Just thought I might add my opinion having used and purchased probing for over 30 years in 5 different countries, my experiences might be useful to other.
I’ve used varying probing systems (Blum, Marposs & Renishaw) and found them all to have their good and bad points but always prefer to purchase Renishaw due their larger product range and better coverage for support in the area’s I have worked.
I have used Renishaw software and found it fine for my application and have always managed to get it free of charge, In the UK where I am currently working you will get easyset & easycycle (cycle called from Mazak Mazatrol programs) free of charge if you ask Renishaw, and yes you will need inspection plus already on the machine for these free of charge “add on” to run but does anyone pay list price for this software? I do feel I need to correct a few statements in the previous post:
1) How can easyset have any nesting level issues when it’s suppose to be running from MDI?
2) I have never come across any nesting level problems yet using Renishaw software, I guess if you call a program you have created using a G65 when you should be using M98 they maybe.
3) Having looked into the easyset macro it applies the tool offset for you.
4) Having just opened up the SNR user guide I cannot see it being any easier or any more difficult then what Renishaw offers, most things are easy in the creator’s eyes!
5) The SNR software maybe great in his opinion, but I’ll stick to the probe manufactures software if only for the support they give and they must have teams of software engineers in the UK, Germany & Italy ensuring the software is safe and works the varying control I’m now seeing.
6) I’ve just taken delivery of Renishaw Aepro CAM software which is in my opinion is the direction I need to be going with probing as all my new programs that I’m generating are created from my CAM system, a nice little touch from Renishaw is they supply easyprobe on the machine free of charge to allow the operator to use the program as well.
Davestanworth,
I really appreciate the fact that, although after a while, you decided to response to my post and publication of the SNR Basic. I am specially honoured as your first apperance on this forum was stimulated by me. Nevertheless I am quite surprized that your response is offensive rather then productively critical. When I decided to publish the SNR Basic here, my intension was to give members of this forum the possibility to use free of charge, easy to use set of probing macro routines. I did not force anybody to use it or prefare it over any other option.
This closes the courtesy part of my answer. Now to the facts.
1. Easy Set adds one level of nesting. It's manual does not mention in any place that it is intended for MDI usage. Majority of HAAS owners, the biggest user of the Easy set in the world, who are fed with it even without their knowledge, use the G65P9023 A.... commands planted in their production programs. And additional level of nesting causes problems, specially in cell systems.
2. I realy do appreciate your many years of professional record as mentioned by you in your post. But the fact that you did not ever had a problem with nesting depth does not mean that the problem does not exist. I experienced it in many cases. One was with Renishaws non contact tool setting "software" when I was forced to write the whole thing from scrap. This was really difficult task, as I had to figure out how the NCi4 interface works during the "drip rejection" process, and of course Renishaw did not supply any information. But I did it and many NC3's and NC4's are working with my set of macros ( I am refraining from calling macro programs "software"). Of course, "per definitio", this set uses no macro nesting in all.
3. Unfortunately wrong. As stated before, Easy set is just application program. It addresses to standard Renishaw tool setting software, which must be purchased. Not by you of course. You somehow (your words) always got it free. But majority of users pay for it.
4,5. Of course I like and am proud of SNR Basic. It is my baby. It works very nice and is free.
6. The problem of combining probing activities during the process of cutting, which becomes more and more popular because of process control demands, forces the CAM suppliers to cope. The Renishaws Productivity+, with such enthusiasm promoted by you (one could believe that you are undercover Renishaw guy) is not giving any solution, as whatever its outcome is, it must be manually planted in CAM generated G-code program.
Some CAM suppliers have already solution, which addresses the probing instructions to Renishaws Inspection Plus, resident in machines control. Just recently I was contacted by one of leading CAM suppliers. They wished to go the mentioned way (using Inspection Plus). But then they realized that they will have to force their customers to purchase the "software" from Renishaw (not all are lucky to get everything free of charge). So this guys came to me and asked me to write the comprehensive set of macros to fulfill all kind of setting, measuring and reporting tasks. This set will be supplied by them as one block with probing module in their CAM. This set of macros is ready and the whole system is undergoing final tests. Many customers are enxiously waiting for the release.
So as you see, I am not only arguing , but also doing some productive things. Nevertheless I still appreciate your post. Maybe it will ignite some discussion on the forum. Ennormous amount of great minds participate here and one can learn a lot just from reading the exchange of ideas.
Welcome to forum and be well.
PROBE