boring bar retract before going home

[Pete Thomson]

I'm trying to get my boring bar to retract before going straight up (home).

I have 3 lathes with left chucks and 1 with a right chuck.

Have tried defining stock and setting ref points and that works MOST!! of the time.

Is there any way to get the right chuck lathe to load a different operation default file automatically?

Then I could have the ref point box checked and have approach and retract set to Z.1. every time I open a lathe opp. Then it wouldn't matter if i forgot to define the material or X7 decides it doesn't feel like it want's to retract .

 

Thanks

Pete

[The Cathedral]

Are you using the same machine definition for both style machines? If so, are you physically drawing the mcx file for the right-chuck machine differently than the left-chuck machine? On our machines, I don't have to draw things any different if they are operating on different chucks.

 

For our twin-spindle machines, it's much different. If I'm doing right-chuck work and forget to change my axis combination to right, all kinds of hell breaks loose and the tools love to plow through the stock.

 

I would recommend you create a different machine definition for the right spindle machine. That way you can set the machine home points and reference points independently. If you have mill-turn, you could set you machine def as a twin spindle lathe, and then just pick which spindle you are using when you program.

 

Once you have you machine def set up correctly, there should be no difference in operation defaults between the left or right spindle.

[Pete Thomson]

I am using a different machine def for each machine. I would have to rotate drawing 180 deg to machine the same side of a part in the opposite chuck . The problem i just had was on the left chuck machine, I had the stock defined, I had on lathe finish Home position (user defined) d10. z10., boring bar home d14.0 z8.0, Left upper all approaches and retracts at X.1 , machine default home x10. y5.0, and on Control def I had Tool Lathe , get position (home) from machine def.

when the boring bar was done it retracted to z-.3512 and then straight up!

 

then when i changed Lathe finish properties to home position -From Machine it retracts to z..03

 

if i change it back to Lathe finish properties- home position - user defined - it retracts to z.03 still???

I don't trust it at all

I could default Lathe finish properties to check Ref Box and default retract x0, then remember to hit "From Machine" inside the Fef point box, which would but in x+.1 or x-.1 depending on left or right chuck.

that way if i forgot the boring bars would retract to z0 at least.

 

hope MC fixes this - 5 different places to put home position in- it could be simpler and safer!

 

x7 mu2

[The Cathedral]

I know this might sound silly and I'm just saying it to state the obvious, but have you made sure the lead in / lead out parameters are correct? When I face in my subspindle, it loves to lead "out" right into the face of my part, and I can't change the op defaults, because that changes it for the main spindle. Just one of the many ways I think Lathe is broken.

 

Is this something you're seeing on your screen in Mastercam when it plots the toolpath, or something that looks fine in Mastercam and is all wonky when you post it? If it's only when you post it, there are switches and definitions in the .pst that could be set as default, and it's only when you change things in Mastercam that it overrides it.

[JAMMAN]

I have a retract hardcoded in my post for each lathe.

 

There is a way to do it with entry/exit points but I have never used it.

 

Another method I use when the retract needs to be more than I hardcoded is to draw a small dummy line at the end I.D. outside the part and do a second chain in the finish path. If the line is only .05 long or so you might not even notice thepunk move.