The Conversions menu selection is the left-most menu of the Machinist
ToolBox startup page. It includes four choices:
Bi-directional Values
NC Files - IJ/IK arcs to R word
Thermal expansion
Hardness conversion
The Bi-directional Values menu selection
All of the most commonly needed conversions are available on this page. Of
course, obvious needs - like inch/metric value conversion - are available. But
notice that less obvious needs are also here. Need to know the equivalent of 32
RMS (micro inch) in Metric microns? It's here. How about the X and Y values of
a polar coordinate? It's here too.
Using this conversion page is simple. Just highlight the conversion you want
(with the green dot) and type the value you know (in the known measurement
system). When you press the enter key, Machinist ToolBox will immediately
respond with the value you need to know.
NC Files - IJ/IK arcs to R word
For Fanuc and Fanuc-compatible
controls, this Conversions menu selection allows you to convert a program
written with cumbersome IJ/IK arc center specifications to a program using the
simpler-to-interpret R word for circular arcs.
Thermal expansion
All
materials expand with heat. And with some applications, the amount of thermal
expansion a material will experience with changes in temperature is critical.
Consider, for example, the spindle of a CNC machining center. As the spindle
warms up (during the first few minutes of running), it will expand. If the
expansion is not considered during the design of the spindle, the spindle's
expansion may cause excessive binding within its bearing surfaces - leading to
even more heat.
This design engineer's tool lets you predict how much a material will expand
or contract during temperature changes. First, select the material (from a
database of hundreds of materials). This provides the coefficient of expansion
for the material. Next select the current temperature and workpiece dimension
prior to the temperature change. Finally select the ambient temperature (the
temperature after change) and click the Calculate button. You'll be shown the
dimension as it will be after the temperature changes.
Hardness conversion
While the illustration may be
self-explanatory, you simply select the kind of conversion you want (Rockwell
C, is shown above), enter the hardness in that scale, and click the Calculate
button. You'll be shown the Brinell hardness equivalent.
