My newest machine is a 2k but either a Fanuc, Yasnac or Okuma I have run pretty much do it the same. When they rough (without programming the semifinish pass) the depth goes down by feature till it can't go further at that depth and then goes for another pass. When it reaches the deepest point it rough profiles all the last amounts less than full depth cut and the blend portions. The actual difference in cycletime is negligible at best and in some cases a canned cycle can peform just a bit better considering the machine's cycle doesn't take less than full depth cuts. I say "who cares when it gets blended as long as it happens." When programing mills, do you post G81' for spotting or G83's for drilling? These are canned cycles as well and with just minor editing of the parameters it will work entirely different. Using cycles effectively is the fastest way to prototype and I have been doing it for over 25 years now. I post canned cycles for thier versatility and ease of operators use. Since I don't make a whole lot of mass production type of work I can't see spending an hour trying to hone every bit of time out of a parts cutting time when all I might save is 5 minutes cutting on an extremely large workpiece......

start around 350 - 450 fpm for speed. Depends on the grade material you are cutting. RPM limit (G50) 20% below chatter speed or you will have no tool life. for a 35deg tool I would run .05 DOC with .01 or maybe up to .015 feed depending on the geometry you are using. For a 55deg tool you might just push the button with what ya got......

I have been programming and running canned cycles on Lathes for 25 years and when used properly they don't waste time like you're trying to say they do. The machine has to travel the same comparative amount to remove the material that doesn't belong and if you actually do a comparative apples to apples comparison of each type of programming the difference shouldn't be noticeable. The user friendly benefits have been mostly mentioned above but one I see missing is the ability to alter ALL the cutting parameters easily with canned cycles. This is a real need when you work for a cheap manufacturer who doesn't always have the desired cutting tools on hand. A canned cycle can be tuned to run in seconds with a different tool compared to the 15 minute time out to do it in Mastercam. When we have a guy running 2 or 3 jobs at once it isn't as important for him to achieve cycle efficiency as it is to keep the job moving no matter what. That said, many lesser qualified operators can still keep your job moving while you are sleeping if you use a canned cycle.

So you want it to put out the g65 p9136 for the deep drill macro?

So you want it to put out the g65 p9136 for the deep drill macro?

In my installation of x2 I don't have a "Use Margins" tab. I use the "stock set up" under the most recent machine definition I'm using and do it by "parameters". Stock stays put just like it ought to and can be refered to at a later date. In the machine / control definition (default config) you can adjust some of the defaults for what you might most commonly run.

Or you could edit the communications parameters for the Sodik so it matches the other machines as a standard. There should be a couple parameter writes that "strip carriage returns & line feeds" All my wired machines speak with the same set of parameters - makes it easy to figure out what's wrong when you got a problem.

ptoolcomment and pheader$ are where you will find the spacing problem. You can choose a different header line than what you have now if there are different styles there and you can edit for the spacing you want. After you get the bug turned on it should be fairly simple for ya. To turn the bug on go to the drop downs at the top. "Settings", "Machine definition manager", and pick the machine you are using. Choose to edit the machine and you will get a sheet with the machine defined. Got to the top left and find the "edit control definition" icon and click it to open the active control definition. In one of the NC output sections it will have a checkbox for debugging output - check the box and save as you exit. Now wasn't that simple? Good luck. I'll check out my post I have here and I might have a couple things you can sneak in to get what you need.

I use an Agie Excellence, is this close enough?

I'll be working my hardinge T-42 post in the short future and I'll be sure to have a few questions like these as well. I can start anywhere when I program by hand but I'll have to try a few different scenario's to figure out MCX2 and how to make it do it correctly. I think I'll do a file with some cross holes at 0 and an end slot @90 degrees. This should pick up most of the problems. I understand the problem pretty well and should have some idea where to go when I dive into it.

The odd thing to me is that I could swear I tried Monty's method....... No harm, no foul Chuck. Thanx for the try

Hi Jim. Yes I have done extensive mods to this post. I killed the M5 because I don't want it stopping the spindle at the end of every tool. Maybe this is something that can be fixed in a next version. The stock post should only post an M5 if the spindle direction changes. It would be nice if the post would drop the spindle speed during the rapid exit move if the spindle direction changes rather than an M5. The distance to a safe index point can be taken advantage of to slow the spindle reducing cycle time for a direction change. I'm trying to make it post a structure like my hand writen programming so that scrolling through the program is as short as possible. Extra pages of minutia cost me time when a problem arrises. Thanx Monty!!! This worked nice. I was wondering if he typo'ed...... The next thing I need to do is put the tool call on the same line as the spindle command and I'm done. This might take me a while...... Thanx everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanx Jim but the setting you are refering to is already been set to "0" and it posts an m3 or 4 when it starts the program as well as when it drills. The problem is with CSS and subsequent tools going the same direction. I tried blocking the save spindle direction but this didn't work either. I tried inserting the spindle_l in the CSS spindle start section but I might have placed it incorrectly to get the desired results - tried forcing it as well but it seems to ignore the command if the previous tool ran the same direction. Last time I asked my local reseller to help me customize the post, it didn't come back with many of the changes I asked for but I might see if he has any advice for this problem. Anyone else?

Sorry Chuck but that isn't it. I did a search and didn't find "spindl_l" Anyone else with a bit of help?

I'm setting up our lathe seats for MCX2 and could use a bit of help getting it to post an "M3" or "M4" every time it posts a spindle command. I"m editing the MPLFAN for a HAAS SL-30 chucker (fanuc series 10) which is used in a perpetual state of "test drive" and it's getting pretty deep for me. I run almost exclusively prototype work and if the control doesn't see an m3 or 4 I get a "spindle not turning" alarm which keeps me adding the code manually. How can I force it to post the spindle direction every time it posts a speed command? All help greatly appreciated!!!!