During my 35+ years in manufacturing, I have worked at several shops and visited hundreds more. In the vast majority of these job shops, there has been at least one CNC machine with some type of conversational programming; in many of these shops, they used conversational programming for most of their work.
The ability to import an STL file for stock geometry is a Hurco WinMax feature I'm excited to discuss. Although many people have this feature on their controls, they either aren't aware of it or don't know how to use it. I thought it was worth a quick blog post and video.
There are several things to keep in mind when you are in the market for a new 5-axis machining center. To be successful, you must make sure that the machine will fit all of your needs, not just your current one. Often times the purchase of a 5-axis machine is driven by a particular job or part, and sometimes shops fail to consider the other work they could run on the machine. Remember, size does matter.
When we hear the term high-speed machining (HSM), most people associate it with mold making. What people fail to realize is that this technology is being used effectively by shops of every kind to positively impact the bottom line — and isn't that what everyone wants?
When programming in 5-axis, we have two distinct options that we can use to command rotary moves and positions. We can output the data using either rotary angles or tool vectors. Although each one has its pros and cons, I prefer to configure a postprocessor to output these rotary commands as IJK tool vectors, instead of the more common ABC-axis rotary angles.
Have you ever had to abruptly stop your machine in the middle of running a program and wished there was a way to restart the program exactly where you left off, even if you were in the middle of all that code? With Hurco’s Recovery Restart feature, you can!
I was asked by a reader to post an article about using subprograms. Although this is a pretty simple subject, it made me realize that not everyone is familiar with the use of subprograms and subroutines. I will also touch on the use of Hurco’s conversational NC Merge capability, which is powerfully simple and very useful!
Previously, I posted an article explaining the CNC motion control system and how it works. In that article, I tried to keep it very simple and break down a quite complex piece of technology into an easy-to-understand analogy. Today, I want to discuss it in a little more detail and point out some exciting advances in motion control technology.
