Macro for Pnematic Punch help needed!!!

[Colin Bowler]

Can anyone help me, I need a macro to automate a pneumatic punch in my cnc program and I haven’t a clue where to start.

What information is needed to write a macro for this application ? Are there any templates around that I can have a look at to get me pointed in the right direction?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Regards

Colin

[stevo1]

What kind of a control are you using? It would help if you could post some code how you would program it long hand then we can write some loops for it.

Stevo

[Colin Bowler]

The controller software i am thinking of using is Mach 3 , but will be programing
in Mastercam.

The machine will only have an X axis and the punch will be set fixed at the right position along the y axis and will not need to move. The material will move along the x axis to the correct position, then i would like to activate the punch from the program.

So basically the program will consist of G0 X axis moves to each hole position, then the macro to activate the punch at each hole position.

I hope this makes it a bit clearer.

Thanks again

[stevo1]

I have never programmed Mach3 so this might not fit exact. Do you know if your control supports variables #1,#2, #100 ect.?

There is a few different ways that you can go about this. From what you have said the only variable from job to job will be the distance to travel in the X from punch to punch? And I would assume the number of punches in a given job? What is your code for activating the punch? I would look at programming it like this as long as the control can support IF,THEN,WHILE statements.

O0001(punch macro)
#100=1.2---------------hole to hole X distance
#101=50----------------number of holes to punch
WHILE[#101GT0]DO1
G0G91X#100-----------INCREMENTAL this can be set up absolute if you want
M123------------------code to activate the punch
#101=#101-1
END1
M30

This will keep looping through moving the X1.2" at a time then punching. It will do this 50 times or what ever you set #101 equal to. Then it will end.

Stevo

[Colin Bowler]

Stevo,

Thanks very much for your help, this has put me down the right
track.

[stevo1]

Good I am glad to hear it. Let me know if need any help with the program or have questions on anything else.

Stevo