How does the thread check over wires?

Awesome Colin! That should work nicely. As far as why I like to keep things in one post....There are a few reasons. Mainly when updating or adding a new feature I only have to do it once, rather than remembering to do it a few times. And since I've been pretty meticulous about documenting what I've done and the changes I've made, it would be reasonably easy for someone else to follow.

OK, here is what I am running into. I have 2 brands of machines, Matsuura's and Mori's. Both are horizontals. Both use an almost identical post. I am working on combining them into one post. I have everything worked out except for the clamp codes on the 4th axis. The Mori uses M10 & M11. The Matsuura uses M21 & M22 I am capturing the machine description from the machine definition, so the post knows if it is running the Matsuura or the Mori. Is there an easy way to get the post to swap out the M codes?

I am importing into the Tool Manager. The sample file I put here works perfectly in 2018. in 2019 all I get is the error.

I cleaned up that odd entity and still no luck in 2019. Chaining tolerance is the same from 2018 to 2019 It appears that none of my dxf files from 2018 and earlier work in 2019 Even with the most basic of files it does not seem to be working are there any other options for creating a holder (besides using the tool mamager to create step by step)? BT40-ER16H-100.dxf test.dxf

I use DXF files for making all of my toolholders. For whatever reason it won't work in 2019. I get the error "Problem with custom geometry or file" The attached file works exactly as it should in 2018. In 2019, the error comes up Has something changed as far as how I need to lay things out or is it broken? BT40-ER16H-100.dxf

Does 2019 automatically go to the last folder location when you go file/new then file/open? 2018 and previous always went to the folder you set up in the configuration (in my case, Z:\ Customer Files) 2019 seems to got to whatever folder you were last working in (example Z:\Customer Files\Customer XYZ\CNC Mills)

I have seen this on a few machines. When I got to output macro values #500 to #999 the numbers that are output makes no sense. For instance, #545 is equal to 5411.0000 in the machine. When I "punch" the macro values to a memory card, it outputs "G10L85P545(40B5230000000000)" Is there a parameter setting to get it to output "normal" numbers? The controller is a 30i. I have seen this on an older 15T controller also, expect it outputs like this: "#545=[25703*65536+63252]/2/67108864" At least one can follow the math on the 15T. The 30i numbers make no sense.

Nakamura & Eurotech would be on my short list to look at also. FWIW, our lathes are almost all Mori. They guys really do like them. We have a NTX and a Multus sitting next to each other. The NTX is liked alot more than the Multus.

What brand of taps? I have found that the right tap for the right material can make a world of difference....well a thou or 2 of difference anyways.

I have my preferred coolant settings set in my tool libraries. (In my mind, coolant is more dictated by the tool rather than the operation) Then under tool settings, I have the "use tool's step, peck, coolant" box checked.

Sounds like typical Fanuc. They come out to turn the options on & thats it. They leave it up to the MTB to configure the machines. I have seen the exact some thing with G54.2. They turned the options on on a Mori NH5000 & left. Did not set one parameter. Another time they turned on the the option on a H-Plus 630 & set the parameters incorrectly, so it compensated the opposite direction. Our dealer at the time was clueless as to what the correct parameters were supposed to be. It took trial & error to figure it out.

I have created centerline geometry with the medialaxis c-hook in the past. Sometimes it does exactly what you are looking for. Other times it gives you a mess of unusable geometry. Might be worth a try.

We have a NHX4000 with a 5 pallet system. Personally I am not a fan of the Celos control. However for your situation it might be the ticket. The program management on the Celos is far better than anything I have seen on a Fanuc. Getting used to the interface is the biggest hurdle. Mechanically we have had zero issues. We have a Matsuura H-Plus 405 sitting right next to it. We have run programs "head to head" and found the difference in program times to be negligible. However to get that big of a pool on a Matsuura you would have to go with a Fastems pallet system, which wouldn't be a bad thing. They know what they are doing with those, and they know how to do it well. If we were to have the chance to the the Mori again....yes we would get the Mori. The machine has been solid.

Doesn't TCPC automatically adjust the axis feeds to make sure that the feedrate of the tool is relative to the part....eliminating the need for inverse time?

That is exactly how we program/use G54.2. We program from center of rotation, and if the actual location of the part is off, we compensate with G54.2. (the error from nominal goes in the register) It does work with full 4 axis work also, tho your post has to be set up to output every axis position during a rotary move (X, Y, Z and B at every position, even if the X or Z axis number/position doesn't change....this is because if you are compensating for an error, the X and Z will change) If you are using inverse time & your part is WAY off location, your feedrates would be jacked up during a full 4th move

Yes. Say you probe in X at B0. and that position is +.025" off & you write that into your G54.2 register When you rotate your B 180 degrees with G54.2 active it will compensate the X axis -.025. It will do every angle in between....the 180 deg is for simplicity. All you really need to compensate for is your X and Z axis. It does work in Y, tho that won't change as you rotate your table.

As far as TCPC/TWP......I believe G54.2 (Dynamic Fixture Offset) is all you would really need on a horizontal.

I'll give that one a try, Thanks!

I got it worked out. Later in the program there is a line, IF[#18EQ#0]THEN#18=0. The fanuc's read ahead even when you turn high speed off with a G5.1Q0, so it was giving R or #18 a value of zero when it hit that statement ( IF[#3AND#18NE#0]GOTO400 ), even tho the program had not progressed to that point. So I changed it to read if #3 and #18 had a value other than zero, an error came up. Got it working...so all is well.

I am checking to see if "C" and "R" have a value or not. If they both have a value, it will jump to an error message.

OK, I tried that & got an illegal expression alarm. It did take both this IF[#3AND#18NE#0]GOTO400 and IF[#3AND18NE#0]GOTO400 however.....It didn't react as I hoped so back to the drawing board

I dug around and can't find the answer to this I want to make a statement saying something like this: If #3 and #18 are not equal to #0 then go to N400 would the correct format be this? IF[#3AND#18NE#0]GOTO400 I dug around in a bunch of Renishaw macros & could't find anything like that. There was some that looked like this: IF[#3AND18NE#0]GOTO400 So the # sign is missing from the 18 What would be the correct way?

You can also do the poor mans version with the macro calc found here : http://www.ncplot.com/freetools.htm

I am using this to work on a robodrill right now. Our table is mounted to the left side of the machine, so B tilts positive around the Y axis. Just playing with the math in this macro, I believe the first point would be taken at B0, the second at B45, the third at B90 So....you can get X and Y zero by just probing the bore or indicating while the table is at B zero. You will likely get a different X value using this macro with a probe. The difference between the value you get with the macro and the value you get while at B zero would be what you put in 19703