Create Setup Sheets and NC Programs for milling

00:02

Create setup sheets and NC programs for milling.

00:06

After completing this video, you'll be able to

00:08

create an NC program, create a setup sheet and post process tool baths

00:14

in fusion. Let's get started with the supply data set.

00:17

CM three X tool pass programmed mm dot F 3D.

00:22

At this point, we have a design, we have a setup,

00:24

we have tool paths that are used to machine the material.

00:28

Now we need to transfer that data so that it can

00:30

be used at AC NC machine to cut a physical part.

00:33

Now there are a couple of steps to this process

00:35

and the first of which starts with an NC program

00:38

from our setup. Drop down. We're gonna select create NC program.

00:43

An NC program is going to be a container of sorts.

00:46

It will connect data between the tool pass that we've created in fusion

00:50

as well as a post processor that will convert that data

00:53

to machine readable code for a specific machine or controller.

00:57

This also gives us the ability to select the operations we want

00:60

and configure some post properties.

01:02

The first thing that we need to do is select a post.

01:05

Now remember if you have selected a machine in your setup,

01:08

there will automatically be a post associated with that.

01:11

What we're going to do is select the open icon.

01:13

This will allow us to navigate through posts.

01:15

If you have any modified post or downloaded post,

01:19

they should be stored in your my post cloud section.

01:22

There are also some linked posts,

01:24

but in this case, we're going to focus on fusion library.

01:28

We're gonna take a look at capabilities first,

01:30

sorting by milling and then sorting by vendor.

01:33

For this example, I'm gonna use Hoss automation,

01:35

but you can take a look at any of the post processors available

01:39

inside of here.

01:40

There are a couple of different options and things that we would want to identify

01:44

for

01:45

hoss.

01:45

You can see here that there is a next GEN control

01:48

which has inspect surface and there's a one below it called Hoss

01:52

nextgen

01:52

control.

01:53

This next GEN controller NGC is going to be the one that we're taking a look at.

01:57

This is typically used on things like U MC machines that have multi

02:01

access.

02:02

We'll select this

02:03

and note that it's asking me to copy this post to my post.

02:07

We have a cloud location or we can choose another location.

02:11

But once again,

02:11

storing your tool libraries as well as your posts on the cloud means

02:15

that they'll be available no matter where you log in to fusion,

02:18

we're gonna copy to my posts and now we can take a look at our program.

02:22

The information here for name, number, file,

02:24

name and comment come directly from our setup.

02:27

They can be changed at this time.

02:28

We can also dictate where we want our NC program to be saved.

02:32

We can post it to fusion team if you want to store it in your project.

02:35

And we can also open it in an editor.

02:38

I'm using a Windows machine. And by default, this will open in visual studio code

02:43

unless you specified a different post editor inside of your user preferences.

02:48

On the right hand side, we've got post properties.

02:51

These are things like turning on and off chip transport,

02:54

whether or not we're using an A B or C axis

02:57

or if there's any other preferences that we want to control.

03:00

For our example, we're gonna leave everything as default.

03:03

But note that it is a good idea whenever you're using a post processor

03:07

to make sure that you go through these settings and validate which

03:10

ones you need to have on and which ones can be off

03:13

next. We're going to go to the operations tab

03:16

in the operations tab.

03:17

This is where we're gonna select tool paths that we want to include.

03:20

We can bring the entire setup or even

03:22

multiple setups if they're using different work offsets.

03:25

And we can also toggle on just individual tool paths.

03:29

On the right hand side, we're gonna see everything that's going to be posted.

03:32

In this case, it shows a work off set of one. And for our hos

03:35

machine that's G 54

03:37

shows us which tools we're using.

03:39

And there's an option here that we can reorder to minimize tool changes.

03:43

This only works if we're using multiple setups.

03:46

And remember that we do need to have multiple work offsets.

03:49

When we're using those multiple setups,

03:51

we're gonna select. OK?

03:53

And now we've created an NC program,

03:55

I'm gonna select the NC program and I'm gonna call this setup one

03:59

while we never renamed the setup in this design.

04:02

It is important that we make sure we identify

04:05

which setups are included inside of our NC programs.

04:08

You can always right click, go back and edit those.

