Kentech Inc. is pleased to announce the release of the Runtime Calculator (RTC) feature for KipwareCYC® – Machining Cycletime Estimating Software.
RTC is designed to allow users to quickly and easily calculate total hours … total days … and total labor costs for production runs from 1 to 1 million.
RTC can be used as a stand alone application with manual data entry … or users can import previously created KipwareCYC® cycletime estimates and KipwareQTE® machine database information for more automated and accurate calculations.
Below is a screenshot illustrating the available user inputs and options available in RTC.
Please view the animated release video below for additional information and to view RTC in action.
Whether used as a stand alone application … or as a fully and seamlessly integrated application with KipwareCYC® and KipwareQTE® … RTC will provide users with accurate and consistent delivery and production data for scheduling or quoting.
I read posts in other blogs and this question gets kicked around A LOT. I guess each has his / her own opinion. Mine has been formed from being a 3rd generation machinist … having grown up around and having worked in many machine shops … machining with everything from manual machines to the highest of tech CNC.
If you’re a REAL MACHINIST … aspire to be one … or are just an admirer of the skills and of the trade … this post is for you.
I recently came across this channel on YouTube and I have become a real fan … and a real admirer. Although I grew up and was trained on a lot of the machines illustrated on this channel ( of course with electricity … come on I’m not THAT OLD !! ) the steam power aspect adds a whole new dimension of interest.
Below is just a sample video of Dave Richards videos. I highly recommend you take a peek. WARNING : If you’re a REAL MACHINIST … you’ll be hooked !!
Thanks Dave !!
For the memories of these two guys !!
My Grandad
My Dad
Kenney Skonieczny – President
Kentech Inc.
3rd Generation Class “A” Machinist
We have written a few posts now ranting about how true artisans are being replaced by Artificial Intelligence and how manufacturing may have summoned the demons by over-utilizing complex and “intelligent” software to completely replace the “human factor” ( you can read a post HERE ). That thought was even the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal … of course much more eloquently.
This post is dedicated to some of the ideas and messages highlighted by that article … intermingled with reasons why we feel our Kipware® software is such a great option to combat the “dumbing down” of America.
Have you “drank the CAD/CAM kool aid”? … or in this case embalming fluid?
“Dazzled by our new machines … we’ve been rushing to hand them all sorts of sophisticated jobs that we used to do ourselves. But our growing reliance on computer automation may be exacting a high price. Worrisome evidence suggest that our own intelligence is withering as we become more and more dependent on the artificial variety. Rather than lifting us up, smart software seems to be dumbing us down.”
Let’s take a look at this point referencing manufacturing. It seems that software developers are really keen on making their software more and more complex … and more and more capable of removing the human interaction … after all, that’s what brings in the big bucks. Instead of simply helping the artisan (machinist) step away from the drab and cumbersome tasks … CAD/CAM has striven to take ALL the thought and “human factor” out of the part programming and manufacturing process. The goal of modern software developers is to grow the automation more and more … but these often result in a “lazy and uneventful design that are void of intellect, imagination and emotion” says architecture professor Jacob Brillhart.
When CNC machinery first came along, it was celebrated for it’s ability to make the machining of complex shapes … take an arc for instance … possible. Creating the G code to machine that arc was still in the hands of the artisan. By keeping it in the hands of the artisan, it lent itself to the human interaction … which more often lent itself to new and innovative shapes … more things could be done with that arc. As CAD/CAM has striven to replace ALL human interaction … it has also removed more and more of that “human factor”. More and more, these new and more powerful software are leaving users only with the drab, mindless, less demanding tasks … and the human innovation and human creativity has been removed with the “skill” being built into the computer.
“Yesterdays machine operators are today’s computer operators.”
