Dual Station Vise Posting g-Code?

Hello all.
I couldn't find a answer to this issue, and before I throw some brain power into it, I thought I would ask.
How are you programming and or posting code for dual station vises, where the back part needs to rotated or mirrored to keep correct zero datum.
I have been posting for 1 part, and doing all the work in the CAM software, but it gets big and laborious.
I just bought rotation and scaling for all my machines, but didnt think about how i was going to get the corrected code, and now it seems more laborious to use G68
than to do it in CAM as I was, waste of money it seems now.
Here is what I have been doing:
-CAM has operations programmed for 1 single part.
-A NEWWFO(54) piece of code has been added to the first operation with a different tool.
This adds a G54 in post gcode once the first operation with this tool is called.
-then I copy/rotate these operations
-all the copy rotate operations also have a G54 at the first operation with a different tool,
I change all these G54's to G55
-In the machine I grab the G54 on the first vice location as normal.
-I grab the G55 in the rotated location of the G54 on the second jaw location.

Any better ways?

This is going to be highly dependent on what CAM package you have. Many have an option to transform/translate toolpaths

As hardplates said. In MCX I would use transform/rotate and check the box for WCS = assign new.

Also, with the MCX transform, you can do it by op order or op type. Op type would do all the say facing passes for each work offset, then the next toolpath thru all offsets, etc.

Pretty sure in FeatureCAM you can create a new coordinate system that is rotated 180 about the old one and then move it away just to avoid the clutter, then once you have your G55 system, highlight everything in the tree under G45, COP, and paste under G55.

This is one of the many "simple" features that people forget to compare when CAM shopping. People get so caught up in the fancy stuff they forget about simple shit that really does matter.

Pretty sure in FeatureCAM you can create a new coordinate system that is rotated 180 about the old one and then move it away just to avoid the clutter, then once you have your G55 system, highlight everything in the tree under G45, COP, and paste under G55.

Click to expand...

Featurecam is the Rolls Royce of quick multiple fixtures setup. In the OPs case I would save the part then rotate it 180 then translate to the wcs and save as a seperate part then just run the multiple fixture wizard with both part files opened. Maybe 3-4 minutes tops for this including the tool change optimization.

Even the tutorial is only 5 minutes because it's so simple.
Working with Multiple Fixtures in First Frame within FeatureCAM - YouTube

This is one of the many "simple" features that people forget to compare when CAM shopping. People get so caught up in the fancy stuff they forget about simple shit that really does matter.

Click to expand...

Absolutely.

I use GibbsCAM, and there are ways to make copies of the Operations with rotations applied, then add correct WCS to standard and rotated operation accordingly, but this is what I stated was time consuming.
Especially If you need a handful of operations changed, If you had 7 tools for a total of say 12 operation for a part. then my 2 double station vises would be 4 WCS's
that would total 48 operations, I dont need to modify every operation, but enough that its time consuming.

I did find a 30 second work around, phew!

I post the standard 1 single part programmed in CAM, but on the post processor output I select 4 parts with WCS's
In my posted Gcode it post's
G54
sub program
G55
subprogram.......you get it

In my Gcode editor I made 8 macros that replace each WCS with a
G5#
G68X0.Y0. R180.

Then I made 8 macros that replace each WCS with
G69
G5#

Now I just post code for 1 part from my CAM, click the odd macros for the rotated work coordinates, and the subsequent G69 macros for the WC after them to cancel the rotations

Takes about 20-30 seconds, and I dont have a huge CAM program with a bunch of rotated ops and WC's, .....

Thanks for your help guys.
CHEERS

Houdini16 said:

I use GibbsCAM, and there are ways to make copies of the Operations with rotations applied, then add correct WCS to standard and rotated operation accordingly, but this is what I stated was time consuming.
Especially If you need a handful of operations changed, If you had 7 tools for a total of say 12 operation for a part. then my 2 double station vises would be 4 WCS's
that would total 48 operations, I dont need to modify every operation, but enough that its time consuming.

