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Easy NC Pro User Guide
Easy NC Pro User Guide
Table of Contents
What is Easy NC Pro? ......................................................................................................................... 4
Supported Operating Systems ........................................................................................................... 4
Starting Easy NC Pro .......................................................................................................................... 4
Insert the Security Device .............................................................................................................. 4
Running Easy NC Pro Without the Security Device ......................................................................... 4
Creating a New Program.................................................................................................................... 5
Creating a New Program at Start-up .............................................................................................. 5
Creating a New program from the Menu or Toolbar Icons ............................................................. 7
Opening an Existing Program ............................................................................................................. 7
Opening an Existing Program at Start-up ....................................................................................... 7
Opening an Existing Program from the Menu or Toolbar Icons....................................................... 7
Opening an Existing Program by Double Clicking on a File .............................................................. 7
Saving the Program ........................................................................................................................... 8
Inserting Operations into Your Program ............................................................................................ 8
Editing the Parameters .................................................................................................................. 8
Switching Between Paths ............................................................................................................... 9
Navigating Around Easy NC Pro ......................................................................................................... 9
The Menu Strip .............................................................................................................................. 9
File ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Edit .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Tools........................................................................................................................................ 10
Help......................................................................................................................................... 11
The Tool Strip .............................................................................................................................. 12
Context Menus ............................................................................................................................ 12
Operations Icon Context Menu ................................................................................................ 12
Program Icon Context menu .................................................................................................... 13
Tooltip and Floating Help ............................................................................................................. 13
Writing a Program ........................................................................................................................... 14
Editing the Machine Data Parameters .......................................................................................... 17
Editing the Part Data parameters ................................................................................................. 18
Inserting Operations into the Program ......................................................................................... 19
Path 1 Operations .................................................................................................................... 19
Changing the Operation Parameters ............................................................................................ 20
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You can get an evaluation code by emailing support@easyncpro.com. If you are happy with the
evaluation version and wish to upgrade so that you can create G-Code for your range of CNC
machines the simple purchase a security device at www.easyncpro.com. You will not have to
reinstall the software unless there is a later version than the demo one you have installed.
Click OK.
Click to maximise.
On the left of the screen you will see the operations that your chose CNC machine can perform,
grouped under the Operations Selector Tabs. Hovering the mouse cursor over one of these
operations displays some popup help. To display this help on a more permanent basis, right click
and select Help.
On the right of the screen you can see your program. You can use the Program View Tabs to view
either the graphical view of your program, or the G-Code. The starter application shows Machine
Data, Part Data and Cut Off for path 1. The following diagram describes the main features of Easy
NC Pro.
1.Title Bar
2. Menus
3. Toolbar
4. Operations
Tabs
5. Program
View Tabs
10. Program
Icons
6. Path
Selector
11. Parameters
7. CNC
Machine
8. Program Grid
12. G-Code
9. Operations
Icons
1. Title Bar: This displays the program name or New Program if it has not yet been saved to
disk. An asterisk means that it has changed since the last save.
2. Menus: These are the menu selections for carrying out various functions, for instance
opening and saving programs.
3. Toolbar: This contains buttons for carrying out various functions. These can also be carried
out via the menus if preferred.
4. Operations Tabs: The operations that can be carried out on the CNC machine are grouped
under these tabs, for instance Turn or Mill.
5. Program View Tabs: The program can be viewed in graphical format, as above, or the actual
G-Code can be view.
6. Path Selector: Press the up and down arrows to switch between paths 1 and 2.
7. CNC Machine: Selected when you created a new program.
8. Program Grid: The icons, parameters and G-Code which make up a program.
9. Operations Icons: You can drag and drop or cut and paste these operations onto the
program grid.
10. Program Icons: A graphical representation of the program you are writing.
11. Parameters: Each icon has a different set of parameters defined by the user.
12. G-Code: Generated automatically for each operation and set of parameters.
Edit
Undo: Undo an action, e.g. a drag and drop or cut and paste
Redo: Redo an action that was undone with undo
Cut: Cut an operation into the paste buffer
Copy: Copy an operation into the paste buffer
Paste: Paste the operation in the paste buffer
Delete: Delete a program operation
Tools
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Save a program
Open a program
Cut
Paste
Copy
Undo
Delete
Help
Redo
Context Menus
Context menus are obtained by pressing the right arrow key when hovering over icons.
