Hi guys, I recently added two tool paths to an exsisting program and when I try to post the program the new tool paths are unchecked preventing them from being added to the program. Any ideas what's going on? This is MCX2. Thanks, Mike

Mark, How can I go about getting you the file? Thanks for the offer. Mike

Fanuc OMC controller, MILL 3-AXIS VMC.MMD post. Here is a sample of the code output. I cut the third sub program short to save space. N1 G20 N2 G0 G17 G40 G49 G80 G90 ( SPOT DRILL. ) N3 T1 M6 N4 G0 G90 G54.1 P50 X4.0625 Y-.9375 S2500 M3 N5 G43 H1 Z1. N6 M98 P0001 ( SPOT DRILL. ) N7 G90 G54.1 P51 X21.0625 Y-.9375 Z1. N8 M98 P0001 N9 M5 N10 G91 G28 Z0. N11 M01 ( DRILL THRU HOLES. ) N12 T2 M6 N13 G0 G90 G54.1 P50 X4.0625 Y-.9375 S1500 M3 N14 G43 H2 Z1. N15 M98 P0002 ( DRILL THRU HOLES. ) N16 G90 G54.1 P51 X21.0625 Y-.9375 Z1. N17 M98 P0002 N18 M5 N19 G91 G28 Z0. N20 M01 ( C'BORE. ) N21 T3 M6 N22 G0 G90 G54.1 P50 X4.0479 Y-.9341 S1000 M3 N23 G43 H3 Z1. N24 M98 P0003 ( C'BORE. ) N25 G90 G54.1 P51 X21.0479 Y-.9341 Z1. N26 M98 P0003 N27 M5 N28 G91 G28 Z0. N29 G28 X0. Y0. N30 M30 O0001 N7 G91 N8 G98 G81 Z-1.2 R-.9 F5. N9 X3.875 N10 G80 N11 M99 O0002 N16 G91 N17 G98 G83 Z-3.0596 R-.9 Q.75 F5. N18 X3.875 N19 G80 N20 M99 O0003 N25 G91 N26 Z-.9 N27 G1 Z-.4832 F5. N28 G3 X.0292 Y-.0068 R.015 F4. N29 X.0004 Y.0034 R.015 N30 X-.0296 Y.0034 R.015 N31 G1 Z.0999 F5. N32 G0 Z.5333

Hi Guys, I loaded the main program along with the subs, but the main program does not perform the sub ops. After the first sub program call it over travels in the Z-Axis. To load the subs I had to post each op seperatly then send to the controller. Is there a different way of doing this? Or a correct way? The program names are 0001, 0002 .... just like in the main program. I did notice there was no "L" designation to call how many times the sub program should be performed. Is this normal or a post issue? Mike

I think I have what I am looking for. I had to check the "copy source ops" box and then check the "disable posting in selected source ops" box. This gives me two offsets with the subprograms listed at the bottom. When I didn't check the "diasable posting in selected source ops" box I got the original program, the new offsets, then the subprograms which doubles the program size. This looks to be the smallest file size possible. Now to load it in the control and see if it works. Thanks, Mike

Thank you both for the suggestions. That is what I am looking for. I found I can do this by using Transform toolpaths, but it always does the first part as a whole then the second part as a whole. Any way to do all ops in order? Thanks, Mike

I am trying to run two parts at a time and would like to know the best way of doing this. I need to keep the program as short as possible due to controller capacity. I would also like to run all ops with the first tool then all ops with the second tool..... I did a search and came up with some info on Toolpaths/Transform toolpaths which I have been playing with, but it seems to double the program length (stores moves as subprograms and calls them later). Is there a way to use G54 and G55? Thanks for the help,Mike

Crazy^Millman, The machine is a Supermax VMC with a Fanuc OM control. BrianP., I put the T# and M06 in different lines which works fine. My question now is, do I have to do this manually from here on out? Mike

OK, here are two more problems I am having. The tool change happens before the tool is called. If I start the program with T1 in the spindle the machine changes to which ever tool is waiting in the tool changer. If I start with T1 waiting in the tool changer, the machine performs the tool change, but then throws an alarm because it tried to call T1 which is now in the spindle. If I bypass that by putting T1 in the spindle and skip past the M6 line the next tool change does the same thing. Rather than calling T2 it changes the tool then calls T2 again giving me the wrong tool in the spindle. See the code below. If I make the T1, T2, T3.... ect... on it's own line before the M6 everything works fine. N1 G20 N2 G0 G17 G40 G49 G80 G90 ( 1/2 FLAT ENDMILL TOOL - 1 DIA. OFF. - 1 LEN. - 1 DIA. - .5 ) ( CONTOUR PROFILE TOP SIDE. ) N3 T1 M6 N4 G0 G90 G54 X.01 Y-3.4899 A0. S3000 M3 N5 G43 H1 Z1. N6 Z.1 N7 G1 Z-.125 F5. N8 X11.99 F30 This is not as big a problem, but the machine does not go home during the tool change. It only goes to the Z home position. This is fine on most parts, but if the tool is long or the part is tall, I will need to move the tool change postion so the tool does not contact the part during changing. Any ideas? Thanks again for helping a newbie!! Mike

Cadcam, It worked. I am going to run the program and see if everything works on that end with no alarms.

