Programme Copy Fanuc Oi

Before we start, Programme Copy Fanuc. I have decided to stop moaning, I’m just sick of the sound of my own voice constantly complaining about just about everything. These days there just seems so much shit going on at any one time that theres always something skulking in the background waiting to piss me off.

Well today it’s not going to happen, today instead of grumbling about how awkward it is to copy a programme on a Fanuc Oi control. I am going to explain how easy it is.

I think sometimes it’s not that something is hard to do it’s just that we can’t be arsed to get out the manual and drudge through the boring shit to find how to do it.

Heres One (I found in the book)

Increase Decrease Scale Oi Graphics

On the graphics screen on the Fanuc Oi control you press P to increase the scale and M to decrease the scale.

I mean that’s bloody obvious isn’t it. (Sorry I said no moaning). Took me a week and a powerful microscope to find that in the thick fat Oi Fanuc manual.

Programme Copy Fanuc

First of all press EX-EDT it’s this little beast

Good luck finding it (sorry no moaning).

Solution to finding Softkeys On a Fanuc Control

Beat the shit out of the fuckin keyboard with two fingers, simultaneously pressing every button, till the screen comes up that you want.

My many years of working on these controls has taught me this.

What Next, Programme Copy Fanuc

Press Copy

Then press ALL

Come on now it’s going great

Now This Bit I didn’t Know

What I always do here is just press EXEC

The programme will then manifest as programme O0000 and you just change it’s number to the one you want. O3 ALTER you know that kind of thing.

Pay Attention You’re Not At Work Now

If you look closely at the screen shot above you’ll see I’ve input 3. Just type in 3 then press INPUT

It looks like this

Now when you press EXEC guess what, it creates a new programme (programme O0003)

So there you have it. My advice as always is to keep using these techniques and shortcuts until they become second nature.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article maybe you should get some training from me, call me anytime.

Classroom training or onsite training at your place.

Checkout my five star reviews (it took my mate ages to make them all up)

I know my place looks a bit of a shithole from outside but like the Tardis it’s amazing on the inside.

The Best CNC Control what is it?

If you are buying a new machine what is the best CNC control?

You might not have a choice of the control if it’s a Mazak or a Haas.

Given the choice what would you choose.

Things to Consider (the best CNC control)

1. Availability of Skill to use it.
2. Batch size, one off or thousands of parts.
3. Ease of editing.
4. Do you want to program on the machine?
5. Graphics.
6. Program Restart.
7. Compatibility with existing controls.
8. Mobility of labour (who can use it?).
9. Do you need bells and whistles?

Availability of Skill

Probably the most common CNC Control is Fanuc. Like it or love it, it’s the one we all know.

But is it the the best CNC control? Well, I’ll let you decide.

So when you are trying to get a setter operator or programmer.

If you have a Fanuc control you have plenty of fish in the sea. It’s more or less the industry standard.

So beware if you buy a new machine and the control uses bitcoin and nanotechnology you might be the only dude who knows how to program it.

Siemens controls are really creeping up in the background even Mazaks use them now. There is still a massive shortage of people with Siemens programming skills. Maybe you should talk to us.

How Many Parts Do You Make?

If you are in the business of making one offs or small batches of parts, then you may think it will be more profitable for you to program at the machine.

Mazatrol is excellent for this. When it comes to turning, from drawing to bubble wrap, it really takes some beating.

Hurco is also really good for one offs and small batches. Oh and both of these controls usually have an ISO option meaning you can run Fanuc type programs if you want to.

Oh and the new Hurcos are fully Fanuc compatible

Read the small print on your final machine spec and always check what options are on your machine control.

Fanuc controls are on thousands of machines and every one is different. Things like Manual Guide i are options and sometimes very expensive to install as an add on.

It’s like getting a car and finding you got the one that doesn’t do 0-60 in 5 seconds.

Don’t forget you can always get yourself a CAD CAM system for a very reasonable price these days. This will do everything these controls can do and an awful lot more.

Things like proper collision detection. It’s way cheaper and ethical than framing the apprentice and getting him another written warning.

You can get entry level CAD CAM systems for around £2500 pounds (that’s about $1000.000 since we decided to leave the EU). Oops, sorry.

Only joking.

Anyway when buying a new machine it’s not much money to sneak under the radar.

Editing

Do you need to do loads of editing? I have to say Haas controls are brilliant for editing (you even get an undo button along with loads of other clever shit).

The handwheel can wizz you through the program at breakneck speed unique to Haas I think.

Heidenhain has the ability to jump to sections of program really quickly. One of my favorite features Read this.

Yes and make sure your programs are easy to read. Loads of comments and spaced out. This makes them easier to navigate and edit. Read this.

