Tips For Starting CNC Programming
Posted on: 26 April 2017
If you work in a machine shop, there's a good chance that you might need to figure out how to do CNC programming at some point in order to make sure that you are able to fully work all of the machines. This might seem intimidating to you because you are not familiar with the process and don't even know how to start. You might enroll in CNC programming courses in order to get better at it so that you can be more successful in your job, but when you get your assignments for the course, you don't know how to start those either. Here are some tips for starting CNC programming to make the learning curve a little bit less steep.
1. Break the Project Into Steps
You might have a complicated project that requires machinery to carry out a long series of actions. Break each of those parts of the project down into small pieces. Each of these pieces will end up representing a line or two of code. Write down each of the actions that the machine has to carry out in English, line by line. This will allow you to get a feel to the sort of program that you will need to write.
2. Find a Similar Program Online
There is a lot of environment setup that you need to do with CNC programming and it can be easy to skip a step or two, which would mean that your program couldn't run at all. Go online or read through your textbook to find programs that do similar things. Do not straight copy and paste the code. Instead, use their header to set up the environment and modify the existing code to fit your specific needs. This will allow you to avoid a lot of frustration because you might have missed a step that will cause everything else that you do to fail.
3. Follow a Formula
Create a set of coding guidelines for yourself that you always follow. This will make your code more readable for yourself so that it is easier for you to catch bugs. For example, if you need to indent, always indent a certain number of spaces. Always list your axes in alphabetical order. Try to follow professional style guidelines that you find online and stick to whatever style you choose.
For more information, talk to a company that specializes in CNC programming courses.
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