Introduction

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CncSimulator

Introduction
Welcome to the CncSimulator help system. Here you will find explanations of the functions, menus and dialogs of the program. The CncSimulator is used to simulate CNC code for mills and lathes. Thanks to its flexible open architecture it is possible to customise the behavior of the simulation to suit a wide variety of CNC machines. This help file will concentrate on describing the CncSimulator with its default settings. On startup you will se the program window divided in several panes. These are: 1. Simulation panes, these show the tool movements in 2D, 3D and block graphics. 2. Status pane, this pane shows the current tool, tool position, rotation etc. 3. Editor pane, (blue background) In this pane, you edit the cnc code and it also shows the current cnc block during simulation. You can resize the windows by dragging their edges and borders to new positions. There is also a full screen mode where one of the three simulation windows is maximized to cover the entire screen. Read more about: Menus and toolbars Screen layout G and M codes for simulation

On the net: Hope page of the CncSimulator: www.cncsimulator.com Find more help on the net: CncSimulator FAQ: www.cncsimulator.com/support.shtml Also note, you can visit the "user forum" to ask questions to fellow CncSimulator users: www.cncsimulator.com/forums/

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Menus and toolbars

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Menus and toolbars

At the top of the screen are a number of menus and toolbars that are used to access the different functions of the program. To the right side of the editor window is a toolbar that allows the user to step through different text buffers and delete them. Menu functions: File Edit Simulate Screen Settings Help Standard Toolbar: Create a new NC-program. Deletes the current text buffer. If the NC program has not been saved you will first be asked if you wish to save it. Open an existing NC-program. Brings up the file selector dialogue allowing you to choose a file to load. Saves the NC program. Saves the NC program under its current name. Cut Cuts out the selected text and places it in the clipboard. Copy Copies the selected text to the clipboard. Paste Pastes in text from the clipboard at the current cursor position. Undo Takes back the last change in the NC program. Printing Nc programs. Prints out the active NC program. Help Shows this help file. XY-view and XZ-view Milling mode: XY, shows the workpiece as seen from above.

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Menus and toolbars

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Turning mode: XZ, shows the workpiece from the side. First click on the window you wish to change and then on this button. YZ-view Milling mode: YZ, shows the workpiece as seen from the left side. Click the window you wish to change, then press this button. Turning mode: This function is not available in turning mode. XZ-view Milling mode: XZ, shows the workpiece as seen from the front. First click on the window you wish to change and then on this button. Turning mode: This function is unavailable in turning mode. Plot Milling mode: Plot, shows the toolpath. First click on the window you wish to change and then on this button. Turning mode: Plot, shows the toolpath (the tip of the tool). 3D-view Milling mode: This view shows a 3D wire model of the simulation. Use the scroll bars to rotate the graphics around the X-, Y- and Z-axis and to control the distance to the part. Turning mode: This view shows the tool paths in 2D. Block graphics Milling mode: Block graphics, shows the workpiece in solid 3D. First click on the window you wish to change and then on this button. Turning mode: Block graphics, shows the workpiece in solid 3D. Full screen view Milling mode: Shows the active view in full screen mode. First click on the window you wish to change and then on this button. To return to the normal mode, press ESC. Turning mode: Shows the active view in full screen mode.

Editor toolbar: Buffer list Shows a list of the text buffer maintained by the CncSimulator. Previous buffer Switches to the previous text buffer. Next buffer Switches to the next text buffer. Close Buffer

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Menus and toolbars

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Closes the current text buffer. If the NC program has not been saved the CncSimulator will first ask whether the program should be saved or not.

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Screen layout

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Screen layout
The screen is composed of the following elements: Toolbars Editor window Status window It also includes three windows where the workpiece can be viewed from different angles: XY, XZ, YZ, 3D wire frame and 3D block or plot views. Not all of these views are supported in turning mode. You have possibilities to customize the screen layout. Simply drag the frame of the window to make it larger or smaller to have any combination you wish. To change the view, simply click on one of the three simulation windows and then choose from the different types of view listed above. See: menus and toolbars. The toolbars and the status bar can be deactivated to make more room for the simulation windows. You can also drag the toolbars out of the main window so they are floating. To see a simulation window in full screen mode, click on the button on the toolbar. Press Esc when you wish to return to the normal screen layout.

