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Thread Milling Software

ranchak

Cast Iron
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Location
Southern California
I'm looking for a program that can generate G Code for a NPS internal thread using a thread mill. My software posts code in arc segments, I'm looking for one that post G03 I,J moves. I've looked and can't find one that doesn't want to use the OEMs own tool. There has to be something that I haven't found yet. Thanks in advance
 
to thread mill a tapered thread, the actual toolpath is a spiral, not a helix, so it needs to be approximated by arc segments.

A machine with spiral interpolation is what you haven't found yet.
 
A macro can be written, using small straight-line segments to approximate the spiral.
 
I'm looking for a program that can generate G Code for a NPS internal thread using a thread mill. My software posts code in arc segments, I'm looking for one that post G03 I,J moves. I've looked and can't find one that doesn't want to use the OEMs own tool. There has to be something that I haven't found yet.
I am thinking that you can't. G03 is circular interpolation. It's restricted to a single plane. To create threads you need helical interpolation, which is a circle in one plane with a straight-line move in another plane. If your control doesn't have helical interpolation, then you're going to have to live with line segments.

I would be surprised if anyone didn't have helical interpolation in this day and age, seeing as how K&T C controls had it standard in 1976, but who knows.
 
I am thinking that you can't. G03 is circular interpolation. It's restricted to a single plane. To create threads you need helical interpolation, which is a circle in one plane with a straight-line move in another plane. If your control doesn't have helical interpolation, then you're going to have to live with line segments.

I would be surprised if anyone didn't have helical interpolation in this day and age, seeing as how K&T C controls had it standard in 1976, but who knows.

G2/3 are circular and helical - circular if two endpoints are defined, helical if three. As ridiculous as it is, helical is to this day an option on at least Fanuc (maybe others too, I don't know), and every now and again you'll stumble across one that doesn't have it enabled.

As an example I have a turning centre, replete with live tools, Y axis, sub spindle, contouring on both spindles, etc. It can do 4 axis simultaneous on either spindle, but helical interpolation is not enabled. Crazy.
 
G2/3 are circular and helical - circular if two endpoints are defined, helical if three.
But it's not defined that way in the standard, so it's not something you can depend on. So he has to go see how or if his control does helical, instead of just assuming it's G02 - G03.
 








 
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