Rotary 4th Axis

[PBoulanger]

Does anybody know how to get a Rotary 4th Axis toolpath with an axial cut direction and a radial stepover? I can get it to work with a radial cut direction and an axial stepover, but no luck getting it the other way. Can Rotary 4th Axis even produce the type of toolpath I'm looking for? Using MC7.2c, Mill level 3.

Thanks in advance.

[Allan Brown]

A C-Hook called Axial4ax did exist as a 'prototype' toolpath that is now incorporated into the Rotary4ax toolpath in V8.1.

You can download this from "The [Almost] Definitive C-Hooks List - V7" page on this site:

http://www.emastercam.com/tools/chooks/list_v7.html

No Op Man support, each op needs a separate ASCII NCI file, limited approach/retract options. If you like the basic functionality, consider an update to V8.1.

[PBoulanger]

Thanks for the tip Dave. The Axial4ax C-Hook worked like a charm. Now my problem is when I go to post the generated NCI file through NC Util/Post Proc I get the following error,

"Selector variable gcode = 11.0 out of range for string select"

Any ideas what maybe causing this in my post file, and how to correct it? The post I'm using is a variant of the Mpfan.pst supplied with MC.

Thanks again.

[PBoulanger]

Dave,

Do I need a 5-Axis capable post in order to process Rotary or Axial 4th axis toolpaths?

I noticed in the Post Processor guide that Mill gcode G11 relates to a 5-axis move and may require a "special" post processor. On that note, do you know if there is a generic 5-axis post?

Thanks.