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On-Line Courses Update: How far can you go?I received this email from John Romero - a student who has recently completed one of my on-line classes. It's nice to hear success stories - and it's great to know that I'm a part of them. Thank you for your kind words John.Good morning Mike, I just wanted to say a very sincere thank-you, to you and your company. Over the years I have purchased and studied a number of your publications, Computer Numerical Control for Machining, Computer Numerical Control Advanced Techniques, Parametric Programming For Computer Numerical Control Machine Tools and Touch Probes, Managing Computer Numerical Control Operations, and Maximizing CNC Utilization. I have taken your on line Parametric Programming For CNC Machining And Turning Centers class and have even been mentioned in your Optional Stop publication for a tech tip. All of the above CNC training, my previous experience plus my pursuit of an Industrial Engineering Degree, has landed me a new position with a major corporation, as a CNC Manufacturing Engineer, This new job is full of challenges and rewards, This is what I really enjoy and is truly the position I was seeking, and I just wanted to say thank you to CNC Concepts Inc. for providing the educational tools that definitely helped me in my goal. Once again, thank-you. John Romero West Covina Ca. 
Product corner: Another basic machining practice eBook now available: Shop math for CNCWe're now introducing the third in our series of basic machining practice eBooks (the first two are Machining Operations Performed On Machining Centers and Machining Operations Performed On Turning Centers). This newest eBook, entitled Shop Math For CNC, covers another important topic-of-interest to aspiring CNC people. This eBook is application-based, meaning we stress the CNC-related applications for the math functions shown. Indeed, you'll learn as much about the CNC-related applications as about the math involved. For example, when discussing the basic arithmetic operators (add, subtract, multiply, and divide), we stress the use of these functions as they are used for interpreting tolerances and making offset adjustments on CNC machines. Like our other affordable eBooks, the price for Shop Math For CNC is $29.00 - and once your order is processed, you can download it to save shipping charges and get quick delivery.
Instructor note: Teaching CNC with the Key Concepts approach - part tenPart ten - Key concept number Nine: You must know the key operation proceduresHere are some links that allow you to review other parts of this article:
At this point in the class, students should have a good understanding of what they want the CNC machine to do. However, they're probably still pretty intimidated when they look at the operation panels of the machine. In this Key Concept, the goal will be to provide them with the operation procedures they need to run a machine. Point out that running a CNC machine requires little more than following a series of procedures. As long as you know what you want to do, a procedure can be followed to help you achieve what it is that you want. The trick is having procedures available for help. Don't have them try to memorize each procedure - it doesn't work. Students quickly become confused and frustrated. Admittedly, there are some procedures that are so often used that students will soon have them memorized. But don't assume they can remember how to perform even the simplest procedures for very long. We recommend providing an operation handbook for each machine in your lab or shop. This handbook will include step-by-step procedures for the most common things a person must do with the machine. We offer a series of procedures in the student manual that is included with our CNC curriculums. These procedures fall into five categories:
Again, each procedure should include step-by-step instructions to accomplish the task at hand. Here are the specific procedures we recommend that you include in each category: Manual procedures:
Setup procedures
MDI procedures:
Program editing procedures:
Program running procedures:
These procedures can be used as a crutch until they are memorized - yet some seldom-used procedures will probably never be memorized, meaning students will always have a way to find out how to perform a needed procedure. Point out that most companies do not provide the kind of operation handbook that you let them use in class. They'll probably be on their own to develop there own operation handbook for each machine they'll be running. Make sure they understand what's involved with developing an operation handbook. You may want to give them some practice assignments to confirm that they can do it. Documenting each procedure, of course, simply involves writing down the step-by-step procedure - and keeping the procedures organized in a notebook. So as long as someone in their company knows how to run the machine, this person can show them how each procedure is done so that it can be documented. In our CNC curriculums, Key Concept number nine contains one topic (lesson):
You can see more specific recommendations for this topic in our Lesson Plans manuals. We won't duplicate the suggestions here. Here are two links to the Lesson Plans Manuals. Here are two links that bring you to our CNC curriculum page and our CNC educators page. Use these two links to learn more about how you can use our key concepts approach in your own classes.
