Help with 5 axis tool path

[Rick Henrickson The Boeing Co.]

lets say you have a 2 foot diameter cylinder lying in the X axis I am cutting on the back side of the cylinder I want to rapid to the front of the cylinder and to a new A position on the way. I get G1 segment code but I would like to have a G3 move from an A negative to an A positive.

 

I know I may not have described very clear so here is another try

 

Lets say it is a horizontal WCS top I position the tool to the center of the tombstone @ BO and a Z12.o

now I don't move the tool but just rotate the B to B90. I want to do the same with the 5 axis it would be an X Z move with a J I think and an A start and end position.

 

Thanks ahead of time

[John Summers]

Just make a toolpath that does what you want to do, and don't worry about the angles. The postprocessed toolpath will give you everything. In order to make a 5 axis toolpath, you may need to make a ruled surface and cut it with SWARF5AX.

[crazy^millman]

John has a good suggestion and here si a different way. Gcode (Tom) taught me this one years ago. Make a line at your start position normal to what you want. Make a 2nd line normal to the end position you want. Go to the top view if looking down the cylinder and make an arc from the end of the one line to the other. Now do a curve 5 axis toolpath. The line will be your control the arc is your toolpath and done. I have used this to make a machine dance around tooling and clamps and get in and out of some really tight areas with the spindle and the tool holders.

[Eki Tossavainen Zenex Computing Oy]

I have never seen G2 or G3 used with rotary axis. Is it even possible?

If you have A-180 and you give G1 A180, the machine should just rotate the A-axis? This should look like an arc move in backplot.

[Teh Bear without Brains kinda idiot]

If you have A-180 and you give G1 A180, the machine should just rotate the A-axis? This should look like an arc move in backplot.

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G1 would G0 would not

I get used to it but it continues to drive me crazy