Operations Icon Context Menu
If you right click on one of the operations icons you get the following.
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This is only displayed for a few seconds but you can view it while you are writing your program by
right clicking on the relevant icon and selecting Help (see above).
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Writing a Program
Its much easier to learn by doing, so lets write a program to make the part below, a brass Stand
Off made from 18mm diameter brass bar. We will make the program for a Tornos Delta 20/5 sliding
head lathe.
Firstly we need to decide how to make the part, the sequence of operations and what tools we will
use on the CNC lathe.
We will make the part by turning the 10mm diameter x 16.5mm section, threading the M10 and
cutting the 1.5mm slot in the main spindle at the guide bush, then we will turn the 15mm diameter x
8mm, 6mm diameter spot centre, 4.2mm drill and M5 x 0.8 tap in the counter spindle.
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We will use the following tool numbers on the Tornos Delta 20/5 lathe:
Main spindle:
T2727 Parting off tool 2mm wide.
T2626 Turning tool, DCMT.
T2525 Screw cutting tool 1.5mm ISO.
T1313 30mm x 8mm x 1.5mm carbide slotting saw.
Counter Spindle:
T5151 20mm diameter left hand coring bar DCMT.
T5252 8mm NC spot drill.
T5353 4.2mm drill.
T5454 M8 x 0.8 Tap.
We start by making a new program. Launch EasyNCpro then:
Click OK
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The new program will show the program grid for Path 1 as above. There are three default operations
already in the program grid: Machine Data, Part Data and Cut Off. The G-code fields to the right
side contain the Program G-code for these three default operations. In fact these three operations
already constitute a valid program, which if loaded to the CNC lathe will produce a part to the
specification contained in the Part Data section. The three default operations in the program grid
cannot be deleted or moved as they always constitute the basic operations required to make a CNC
program and are already in the correct order.
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First of all well edit the Machine Data parameters. Click into the Program Name field and change
the program number to 0002 tab to the rest of the fields and edit the relevant information if
required. Click in the G-code field to see the new values written in the G-code.
Change the Drawing number to Stand Off.
The field for Maximum spindle speed in G96 is used to enter the spindle speed clamping command
(G92) in the program. This is only used when turning using constant surface speed (G96) and limits
the maximum spindle speed to the value chosen when the turning tool approaches the centre line of
the bar.
The value in the field for Z travel for feeding new bar with G913 controls how far the Z1 axis moves
to retract the bar end from the guide bush when the bar change program (G913) changes the bar.
30mm is the default value when you are using a right hand cut off tool. Increase this value to
approximately 42mm if you want to use a left hand tool for cut off.
The value in the field Feed rate for inserting new bar with G913 is the speed in mm/min of the Z1
axis when retracting the bar end and inserting a new bar into the guide bush during the bar change
program (G913). Decrease this value when using small diameter bar to avoid damaging the bar by
bending during the new bar insertion to the guide bush.
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The Cut off tool number always remains T2727 for the Tornos Delta 20/5.
Click into the Bar Diameter field and change the value to 18.
Tab to Cut off feed rate and change the value to 0.1.
Tab to Part length and change the value to 55.
Tab to Pick off distance and change the value to 40.
Tab to Part off tool nose angle and change the value to 12.
Tab to Part off spindle speed and change the value to 4000.
Tab to Facing amount main op and change the value to 0.2.
Tab to Facing amount counter op and change the value to 0.2.
Click in the G-Code field and the G900 macro will now change to the correct values for our part.
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Now the new operation is in the program grid and should look like this.
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OK, now we need to edit some of the parameter values. Click in the Step Name field and change
the operation name to Face and turn thread diameter.
Tab to X diameter facing start, change the starting point in X for facing off to 18.
Tab to X diameter facing end , change the X diameter facing end to -1.
Tab to Turn X diameter at start, change the turning X diameter to 10.
Tab to Turn X diameter at end, change this value to 10 as well as we want to turn a parallel section.
Tab to Z Turn start, leave the value at 0.
Tab to Z turn end, change the value to -16.5 as that is the length we want to turn 10mm diameter
to.