04:11

But keep in mind that just simply naming your setups as

04:14

well as naming your NC programs is a great first step.

04:18

Once all of our tool paths are included,

04:20

now we can right click on our setup and we can either post

04:23

process to generate our G code or we can create a setup sheet.

04:27

I'm gonna start first by creating a setup sheet.

04:30

A setup sheet is a document that is taken with our NC program

04:34

and it's provided to the machine operator.

04:37

We need to store it in a location.

04:39

In this case, I have a sub folder called setup sheets and we're gonna place it there.

04:45

Once the setup sheet has opened, we have some configuration options

04:49

by default. A detailed setup sheet will be created,

04:52

but we can create a tools only setup sheet

04:55

or we can create compact versions that exclude images.

04:58

For example, we're gonna use detailed and note at the top right,

05:01

we do have a print option

05:03

as we scroll down.

05:04

There's going to be a summary section which gives us a

05:06

general overview about the design that's used product version and time.

05:11

The number of tools,

05:12

the number of tool pass the minimum and maximum values for things like Z

05:17

and our feed rate values.

05:19

As we scroll down, we'll get a detailed list of our tools telling us the tool number,

05:23

the offset values, the number of flutes, the general tool parameters,

05:27

as well as some of the important things that we have such as the tool offsets.

05:32

When we're setting up a tool inside of fusion.

05:35

It's important to remember that there is going

05:37

to be a physical variation of that tool.

05:39

We need to make sure that the digital and the physical tools match

05:43

as we scroll down. You can see here that we've got our setup information,

05:47

our stock size, the location of our coordinate system

05:50

and the W CS number.

05:52

And below that, we're gonna have information about the specific tool pass

05:56

the operation, the type of tool path. If we've renamed it,

06:00

we've got information about which W CS is being used,

06:03

tolerant settings stock to leave.

06:06

And the general information about the spindle speed feed rate,

06:09

rapid distance and so on

06:11

So again,

06:12

all this information is important and critical to

06:15

setting up the program at the machine.

06:17

If you simply take an NC program or the generated G code to a machine,

06:21

you're not going to have the information about where to put your stock,

06:24

what size stock and what tools are needed

06:27

next. Let's go ahead and right. Click on our setup and select post process.

06:31

If you have any post processed files or dot NC

06:35

files in the same folder with the same name.

06:37

It'll ask you if you need to overwrite them

06:40

because I use 1001 and 1002 as the sort of default values.

06:44

I'm simply going to say yes and allow it to overwrite.

06:46

But in general, you would want to keep a single copy

06:50

next as we go through here,

06:51

you'll note that we have information about the program

06:55

number as well as the test at the top.

06:57

The tools that are being used and the tool paths

07:00

keep in mind that when you're using programs like visual studio code,

07:04

there are extensions that can be used.

07:06

The extensions that can be used include extensions for fusions,

07:10

post processor utility.

07:12

There are potentially going to be some

07:14

problems when you're running in restricted mode.

07:16

In my case with visual studio code, I'm going to trust this post process code

07:21

and that's going to change the colorization of the outputted NC file.

07:25

This means that we're now seeing Z as a red value

07:29

and the X and Y values are shown in yellow.

07:31

We have feed rate values for this first tool path.

07:34

The coordinate system reference is G 54 and the basic

07:38

references for things like the spindle speed and its direction.

07:41

So it's a good idea to make sure that you do give a quick once over

07:45

to different areas of your code to make sure that you are calling the correct tools,

07:49

the correct coordinate system.

07:51

And you can get an information about things like the Z position.

07:55

When you're getting started,

07:56

once you're happy with the MC code,

07:59

you can take this on a jump drive or a live connection to your machine

08:02

and you can begin setting it up and getting ready to run your parts

08:06

at

08:06

this point.

08:07

We've taken a look at all the steps in the

08:09

process of setting up programming and validating our CNC programs.

08:14

Make sure that you spend enough time playing around with different models,

08:17

generating various tool paths, identifying any problems in simulation

08:22

and creating setup sheets and NC programs.

08:24

So that way you can take them to a physical machine and begin machining actual parts.

08:28

Make sure that after you're done that you do have

08:30

everything saved before you move on to any next steps.

Video transcript

00:02

Create setup sheets and NC programs for milling.

