A letter engraving custom macro

by Bruce Litton

Here is a letter engraving program that will engrave the letters A-Z (any size) for any Fanuc or Fanuc compatible control having custom macro B. The control system we currently have is the Yasnac MX3, (programs should work on Fanuc 10m,11m,16m,18m controls). Without the control option for scaling the task of making letters of different size was challenge!

Instructions for use:.

O7000 is an example program that engraves the word "HELLO". We'll use it to explain the use of variables:

 

NOTE: You can keep from having to retype all of the commands in these programs by using your Internet browser's copy function. Simply highlight the program, copy it, and then open your word processor or CNC text editor. Use the paste function to bring the program into your text editor. While there will be some editing to do (you'll likely have to eliminate some funny characters and add carriage returns), this will save a lot of typing!

Understanding program O7000

Program O7000 contains instructions and calculations for the CNC control. Variables used in G65 commands:

The command "G65P7001A8.0B-0.02C15.0D40.0E1.0" will machine the letter H (see code list for A word below). It will be machined 0.02 deep in Z, plunged at 15.0 ipm and machined (XY) at 40.0 ipm. The E1.0 specifies that the machine must move over by the letter spacing to get ready for machining the next letter. If E is set to zero (as it should be after your last letter), there will be no move over after the letter is machined.

Code numbers are as follows:

SPACE-0. A-1. B-2. C-3. D-4. E-5. F-6. G-7. H-8. I-9. J-10. K-11. L-12. M-13. N-14. O-15. P-16. Q-17. R-18. S-19. T-20. U-21. V-22. W-23. X-24. Y-25. Z-26. (Note that you must include a decimal point after each code number in the A word.)

The lettering program

Program O7001 contains all the lettering movements.