As the WSJ articulates … take for instance the modern pilot who actually may be losing his edge thanks to the cockpit computer. We have taken so many tasks away from the pilot and shifted it to the “autopilot” … we have started a “skills fade”. In 2007, British aviation researcher Matthew Ebbatson conducted an experiment with a group of airline pilots. He had them perform a difficult maneuver in a flight simulator … bringing a Boeing jet with a crippled engine in for a landing in rough weather. When he compared the simulator readings with the actual aviators flight records … he found a close connection between a pilot’s adroitness at the controls and the amount of time the pilot had recently spent flying planes manually. In other words … when we are forced to perform tasks manually we are more likely to sharpen our skills and our know-how. When software takes over … manual skills wane.
Why is Kipware® Different ?
My belief … in manufacturing … complex software that performs ALL the tasks automatically are to blame for today’s “dumber” shops … and possibly the skills drain that shops are experiencing. Human-focused software … like Kipware® … engages the operator with lots of prompts and pushes people harder to think, act and learn. Our skills develop and get sharper only through practice when we use them regularly. In our recent article I made the point that … programming a rectangular pocket or the roughing of a multi-step shaft is not rocket science … but it is tedious. Kipware® can assist by creating this simpler G code quickly and easily … but it’s imperative that the user have the ability to create that G code manually if he had to. The message … ” I could do it if I had to but it’s faster and more efficient this way.” … must be valid. If the user can’t do it … and is relying on the computer to perform a task he is incapable of … that’s a problem. The pilot having the ability to land the plane if he had to … is a lot different than him relying exclusively on the auto-pilot because he doesn’t know how to land the plane.
Another example … one of many … is that the U.S. Naval Academy just resumed training officers to navigate by sextants. Historically the only way to determine a ship’s location at sea, this technique is being taught again both as a backup in case cyberattackers interfere with GPS signals and to give navigators a better feel of what their computers are doing.
Our software design philosophy and our Kipware® titles reflect a certain feature … that software plays an essential role but is actually secondary to the human operator. It takes over routine functions that a human operator has already mastered. Kipware® becomes the users partner … not the users replacement.Kipware® often relies on the users strengths and interaction … allowing them to bring their ideas and experience to the process … and allows them to enhance the results with the use of the skills and experience.The simple act of knowing how to save a file on the computer … for example … can oftentimes be a stepping stone to bigger and better things. I often hear the question … when I save a file where does it go? With Kipware® … it goes where you tell it to go … not where the software decides it should go with automation that keeps you out of the process. You have to think … act … understand … process. All our Kipware® titles are guides … sure they can automate tedious tasks … but they can also be expanded by the human operator and can take them both to places they could only go with an interactive partnership.
Everyone in manufacturing is in awe at the power and scope of the computer software available that will do the various manufacturing tasks … and we should be. And there certainly is a place for the complex CAD/CAM applications in the manufacturing environment. But our marketing slogan … “Not every job requires CAD/CAM.” … rings true here. We believe that putting every job … even the simplest … through a CAD/CAM system … as outlined here … is making your shop dumber.We should not … and must not … underestimate the value of our own talents when partnered together with technology. Even the smartest software lacks the ability to replicate the human insight gained through years of real world experience and hard work. “If we let our own skills fade by relying on automation, we are going to render ourselves less capable, less resilient and more subservient to our machines.”
Shop floor CNC programming … the creation of material cutting programs / G code programs at the machine tool or on the shop floor … is the majority of CNC programming performed in REAL WORLD machine shops around the world, every day. Good chip makers creating their G code programs utilizing evrything from pen and paper to PC’s and tablets. It’s undeniable … and it’s the real world.
Unfortunately, most CNC software developers have never worked directly on a production or job shop floor … have no real world CNC machining experiences … and create software based on unrealistic … not real world … goals and expectations. The user interface and output too often reflect that lack of real world experience and the people on the floor are made to live with it.
How do we know? We worked on those shop floors for almost 30 years … we used and were held hostage by their software. When we started Kentech Inc. in 1986, our goal was to put a STOP TO IT !!! Over the last 30 years … thanks to THOUSANDS of programmers and machinists around the world … we are well on our way.
