CNC Part Programming

CNC Part Programming
CNC Part
Programming
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Topics Covered
• List the steps involved in the development of part program
• Methods of manual part programming
• Computer aided part programming
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Introduction
• Part programming is used to do the work by dividing it into part by a computer,

under the control of a numerical control computer program.
• It is very useful to prepare a program sheet with the help of a drawing sheet.
• Standardized format is used to feed all the data into the numerical control system.
• Programming is where all the machining data is compiled and where the data is
translated into a language which can be understood by the control system of the
machine tool.
• Manual part programming is used to solve simple tasks. It is difficult to solve

complex tasks by using manual part programming, so that the computer aided
part program is used to solve those complex tasks.
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Fundamentals of Part Programming
• In order to prepare part programming, the programmer decides the order of the
machining operations required to produce a component.
• The total steps involved in the development of a part program are listed below:
Prepare the process

plan
Identify the machine
tool
Select the drive axes
Choose tools
Determine machining
parameters
Make job and tool set-
up plans
Decide the tool path
Write the part program
Test the program
Document the program
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The total steps involved in the development of a part program are shown in the below
flow chart:
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The total steps involved in the development of a part program are shown in the below
flow diagram: Process Planning
Machine Tool Selection
Drive Axes Selection
Cutting Tool Selection
Machining Parameters Planning

Steps for Part
Programming
Tool Path Planning
Job and Tool Set-up Planning
Part Programming
Testing the Part Program
Documentation of Part Program
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Process Planning
• The use of NC/CNC machine tools necessitates a detailed process planning of

steps involved in the machining of a component.
• The programmer makes a detailed study of the part drawing and prepares the
process plan.
The process plan consists of:
1. Sequence of operations
2. Machine tools used
3. Jigs and fixtures required
4. Tool type and size
5. Feed rates and spindle speeds
6. Coolant requirement
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Process Planning
• The following figure shows the process plan of the component.
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• The machine tool may be selected according to the type of work and the
operations to be performed.
• The machine tools are broadly grouped into:
1. Positional(point-to-point)
2. Paraxial(Straight line)
3. Continuous path
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1. Positional machine tool (point-to-point):

• This tool is one, in which the slides are controlled in order to reach a particular
fixed coordinate position where machining is to take place.
• No machining occurs until the slide movement ceases.
• Slide displacements from one position to the next position can be slated by
reference to either:
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2. Paraxial machine tools (straight line):

• In this, the cutting process occurs while the machine slides are moving and the
movement path must follow a controlled route.
• If surfaces are to be machined at an angle to

the axes, the machine control unit (MCU) must
be capable of displacing the slides
simultaneously and at suitable rates of feed in
order to produce a cutter path at the desired
angle, as shown in the figure.
• An example of this tool is the milling of a

recess or a pocket.
• In this NC milling machines the operation

can be programmed by defining the path
step-by-step from A to B, etc.
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3. Continuous path machine tools:

• This tool one in which the slide motion in more than one axis is controlled
continuously and simultaneously.
• The system enables profiles in two-dimensional or three-dimensional to be
contour-machined.
Examples: Milling, routing, die-sinking, turning and grinding machines.
The typical components obtained by continuous path turning and milling

operations are shown in the figure below:
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All the CNC machine tools rely on the axes system for defining the axes
motion.
The number of axes in the machine tool are specified under the heading 'P', 'C'
or 'L'.
Positional control in two axes.

2P Example: A drilling machine controlled in x- and y-axes but with the
spindle axis (z) manually controlled.
Line control of two axes for position and velocity.

2L Example: A milling machine equipped with line milling facilities in two
axes, x- and y-.
Positional control in two axes and line control in a third axis.

2P,
Example: A drilling machine controlled in the x- and y-axes with control
L
of feed rate and depth in the z-axis.
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Line control of three axes for position and velocity.

3L Example: A milling machine equipped with linear feed rate facilities in
three axes. x-,y- and z-.
Continuous path control in two axes.

