This is a multi option selection poll


I know of a software designer who is planning to write a new program to operate CNC machines.

What are the features you think are important, and would like to see in this new software development?

Please list all your ideas in this thread.

You may see who has voted, and how they voted here.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=38

Is this designed around a Motion control card or solely PC software based?
A few that would be on my wish list would be a full complement of G codes and canned cycles for both mills and lathes, including G31 skip input for probing, also the ability for parametric programing.
A professional looking, unclutered operator interface (not something that look like a kids game), with paging menu's, preferably.
A position screen that includes 'distance to go'.
Handwheel option.
I will probabally think of others.
BTW what operating system?
Al

Al, I think it is designed around a motion control card in order to increase control speed. I will check though.

Edit: It will be for all Windows. Again, I will check to make sure.

Read encoder position for closed loop operation with steppers or servo's
handwheel option

Editing on the fly. Stop cutting, edit g-code, continue cutting.

Needs to have look-ahead processing. I very much like TurboCNC, but my only beef is that every point is Stop-Go-Stop-Go-Stop-Go...

Brian

I am also very happy with TurboCNC, and am looking forward to Constant velocity conturing and tool radius compensation.

Why does you friend want to get into this incredibly crowded, low return on investment market?

i like to see high speed output like indexlpt 90khz. or some type of low cost driver board like deskcnc at 100khz +

also like to have the support for TRUE closed loop system :)

and everything everyone else said :P

Needs to have look-ahead processing. I very much like TurboCNC, but my only beef is that every point is Stop-Go-Stop-Go-Stop-Go...
Brian
Are you sure this is not possible to configure?
A program that stops at each block must be very close to unusable. Several programs that generate G-code can hardly be teased to output an arc as one block, they spit out thousands of segments. That in combination with stop/go must sound like a machine gun, take forever to mill and wear down your end mills in no time.

@Benny: What Al wrote + Must have PLC functions.
+ Must be using intelligent motion control card for RT-functions and PLC. So the machine will be handled in a controlled manner each time Windows is "out for lunch".

Actually I prefer it's not running under Windows as Windows was never designed for this and is eminently unsuitable. But it needs to be "networkable". That is: NFS, Samba or similar for transferring code to controller.

I suggest your friend check out EMC and maybe use his programmer's skills to contribute to EMC2. As a business proposition why not install and support EMC instead of making his own? Lots of people make a living from supporting Linux, but none as far as I know from installing EMC.

What I would really like to see is a controller with an editor that uses conversational code. Conversational code is extremely nice, line here, arch there, drill here, position there blend line all that good stuff. I recently wrote a 94 line code in conversational code that would have been probably 200-500 lines of G-code, plus its rather easy to understand.
This is all at work that I do this as all the cnc lathes and one mill runs conversational code.

Jon

I think it would be cool, if I could run the software on the fast machine in the office, and control the computer/router in the garage via the wireless router.

use winvnc or remote desktop, that and a webcam:)

Jon

Benny, whats the status on this software? is it being programmed or is it put aside or something?

Jon

Benny has left the building http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7023
for now at least.
Al

*snip*
A few that would be on my wish list would be a full complement of G codes and canned cycles for both mills and lathes, including G31 skip input for probing, also the ability for parametric programing.
A professional looking, unclutered operator interface (not something that look like a kids game), with paging menu's, preferably.
A position screen that includes 'distance to go'.
*snip*


This seems like a good opportunity to ask: what is a canned cycle?

Also, how should this "distance to go" screen work? Do you set a target point and it then shows the distance from it (for manual work with DRO)?

And what's a paging menu?

Thanks,
Arvid

Arvid, There are several canned cycles used for a predetermined sequence of machining operations, e.g. on a mill would be peck drilling, tapping etc, on a lathe it would be threading etc , the way they are used you just enter certain parameters on the line following the gcode say G83 (deep hole peck drilling) where you enter the initial x,y final z, peck increments in z, this will then peck drill the hole and keep rapid-ing up to clear the drill untill the final depth, this function is then modal, all you have to do is give the x,y of the next hole and the peck cycle will continue on every position until cancelled. It is especially usefull if you had a very large number of holes to peck drill.
The position display shows where you actually are at the time, but 'Distance to go' gives you a better idea of how far the tool has left to travel in that particular move and is usefull when cutting a part for the first time, if the distance to go look like it may be greater than it should, the feed rate can be turned down or the feed hold can be operated.
Paging menu's are screen functions that show the funtion you want to monitor on a fresh new screen, as opposed to some systems that try and get everything on one screen, or just overlay it, for example if I want to set the tool offsets or monitor machine outputs, I would rather have these on a dedicated screen which can simply be called by a function key, similar to Mitsubishi or Fanuc and others.
More on the canned cycles can be obtained from a standard G code manual for in depth explanation.
Al

Thanks Al!

Regarding the "distance to go": how do you define a move? One move = one line of G code?

Arvid

Yes. a move would be the particular line of code the control was acting on at the time.
Al

Another option that I don't believe is usually offered in any of the popular pc base programs (turbocnc,mach2,desknc ect.) some form of rigid tapping if you have spindle feed back. and a g32 code with the lathe for threading cycles.

personally I think a real time OS is essential. EMC does come to mind but there are several others out there. Windows has to be the most difficult choice.

personally I think a real time OS is essential. EMC does come to mind but there are several others out there. Windows has to be the most difficult choice.
there are real time extensions available for windows XP and 2000
as well, there are all ready a number of WinRTX cnc programs in existence
Indramat MTX, Beckhoff TwinCat NC1/CNC, and OpenCNC just to name
a few. all run both CNC and PLC in windows.
the downside is that these are industrial strength programs with industrial
strength prices (+$1000s)

do any of these "industrial choices " run spi ???

do any of these "industrial choices " run spi ???

forgive me for being a bit slow tonight but what is spi :tired:

http://www.rutex.com/pdf/R20x0.pdf

this link will give a little detail for spi.

ah that's why spi was dimly familiar sounding. I would imagine that with
the correct driver that it would be. as I said the price of the software is
way out of line for the hobby market.
These softwares are intended to compete with and offer an alternative to Fanuc.
look here
www.sercos.com
www.beckhoff.com
http://www.boschrexroth.com/business_units/brc/subwebsites/product_catalogue/en/AutomationSystems_en/IndraMotion_en/IndraMotion_MTX_en/SystemOverview_MTX_en/index.jsp
http://www.mdsi2.com/

Mostly I was just wanting to point out that realtime Windows can be had
actually Windows CE is realtime out of the box, and all versions of XP
can be made real time.
But Linux is free. :cool:

but does linux have an spi aplication built for it? like maybe EMC (not familiar with )?

In this thread there was mentioning of "Look Ahead"

The term is starting to confuse me, because I know now of three types of Look Ahead".

1) Initialisation of the next code line. Here "Look Ahead" should be used to avoid Stop And Go.

2) Calculation of the connection point of the current line of code with the next line for tool radius compensation.

3) Calculation of inertia forces for high speed machining, to avoid "skidding". This looks more as "In the line calculation" to me.

Personally I vote for #2 as the real look ahead, but correct me if I'm wrong.