COMPLICATED – Too Much is Too Much
On the complicated side of the scale … we have CAD/CAM. There is certainly no denying that CAD is a necessary tool for design … without it, we would never have built the world we have today. HOWEVER … not every workpiece to be machined requires a drawing nor a CAD application. And here is where the software developers got it wrong … blame their lack of shop floor experiences. In order to create a G code program … the user is forced to either have a CAD drawing or create a CAD drawing. Without a drawing … no machining code. And that’s just a BAD model.
How is Kipware® Conversational different ?
We designed our Kipware® conversational to be good at two ways of programming … without a drawing and with a drawing. For the simpler, everyday type workpieces, users can fire up the conversational, fill-in-the-blank forms … and quickly and easily create powerful G code programs in minutes. For those more complex contours and shapes … they can draw or import a drawing and create G code programs from their drawings still using a simpler, real world interface.
SIMPLISTIC – Don’t Even Bother !!
On the simplistic side of the scale … we have software designed and created by hobbyists whose only experiences are with hobby machining … which as any machinist knows is worlds away from production and shop floor programming. Overly simplistic designs … producing overly simplistic G code … with overly simplistic methods and processes that in reality, take programming from overly complicated to overly tedious and inefficient. Do you want to be a better hobbyist (“cnc’er”) or a better professional ?
How is Kipware® Conversational different ?
Having lived and worked cutting chips for a living … we were able to build simpler applications that pack a punch and include professional chip cutting output all done automatically based from our real world chip making experiences. We may be using a simpler interface and design as a cover … but we provide all the professional code output all automatically and all done under-the-hood inside the source code. While simplistic “wizards” and simplistic “conversational controls” give you simple but hold you back as a trade off … Kipware® conversational gives you simple and provides all the professional output you need all automatically.
From auto cutter compensation output … to long hand or canned cycle user configurable options … we built BEST PROGRAMMING PRACTICES into our software and output. While the “wizards” are still trying to learn what best programming practices even are !!
In addition … our cutting edge development gives the user powerful real world options like the ONLY conversational 3D machining options for milling … and the ONLY conversational Live Tool and Y Axis programming options for turning centers. That is taking simpler and …
… KICKING IT UP A NOTCH !!
Kipware® Conversational
The Perfect Blend Between the SIMPLE and the COMPLEX
If you agree with the statements that not EVERY job requires a CAD/CAM program … and overly simplistic is NOT real world … we invite you to spend some of your valuable time exploring our Kipware® conversational software for MILLING and TURNING. Don’t wait or struggle for another minute … do yourself and your shop efficiency a favor and join the THOUSANDS of programmers and machinist around the world who gave CAD/CAM the boot … and put the “wizards” back in the bottle where they belong.
We developed our KipwareQTE® quoting and estimating software from our real world experiences on the shop floor and running a variety of different machine shops. Over the years, one main category when quoting that is often misunderstood, under quoted and even completely ignored is perishable tooling.
Do you include perishable tooling in your costing and quoting?
If your quoting a part that needs 100 holes drilled … do you include the cost of the drills and center drills?
Our experience from talking with potential clients shows that 80% of estimators DO NOT include perishable tooling in their costs and estimates. A major mistake … that is directly effecting their bottom line … negatively !!
KipwareQTE makes it easy to include perishable tooling into your estimating process. How?
Two ways.
ONE – users can create a database of perishable tools and their associated costs. Then adding tools costs to the quote and estimate is simply a matter of pulling down a drop-down list and selecting the tools that will be used in manufacturing.
TWO – Using an estimated tool life … KipwareQTE® will perform all the calculations to include the complete cost for each of the tools and also calculate the number of each tools required for inclusion in the Bill of Material creation. That way the shop will be prepared when the job hits the floor.
Beyond the feature.
We like to think that thoughtful and important features like this illustrate what sets Kipware® and Kentech Inc. apart from our competition. A simple design, a meaningful feature … that can make the difference between making and losing money … and isn’t that what it’s all about.
We invite you to explore our Kipware® Business Software titles … and discover the difference that REAL WORLD MACHINE SHOP SOFTWARE can make.