Tab to Face/turn chamfer length, change the value to 1.0 as we require a 1 x 45 degree chamfer on
the 10mm diameter.
Tab to Facing feed rate, change the value for facing off to 0.15.
Tab to Chamfer feed rate, change the value to 0.04.
Tab to Turning feed rate, change the value to 0.12.
Tab to Spindle speed, change the value to 4000.
Tab to Spindle mode, leave the value at 97 as we dont want to use constant surface speed for this
part.
Tab to Tool number, check we have 2626, the correct turning tool number.
Click on the G-Code field and the G-Code for facing off and turning the 10mm diameter will change
to reflect the new axis coordinates, spindle speed and feed rates.
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OK, now we will insert the screw cutting operation for the M10 x 1.5 thread.
Clicking on the Thread tab will reveal what threading operations we have available. Drag and drop
an External Thread operation into the program grid below the Facing and turning operation.
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Now we need to edit some of the parameters for the threading operation on our part.
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Now we need to insert the slotting operation to make the screwdriver slot in the end of the part.
Clicking on the Mill tab will reveal what milling operations we have. Drag and drop a Mill slot Y
axis operation into the program grid below the threading operation.
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We need to edit some of the slotting parameters to produce the slot in our part.
Click in the Step name field, change the text to Slot 1.5 x 2 deep
Tab to Slot Z start point, leave the value at 0.5 as we want the cutter to clear the end of the bar.
Tab to Slot Z end point, leave the value at -2 as this is already the correct slot depth.
Tab to Slot X position, leave the value at 0 as we want the slot in the centre of the bar.
Tab to Bar diameter, change the value to 10 as we have turned the bar down to 10mm already.
Tab to Cutter speed and change the value to 1500.
Tab to Feed rate mm/min G94, change the value to 400.
Tab to Slot angle position, leave the value at 0, as we have no angular position on the drawing for
the slot we can use 0.
Tab to Cutter diameter, leave the value at 30, this is the maximum diameter of slotting saw we can
use. Based on the cutter diameter entered EasyNCPro will automatically enter the correct Z
geometry setting into the machine and will use T1313 as the tool number.
Click in the G-Code field to see the G-Code change to the new axis coordinates, speed and feed.
Now we have all the operations in place for the Path 1 program we make the program for Path 2.
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Path 2 Operations
The program grid for Path 2 is similar to the Path 1 program grid, but there are only two default
operations: Machine Data and Pick off. These default operations cannot be deleted or moved.
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Click in the Program No field, change the program number to 0002 (same as the path 1 program
number). Enter the drawing number or description in the Drawing Number field.
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The Pick Off step in the program takes care of ejecting the current part from the counter spindle,
approaching the counter spindle to pick off the next part, moving over the part and clamping the
pick off spindle on the next part. There are two fields you can edit, the Pick off spindle speed and the
Rapid approach distance.
Click in the Pick off spindle speed field, change the value to 4000. We want the counter spindle to
run at the same RPM as the main spindle during the cut off and pick up operations.
The Rapid approach distance can remain at 5mm.
Now we will enter some operations into the program grid for Path 2.
Select the Turn tab, drag and drop the first operation into the program grid, Face with LH Boring
bar
Click on Face X Diameter start, change the value to -18, this is a minus value as we are going to use
a left hand boring bar with the tip facing upwards, so the part in the counter spindle collet must be
minus of the part diameter.
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Tab to Face X diameter end, change the value to 1.0, so as the facing ends past the centre line in a
positive direction.
Tab to Z Start point, leave the value at 0.
Tab to Spindle speed RPM or MPM, change the value to 4000.
Tab to Spindle mode, leave the value at 97 (constant RPM).
Tab to Tool number, leave the value at 5151.
Drag and drop a Turn with LH boring bar operation into the program grid.
Click in the Step Name field, change the description to Turn 15mm diameter.
Tab to X start, leave the value at 15. This will be our turned diameter.
Tab to Z Start, leave the value at 0.5. This will be the starting point clear of the front face of the
part.
Tab to Z Finish, change the value to -8. This will be the Z finishing point for the turn.
Tab to Feed rate, change the value to 0.08.
Tab to Spindle speed RPM or MPM, change the value to 4000.
Tab to Spindle mode G97 or G96, leave the value at 97.
