Thought I'd drop this here, for some content if for no other reason. Not exactly cam, but doesn't really belong anywhere else.
It's a small crudely written console app that I wrote in C++ to generate hole toolpaths for an adjustable double angle head. Useful if you have one of those and want to use it on a machine that has no 3D coordinate conversion / arbitrary working plane capability.
I expect the subset of people matching that description is pretty small, but maybe it will be useful to someone. I did promise a long time ago to post it on PM but never got around to it, mainly because it was completely uncommented. Now it's just barely commented instead
It supports drilling, peck drilling, helical boring, threadmilling, and an alignment path to indicate the angle in precisely.
It also supports transforming the origin, so you only need to enter the basic location of the hole in the current work offset and it will offset everything to suit.
There is no UI, so it needs some knowledge of C++ to use. It's a VS project, but all Standard Library so easily transportable.
It came about because I thought I'd be smart and save some money by buying a used head on ebay, but could only find one on 40 taper, and our only 40 taper machine is an ancient Hurco with no 3D conversion capability. If I'd written this in working hours it would probably have paid me to just buy a new one, oh well.
All standard cautions and disclaimers apply
In use:
It's a small crudely written console app that I wrote in C++ to generate hole toolpaths for an adjustable double angle head. Useful if you have one of those and want to use it on a machine that has no 3D coordinate conversion / arbitrary working plane capability.
I expect the subset of people matching that description is pretty small, but maybe it will be useful to someone. I did promise a long time ago to post it on PM but never got around to it, mainly because it was completely uncommented. Now it's just barely commented instead
It supports drilling, peck drilling, helical boring, threadmilling, and an alignment path to indicate the angle in precisely.
It also supports transforming the origin, so you only need to enter the basic location of the hole in the current work offset and it will offset everything to suit.
There is no UI, so it needs some knowledge of C++ to use. It's a VS project, but all Standard Library so easily transportable.
It came about because I thought I'd be smart and save some money by buying a used head on ebay, but could only find one on 40 taper, and our only 40 taper machine is an ancient Hurco with no 3D conversion capability. If I'd written this in working hours it would probably have paid me to just buy a new one, oh well.
All standard cautions and disclaimers apply
In use: