Wednesday May 11, 2022 at 11:05am
CNC Code is at the heart of manufacturing, successful code drives machines to make flawless parts as quick as possible. However poor code leads to scrappage, wasted time and at a worst case machine tool breakage.
Traditionally all code for machines had been handwritten which does lead to errors creeping into programs and causing our 3 major pains of operating CNC’s. An obvious answer to fix this issue is CAM software. Toolpaths are made graphically and the code is written automatically from this, so controlling the tool safely, simply and at speed has never been easier.
However while toolpaths have become simpler to create, the machines they drive have only gotten more complex. This means that it is now necessary to predict not only the tool movement but the full kinematic movement of the CNC machine.
You might think but why do I need to see the full kinematic model? The answer is relatively simple, if we have a part that needs to be machined by a 5 Axis CNC there is a possibility that the fixture you are using and the turret could collide as you rotate, if programmed incorrectly.
A digital twin is a virtual copy of the CNC that you use with all the kinematics and geometry replicated. From this you can load in your CNC code and the code and cycles are read the same as they would be on the machine, allowing you to check for errors, anomalies or time savings without ever having to touch the machine.
To make the most of this technology we use Eureka Virtual Machine. Eureka works directly with SolidCAM and CAMWorks making the checking process seamless. It can also be used independently so if handwritten code or code from another source needs to be checked it can be.
To find out more about Eureka’s capability of verifying G Code why not check out our video guide below.