bridgeport eztrak help needed

[imsteamer21]

hi guys
i have a 1999 bridgeport eztrak dx
i cannot get the tool compensation to work
i had a repairman check the machine out and he says it is ok
however he doesnt know how to program the machine so he cant show me
can anyone help
thanks fred

[machintek]

How are you programming it? At the machine in conversational or off line in G & M code?

George

[imsteamer21]

hi george
thanks for your help
i am using conversational programing
fred

[machintek]

Try this, go to do event, and make either a circular pocket or a rectangular pocket. Enter the value of the cutter diameter where it is asked. See how it comes out.
In MDI you can turn cutter comp on, enter cutter diameter, create a pocket (I sometimes used the examples in the back of the programming manual), end comp, cut it measure it.
Tell us what you found.

George

[imsteamer21]

hi george

when i use the do event mode the compensation works

when i go to mdi and create a part (for example a dog bone shape) it does not work
i program in all of the information needed and i just cant get it to work
instead of the machine cutting to the right or left of the line it cuts down the center of the line
i have to reprogram the part larger than the actual part to compensate for the right or left movement of the tool
thanks fred

[machintek]

Are you turning ON cutter comp? When you do this half of the allowable items in MDI disappear because all you can do is line moves and arc moves. You can even do cmp repeat which allows 2 different offsets for the same tool thus creating a finish cut.
Does your control do this?
OH, OH! Do you have a CRT? Maybe you have the older Southwestern control?

George

[imsteamer21]

hi george

yes i am turning on the cutter comp
yes the control allows me to do two different offsets so i can do a rough and finish cut
but it doesnt work
after i program it and do a cut it cuts down the center of the line instead of cutting to the right or left of the line
the repairmen insists that the machine is working properly but that i am programing it wrong but he cant help me because he knows nothing about programing

how do i know if i have a crt or the older southwestern control

im located near nyc - where are you located

thanks for your help
fred

[machintek]

Sorry, although I was born and raised in Jersey City, I am now in Alabama.
By CRT, I meant a Cathode Ray Tube aka Monitor, like for a PC. The Southwestern control used a red LED readouts.
Write a simple rectangular program in MDI and list it here. Or attach it. A PGM file is a text file that can be opened with wordpad or such.
It is possible that the software is corrupted, or maybe you need to define the toll and diameter in a tool change.
Do you have the operating or programming manual?

George

[Gncc50]

Hi Fred try this program. I had to change the extension to .txt so I could attach it. You will have to change it back to .pgm so you can use it in conversational mode in your machine.

It is a simple three by six rectangle using a .500 cutter with cutter comp. Preview it or run it and Watch the X and Y coordinates. Then edit the comp function and change the value to a much larger cutter and run the program again and notice the change in the coordinates.


0000 EZTRAK 1 MODE|INCH |THU JUL 17 07:31:20
0010 RAPID ABS X3 Y0 Z1.250
0020 LINE ABS X3 Y-1.250 Z-.5 F10.
0030 COMP|ON LFT D1.0 X3 Y0 Z-.5 Z-.5 P.5 F10.
0040 BLEND|LN ABS X0 Y0 Z-.5 R.25 CW F10.
0050 BLEND|LN ABS X0 Y3 Z-.5 R.25 CW F10.
0060 BLEND|LN ABS X6 Y3 Z-.5 R.25 CW F10.
0070 BLEND|LN ABS X6 Y0 Z-.5 R.25 CW F10.
0080 LINE ABS X3 Y0 Z-.5 F10.
0090 COMP|OFF Z-.5
0100 RAPID ABS X3 Y-1.250 Z.5
0110 || END|PRGM@CLR


Hope this helps,

Pete