Lathe CAM Designer Users Manual - denfordata.com · by CNC machinery" 2 Introduction ... Run Lathe CAM by LL on the Lathe CAM Designer icon. This will make the program run and display

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Lathe CAM Designer Manual copyright Denford LTD 1997

Users ManualLathe CAM Designer

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Notes

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Contents1 - Conventions

What different type styles mean in this Manual .................. 4

2 - Introduction ...................................................................................... 5

3 - Setting UpHow to install Lathe CAM Designer .......................................... 7

4 - Quick StartAn overview of main points that will let you 'get going' ...... 9

5 - ReferenceAll the detailed information about the different functions andareas of Lathe CAM designer ...................................................... 12

6 - Program Structure......................................................................... 24

7 - Advanced Program Setup(Feed rates, Finish cut, Increment, Thread Settings, Path data) .... 25

8 - Glossary of Terms .......................................................................... 28

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Underline This is used to show key words. The fulldefinition of these terms is given in Denny'sHelp Box.

Italics Used to show menu and button selections.To pull down a menu move the pointer overthe title and click once with the left mousebutton. To select something from themenu move the pointer on to what isrequired, then click with the left buttonagain. To select a button move the pointerover it and click once with the left mousebutton.

[ ] Square brackets contain any text thatmust be typed in.

[ bold ] Square brackets with bold text showindividual keys to press, e.g. [ENTER].

+ If a number of keys need to pressed insequence they are shown with plus signs.

This is used to show important notes.

R This shows a right button mouse press.

L This show a left button mouse press.

1 Conventionsused in thisManual

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IntroducingDenny Denford

"A billet is the piece ofmaterial you place in thelathe."

"G-Code is a series ofletters and numbers thatmake up the language usedby CNC machinery"

2 Introduction

Denny's Help Box

Lathe CAM Designer is a CNC design systemwhich allows users to build up a turnedcomponent on screen, in a graphicalenvironment. A file, in G-Code format, canthen be produced automatically.

The design is created graphically by placingdifferent styles of blocks together within alimited area. Each block, after being placed,can be manipulated to determine its exactsize and shape. Lathe CAM Designer is co-ordinate based, allowing extremely accuratemovements of the blocks by either; keyboardarrow keys or a mouse. A block may bedeleted at any time.

A 'work area' is specified at the start of theprogram. This represents the billet sizeavailable in the lathe being used. No blockcan be placed or moved outside the workarea, this acts as a safety feature whilstmachining.

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Any design drawn can be drilled and parted-off .Designs can be saved and loaded at any

abilities than was previously practical. It willallow your CNC turning machine to be usedas a 'everyday tool' rather than one reservedfor special occasions.

Introduction

"Parted-off means to cut thefinished work, from theremaining material with aspecial cutter."

Denny's Help Box

time, so a library of useful parts can soon bebuilt up.

Lathe CAM designer has been developed tobe as simple as possible to use. This, it isenvisaged, will enable the use of CNC turningmachines by a much wider range of ages and

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"A dialogue box is abox that appears inwindows and allowsyou to input data."

Denny's Help Box

Simply pressing [enter] will install LatheCAM

3 Setting UpLathe CAM designer requires that yourcomputer has:a hard disk,Windows version 3.10 or above installed,a minimum of 1 megabyte of memory.

InstallationWhilst running windows on your computer:

1. Insert the Lathe CAM Designer floppy diskinto drive a:.

2. From program manager select run fromthe file menu.

3. A dialogue box will appear. Type in thecommand line box [a:install] and press[enter].

4. This will run the Denford install program.

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Designer on to your hard disk. It will alsocreate a group window and place the LatheCAM Designer icon in this group window.

Note.It is recommended that you allow the Denfordinstallation program to create its owndirectories and set up its default values. Ifyou find these inconvenient, then feel free toalter them.

Setting Up

Denny's Help Box"An icon is a smallpicture, displayed inwindows, when you clicktwice on it the programassociated with thaticon will run."