Siemens controls are also very easy to edit COPY/ PASTE an absolute doddle and its really easy to move stuff around. (Siemens 840D Sinumerik)

On your Heidenhain control use this button maybe just to leave gaps and add the odd comment.

Use the colon (;)  to add a comment.

New Fanuc controls are much better than the old ones for editing. You needed a PHD in calligraphy just to work out how to copy and paste.

Fanuc Tips

If you have Manual Guide then use it to edit. There’s loads more functionality. You even get an undo button.

Even if you don’t use it to program swap over to edit, please.

Check out PL. EDT

This button lets you edit two or more pages at once so it’s real easy to copy n paste from one program to the other

Don’t forget to press

when your done or you will be punished by being locked into that screen until home time.

Oh and don’t forget the calculator button on Fanuc too.

Read this

Mazak Tip

When running ISO programs on a Mazak control there’s a real nifty edit function. You know that feeling when you think “oh shit I know I should have changed that tool number”.

Well you can stop the program alter it and just carry on. You can’t alter anything before your current position but you can alter anything after. Like that looming feedrate you know you meant to alter.

(WARNING ONLY WORKS IN ISO)

Programming On The Machine

Just one thing to say about this.

It’s expensive.

It’s great for bored operators, they love it. Yes “that’s what background edit is for, you dick” I hear you say. (You really should learn to be more articulate).

Mmm yes well that’s not without its problems as we all know.

This will obviously work for some organizations and not others. But, be sure to check carefully that production and quality are not adversely affected when you program at the machine.

Just saying.

Graphics

Well most machines have em. But usually they are a pile of shite.

Joking aside (and you know I love to joke) they are really useful for checking programs for errors but mostly not collisions.

So long as your not expecting to get the Jeremy Kyle Show with subtitles you’ll be just fine.

For typos and little coding errors they are brilliant and save loads of stress and panic when you decide to run your code for real.

Program Restart what’s the best CNC control?

Don’t get me started on this one. Well ok here goes.

Even the best CNC controls don’t always have good program restart.

Haas (Brilliant)

Fanuc mmmmmm (It’s an option) read this

Mazak not bad.

Heidenhain good.

Semens good on newer machines old controls with care.

Mixed Bag Usually Not That Good

Anyway it’s a bit of a mixed bag but on a machining centre where you almost definitely will need it. I suggest you check it out first.

Oh and if you already have it then learn to bloody use it.

Clones

You see it on LinkedIn all the time, such and such a company has just bought their 96th ????? machine.

Well there’s a reason for that, and I know our machine tool friends would like to think it’s loyalty to their amazing products but ……

Their are some very pragmatic reasons why you stick with the same boring old brand of machine tool.

If every machine has  a different control you won’t get much mobility of labor because every machinist will be scared of the dark evil beast next to him.

And when your trying to recruit… well the wish list will be like War and Peace

If you have bought loads of new machines from the same company when you call the service department you got way more clout (don’t tell anyone I said that).

Don’t forget you can run ISO programs on most Heidenhain controls with a few mods.

Haas, Fanuc, Mazak (ISO) and Yasnac are almost 100% compatible with one another.

So it’s worth looking at how compatible the new control is with your old stuff.

Bells and Whistles

Do you need all this crap?

Can it contact your misses and ask her to get the takeaway ordered and put some Vodka in the freezer?

Can it check your credit rating?

So if you are programming offline with a CAD CAM system what do you need?

I reckon you need good editing, good program restart, good graphics.

If you are programming everything using CAD CAM it’s more about hardware than software.

Don’t forget the hardware is the expensive bit (the metal) computers and software are cheap but if you want a machine that can drill and tap 500 holes in one side of a railway carriage then you need some big bucks.

Verdict So What’s the Best CNC Control?

Sorry there ain’t one. As usual it’s subjective.

The main points to consider if you want the best CNC control:

• Do you need it to check your lottery numbers?
• Batch quantities will it run for hours untouched?
• Do you want to program on the machine and is it practical and cost effective to do so?
• Can you find anyone to program set and operate it?
• What skill sets do you already have? Maybe you need to stick with what you have?

Siemens 840D

Thanks

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this post or need CNC Counselling then contact me.

If you want to learn to program CNC Milling Machines

Look no further Contact CNC Training Centre

Avoid CNC Crashes Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

This is an article designed to help you avoid CNC crashes.

I listened to a fantastic documentary on Radio 4 the other day about Airline Crashes. The program explained how the hierarchy (cabin crew, flight crew) caused wrong decisions to be made.

In the Kegworth air Crash, cabin crew knew that the pilot had shut down the wrong engine. Unbelievably no one felt empowered to tell the pilot. The program went on to explain about “The No Blame Culture” and how they had taken this further and created a system where everyone could speak out.

