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G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Mill Turning_Need Advice with Mach3 Work Offsets!
« on: April 01, 2021, 03:26:10 PM »
Hello 
!
I am really happy with Mach3, I have been using it on several 3-4 axis mills and made custom screensets, macros ecc... with it. FOr been an old soul it's still really capable.
Now I am approaching Mill Turning (3 axis vertical mill used as a lathe) and after I have made few parts with the the lathe tools in the vise, I am about to make a jig to use it as a gang tooling station (picures below). In order to be able to use this fixture on the mill I can not simply use the stock Mach3 turning post processor from Fusion360 since it doesn't output a Y offset. Same goes for the Mach3 Turn screeset. Y axis is not commonly used on a stardard lathe. To overcome this issue, I thought to use the work offsets (G54 / G55 / G56...), instead of the standard tool offsets that only allow X and Z offsets, to locate the cutting points of the different tools. In order to do so, I modified the stock Mach3 Turning post processor in Fusion360 to search in the "comment tab" of the tool (you set it in the tool table in Fusion360) for the words G54...G55 ecc... if it finds them then it replaces the work offset in the gcode instead of the orginal one set in the CAM set up. Below an exemplary GCode (I added some comments to explain the steps).
After a new tool is called in the GCode, a new work offset it also outputs followed by a "G0 Y0" command to rapid move to the new Y position. X and Z are then already covered in the Mach3 Turning Post Processor, so nothing to change there. This system works really well, but I would like to improve the tool locating part in mach3. Up to now I probe all the tools, using G54 for the "master tool", then G55 for the 2nd one ecc... until I located all the tools, one for each work offset. I then move back to G54 X0, Y0 and Z0 and I have all the offsets of the other work offsets in comparison to G54 (in G54 XYZ0 switch to G55, G56 to see the offsets). At this point I note down these offsets in an Excell file and whenever I remove the gang tooling jigs I would just need to relocate G54 and manually apply those offsets for each of the remaining G5X in used.
I hope I gave enough infomation to undrstand the principle. My quesiton is: Is there a way in Mach3 to save those offsets in relation to G54 and call them back when I need? If I use the inbuilt Work Offsets table, the offsets are saved in relation to G53 so everyhting works as long I do not move the gang tooling fixture, but that it's not a solution since I need to use the mill for different works too. I would need something like that, but instead of having the offsets in relation to G53, they are in relation to a work offset (in my case would be G54).
I know there is the G92 command, but then I would need to add the offsets in the post process in Fusion360 and that is risky because if I change something I need to go back every time to update the post processor.
"
%
(OP1 TEST G96-97)
(MACHINE)
( VENDOR OPTIMUM)
( DESCRIPTION OPTIMUM BF20L LATHE)
(T0202 NR=0.4 - ZMIN=-39.162 - GENERAL TURNING)
G90 G94 G18
G21
G53 G0 Z-5.
(FACE1 3)
T0202 // tool called from Fusion360 tool table
(G55) // words found in the comment tabs of Fusion360 tool table
G55 P0 // G55 is output instead of the stock G54 using the format G5X PX
M7 // Rest of the gcode is standard. At the next operation, the same rules are applied
G94
G97 S984 M3
G0 Y0.
G0 X24.25 Z5.
M48 S2500
G96 S150 M3
G0 Z1.337
X22.25
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.077
X-0.4
X1.014 Z1.337
G0 X22.25
Z1.237
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.177
X-0.4
X1.014 Z1.237
G0 X22.25
Z1.137
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.277
X-0.4
X1.014 Z1.137
G0 X22.25
Z1.037
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.377
X-0.4
X1.014 Z1.037
G0 X22.25
Z0.937
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.477
X-0.4
X1.014 Z0.937
G0 X22.25
Z0.837
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.577
X-0.4
X1.014 Z0.837
G0 X24.25
Z5.
G97 S984 M3
M9
G53 G0 Z-5.
(PROFILE FINISHING1 3)
M1
T0200
(G55)
G55 P0
M7
G94
G97 S789 M3
G0 Y0.
G0 X30.25 Z5.
M48 S2500
G96 S150 M3
G0 Z1.133
X7.12
G1 X6.555 Z-0.785 F140.
X9.525 Z-6.234
Z-35.781
X18.435
X19.05 Z-36.397
Z-39.162
X20.25
Z-37.162
X21.05
G0 X30.25
Z5.
G97 S789 M3
M9
G53 G0 Z-5.
M30
%
"
Thank you very much for the help!
