CNC machine configuration

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Once you move over to the CNC machines dialog tab, you will see the following:

 

CNC machine data edit

 

hmtoggle_plus1Entering and editing CNC machine data

 

1.Here you can see a list of the CNC machines that have been created. Each node in this list can be expanded or collapsed using this icon Expand CNC machine list . The context menu of each row can be opened by clicking the right mouse button.
 
       Context menu of CNC machine

 

The following operations can be performed:
 
Add - add a new CNC machine (Router) or add a new Spindle.
Copy - copy a given machine to the program buffer.
Delete - delete a given machine.

 
 

2.The spindle group of a given machine which can be expanded or collapsed using the symbol +/-. There are four spindle groups:

 
Thru drill icon Spindles set up with Through Drill tools
Blind drill icon Spindles set up with Blind Drill tools
Mill tool icon Spindles set up with End Mill tools
Saw Blade icon Spindles set up with Saw Blade tools

 

There is also an additional spindle group (Tool-less spindles) which appears when a new spindle has been created and this spindle has not yet been set up with a tool. Click here for more information about spindles.

 

 

3.Spindle description. The list of spindles of a given group is presented in the form of a table. This table contains the following spindle characteristics:

 

Name

Spindle name

Code

Spindle code

Cutting feedrate

Feedrate for cutting

Rotation speed

Spindle rotation speed

Tool name

Name of the tool set up in the spindle

Tool code

Code of the tool set up in the spindle

Tool diameter

Diameter of the tool

Tool rotation

Rotation direction of the spindle

 
Within the spindle group, spindles can be sorted based on the data of any column. In order to do this, you need to move the cursor over the inscription in the window cap and click the mouse button. If you want to sort data by several criteria, you need to repeat the above step in the next column while pressing and holding the CTRL key. Also, in the table, you can directly edit cutting modes.
 
The spindle description row has a context menu which can be opened by clicking the right mouse button.

 
 
 Spindle context menu

 

 
The following operations can be performed:
 
Add - add a new CNC machine (Router) or add a new Spindle.
Copy - copy a given spindle to the buffer.
Delete - delete a given spindle from the database.
Paste - paste the spindle from the buffer copy.
Suppress - turn off a given spindle. This will make it inaccessible when creating technological operations for the part until the Unsuppress operation is used.
 

 

4.Selection field. Spindles are filtered based on the filtering phrase entered in this field.

 

5.CNC machine data description tab. This tab is visible while the cursor is placed on the CNC machine node. Once you move over to the spindle item, the screen on the right hand side will change to the spindle data editing table. In the CNC machine data description tab, you can enter and edit the following data:

 

Name

CNC machine name.

 

Code

CNC machine code or model.

 

Controller name

Name of the CNC controller.

 

Description

A more detailed description of the CNC machine.

 

Work area length

Maximum tool movement in the X direction.

 

Work area width

Maximum tool movement in the Y direction.

 

Work area height

Maximum tool movement in the Z direction.

 

Machine type

CNC machine type.

 

Correction on air

Tool correction type depending on the correction interpretation in the first segment of the processing trajectory.

 

Clearance height

Height above the part surface that the tool rapids to vertically.

 

Safe plane height

Safe travel height above the part surface that the tool travels to horizontally.

 

Post-processor

The executable file of the CNC machine Post Processor. By default, all Post Processors are  stored in the following directory:

C:\Program Files\Woodwork for Inventor 2018 v8\Postprocessors

 

Post-processor output format

Output file extension.

 
Moving the cursor over the image and double-clicking the left mouse button (LMB) will open a file options window. You may select an image file that describes a given CNC machine. The maximum image size is 200 kB.
 
Click here for more information on the meaning of the data entered in the above-mentioned fields.

 

 

hmtoggle_plus1Entering and editing spindle data

 

As mentioned earlier, the spindle data container may be created through a context menu in one of the following two ways:

 

By copying (Copy): spindle data is copied to the buffer, and using the Paste feature a spindle copy may be created in the same CNC machine. Or you can place the cursor on another machine and the copy will be respectively placed in another machine.
 
By creating a new spindle: a new "empty" spindle will be created which will be automatically included in the Tool-less group. Once such a spindle is set up with a tool, it is automatically removed from the above group (Tool-less) and transferred to a relevant spindle group.

 

To edit spindle data, you need to place the cursor on the spindle data node on the left hand side of the window. Then a tab will appear on the right hand side of the window displaying the data of a given spindle. The spindle data tab will differ depending on the tool that has been setup in the spindle. When changing the tool, the spindle group will be automatically changed along with the data fields describing the spindle.