Lathe CAMDesigners icon

"A group window is wherea selection of icons canbe stored together in thewindows environment."

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4 Quick Start

Denny's Help Box"A parallel turn is whenmaterial is removedand the finishedsection is the samediameter along itslength.""An edit node is like ahandle, you must clickon with the cursor,which will allow youchange the shape."

CursorEdit Node

parallel turn

This section will enable you to become familiarwith the features of Lathe CAM Designer. Itwill allow the user to 'get going', withoutreferring to the reference section.

1. Run Lathe CAM by L L on the Lathe CAMDesigner icon. This will make the programrun and display the start screen.

2. The start screen allows you to select thebillet size, both the diameter and length. Fornow we will leave these as default values, soL on the 'OK' button.

3. You will now be presented with the designscreen. The grey area represents the side ofthe work billet and the dashed line is thecentre of the billet. The rectangle in the workarea is the first element, a parallel turn.Thegreen square is called the edit node ( a greenedit node identifies the selected element).You can alter this first, selected element bymoving the cursor over the edit nodepressing and holding the left mouse keyand moving the mouse pointer.

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4. New types of element may be added byL on the element buttons above the workarea. Each new element be will placed to theright of the highlighted element.

5. Each element may be highlighted by clickingon its edit node once with the L . Theinformation about each element is given inthe lower window. The icon in the informationwindow shows you what type of element it is,the other data is numerical and gives theexact location and size of the element.

Quick Start

Parallel Tapered Convex Concave Thread DrillElement Buttons

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6. Pressing [delete] on the keyboard willremove the highlighted element. To deletethe whole drawing simply go to the new menuwithin the file menu.

7. When you have finished designing yourshape, go to the make file section withincreate G-code menu. The code produced, isthe code needed by your CNC turning machineto make your designed part.

8. The final step is to run your G- code onyour machine and manufacture your part.

Note.Most CNC turning machines are different inthe way they read or load G-codeinstructions.Therefore no specificinstructions can be given within thismanual.Please check the machinemanufacturer's manual for exact details.

Quick Start

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Material Size Indicators

Machine Selected Material Selected Unit Display

The material size screen appears when theprogram is started. From this screenchanges to the selected Lathe, size andtype of billet can be made.

5 Reference

Novaturn (metric)

Steel

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Selected element icon

Screen Layout

Menu barTitle bar

Element buttons

Numerical data

Nudge buttonsWork area

Reference

Centre line

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Work area: This is the area where the element blocks areplaced and manipulated. The area representsthe diameter and length of the billet. Thedashed line shows the centre line of the billet.

Menu bar: Select the menu required using L and thenselect the item by using L .

Title bar The title bar shows the name of the program'Lathe CAM Designer' and the name of the fileyou are working on, if it has been saved.

Element buttons:

There are 6 types of elements. They can beselected by; L on the button, using theshort cut keys 1 to 6, or by selecting theelement from the element menu:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Parallel Tapered Convex Concave Thread Drill

Short cut keys

Reference

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Parallel: This will only allow you to draw a rectangle onthe screen, representing a true cylinder withparallel sides. The diameters 1 and 2 willalways be the same.

Tapered: This allows you to alter the diameter 2 of thecylinder, thus giving a cone shape. Diameter2, the right hand diameter, may only be largerthan diameter 1 by a small amount. Thedifference in diameters is restricted by theangle set within the LCD.INI file and is relatedto the back angle of your turning tools.

Convex, Concave: These allow you to place radii on your work,which are restricted to 90 degree arcs.

Thread: This allows you to place a thread on yourdesign. You should ensure that the elementseither side of the thread will allow the threadingtool enough clearance ( the program cannotdetect how much clearance your machine willrequire). However, the program willautomatically make an undercut to left ofthe thread.

Reference

(See Advanced Setup)

(if required see -Advanced Setup)

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Reference

Drill: Once you have selected drill, a dialogue box willappear. The dialogue box will allow you to setboth the diameter and the depth of a drilledhole.

