I am probably a bit odd and different.   

I often want to drill a series of holes and use the CNC side of things to accurately  position each hole but I then use the quill to manually drill the hole.

I just find this way of doing it is often quicker and easier than getting the drill feedrate just right, the depth of dril, etc in the code for just a simple one off job.

So my suggestion is where the selection is made, in the wizards, for G81, G83 and G73 maybe we could add to the list, the selection of an optional stop.

Probably makes no sense to most of you but for me it would be a boon.

Greg

I have only recently started to let the control do drilling. I was always afraid to drill under power, especially for small drills. I would let the wizard generate the code, then Id run it in Single Block and just hit start after I drilled each hole. My mill has the motor on the knee and a free quill.

I have lately been just letting the program run and so far it has not broken a drill.

I has occurred to me I could do a better job of feed rate calculation. Now the wizards figures a feed rate base on a milling move, then uses 50% of that for plunge. I could actually calculate the feed rate based on chip load and tool RPM. I will do some experiments and see what I can do.

Ron, I have been using your wizards to drill with bits as small as .047".  It looks pretty scary with a 5 HP spindle and a 4,500 pound mill drilling such a small hole (especially when deep hole drilling and peck drilling), but it has never broken a drill bit.  I usually adjust the feeds and speeds until I get something that looks right.

What I would like in the drilling wizard is a way to specify a list of x and y coordinates to drill.  Everything else would be the same.  If I have a series of holes that are not in a circle, row or grid, then I have to use the drill row wizard.  It will not allow only one hole so I just enter 1 as the distance to the next hole.  When it generates the code, I delete the second hole.  If I have several holes to do this way it takes a little time to do the drill row wizard several times.  I thought there used to be a wizard to do this, but I can't find it anymore. 

Vince

Is there any license condition that precludes me making my own alterations to the code.

For my own personal use of course.

I do hold a license for the addons and can find no license conditions of use.

Greg

(;-) Now don't take this wrong BUT would it not be easier to learn how to do a


G81 Z 0.500 R .1 F5 S1200

(;-) TP

Or maybe a cool macro with a programable front end and a drill button on the screen. Push the button and a screen pops up asks you for depth, drill size, cycle type. Fill in the blanks and press ok to drill. The macro will calculate a generic feed and speed based on drill size.

GUYS that brings up a very good point. IS it time to create conversational PAGES for mach like other controllers have.

Need to drill holes GOTO the Mach drill  screen.

Need to probe a shape ?? GOTO the Mach Probing screen

Need to cut a shape, GOTO the MACH cut shape screen

From the comercial standpoint they could be turned ON by a license file.

That is how the big boys do it.

Just a thought.

(;-) Now don't take this wrong BUT would it not be easier to learn how to do a

G81 Z 0.500 R .1 F5 S1200

Your right TP.  But remember I am starting way back at the beginning with no proper training.

I have learnt a lot (relatively speaking) by dissecting code and trying to figure out how it works and why it is written in a particular way.  Like yours for instance. 

The New Fangled Wizards I find very useful and would be more so for me if they had a manual drill as one of the selected options.  Hence my question.

The complexity of some of the code in the wizards dazzles me.  Unlikely I will ever be able to write it's like.

However I have learnt a bit, mostly by studying others code samples and have written a number of simpler snippets to do things that I need.

By the way I do know how to use G81.  Learnt that by looking at wizards. 

Greg

(;-) Now don't take this wrong BUT would it not be easier to learn how to do a


G81 Z 0.500 R .1 F5 S1200

(;-) TP

I ran your code Terry and it ran my quill into my vise :-0  Oh, I forgot, there seems to be a few more lines of code needed for it to work.  Lets see, I need a x and y position, a tool number maybe a G80 or G90, or even a G73 or was that a G83.  It seems that a simple hole to drill takes a lot of lines of code, then if I have 5 or 10 hole in different locations, more lines.  That a lot of possibility for typing error.  Why not just tell a program what tool #, what drill size, what type of metal, where the top of the work is etc.  In a nice graphical format like the current wizards it's a lot easier to do and less chance of mistakes.

I have done a lot of programming by hand, but why when software can often do it better.  Not to many shops hand code.  

Vince  

HUM drill holes EVERY day

Place the drill bit when you want  the hole, set the z height , turn on the spindle and coolant if needed.

G81 Z-.500 R.1 F5   s1200    straight drill cycle
or G73 Z-.500 Q.050 R.1 F5 S1200    peck cycle
or G83 Z-.500 Q.050 R.1 F5 S1200    Deep drill cycle

OR
G83 Z-.250 Q.020 R.1 F5 S1200
R1 Z-1.25                                              For a two staged drill cycle  for cavity drilling
 

YOu do not need to specify the XY IF you are already where you want the hole . Why the G90? only if you left mach in G91 will you need to change that . Yep G80 to cancell the cycle when you are done or just jog to the next hole and use the up arrow to bring back up the command from the MDI line
and push enter again, it drills another hole at that location.

If you can't hand code a simple cycle you won't work here(;-) That is just a fact of life.  Like working in a library but don't know the dewey decimal system.

I do cheat and have buttons on the screen that can call the drill cycle of choice. A screen pops up and You just fill in the info and press GO. BUT for simple drilling of a hole I just hand code it.

NOT saying it is right for everyone but IF you don't use your skills you will forget a great deal over time.

Just a thought, (;-) TP

I realise you are replying to Vince but just to get this thread back on track.......   

My request was about having the wizard move to position for a predefined series of hole and then drill it manually.

What you are talking about is the opposite of that concept.  Manually jog to a position then have Mach drill the hole for you.

So in my particular case (and every case is different) drilling the hole is the easy part and takes no effort. 

It is the accurate, quick and easy positioning for a series holes and using the gcode to accomplish that part of the task.

Hence using the wizards that I already have.

Greg