 

Below you will find the description of the data editor window for each group.

 

 

Thru drill icon  Data tab of Through Drills and Blind drill icon  Blind Drills group spindle

 

Drill spindle data

 

 

 

Name        

Spindle name

 

Code

Spindle code, number. In the CNC program, this code usually appears as a tool identification code. For instance, T01, T10, etc.

 

Cutting feedrate

Is the speed at which the cutter moves with respect to the work material. It is expressed in mm/min in metric units, and inch/min in imperial units.

 

Rotation speed

The rotation speed of the spindle. It is expressed in revs/min.

 

Tool specifying

Tool specification method in the CNC program being generated. Possible values:

By Code
By Diameter

 

Click here for more information about the values of the above parameters.

 

Tool withdrawal feedrate

 

The speed at which the tool is withdrawn from the drilled hole. Some systems require this parameter.

Tool        

Tool selection drop-down list (see fig. below). This list contains all the items of the Tool Pool which are grouped by tool type. If you select an item using the cursor and click the "Select Tool" button, the selected tool will be setup in the spindle being edited. Remember that the changing of the tool also changes the spindle group by which the tool type belongs.

 

 

Select tool for spindle

 

 

The data of the tool selected in this window that cannot be edited are displayed below in grey.

Mill tool icon End Mill group spindle tab

 

End Mill spindle group editor

 

 

Name

Spindle name.

 

Code

Spindle code, number. In the CNC program, this code usually appears as a tool identification code. For instance, T01, T10, etc.

 

Cutting feedrate

The speed at which the cutter moves with respect to the work material. It is expressed in mm/min in metric units, and inch/min in imperial units.

 

Rotation speed

The rotation speed of the spindle. It is expressed in revs/min.

 

Tool direct landing feedrate

Feedrate of the vertical landing of the tool to the material.

Tool Orbit landing feedrate

Feedrate of the orbit landing of the tool to the material.
 

Tool approach to contour feedrate

Feedrate at which the tool approaches to the contour.

 

Tool withdrawal from contour feedrate

Feedrate at which the tool withdraws from the contour.

 

Tool overlap percentage

The percent of the tool overlap based on the diameter in the Pocket operation. When creating an operation, this parameter is provided as a default parameter. You can change this parameter when creating an operation.

 

Stepover

Stepover distance in the Mill or Pocket operation. When creating an operation, this parameter is provided as a default parameter. You can change this parameter when creating an operation.

 

Tool

Tool selection drop-down list. This list contains all the items of the Tool Pool which are grouped by tool type. If you select an item using the cursor and click the "Select Tool" button, the given tool will be setup in the spindle being edited. Remember that the changing of the tool also changes the belonging of the spindle to the group by tool type.

 

 

 

Saw Blade icon Saw Blades group spindle tab

 

Saw Blade spindle group

 

 

Name

Spindle name.

 

Code

Spindle code, number. In the CNC program, this code usually appears as a tool identification code. For instance, T01, T10, etc.

 

Cutting feedrate

The speed at which the cutter moves with respect to the work material. It is expressed in mm/min in metric units, and inch/min in imperial units.

 

Rotation speed

The rotation speed of the spindle. It is expressed in revs/min.

Tool overlap percentage

The percent of the tool overlap based on the width of the saw blade in the Groove operation. When creating an operation, this parameter is provided as a default parameter. You can change this parameter when creating an operation.

 

Tool

Tool selection drop-down list. This list contains all the items of the Tool Pool which are grouped by tool type. If you select an item using the cursor and click the "Select Tool" button, the given tool will be setup in the spindle being edited. Remember that the changing of the tool also changes the belonging of the spindle to the group by tool type.

 

hmtoggle_plus1Setting the degrees of freedom for spindle axis orientation

 

For each group of spindles, the same interface is used to define the degrees of freedom for the spindle during a working movement.

 

Rotation degree of freedom control

 

On the left hand side of the dialog window you can see the spindle capabilities to change the spindle axis orientation in XY plane, and on the right you can see its capabilities to change the orientation of the spindle axis in XZ plane. For more information, click here.

 

Start angle: start angle of the segment.
End angle: end angle of the segment.

 

The values of the start and end angles of the segment in XY plane is defined within the range of 0 to 360 degrees. The values of the start and end angles of the segment in XZ plane is defined within the range of 0 to 180 degrees. Value 0 indicates that the spindle axis is oriented upward, whereas 180 degrees means that it is oriented downward.

 

Rotating only in Z axis plane: this option is currently not used.