CNC machine configuration

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

CNC machine data edit

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 . The context menu of each row can be opened by clicking the right mouse button.

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:

Spindles set up with Through Drill tools
Spindles set up with Blind Drill tools
Spindles set up with End Mill tools
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.

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 2021 v11\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.

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.

Data tab of Through Drills and 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.

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 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.

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.