So when we turn on the machine we would need to zero return the machine. What is Zero Return you ask?
Well when you switch on the machine it’s a bit like when you wake up the next day after drinking a whole bottle of whisky.
First thing you think is where am I? Then the memories flood back of how you were dancing naked on the bar.
A CNC machine is much the same (except they don’t piss in a complete strangers cupboard). So you need to let the machine know where it is.
We move the machine back to it’s zero position and on the way it triggers a dog which is like passing over a button. This tells the machine where it is.
You’ll notice it slows down as it passes over this dog. That gives it time to sort itself out.
No dogs were harmed to create this post
Not a real dog you turkey that would be cruel I mean a switch.
You only need do this when you first turn on the machine. After that the machine always knows where it is.
Jog
Jog what’s Jog? Well in this mode you will have an X Y and Z buttons.
This determines how fast your axis will move when you press X Y or Z in the plus or minus direction.
This very often has a rapid button that you can hold in to make the moves really fast if you really want to shit yourself.
So you can use this to move your axis around. You could even use it to drill a hole or face mill a part.
CNC Help Hand wheel
When you use the hand wheel you would normally be required to select an axis and an increment as below.
If you selected the X axis and an increment of 0.1 then each click of the hand wheel will move the X axis 0.1mm.
The hand wheel always reminds me of the robbers cracking the safe in the old movies.
Again you can use the handwheel much like jog to get the machine in the position you want and maybe drill a hole or something.
Haas handwheels have a really course setting like 1mm a click so beware!! But it’s great for quickly getting around the machines.
Also beware of over-run, because some Haas Toolroom Machines will carry on after you finished turning the hand wheel!!! Holy shit batman.
Just remember that these articles are designed as general guidelines as machines will vary.
If you use the analogy of driving a car then it’s like borrowing your mates car. It will definitely have lights and indicators. You just got to find where the switches and buttons are.
Got this off ebay only 5000 quid
Incremental Jog
Just thought I’d add this in. Some machines have an incremental jog and I suppose it’s a bit of a combination between handwheel and jog.
You select an increment and each time you press the axis button (XYZ) the machine feeds that amount.
Very useful for clocking in bores and stuff like that. Personally I like the idea and if I worked on a machine with this I’d be using it.
It’s important to remember that handwheel and jog can usually be used with the door of the machine open. They may seem gentle and there’s not much noise going on.
Please note you are using the full power of the machine and if your hand is in the way the handwheel will not stop.
MDI
Remember that these modes may have slightly different names but all CNC machines will have them.
Like on some Siemens controls MDI is called MDA (don’t google that one!!!)
Manual Data Input (I suppose it’s kind of self explanatory).
It’s just a way of writing little short bits of CNC code and it’s normally automatically deleted after use.
You could use this for things like doing a tool change or starting the spindle.
Almost anything that you would put in a program can be done in MDI.
It is usually used once and thrown away, not really environmentally friendly single use program.
Most controls have a way of converting this MDI program into a permanent one to keep in memory. Fanuc uses program O0000 for MDI and it’s a bit like a clipboard. You can change this program O0000 to a real program number like O0001.
Some operators only use MDI for tool changes so you might want to keep the code there for whenever you need it.
Moan Moan Moan
On a Fanuc control you have to put an EOB (end of block or semicolon) at the end of the line of code to make it work. Otherwise you get an alarm. Drives me bonkers.
Digital punishment
Memory/Auto/Full Run
This mode can have different names but it’s the mode where you get to run your programme.
After selecting the programme you want to use select this mode.
When you press cycle start the programme will run.
And that red button at the side there is feed hold, it will halt the programme movement but it won’t usually stop the spindle from rotating.
Drip Feed/Tape
This mode is usually for running direct from a Memory Card or PC and it varies from machine to machine. Some will run direct from a floppy disc.
It is for those massive programs too big for the machine memory. Some really old machines will even run a paper tape.
Drip feed is a bit like lying under a beer tap and slowly getting pissed.
Anyway you don’t need to worry your pretty little head about that one at the moment.
Picture of a floppy disc for our younger viewers.
Let’s get on to the interesting shit.
CNC Help Edit
Edit well it’s kinda when you edit….
Yes it’s when you alter the program. In the edit mode you can look at any of your programs stored in your machine and Edit them.
There are massive differences in what you can do depending on your CNC control. Don’t get me started on this one cos I think CNC Machines have been in the stone age on this one for years. Now I’m not going to mention names but even simple things like copying programs can be an absolute piece of shit.
So if your used to the power of editing on a PC get ready to go back in time. Most new machines are pretty good on this now but it’s taken a long time and I still find it really convoluted and counter intuitive. (I don’t know what either of those words mean).
Here is a short video on how to copy and paste on a Fanuc 18i it’s very similar on most oldish Fanuc controls. (Excuse the long intro on the video but I am trying to flog records as well here).
Editing in its simplest form is INSERT ALTER and DELETE.
These are self explanatory but I have put a nice little gif above just to hold your attention.
Most modern controls will have FIND and REPLACE. It is well worth learning to use this because it guarantees that you don’t miss any figures in your programme.
Like if you had X57.65 in your program six times if you use FIND/REPLACE to change em all to X57.66.
You are sure to catch them all and you can be sure they are all accurate. Even if you altered em to the wrong figure at least they will all be the same.
