work piece shift , rotate wpc about C axis.

Hello all,
one of our Integrex machines is an e1850V ( very cool machine ! ).
In mazatrol we use WPC shift alot so the WPC can be rotated around the C axis.
Can this be done in eia ISO ?
I thought about writing a macro which could be put into our GibbsCAM post to be posted in ISO programs to allow this to happen , but was wondering if anyone had done this , or if there is a mazak ISO command that I have not found yet.
I am wanting to be able to rotate WPC about C axis ( so job does not have to be in an exact postion on table ) . It is not 3d co-ord rotation ( G68 ) that I am asking about.

nzmazakman

Dynamic compensation option. I think it worth about 5-600$ we have made a Excel macro in place and use it even on vertical or horizontal milling center.

You have to write macro to calculate WPC change around your C axis .
Ask you Mazak supplier. he should have one, or at least one for Variaxis and simply change it by shooting the line about A axis rotation !

Dynamic compensation is for machining with continous C axis move.

Our mazak supplier will not be able to supply a macro. Not their area of expertise at all.
I will write one when I get the time. We are wary about running EIA on our e1850V anyway.
(http://integrexmachinist.com/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=13&topic=618)
but I was wanting to do the same with our Variaxis machines. Have not had a bad experience with EIA on them yet !

I am pretty sure you can use g68 to offset the origin just like wpc shift just dont use an angle for I,J, or K What about using a c-axis comp.

Hey NZmazakMan,

I'm looking at putting in an FMS with a linear pallet pool and about the only thing that makes me want to stick with Mazak it the Variaxis.

I want to install a 500mm horizontal and a 500mm Variaxis so I can share the same pallet robot. Prices are cheap enough that I could easily go with 2 variaxis machines and get the capabilities of a couple vertical turret lathes as well. I have a pretty decent percentage of larger diameter parts that would be nicer to turn than to helically interpolate.

I'm concerned though about chip flow. Essentially the variaxis is a vertical mill, but I could take a bit of time to flip the table and dump the chips. Naturally the chips fall out of a horizontal mill, but I can't turn with it.

How long does it take to flip your table and go back to work, or can you do that on the variaxis?

Given the choice, which would you prefer?

Thanks,

Stu

Hi Stu,
good idea to put in an FMS pallatech systems. We have two FH8800 machines both linked to a 12 pallet pallatech. Works great.
To flip table on variaxis very quick. maybe one or two seconds.
Our tables flip in A , and rotate in C before pallet change to clear swarf around clamping area of pallet.
The swarf conveyor is very wide too so plenty of room for swarf to get out.
Our Variaxis 730 , and 630 do not have the turn function though so not sure what they are like for turning. You are right though , turning is better than milling if alot of your parts are round.
Only trouble we have with variaxis is they are not rigid for roughing.
We use feed mills to rough parts smoothly , but vibration still causes A axis encoder to trip out with 31 servo alarm. A axis is clamped , and is not being moved but vibration still trips it out very easily. This happens on both our 630 and 730.
Other than that , they are great machines for multi face machining of parts. We could do with more of them as we keep doing more and more of our jobs on the Variaxis and less the old way on small VTC machines.
Do you have any Variaxis machines in your area that you could see running ? You can come check ours out but we are in NZ so a bit of a trip !

Hi guy's,

Sorry to jump into your conversation lads. I don't run an Integrex, but we have a variaxis with turning option, very nice machine tool but with alot of options missing like : 3d co-ord rotation(G68) & dynamic comp. (G54.2) So the boys here from Mazak wrote a macro which calculates WPCshift in ISO, and the best thing about it is that we can still run our Hi-speed machining mode (G5 P2)-which you can't with G68 or G54.2
It uses one work offset (G54) as your original work piece touch off point, and as you shift and rotate your work piece it calculates the trig and updates the local co-ord figures into another(G55), very simple yet very clever!
With a bit of editing i'm positive you would be able to run it on your Integrex.
NZmazakMan forward me your email and i'll send it to you.

Hi aeromis,
my email is:
nzmazakman@gmail.com
Thanks for helping out ! I appreciate it.
We have found the cause of the A axis tripping out when machining. It is the lightweight bayonet plugs that plug into the encoder. Any small vibration on these plugs causes them to lose their connection. We have removed plugs and hard wired encoders to the machine. We also had to do Z axis as it tripped out also. We were only running 0.5mm depth cuts with 20mm dia cutters at low feed and the machines were still tripping out regularly. This happened on both our 730 and 630. I would be interested to know if any other Variaxis guys have had the same problem.
aeromis , is your machine rigid when turning ? I would love to have one with the turn option in our shop !
Sounds like you get good backup support from your mazak dealer.

I am interested in the WPC shift macro, can someone send it to me? cp@alliedm.com