ENTC 3710 — Lab #2
Continuous Path Programming & TLOs
Write a commented CNC program for the Anilam Crusader II to do the following:
  • Go to the Work Change Point (WCP) & stop (dwell).
  • Go the the Tool Change Point and load Tool #1 (Color #1).
  • Curl on, draw the triangle, & curl off.
    (Choose a value of R1 between 0.1 &: 0.25)
  • Go the the Tool Change Point and load Tool #2 (Color #2).
  • Curl on, draw the square, & curl off.
    (Choose a value of R2 between 0.25 &: 0.375)
  • Go the the Tool Change Point and load Tool #3 (Color #3).
  • Draw the arc
  • Go to the WCP and stop
Deliverables:
  • An appropriately commented CNC program.
  • A plot of the assignment's CADD drawing. On the plot, identify all programming points including the arc's start and stop points.
  • A pen plot of the final program run. All team members need to sign the pen plot.
  • Staple all sheets together and place into the class notebook by the due date.
Notes:
  1. To get started, either download the Anilam program template or reuse your CNC code written for Lab #1. Edit the content of the (new) file to reflect the specifics of this program assignment and (pen plot) set-up. The file's tab spacing is set at 10. Appropriately rename the file to the DOS 8.3 filename format when saving (e.g., zwkh23-2.cnc.
  2. For detailed G-code program syntax information, use the on-line Anilam Crusader II CNC Mill Programming & Operating Instructions Manual.
  3. Use the lab's CNC file server to upload the program to the Anilam controller.
  4. Download, install, and learn to use ETSU's DOS-based EIA-274 comment stripping utility:
    • Use the '$' sign as a comment delimitator. Writing the program first in comment form (i.e.,  psuedo-code) will often prevent many programming errors.
    • Use the '{' and '}' ignore block character pairs as a block delimitators to break the program into pieces during testing. Debugging goes faster if the whole program doesn't have to run each time.
  5. To save time during program development and debugging, use the same TLO data for all three pens. After the tool paths have been proven, set the TLOs to their correct lengths.
  6. As the problem geometry data has already been specified for this assignment (TCP, WCP, shape start points, etc.) , it is quite easy to develop the CNC tool path data using absolute (ABS) points. Looking ahead to Lab #3, you might want to consider programming parts of the assignment using incremental (INCR) values (e.g., the triangle, the square, and the arc shapes). Granted, programming in incremental units is a bit more time consuming (and for this assignment, unnecessary), but the time spent now will save time later when revising the code to called subroutines and loops (which are typically programmed in incremental values to ensure "portability").
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Feb. 18, 2010