Really Wanting to Learn Post Editing - Need Help

[Rotary Ninja]

Is there a PDF, or a tutorial, or whatever somewhere that explains post development or at least editing? What kind of programming could I learn to help me understand this? I really want to learn more about editing post files.

 

We use a modified post at my work and it is so screwed up I am considering switching back to the Generic Haas post and going from there. I really don't know what they did, so editing it may prove to be harder than just starting fresh with the Generic Haas post. I just tried the MPMaster post and it is pretty sweet. Would it be hard to modify this for the Haas?

 

 

 

I have built web pages using HTML and CSS. And I know what I want the machine to do. So I know I can learn this stuff. I just need a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks.

[EX-wccprogrammer]

Contact your reseller, and ask them for the MP Documentation Portfolio. They charge about 50 bucks. It has everything you need to know about how it works, and what variables and parameters are used.

 

The possibilities are limited only by your creativity.

[Rotary Ninja]

Ok, so this is just a PDF guide? Are there any other resources I could use along with this that would help with post programming? Because I am going to assume this MP Documentation Portfolio isn't going to be written with someone with my limited programming experience in mind. By that I mean I have never used Visual Basic. I've never used C++ or anything like that other than the HTML and CSS I mentioned. My problem is I don't learn very well from books or reading a PDF. I use them more for reference. I need something a little more hands on I guess to get me started. I'll more than likely have to shell out the $50 myself, so I guess I could use a little assurance this is going to teach me something? I just hate paying for something and not have any idea what I am getting.

 

Thanks.

[EX-wccprogrammer]

My understanding is that there is a training class offered, but that it is taught using this portfolio as the guide. All of the post-writing knowledge that I have acquired in my career comes from a driving desire to make things work better, using this guide to help me figure out things that I needed help with.

 

Posts are very readable for the most part, with the exceptions being buffer files and canned cycles. The portfolio explains the functionality of each command available, has examples of many types of code, and is searchable for the exact issue that you want to find. After almost 15 years of post writing and editing, I still use it to help me with improvements.

 

It is the most complete resource that I am aware of on the subject, but it will not generate code for you. The way that I learned to do it was by reading an existing post to figure out how it worked, then figuring out how to modify it into what I wanted.

 

Good Luck!

[Rotary Ninja]

That is kind of what I am doing now. I am trying to modify our Haas post to configure the -A- axis positions a little better. But I don't really even know where to begin. The mpmaster post does basically what I want to do, but it is for a Fanuc, which I know isn't a whole lot different than the Haas. The generic Haas post moves -A- to zero at the end of each toolpath. And it moves -A- to machine zero at the end of the program. I would like to remove these zero returns. I also like the minimum and maximum Z depths shown in the program like mpmaster does. Can someone go through a couple examples of how I would go about getting these features into the generic Haas post?

 

Thank you

[Rotary Ninja]

Precision WorkStation T7500

Windows 7 Professional x64

Intel® Xeon® CPU X5677 @ 3.47GHz

RAM 24.0 GB

NVIDIA Quadro 6000 w/ 6144 MB

X5 MU1

X6 MU2 (developing post)

ProDrill V4

Verisurf 5.1

Vericut 7.1.6

 

:o

 

Holy Crap! That is one bad Mammer Jammer!!! Outside of it being a Dell

[Tim Johnson]

Stick with the MPmaster. Post here what the code is spitting out (only the segments you don't like) and what you would like changed. There are several members that can help from that point. As you make the changes you will begin to see how the post flows.

[Rotary Ninja]

Ok, I will copy my Haas machine and control definitions and set them to use the MPMaster post file and see what I get.

[EX-wccprogrammer]

Precision WorkStation T7500

Windows 7 Professional x64

Intel® Xeon® CPU X5677 @ 3.47GHz

RAM 24.0 GB

NVIDIA Quadro 6000 w/ 6144 MB

X5 MU1

X6 MU2 (developing post)

ProDrill V4

Verisurf 5.1

Vericut 7.1.6

 

:o

 

Holy Crap! That is one bad Mammer Jammer!!! Outside of it being a Dell

 

Yeah, well... We bought a 12K puter on Dell Outlet for 5K. Turns out that the video card was wreaking havok, so someone returned it. We moved the card to a new slot, and *Presto* no more problem.

[Thad]

Kevin, I PMed you.

 

FWIW, I know HTML and CSS and I don't think it helped me with post editing. Then again, the post reference guide didn't help me much either.

