JAMMAN... Alladin (the makers of the HASP keys) use to have a LPT port card that had the parallel connection on the inside of the PC enclosure. Great for schools or other 'high risk' areas. I just checked their site and didn't see any mention of them but you (or others) could inquire if you need that kind of 'HASP security'.

Thanks Luc, One more thing... If later in the same program a new work coordinate offset is called (say a G56), should I again issue the 'G52 Z0.75' call right after it? G91 G28 Z0 G55 G52 Z0.75 T01 M06 G90 G00 X*** Y*** S1000 M03 G43 H01 Z1.0 M08 G01 Z0.0 F10.0 ... G91 G28 Z0 G56 G52 Z0.75 T08 M06 G90 G00 X*** Y*** S1000 M03 G43 H08 Z1.0 M08 G01 Z0.0 F10.0 ... My understanding too, is that I should issue a G52 Z0 before the end of the program. Is this correct? I appreciate the assistance.

Joe, Thanks for you input, but maybe I should elaborate... This is a woodworking application. The parts are cut out of sheet material (MDF, plywood, etc) and each job can use different material thicknesses. The programmer wants to be able to 'define' the thickness of the material through the program and not have to have the operator change settings on the control. That way the operator just has to make sure the proper material (say 0.75" MDF) is on the table and press start. The program will then adjust the tool lengths accordingly.

In the following code sample, I want to be able to be able to do the following: Shift the Z0 point up from the table according to the thickness of the material. All tools are to be measured to the table surface and the code is generated so that a negative Z cuts into the part and a positive Z is above the part. I am not too familiar with the Fanuc contols but have been informed that a G52 Z# (where # is a positive number) will shift the Z0 reference upward by the specified value. My customer has been testing this out and it seems to work, but he informs me that during his tests he has to insert the code after the first tool change sequence as indicated below: START % :1000 G17 G90 G20 G40 (SYSTEM INITIALIZE) G54 (INITIALIZE POSITION) G08 P1 (FAST CORNER FUNCTION) M95 (ALL SPINDLE OFF) M92 (ALL SPINDLE UP) G91 G28 Z0. (INITIALIZE POSITION) G91 G28 X0. Y0. (INITIALIZE POSITION) (ACCELLERATION FACTOR) G10 L50 N486 P350 G11 G90 (TOOLCHANGE) G49 Z-2. M95 (TLOFS OFF & ALL SPINDLE OFF) M92 (ALL SPINDLE UP) G91 G28 Z0. (TOOL CHANGE POSITION) T14 M11 (HEAD 1 DOWN) M13 S18 (HEAD 1 ON) G90 G55 (RESET SHEET REFERENCE HD 1) G00 G43 H4 Z1. (TLOFS ON & RAPID HEIGHT) G52 Z0.75 <<<------------ G52 HERE? (START: PART 1) G90 G0 X3.1055 Y9.6445 G0 Z0.1000 G19 G2 Y6.3750 Z-0.3700 J-3.2695 K11.1369 F350. G17 G1 Y3.1055 F350. G1 X9.6445 F350. : : Once executed after the first tool change the setting seems to stick for the subsequent tool changes (and they all use a similar sequence). Is there any reason why the G52 could not be moved before the tool change code? I worry about the 'G00 G43 H4 Z1. (TLOFS ON & RAPID HEIGHT)' line if the part material is thicker than 1". Any thoughts or experience you can share would be appreciated.

The speed issue was all that MC could come up with at the time. I'll look into the OS, printer type and possibility of adding another printer port. Thanks gstephens... Hopefully it will help Sudhakar! [ 07-31-2001: Message edited by: Brad McIntosh ]

I am assuming the Activator/M SIM is still being used. (As stated earlier, the HASP is not supported by v5.x) We had an issue like this with one of our clients. They are still sticking with Entry 5.5 but of course went out and purchased a new PIII 800+MHz computer with a 21" monitor, 16 MB video card, 40GB hard disk, etc, etc... Seems the PC was too fast for the Activator/M no matter what we set the ssi_act variable to! Was the PC upgraded or change just prior to the SIM problem? Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