00:06

After completing this video, you'll be able to

00:08

create an NC program, create a setup sheet and post process tool baths

00:14

in fusion. Let's get started with the supply data set.

00:17

CM three X tool pass programmed mm dot F 3D.

00:22

At this point, we have a design, we have a setup,

00:24

we have tool paths that are used to machine the material.

00:28

Now we need to transfer that data so that it can

00:30

be used at AC NC machine to cut a physical part.

00:33

Now there are a couple of steps to this process

00:35

and the first of which starts with an NC program

00:38

from our setup. Drop down. We're gonna select create NC program.

00:43

An NC program is going to be a container of sorts.

00:46

It will connect data between the tool pass that we've created in fusion

00:50

as well as a post processor that will convert that data

00:53

to machine readable code for a specific machine or controller.

00:57

This also gives us the ability to select the operations we want

00:60

and configure some post properties.

01:02

The first thing that we need to do is select a post.

01:05

Now remember if you have selected a machine in your setup,

01:08

there will automatically be a post associated with that.

01:11

What we're going to do is select the open icon.

01:13

This will allow us to navigate through posts.

01:15

If you have any modified post or downloaded post,

01:19

they should be stored in your my post cloud section.

01:22

There are also some linked posts,

01:24

but in this case, we're going to focus on fusion library.

01:28

We're gonna take a look at capabilities first,

01:30

sorting by milling and then sorting by vendor.

01:33

For this example, I'm gonna use Hoss automation,

01:35

but you can take a look at any of the post processors available

01:39

inside of here.

01:40

There are a couple of different options and things that we would want to identify

01:44

for

01:45

hoss.

01:45

You can see here that there is a next GEN control

01:48

which has inspect surface and there's a one below it called Hoss

01:52

nextgen

01:52

control.

01:53

This next GEN controller NGC is going to be the one that we're taking a look at.

01:57

This is typically used on things like U MC machines that have multi

02:01

access.

02:02

We'll select this

02:03

and note that it's asking me to copy this post to my post.

02:07

We have a cloud location or we can choose another location.

02:11

But once again,

02:11

storing your tool libraries as well as your posts on the cloud means

02:15

that they'll be available no matter where you log in to fusion,

02:18

we're gonna copy to my posts and now we can take a look at our program.

02:22

The information here for name, number, file,

02:24

name and comment come directly from our setup.

02:27

They can be changed at this time.

02:28

We can also dictate where we want our NC program to be saved.

02:32

We can post it to fusion team if you want to store it in your project.

02:35

And we can also open it in an editor.

02:38

I'm using a Windows machine. And by default, this will open in visual studio code

02:43

unless you specified a different post editor inside of your user preferences.

02:48

On the right hand side, we've got post properties.

02:51

These are things like turning on and off chip transport,

02:54

whether or not we're using an A B or C axis

02:57

or if there's any other preferences that we want to control.

03:00

For our example, we're gonna leave everything as default.

03:03

But note that it is a good idea whenever you're using a post processor

03:07

to make sure that you go through these settings and validate which

03:10

ones you need to have on and which ones can be off

03:13

next. We're going to go to the operations tab

03:16

in the operations tab.

03:17

This is where we're gonna select tool paths that we want to include.

03:20

We can bring the entire setup or even

03:22

multiple setups if they're using different work offsets.

03:25

And we can also toggle on just individual tool paths.

03:29

On the right hand side, we're gonna see everything that's going to be posted.

03:32

In this case, it shows a work off set of one. And for our hos

03:35

machine that's G 54

03:37

shows us which tools we're using.

03:39

And there's an option here that we can reorder to minimize tool changes.

03:43

This only works if we're using multiple setups.

03:46

And remember that we do need to have multiple work offsets.

03:49

When we're using those multiple setups,

03:51

we're gonna select. OK?

03:53

And now we've created an NC program,

03:55

I'm gonna select the NC program and I'm gonna call this setup one

03:59

while we never renamed the setup in this design.

04:02

It is important that we make sure we identify

04:05

which setups are included inside of our NC programs.

04:08

You can always right click, go back and edit those.

04:11

But keep in mind that just simply naming your setups as

04:14

well as naming your NC programs is a great first step.