On a Fanuc or Haas control G02 G03 are the two G codes we use to move around clockwise and counterclockwise circles. You don’t need the leading zeros so from now on I will call them G2 and G3.
And by the way never use the letter O it’s number zero
GO2 GO3 looks almost exactly the same as G02 G03. But your control will blow it’s mind and get real mad with you.
It will also do some really weird shit like trying to start a new program. Anyway just don’t do it.
Oh and please don’t call it interpolation as it annoys the shit out of me.
Linear interpolation is movement in a straight line.
Circular interpolation in moving in a circle.
Interpolation is movement.
Now that’s the telling off out of the way let’s move on. It’s ok I don’t hold a grudge.
Which one of you bastards said interpolation?
Let’ Talk About Milling A Shape
When you are milling a shape and you want to move in a circular motion you use G2 or G3
For a clockwise arc use G2 and for a counter clockwise arc use G3.
They both work the same way. On a modern control you programme the endpoint (an XY figure on a milling machine) and the radius you require.
Then your CNC controller magically creates your circle. You can programme any arc like this with one exception.
Do you know what it is?
Ok I will tell you later, it’s OK to not know. (Just means you are little thick).
Lets go back to school.
Remember construction? Of course you do.
We are going to mill the top section of this part
Let’s see what the control has to do to work out where the centre of the circle is.
It knows its current position and in your G3 line you tell it the end point and the radius you want.
Well it gets out its little compasses and draws two circles at the radius you told it.
It positions the compass first on the start point and draws an arc. Then on the end point and draws an arc.
Where these two arcs cross it places the point of the compass. Now it can strike an arc that touches your start point and your end point.
Get yourself a pair of compasses and try it. It’s great fun.
That’s how the maths works.
Tell me did you really believe that inside your CNC machine there is a little man with a pair of compasses?
Fuckin hell I give up.
Sorry I lied it’s all done with simple trigonometry. But at least I tricked you into understanding the principle.
So you should now begin to work out why you get an alarm when the radius is too small. Your two arcs just don’t cross. In other words you are trying to fit an arc between two point that simply miss one another.
G2 G3 No Pot of Gold
Your control will give you an alarm “End Point Not Found” which makes sense because it can’t find one. It’s like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Oh Before you Go More on G02 G03
What about the question. When can you not use endpoint and radius with G02 and G03 ?
Answer: When you want to machine a full circle using G02 and G03.
You can do it but you would have to break it into two halves. I’m not going to explain anymore because this method is for wimps and peole who can’t be arsed to read my articles.
You know who you are, ordering Chicken Korma in an Indian Restaurant.
Well…… what follows is a full, blow your bollocks off, shit your pants the next day, vindaloo.
And Now Ladies and Gentlemen the Infamous I and J
At the CNC Training Centre we don’t get too excited about I and J when it comes to programming circles. That’s because you don’t need to worry your pretty head about it anymore. You almost never need it.
Did he say almost?
Well yes almost. You could programme forever and never bother about using I and J with G02 G03. So just go off and watch some porn for awhile and I will explain to the real programmers when you can use it.
In the old days I and J was the only way to programme an arc. You would tell the control where the centre of the circle is and the endpoint. This is cumbersome and a bit tricky. That’s why I’m not telling you about it.
Anyway one really good simple way to use I and J is for a full circle. Oh and it’s bloody easy. That is once I’ve explained it to you.
When I was a boy hundreds of years ago I had a toy called a Spiro Graph.
Spirograph those were the days
It consisted of a series of plastic gears. You stuck your pen in a hole in the gear and rotated it around another gear. With a bit of practice you could make some really nice pictures. Kept us happy for hours. The crime rate dropped dramatically in my area when these things came out.
What’s this to do with CNC programming you ask? Well if you tried to use end point and radius for a full circle this is what you would get:
If your start point was X0 Y0 you would program G3 X0 Y0 R100. assuming radius was 100mm.
So in a full circle your endpoint is the same as your start point. There are millions of circles the computer could pick. It would be just like the shapes above. If you do the compass trick you will see what I mean. That’s why it’s impossible.
In Comes I and J
So some clever bloke thought fucks this I’ll invent I and J.
If we use I and J there are four options as above.
You would simply program as below for a full circle (20mm Radius)
G3 I-20.
G3 I20.
G3 J20.
G3 J-20.
And that’s it.
So these are the four options
So there you have a fantastic way to programme a full circle without having to break it down into two halves or be clever like a newsreader or some twat off mastermind.
Why do you only need the I and not X and Y Dave?
For fucks sake don’t call me Dave my name is David.
I had this really nice guy phone me from Africa the other day. He explained to me that he needed to get his inheritance of 10 million pounds out of England and if I helped him he would give me £20,000. All I had to do was give him all my bank and credit card details. Oh and a small one off payment of £1000.
Of course I agreed, what a bargain. Just as I was about to do this the cheeky bastard called me Dave.
I immediately told him to fuck off. I just hate being called Dave.
I gave him my 96 year old mothers phone number because I thought at least she can benefit from it all. Her name is Mary so he couldn’t shorten that. She only has £1200 in savings so it would be doing her a massive favour.
Explanation
You don’t need to re-state the X and Y because you are already at the endpoint
