yep like mkd said. Break it up into a couple smaller programs. I've done the same before and had the finish tool (in my case the bulk of the prog size) as the only part in bb0: So your main program is on bb1: Then you schedule select your program. when you run from bb1 you can select a program as a.min - BUT you need to specify bb0: bigone.min Actually kinda cool since bb0: is massive compared to the main side.

On a side note "vaculok.com" (where I got our pump, 120 cfm) NEVER type in "vac-u-lok.com" that's how they spell their company name. don't ask how I know...just don't do it.

On to the leakage and cfm flow... Maybe I'm not thinking about this right. But if you are pulling a vacuum don't you want your pump to flow as much CFM as possible to maintain a seal. And once you have a seal you are flowing 0 cfm & inturn you are pulling 29" of mercury. So if you have a leak the cfm flow will hold the part back down & reseal the gap. Then with a in line switch monitor the vacuum & alarm if it drops to say 25"...or whatever allows your part to come of plus a little. That is the setup I ran with for a few years on a Horiz CNC & adapted and refined it to a couple other CNC's here.

Hard to tell from the pics. If your CNC has two pallets that the machine rotates into position. I had a similar setup on a Okuma MA500. So use 3 unions. One main union at the center rotating "bulk head" between the pallets. Then another union on the center of rotation of each pallet.

Try opening your program in edit(cimco) and search for the letter O instead of a 0 (zero). search for things like open () too.

I would agree with all the comments. It really depends on the part geometry as to what cutting tool works best. Ive had better success with M42 and small hole drilling. Sometimes carbide for turning, sometimes for milling. One of my best WOW moments was cutting Inco blades...used a 1.0 dia button cutter with Kennametal ceramics. It ran best at 18,000 rpm & 150 ipm feed - full width cut .035 deep - like a feed mill type cut. Sparks were flying! I did have it at 35,000 & 360 ipm. BUT it was a little unpredictable. And at that speed, when something goes, it really goes FAST.

Kdrecker, I have the MacMan generating a log of what I need...not automatically like was discussed above. My need for the auto generated file was to see what was happening on the off shifts - operator was "adjusting" and shouldn't have been. Needless to say he is no longer here. So the need is gone also.

I had looked into Universal Robots. I think they could handle up to 12#. Were still debating their use in production loading. But for glue application they should rock. They actually do sense a torque load while in motion...I personally tested it. Now if you have a knife as EOT then you'll have a problem. But simple part loading would work if you have smaller parts. And can handle their slow movements. I guess that's the tradeoff for a lack of a cage & being collaborative. Fanuc has something they can add to their std robots that makes them compliant for use around people. I'm not sure exactly what it is, saw it at IMTS.

I've used quite a few of them here. Made all myself except for 4 of them. Also used everything from large vac pumps to the air pressure venturi style. The vac pump is the way to go for any type of production &/or expensive stuff. What I mean by that is all of the vac pump styles, the oil ring type the venturi type even a hand one will all be a max of 28-29 inches of Hg. The diff is how much free flow CFM they have. So all the pumps rated at 28 in of Hg will have the same holding power. The venturi style will have a harder time pulling down a out of flat part because its not flowing enough air(venturi styles are typ 10-20 cfm max) so you wont feel the air sucking past a "leak" in the seal. Now a vane or oil pump, like what I have here, will have the same vacuum of 28-29 in of Hg BUT if flows 250cfm. I have taken out of flat parts that are 20"x20"x.6" and laid them on the vac table and even though they were not sealed it still held the part! So the smaller the cfm the less leakage you can have. Hope that all makes sense.

I have that option running on all my Okuma's. I do remember seeing something similar on a Fanuc...not sure what version though. The key logger has definitely eliminated any questions/denying once I print it out and rip off the time stamp/error etc. In my opinion its sad that we even need to use the logger to get to the real story!

I also did the "probe a bore" . Different dia for each & then diff location & dia after we had a few more added. Also pallets are called by # in the program. So 2x the error check. Never did get a call about wrong prog / pallet crash. .0004 offset instead of 4.000 yea got that call!

Even a six year old can program a part... When was that released? like 2006?

