Stuart- I think what we will eventually arrive at is a Description Language for tools. The type of DL that most people on this list will probably be familiar with is an HDL-hardware description language-used to describe programmable logic.
DDL was developed to address similar needs in the theatrical industry (all those cool effects do not happen by themselves!) and it is a very comprehensive Device Description Language. Ultimately what you are talking about is a Tool Description Language, where a generic, human understandable, description is interpreted into a specific tool selection in a machine. Machine tool wise I'm at the low end of the market, so I'm not sure if something like this already exists for large machining centers or the like. If not this could be a very interesting project, because the logical extension of a basic TDL is the abililty to simulate tools that are not in the machine. Say, for example, that a 3/4" end mill is called for but the machine only has a 1/2" end mill (lets assume that other parameters such as flute length and corner radius are similar or not critical). If EMC were able to sustitute that (including simulating the cutter radius) it could be very useful. This would probably be a second phase of implementation, with just a basic matching of exact or similar tools being the first phase. Thanks, Javid ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net email is sponsored by: Check out the new SourceForge.net Marketplace. It's the best place to buy or sell services for just about anything Open Source. http://sourceforge.net/services/buy/index.php _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