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Codes that are simulated

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Codes that are simulated

Codes for milling: G-codes M-codes Other codes Codes for turning: G-codes M-codes Other codes The CncSimulator comes with two files called STOLK.TLK and FTOLK.TLK. These files are used by the interpreters. They contain strings which the CncSimulator uses to parse the NC program. Making changes to these files affects the way the CncSimulator interprets NC code. If this is the case the following explanations may not be valid.

G-codes for milling

The standard interpreter understands the following G- codes. G0 or G00 G1 or G01 or L G2 or G02 or DRG3 or G03 or DR+ G40 G41 G42 G92 G87 G81, G82, G83, G84 G90 G91 G94 G95 G54 G55 G56 G57 G58 G59 Rapid movement Linear interpolation Clockwise interpolation Anti-clockwise interpolation Turns off cutter compensation Cutter compensation to the left Cutter compensation to the right Zero point displacement Rectangular pocket milling Drill cycle Absolute programming Incremental programming Feed rate in mm/min Feed rate in mm/revolution Zero point 1 Zero point 2 Zero point 3 Zero point 4 Zero point 5 Zero point 6

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Codes that are simulated

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G53

No zero point displacement

M-codes for milling

The standard interpreter understands the following M- codes. M0 or M00 M3 or M03 M4 or M04 M5 or M05 M8 or M08 M9 or M09 M17 M30 or M02 or M2 Program stop Spindle start clockwise Spindle start anticlockwise Spindle stop Coolant on Coolant off Return from subprogram Program end

Other codes for milling

The standard interpreter understands the following codes. F S N T or TOOL CALL X Y Z I J K R or Z R- or ZP L U Feed rate Spindle speed Block number Tool Code for the X-axis Code for the Y-axis Code for the Z-axis Incremental distance to the center in the X-axis Incremental distance to the center in the Y-axis Incremental distance to the center in the Z-axis Arc <180 degrees Arc >180 degrees Overlapping in pocket milling Subprogram block number Subprogram repetitions

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Codes that are simulated

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G-codes for turning

The standard interpreter understands the following G- codes. G0 or G00 G1 or G01 G2 or G02 G3 or G03 G25 G26 G83 G84 G53 G54 G55 G56 G57 G58 G59 G90 G91 G92 G94 G95 Rapid movement Linear interpolation Clockwise interpolation Anti-clockwise interpolation Subprogram call Separate subprograms (disk) Threading cycle Rough machining cycle No zero point displacement Zero point 1 Zero point 2 Zero point 3 Zero point 4 Zero point 5 Zero point 6 Absolute programming Incremental programming Zero point displacement Specify feed rate in mm/min Specify feed rate in mm/revolution

M-codes for turning

The standard interpreter understands the following M- codes. M0 or M00 M3 or M03 M4 or M04 M5 or M05 M8 or M08 M9 or M09 Program stop Spindle start clockwise Spindle start anticlockwise Spindle stop Coolant on Coolant off

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Codes that are simulated

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M17 M30

Return from subprogram Program end

Other codes for turning

The standard interpreter understands the following codes. F S N T X Z I K R or Z R- or ZL D H U Feed rate Spindle speed Block number Tool Code for the X-axis Code for the Z-axis Incremental distance to the center in the X-axis Incremental distance to the center in the Z-axis Arc <180 grader Arc >180 grader Threading cycle parameter diam/radius, point A Threading cycle depth mm/cut Threading cycle total thread depth Sub program amount of repetitions

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File Menu

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File Menu
New Create a new NC-program. Deletes the current text buffer. If the NC program has not been saved you will first be asked if you wish to save it Open Brings up the file selector dialogue allowing you to choose a file to load. Save Saves the NC program under its current name. Save as Brings up the file selector dialogue where you can type in the name the file will be given. Print Prints out the active NC program. Send to CNC Sends the active NC program to the CNC machine. You should prepare the CNC machine for receiving data before you choose this. You must have the correct communications parameters set for this to work correctly. You can read more about communication in the help file accessible from the communications dialogue. Receive from CNC Receives data from the CNC machine. You should choose this function before going to the machine and starting the data transmission. You must have the correct communications parameters set for this to work correctly. You can read more about communication in the help file accessible from the communications dialogue. Load machine settings Here you can load previous machine settings. You can have several files with different settings for different machines. The saved settings include communication and various file settings. These files are saved with the extension *.PRF. When the CncSimulator is started the file cnc.prf is loaded automatically. Save machine settings Here you can save your machine settings. You can have several files with different settings for different machines. The saved settings include communication and various file settings. These files are saved with the extension *.PRF. When the CncSimulator is started the file cnc.prf is loaded automatically. Important: Your settings will not be saved automatically. You need to go to Save Machine Settings under the file menu, this saves the communication parameters, settings for interpreter files, folders etc. If not, the settings will be restored to the default settings when you