There is no denying that going from a CAD drawing through CAM and then to the output of the final G code program … a post processor is an essential tool. And if you wish to output that G code to multiple machines and controls … then you must need multiple post processors. Right ???? And if your shop has multiple machines/controls … I’ll need multiple posts for all the machines. Right ????
Well … if you still want to think and believe old school … then yes, that’s right. If you looking for a better way … a less expensive way … a more flexible way … a way that also has other UP sides … then the answer is NO. And we are here to tell you why and show how.
Here’s a hint … G code conversion using KipwareXC® and Kipware® CNC XChange.
Post Processors are OLD SCHOOL … Re-Posting
Post processors … taking for granted that you are even using a CAD/CAM system … are really only good once … at program creation. After that … they really are useless. Running back to re-post for other machines/controls is time consuming and inefficient … and that is taking for granted that you even have the CAD file. If the program has been on the shop floor for a while … chances are good edits have been made … speeds, feeds, toolpaths, etc.. Re-posting eliminates all that and basically makes you start at program-prove out stage again … not efficient. What if you could simply take that proven G code and have a G code conversion app auto-convert that G code to any other format you would require? That’s NEW SCHOOL … that’s KipwareXC® and Kipware® CNC XChange.
Post Processors are OLD SCHOOL … Multiple Posts for Multiple Machines
Of course you must buy multiple posts for the multiple types of machine / controls on your floor … RIGHT??? Or have you ever thought about not buying other machines/ controls because it would mean all the “getting a new post” headaches and costs. OLD SCHOOL THINKING !!! What if you could simply output your code using the same proven post you are already using … and have a G code conversion app auto-convert that G code to any other format you would require? That’s NEW SCHOOL … that’s KipwareXC® and Kipware® CNC XChange.
Beyond Post Processors …
Only Program Machine/Control’s You Know
Let’s take a look at programming beyond the CAD/CAM system … like manual programming. The OLD SCHOOL thinking says that the programmer must be familiar with the machine and control he is programming. New school thinking says … not any more. What if I am familiar with Fanuc programming and have to program a Fagor control. What if I could write my program in Fanuc format … and run it through a converter that would auto convert it to Fagor format. That’s NEW SCHOOL … that’s KipwareXC® and Kipware® CNC XChange.
Tired of cryptic post processor languages that make it impossible for the average user to configure? Watch the video below to see how KipwareXC® and it’s clean user interface with plain English menus can help you go new school.
Need a better look? … how about a video. The video below illustrates how KipwareXC® can be used instead of a post processor to auto-convert a modern day Fanuc program into a yesterday’s format required for a GE1050 control.
The video and points outlined in this article are simply a starting point. I am sure you and your shop have similar scenarios in which the above points might apply in some way. If so … we invite you to contact us at any of the options below … and let us show you how NEW SCHOOL thinking with KipwareXC® and Kipware® CNC XChange can eliminate the multiple forms of “control incompatibility” from your shop floor.
When we talk to programmers who are using a CAD/CAM system … and we love to do that BTW … the major complaint we hear is regarding their post processor. There are basically TWO TOP compaints …
The G code generated always needs to be “tweaked”
They have to purchase posts for various machines / controls
The next question is inevitably … Does Kipware® have a solution?
The Answer is DEFINITELY!! … and for both scenarios !!
KipwareXC® for G Code Tweaking
With tools like KipwareXC® and Kipware® CNC XChange … manually tweaking G code is SOOO yesterday. Like any good process … the more you can automate it and remove the “human factor” from the process … the more rock solid that process can become. Whether you are performing simple edits on the shop floor or complex changes including variables and line coordinate changes … KipwareXC®can automate the process … and once set-up, will allow anyone to perform the changes … even non-programmers.
KipwareXC®is a completely user defined application where the user can use a mixture of pre-defined conversion options and our cutting edge macro variable language to basically tell the software what-to-convert-into-what. This combination allows the user to automate virtually any G code conversion required. From simple stuff … like M51 to M75 … to complex line conversions involving multiple addresses on the line such as converting G71P—-Q—-U—-W—-D—–F—- to G85N—U—W—D—F—.
