I understand this is a mastercam website, but there are some smart people here that always seem to help in one way or the other, so here's my question... How do you save length and diameter offsets on a Fanuc series 15 controller? I am constantly going back-and-forth between jobs that use more offsets than the tool offsets I have available. The tooling for each job is never torn down (just removed from the magazine), so when I go back to a particular job, I may have to enter all the length and diameter offsets, which are coming from a sheet of paper that is "supposed" to be current. I'm looking to save my offsets somehow in order to save time and errors. Thanks for any help...

Hey, just a general question on coolant pressure (I guess mainly on thru-the-spindle/tool coolant) ... ...how much can I expect tool life to be improved, with everything else being equal, when going from 100 psi to 300 psi? Or how about 300 psi to 1000 psi? Material cut is usually ductile iron around 250 BHN. I have to write a justification to get 1000 psi coolant on a new machine and was looking for some data... Thanks for any info!

Ok There are two decks of bores. Four bores on the upper deck and four on the lower deck. They are supposed to be inline within 0.001" and have a diametrical true position tolerance of 0.002" back to the OD that is being probed. What QA does is find the c/l of the four bores and with that info they project the c/l of the four bores in the X & Y-axis. Can be vary from part-to-part over 0.002" linearly (average c/l position of all 4 bores). I don't understand how this can be. And it's happening on more than one machine. We have been running these parts for years and have always had a problem when we switch from one style to another. If the probe is running true, calibrated and clean (and the part is clean) - how can this be? Thanks.

I am having problems holding positioning of bores to the c/l of a 25" OD, which I probe to find the c/l of. The machine is a Horizontal Machining Center (Mazak) 800mm size. I am probing a 25" OD using program O9823 which probes in (3) place and gets the c/l. I do this three separate times in different locations and take the average c/l of each to determine the final c/l position. We then machine some bores that are dimensioned to the c/l of that 25" OD. We can run one part and it is ok, then the next it is not. I don't understand how it could be out when we are probing for c/l like we are. Does anyone have any ideas as to why the bores would be out of location to the OD we probe? NOTE: The parts are clean. The probing is done right before the finish boring so the machine temperature is the same when probing and boring. Any input is appreciated...

Thanks. I can't believe I didn't think of that lol

Is there a way to get mastercam to post a circle into more than just quadrants? I have an out-of-round "post" I am circular interpolating on a horizontal machining center and I am trying to make the OD round. It has to be held within +/- 0.001" and the machine cannot hold this if a true circle is programmed. I have sketched the shape I want the OD to be (based on the out-of-round readings), but the posted results just break the "circle" into quadrants when I believe I could have more success in getting the shape I want if I could break it up more (into eighths?). I went into the machine and control definitions and only see arc break options of "don't break arcs", "break at quadrants" & "break at 180 degrees". I've tried all of these and the most I get is in quadrants. What do I need to do to get this to break into 8ths of a circle (I have 8 different points that my arc goes through and I want the cutter to follow along those points)? Thanks for any help.

This was written in a different forum about the same thing... There are no Standard System Variables supplied by Fanuc to alloy Polling for Spindle or Axis load. Some MTBs supply additional System variables, but their supply is infrequent. Nakamura is one maker that I've seen supply System Variables for Axis Load. What you want to do is possible by calling a Macro Program via an Interrupt Signal (UINT). When a tool abnormality is detected, processing to handle the abnormality is started by an external signal. To achieve this, you would have to add some hardware to monitor the load on the machining system. Axis load would be my choice, not Spindle load. If your machine has a Z axis load metre, it would be possible to tap into that circuit to trigger the Interrupt Signal. An interruption type Custom Macro Function can be applied partway through a block. When the interrupt signal (UINT) is input, any movement or dwell being performed is stopped immediately and the interrupt program is executed.

There are a few jobs we run across with terrible material, where the tool life monitoring just isn't sufficient. I would like to run as close to "normal" as possible on the parts where the material is good (probably 75%+ of parts), so that's why I would like some sort of spindle load monitoring thingy, which only a couple of my machine have (the older KT Gemini D control has HP limits)...

Hi all, Is there any way to write a macro that would make a drill automatically retract to the r-plane and stop with a message if it reaches a certain HP? I'm trying to save drills from burning up. The macros would be Custom Macro B language, as we have fanucs, mitusbishi and mazak controls. I met a programmer awhile ago who said he wrote something for his machines like this, I never looked into it until now. How do you even get the information needed to write something like this? Any help would be appreciated... - Paul

It is M42. For whatever reason, it doesn't work.... maybe it needs the parameter changed, so I'd still be interested in a macro... Thanks

We have a Mazak 630 horizontal machining center and the B-axis always rotates CW, when I would like it to rotate CCW sometime (to take the shortest route). The programmer before me said he thought it was a parameter change, but wasn't sure and can't find the parameter book. (It sure sounds like it would be a parameter change). Anyway, I was wondering if there could be a macro written for this. I'm a rookie when it comes to writing macros so was looking for some help. It a Mazak M32+ control. Thanks for any help.

I figured out how to calculate and insert the fixture offsets on the KT's with the Gemini D controller... There is probing cycle with a G26 in it, so the line would read like so: G26X6.Z-.5B90. For the automatic calculation of fixture offsets, you first have to put the answer in a parameter (like L207), then take L207 and insert it in the fixture offset table, like so: (PAR,L207=L3008-5.0) Puts the result of the X-axis offset at B0 (L3008) calculation in parameter L207. (FXC,H2XL207) Inserts the offset (L207) in the X-axis of the H2 line on the fixture offset screen.

