Add a Custom Command for Header Lines for Post Processing in NX 9 CAM

Follow these simple steps to create a Custom Command in NX CAM to add to a post processor for header lines to be output from a post processor:

Start Postbuilder.

Select the custom command tab.

Select the Create option.

Right mouse button on the new custom command and rename it. To PB_CMD_header line.

Highlight everything in the right window, as displayed below.

Once everything is highlighted, select the delete key.

Select the lines below:

#=============================================================
proc PB_CMD_header_line { } {
#=============================================================
#This Custom Command will output the header information

#this will output information associated with a program

global mom_oper_program
global mom_part_name
global mom_date
global mom_logname

MOM_output_literal "(PROGRAM NUMBER: $mom_oper_program)"
MOM_output_literal "(PART NAME : $mom_part_name)"
MOM_output_literal "(POSTED DATE : $mom_date)"
MOM_output_literal "(PROGRAMMED BY : $mom_logname)"}

Copy the lines selected above and paste them into the right side of the dialog box. It should appear like this:

Select the Program Tab.

Select the Program Start Sequence.

Select the name of the custom command you just created. In this case it should be the  PB_CMD_header line.

Select the Add block option.

Drag the command after the rewind stop code.

This will add the header lines to the beginning of the CNC program.

Want to learn more about customizing your posts? Get training in NX CAM post processing from Swoosh Technologies. Learn more here!

Written by
Brian Brown
Application Engineer
Swoosh Technologies

Using Existing NX CAM Files as Templates

Templates in NX CAM are utilized to save programming time and the possibility of errors. When utilizing templates, the programmed tool, speeds, feeds, non-cutting moves, cutting parameters, and cut patterns should be consistent.

Templates can also be utilized to consistently process your machined parts in very similar sequences.
If applied properly the programmer should only need to re-select the geometry intended to program.

Any NX CAM file can be utilized at any time as a template. The following steps show just how easy using existing files as templates is:

When creating an operation select the browse option:

Locate to the file you wish to utilize as your template file. Select the file and select the OK button.

The operations that you have created in your selected file appears as your available operations.

Note: In the example shown, Only 3 operations exist

For best results attach the template to the geometry level in your operation navigator.

Note: Parts can be used as Templates pulling versions forward, but not backwards. (NX7.5 file can be a template in NX9.0, but NX9.0 files cannot be used as a template in NX7.5)

Want to learn more about NX CAM? Attend or request a training course here.

Written by

Brian Brown
Application Engineer
Swoosh Technologies

NX How To: Set up the Reuse Library for Custom Symbols

Follow these steps to set up the Reuse Library in NX 9 for custom symbols:

Go to the customer defaults dialog box. 

In the Gateway portion, click Reuse Library, and map the location to your symbol files.

NOTE: The files that contain your symbols must be contained in the folder that you map inside the customer defaults.

Below is a screen shot of the location I have mapped in my defaults file (click the image to enlarge). here you can see the file containing my symbol.

To create a symbol, first right click on the Library where you want your new symbol to reside and click Define Custom Symbol.

The Define Custom Symbol dialog box now appears. Follow these steps to upload a new symbol:

1. Change the folder you wish to store the custom symbol inside.
2. Name the Symbol and name the part in the symbol folder.
3. Select the objects of the symbol.
4. Select the Anchor point to the symbol. The anchor point is the point that controls the placement of the symbol.
5. Finally select the image you wish to display of the symbol. It can be a screen shot of the graphics area or it can be a BMP or JPG file with different resolutions.

Note:  If properly executed your symbol should appear as shown below.

Learn more about NX with training from Swoosh Technologies! View the upcoming courses here.

Brian Brown
Application Engineer
Swoosh Technologies

How to Modify your Post Processor for On Machine Probing in NX 9

What is On Machine Probing?

On machine probing is a measurement technique used on machine tools to use while your part is still in process on the machine.

The machine uses a 2D or 3D probe similar to those found on some CMM’s. The end of the probe sensor that comes into contact with the part is made of hard non-marring material for metals such as a ruby.

The probe contacts the part and records the machine position when the probe sensor is triggered.  Probe positions are recorded on the controller, and the probe point positions may be processed directly after the points are taken or later to obtain meaningful data from the points.  The meaningful data can then be relayed to the operator, quality system, or back for adaptive part processing. Machine tool probes may be obtained through Renishaw or other manufacturers.

