Programming family of parts with Python

[ETH_MFG]

hello, I'm unsure if this is the correct forum to post this in, But I ran into some questions while making a special program for my company to almost automate a time-consuming way we make our programs. I'm a 20-year-old apprentice without too much real-world experience and have no one to go and talk to about this so. Anyways my company parts with 4 different 30-130 MM holes with different locations and can be time consuming to onto master cam and program these things and make small adjustments since the post processor doesn’t fully want to co-operate with us and a hassle to program. As this kept frustrating me, I knew there had to be an easier fix and previously saw that I can use macros, but the problem with macros I saw is that it looked to confusing and it looked like a mess.
So, I began to learn python and started to combine python and G-code to make a structured program and come out with a clean family of parts program. I did this turning all my Locations into variables and I did the same thing with everything else from the depth, hole sizes, and so on.
My question now is:
How can I show this to my company and be compensated?
is there an actual need for something like this and how can I go and pursue it?
is there an actual name for what I just did and where can I learn more?
I couldn't find more info on how to do something like this and I was just led to Macros and CAD/CAM family of parts programs.
thanks for reading and if anybody wants to see the program, I would be more than happy to show them.

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[deadlykitten]

hi. i just read you post : you are hired

just show your results to whoever you wish

maybe is good to search for real people that understand what you do and help you develop

on an okuma cnc, for example, you may push those even futher, for example by using custom interfaces / kindly

[cyclestart]

How can I show this to my company and be compensated?

Bring it up at your next review ? If your employer wants to outright pay for the code good for you.

is there an actual need for something like this and how can I go and pursue it?
is there an actual name for what I just did and where can I learn more?

Sure there's a need. I usually prefer a program that spits out line-by-line G-code over clever sub routines etc. Easier for restarts and edits and just reading.
The examples listed at linuxcnc are called 'Simple G-code Generators.

I couldn't find more info on how to do something like this

If you want to see how others have approached this check out the linuxcnc wiki.
LinuxCNC Documentation Wiki: Simple LinuxCNC G-Code Generators
Those examples mostly (all?) include a basic GUI.

[tinmancarving]

It's awesome to find a young person with great ambition and desire to grow. That will take you a long way in life.

I love programming in Python. I too have created CAM programs to perform redundant operations on my cnc so I don't have to go into my office and get in the CAM system. I have done similar work with VbScript in Excel too. The possibilities are endless.

If you created your program on company time they probably already own it. If on your time you probably still own it. Depends on your state or country laws/regulations.

If the company you work for is privately owned I would recommend pitching it to the person who signs your paycheck. Break it down to how much money it is going to save him. Nothing talks like saving the boss a dollar.

If you pitch it well and they still don't offer you compensate you somehow....you are at the wrong shop.

Let us know how it goes.

Rob

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[he1957]

You could also be a bit coy and hint around asking the Boss if such automation were available - would it be useful and how much would he be willing to support its development or how much he might think its worth - assuming it _could_ be done; just to get a feel for how interested the Boss might be...

Remember you are also investing in your future and development for you so play clever for the longer term :-)

I had a Boss who wanted me to write some error/log collation and analysis software for some of our kit. The final result would have saved hundreds of work hours per month for our entire group (expanding to world-wide use), removed the omission/overlooking of key errors for symptom based analysis, plus build a common failure mode repository over time. It was a fantastic project for both me and my team however, the Boss decided he didn't want to ease off on my other duties so I could fully commit to getting it done properly. The end result was we both missed out.


Cheers,

HarryE.
===

[deadlykitten]

vI had a Boss who wanted me to write some error/log collation and analysis software for some of our kitv

hello he1957, please, will you share more details ? kindly

[he1957]

Hi deadlykitten,

Sure, what would you like to know?

For background, the software being developed was designed to collate and analyse diagnostic, operational and error log file data from commercial and data centre network switch gear (switches, routers etc), expanding into the various computer operating systems to which they connected.

It also interfaced to an existing "knowledge base" data store to help identify known issues and recommend identified patches to address known issues rather than a Human having to do it manually and also built a local "knowledge base" to learn from over time. It was driven by a web browser for the user to make it dead simple to use.

It was developing to be a rather cool "tool" even if I do say so myself :-) It was also a lot of fun if not frustrating at times.


HarryE.
===

[deadlykitten]

hello again harry, so this tool was kind of a doctor for pc / network processes ?

it was something for data transfer to/from cnc's ?

please, what kind of activity was surveilled ? or how should i say ? kindly

[he1957]

Hi deadlykitten,

Not survelliance and nothing specifically for CNC machines in particular. However it could very well be applied to CNC machines controlled via Ethernet. The bi-directional network traffic between computer and machine may pass through network switching gear. If directly connected between computer and CNC machine, the software could still apply to the analysis of computer local log files.

Like most electronic devices, they (can or do) log the activity they perform while doing what they do so that when something "fails" the logs can be analysed to figure out what happened. Analysis of these logs is what my programs were for.


Cheers,

HarryE.
===

[deadlykitten]

hello harry this is how i discovered the cnc-zone; i was trying to create a log for okuma, and i needed some codes

in time, i started to log :
... productivity ( seing how same shift delivers almost same number of parts, but with increased productivity differences between 2-3 hours ; it is a tool that helps boosting unitar productivity )
... corections ( seing how often an operator is chaning offsets )
... cutting specs
... specific activites through custom interfaces, etc

all these allow a better control ( targeted at a smaller amount of time, not like a daily or weekly production chart ), and better control allows going faster, and so, if something failed, a cascade effect may occur, making many things to go wrong in 15 seconds for example, so i stared to use load monitoring functions in my own stile, and i also reduced servos admisible torque; i need to find some time?!?! ( time. hehe ) to study some tools, so to raise safety even more

all these had been developed for & during long term setups, and once they are finished, they may become default for short term setups

now i wish to raise the speed of short setups preparations, and these requires a different approach, because there is much less trial & preparation time, comparing to long term setups

---

all these, of course, require a long "useless" log, which needs to be digged from time to time, so to find a specific event; and this is where log interpretor kicks in, trying to highlight uncommon data

omg, this is not life / kindly

[rodw]

How can I show this to my company and be compensated?

You can't. They already own it.

is there an actual name for what I just did and where can I learn more?

Yes, its called problem solving.

So approach it in another way. Say to your boss. "this is the problem I solved for you". Are there any other problems that we can solve to make our company more efficient?

And work out what $ you have saved the company and make sure its recognised in your salary reviews...