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File Menu

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start the CncSimulator next time. To save your settings use Save Machine Settings and name the file after the machine the settings are made for. If you have common settings for all machines or just one machine you should save the settings under the name cnc. This is the default file name of the machine settings file and it will be automatically loaded when the program starts. Also note that this file must be saved in the program folder of the CncSimulator. If you give your machine file settings file another name, like mymachine, you will have to go to File "Load Machine Settings" and select the file mymachine to load your settings. If you have several machines/ controllers you can create machine settings for each one and give them names that will be easy to remember. These can also be placed in different folders along with CNC code etc. Load detail settings Here you can load your detail settings. You can save the size of your workpiece and the mode (milling or turning) in a detail setting file (*.SET). Normally the file name is the same as the NC program it is associated with, except that it receives the extension *.SET. Save detail settings Here you can save your detail settings. You can save the size of your workpiece and the mode (milling or turning) in a detail setting file (*.SET). Normally the file name is the same as the NC program it is associated with, except that it receives the extension *.SET. Exit Exits the CncSimulator.

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Edit Menu

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Edit Menu
Undo Takes back the last change in the NC program. Renumber Renumbers the NC program. Type in the start and increase (step) values for the block numbers. Automatic line numbering Activates automatic block numbering. A dialogue will appear where you type in the start and increase (step) numbers. Every time you press Enter the CncSimulator will generate a new block number. The results may be confusing if you are not at the and of the NC program when you activate this feature. Program statistics Shows a window containing various statistics for the current NC program. Check code Checks the NC program for any illegal characters, changes lower case letters to upper case and inserts spaces into the NC program between G and M codes etc. You can specify what actions this function performs under the settings menu. Compress Removes all spaces in the NC program. This can be useful if the CNC machine you are using has limited memory. Search Shows the search dialogue. Replace Shows the search and replace dialogue. Cut Cuts out the selected text and places it in the clipboard. Copy Copies the selected text to the clipboard. Paste Pastes in text from the clipboard at the current cursor position. Delete Deletes the selected text. New Buffer Creates a new text buffer.

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Edit Menu

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Close Buffer Closes the current text buffer. If the NC program has not been saved the CncSimulator will first ask whether the program should be saved. Calculate This function allows you to perform calculations. You can use addition, subtraction, division and multiplication as well as the functions shown below: sin(x) cos(x) tan(x) asin(x) acos(x) atan(x) pow(x) sqr(x) The sine of the angle x in degrees The cosine of the angle x in degrees The tangent of the angle x in degrees The inverse sine of the angle x in degrees The inverse cosine of the angle x in degrees The inverse tangent of the angle x in degrees x squared The square root of x

The answer is inserted at the current cursor position in the editor view. Maximize editor Maximizes the editor so that it takes up the whole of the CncSimulator window. To resize the editor either drag the left corner with the mouse or hold down the left mouse button and the click with the right mouse button and release both buttons.

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Simulate Menu

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Simulate Menu
Edit Tools Milling mode: Here you can fill in the tool number, diameter, length, feed data, spindle and the name of each tool. Turning mode: Here you can see the contour of the tool. You can fill in the name, cutting data and tool number of each tool. Detail settings This is used to set the size of the workpiece as well as the color scale if the CncSimulator is in the milling mode. Type in the X, Y and Z-size of the workpiece and in certain cases the zero point and color scale. You can choose to show a RIT-file (MicroTech CamModul) as background instead of a rectangular workpiece if you prefer. By clicking the Milling depth button you can decide which colors represent different depths. Zero point register Here you can edit the zero points that are called by G54-G59. Load tools Here you can load a different tool file in milling mode. You can have separate tool files for different machines, for example. Save tools Here you can save the active tool file. Lathe tool path Here you can specify which path the CncSimulator will look in for its tools in turning mode. You can have different paths for different machines, for example.

