Graham just another thought,

Take your tool changer example. With all the variables you stated, in the end as a modual, it has an input point to change the tool/ operate functions and outputs to show position of tools. Mach would not need to know how you make it move to a new tool, just that if it sends a signal to the input in a certain way it will move to a location and how many total locations there are. same with the ouputs, it does not matter how the output is created, just what the signal represents. Mach would only need to know in what order to send signals.  Make any sense?  Terry

Hi Terry,

I think you are missing what I am saying here,  drawing pictures of components and linking them together is the easy bit.  What is more difficult is programming what you want to do with them.

The question and answer system whether text or pictures would be endless. How could you filter out unwanted options when you don't know what somebody wants to do.

The program would need so much more information than you would require as it dose not have the ability to read your mind.

Yes you can tell it a switch is on or off, but when and for what reason, what happens after the switch closes/opens, do I move a motor and how far, until the switch changes or another switch opens or do I need to loop around and keep moving until A limit is reached.

If you think about it logically you have written the program in your head.  All you have to do is convert the mental program into VB Script.

Please don't take my comments the wrong way, this is an interesting subject and you never know you may convince me to tackle it at a later date.

By the way data aquasition and processing software is what I write. I am just finishing of a DNC system at the moment.

Graham.

I think one of the points that's confusing the issue is the traditional way of looking at things is from a CAD/CAM software package into a CNC controller.  If the controller is properly set up, the post processor throws the proper G-Code into the CNC controller and everything works out OK.

What we are moving into is a CAM/CNC system.  The middleware of the post processor is what we are discussing (and what is missing because of the various types of controls that people are using).

A possible approach might be to do the definitions of the various gadgets and have the hooks available for each common method of using it on a setup menu.  Once that was established by the tool owner, it would then define the interface from external coding to their specific tool.  Coding could then be protable from machine to machine because the menu driven "post-processor" would do the translation.

Just a thought,
Jeff