Cadcam, No I am not trying to shorten the ops. This is a fixture I designed and generated tool paths for in MCX2. It is a short program so it fits in our controllers memory. I will try to change the machine definition and see how it goes. Mike

Jerry, I am using G54 work offsets. Bill, I was using the "MILL DEFAULT" post, which gave me the A in the code. I just tried the "MILL 3-AXIS VMC.MMD" and the A is gone. Now, is there an easy way to change from the default to the 3-axis without having to start over? Thanks for all the help! Mike

Bill, thanks for the suggestion. I thought I was using a 3-axis, but I may be wrong. I will double check. Mike

Jerry, I am not sure what you mean? Cadcam, I am posting a fixture for the job we are working on. It includes a pocket cycle, drilling cycles and a tapping cycle. The values are given for X and Y. A is given the value 0. In the next line of code there is a Z value that gives the initial rapid to part height along with the H1 designation. See the code below. N1 G20 N2 G0 G17 G40 G49 G80 G90 ( 1/2 FLAT ENDMILL TOOL - 1 DIA. OFF. - 1 LEN. - 1 DIA. - .5 ) ( CONTOUR PROFILE TOP SIDE. ) N3 T1 M6 N4 G0 G90 G54 X.01 Y-3.4899 A0. S3000 M3 N5 G43 H1 Z1. N6 Z.1 N7 G1 Z-.125 F5. N8 X11.99 F30 Mike

Thanks for the suggestion. I just checked and the T&C planes are the same as the WCS. This is the first time we have posted code, so it could be any number of things? Mike

Hi Guys, When I post code in MCX2 using the generic mill I get G54 X, Y, A rather than X, Y, Z. Our Fanuc control does not recognize this and gives me a P/S alarm 009 "Unusable character was input in significant area". Any ideas? Thanks for help as usual! Mike

Patool, thanks for the feedback, but I don't think our control can drip feed unfortunatly. Lee, What did it cost to get your OM set up to drip? I talked with Fanuc today and they quoted $400-$500 just for the boards and programming. Install labor was not quoted. Did you go through Fanuc or the MTB? I am working with both at the moment. Thanks, Mike

Patool, I look forward to hearing how it went for you. I can now send and receive programs with no problems, but I am starting to believe our Fanuc OM controller is not capable of drip feeding. Mike

I don't want to hijack the thread, but we are in the same boat. I can receive programs from our Fanuc controller, but can not send or drip. How do you know if the settings under communications are correct? It may even be as simple as the step by step porceedure I am using to send the file (order of operations). patool, which Fanuc control are you using? Mike

Thad, Can you explain how to use the "intersection autocurser"? I am not sure what you mean if there is no geometry to reference. If I use the bounding box, should I leave the box or do I need to delete it after using it? Will it cause problems down the road? I just realized I may want to use the stock/material corner rather than part corner. Is there an easy way of picking that corner? Thanks again for the help, Mike

I just tried it and it makes perfect sense (very easy and very fast). Thanks for the quick replies! Mike

In X2 some of my SolidWorks models have the origin at locations that are not friendly for machining. When I can't use the models geometry (ex. a corner is missing) I have been drawing two intersecting lines as a corner reference, then I choose the intersection point. Is this a good way of doing it? I know there are boxes under WCS that you can type in the coordinate values, but I don't know how you could know them without measuring the distance in some way? Is there a better (correct) way of choosing a new origin location when there is no geometry to reference? Thanks for your suggestions, Mike

Thanks guys, I didn't know what verbose was/did when it was mentioned in this thread. I searched this forum and got my answer. It's not exactly what I was looking for, but it's close and might come in handy. Mike

Thanks for the suggestions. I am not familiar with Metacut or Cimco (I am a newbie), but I will look into them. I know verify can and will show a good part, but sometimes you know there are areas that might need tweaking. This could save some time? It was just a thought. Thanks, Mike

Is there a way in MC to verify a program while watching the lines of code as they are processed? I ask because it would help me find specific areas or lines of code in long programs without having to search. Once the program is in the machine I can do this, but I would like to do this ahead of time if possible. Thanks for the help, Mike