3D Machining: Shortening CNC programs and speeding-up program execution timeby Dan Fritz of Suburban Machinery Software, Inc., Willoughby, OhioI've always enjoyed your CNC Tech Talk column Mike. I don't recall if you've ever addressed this issue or not, but here are some tricks that some of your readers might appreciate. When cutting a 3D surface with a ball-nose endmill, the programs can get very large, and frequently no longer fit in the CNCs memory. This requires drip feeding with a DNC link. The speed of program execution is often restricted by the speed (baudrate) of the DNC link. Here are some hints for minimizing the number of characters in the program, which speeds up the delivery of data through the DNC link - and it may compress a program enough so that it does fit into memory. This, of course, will eliminate the need for drip-feeding altogether.
To illustrate the absolute/incremental point (number 4 above), here's what a typical bit of 3D surface data might look like in absolute:
Now here's what it looks like with the suggestions above:
What a difference! If you can't get your post to output data like this, then you could use a good G-code editor to convert the file to this format. Here is another benefit of shortening programs: every CNC has a "block processing" speed limit, so compressing data like this often helps if the CNC is being held back by the speed of the DNC link. Once the maximum number of "blocks per second" are achieved, further file compression or faster DNC delivery won't help. Two things that will help speed up the CNC's block processing time are:
Thanks for all your many columns. Editor's note: Thanks to Dan Fritz for this excellent information. If you have ideas that you would like to see published, be sure to email them to us at lynch@cncci.com.
G-code primer: Getting an unlimited number of fixture offsetsMost Fanuc machining center controls come with six fixture offsets - made active by G54 through G59. This is not enough fixture offsets for many applications, especially when rotary devices are involved. There is an option for Fanuc controls that provide 48 fixture offsets, but of course, you must pay extra to get this feature. If you find yourself needing more fixture offsets, and if you don't want to spend the extra money to get them, there is a relatively simple programming technique that will allow you to use one fixture offset (over and over again) to achieve the same result as having more fixture offsets. The trick lies in setting up a series of subprograms, each including a G10 command that sets fixture offset number one. When entering program zero assignment values, you'll be modifying these subprograms instead of entering values on the fixture offset page. Here are a few example subprograms:
In your main (machining) program, whenever you want to invoke a new coordinate system (fixture offset), you simply command, with M98, that the appropriate subprogram be executed. Again, each subprogram will reenter the values in fixture offset number one and then immediately invoke fixture offset number one (with the G54). Here is a portion of a main program that does so:
Notice that lines N015 and N040 invoke the coordinate system needed at the current time. About the only negative to using this method is that you will be modifying programs instead of fixture offsets in order to enter program zero assignment values. The title of this article is Getting an unlimited number of fixture offsets. This may be misleading. Actually, there is a limit. It is the number of programs your machine can hold in memory minus the number of programs in use for machining purposes. But even with this limit, you'll surely be able to set up as many coordinate systems as you will need.
Parameter preference: Programming parameter changes with G10As you know, many parameters affect the way a program behaves. There are times when it is helpful to actually change parameters right from within a program. And G10 lets you do just that. Here is an example. Some Fanuc controls do not allow important threading functions to be controlled from within a program. When using G76 with some Fanuc controls, you cannot program the minimum depth of cut, the final pass depth, and the number of spring passes. (Note that some Fanuc controls do let you program these settings within the G76 commands.) There are times when it may be necessary to change this important threading criteria from within a program. Consider, for example, a program that must machine two threads - one very coarse and deep and the other very fine and shallow. For controls that do not allow you to program these threading criteria, you can use G10 commands to change the related parameters - as long as you know them. For a 15T control, for example, parameter number 6218 specifies minimum depth of cut. Parameter number 6219 specifies final pass depth. and parameter number 6220 specifies the number of spring passes. Knowing this, here is a series of commands that sets the minimum depth of cut to 0.003, the final pass depth to 0.0002, and the number of spring passes to 3:
The G10 L50 line tells the control to enter the parameter setting mode. From here, N words specify parameter numbers and R words specify their values. G11 at the end of these commands tells the control to exit the parameter setting mode. These commands can be given just before the G76 for the first thread to be machined. Then, similar commands can be given before the G76 for the second thread (changing whatever is necessary, of course).
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