[Craig-B]

Try This,

 

Save the original post, and look at the end of the pretract section of the post and remove the protretinc.

 

(search for this) pretract #End of tool path, toolchange

 

 

(look at the end of the pretract section of the post)

if nextop$ = 1003 | tlchg_home, pbld, n$, *sg28ref, "X0.", "Y0.", protretinc, e$

else, pbld, n$, protretinc, e$

absinc$ = sav_absinc

coolant$ = sav_coolant

 

(Change to this)

if nextop$ = 1003 | tlchg_home, pbld, n$, *sg28ref, "X0.", "Y0.", e$

else, pbld, n$, e$

absinc$ = sav_absinc

coolant$ = sav_coolant

[Rotary Ninja]

Ok. I think I kind of understand this. Don't laugh at me... The words "pretract" and "protretinc" are called "what?".

 

So inside the pretract cammand or whatever this is called it says - if nextop$ = 1003 then do this list of things. And "protretinc" which is the actual rotary return as defined below the pretract section is one of those things it says to do. Am I close?

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

HTML and CSS are nothing like the Post Language. Post language is more like Basic or C++. When creating "stuff" you need variable formats and declarations as well as calls/calculations. That said, there's more often than not only 3 or 4 sections you're working in/with; pheader$, ptlchg_com, ptlchg0$, pretract and peof$.

 

pheader is pretty much what the name implies - postblock header. What will show up before the first tool change is there.

 

ptlchg_com is pretty much what the name implies - postblock toolchange common. What is contained there is what happens from the issuance of a toolchange up to where the cutting motion starts.

 

ptoolchange0 is what happens during a null toolchange. A null toolchange is when you have more than one operation sharing a tool WITHOUT A FORCE TOOL CHANGE being issued. It will reissue spindle speed conditions, coolant conditions, plane changes, etc...

 

pretract is what the name implies. What goes on at the end of an operation.

 

peof is postblock, end of file. It is what happens at the end of the program.

 

Always make a backup before makign edits. There are switches the the top of the post. Take a look there for some output settings.

 

postblocks are allowed to be justified all the way left, postblock calls need to be indented.

 

Just some basics to kick start your learning.

 

HTH

[Rotary Ninja]

Yes that does. Thank you.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

You're welcome.

[Mick]

Also learn to use the Post Debugger. That is handy when trying to locate the origin of a specific piece of code output, and seeing what is going on within the post.

 

I learnt the hard way about posts, and I'm still learning. Sadly not so much nowadays though. But if you're interested, they can be a load of fun. Kind of like dragging your fingernails down a blackboard

[Tim Johnson]

Also adding to CNC Apps Guy 1, all postblocks start with the letter p, pheader is header, pretract is retract ect. When adding variables just make sure they don't start with the letter p. If you see a p-word in the middle of a postblock it is calling another postblock and when it is done it returns to the previous postblock.

[Rotary Ninja]

Also adding to CNC Apps Guy 1, all postblocks start with the letter p, pheader is header, pretract is retract ect. When adding variables just make sure they don't start with the letter p. If you see a p-word in the middle of a postblock it is calling another postblock and when it is done it returns to the previous postblock.

 

That is what I was wanting to know. Just wasn't sure how to ask

[EX-wccprogrammer]

A couple of other things that you will need to know as you go along:

 

Postblocks -- These are just a 'module' of code that performs a specific task. The basics are predefined in the stock post, but you can write your own if you like. They do not have to be in any particular order, so put them someplace that makes sense to you. The name of a postblock always is placed at the far left, and all code inside the postblock is indented beneath it. You can call a postblock by name anywhere in another line of code. Postblock names always start with the letter 'p'.

 

String Variables -- These hold text and can be output in the program or can be used for popup messages for the programmer. The basics are predefined, and you can define as many as you need, they just need their own name. They can be defined anywhere in the post, but try to put them in an area that you can easily find. (NOT inside a postblock!) All string variables MUST start with the letter 's'. They can be defined a couple of different ways, take a look at your post and see how the 's' variables are in there, and follow suit.

 

Numeric Variables -- These are the workhorse of your post. They can be used to hold values that are calculated in formulas, and can be formatted to be used for direct output to the NC file. They can be named anything that you want. I think that there are some restrictions on characters (like $ # & * etc) but any letters other than starting with 'p' are OK. They can be defined without formatting. They MUST be defined before they can be used. NOTE: Some pre-defined variables end with the character '$'. These are system defined variables. You can use the ones that are there, but you can NOT define your own that end with '$'.