Dirk wrote: >>if you are using NX by UniGraphics (UG) then you have a fully capable >>5 axis CAM system (almost as powerful as NCL) :) >> >> >Almost?? NCL must be awesome then? Okay, just read that NCL will >support up to 10 axis. AFAIK now NX only supports 5. > > >>learning NX without training will take some time >>training can get you up to speed much faster >>training will expose you to all the tools >> >> >I know, but I am not the one who operates the machines. I am only >trying to convince the workshop that they should use NX. So, I invest >a lot of time in NX cam and I try to learn as much as possible from >other 5 axis users. As a side effect I also learn to operate and >understand my emc system better. > > >>I have no direct experience with the post generator in NX - it is said >>to be very flexible and powerful >> >> >What can I say, totally new to it I managed to get a 3 axis emc >postprocessor. > > >>Emc usesr interested in APT should check the wiki. Search for apt and >>vapt. >>The defining manual is: "Numerical Control Programming in APT" by >>I.H. Kral >>The book is long OP but a search of Amazon will turn up copies. >>HTH >> >> >Interesting, never heard of it. I have no need for it now. But it is >nice to know that there is an opensource option for multi axis systems. > > One thing to note is that EMC2 removes a fair amount of the complexity from 5-axis code generation, specifically tool offsets and the like. Once you have a correct kinematics module for your machine, the G-code becomes a 5-axis "TOV" - Tool Orientation Vector. The post doesn't have to calculate all the joint positions, it tells EMC2 to move the tool endpoint to a particular position, at a particular angle, and EMC2 (through kinematics) figures out where the joints need to go. That calculation includes tool length and diameter offsets, so theoretically (and Stuart can tell you more about the reality of it), you can take a 5-axis job from one EMC2 machine to another EMC2 machine, and as long as the set of supported axes is the same (XYZ AB vs. XYZ BC, for instance), you shold be able to run that code, even with a different set of available tools.
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