04:18

Once all of our tool paths are included,

04:20

now we can right click on our setup and we can either post

04:23

process to generate our G code or we can create a setup sheet.

04:27

I'm gonna start first by creating a setup sheet.

04:30

A setup sheet is a document that is taken with our NC program

04:34

and it's provided to the machine operator.

04:37

We need to store it in a location.

04:39

In this case, I have a sub folder called setup sheets and we're gonna place it there.

04:45

Once the setup sheet has opened, we have some configuration options

04:49

by default. A detailed setup sheet will be created,

04:52

but we can create a tools only setup sheet

04:55

or we can create compact versions that exclude images.

04:58

For example, we're gonna use detailed and note at the top right,

05:01

we do have a print option

05:03

as we scroll down.

05:04

There's going to be a summary section which gives us a

05:06

general overview about the design that's used product version and time.

05:11

The number of tools,

05:12

the number of tool pass the minimum and maximum values for things like Z

05:17

and our feed rate values.

05:19

As we scroll down, we'll get a detailed list of our tools telling us the tool number,

05:23

the offset values, the number of flutes, the general tool parameters,

05:27

as well as some of the important things that we have such as the tool offsets.

05:32

When we're setting up a tool inside of fusion.

05:35

It's important to remember that there is going

05:37

to be a physical variation of that tool.

05:39

We need to make sure that the digital and the physical tools match

05:43

as we scroll down. You can see here that we've got our setup information,

05:47

our stock size, the location of our coordinate system

05:50

and the W CS number.

05:52

And below that, we're gonna have information about the specific tool pass

05:56

the operation, the type of tool path. If we've renamed it,

06:00

we've got information about which W CS is being used,

06:03

tolerant settings stock to leave.

06:06

And the general information about the spindle speed feed rate,

06:09

rapid distance and so on

06:11

So again,

06:12

all this information is important and critical to

06:15

setting up the program at the machine.

06:17

If you simply take an NC program or the generated G code to a machine,

06:21

you're not going to have the information about where to put your stock,

06:24

what size stock and what tools are needed

06:27

next. Let's go ahead and right. Click on our setup and select post process.

06:31

If you have any post processed files or dot NC

06:35

files in the same folder with the same name.

06:37

It'll ask you if you need to overwrite them

06:40

because I use 1001 and 1002 as the sort of default values.

06:44

I'm simply going to say yes and allow it to overwrite.

06:46

But in general, you would want to keep a single copy

06:50

next as we go through here,

06:51

you'll note that we have information about the program

06:55

number as well as the test at the top.

06:57

The tools that are being used and the tool paths

07:00

keep in mind that when you're using programs like visual studio code,

07:04

there are extensions that can be used.

07:06

The extensions that can be used include extensions for fusions,

07:10

post processor utility.

07:12

There are potentially going to be some

07:14

problems when you're running in restricted mode.

07:16

In my case with visual studio code, I'm going to trust this post process code

07:21

and that's going to change the colorization of the outputted NC file.

07:25

This means that we're now seeing Z as a red value

07:29

and the X and Y values are shown in yellow.

07:31

We have feed rate values for this first tool path.

07:34

The coordinate system reference is G 54 and the basic

07:38

references for things like the spindle speed and its direction.

07:41

So it's a good idea to make sure that you do give a quick once over

07:45

to different areas of your code to make sure that you are calling the correct tools,

07:49

the correct coordinate system.

07:51

And you can get an information about things like the Z position.

07:55

When you're getting started,

07:56

once you're happy with the MC code,

07:59

you can take this on a jump drive or a live connection to your machine

08:02

and you can begin setting it up and getting ready to run your parts

08:06

at

08:06

this point.

08:07

We've taken a look at all the steps in the

08:09

process of setting up programming and validating our CNC programs.

08:14

Make sure that you spend enough time playing around with different models,

08:17

generating various tool paths, identifying any problems in simulation

08:22

and creating setup sheets and NC programs.

08:24

So that way you can take them to a physical machine and begin machining actual parts.

08:28

Make sure that after you're done that you do have

08:30

everything saved before you move on to any next steps.

After completing this video, you’ll be able to:

  • Create an NC program.
  • Create a setup sheet.
  • Post Process toolpaths.

Video quiz

What does Post Process on an NCProgram create?

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Step-by-step guide

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