5-axis post

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Since we've been talking about what CNC Software needs to do regarding 5 Axis Posts/Manuals/Informations etc..., I'd like the users/customers to know what exactly is needed by the person writing the post.

1) COMPLETE G-M Code lists with examples. This is critical because every machine is different.

2) Sample Mastercam File so that the customer and the post writer are on the same page.

3) Sample Header, Toolchanges, Tool End, and Program End stuff. Cutter Compensation info is helpfull if you use it as well.

If you get this information to the post writer, things will go smoother as well.

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James Meyette

[Claus@Cimco]

Hi

I have been doing 5axis post all over the world for 8 years now.

And for me is the most important thing for doing a post, is the machine build up and how the axis rotate. Send a picture/drawing of the machine with arrows that shows the directions of the axis, distances to the pivot points and rotations limits. With these informations your 5axis post programmer ought to be half way home. All the rest is like doing a normal 3axis post and can be editet by the mastercam user like any other post processor. So if the user has a 3axis post that works, I often modifies it and builds the 5axis functions into this post.

Claus Terp

Cimco

[ronengineer]

Claus,

Thank you Claus for your honest appraisal. This is what we thought at the outset but you are the first person to confirm this.

[Charles Davis]

Dear Group,

This is a great discussion, and I've been following it closely.

To Eric14779 and others in this group. I agree that proper documentation (documentation that includes background, orientation, why and when, and that is very results-oriented and practical) would save a lot of time and anguish.

I wrote the Mastercam Handbooks which IMHO completely solve this problem for 2D and 3D machining. These are licensed exclusively to CNC Software, Inc. and Volume 1 is available in June. For you dealers attending the conference in Mystic, you'll be able to review this material.

I would be interested in cooperating with a few experienced 4-5 axis Mastercam users to write such a manual to address this problem.

email me at [email protected] if you are interested in cooperating on such a project. I assure you that you would be very proud and pleased with the resulting document. You'd also be doing a good service to this industry and to Mastercam world-wide.

[billystein]

Look around people!

The word is APT for 5-axis. It is worth it to invest in one of those systems that reads apt and controls the machine directly. Then all you need is a post that outputs apt. When surfcam and gibbs are in the toilet apt will still be here. Even the catia systems output apt. I have a brand new mp post that outputs apt. Now available.

[email protected]