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Screen Menu

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Screen Menu
Standard Turns on/off the standard toolbar. Status Turns on/off the status line. Milling Sets the CncSimulator in milling mode. Turning Sets the CncSimulator in turning mode. Gas Sets the CncSimulator in gas cutting mode.

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Setting Menu

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Setting Menu
Login To log in you must type in the password. Only after typing in the correct password will you be able to access the other functions of the settings menu. The default password is login. If you wish to prevent others from changing the settings we recommend that you change this password. Lock menu After logging in to the menu the functions are accessible until you lock the menu again. After locking the menu you will have to log in again to access the other functions. Change password Here you can specify a new password. You must type it in twice to make sure there are no typing mistakes. This password will be used to access the settings menu. Simulation settings Here you can set whether the program should be interpreted with millimeter or inch coordinates, if crash checking should be active, if the mill should be shown in the wire frame view and whether the CncSimulator should erase material which has been cut off when turning. File settings Here you can set the default file extensions your NC programs will be saved as and the default path etc. Window commands: Show files of type: decides which files are shown when you open an NC file. Save with extension: decides the default extension the file name will receive unless you explicitly type in an extension. Interpreter mill: decides which interpreter will be used for milling. Tokenfile mill: decides which tokenkfile the interpreter for milling will use. Interpreter lathe: decides which interpreter will be used for turning. Tokenfile lathe: decides which tokenfile the interpreter for turning will use. Cycle prefix mill/lathe: decides the prefix for interpreter cycles (small programs that simulate machine cycles). Path NC-files: decides the default path where NC files will be saved. Always load workpiece options: decides whether the CncSimulator should automatically load .SET files when loading an NC program. Always save workpiece options: decides whether .SET files should be created automatically when saving NC programs. Check NC Code Here you can set which characters should be allowed and not allowed when you choose the function Check code from the edit menu. You can also decide whether the CncSimulator should insert spaces between ISO codes or not. Machine time settings These settings are used for controlling the calculation of real-time cutting information.

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Setting Menu

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Communication settings These are advanced settings that should only be used by people familiar with serial communications between computers and CNC machines. The communication part has its own help system which can be accessed by clicking on the help button. Syntax check Here you can specify certain things the CncSimulator should check for while simulating NC code, for example you can make the CncSimulator generate a warning if there is no spindle start before a G01. Important: Your settings will not be saved automatically. You need to go to Save Machine Settings under the file menu, this saves the communication parameters, settings for interpreter files, folders etc. If not, the settings will be restored to the default settings when you start the CncSimulator next time. To save your settings use Save Machine Settings and name the file after the machine the settings are made for. If you have common settings for all machines or just one machine you should save the settings under the name cnc. This is the default file name of the machine settings file and it will be automatically loaded when the program starts. Also note that this file must be saved in the program folder of the CncSimulator. If you give your machine file settings file another name, like mymachine, you will have to go to File "Load Machine Settings" and select the file mymachine to load your settings. If you have several machines/ controllers you can create machine settings for each one and give them names that will be easy to remember. These can also be placed in different folders along with CNC code etc.

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Help Menu

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Help Menu
About CncSimulator Shows the program version number and to whom it is registered. Help Shows this help file.

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Plugin

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Plugin

In this menu you will see the plugins you choose to install in the CncSimulator plugins folder. Plugins can be downloaded from www.cncsimulator.com.

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Download a new petrol-file

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Download a new petrol-file

After using CncSimulator for 90 days, you have to download your first petrol-file. The petrol-file will let you run the CncSimulator completely free of charge until the next expire date. This is how you do it: If this page was automatically shown during a start attempt you have also got the Download petrol message.

1. Click OK and the Out of fuel dialog appears.

2. Click the button marked www.cncsimulator.com, that will start your default browser and take you to the CncSimulator web page. 3. Click the link Petrol Station. 4. Click the button Copy to clipboard in the Out of fuel dialog. 5. Click in the Fuel code edit box on the web page, right-click on the mouse and select paste. 6. If the fuel code have not been copied to the edit box, type in the number manually. 7. Type your email address in the Email edit box. It is important that the email address is correct as the petrol-file will be sent to this address.

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Download a new petrol-file

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8. Click the Full tank button. A link to where you can dowload a new petrol-file have now been emailed to your address. 9. Copy the file to the directory where you have installed CncSimulator (default C:\Program\CncSimulator). 10. Close the Out of fuel dialog and restart the program.

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