WCS as a separate feature

[Fig sign]

Hi .

Dear software developers !

I want WCS as a separate feature ,like tool and geometry and wish I can drag and drop it from operation to operation !

 

Think it would be cool and that`s very handy too .

BR,

Humble dumbass

[Colin Gilchrist]

+1 Iskander

 

If the WCS/Tplane/Cplane combo were listed as a feature under in the Operations Manager Tree it would make it much easier to change between the operations.

 

Iskander,

 

FYI, you can create multiple toolpath groups in the Operations Manager and assign each group a WCS/T/Cplane combo and when you move the red arrow up and down in the list, it should automatically switch to the Planes that are used in that group. Just make sure you are using the insertion point (red arrow) buttons to move the arrow between groups.

 

Also, if you create custom planes in the View Manager (I keymap my view manager to Alt + V) and you want to save them, you can save the part file to a "template" folder. Then start a new part file, right click in the View Manager planes list, and select "import". I do this all the time for Horizontal programming.

 

If there is anything else that would help make you faster, let us know. I'm sure there is a solution available and if not, that is what Chooks and VB Scripts are for!

 

HTH,

[Fig sign]

Collin .

Thanx ,I know about it .

But it would not help me .

I need this WCS feature because it is one of a couple of things I need desperatly .

Especially while doing 5x stuff

You see ,templates would not help .

Groups too

I usually go by tool through different Tplanes .

And I usually copy operations and geometries .

Why I can not copy WCS/cplane/tplane settings ?

Drag and drop man ,if it is Windows Api ,go to the end

I also want to see in operation manager without opening the procedure if my coolant is on or off

Heck ,even Aura had some tiny picture with water on off if I remember right and it was 20 years ago !

Make operation manager more informative !

[Colin Gilchrist]

I agree man, having the Coolant value and the Planes info in the Ops manager tree to allow you to drag-and-drop would be great. Right now it is kind of cumbersome to change planes. Having to right click, edit selected operations, edit common parameters, click on the planes button, and finally navigate through the dialog box is a ton of work for something so simple.

[Bryan Johnson]

I am in complete agreement on the wcs as a feature. While we are at it, lets make it completely parametric so you can change its orientation, and call it a coordinate system.

 

Maybe the tool info could also be pulled out and shown as its own feature. That way it would be quick to scan the tree and see your tool changes.

[88Matt]

quote:

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Why I can not copy WCS/cplane/tplane settings ?

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This is an EXCELLENT question. I would like to know as well. Is it a feature CNC just hasn't gotten around to yet or is it more than that?

 

quote:

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I agree man, having the Coolant value and the Planes info in the Ops manager tree to allow you to drag-and-drop would be great.

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I agree this would be very helpful. You need to be careful not to get TOO much info in the tree. Otherwise it all starts blurring together.

 

I think having different color icons for the tools to display if the coolant is on or off would work well and be an easy add-in. JM2C

 

[3R!< W3NG3R]

quote:

---

FYI, you can create multiple toolpath groups in the Operations Manager and assign each group a WCS/T/Cplane combo and when you move the red arrow up and down in the list, it should automatically switch to the Planes that are used in that group. Just make sure you are using the insertion point (red arrow) buttons to move the arrow between groups.

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Colin, this interests me. Could you please explain how to do this.

 

Thanks,

[Thad]

quote:

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You need to be careful not to get TOO much info in the tree. Otherwise it all starts blurring together.

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Maybe they could be added to the toolpath manager display options. That way it doesn't cause additional clutter for those of us who don't use these things (coolant on, etc).

 

Thad

[88Matt]

Thad-

 

I agree. I use the display option to minimize what I see and turn on just what I need for that project. I don't believe it would be interactive though (drag-and-drop) as a display option. Obviously if the revised operations manager and display options it could be.

[Colin Gilchrist]

Eric,

 

In order to get the automatic switching to work you need at least one operation in each toolpath group to "hold" the Planes settings. I do this all the time for Horizontal tombstone machining. What I like to do is create an MCX file as a template. I have the Machine Group loaded for the horizontal machine, and I have 8 toolpath groups underneath the Machine group.

 

I start by setting WCS to Top and T/CPlane to Front. I create a copy of the Front plane in the View manager and rename it to B0 - Front (I like naming the angle of rotation in my planes). Then I do a "Planes - Rotate Planes" from the secondary menu and rotate 45 deg about "Y" (rotation axis). I name this plane B 45 deg. I repeat this process until I've got all 8 planes.

 

Now in my toolpath groups, I name each group to match the planes I've created. I start by setting my Planes (not WCS, just T/Cplane) to B0, then I create a Point Toolpath with a standard tool (if you have one in your toolchanger) and set it to a nice clearance value in Z. Then I move the Insertion point arrow to the next group and select the T/Cplane combo I want. I program another point toolpath and repeat the process.

 

What I end up with is an MCX file that has my T/Cplanes and matching toolpath groups. Now when I move the insertion point arrow between groups (always use the up and down arrow buttons for this) my planes are automatically set when I use a different group.

 

Now I save this part file as "(machine name) Horizontal Seed.MCX"

 

Now when I go to program a different job I open the seed model, merge in my part geometry and save the MCX as the part file name.

 

HTH,

[3R!< W3NG3R]

wow, thanks Colin, that's great!

I love learning new stuff.

 

Also, yes, having the coolant and wcs easier to change would be good

[Guest]

Too take Colin's example one step further, if you have a tool carousel of set tools you can define then in the seed file as well.

[Colin Gilchrist]

+1 for having a set of "standard" tools. In a few shops I've been in we tried to create a set of "10 standard tools" that we loaded in pots 1-10. Then if we needed custom tools we used 11-20. It works pretty good for 80% of the stuff you do.

 

BTW, if you have already programmed a job with some custom planes and you are doing a "similar" part, you can right click in the planes list inside View Manager and "import" the custom planes you need.

 

JM2¢,