NCPlot also lets you verify custom macro B programs. Custom
macro B is Fanuc's version of parametric programming and is provided by many
control manufacturers (HAAS, Yasnak, Mitusbisi, Mazatrol, Citizen, and others).
Very few tool path plotting programs can plot custom macros - and not one we
know of is available for the price of NCPlot.
If you've written custom macros, you know that verifying them at the CNC
machine is confusing, time consuming, and costly. Because machine time is so
precious, it's likely that you rush the custom macro's verification - and you
might miss something. With NCPlot, you can take custom macro verification off
line and let the machine run production while you verify your custom macros.
Since there won't be the time constraints related to machine downtime, you'll
be able to more thoroughly test your custom macros - under all conditions of
your input variables.
And verifying custom macros has never been easier. If you're verifying a
part family custom macro (only one program is involved), load the
program into the text editor and set the input variables - just as you would in
a CNC machine. That's it. You're ready to start verifying. If you're verifying
a user created canned cycle custom macro (at least two programs are
involved), load the main program and all of the related custom macro programs
into the text editor and start your verification process.
To further simplify custom macro verification, NCPlot's
Show Variables function lets you
view the current value of every custom macro variable, even as you execute
the program. And when using this function, you can cause NCPlot to execute
one macro command at a time - making it possible to evaluate one
calculation or logic command before going on to the next. To accomplish
this on the CNC machine, you must first set a control parameter - and you must
reset it when you're finished with the verification process.
NCPlot even includes a helpful custom
macro quick reference guide to help you while developing custom macros.
There is also an Expression Calculator to help you test the results of
complicated custom macro expressions before you use them in a custom macro.
