Mike Lynch Founder and President

20 Sep 2010

Custom System Variables

Custom macro system variables provide access to many CNC-machine functions not accessible within normal G-code-level programming.

18 Aug 2010

Certifying a Program as Proven

Many companies that use CNC seem to struggle on a daily basis with programs that have been successfully run in the past. There is no guarantee that it will run flawlessly in the future.

Holemaking 19 Jul 2010

What Don’t you Like About that Canned Cycle?

Almost all CNC users take advantage of control-based canned cycles. Even CAM systems commonly output G-code programs that contain canned cycle commands. This includes hole machining canned cycles, such as drilling, tapping, boring and more, and whatever milling cycles the machine may have. For turning centers, it includes roughing and finishing multiple repetitive cycles.

16 Jun 2010

Primary Applications for Five-Axis Machining

Five-axis machines are complex, and machinists need to be skilled to work with them. However, the machine’s application is really what drives its complexity.

13 May 2010

How Racing Teams Can Help your Shop

Several lessons can be learned about efficient CNC machine tool usage from auto racing teams. Many shop people are racing fans, so the lessons should be pretty easy to drive home—even for newcomers to the shop environment.

15 Apr 2010

Custom Macro B DPRNT Command Applications

The DPRNT command of custom macro B allows you to send text information from the machine through the serial communications port. This is the same port used to send and receive CNC programs, offset data and parameters.

15 Mar 2010

Imperial Versus Metric

Most CNC machinists have already chosen a measurement system for their machine tools. When they find a workpiece dimensioned with a different system, they simply convert the print to their system of choice and run the job in that measurement system. However, there are some things to watch out for when switching measurement systems.

Basics 18 Jan 2010

When Programmers Should Know G Code

The majority of programmers use some kind of CAM system to prepare their CNC programs. The product of any CAM system is a G-code program from which the CNC machine will run. While CAM systems simplify programming, most programmers have to know something about G code. How much they must know depends upon five factors.

Basics 15 Dec 2009

Understanding Custom Macro Version A

Custom macro B is the more powerful and desirable version of custom macro. However, there are still control models that can be equipped with custom macro version A, so never assume that a given machine you plan to purchase will be (or can be) equipped with custom macro B.

Basics 11 Nov 2009

Don’t Expect Others To Know What You Know

We accumulate knowledge every day. While something we’ve just learned is still new, we tend to think about it more. We doubt whether we truly understand it, so until we do, we’re extra careful. However, as time goes on we eventually stop doubting and become confident through positive experience that we thoroughly understand what we’ve learned.

14 Oct 2009

Testing Cutting Tool Life

The first step in replacing dull tools is recognizing when a tool is dull. If you’re leaving this judgment solely to your operators, it’s likely that you are experiencing some inconsistencies in the replacement of dull tools.

16 Sep 2009

Dull Tool Replacement

The importance of improving the task of dull tool replacement is related to the frequency at which cutting tools become dull.