Why should you use it?

• Prevents the use of additional CMM’s
• Increases machine tool accuracy
• Ability to buy off part while still fixtured in the machine
• Easily obtain spc data
• Reduce Gage tooling cost
• Faster than traditional measurement and reduces human error

What is required in NX to use it?

• Renishaw Probing hardware installed on machine
• Renishaw Inspection Plus Macros
• NX CAM MACH package 9.0 or higher
• Supported post
• NX CAM on machine probing is supported for both Fanuc and Siemens Sinumerik controllers

View the video below to discover how to modify a post for on machine probing in NX.

Matt Beisel
Application Engineer
Swoosh Technologies

On Machine Probing in NX CAM

On machine probing in NX CAM uses the machine tool to perform measurements during machining. This can deliver both quality and process improvements. View the presentation and demo created by Senior Application Engineer, Matt Beisel from Swoosh Technologies to learn more.

NX CAM On Machine Probing from SwooshTech
 

NX CAM Quick Tip: Using Solid Tools in NX 8.5

Learn how to use solid tools in NX CAM 8.5 with this presentation by Swoosh Technologies' Application Engineer, Brian Brown.

Using Solid Tools in NX 8.5 from SwooshTech

Discover more about NX CAM here and view our training calendar to enroll in an NX CAM course near you (all courses are also offered online during all specified training courses).  

6 Reasons Why Manufacturing Companies Train Their Employees

1. Training improves employee performance. According to Ferdinand Fournies (author of ‘Why Employees Don’t Do What They’re Supposed To Do’) performance problems occur because employees (1) don’t know what they’re supposed to do, (2) don’t know how to do it, and/or (3) don’t know why they should do it. 
2. Training enhances company profits. Based on the training investments of 575 companies during a three-year period, researchers found that firms investing the most in training yielded a 36.9 percent total shareholder return as compared with a 25.5 percent weighted return for the S&P 500 index for the same period. That's a return 45 percent higher than the market average.
3. Training saves labor. Reducing duplication of effort, time spent on problem solving, and time spent on correcting mistakes.
4. Training improves a company's competitive edge. Any company has to recognize that not only is the human capital of their employees a major asset, it is also a depreciating asset that needs continuing investment." Keeping worker skills up to date keeps a company in the running.
5. Training saves supervisory and administrative time and costs. The less time a manager has to spend on monitoring and guiding employees, the more time is freed up for more profitable activities.
6. Training improves employee satisfaction and retention. Companies that fail to train their employees are more than three times as likely to lose them.

Swoosh Technologies Education Services has been delivering training solutions for 9 plus years focusing on Siemens PLM Software: NX (Unigraphics), Solid Edge, and Teamcenter.  Ours is not the broad-based training approach which adds little to process efficiencies.  Rather, we focus on industry process training and address your specific areas for measurable results.  Contact us today and we will explore how our training can help your team improve to a new level of achievement.

Click here to view the training schedule and register for a class.

Dan Wibbenmeyer
Swoosh Technologies

NX CAM Tips & Tricks: Coolant Thru Custom Command

Follow these steps to create a simple custom command to add to a post processor. This will allow you to utilize the coolant thru switch on the tool description dialog box in NX CAM.

Start Postbuilder.

Select the custom command tab.

Select the Create option.

Right mouse button on the new custom command and rename it. To PB_CMD_coolant_thru.

Highlight everything in the right window, as shown below:

Once every thing is highlight, select the delete key!

Select the lines below:

#=============================================================
proc PB_CMD_coolant_thru { } {
#=============================================================
global mom_tool_coolant_through
global mom_coolant_status
if { [ info exists mom_tool_coolant_through ]  } {
  if { $mom_tool_coolant_through == "Yes" } {
     set mom_coolant_status "THRU"
     }
   }
}
}

Copy the lines selected above and paste the lines into the right side of the dialog. It should appear as follows:

Select the Program Tab.

Select the Operation Start Sequence.

Under the Initial Move block.

Select add a new block.

Select the coolant thru command you just created from the drop menu.

Your coolant thru on the tool dialog box is now ready to use!




Learn more about customization in NX CAM with training from Swoosh Technologies. See the full training schedule here.

