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Revised: December 2020
Many of our customers have already a CAD/CAM-equipment and generate CNC-programs for various CNC-Machines. The following information will help you to understand the particularities of the CNC-code for KOSY.
This information is for nccad from version 8 up.
The Way from designing to manufacturing the workpiece:
a) DXF for 2D-drawings and 2 1/2D-milling
b) STL for 3D-bodies and 3D-milling or 3D-printing.
Many CAM-programs can import other formats, too.
Note: The two formats DXF and STL can be imported directly in nccad to use the CAM-module of nccad.
You have to use 3 different programs (CAD, CAM and CNC) and 2 times export/import is necessary.
Compatibility problems can occur.
In our Coordinate-System KOSY resp. our Multi-Controller MCS all these steps can be taken within our delivered CAD/CAM-Software nccad, without compatibility problems.
Of course we want to support customers who wants to continue working with his favorite CAD-program using more complex or special functions which nccad does not offer. If our system has to cooperate with other CAD/CAM-programs, nccad must import a suitable NC-program, that means that the post-processor of the external CAD/CAM-software has to be adjusted. This is not very difficult and can always be done, but not all software companies allow their customers to do the adjustment themselves; they do it for extra charge.
We know a number of producers who have made an adjustment in their CAM-program, mostly under the name of "KOSY" or who let their customers do the adjustment themselves, such as:
CAM-programs with ready resp. available KOSY-adjustment (list without guarantee):
The code word consists of a letter (G or M) and a 1- or 2-digit number from 0 to 99.
The code word has to be repeated at the beginning of each line.
Line numbers (Nxxx) are allowed but not necessary.
Values for the feed F may not stand alone in one line, but must be put at the end of a moving order.
Some examples:
G00 X10 Y30
G01 Z-1
G2 X20 Y30 I5 J0 F100
Circles
With circles and arcs the distances to the middle have always to be given completely and relative to the starting point, e.g.:
G02 X20 Y30 I5 J3
We recommend to make a test with a simple example
Range of values
As for any other CNC-machine, there are also limits for the values of our Coordinate-System KOSY, or our Multi-Controller MCS:
Values for feed F from 5 to 400 (corresp. to approx. 0,5 to 40 mm/sec.), some machines have higher values.
Values for coordinates from -9999.999 to +9999.999 mm, i.e. max. figures incl. special signs = 9.
The max. number of decimal places is free as long as there are no more than 9 figures on the whole. KOSY 1/2 can position only 1/100mm, KOSY3, 4,5, and HE, as well as the control unit MCS can do values of 1/1000 mm (1µm), but - depending on equipment - postion to 1,25 µm only, for example.
Some examples:
G01 X22.12 F100
G01 Y-15.7
G00 X33.123
G00 Y-55.008
Additional commands and special functions
At the beginning of a CNC-program 2 documenting lines are obligatory, with any contents, e.g. date in the first line and name of editor in the second line:
06.07.2012
Pete Meyer
More text lines must be executed as comment lines, therefore: ; (semicolon) at the beginning, e.g.:
; CAMx PP for KOSY
Comments at the end of a sentence are introduced by ; (semicolon), e.g.
G00 X100 Y100 Z50 ; safe start position
At the beginning of a CNC-program the following commands are necessary:
Switch on the spindle e.g. Universal spindle at relay 6:
M10 O6.1 ;230V ON
^ letter O (Output)
or
Switch on other relays, e.g. high-frequency-spindle at relay 2:
M10 O2.1 ;spindle ON
or
Reference-travel to the endswitches:
G76 (all axes) or G76 X0 or G76 Y0 or G76 Z0
Additional commands at the end of the program
At the end the following commands should be given automatically:
Switch off the spindle e.g. Universal spindle at relay 6:
M10 O6.0
Switch off other relays, e.g. high-frequency spindle at relay 2:
M10 O2.0
If wanted, travel to a defined home-position:
G77
or to a freely chosen home-position, e.g.:
G00 X0 Y200 Z30
Attributes and volume of text
CNC-programs are basically text files without any special text formatting. They are so-called ASCII-files. You have to follow some rules:
Each line must be closed by CR LF.
The file must not be bigger than 8 MB.
File name