Haas Search Brackets. Everyone knows I am a fan of Haas machines I can often be found in the kitchen at parties boring the ass off of everyone talking about all the exciting things that they can do.
Most people don’t have a clue what I’m on about as most of my friends are hairdressers, taxidermists or pornstars.
Anyway today I’m going to bore you with what I consider another master stroke from Mr Haas.
Be honest have you ever wanted to search for something that is in a bracket? Admit it you have haven’t you.
It’s a bit like searching for your phone when you left it in the fridge.
O0001 (David’s CNC Programme)
T05 M06 (20mm Endmill)
G90 G00 G54 X50. 50. S1500 M03 G43 Z3. H05 M08
G81 G98 Z-20. R1. F100. X0 Y0 G80
T06 M06 (50 mm Face mill was T07)
ETC ETC
M30
If your answer to the above question was no then you are on the wrong website go buy a new car or something it’s way more exciting.
Anyway it’s easy. If you wanted to find the T07 in the code above, see it there hiding away in those brackets?
T06 M06 (50 mm Face mill was T07)
Haas Search Brackets Here’s How
Anyway all you need to do is type (T07) then press your lower cursor. In other words parenthesise the T07.
Just showing off to my younger readers, or just plain thick readers, parenthesise means put it in brackets.
Sorry about the shit picture but I’m on a very tight budget here.
How easy is that?
Authors Note
I’ve been thinking about this one and I can’t really think of where you might use it. Sorry for wasting your time.
Thanks for watching and reading
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this post or need CNC Counselling then contact me.
Every career has to start somewhere. In the world of CNC Machining it’s sometimes difficult to know where to start as a cnc machine operator.
So Where Do You Start?
“Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?” asked the White Rabbit.
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
The perfect route would be just like me in the old days.
When I started at Rolls Royce in 1970. I phoned up Mr Rolls, or was it Mr Royce, and said “can you give me an apprenticeship?”
Fortunately he didn’t pick up on the fact that I was a lazy piece of shit and he gave me a job.
At the end of it all I got to earn £60 a week and had the “Freedom of The City”
When I asked what “Freedom of the City” actually meant, I was told that one of the perks was that I could drive my sheep across the common, in Coventry, whenever I wanted.
I was so pleased to be informed of this and couldn’t wait to get home to tell my mum and my dad.
Once the harsh reality hit and I realised I had no sheep, in fact no livestock at all.
I had a Guinea pig and was still mourning the death of my hamsters, Steven.
Hamsters
What the fuck is it with hamsters has anyone ever had one that lived more than eighteen months?
Is it gods way of helping children to come to terms with death?
I spent half my childhood years at hamster funerals, one friend or another would lose a beloved hamster almost weekly.
I wish I’d set up a business selling them I’d have made a fortune instead of spending my time writing all this crap.
They should have a fuckin expiry date tattooed on their ears or something so at least you could prepare yourself for their inevitable demise.
I blame my mother who wouldn’t let me have a Gerbil because they had long tails and she said that frightened her.
I mean she could have had the fuckin tail surgically removed cheaper than the cost of buying another bloody hamster every few months.
Hands off my fuckin tail I’ll ring the RSPCA you bastard
The Fast-Track Route (CNC Operator)
So what if you don’t have time for an apprenticeship? You just want to get in there.
I have found that in engineering the most important thing is that you can do the job. Once you prove that your in.
No one really gives a flying shit weather you have a PHD, or a Grade One Swimming Certificate and a badge that says “I’ve been a Good Boy” from when you had your Polio vaccination.
At some point you need to find a company that will give you an opportunity as an absolute novice. Fortunately there are still plenty of these around.
Look for a company that has all the machines you want to work on. Then try and get a job, even if it’s only cleaning the shit-houses. Lots of people have started off in companies doing simple tasks like de-burring parts and then move on to the job they really want.
CNC Training Centre
I would recommend that you start by doing this course with us.
Your time will come. Keep listening and learning and watching.
YouTube has loads of CNC related stuff. You can learn about tooling and machining. When the opportunities come you will be ready.
CNC Operator, The Catch
You don’t have experience even though there are loads CNC operator jobs
Well yes this is a problem.
So What is, in your favour?
Don’t forget it’s not just about operating a machine.
You are reliable.
