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Documenting CNC Programs

by Bernadette Henderson of Specialty Machine Products


I have been programing for about 2 years, and before that I had been a manual machinist for 15 years. I have found that by making a program easy to read and consistent every time you make one makes it easier for operators and new personnel to read. I have seen many old programs made by previous programmers and even I even have to look hard at it to see what's going on. If you start it the same and don't try to put everything on one line the operator knows what to look for and doesn't get confused. For example MO3 on one line, and the rpm on another. They both go together and should be on the same line. Its just like a sentence. Here is an example of how I write a simple program.

  • O0005(so and sos part)

  • N1T1( 7/16 CENTER DRILL )

  • (STATES WHAT IT IS)

  • G40G80G90G54(CANCELS CANNED CYCLES,ABSOLUTE,G54OFFSET#)

  • M06 (CHANGE THE TOOL)

  • M03S1000 (TURN THE SPINDLE ON CW AT 1000 RPM'S)

  • M08 (TURN ON THE COOLANT)

  • G00X0Y0 (GO TO INITIAL POSITION)

  • G43Z1.0H1T2 (READ LENGTH OFFSET FOR TOOL 1,RAPID TO IS 1",NEXT TOOL IS TOOL 2)

  • G73G98Z-.250R.1Q.05F3.0 (WHAT DRILL CYCLE IS THIS,RETRACT TO POINT IS,DEPTH OF CUT,RAPID BACK TO,PECK AMOUNT,FEED RATE)

  • G00Z1.0 (THIS IS FORCE OF HABIT TO REMIND ME TO CLEAR ALL OBJECTS BEFORE I GO TO HOME ZERO)

  • M98P0002(SUB PROGRAM THAT INCLUDES ALL DATA TO SEND MACHINE HOME IN Z AND I NEVER EVER HAVE TO WRITE IT AGAIN)

  • M30 (END OF PROGRAM)

I'm human and I forget things when I go fast, but if I teach what to look for every time, and where it should be, people tend to be able to find it for themselves and see what missing and what shouldn't be there All it takes is an extra few moments, and if they get an alarm my guys know what to look for and when that happens they figure it out themselves and learn.



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