Hi all,
I am using the CAMworks post processor provided by Tormach (via GoEngineer) to run my PCNC770 with PathPilot controller.
I have a tool changer, so the M1 and G30 lines the post adds between each operation is driving me nuts. Has anyone figured out how to turn this off?
You can stop the M1ās from doing anything by un-clicking the button in Path Pilot. You could also set G30 to the toolchange position, but maybe best fixed in the post.
Looks like the .CNF file has a setting for that behavior, but there didnāt seem to be a ādonāt do anythingā option in a brief glance at the readme.
Good tips, thank you @Roy. I dug around in the post files and came to the same conclusion you did. Itās bothersome that I canāt change the settings in the post, but I think your workarounds will be good enough for now.
David,
I donāt mean to hijack the post here, but I am in the process of switching from Fusion 360 to CAMWorks (or SW CAM Pro?) to improve my overall workflow. Do you have any tips or feedback to offer from your CAMWorks experience thus far? The opaque post-processor in CAMWorks is one of my concerns and Iāve wondered if it is worthwhile to pony up the extra money ($1500?) to have my SolidWorks reseller ācustomizeā a post-processor for me.
William,
I myself just made the switch to CAMworks (from HSMworks) in the last few months, so Iām still pretty green. My main piece of advice: be patient. The learning curve is quite steep. In my opinion HSM was a terrific add-in, and one that took me quite a while to get proficient at. CAMworks is shaping up to be the same on both accounts.
Iāve been teaching myself by avoiding automatic feature recognition for now, and I have not spent too much effort building up my TechDB yet. I expect my workflow to become far more efficient after I start incorporating those features, but I thought it would be prudent to start with the old-school basicsādoing things manually to learn the ins and outs thoroughly. So far so good. I am now past the initial overwhelm of an entirely different animal, and Iām pretty pleased with CAMworks.
As for the post processor, its opacity is a bit frustrating for those of us who prefer the freedom to dig into the code and tinker. With that being said, it has not been a show-stopper yet. You can certainly get up and running with the posts that are available for free, and delay your decision to have a custom post made until you are certain itās necessary. Itās also possible that, between Tormach, GoEngineer and Hawk Ridge Systems, someone will be willing to work out any kinks encountered without charging a consulting fee. Fingers crossed.
Thanks David!,
I appreciate your feedback! To the best of my knowledge, most of the CAM features in Fusion 360 today are the result of AutoDesk purchasing HSMWorks years ago, so I agree that it was a good tool. (I actually installed the end-of-life version of HSMWorks hoping that it would be āgood enoughā for my purposes, but it doesnāt appear to have been maintained for years, is that your experience? https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/hsm-support-forum/hsmworks-end-of-life-march-25th-2028/td-p/13297431)
As for CAMWorks training, Iāve been taking somewhat of the opposite approach; attempting to make the TechDB and automatic feature recognition produce good code right off the bat. And yes, the learning curve has been steep, but I think Iām moving in the right direction. Iāve found Cristi Moiseās YouTube channel to be helpful, especially for workflows to update the TechDB (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhb1LxT3fb0).
Iād love to keep in touch and compare notes after weāve both made some more progress. Best of luck to you and yours.
-William
FYI, I also found the user āturupioā on CNCZone, who apparently has at least 1 person who recommends him for creating (or fixing) CAMWorks post processorsā¦
https://www.cnczone.com/forums/camworks/261486-need-help-wit-post.html