i should also add that the machine i am using is an old retro-fit knee mill. So i reset the Z height with every job as the knee is moved. i hope this makes sence.

top of stock is 0.0 I offset the center of the part by the radous in the Z offset. I know this is not the real way to do this but is the way i wasshown way back when and have done it all this time. turn off the clearence as i have nothing to clear in this case. And trying to make this test program as simple as possible

i turn off the clearence make the retract like .1 (can't remmenr if it ABS. or INCR. wotever the default is) top of stock .000 and depth -.015 put a positive value of the radous so the Z axis knows where Z0 is. Have done this for a few years on these same parts, always worked till this weekend. this is why i am pretty sure some setting change that got done in the name of the new machine is my problem. so on the above test program the radous of the part is .138 , Z rapids it .1 of the top (.238) and center drill .015 deep (.138-.015= .123) this is wot it is meant to do anyway. thanks for all your help out there guys. would love to go in early in the morning and get this done.

thanks Justin where do i go to make these changes??? yep biginner here lol

thanks mike. I should add that i am using a flat pattern then using axis subsituation in Y coming up with this program so i am not using a solid model to get the geometry. Some day i got to learn how to do this though. yeah having one frustrating work weekend here. good to see i wasn't going mad compleatly, was looking far a Z0 line but i see that R0 does the same thing

we just got a new robodrill in and the guy from methodas did a couple of things with my MC to make thimngs go smothly. However now my Centroid is doing funny things, below is a simple test program i put togeather % N10 ; PROGRAM NAME - TEST N20 ; DATE - 19-04-09 TIME- 09:49 N30 ; TOOL - 1 DIA. OFF. - 0 LEN. - 1 DIA. - .125 DRILL/MISC ) N30 M25 G49 N40 G0 G90 G20 G17 G40 G80 G90 N50 G28 / N60 G91 G28 Z0. / N70 G28 X0. Y0. / N80 G92 X10. Y10. Z10. ( TEST ) N90 T1 M6 ; DIA. - .125 N100 S0 M5 N110 G0 G90 X0. Y0. A0. N120 G43 H1 Z.238 M7 N130 G99 G81 X0. Y0. Z.123 R0. F.5 N140 G80 N150 M5 N160 M9 N170 M25 G49 H0 N180 G28 N190 A0. % Z rapids to Z.238 and is meant to feed down to Z.123 however after getting to Z.238 Z is rapiding to Z0 (center of my part) OUCH then feeding UP to Z.123. Anyone got any ideas why. Kept this test program as simple as possible so am pretty sure it is not my clumsy programing. Oh yeah thoes 3 lines of code with the slah. where did they come from??? i have ben deleting them before i run the program but in this sample i left them in if they give you any ideas

no problem where should i look for this

in your saved file go to the options and turn on the trimed surfaces.

i am now convinced no code is being generated at all even though it says posted sucessfully. I am able to run the back plot ok before posting. thanks for your help in advance.

CNC apps sent me his post. all good except no code is being displayed. It says it has been posted succesfully. The NC editor comes up but is blank. Please help

thanks guys. and thanks guy 1. got your mail. Now to work out how to get inside MC. Never tried dong this before.

we are recieveing a new 4 axia robo dril in about a week. It has a Fanuc Controller. I hear you guys talking about posts all the time in here. So where do i go to get a good working post for this machine. I have looked under machine type/mill/ list and don't see wot i am looking for. We do a lot if helical contours around a diameter so the A axis speed in conjunction with X feeds is inportant. I hope that makes sence.

i must assume a axis as your 4th? asumption as well is Z0=center line of rotation. all correct so i don't have to mess with the "rotary Axis"

using the 4axis. So i wont to do one contour then the 4th axis to rotate 90 then the same contour, only of course the part ratated 90. Been playing around a bit but not got it. thinking rotate planes???? Rotary axis i assume must be on???? using dia of part??? Help please lol

guess i am ignorant to

Esprit is the competitor. for wierd reasons we use them for out 4 axis wire EDM but now somhow word had gotten out and romour has it that "Surf Cam" is also knocking at the door.

Long story but some salsman from a competitor got a corporate pukes ear and wonts us to change to his product. Us users have to justify Master Cam. i am totaly selfish and don't wont to relearn wot i already know in another product. So from you mush more experienced users there give me some ideas i can use to justfy keeping master cam TIA

on the same topic is there a way of making the tools you bring up automaticaly enter in numerical order??? i think there is i just not onto it yet.

yeah big thanks from me to to this forum. did many things a much slower way till i found this site. The way we work things out for ourselves might work but are not always the best way. Now instead of trying to work it out i just ask lol lazy bugger i am lol

thnaks guys worked like a dream, used Iowa's method, just this minute.

Merge the new file onto a different level and work off of that. how????

yeterday i got a file sent to me to program, just got it finished when "oops here are a couple of features the engineer forgot" he sent them to me in another file. How can i move these new features on to the first file?? or create a new machine operation and move that operation over to the first file??? hope this makes sence

so new year is here and i go to use my newly installed X3. first tghing i notice in the drill library no decimal sizes listed. Is this noram lor should i be doing something different??

ok compleatly new to pro drill here, just got it along with X3 i have a solid model from solid works with the 1000 or so holes i wont to drill. the model just has the holes at one diameter and one depth. However i need to drill each hole twice to give me a lead-in so as to be able to press pins into each hole easier. how do i program so this lead in hole which is not depicted on the model and goes less than the full depth of the hole on the model. Or does the model have to depect the lead-in hole to???

i had a similar problem a while back on one of our older machines. Stoped in the 9000 's somewhere but that was due to the program Llooking ahead" it really wouldn't go beyond 9999 degrees. like i said was an old retro fit machine and i had to complealty replace the 486 computer and undate it to a lynix system from Dos. yep really old machine. Kind of costly for such an old machine but problem fixed