You can you get out of bed in the morning and you are never late.
Tidy worker?
Friendly?
Will you do overtime if asked?
The list goes on so sell your good points and don’t forget the fact that you trained with us and it was on your own initiative and enthusiasm.
Direct potential employers to this website to let them look at what you have already done.
You’ll get a certificate of completion so make sure you show them this.
Above all no bullshit. Make sure you don’t exaggerate. If you bulshit, everyone will end up dissapointed and your confidence will take a massive knock.
They will more than likely recognise the CNC Training Centre and may have had staff train here.
Next Step (Become CNC Operator)
Once you get a job as a CNC Operator don’t just read the newspaper (younger readers may need to google “newspaper”). Or piss around with your mobile phone all day.
Read the programme
Look at the modal G Codes
Try n work out what the machine is doing
Ask for a printout of the programme.
Ask loads of questions
Pay attention when someone is setting your machine for you.
Make sure you show a real interest in what’s going on.
When opportunities arrive to progress, and they will, you will be ready.
One day when you ask your setter to adjust something like an offset he will be too busy. This is when you get your chance.
A Femco, yes they let me out again, tagged but free to train my victims.
Sooo, today I got to work on a Femco not to be confused with products designed to keep your private parts smelling nice n fresh
As is often the case there were no machine manuals. This is not like pissing into the wind no no this is pissing into a fuckin sunami with a water infection (tsunami so that’s how you spell it).
This one is the Femco HL 25N, Fanuc Oi TD control with macro, whoopee.
Nice simple two axis lathe, absolute doddle.
No Manuals, No Doddle
Anyway I couldn’t get it to bloody budge. It was like trying to get a teenager out of bed at 6am in the morning (fuck you).
It does everything except for Zero return, Jog and Rapid mm mmm. Apart from that it was great.
Definitely won’t be able to bull-shit my way out of this one.
Hand-wheel, check.
Spindle on off, check.
Index turret, check.
Coolant on, check.
Light on, check.
I suppose I could tell the customer that it was a demo machine and never designed to actually move around. Only thing is they want to make stuff on it so that idea wouldn’t work.
Anyway there was only one way to do this, we decided to take a very logical precise and scientific way to solve this problem of the lazy turret.
Yes you guessed it, we just keep pressing buttons until something happened. Pushing buttons on the fly as it were.
Low and behold it worked.
Is it me or is it outright blindingly shit-faced obvious????
Please tell me no. You hold the button in the middle as you press the outside buttons. Works for RAPID, JOG and ZERO RETURN
Normally that button is to change the moves to rapid. Not here, this machine has a rapid mode.
In fact everything on this dial except for the first four selections.
Sooo. That meant we could zero return the machine, phew.
Only an hour into the training and we’re just moving the machine around. But honestly how would I fuckin know. I mean without a manual and unless you worked one of these beasts before you couldn’t know.
Talking of bull-shit it’s something I never do, I mean yes I do bull-shit everybody does especially after 14 pints of lager.
No I mean when I’m training people. I’ve learnt it’s best to say sorry I don’t know. Then afterwards I will spend hours making sure I do know.
Some trainers, and you know who you are, will gloss over shit that they don’t know and it’s easy to do but in the long run it’s not good for anyone.
Anyway It’s Not Over Yet.
Next challenge. Tool arm, all I want to do is get it to rear it’s ugly head. It wont come out.
Tool Measurement arm please reveal yourself. Honestly this one is bonkers.
Have you guessed it yet?
You hold down the ready button (that’s the one that switches the machine on) and simultaneously press P SET and voila. It appears.
You just can’t know this stuff without a manual. Can’t blame the customer as he bought this machine at auction so it’s always a bit of a lottery.
Anyway once all the, shall we say “teething problems”, are out the way it’s time to have some fun.
Femco Let the Madness Begin
Measuring Tools
With the measuring arm down you can do what you want. So if you wanna smash or just bend this thing it’s dead easy.
Rapid Full Wack TICK
High Feed TICK
Index Turret TICK
Index Turret Whilst Checking a Tool TICK (I love this one)
Feed as fast as you want whilst checking tools TICK
Anyway that to one side at least it clears the the wear offset each time you check the tool. Which in my experience does not happen on all machines so beware.
