

 

it will then take all of your skim cuts.

 

if you want to rough each contour and then cut the tab just check make tab cuttoff with skim cut

 

it will drop each contour one at a time and at the end go back and take the skims after all of the slugs are dropped.

 

try it,it works hth del

[Guest]

toolman, if you dont want to window contour then just chain all contours. it will still be just 1 operation as long as you don't go your parameter screen until you have chained all contours.

[ToolMan184]

OK, I figured it out.

 

Here is what I am doing to rough cut and trim in seperate ops. To rough the hole I have set: pass 1, starting pass #1, tab width, make tab cut off move with skim, rough tab and finish seperatley. Then on the finish side I have set: pass 1, starting pass #2, perform rough cut. Posted it and it is exactly how I wanted it.

 

Del, I also tried what you said too, and that will be handy as well. I printed it for future use, You going to charge me a royalty fee?

 

This has to be the GREATEST place on earth.

 

Thanks guys for all your help.

[Guest]

toolman,

 

 

we kentucky guys have to stick together.where are you located in the state.

[Guest]

Ooooo, I know, I know

 

[Guest]

do tell!do tell!

[ToolMan184]

Del,

 

You gotta watch that pinkie

 

Glasgow, Not too far away from you. Maybe 1 1/2 hours.

[Guest]

ah,the scotties.

[Guest]

quote:

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You gotta watch that pinkie

---

[ToolMan184]

quote:

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ah,the scotties.

---

Pardon my french but hell NOOOOOO..

 

The TROJANS

[Guest]

toolman,

 

sorry about that.glasgow h.s. is the scotties and barren co. is the trojans.is that correct?