Brain Brown
Application Engineer
Swoosh Technologies

Create Manufacturing Automation in NX 9.0 CAM Using Process Studio Author

Many people like to navigate quickly in software by using wizards that prompt you through a step by step process…next…next…finish.  


 
NX CAM comes with four out of the box wizards found by clicking the Manufacturing Wizard Icon on the resource bar:

• Rest Milling Wizard
• Express Milling Quick Start
• Mold Z-level wizard
• Cavity Milling tool sequence

Where do these Wizards come from and what do they do?

The wizards are created using the Process Studio Author that has been available for NX CAM users for some time. This software was not part of the installed software in NX 8.5 and earlier as it was a 32-bit version that is available from the GTAC download site. However, it is now part of the standard install in NX 9.0 for Manufacturing.


Express Milling quick start wizard

This wizard takes you step-by-step to create an operation in NX CAM.  This is very useful for users new to NX CAM or to help create programming standards for your company.
What do you need to get started?

• NX 9.0 CAM
• JAVA SDK 1.7 or higher

Create a Wizard

The following steps create a wizard to set Work Coordinate System and Stock.

1. Click on Start->All Programs->Siemens NX 9.0->Manufacturing -> Process Studio Author



2. Click on File ->Open and browse to NX 9 installation directory then go to \MACH\resource\wizard\ and select mill_startup_1.xml then press Open




3. Click on File -> Save As and name “mill_startup_test” then click the create button

4. Click on Edit->Information for current Process


5. Rename Title Field to Milling Setup


6. Delete 6 items shown below by clicking the delete key.


7. Drag the Finish Step to the same line as shown below and right click on customizable item, click create connector, then click once on the finish box.


8. Click on File -> Save.
9. Click File -> Validate Process to check for errors
10. Close NX if open then start a new session in NX.
11. Open an NX CAM part
12. Click on the Manufacturing Wizard tab of the resource manager and you should see your new wizard there


13. Run the wizard and the wizard will automate the creation of the MCS and Blank.



Matt Beisel
Application Engineer
Swoosh Technologies

Tips & Tricks: Calculate Machining Time with the simple UDE in NX CAM

Follow these steps to add this simple UDE to a post processor to calculate Machining Time in NX CAM:

• Start Postbuilder.

• Select the custom command tab

• Select the Create option

• Right mouse button on the new custom command and rename it. To PB_CMD_estimated_machine_time.

• Highlight everything in the right window, as displayed below.

• Once every thing is highlight, select the delete key.

• Select the lines below:

#=============================================================
proc PB_CMD_formatted_machining_time { } {
#=============================================================
#This Custom Command will output the estimated machining time

global mom_machine_time

set hours [format %2.0f [expr [format %2.0f $mom_machine_time] / 60]]
set minutes [format %2.0f [expr $mom_machine_time - 60 * $hours]]

MOM_output_literal "Estimated Machining Time:HOURS:$hours MINUTES:$minutes"
}

• Copy the lines selected above and paste the lines into the right side of the dialog. It should appear like this:

• Select the Program Tab

• Select the Program End Sequence 

• Select the name of the custom command you just created. In this case it should be PB_CMD_estimated_machine_time

• Select the Add block option

• Drag the command after the rewind stop code.

This will add the machining time to the end of the CNC program after your stop rewind code. The time must appear at the end of the CNC program in order to receive an accurate time. The custom command calculates the time as the tape is being generated.




Brian Brown
Application Engineer
Swoosh Technologies & Solutions

Create a Sandbox to Customize NX CAM

A sandbox in NX (Unigraphics) allows you to create a safe customization environment in which you can experiment in NX CAM without affecting the base install. 
 
Why customize NX? 

Every shop is unique and tailoring your NX CAM experience to meet your specific needs can greatly increase your productivity. Customizing NX can also offer these benefits:

• Customization gives you the ability to set default values and limit the number operations available.
• Reduce the number of errors in your operations by minimizing user input. 
• NX CAM has broad functionality, which your shop may not use often. 

Where to start? 

Customization in NX CAM is best started with templates. Templates are easy to develop and share and allow you to reuse anything from a tool to the complete operation process. Using customized templates allow you to utilize best practices regarding reuse and enforces consistent programming. When customizing these templates you don’t want to damage your existing installation. Therefore, it is crucial to set up a sandbox to avoid complications.
 