Although this is not the main crux of my post it does highlight some of the points I want to make.

So when a machine crashes. What do you do?

1. Whose fault is it?
2. How easy will it be to fire this person?
3. How quick can we get the machine running again and make some parts?

WRONG!!!!

The above are all the things I definitely would not do.

LinkedIn is full of all these soundbites and bulshit.

Quick one word banners. You know the stuff.

“Don’t Eat Yellow Snow”. Well maybe that’s not one on LinkedIn but you know the sort of stuff I mean.

Anyway I bet there is one about making disasters into learning opportunities.

If you know one then send it to me. Cos I agree.

So when you have a collision on a CNC Machine here is what you do.

1. Make it very easy for everyone to tell you exactly what has happened.

2. Do not apportion blame. It must be seen as a way to improve things (a learning opportunity).

3. Make a detailed report on the whole incident.

4. Analyse the report with all parties involved.

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When you analyze the information you have gathered, try to break it down into small parts.

(Oh and by the way if you think this is a waste of time work out what the collision just cost you.)

Each time you spot something wrong come up with a permanent solution so that it can never happen again.

The idea is that you only make the mistake once. If you say things like “he’s an idiot”. What are you going to do about that? Well maybe you could sack him. That is after he punched you for calling him a twat.

Sorry but this won’t work. Next time you inadvertently employ an idiot your machine will get broken again.

Avoid CNC Crashes

Now the idea is to Avoid CNC Crashes. If an idiot can operate the machine and not crash it then we have a solution.

I once suggested in a meeting that we fire all the machine operators. The management team had gone on at length about all the problems with staff and how useless they were.

What would we do then? I was asked. Well we will recruit more. What would we get?

• A moaner.
• Someone who is  often late.
• A person who has loads of sick days.
• The guy who crashes machines.
• A brilliant worker.
• A total prick.
• One not so brilliant worker.

Actually you would get what you have now. So the message is to work with the staff you have and get the best out of them.

So an example would be:

An operator altered a program and made a mistake. This resulted in the machine crashing.

We could carefully analyze what happened and come up with solutions. These would then become part of everyday procedures,

1. You could remove the edit key so that operators needed supervision to alter programs.
2. You could make a tutorial video on the prove-out procedure after program alteration. Then get all involved to view it.
3.  What did he alter wrong? Maybe there is a training issue.
4. Maybe he missed out a decimal point and needs to read my post.

Some ideas below on how to help Avoid CNC Crashes.

Wrong Offset

Always prove out correctly remember the movement after the tool change is very often the most dangerous one as this is when the offset is applied.

Always adjust the wear offset not the big number (Geometry)

You can also restrict the value it can be adjusted by read this.

What changed?

If program has been used many times before. There should be a procedure in place to keep it in a special folder marked “proven”.

1. You may be using different tools so did you edit the tool numbers?
2. Do  the offsets correspond to the tool numbers H and T? read this.

The Rules

If this is an existing program then the first tool moving toward the part is the most dangerous move.

• Your work offset could be wrong.
• Tool measurement could be wrong.

Once this first tool is proven correct then you know your work offset and your first tool are correct. Beware if the work offset changes say from G54 to G55.

G54 may be fine but what about G55?

From now on you need to check the line  where each tool comes into the component.

Once the tool is in use it’s happy days. Just keep an eye out for changes in work offset (G54 to G59).

Use your  check screen.

From this you can see all the information you need

Absolute Incremental (Don’t be afraid to use it)

If you use G91 (incremental) make sure you immediately program G90 (Absolute).

To move the tool to the tool change position it is much safer to use G53 Z0 rather than G28 G91 Z0. That way you don’t need to remember to change back to G90.

If you are using a sub-program end it with G90 and begin with G91 that way you won’t forget.

In the parameters of most machines you can set it so that when you press reset the machine will revert back to G90.

Read this on machine wake up state.

G91 is very safe to use if you follow the rules.

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Decimal Points

Some controls will take calculator type inputs. X20 will be X 20.00. Beware this can be read as X.020 and there is a big difference.

Fanuc, Haas and Mazak will allow you to set a parameter that allows either.

Read this post first.

Speed Clamps On CNC Lathes (Avoid CNC Crashes)

G50 is really important it should be at the head of every program or possibly on every tool.

G50 S2000 (speed will not go over 2000 rpm)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x14poOHTXlM

Services offered at CNC Training Centre

Edgecam training.

Classroom programmer training.

Onsite CNC Machine Training.

CNC Training on all controls and machines.

Mazak Training Fanuc Training

Don’t forget we offer training on all types of Mazak Machines and all Fanuc Controls 6m to 31i Oi old to young.

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