I did find a 30 second work around, phew!

I post the standard 1 single part programmed in CAM, but on the post processor output I select 4 parts with WCS's
In my posted Gcode it post's
G54
sub program
G55
subprogram.......you get it

In my Gcode editor I made 8 macros that replace each WCS with a
G5#
G68X0.Y0. R180.

Then I made 8 macros that replace each WCS with
G69
G5#

Now I just post code for 1 part from my CAM, click the odd macros for the rotated work coordinates, and the subsequent G69 macros for the WC after them to cancel the rotations

Takes about 20-30 seconds, and I dont have a huge CAM program with a bunch of rotated ops and WC's, .....

Thanks for your help guys.
CHEERS

Click to expand...

Thats a nice work around but does it complete a whole part (Multiple tool changes) before going to the next or does it run the op on each part before changing tools? That seems like a lot of subs to get an efficient run time if you have more than one tool.

g-coder05 said:

Thats a nice work around but does it complete a whole part (Multiple tool changes) before going to the next or does it run the op on each part before changing tools? That seems like a lot of subs to get an efficient run time if you have more than one tool.

Click to expand...

My post processor selection has options of how many parts?,use WC's or evenly spaced, if evenly spaced how far apart,
All Parts 1 Tool or All Tools 1 Part.
So I just choose how many parts, All Parts 1 Tool, So it will machine all the parts then change to the next tool.
it has as many sub programs as a standard multi work coordinate post, it just has rotations added before the WC's I want rotated.

Best part is now I only have 1 CAM program that has 1 single part in it, but I can post any configuration, whether 1 part in a MiniMill, 3 parts in a VF2
or 6 parts in a VF2 with Dbl Station vises, or a custom fixture of 12.

Too add to this, for my newer guys I just made macros, that run the macros for what ever type of standard setup we may use.
Some times we have 6 parts, 3 of them are in the back/rotated position, they are usually the odd WC's
so I just made a Macro called 6 part rear rotated.
we do some small parts where there are 2 parts per jaw so a total of 12 parts with 3 dbl vises,
we usually have 1 WC per part(so they can be moved)and 2 WC per jaw, So 54,55 jaw1 (56,57 jaw 2 rotated).......
So I made a Macro "12 parts 2 per jaw rears rotated"
that 1 macro rotates the WC's, and adds in the rotation cancellations after them, all in 1 mouse click.
I made one of these all inclusive macros for each of our standard setups in DBL station vises.

g-coder05 said:

Featurecam is the Rolls Royce of quick multiple fixtures setup. In the OPs case I would save the part then rotate it 180 then translate to the wcs and save as a seperate part then just run the multiple fixture wizard with both part files opened. Maybe 3-4 minutes tops for this including the tool change optimization.

Even the tutorial is only 5 minutes because it's so simple.
Working with Multiple Fixtures in First Frame within FeatureCAM - YouTube




Absolutely.

Click to expand...

Having used powermill, partmaker, NX, a little mastercam, and FeatureCAM I agree. Multiple fixture and Tombstone are great. The multi fixture even works with parts on a 4th axis rotary turning about center. It's not the best for complex toolpaths, but for the simple stuff up to 4+1 or 3 + 2 I have not seen anything simpler or faster.

I dunno, maybe it's early, but OP's solution with macros and subs sounds confusing. In Mastercam (which he doesn't use...) I can easily select different types of transforms (rotate/transform/translate/by nci, by order, etc) and re-post as needed... But hey if OP got it figured out, more power.

Mike1974 said:

I dunno, maybe it's early, but OP's solution with macros and subs sounds confusing. In Mastercam (which he doesn't use...) I can easily select different types of transforms (rotate/transform/translate/by nci, by order, etc) and re-post as needed... But hey if OP got it figured out, more power.

Click to expand...

Same here with SolidCAM. Everyone has their own programing style, what is most important is that you do what works for you and are consistent in how you do it.