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DMG Mori Milltap CAM Software

StefanMachines

Plastic
Joined
Feb 2, 2022
Good day all

After many hours on the internet I have finally given up on Google, and so I come to you - the practical machinists - for answers.

I work for a medical device company and we do quite a lot of machining - mostly on HAAS machines but also a Hurco and a few turning centres.
We are running out of machines and we have a DMG Mori Milltap 700 available for purchase but no-one knows how to set up the machine.

The machine is a 5-axis DMG Mori MillTap 700 using Siemens 840D sl control. It also has a Renishaw on-machine probe equipped.

For designing we use Siemens NX 6 to 12 along with HAAS postprocessors (they work on the Hurco as well).

My question is this:

1. How do you go from part to CAM to machining? - Postprocessors, Virtual machines etc.
2. How do you set up and use the Renishaw probe?

Greetings
 
How do you program your other machines?
With CAM - yes?
This is the same for the Siemens, although it does have conversational options, but that will be for basic shapes.
Your tools required are:-
Training
CAM
Post processor
Independent verification (such as vericut or similar) to verify your G code. This will need to be EXACTLY configured, as per your machine....
IMHO....

Thank you for the reply, on our other machines we follow these steps:
1. Design in Siemens NX
2. Start Manufacturing (CAM) in Siemens NX
3. Define coordinate systems, tools, operations and toolpaths
4. Verify using basic built in verification in NX
5. Export G-code using HAAS 3-axis postprocessor (format is .pui)
6. Import the g-code to the HAAS machine
7. Press Start Cycle and hope for the best.

If possible I would like to follow these same steps on the 5-axis Milltap (using DMG 5-axis postprocessor of course)
 
In general that flow should work. I might suggest having a verification run that is based on the posted code. Toolpaths sim ahead of the post won't run exactly the same as posted code will given your post could be adding or altering some items.

Haven't done a post for a Mill/Tap but I imagine there isn't anything involved in the machine/control that someone couldn't handle in an NX post.
 
Thank you for the reply, on our other machines we follow these steps:
1. Design in Siemens NX
2. Start Manufacturing (CAM) in Siemens NX
3. Define coordinate systems, tools, operations and toolpaths
4. Verify using basic built in verification in NX
5. Export G-code using HAAS 3-axis postprocessor (format is .pui)
6. Import the g-code to the HAAS machine
7. Press Start Cycle and hope for the best.

If possible I would like to follow these same steps on the 5-axis Milltap (using DMG 5-axis postprocessor of course)

So you'll need an NX post processor for the MillTap 700, which should be straightforward as these have a Siemens control, and NX is made by... Siemens. They have base Siemens control post processors in both Post Builder (the old post-processor authoring environment) and Post Configurator (the new one). Your NX VAR can help out, or you can hit the NX forums, or their online post processor list, or hire it out to one of the independent NX gurus.
 
So you'll need an NX post processor for the MillTap 700, which should be straightforward as these have a Siemens control, and NX is made by... Siemens. They have base Siemens control post processors in both Post Builder (the old post-processor authoring environment) and Post Configurator (the new one). Your NX VAR can help out, or you can hit the NX forums, or their online post processor list, or hire it out to one of the independent NX gurus.

This might seem obvious to some but as I am new to the world of post processor development and machine simulation I didn't know this:
Siemens has a "Post Hub" ( https://posthub.sws.siemens.com/ ) which is an online database of all their post processors and machine kits. It is free to join and I highly recommend that anyone who is struggling to find software for their machine start there.
This way you can also see who specialises in posts for your machine make - CAx Services India specialises in DMG Mori apparently.

But the search for a 5-axis DMG Mori Milltap 700 post continues.

Maybe I should just try to run it off the standard NX 5-Axis post. But this could be a VERY expensive experiment.
 
But the search for a 5-axis DMG Mori Milltap 700 post continues.

Maybe I should just try to run it off the standard NX 5-Axis post. But this could be a VERY expensive experiment.

The thing is, you are on NX, and in NX land - everything is $$$. This isn't Fusion with a friendly community of hobbiests and garage guys and owner operator nerds who like to do stuff and post it for free. NX is the big gun used by the Fortune 500 level guys, and so everyone in the ecosystem is here to get fuckin' paid.

You might be OK if you were on a common 5 Axis machine. Haas posts are all damn near free, as are some DMG Mori machines that are wildly popular in Europe. The more esoteric the machine tool, the harder it is going to be to fin an NX post for it right out of the box. The MillTap 700 was sort of a dog that didn't hunt for DMG Mori. 2 years after it was out, and my local DMG dealer was trying to move them for $35k (a $120k new machine). I don't think the USA ever got the 5 axis one outside of catalog pictures, but I cannot imagine it would fare any bette in other markets.

You can probably roll your own - I would go with PostBuilder instead of the newer Post Configurator. The out-of-the-box Siemens control 5 axis post should get you most of the way to something that runs on your machine, and then it is just getting into the nerdy details of things like coolant handling, offsets, cycle codes, etc etc (most of which is probably already done for you in the basic NX post). Learning the post modifications aren't that hard, just a language called TCL that has been around since Jesus ran a Deckel 3000 years ago.
 
The thing is, you are on NX, and in NX land - everything is $$$. This isn't Fusion with a friendly community of hobbiests and garage guys and owner operator nerds who like to do stuff and post it for free. NX is the big gun used by the Fortune 500 level guys, and so everyone in the ecosystem is here to get fuckin' paid.

You might be OK if you were on a common 5 Axis machine. Haas posts are all damn near free, as are some DMG Mori machines that are wildly popular in Europe. The more esoteric the machine tool, the harder it is going to be to fin an NX post for it right out of the box. The MillTap 700 was sort of a dog that didn't hunt for DMG Mori. 2 years after it was out, and my local DMG dealer was trying to move them for $35k (a $120k new machine). I don't think the USA ever got the 5 axis one outside of catalog pictures, but I cannot imagine it would fare any bette in other markets.

You can probably roll your own - I would go with PostBuilder instead of the newer Post Configurator. The out-of-the-box Siemens control 5 axis post should get you most of the way to something that runs on your machine, and then it is just getting into the nerdy details of things like coolant handling, offsets, cycle codes, etc etc (most of which is probably already done for you in the basic NX post). Learning the post modifications aren't that hard, just a language called TCL that has been around since Jesus ran a Deckel 3000 years ago.


First of all, kudos, you're a funny guy. Secondly, an update:

It's hard to believe that Siemens built the ovens of Auswitz since it seems that they are turning into the thing they hated most. Slap a Siemens badge on it and charge triple + tax.
Although not free (or cheap) Siemens has been of help, most other companies simply ignored my emails. Anyone who happens to stumble upon this thread while struggling with postprocessors for NX - I know a guy - [email protected]. After a brief awkward moment where I had to confess to still using NX 4 he helped me out with a post and a virtual machine with a one month free trial period.
 








 
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