2C
Example: A lathe or a milling machine
2C, Continuous path control in two axes and line control for velocity and
L position in the third axis.
Continuous path control in four axes and line control along one axis.
Example: A milling machine having continuous path control in x- and y-
3C
axes and in two rotatory displacements of the table and linear control of
the spindle in the z-axis.
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Cutting Tool Selection
• Selecting a cutting tool is a very important function, because many cuttings are
possible for a given operation.
• It is very important to select the right tool for the job based on the economy of
manufacturing.
• If accurate components are to be produced, then the machine control unit must be
able to compensate for the variations in cutter size.
• Compensation for the variation of the cutter diameter is manually registered on the
machine console dials by the operator.
• If it is necessary to modify the cutter path by the amount registered on the console,
then the provision is made at the program stage for the machine control unit. This is
called tool diameter compensation.
• When a cutter is either too long or short, the cutter path can be modified by dialing
the error and its direction(+ or -) on the console.
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Machining Parameter Planning
• The appropriate process parameters have to be selected for a given cutting tool
and the operation selected to ensure that each cutting tool achieves the
maximum metal removal rate in roughing operations and the maximum
machined surface coverage in finishing operations.
• This can be done by increasing:
1.Cutting speed
2.Feed rate
3.Depth of cut
• The machine tool must be designed with sufficient power for driving the spindle
and feed mechanisms.
• The spindle speeds are suitable for the use of cutting tools employing cemented
carbide, or other hard tool materials.
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Tool Path Planning
• A huge number of coordinates need to be

determined and fed into the machine control unit
with a sufficient degree of accuracy of a machine.
• In a continuous tool path, the coordinates of a
series of consecutive points on the contour are
supplied MCU.
• The tool path between the points may be in the
form of a series of straight lines, curves from a
circular arc, or curves from a parabolic arc.
• The capacity to perform these movements in
straight lines or curves, carefully computed to fit
the overall pattern of the curve is known as
interpolation.
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Job and Tool Set-Up Planning
Two or more components can be set up side-by-side on the surface of the table
as shown in the figure, when the component and its locating fixture are small in
relation to the size of the machine table.
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• If the machine table can accommodate only one component, the machine
tools are designed with twin tables.
• One table is used for the component being machined, while the other table is
clear of the spindle and the machining area and on this table the operator sets
the unmachined component.
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• The number of tools needed for completing the

operations depends upon the complexity of the
job.
• The tool setting can be peed up with the use of
tools with indexing tool tips or throw-away tips.
• Six or eight tools may be adequate for the simple
drilling operations.
• The indexing turret used on drilling machines is
shown in the figure.
• The indexing movement is powered by a hydraulic
motor and employs a Geneva mechanism.
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Part Programming
The part programmer is responsible for planning the sequence of machining steps
to be performed by CNC and to document in a special format.
There are two ways to program for CNC: These are:
1. Manual part programming
2. Computer-aided part programming
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Testing the Part Program
• In this step, the part program is tested before it is loaded on the machine control
unit for the production of a component.
• A trial run can be carried out with or without the tool or work piece to enable
visualization of movements taking place and of any collision possible between the
tool, the work piece and the clamping device.
• The program is run block by block, during the trial run.
• This is dynamic for eliminating the possibility of collisions during machining.
• Graphical simulation is also possible on the computer. It can be carried out at a fast
speed without much loss of time.
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Documentation of Part Program
It is the essential task of CNC manufacturing.

It involves:
• Part drawing
• Process planning sheet
• Tools cards
• Setting card
• Programming sheet
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Manual Part Programming Methods
• Numerical control information is passed to the MCU in the block format.
• Each block of the NC data may be arranged differently, depending on the
control system requirements of the system configuration.
The four basic tape formats used for NC input are:
1. Fixed sequential format
2. Tab sequential format
3. Block address format
4. Word address format
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Fixed Sequential Tape Format:
• It is necessary for each NC block to be of the same length and to contain the
same number of characters.
• This restriction enables the block to be divided into sub-strings corresponding to
each of the data types.
• Since the block length is invariant, all values must appear.
Example: Even if feed and speed are the same for ten blocks of NC data, ‘f’ and
‘s’ must be coded in each block.
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Block Address Tape Format:
• This eliminates the need for specifying redundant information in subsequent NC

blocks through the specification of a change code.
• The change code follows the blocks and the block and sequence number
indicates which values are to be changed relative to the preceding blocks.
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Tab Sequential Tab Format:
• This uses a special symbol called the tab, to separate data values within a
brock.
• Two or more tabs following one another indicate that the data, which would
normally occupy null locations, is redundant and has been omitted.
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Word Address Tape Format:
• It uses alphanumeric data specification

• Each data value is preceded by a letter, which indicates the type of data that
follows
• Hence, redundant information is merely omitted along with the appropriate
letter.
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Computer Aided Part Programming
Manual part programming is difficult for complex jobs. To overcome this

problem, the computer aided part programming came into picture.
This program consists of two parts, they are:

