an mpmaster question

[gcode]

rotary_axis2 : c9k #Rotary axis selected in Multiaxis Drill and Curve 5 Axis, 0=X, 1=Y, 2=Z

 

 

This is a line from an X3 mpmaster post

Can anyone tell me why

rotary_axis2 is set to c9k

and what c9k does ??

 

and is this line the trick to getting

5 axis toolpaths to output properly

with a horizontal post?

[Ron Branch @ Verisurf]

Tom I think and again just my thoughts on this. I think that is a place holder of sorts. It can either be the number for infinity or just used like a buffer set place. I have asked for years to have MPGEN5AX unlocked to no avail and it would help unlock the mystery around c9k.

[Glenn Bouman]

It is not just mpmaster, mpfan has it too. It just means 9999

 

c9k := 9999

[gcode]

can you tell me why you would want

 

rotary_axis2 = 9999 ??

[Glenn Bouman]

It is initialized as 9999

 

rotary_axis2 : c9k

 

But gets it value from:

 

code:

---

 if prmcode$ = 12025, rotary_axis2 = rpar(sparameter$,1) #Capture the axis of rotation in Multiaxis Drill and Curve 5 Axis 

---

[Jim Evans from CNC Software]

Thanks Glenn. Glenn is right.

 

We use the C9K variable which just holds a value of 9999 because this is usually a value that you will be hard pressed to find in a variable.

 

We use 9999 to ensure a variable is initialized to some unique number that normally can not be gotten any other way.

 

We may use this as an initial value as in the above example or we sometimes use it to reset a variable say at the toolchanges to ensure we get it back to a known state.

 

Usually any variable that is assigned c9k (9999) will get another value assigned to it at some point during the posting process by some other method. In the above it gets its value from a parameter, but it could easily get its value from some mathematical calculation or even based on some logic test.