Pre-defined conversions are conversions that are defined inside the source code of the software … just pick it and it all gets done automatically. Some pre-defined conversions are :
ADD or REMOVE or REFORMAT decimal points
Convert from INCH to METRIC or METRIC TO INCH with a single mouse click
Tons of circular options like convert INCREMENTAL I/J/K to ABSOLUTE I/J/K … and reverse … or convert R to I/J/K.
Convert X from DIAMETER to RADIUS … and reverse … for turning G code.
Invert X coordinates … reverse G2/G3 and all related I/J/K information.
Convert Fanuc SINGLE line canned cycles to DOUBLE LINE commands … and reverse.
… and SOOO much more.
KipwareXC® allows the user to create an UNLIMITED number of Profiles ( the what-to-convert-into-what statements ) … that means you only need to purchase the software once … and ALL the machines in your shop are covered.
In addition … the cutting edge, real world design of KipwareXC® allows users to piggy-back Profiles … which adds a whole ‘nother layer of flexibility.
Kipware® CNC XChange for MASSIVE G Code Conversion Between Different Machines
Whereas KipwareXC® is completely user-defined … CNC XChange is almost completely defined inside the source code. This means basically that we have done all the work … the user does have options for non-standard code conversion like M functions … but for the most part all the code conversions have been defined inside the source code.
We build CNC XChange for specific G code conversions … our most popular is our Fanuc <–> Okuma version will auto-convert G code created for Fanuc controls into G code formatted for Okuma controls … and reverse. We do also have other versions available … for a complete list please CLICK HERE.
So if you have multiple machines on your shop floor … and suffer from the “control incompatibility” issue … re-programming for every machine / control … Kipware® CNC XChange has you covered. Just ask PETE …
So where a software sales guy might praise the features of their G code editor … we say, “editing G Code manually is sooo yesterday.” If you are making the same edits over-and-over again … or you have multiple machines and controls on your floor and suffer from “control incompatibility” … we invite you to explore KipwareXC® and Kipware® CNC XChange … and kick your shop floor efficiency into the next level.
The design of KipwareCYC® from the start has been to assist users accurately create machining time estimates for their workpieces … and has been based on creating that time to machine one part from start to finish. Estimates are created while users walk the part through each machining operation for each machine required … creating a time to complete each operation on each machine.
This release of version 7.0.0 of KipwareCYC® now includes the ability to take that single part estimate and research and calculate how that single part time will be effected by using :
Multiple pieces in a fixture
Multiple fixtures
4th axis or tombstone fixturing using multiple pieces per side of the tombstone while machining multiple sides of the tombstone
Multi-axis spindle and multi-turret turning centers
Swiss style turning centers
Making use of many of our proprietary formulas already employed inside KipwareCYC® … rapid time, cutting times and handling times ( indexing times ) can now be easily incorporated through the use of these new features and the Multi-Milling and Multi-Turning option screens.
Details are outlined in detail below … or you can watch the video :
MILLING OPTIONS
Using the MILLING option … users have the option of choosing either a MULI-FIXTURE or INDEXER type set-up. Using the FIXTURE TYPE option … users can define
# of pieces per fixture
# of fixtures
distance between the fixtures
Using the INDEXER type option ( designed for HMC’s utilizing a tombstone or 4th axis indexer ) … users can define
# of pieces per side of the tombstone
# of sides that will be used for machining
Indexing time of the table or 4th axis indexer.
KipwareCYC® will then auto-calculate the additional RAPID TIME, CUTTING TIME, and HANDLING TIME ( indexing time ) required and present the user with all the new calculations for comparison. This new feature will not only produce a more accurate cycletime for multiple parts … but will allow the user to research and compare what might be the better fixturing options to employ.
