Today I got to train someone on a Haas SL15 Lathe, it had live tooling and a sub spindle.
It also had a bar-feed.
Not worked on one of these for a while. Tell me why on earth don’t other companies look at the pragmatic approach that Haas take to CNC Machining and copy it?
Say what you like about Haas machines but they have an incredible knack of shattering the bullshit and making stuff easy.
Here are two massive ones.
G112
G112 tricks the Haas SL15 CNC Lathe into thinking it’s a machining centre and that it can mill.
It’s like gender identity for CNC Machines. But, and this is the “for fuck sake bit”, on most machines you have to program it like a machining centre but then when your done you need to double X and switch all the Y’s for C’s.
Sounds simple but in practice it’s a shit storm, specially when programming G2 and G3.
When Mr Haas invented the Haas SL15 CNC Lathe he must have looked at this and laughed. Here is a really clever idea. We’ll trick the machine into thinking it’s a machining centre and here is the clever bit. We’ll keep up the facade.
So you make a milling program (XY) and then……. you leave it that way. How incredibly clever is that?? Mmmmmm
I must admit I used to think this feature was a waste of time. But I didn’t realise that some folks don’t have a CAM sytem so long hand programming would take ages.
I got to work on a 1995 very old but brings back great memories for an old bastard like me.
Dirty old beast but then so am I and I still have my uses.
The Haas G150 pocket milling command is a versatile and powerful feature for CNC machinists looking to machine pocket shapes. By defining a pocket’s geometry in a subprogram and then using G150 to call it, you can streamline your code.
What is Haas G150 Pocket Milling?
The G150 G-code command on Haas CNC mills is designed for general-purpose pocket milling. It allows machinists to mill out complex pocket shapes by defining the geometry once in a subprogram, then calling it using a single line of code in the main program.
G150 Explained
The G150 command uses a range of parameters to control the milling operation:
P – Subprogram number that defines the pocket shape, can be internal or external (but not on my old machine)
X, Y – Starting location (usually the pre-drilled entry hole)
Z – Final pocket depth
I or J – Step-over distance in X or Y direction, make sure you only include one as you will get an alarm
K – Finish allowance for a final pass
Q – Incremental Z depth per pass
R – Height for pocket, depth is from here
F – Feed rate
D – Tool diameter offset register (for G41/G42)
L – Optional repeat count with incremental positioning
Writing the Pocket Geometry Subprogram
The subprogram specified by the P code outlines the pocket’s perimeter. Important rules:
Must be a closed loop (start and end at the same point)
Max 40 moves (linear or circular)
Start move should go from entry hole to the boundary
Final move must not go back to the entry hole
Use cutter comp G41 with lead-in/lead-out moves add to cycle.
This example it really simple try it out first just to make sure all is ok. You can then hit it with a much more complex shape.
On older controls you have to put the shape in an external sub program like O500 you can’t use internal sub routine.
You might not know it but if you put your memory stick into your Haas control then press and hold SHIFT as you press F1 you get a Haas screenshot or a (Haas screen capture) on your memory stick.
It is really useful if you need help because you can save a record of what is on the screen.
With this Haas Screen Capture. You could use it for set up sheets. It will also be useful if you want to create training literature.
If you want to enter a name for your screen capture just input it before doing the above.
I love the fact that Haas are constantly improving their products the machines are so well thought out. They were the first ones to incorporate a coolant hose to clean down the machine.
Extras
I notice now some things do come as extras but they still come well loaded. It’s not like when you buy a car and you find that all the things that really attracted you to it (don’t we just love the toys) are extras.
Range rover with no wheels
Just having a memory stick on a machine is really good. I cant help but think that it seems to be taking so long for machine tool companies to really get to grips with technology.
Sometimes when I am training people who never worked a CNC before I feel embarrassed to say “oh the memory is like the size of a 1980’s calculator”
1970’s Calculator
The editing on some controls (and I won’t name names, as I can’t retire yet) is poor to say the least. Students used to using a PC expect to be able to easily COPY and PASTE bits of programme.
UNDO (don’t even go there) some do have it. But wouldn’t it be great if you could UNDO things like offset changes. These things are gradually coming in on new controls but I can’t believe how slow it’s all been.
And you thought this articcle was just about taking a Haas Screenshot
Anyway I’m rambling again (only doing it to get the word count up), I will be using this Haas Screen Capture all the time. Typical Haas practical, user friendly. Keep up the good work boys.
Fanuc Screen Shot
Yes Fanuc Does it Too
Go to a screen you would like to capture.
Press and hold the [SHIFT] button for 5 seconds.
The control appears to lock up for about 15 seconds.
Once it frees up an image will be on your memory stick or memory card.