I'm glad they keep the 'File' thing. It would be nice though if they expanded its' support for lower case letters though! I guess it would require some sort of special naming convention for the geo file names - something like A.MC8 for 'A' and A_.MC8 for 'a'. If the A_.MC8 doesn't exist, Mastercam would use the A.MC8 by default. What do people think? Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

Fred, In your post block PZCALC you probably want to do something like this: pzcalc zabs = abs(z) #zabs # Remove the # at the begin of # this line to output zabs when # PZCALC is called. Of course, I am assuming that zabs is a defined variable and has a formating statment such as: fmt Z 1 zabs The abs function will alwasys return a positive value. Is this what you were looking for? Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

Looks like CADCAM 'snuck' his reply in as I was typing mine in. I'll have to type faster next time! Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

Michael, Have you tried?: CREATE-LETTERS-FILE-BOX This is a 'stick' line/arc font that you can use on an arc of a specified radius and center point. Alas, it only produces capital letters, but... You could also create your own 'stick-type' geometry font if you need this type of thing often. Maybe others have already made up their own variations on the 'stick-font' theme and would be willing to share. Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

As CycleTimeCharles stated: There is a 'Update CPlane and TPlane when Changing GView' setting in the System Configuration Start/Exit tab. You can de-select this and then when you change to ISO your CPlane and TPlane views do not change. The only problem is that then you have to sync you C/TPlane views manually. Just a thought.... >> Just noticed Willy's reply. Sorry! [ 07-31-2001: Message edited by: Brad McIntosh ]

Carl, You may want to point out that you are running Entry v6.13a. Back in those days it was a different EXE (no?)! Just my two cents... Brad McIntosh CNC Automation Note: Mill 6.13a runs fine on my Celeron 500MHz laptop with (gasp!) an ATI Rage Pro video card. Runs fine with 7.x and 8.x too! ------------------ Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

Two Questions: 1. Does anyone know of an internal variable that is accessible within a post that will report the version of MP.DLL that is beening used? 2. The mprint() function displays a specified message (supplied in the form of a string variable) and then waits for the enter key to be pressed. Once the enter key is pressed processing continues BUT the message previously displayed remains. a) Is there a way to clear this display line (without having to use another mprint() that would require another ENTER key press)? Is there a function that would display a message and just continue processing without user acknowledgement? ------------------ Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

Many of our customers in the woodworking field use 'wear' compensation (AKA Counter-compensation) on Contours as well. As was previously mentioned, 'wear' compensation allows you to program using compensation in the computer and then compensate back for any variation in the tool diameter. This variation is usually due to sharpening. Since Contour toolpaths don't have a 'wear' compensation selection, you would use the compenstation in the computer to comp. to the correct side of the chain and also select the OPPOSITE comp. direction on the control. Example: Left in Computer, Right on Control. In your diameter offset table on the control you would enter the *difference* between the theoretical tool diameter and the actual tool diameter. (1/2" tool sharpened down to .492" = 0.008") If there is no tool diameter difference, you just enter 0 (zero). Using this method, our clients are able to roll around corners, use Entry/Exit lines and arcs, etc and still have the capability to adjust for tool diameter variations at the control. If there is a diameter 'difference' for the tool, the control just moves back into the part by half the diameter 'difference'. Hope this helps. Brad McIntosh CNC Automation [This message has been edited by Brad McIntosh (edited 07-03-2001).]

A quick way of turning on/off the toolpath display of individual operations in Operations Manager is to [sHIFT-Left Click] the NCI name icon. ([CTRL-Left Click] works too!) This will toggle the toolpath display for the op without having to go thru the context sensitive menus. Brad ------------------ Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

If you haven't done so already, make sure that you have applied the Windows 2000 Service Pack (SP1). You can download it from the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downl...sp1/default.asp We had a number of general issues with Win2K (not only MC) and the Service Pack smoothed things out. ------------------ Brad McIntosh CNC Automation

Elizabeth, We at CNC Automation provided your current Thermwood 5 Axis post processor. The standard post is designed to provide most Thermwood 5 Axis customers with all the capabilities that they usually require. Multiple fixtures per table on a 5 axis machine is something that we rarely come across but is something that we could help you with. Contact me and we can further discuss your specific requirements. (Note: My phone number is at the top of the PST or NC file!) ------------------ Brad McIntosh CNC Automation