It also jumps to the correct offset and displays the offset table. Some machines don’t even do this. Means you can measure the wrong tool mmm.
The tools on this turret are very close together. I mean it’s got 12 tools and they are crammed in. It’s like trying to breakdance in a Mumbai shopping centre on Black Friday. So extra care is needed.
Watch Out For
Tools hitting the chuck when proving out. Don’t forget that the tool you are watching has one sat right underneath it just waiting to kick you square on in the knackers when it clobbers the chuck.
Also when using tool measurement arm you can hit it underneath with the tool below. Now this shouldn’t happen but if you have some unusual weird tool that sticks out too far, it can hit.
When Measuring Tools Do This
Drive the tool in the opposite direction first. That way if you are in Rapid mode by mistake you will spot it.
It is also important to measure the tools at the same feed-rate. This ensures constant measurement and consistent figures.
Mazaks and the like just fix the feedrate when the arm is down so you automatically get the same feedrate regardless of dial position.
When I grow up (which people say I never will) I’m going to make a tool measurement arm that does all these things so you can’t trash it.
Always keep the rapid down real low when setting up a CNC machine.
No more than this.
Femco, It’s A Cool Dude
There is a massive difference between machines with regards to what they allow when using a measurement arm.
Like parents some let the kids do what the fuck they want and when they visit you your house gets trashed and you have to pretend it’s all ok (bastards).
This Femco HL 25N CNC Lathe is the “Hippy” of machine tools. It’s the laissez-faire, the “don’t give a flying fuck”, the “stay on ice man” machine tool. Anyway you get it.
It doesn’t have any respect for your welfare or your wallet. You wanna break this thing go ahead and do it, it’s cool with that.
Joking Aside
This Femco is a second hand machine bought at auction and I recon it’s half decent. The previous owner obviously looked after it. No battle scars, no dents in guards or cracked windscreens. Sounds lovely too, spindle nice n quiet and no axis noises.
Once you get your head around the weird protocol shit it’s easy. Just remember to press the buttons in the right order.
Setting the work offset is easy too. Call out the tool MDI (lay off the reset button) then press this
The work-shift screen will manifest.
Then press this.
You will see the work-shift figure update.
Job done just don’t press reset otherwise tool offset may be dumped and everything goes tits-up.
This Femco has Fanuc Oi TD
It has Macro which is great, oh and somebody changed the brackets around. Just give me a minute I’ll explain.
On a Fanuc control like this it’s a pain the the arse to put comments into your programs. That’s because you have to press a million combinations of buttons to get to the curved brackets.
Anyway by changing a parameter you can make the square brackets into curved brackets making it all much easier.
Fanuc buried access to these extra buttons for brackets and commas and stuff like that deep in the bowels of the control. Without a metal detector and a private investigator they remain the fourth secret of Fatima. For my thick readers this link will save you googling this.
Graphics
Well what can I say. If this was 1980 I’d be saying these graphics are cool. Unfortunately they are in a time lock a nice way of saying crap.
Anyway I’ve done this rant a million times so I’m not repeating it as much as I know you want me to.
If you have graphics then I will always recommend their use.
If you make a daft typo type error or like me you forget that in G74 the Q value can’t have a decimal point. Then the graphics will show an alarm.
Before
G74 Z-25. Q5. F.2:
After
G74 Z-25. Q5000 F.2:
This is way better than finding it at the prove-out stage.
You have to use machine lock and just run the program in memory as normal. Machine lock switch has to be pulled out to work (to stop you accidentally turning it on)
Use the feed potentiometer to speed up and slow down the graphics.
Be careful using graphics with machine lock. Zero return the machine BEFORE and AFTER use of machine lock.
Setting Speed In Manual on Femco
No need to program in MDI all you need is this.
Just be careful to leave it turned down or you may get a nasty shock when you start the spindle.
Turret
The turret is absolute “dog shit off a stick fast” so be careful. You can’t select individual tools so it’s a bit like playing roulette trying to get the tool you want. But at least it’s bloody quick. Shame there is no cuddly toy prize when you select the right tool with your first press of the button.
Inches “Oh my God”
For you Americans just say millimetres “holy goddam shit”.
