Re: programming by hand

Joe,

No so sure I totally agree with you. Probably 98% of our programming
for my 4 cnc's is done on the shop floor. I like to think we're
pretty efficient. Most of our work is close tolerance prototype
stuff.

Given the modern graphical controllers with a good assortment of
canned cycles, the need for CAM is diminished. Don't forget it's the
exception to run into a part which is not made up of a few
rudimentary shapes which can easily be handled by canned cycles.

There's some great advantages of using the control's canned cycles
also. It's very easy to modify the program (usually just one line of
code to completely program a rectangular pocket including step
milling, corner radius spec, plus a finishing pass, for example...
that could easily equal 50+ lines of code from a CAM system), but one
of the biggest advantages is the canned cycles use cutter radius
compensation. So, if for whatever reason a feature does not come out
on size it's easy to change it slightly by changing the cutter
diameter in the tool offset table. Try that with a CAM generated
program.

And, yes, everyone will need a CAM system at some point. Irregular
pockets are difficult using canned cycles. But, I think their need
is overrated. On the other hand a CAD system is a must.

Oh, yeah, here's another reason in favor of hand programming....you
get to cut the parts the way you want not the way the CAM system
wants.

Comments?

thanks,

Doug

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@egroups.com, Joe Vicars <jvicars@c...> wrote:
> It would only take about 40 hours of writing G-code "by hand" to
offset
> the cost of a decent CAM package. That's about 2000 bucks at
average
> billing rates.
> Anything but the most rudimentary code writing would quickly run
into
> labor cost that would far outweigh the cost of CAM.
> If your controller won't take a floppy or RS232 or whatever then
that is
> another matter, but then you probably need to upgrade the control.
The
> same amortization would apply to the control upgrade.
> It just depends on how you cost out your time. Most hobbyists don't
> bill their time as money, so a few hours of code writing is cheaper
than
> 500 bucks cash money.
> Still, it is awfully inefficient with all the stuff available.
> My $.02