Errors in programs

[cncwhiz]

How many errors do you average in your "posted" programs? I'm not talking about two tools for a mold cavity or a face drill and tap program but large programs with multiple tools. I have to customize my cl before its posted as well as subroutines. This wonderful built in varicut is a worthless POS for real world programs. I will be building up my predator editor for backplotting which is as you know an over priced option with varicut.
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[DanielSantos]

I think that a huge level of customization, MUDFS and a powerful FIL code on you posts can make miracles. We´ve been working with Austin NC to develop our posts and although the specs are hard to be implemented and our machinery is fairly old, (we have a lot of constrains so that we have to adapt pro/e capabilities via PP) we are close to achieve a very accurate level regarding what we see on Vericut and CLPlayer and what we get on the posted code... We also customized Vericut templates o simulate custom cycles so I believe that Pro/NC is all about heavy customization... every CAD/CAM system in the market demands it one way or another... but Pro/NC is a PITA... however it gets the job done once properly configured... what may take years...



Daniel Santos
Suporte Aplicações CAM
GE Oil & Gas

T +55 11 4772-3565
M +55 12 8173-6567
F +55 11 4772-3775
-

Rodovia de Acesso João de Góes, 2300
Jandira - São Paulo - 06612-000 - Brasil
Vetco Gray Óleo e Gás LTDA

GE imagination at work

[ptc-141857]

I agree with Daniel's statement.... I too have been working with Austin NC and highly recommend them for your post creation. We have what I would call a hybrid 5 axis mill and we have had great success with the post. We output complex programs with 25 plus tools and have zero post errors. In my opinion it is very difficult to create a post that will encompass every single part that you could possibly imagine. I say that because when you develop the post you set a given set of parameters and sooner or later those parameters change. At least they do for me. My advice is to deal with people that know how to build a solid post but give them as many case examples that you can. After that it just takes time and patience.

Dean Dancer
Manufacturing Manager
Hutchinson Industries
Dept. Defense and Security

[DanielSantos]

"I think that there is a mis-conception that because the program is generated on a pc that it will be perfect.'



This is something some old school guys use to expect from a Cam system. Sometimes they want logical branch stuff, subroutines and a lot of features that are only possible in hand made programs - It´s normal to think "If this thing is able to wear my shoes the it should be as good as I am..." but the truth is that a CAM system is not even close to be a G-Code cruncher like they are... so it does simple stuff quickly... it´s 2+2 a million times faster... and this is where the advantage lies on...



It´s hard to tell some guys they cannot get the same level at the CAM side, however there are a some things that are achievable through PPWords and sub-routine support... and Pro/NC plays well with this approach, in fact, the whole Pro|Enginner suite is designed to be customized... PTC saw on this approach a manner to please the most demanding customers while making a lot of money with customization, coaching, implementation services, etc... In Mastercam for example you do not have tons of config.pro options... it works fine out of the box... so the customization is pretty much about setting network paths where your files are stores... you do not have a setting in the configurations GUI to change the speed of the CLPlayer or set the stock tolerance to export stock model to the verification engine... and so forth...



A CAM program for 2 ½ milling will never be as "smart" as a shop-floor code... but most of times you can get it working faster than the second example... with no doubt about if it will work in the first shot or not... At least in most of cases... 😉

Daniel Santos
Suporte Aplicações CAM
GE Oil & Gas

T +55 11 4772-3565
M +55 12 8173-6567
F +55 11 4772-3775
-

Rodovia de Acesso João de Góes, 2300
Jandira - São Paulo - 06612-000 - Brasil
Vetco Gray Óleo e Gás LTDA

GE imagination at work

[ptc-288293]

I?ve been working mostly with Icam posts. My programs and those made by
others I work with are sent to the machine tool as posted. Most big
companies do not want you to hand edit ncl or posted files. Some won?t even
save an edited program that has just produced a good part, changes are
incorporated in the source code.



That means you need mature post processors to accomplish this. Not
everything is handled by the post, some requirements need a fair amount of
customization and inserts. Icam will handle most APT words for this type of
customization. Sometimes the post writer will have to activate an APT word
or create a new one to handle repetitive programming tasks.



I?ve done this with almost one hundred tools and over 130,000 lines of code
(no surfacing in that count), and that program will run the next time it?s
posted. It wasn?t error free the first time out but it made a good part
with no catastrophic errors.



The full version of Vericut can be a bear to learn and set up but it
continues to save me at the machine tool. Machine operators get used to and
will ask ?did you run Vericut on this?? It makes me look good and gives the
machinist an increased level of confidence. When you total up all the
related costs at the end of the year, Vericut is well worth the software
cost and time you spend checking code.



Stephen (Steve) C. Roberts





Stephen (Steve) C. Roberts

720.841.8276



From: Santos, Daniel (GE Infra, Oil & Gas) [

[ptc-141857]

I agree with all of Stephen's comments accept the part about Vericut. Vericut's architecture is on the old side and can be cumbersome to learn. Not to mention with huge files it takes a very long time to process. In my opinion, NcSimul is a much better verification software for the same price. It also supports hyper-threading across multiple processors which decreases the calculation times. You can also pan, rotate and zoom the part without having to regenerate. Like I said, IMO I would rate Vericut at 5/10 and NcSimul 9/10.

Dean Dancer
Manufacturing Manager
Hutchinson Industries
Dept. Defense and Security