The previous owner had this machine in inches. Now you can’t just program G21 it’s a common misconception. The G20 or G21 are just a check. It will just alarm out if you are in inches and you program G21 to mm. It’s like a shot across the bows, a warning.
Sorry suckers it’s a setting. Oh and to completely fuck you over it does not convert the program. It merely changes the decimal place. Useless. Other controls are available that convert. Never mind.
So just switch your machine into MDI and press away.
Oh just one thing before you go…… the machine must be at zero return when you do this.
What No G53, Femco Horror
Cover me in bat shite, this is bad. No fuckin goddam G53. Life can’t go on. Fanuc you guessed it, it’s a bloody option, can you believe it.
I use G53 all the time for sending the turret to a tool change position.
Now if you never heard of G53 don’t worry it’s OK. I got your back, yes you are a bit stupid you should know that but just take the time to read this, it’s for a machining centre but it works just as well on a lathe.
Honestly my friend it beats the shit out of G28.
Chamfer and Rads The Saving Grace
So glad it can add chamfers and rads to a program. Just add R3. to the end of a block and you will get a 3mm radius.
It works with C3. too to give you a 3mm 45 degree chamfer.
Important to note that the way this machine is set up you don’t use a comma.
G1 Z-20. F.1 X10. R3.
Femco Sample code
T0303(ROUGH TURN) M1
G0 X50. Z0 G96 S200 M3
G1 X-1.6 F.1 G0X52.Z1.
T0300 G0 X200. Z200.
M30
This is the way it was programmed before and I don’t really like it because that T0300 is a tool change and if you altered the tool number you might forget to change that one too BANG BANG
That’s why I’d sooner have G53.
The jury’s out, send me your suggestions.
Femco HL 25N Editing Fanuc Oi TD
This Fanuc Oi TD control has copy and paste and it’s easy to copy a program (if a bit convoluted) and there is a USB for saving programs.
Just press and hold the shift key to send a screen shot to the memory stick. You get a nice picture of the screen on your USB.
Very small memory by today’s standards, but on a two axis lathe you must be a greedy bastard if you run out.
Sorry Mr Femco
I like this machine, honestly I hadn’t heard of it before but they have been around for years.
The Femco brand from South Korea has been around for a long time, it stand for Far Eastern Machinery Company. So now I get it. Sorry for the cheap joke but if you read my stuff you’ll know about my infantile sense of humour.
I couldn’t resist a cheap joke. Maybe he’ll change the name to something more catchy like Anusol CNC, just and idea.
This is part of a series of articles, CNC For Beginners.
The order of your code in one block does not matter from the computer’s point of view (see below).
The computer gobbles up a line or block of code and then makes sense of it. you programme G90 G0 X50. Y50. Z50. all the axis will move together so G90 G0 Z50. Y50. X50. would be exactly the same. I just jumbled it up, not to confuse you, just to show you that it does not matter.
O0001 (G81 DEMO) (PROGRAMMER PETER ANDRE) G21 G90 G40 (G90 G40 G21) Works the same
T01 M06 (20.0 MM DIA X 90 POINT SPOT DRILL) (M06 T01) Works the same
G90 G0 G54 X12.64 Y88.0 S2546 M3 (S2546 M3 G90 G0 G54 X12.64 Y88.0) Works the same
However it is best to keep the order the same. Create your own convention and stick to it. G90 G0 G54 X12.64 Y88.0 S2546 M3
If you programme as above you will get used to the order and your programmes will be easier to read.
At a customers recently I got really frustrated by the inconsistency of the program. I did the only thing my upbringing has taught me to do.
Headbutt the nearest object.
Consistency (CNC For Beginners)
G90 G0 G54 X12.64 Y88.0 S2546 M3
So you could begin with absolute or incremental (G90 G91).
Then rapid or feed (G0 or G1).
Then G54 (G55 G56…..) work offset.
Then X Y Z not Z Y X.
Then Speed S2546
Then turn on spindle M3
For example if the speed was always at the end of this line you would notice straight away if it was missing
It’s like reading telling the time we learn to recognise patterns.
So although the running order does not matter, in terms of the way the programme runs, it is important from a visual point of view.
Try to make your programmes consistent and to a regular pattern. Anyone using your programmes, including you, will find them easy to read and to fault find.
Remember if you are a programmer then the machinist, setters and operators are your customers so try and imagine the programmes from their perspective.