TURNING OPTIONS
The TURNING option was designed with multi-spindle and multi-turret type as well as swiss-style turning centers in mind. The cycletime on a multi-spindle machine is in essence the time for that turret with the longest machining time. In KipwareCYC® the user now has the ability to move operations between the turrets to define that turret’s cycletime … and in essence the cycletime to machine the part that was originally estimated using a single spindle machine.
The user is presented with a drop-down list of all the operations from the estimate created for the single spindle machine … and can then move the operations between turrets to find the optimum time and sequence of operations.
What does it all mean?
In addition to quickly and easily turning a single part machining time estimate into an estimate for multiple parts on multiple fixtures or time using a more powerful and capable machine … users have new power to research and explore the best machining option to obtain the optimum machining time available on their equipment.
These new features are … once again from Kentech Inc. … cutting edge and innovative. These options coupled with the proprietary formulas employed inside KipwareCYC® give users added power and flexibility to not only win more work … but win more profitable work.
When you do a Google SEARCH … what is the “thing” that makes you visit a site in the list?
TOP result? … First name on the list.
Description provided under the site name? … “We have exactly what you searched for!”
“Big name” recognition … “Wow Home Depot has it!”
Paid Ads … those ads on the top or side of the list.
Whatever your preference … in today’s day and age … it really is BUYER BEWARE.
Definitely the SEARCH results should and will pull you into the site … but once there … you need to really be your own person. Why do we say that? Basically people and companies PLAY the system … they PLAY the search engines and play the search results. Google and Bing and all the rest try their best to make the playing field fair … but, of course, the digerati know the rules and play the system. Do you hate how “the big banks” play the system … how government and lobbyists play the system … this really is no different.
And what does it mean for internet content … popularity doesn’t translate into quality. Companies or websites touting the fact that they are first on Google … get a million hits … billions of visitors … whatever … are sometimes strictly touting their success at playing the system.Popularity doesn’t necessarily translate into Quality.
I would like to highlight (2) main issues to make my point :
TOP SEARCH RESULTS
TOP Results can be influenced by flooding your site with information and using key words on the site or in blog posts on the site so that no matter what a user searches for … as long as it’s “in the ballpark” … your site will fair favorably. Let’s take our genre of CNC for instance. If I load my site with articles about CNC machines … programming … software … cutting tools … things I don’t even know anything about … blah … blah … blah … there’s a pretty good chance my website and name are gonna be bouncing off the searches left and right. I have all the bases covered by using all the key words that I can find in the genre of CNC. But just because that site is top of the list … doesn’t mean that it’s the best or has quality products … or has even the right products for you. It just means some digerati may have flooded his website with crap that has some vague relationship to the topic you are interested in. Don’t be fooled by these people and companies that play the system … sure visit the site if you want but just don’t think that it is at the top of the list because it’s the best.
SEARCH & SITE DESCRIPTIONS
Once the site is found and listed … under the URL is a brief description of the content of the site … or what’s suppose to be the content of the site. This description is provided by the site in the HTML code … so again … site owners play the system. Since the description is one of the things “bots” ( the robots that crawl the sites for Google, Bing, Yahoo or whomever ) look for .,.. site owners load the description with not what is necessarily the theme of the webpage … but rather what will get the most favorable listing from the bot. Again … digerati paying the system.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR EVERYONE ELSE
As a business owner and website developer … getting listed in the search engines near the top so we can get visibility and hopefully attract some business is a major task we struggle with every day. It is the essence of success for an online business. Businesses and people that play the system make our life … our job harder … and our survival harder every day. BUT ONE THING WE WON’T DO IS PLAY THE SYSTEM. We are committed to keeping our search results as accurate and on the up and up as possible. Maybe we won’t be the first on the list … but you can rest assured that we will conduct our internet content just like we conduct the rest of our business … ethically and honestly.
OK … rant over. Thank you … I feel better.
Finally … Thank you for coming to our website or our Blog. Thank you for investing your valuable time in exploring our products. I believe that you found our website or Blog because we actually have products or services or information that you were honestly searching for … I hope we do … and I hope you agree.
