Charmilles 240SL

[NAST555]

Hi all,
I have a Charmilles 240 SL that I have pretty much figured out. I program it either by hand or with CAD/CAM (Mill program with a modified post) and then use CT expert for the cutting conditions.

I have not quite got into taper cutting with it yet but I have done it on a moly wire cutter with it's own settings.
I will mainly be using taper to cut dies that need a cutting land and then clearance further down for the slugs to fall out.
I tried this for a 10mm square die with rads in the corners and it seemed to work.

(TAPER CUT)
O2
G92 X0.0 Y0.0
G91
G41 D0
G51 G01 X3.5 Y-3.5 T2.0
G03 X2.0 Y2.0 J2.0
G01 Y7.0
G03 X-2.0 Y2.0 I-2.0
G01 X-7.0
G03 X-2.0 Y-2.0 J-2.0
G01 Y-7.0
G03 X2.0 Y-2.0 I2.0
G01 X7.0
X0.5 Y0.5 (Just to get out of cut before turning off comp and going to the start centre again)
G40 G50 X-4.0 Y3.0 (Return to centre start point)
M00 (Remove slug and then start for top square)
G41 D0
X3.5 Y-3.5
G03 X1.5 Y1.5 J1.5
G01 Y7.0
G03 X-1.5 Y1.5 I-1.5
G01 X-7.0
G03 X-1.5 Y-1.5 J-1.5
G01 Y-7.0
G03 X1.5 Y-1.5 I1.5
G01 X7.0
X0.5 Y0.5
G40 X-4.0 Y3.0
M30

Is this the easiest way to do it? Trig it out to see what type of land I cut after the taper and firstly trig the taper amount and program to that? it is roughly a 0.7mm taper per side with my 2 deg taper so it leaves enough material on top for the square straight cut.
The machine has something called "taper expert" which was apparently an option when new. Where is this and will it make my life easier?

 

[BAFabrication]

Taper Expert would be your most accurate taper cutting setup. You should have a kit with upper and lower nozzles/cups and there will be a routine in the wire alignment cycle menu to calibrate multiple angles. You will be able to verify that in the parts menu.
Honestly you can get away with doing it by hand but its going to be a headache in the long run if doing large jobs or complex parts but if you really want to pursue that route lookup a manual or contact Agie/GF for a PDF copy, that will give you the best explanation of how to code by hand.

 

[NAST555]

I have the taper expert option and booklet.
It really does not make too much sense to me. I have been through the normal manuals as well, this machine does not run a Fanuc control but the Charmilles system.
Angle accuracy does not need to be too tight... just roughly within my calculations that I still land up with a cutting edge on the die that is to spec. The taper is generally just for clearance.

I have, since my post, cut carbide spade drill inserts with 2 different angles on 2 sides, 20 and 15 degrees, and I cancelled the taper after passing the first edge and moved to the next edge and activated the taper. I used trig to adjust my program because the bottom of the insert was raised above the bottom nozzle.
My issue is when it comes to pockets, on my lead in and out to get the taper in corners correct.

 

[WireEDMServices]

Not sure how good I can explain in a quick response, but instead of trigging it out, add an I and J value on your G92 line. J is your workplane and I is the difference (- or +) between your workplane and the secondary plane. With this you can use the same geometry as your land and just add taper. Assuming you have the land at the bottom in your setup and want a 5mm land in a 15mm thick part, you would have (G92 X0 Y0 I10. J5.) Then your taper would start 5mm up from Z0. If your land is at the top, then you want (G92 X0 Y0 I-10. J10.) Hopefully that makes sense. I have the advantage of letting Esprit figure all that out for me.

 

[NAST555]

Thanks,
I am not at the machine but will check it out.
Do you cancel it with a G92 X0.0 Y0.0 I0.0 J0.0?

 

[WireEDMServices]

I have attached a .txt file posted out by Esprit. This is how my programs generally look for a land and taper profile. I added a few comments in parentheses. Hope this helps