On these controls you don’t get any choice in the way the code is set out so you don’t need to worry. In fact you wasted your time reading this article.
Rules (CNC For Beginners)
I often say to customers that I work with that it does not matter how you do a lot of these things but you must have a consistent approach.
A good idea is to write a standard operating procedure (SOP) this would document exactly how the running order will be. If you are using CAD/CAM you will need to get into your post processor and make sure it outputs the code in accordance with your SOP.
Even down to leading zeros and training zeros do you programme G0 or G00 do you programme X.2 or X0.2. I know what I prefer because I hate wasting space (I am old school when memory space was sparse). It really does not matter but you must have a consistent approach and if you are not the only programmer, meet with your colleagues and come up with a plan.
If you don’t for example programme X50. Y60. Z80. in that order there is a good chance that you will alter the wrong figure and end up with two X figures or two Y figures.
Standardisation will mean less confusion and it will reduce errors.
G98 and G99, a canned cycle is usually one line of code for example to drill a hole. This one line of code tells the machine all it needs to know about drilling my holes.
Depth
Feed-rate
A point in the Z axis to rapid to before drilling
Point to rapid back to after drilling
G81 Drilling Cycle Sample Program G98 and G99
What happens then is each time you give the machine a new position it will drill one of these holes.
This is great because you don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen.
Each hole will be identical unless you change one of the parameters in the cycle like the Z depth or the feed-rate.
Therefore if on one hole you put a different Z depth that hole and all subsequent holes will be to the new depth.
Easy As ABC
So all in all it’s a really easy way to drill holes. You tell it what you want and then each time you give a position you get a hole. Then when you get sick of drilling holes you type in G80 and it stops drilling holes.
Machine says “OK this turkey doesn’t want anymore holes” so from now on when the machine moves to a position nothing happens.
Mitsubishi Drill In Action
Mitsubishi Carbide
There are loads of Canned Cycles I can’t be bothered to tell you about them all cos I’m going out tonight otherwise I would explain them all. If you scrat around this website for a while you’ll find them all.
They all work in the same way but with some variations.
Now the video at the bottom of the page is about G98 and G99.
G98 and G99 are in all of the drilling and tapping cycles. You have one or the other. You can even miss it out if you can’t be arsed with it.
OK so assuming I want it, what does it do?
You may well ask.
I know for a fact that some of you, and I won’t mention names, put this on the line with the canned cycle but you ain’t got a clue what it does. Maybe you don’t even put it in because you’re frightened of what it might do..
Now’s the time to learn or you will have it on your conscience for the rest of your life.
By the way if you don’t give a flying shit what it does then I wouldn’t waste anymore time reading this.
Here is a lovely video on kittens for you to watch. Off you go.
G98 and G99 How it works.
If you prefer dogs read on.
First of all the tool will rapid to what we call an initial point which the control remembers ready in case you decide to program G98. (This is the last Z move you made before the cycle is called).
The tool will then rapid down close to the hole (this is called the R point). Don’t make this too far away or you will waste movement.
Tool feeds down in Z to the Z depth at the feed-rate you specified.
Then the tool will rapid back out of the hole. It can either rapid out to initial point (1) or the R point (2) depending on if you programmed G98 or G99.
How G81 works in action
Now if you program G99 it returns to the R point (2)
If you program G98 it returns to the initial point (1)
OK why on earth would I want that? Maybe you wish you had chosen to watch the kittens video, but read on.
Well……. if you made that initial point 50mm above the job (about 2 inches) and the rapid point was 1mm above the job (.040 inches).
You could drill all your holes in G99 and the drill would each time return to 1mm (.040 inches) above the part.
If you add a clamp to jump over just put G98 on the hole before and it will jump to 50mm (2 inches) above the part. Oh and it misses the clamp.
Change back to G99 and it stays down returning to 1mm (0.040 inches) above the part.
Admit it, you like it don’t you?
Please don’t try this at home by the way.
Get it? So you eliminate wasted moves. Good init.
G98 and G99 in Action
Oh and here is my video it explains how to use G98 and G99 to jump over clamps on a fixture.
The video is shit by the way but I had to learn (it’s been ages ago).
If you are completely crazy and you like this video, please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel by going to:CNC Training Centre