As word gets out about the ease-of-use and power of KipwareM® conversational CNC programming software … we are starting to get more and more inquiries from the MAKER community concerning one of the more popular MAKER machines out there … the ShapeOko and now the X-Carve from Inventables. Clients want to know if the code generated by KipwareM® is compatible with the G code requirements for the X-Carve.
Looking and researching the extensive information available from Inventables … we can find the information below :
“The X-Carve is using GRBL81 An open source, embedded, high performance g-code-parser and CNC milling controller written in optimized C that will run on a straight Arduino. Standard g-code is supported.”
While GRBL81 is still basically operational and functional … it also appears to be in a state of constant development and enhancements. Great job guys !! It is still a very basic system … but it does support basic standard programming … G01/G02/G03 … and is completely compatible with the KipwareM® standard output.
Here is a list of G codes for GRBL81 … and all supported out-of-the-box by KipwareM® :
“The G-code interpreter implements a subset of the NIST rs274/ngc standard and … linear, circular and helical motion are all fully supported.”
Supported G-Codes in v0.9i
G38.3, G38.4, G38.5:Probing
G40:Cutter Radius Compensation Modes
G61:Path Control Modes
G91.1:Arc IJK Distance Modes
Supported G-Codes in v0.9h
G38.2:Probing
G43.1, G49:Dynamic Tool Length Offsets
Supported G-Codes in v0.8 (and v0.9)
G0, G1:Linear Motions
G2, G3:Arc and Helical Motions
G4:Dwell
G10 L2, G10 L20:Set Work Coordinate Offsets
G17, G18, G19:Plane Selection
G20, G21:Units
G28, G30:Go to Pre-Defined Position
G28.1, G30.1:Set Pre-Defined Position
G53:Move in Absolute Coordinates
G54, G55, G56, G57, G58, G59:Work Coordinate Systems
G80:Motion Mode Cancel
G90, G91:Distance Modes
G92:Coordinate Offset
G92.1:Clear Coordinate System Offsets
G93, G94:Feedrate Modes
M0, M2, M30:Program Pause and End
M3, M4, M5:Spindle Control
M8, M9:Coolant Control
While there is still a lot of functions … like spindle control … that is dependent on the controller and it’s set-up … KipwareM® can support most modes and set-up … out-of-the-box.
Using the unique “Post Editor” in Kipware® conversational … users can easily create the auto-output of the HEADER lines required for the GRBL language. The G code output needs to place an initialization block at the beginning of your program to set all of the G-code modes explicitly for your program. These are things such as mm/inch modes ( G20/G21) , incremental/absolute modes (G90/G91), feedrate modes(G94/G95), plane selection (G17-G18-G19), or work coordinate system (G54-G59). These can easily be set-up in the Kipware® conversational Post Editor.
It also appears that DRILLING cycles are not yet included … but KipwareM® gives you a standard, long hand G code output capability for drilling that will enable you to go beyond the Inventable’s EASEL programming software and create drilling operations for your machine. All from a fill-in-the-blank format.
Users are referred to use the UNIVERSAL G-CODE SENDER application that is written in JAVA that will send the G code and communicate with the machine to run the G code created outside of Inventables EASEL application. You can get additional information on the Universal G Code Sender HERE.
As of this post writing … Kentech Inc. is looking into the possibilities of purchasing an X-Carve from Inventables and testing and developing our KipwareM® software to be more and fully compatible with the X-Carve.
So stay tuned … we are looking forward to an opportunity to work with Inventables and their equipment … and the MAKER community. It should be a fun ride
The place for all things Kipware® from www.KentechInc.com
It's TIME to WAKE UP CNC People and END the MADNESS !!
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The MADNESS of CAD/CAM Overkill !! Create G Code FASTER & EASIER with Kipware® Conversational CAM
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The MADNESS of "WINNING" unprofitable work !! Win Work that ACTUALLY MAKES PROFITS with Kipware® Estimating applications
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The MADNESS of CNC Control INCOMPATIBILITY !! Our innovative and groundbreaking G code conversion software can make ALL your machines operate seamlessly.
