Programming of CNC Machines. Ken Evans
data; CarrLane Manufacturing for technical data charts in the appendix; Mazak Corporation for photos used in Conversational Programming. CNC Software, Inc., “Mastercam”, for screen shots of the programming process in CAD/CAM; and, GE Fanuc for operation panel, screen shots of the set-up operation and program displays.
Foreword to the Second Edition
It has been said that learning is a lifetime process. In the rapidly evolving computer age, this has never been more true. Manufacturing in general, and machining in particular, has not been immune from the growth of new technologies. CNC programming and CNC machining have not remained untouched, as new materials, new tools, new machine and control features are introduced to the industry. Good learning material to unravel the new approaches and techniques is hard to find. This edition of “Programming of Computer Numerically Controlled Machines” has successfully attempted to fill many voids. As a complete rewrite by Ken Evans of the popular book of the same name by Stanley Gabrel and John Polywka, the book approaches the subject of CNC with 21st century manufacturing in mind. This is a book that has it all.
The best features of the book are its contents and style. The book is very easy to understand – the author shows his skill as a professional communicator on every page. His extensive experience in both industry and educational fields give him a high level of credibility. He tries to be original and, without a doubt, succeeds very well.
The book presents the subject of CNC programming in a practical and well-organized way. Numerous examples, study questions, charts and mathematical formulae complement the extensive text. Illustrations throughout the book lead the reader to the subject of interest.
Written for machinists with little or no CNC experience, this book is a valuable resource for learning CNC programming. The “Operation” section in the early part of the book is designed to ease an experienced machinist into the world of CNC programming. Programming examples are practical, well documented and selected as being typical in machine shops. At the end of the book, the Glossary, the Appendix, and the Index can be easily accessed for instant reference.
As a major update of a popular book, this edition of “Programming of Computer Numerically Controlled Machines” will undoubtedly find its way as a CNC resource for the thousands of machinists, programmers and managers.
Peter Smid
Author of “CNC Programming Handbook”
“FANUC CNC Custom Macros” and
“CNC Programming Techniques”
Ken Evans has held a diverse array of machining and related jobs throughout his career and is currently a Machine Tool Technology instructor at Davis Applied Technology College in Kaysville, Utah, where he has been on the faculty for sixteen years. He is responsible for marketing and delivering customized training for industry partners, both onsite and at the college and also teaches foundations through advanced-level courses in the machining curriculum, including Mastercam CAD/CAM classes for students and educators. He is Project Lead the Way certified for Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM).
Ken has been a Business Development Manager for a manufacturing solutions provider for the last two years.
He was Training and Applications Specialist and one of the nation’s first certified Mazatrol Programming instructor to work with a local distributor teaching Mazatrol Conversational programming classes to their customers. In addition, Ken has trained other educators from around the region in the setup, programming and operation of CNC machines.
Ken began his teaching career in 1984 at the T.H. Pickens Technical Center in Colorado, at the same time working full-time as a CNC machinist and Quality Control Inspector for a local shop. Ken learned the machinist trade in 1976 at Cessna Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas.
Ken loves the outdoors, including golfing, mountain biking, and farming.
The author of this book is a full-time Machine Tool Technology instructor at a local College with over 30 years of CNC operation, setup and programming experience. A strong interest in the practical application of CNC is at the heart of this text; therefore, all theoretical explanations are kept to a minimum so that they do not distort an understanding of the programming. Because of the wide range of information available about the selection of tools, cutting speeds, and the technology of machining, we want this book to reach a wide range of readers. Included among these are: Pre-Engineering students, those already involved in programming or maintaining CNC machines, operators of conventional machines who may want to expand their knowledge beyond conventional machining, and, managers or other interested persons who may wish to purchase such machines in the near future. Finally, I hope anyone with an interest in learning about modern CNC machining methods will find the book to be beneficial, as well.
In this third edition, you will notice many changes and enhancements that will improve your reading experience. Chapter objectives are listed at the beginning of each chapter, specific terminology is presented and study questions are added at the end of each chapter to confirm understanding. Throughout the text, figure captions are added to aid clarity. In the first chapter, the foundation is laid with CNC Basics that set the tone for successful programming. The second chapter on CNC Machine Operation gives the reader perspective about CNC Operation and setup procedures, since the first exposure a machinist has to CNC is usually as an operator. Operators will not be concerned right away with programming, but after some time, practice and the confidence of the owner, operators are given greater responsibility, i.e.: changing wear offsets, performing setups and minor program editing. The first and second chapters emphasize the development of machine setup and program editing skills. Students, machinists, supervisors and design and manufacturing engineers will benefit from these chapters by learning foundational skills associated with setup and operation of CNC machine tools, prior to programming.
Chapters three and four focus on the components and development of program code for CNC Turning and Machining Centers, with over 50 programming examples.
Because of the common use of Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) today and the increasing popularity of Conversational Programming at the machine controller, two new chapters were added to the second edition. In this third edition, the CAD/CAM chapter has been updated to include the current version Mastercam X2 software. Additionally, a new chapter has been added for “Computer Aided Manufacturing from Solid Models” where the latest version of EdgeCAM by Pathtrace is featured. Because of the effectiveness of CAD/CAM, it is now the conventional method for programming used today.
The Mazatrol Conversational Programming chapter has been expanded to include programming examples and study questions and an example program is created using MazaCAM off-line programming software by SolutionWare. Many new machine tools come standard with some form of Conversational Programming.
The appendix contains many useful charts, techniques and math formulas used for line-by-line programming for user reference and the glossary of terms has been expanded to include more definitions.
The purpose of this book is to expand the reader’s current knowledge of CNC programming by providing full descriptions of all program functions and their practical applications. The book contains information on how to program turning and milling machines, which is applicable to almost all control systems. In order to provide clear explanations about one unified system, the controller model referenced here is one of the most widely accepted, popular numerical control systems used worldwide.
Third Edition by Ken Evans