Drilling dialogue box

Depth boxDiameter box

During the drilling cycle swarf can build up inthe drill flutes. This causes the drill bit to risein temperature and wear prematurely peck cycleperiodically with draws the drill bit which helpsto remove the build up of swarf

Peck Drill :

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Reference

Data Box Select element icon: This icon shows what type of element is

highlighted, the icon will look identical to thebuttons used at the top of the screen. As youselect different elements the icon will change.

Numerical data: This window shows the exact position and sizeof the selected element. Each heading means:

Diameter 1: The diameter of the left hand side of the element.Diameter 2: The diameter of the right hand side of the

element.

Start Pos: The absolute position of the left hand side ofthe element, measured from the left hand endof the billet.

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Reference

Data BoxLength: The length of the element.

End Pos: The absolute position of the right hand side ofthe element measured form the left hand sideof the billet.

Angle: This is the angle of the slope from diameter 1 todiameter 2. If the figure is negative thendiameter 1 is smaller then diameter 2. Themaximum negative angle is set by a value held inthe file LCD.INI.

Radius: This will only have a value for convex and concaveelements, and shows the radius of the arc onthe highlighted element.

Drill diameter: This displays the drill diameter. It will be thesame value that was entered when the drillingdialogue box was displayed.

Drill depth: This displays the drill depth. It will be the samevalue that was entered when the drilling dialoguebox was displayed.

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Nudge buttons: These allow very high accuracy when editing theshape of elements. You may use the L on theon screen buttons or use short cut keys. Theshort keys use the arrow keys plus other keysto obtain different degrees of accuracy.

If you use the combination [ARROWS] + [CONTROL]+[SHIFT]

then you can nudge 0.001.

Short cut keys

[ARROWS] + [CONTROL]

[ARROWS] + [SHIFT]

[ARROWS]

Reference

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Create G-Code: This is a pull down menu that has 3 sub menuchoices:

make file: Selecting this option will prompt you to enter afile name that can be used to store your G-code under.( this will later be used to controlyour CNC turning machine). Once you haveentered a valid filename and L on the 'OK'button, you see the generate G-code dialoguebox, just L on the 'Create G-code' button. Ifyou wish part off your component then youshould first L on the 'part off component' tickbox. If you wish to face off the component thenL on the 'face off bar' tick box.

Reference

Filenames These are titles

given to your savedfiles. They must nothave more thaneight characters,any spaces, orpunctuation.

eg. lathecam

Denny's Help Box

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Set G-Code parameters: This menu will select a dialogue box that willallow you to choose what sort of material youwill be machining. You can select a materialwhich will load cutting parameters appropriatefor the material. These parameters can alsobe altered individually. These are feed rate,finishing cut, roughing cut, threading cut andthe surface cutting speed. For moreinformation see Advanced setup.

Reference

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Reference

Side &Face tool

Parting offtool

Drill bit

CentreDrill

Threadingtool

Set Lathe Tooling: This menu will select a dialogue box that willallow you to match your CNC lathe toolpostnumbers with the LatheCAM tooling setup, i.e.if tool 1 on the CNC lathe is a roughing tool, thentool 1 must be a roughing tool. This informationis needed by the software so that when a toolchange is required it can enter the correctnumber in the G-Code file.

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ReferenceParting tool- used mainly to remove work from

the end of the bilet, but on occasion it isused to make small undercuts

Drill - The drill is used to make holes in the centreof the billet. The drill bits are available in avariety of lengths and widths. On a lathethe drill bit remains stationary as the billetrevolves.

Centre Drill - This is a small rigid drill bit that hasthe function of making a small pilot hole. Thisguides the main drill bit to the centre of thebillet.

Threading tool - The threading tool has only onefunction due to its sharp steeply angledcutting edge. This tool is able to create manydifferent depths of thread.

Roughing / Cutting tool - This is a right handedcutting tool. It is used on the outside of thebillet and carries out the majority of the work.

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Position and purpose of the main Lathe CAM Designer files

DENLANG.DLLPost pocessorprogram that

generates G-Code

LC-DES.EXEMain Executable file

GENERIC.GNCGeneric G-Code file,

created by Lathel CAMfor use by DENLANG.DLL

MACHDATA.INIHolds the path datafor various types of

lathes

FANUCL.SLBInformation for

creating G-Codespecific to CNC lathe

Libs Directory

FANUCL.INIIndividual settings for

different lathes

Config Directory

Denford Directory

LCD.INIStart up values for

main program.

Windows Directory

6 ProgramStructure Lathe CAM Designer uses and creates several

files while it is running. The diagram belowshows the position and function of these files.

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[Materials]Steel=120Steel English=120Brass=100Plastic=300Wax=500Aluminium=170

All of the program features are setupautomatically by the installation program.It is possible to alter some program settingsmanually, to suit your particular needs. Theprogram default values are stored in the fileLCD.ini. This can be found in your windowsdirectory. The following is an example of thefile and a description of the contents.

7 AdvancedProgramSetup

[Settings]diameter=25 -Most recently used material diameter.length=50 -Most recently used material length.material type=Steel -Most recently used material type.Machine=Starturn PC (metric) -Most recently used machine.Graphics Speed=1 -The speed at which the G-codes are generatedParting Feed rate %=50 -The feed rate at which the parting tool advances

(This is a percentage of the cutting tool feed rate)

These are the maximum cutting speeds forspecific materials. The cutting speed is vari-able dependant on material type and thediameter of the billet

[Path data]Gnc name=C:\denford\data\GENERIC.GNC -A temporary file generated by Lathe CamLcd files=c:\denford\data\ -Lathe Cam Designer files directoryg-code files=c:\denford\data\ -G-code files directory

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AdvancedProgramSetup

[Feed Rates]Steel=70.00Brass=140Plastic=250Steel English=2.3Wax=300.00Aluminium=140.00

[Finish cut]Steel=0.1000Steel English=0.0200Brass=0.5Plastic=0.5Wax=0.5000Aluminium=0.5000

[Roughing cut increment]Steel=2.0000Steel English=0.08Brass=3Plastic=4.00Wax=4.0000Aluminium=3.0000

[Thread cut increment]Steel=0.06Steel English=0.08Brass=0.06Plastic=0.0.06Wax=0.0880Aluminium=0.0600

The maximum amountthe tool removes onany single pass.

These values are themaximum amountstaken out in any

roughing cut .

Finish cut , this isthe amount ofmaterial left beforethe finishing cut

Feed rates are howfast the tool movesthrough the materialin mm per minute.

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Advanced ProgramSetup [Thread]

pull out angle=60 -Angle at which threading tool leaves billetThread angle=60 -Pitch of the threadFinish allowance=0.03 -Material left before the final cutThread Undercut=2 -Specifies which thread undercut you require

Thread Undercut options

[ 0 ] No undercut

[ 1 ] A small section of thread is removed atthe end of the thread

[ 2 ] A piece of material is removed before the tread has been cut

[ 3 ] Material is removed from the threadand the workpiece

To gain access to the undercut options use a text editor and openthe LCD.ini file. Undercut options are placed under [settings]

e.g. Thread Undercut=1

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8 Glossary of TermsArc Portion of a circle.

Centre Drill A rigid drill bit used to make a hole which will guide themain drill.

CNC (Computer Numeric Control). A system or machine that iscontrolled by a computer

Default Settings Restore the machines initial settings.

Floppy Disk A storage device for a computer. It can be removed andused to transport data.

Face off Bar Takes rough edges off the end of the billet.

Hard Disk A storage device for a computer. It cannot normally beremoved from the computer, it is very fast and can hold alarge amount of data.

Memory The place where the computer stores data internally.

Part off Component Cuts work area from the billet.

Roughing cut Centres billet and removes the bulk of the material to makethe approximate profile of the design, leaving enoughmaterial for the finishing cut.

Lathe CAM Designer Users Manual - denfordata.com · by CNC machinery" 2 Introduction ... Run Lathe CAM by LL on the Lathe CAM Designer icon. This will make the program run and display

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