Cool, yes actually it does seem pretty easy. I finally found my renishaw manual and after reading the post by Joe788, it looks like the O9817 program is just what I need. Thanks.

On a fanuc-based CNC horizontal machining center, I have a job where I need to tram each part straight in the B-axis (to get part perpendicular to spindle c/l, or parallel to spindle face). I have a probe for this machine and I'm sure it is possible to probe the face and have the machine automatically align the work-piece the way I want it, I just don't know how to go about doing something like this...does anyone have a generic program I could start with or point me in the right direction? It is a renishaw probe. Thanks for any help...

Just so y'all know... that doesn't mean I don't want to know about programming in KT-APL.... so if anyone's out there that can help ....it would be much appreciated...

It is a K & T Gemini D controller...yes it's a renishaw probe...

I have a Kerney & Trecker horizontal machining center and we just had the probing fixed so I want to use it. Specifically, I would like to do an auto B-axis alignment which will update the fixture offsets for B after aligning the the part surface perpendicular to the spindle centerline. They have a book called "Advanced Programming Language" and looking through it I can't find what I need. There is an example: N230G90G70 N240G26X6.Z-.5B0E-1.5 X is the required incremental distance value which I understand. The Z is some value past the part surface which I understand to insure probe contact. The B0 command is used to trigger the probe (don't really know what that means). The E is optional. And I can't find anywhere in the book how to automatically update the fixture offsets for B-axis, even though it says it can be done. I know this is a mastercam site, but out of all the forums I am a member of, this site gives me the best feedback about anything. I'm hoping to get lucky and run into someone with APL knowledge...(I have many more questions but want to start here). Thanks for any help!

I think this will work, it's a little more simplified... #7021=[#5321*COS[155.369]]-[#5324*SIN[155.369]] #7024=[#5321*SIN[155.369]]+[#5324*COS[155.369]] I can understand the order of operations in this one. COS of 155.369 degrees x #5321 minus SIN of 155.369 degress x #5324 = -2.1255 if #5321 is zero is #5324 is 5.1000. The next one equals -2.1255. The numbers come out correct and I believe the preferences are correct. I will find out when I try it on my machine, hopefully sometime this weekend.... Thanks everyone for the input! - Paul

To: huskermcdoogle I will take the macro that you are willing to give up. I'm sure I could learn a lot from it.... Thanks! - Paul

Wow, these are all awesome replies, thanks. I will be experimenting with all of these. Does anyone think my formula will work, though? I can't get on the machine to check it at this time, but here it is again: for the X-axis offset: #5241=[COS[42]*[#5221]-[#5224*SIN[42]]] (Answer is -5.9850) and for Z-axis: #5244=[#5221*SIN[42]+[#5224]*COS[42]] (Answer is 6.7218) #5221 is the X-axis position at G54 (B0)which is +.0500 #5224 is the Z-axis position at G54 (B0)which is +9.0000 and the "42" is the B-axis angle that I am figuring out the offsets for. The calculations are correct, I just don't know about the precedence (the use of the brackets). Will the formulas reach the same answers and I have above? Thanks for any help....

That formula is exactly correct mathematically, but I don't understand the order of operations. If I use your model, my formula would look like this: for the X-axis offset: #5241=[COS[42]*[#5221]-[#5224*SIN[42]]] (Answer is -5.9850) and for Z-axis: #5244=[#5221*SIN[42]+[#5224]*COS[42]] (Answer is 6.7218) I haven't tried this in the machine (I'm not at work till tomorrow), but doing it manually, I know what order to do the calculations. I can't tell what it's doing with the brackets, though. Ok, this is going to be a crazy question, but how do you know where to put them (the brackets)? I would like to write some other formulas ... Thanks... - Paul

That sounds cool, and I will look into it, thanks. However, I still want to know how to write this. I have mazak and mitusbishi and other controls that use custom macro B but aren't fanuc controls. Plus it would help me become more familiar with custom macro B, etc. I figured it out using excel (in a spreadsheet) but I'm not as familiar with custom macro B...

I want the control to calculate fixture offsets for me by using macros (fanuc macro . I'm not quite sure how to write the formula for this. What I have is a horizontal machining center with a rotary B-axis. I want to manually enter the X-axis and Z-axis numbers (for the work offsets) at B0 (G54), then run the program and have the formula in the program enter in the rest of the work offsets at the other B-axis angles. For instance, if I entered in ".0500" for X-axis and "9.0000" for Z-axis, the offsets at B180.000 would be just the opposite signs (-.0500 & -9.0000, respectively). That would be easy enough to write. But I need the formula to be able to calculate at "odd" B-axis angles, like say 103.250 (The answers would be X-8.7719, Z-2.0141), using trigonometry. So for an example, if I had a G54 (B0) offset with the X & Z-axis numbers given (I enter and these numbers represent distance from c/l of index), I would want to calculate for the X & Z-axis numbers for G55 (@B103.250). I would want the formula to consider what is in the G54 X & Z work offsets (#5221 & #5224), then calculate for the new X & Z work offsets based on what's in the B-axis offset for G55 (#5246), and automatically enter in the table. I know I need to use SIN and COS, but I'm not sure exactly how and where... I hope I explained that well enough. Any help is appreciated....

Ah ha ... I think I see what you're saying now. I'm not at work anymore. I'll check it out tomorrow. Thanks.

I have my reasons for wanting to have easy access to the part orientated graphically in different ways (to easily verify dimensions, to have a reference, to look at the part from the perspective of the spindle, etc)...so are you telling me what I'm looking for can't be done in mastercam? You seriously cannot save more than the 7 different views? I find that hard to believe. Either I'm not explaining what I want good enough (probably the case) or ... wow.