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Tab to Tool number, leave the value at 5151. We want to use same tool as the facing operation.
Click in the G-code field to the right to view the G-code.
The G-code that turning operation produced was done in Automatic mode that is the G-code was
produced automatically by EasyNCPro according the parameter values in the operation. As we want
to produce a chamfer of 0.5mm X 45 degrees at the start of the turned diameter we must manually
edit the G-code to do so, this means we will be using Manual mode.
In the G-Code field for the turning operation move the cursor to the end of the line G0Z0.5 and
press the return key to create a new line in the G-code.
Now we will edit the G-code manually by adding the two extra lines of G-code to generate the
chamfer. See the text highlighted in blue below.
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To make sure there are no burrs on the part we also want to make a small break edge/chamfer to
the outside of the bar (18mm diameter). Making another edit to the G-code of the two lines
highlighted in blue to do this.
As we have now edited the G-code the turning operation in the program grid remains in manual
mode Click on any of the parameter fields and all the field values and headings will remain blank. It
is now only possible to make manual edits of the G-code for this operation.
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Click on the
drill tab
Drag an End
centre operation
into the program
grid
Edit the field values, change the Step name to Centre 6mm diameter, change the speed to 3000,
change the feed rate to 0.15 and change the tool number to 5252.
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Edit the field values, change the Step Name to Drill 4.2mm, change the speed to 3000, change the
feed rate to 0.15 and change the tool number to 5353.
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Click on the
Tap tab
The end tapping rigid operation uses the Fanuc G84 tapping cycle. Edit the field values:
Change the Step Name to Tap M8, change the Thread pitch to 0.8, change the Z Finish to -8, change
the spindle speed to 800 and change the tool number to 5454. Leave the X position at 0 as we are
tapping the centre of the part.
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The program for path 2 is now complete. You can view the G-Code.
Any of the parameter values in the Program grid operations can be edited at any time. Just click into
the field and change the value. Clicking into the G-Codes area to the right automatically changes the
G-code program.
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Change to
Path 1
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The G-code for both program paths is displayed. The wait codes for each path will be aligned
horizontally and coloured green.
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Manual Mode
Any of the G-code created by EasyNCPro in automatic mode can be edited in the rightmost G-Code
field. As soon as the G-code is edited by the programmer the automatic function of that particular
operation is cancelled and will switch to manual mode. From then on all the parameter headings and
field values will be removed and the operation will remain in Manual mode, only edits to the G-Code
can be made in the rightmost G-Code field.
Entering a new operation in manual mode.
The programmer can enter an operation into the program grid to be used in manual mode only.
Select the User tab. The Insert user operation can be dragged into the program grid.
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Inserting a user operation into the program grid only allows the programmer to edit the program
in the G-Code field.
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To enable the full screen editing tick the Enable Editing tick box. You will need to confirm the action
as you will no longer be able to drag and drop operations into the program grid, your program will
be completely in manual mode for both Path 1 and Path 2.
The program is grey, adding operations and editing operations in the grid is no longer possible.
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Once Enable Editing is active the full screen editor in the View/Edit G-Code tab is the only way to
make changes to the program.
You can use the standard windows functions such as cut copy and paste inside the full screen
editor to make changes to the program as normal.
Opening a .C1, .C2 or .DNC files from the menu, toolbar or by double clicking on them will also
switch into this mode where drag and drop operations will not be possible.
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The Operation Library upgrade utility needs to write the new operations into the windows Program
Files directory, for this you need to have administrator rights for the PC you are running EasyNCPro
with.
If you dont have administrator rights, or you are not sure click No, the upgrade will be aborted and
you will need to consult your network administrator for an administrator password.
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Otherwise, click Yes to proceed. You then need to select the Machines folder where you unzipped
the files.
Click OK and the new files will be automatically copied into the EasyNCPro program directory.
You must close and re-start EasyNCPro for the Operations Library upgrade to take effect.
Upgrade Dongle
Upgrading the dongle is only necessary when a new range of machines becomes available that can
be programmed using Easy NC Pro. Selecting Tools and Upgrade Dongle will show a dialog
requesting and XML file. This is an encrypted file that contains the necessary upgrades to your
dongle. This is not an operation that will be carried out very often.
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