Let’s Get to Work: Set Up a Sandbox in NX 

1. Create a folder in Users\username\named Demo.
2. Copy in some out of the box files you would like to work with

• Locate the NX home folder. This can be done by opening up the log file and clicking on Help->log file
• Scroll down to UGII_BASE_DIR and see where it points.

• Copy the location.
• Open up a new window and navigate to the home folder. 
• Navigate to location and copy over MACH\resource\ folder into the Demo folder.

3. Change protection on folder.

• Right click on properties.
• Uncheck "Read-only" and Click Apply.

• In the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box choose “Apply changes to this folder, sub-folder and files” and click Apply.

4. In the Demo folder create a folder named “usertools”

5. In the usertools folder create  “bitmap” folder and a “startup” folder.

6. Create a copy of ugii_env.dat to the folder above.
7. Open file.

8. Add the following:

#My resource area
UGII_CAM_RESOURCE_DIR=C:\Users\matt\demo\resource\

# My bitmaps
UGII_USER_DIR=C:\Users\matt\demo\usertools\
UGII_BITMAP_PATH=${UGII_USER_DIR}bitmaps

NOTE: Replace your user name for highlighted text.
 
9. Save and close the file.
10. Click on Start-> Siemens NX 9.0, right-click and drag the shortcut to your Demo folder.

• Right click on the copied shortcut and change the “start in” folder to the demo folder created above.

11. Run NX from the created shortcut and go to log file. *Notice locations have changed for CAM.

Now you are ready to begin customizing your templates for NX CAM! These templates are located in the Demo\resource\template_part\english\ folder.  

For example you can open up the mill_planar part and see all of the operations available for mill planar. You can remove operations or add new operations in order to fulfill the needs of your shop and also pre-populate tools in pockets to a specific template. How will you use Sandbox to customize your NX experience? 

By Matt Beisel, Application Engineer, Swoosh Technologies & Solutions

Tips & Tricks: Create Single Spot Drill Operation for Multiple Sets of Holes in NX 9

Creating a single spot drilling operation for all the holes in your part in NX 9 takes some manual interaction. The hole making operations in NX 9 read the feature information from the model to create a single spot drilling operation because of the dynamic IPW. The following step illustrate a successful work-around. However, if the steps are not taken, the spot drill operation will drill the depth from the first selected hole. 

Create a hole making operation in NX 9 CAM 

Select the Spot Drilling sub type. (Within the create operation dialog, select your program, tool, geometry group, and machining method group).

Next select your geometry. The hole should be selected at the edge of the top surface you wish to be spot drilling.

Select your hole by selecting the ICON circled in red. After selecting the Icon, this dialog box appears. 

Select the first hole (Notice when selecting the hole it populates the list in the list section of the above dialog box; also if you view the graphics area inside NX 9, The dynamic IPW is displaying. The material that will be removed is displaying in the IPW).

In order to create a single spot drilling operation the next step MUST be complete.

The programmer must enter the depth manually in the above dialog box. Click on the lock to the right side of the depth value that is currently greyed out. Select the user-defined option.

Enter the depth that you wish to drill (Notice when you enter your desired spot drilling depth, the dynamic work piece automatically changes.)

This step must be done for each hole you wish to be part of your spot drilling operation. The depth of your spot drilling is derived from the surface in which the hole to be spot drilled was selected.  

If a hole is selected out of order and the programmer wishes to re-order his hole, the hole must first be selected on the list. The programmer must then utilize the up and down arrows to order the hole in the proper drilling sequence.

Note: If the depth of the spot drill drills a larger chamfer than its model, NX will give a warning that the part is being gouged. Simply turn the gouge checking off. NX will also ignore drilling the holes where the gouging is occurring. This is shown in the video below. NX CAM had the intelligence to know the user was drilling a larger spot drill and reported a gouge. Once the gouge checking is turned off in the operation, the software proceeds to drill the spot drill hole to the specified size.

To turn the gouge checking off uncheck the “Gouge Checking” option circle in the dialog box below.

Generate your tool path and select OK to accept it.

This concludes creating a single spot drilling operation with the new NX 9 hole making, spot drilling operation.

Written by Brian Brown, Application Engineer, Swoosh Technologies & Solutions