Ciao ciao,
Alessio
!I am really happy with Mach3, I have been using it on several 3-4 axis mills and made custom screensets, macros ecc... with it. FOr been an old soul it's still really capable.
Now I am approaching Mill Turning (3 axis vertical mill used as a lathe) and after I have made few parts with the the lathe tools in the vise, I am about to make a jig to use it as a gang tooling station (picures below). In order to be able to use this fixture on the mill I can not simply use the stock Mach3 turning post processor from Fusion360 since it doesn't output a Y offset. Same goes for the Mach3 Turn screeset. Y axis is not commonly used on a stardard lathe. To overcome this issue, I thought to use the work offsets (G54 / G55 / G56...), instead of the standard tool offsets that only allow X and Z offsets, to locate the cutting points of the different tools. In order to do so, I modified the stock Mach3 Turning post processor in Fusion360 to search in the "comment tab" of the tool (you set it in the tool table in Fusion360) for the words G54...G55 ecc... if it finds them then it replaces the work offset in the gcode instead of the orginal one set in the CAM set up. Below an exemplary GCode (I added some comments to explain the steps).
After a new tool is called in the GCode, a new work offset it also outputs followed by a "G0 Y0" command to rapid move to the new Y position. X and Z are then already covered in the Mach3 Turning Post Processor, so nothing to change there. This system works really well, but I would like to improve the tool locating part in mach3. Up to now I probe all the tools, using G54 for the "master tool", then G55 for the 2nd one ecc... until I located all the tools, one for each work offset. I then move back to G54 X0, Y0 and Z0 and I have all the offsets of the other work offsets in comparison to G54 (in G54 XYZ0 switch to G55, G56 to see the offsets). At this point I note down these offsets in an Excell file and whenever I remove the gang tooling jigs I would just need to relocate G54 and manually apply those offsets for each of the remaining G5X in used.
I hope I gave enough infomation to undrstand the principle. My quesiton is: Is there a way in Mach3 to save those offsets in relation to G54 and call them back when I need? If I use the inbuilt Work Offsets table, the offsets are saved in relation to G53 so everyhting works as long I do not move the gang tooling fixture, but that it's not a solution since I need to use the mill for different works too. I would need something like that, but instead of having the offsets in relation to G53, they are in relation to a work offset (in my case would be G54).
I know there is the G92 command, but then I would need to add the offsets in the post process in Fusion360 and that is risky because if I change something I need to go back every time to update the post processor.
"
%
(OP1 TEST G96-97)
(MACHINE)
( VENDOR OPTIMUM)
( DESCRIPTION OPTIMUM BF20L LATHE)
(T0202 NR=0.4 - ZMIN=-39.162 - GENERAL TURNING)
G90 G94 G18
G21
G53 G0 Z-5.
(FACE1 3)
T0202 // tool called from Fusion360 tool table
(G55) // words found in the comment tabs of Fusion360 tool table
G55 P0 // G55 is output instead of the stock G54 using the format G5X PX
M7 // Rest of the gcode is standard. At the next operation, the same rules are applied
G94
G97 S984 M3
G0 Y0.
G0 X24.25 Z5.
M48 S2500
G96 S150 M3
G0 Z1.337
X22.25
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.077
X-0.4
X1.014 Z1.337
G0 X22.25
Z1.237
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.177
X-0.4
X1.014 Z1.237
G0 X22.25
Z1.137
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.277
X-0.4
X1.014 Z1.137
G0 X22.25
Z1.037
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.377
X-0.4
X1.014 Z1.037
G0 X22.25
Z0.937
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.477
X-0.4
X1.014 Z0.937
G0 X22.25
Z0.837
G1 X21.664 F160.
X20.25 Z-0.577
X-0.4
X1.014 Z0.837
G0 X24.25
Z5.
G97 S984 M3
M9
G53 G0 Z-5.
(PROFILE FINISHING1 3)
M1
T0200
(G55)
G55 P0
M7
G94
G97 S789 M3
G0 Y0.
G0 X30.25 Z5.
M48 S2500
G96 S150 M3
G0 Z1.133
X7.12
G1 X6.555 Z-0.785 F140.
X9.525 Z-6.234
Z-35.781
X18.435
X19.05 Z-36.397
Z-39.162
X20.25
Z-37.162
X21.05
G0 X30.25
Z5.
G97 S789 M3
M9
G53 G0 Z-5.
M30
%
"
Thank you very much for the help!
Ciao ciao,
Alessio