Specific questions are best. The Okuma's are CNC's just like Fanuc's. They all have the same basic make up...part goes round n round, insert engages part, chips fly blah blah. The codes are the easy part. Knowing how to make a part is the hard part.

Workman NLAP works very similar to g71 in fanuc. Its a roughing cycle NLAP1 NLAP2 etc. real sweet when you get used to it! And on the simo turn stuff, as stated depends on what you are doing ie pinch turning, rgh & finish, OD & ID etc. Keep your P-codes in order...

Gcode you got it. also remember the O1234 & O1235 can be in any program. And it can be named anything, up to 16 char. so this can bite you too! if you have O1234 in multiple programs you get some wild parts. that's why I try to keep my probe cycles all in one primary .ssb file. tool macros in one primary file etc.

I'll pull my book out to be sure, I prefer ssb over sub, I don't use sub hardly ever.

so for ex. my main program P0001.min has a probe cycle #1 #2 & #3, in the main prog is VZOFZ=638.03(638.014+.002) CALL OPRB1 DIA=17.55 ZPO=.153 ROT1=2.50 PT=.219 VZOFC=0. now the probe program is saved as OPRB1.ssb (not necessary to be OPRB, but must be .SSB) Note the 1st line is the program call & the program ends in RTS OPRB1 VTOFZ[12]=3.406G 0X50.Z6.0 VZOFC=.0 T1212 blah blah RTS Now bear in mind .SUB can also be used as a sub program call. Slightly different than a .ssb program. A ssb can be called when its embedded in into another program. So I have another situation where I have all the probe cycles in the same file called "allprobe" In there are OPRB1, OPRB2 ...OPRB21 , They all start as OPRB1...2...or whatever AND end in RTS. The CNC control loads the main program & all called ssb programs at the "prog select" button. Hope that makes sense.

shouldn't you be calling your main program something like "main.min" and your sub "sub.ssb"

Welcome to the forum. Something like this should help. G0Z5.5X24.(20.955??) Start position in X and Z G71X20.955Z-17.3 B59. D1. W.1 H1. F M34M74 à X=finish dia (root) Z=fin or end of thread B=angle of thread for infeed calc D=doc W=finish pass H=height of thread F=pitch or federate M34 & M74 are different cut patterns on Okuma machines. Look in the programming manual for a good pic of the M34M74 stuff Hope that helps.

Coated Aluminum style cutting tools. Treat the tool paths like you would cutting carbon fiber - lead into the cut - leadout is even more important. Never a heavy cut when coming off the part. When drilling thru make sure there is 100% support under the drill - as in a virgin alum block under each part when drilling thru holes. PEEK chips out & pops. Its abrasive too. Have used diamond grit grinding mills with excellent sucess BUT you must use a serious vacuum.

Just noticed this thread...I had posted about a tailstock issue I'm having. Maybe the same thing in your case. Does the steadyrest need to see a certail amount of resistance before confirming it's in position(or closed)?? That seems to be my tailstock issue - the machine wants a resistance against the live center to confirm its in position.

So I have a couple LB4000's here. They all have a servo tailstock, is there a way to use the tailstock as a additional axis? Ive tried using it to get into position BUT the machine is looking for feedback on pressure from the livecenter in position. Is there anyone using it as a axis? Maybe as a drilling axis? I want to add a air driven tool to the tailstock saddle & just position it in the Z-axis(W). I looked through the PLC to just force the switch on but no luck. There are like 10K of I/O signals. Thanks everyone.

If you havent fixed this yet, give CNC link (8 mile rd Detroit Mich.) a call. cnclink.net I delt with Phil. He got our Cinci850's up plenty of times.

All, Does anyone know if you can use a HSK40 holder in a KM40 turret block? How about a KM40 milling head? Or better yet a larger selection of KM tooling? I cant seem to find what I'm looking for from Kennemetal. I'd like ER16, ER20,ER25,ER32 & 1.0 facemill KM40 adapters all with about the same OAL. I'm actually considering having someone custom make these.

Thank you guys. Postability & In-house were the only one being considered. Looks as though I'd be making a good decision either way.