1. Definition of work part programming
2. Specification of operation sequence and tool path
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Part Programming Languages
Today several part programming languages are used. Few of them are:
1. APT (Automatically Programmed Tools)
2. ADAPT(Adaptation of Automatically Programmed Tools)
3. EXAPT (Extended sub-set of Automatically Programmed Tools)
4. UNIAPT
5. PROMPT
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Part Programming Languages
APT: This was originated at the servomechanism laboratory of the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT).
ADAPT: This was developed by IBM and it was intended to provide many of the features
of APT while utilizing a smaller computer.
EXAPT: This was developed in Germany on the basis of the APT language.
UNIAPT: This was developed by the United Computing Corp. of Carson, California.
NC Cutting Tools: This was developed by weber NC system, Inc., of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. It is designed for use with a variety of machine tools such as lathes,
machining centers, flame cutter and punch pressers.
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APT Language Structure
• APT is not only an NC language but also a computer program that performs the
calculations to generate cutter positions based on APT statements.
• There are four types of statements in the APT language, they are:
1. Geometry statements
2. Motion statements
3. Post-processor statements
4. Auxiliary statements
The APT language consists of different types of statements composed by:
Letters Numerals Punctuation Marks
A slash(/) divides a statement into two

sections. Example: GO/PAST
A comma(,) is used as a separator

between the elements in a statement
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN L1=LINE/P1, P2
0123456789
OPQRSTUVWXYZ An equal(=) sign is used for assigning an
entity to a symbolic name. Example:
Q1=15, 25, 80
The parentheses() are used for enclosing
the nested statements.
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APT Language Structure
Library Functions Symbols
ABS - Absolute value A symbol can be any combination

SQRT - Square root of six or fewer alphabetic and
SIN - Sine of the angle in degrees numeric characters.
TAN - Tangent of the angle in The first character is always an
degrees alphabetic character.
ASIN - Angle of Sine in degrees The symbol cannot be a key
word.
ACOS - Angle of Cosine in degrees
Example:
ATAN - Angle of Tangent in
degrees • P2
• L3
EXP - Exponential
• C5
LOG - Natural logarithm
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Geometry Statements
These are used to define the geometric elements that comprises of work part.
Syntax: Symbol = geometry type/descriptive data
The statement is made up of three sections.
The symbol used to identify the geometric

element
The key word that identifies the type of

geometry element
The descriptive data that defines the element

precisely, completely and uniquely.
To specify a point: P1=POINT/3.0, -5.0, 1.0

To specify a line: L2=LINE/P1, P2
To specify a plane: PLANE/P2, P3, P5
To specify a circle: CIRCLE/CENTRE, P5, RADIUS, 3.0
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Geometry Statements
Point:
It has three coordinates, the x, y and, z-axes. The point is specified in the
following ways:
1. By the rectangular 2. By the intersection

co-ordinates: of two lines:
P1=POINT/3.0, 1.5, 0.0 P1=POINT/L1, L2
3. By the intersection of a line and

a circle:
P2=POINT/YLARGE, INTOF, L3, C1
P3=POINT/XLARGE, INTOF, L3, C1
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Geometry Statements
Point:
• Any of the descriptive words-XLARGE, XSMALL, YLARGE, YSMALL, can be used to

indicate the relative position of the point.
• For point P2, XSMALL or YLARGE can be used.
4.By intersecting 5.In the center of

two circles: a circle:
P4=POINT/YLARGE, P6=POINT/CENTRE,
INTOF, C1, C2 C1
P5=POINT/YSMALL,
INTOF, C1, C2
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Geometry Statements
Line:
• Lines are considered to be of infinite length and do not have a direction. The
following are the methods of definition:
1. By coordinates of 2. By two points:

two points: L1= LINE/P1,P2
L1=Line/2,1,0,5,3,0
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Geometry Statements
Line:
3. By a point, tangent to a circle:
L1= LINE/P1, LEFT TANTO, C1
L2= LINE/P1, RIGHT TANTO, C1
The words LEFT and RIGHT are used by looking from the point toward the circle.
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Geometry Statements
Line:
4. By a point and the angle of the line to the x-axis or another line:
L3= LINE/P1, LEFT, ATANGL, 20
L4= LINE/P1, LEFT, ATANGL, 30, L3
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Geometry Statements
Line:
5. By a point and being parallel to or perpendicular to another line:
L5= LINE/P2, PARLEL, L3
L6= LINE/P2, PERPTOL, L3
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Geometry Statements
Line:
6. By being a tangent to two circles:

L7 = LINE/LEFT, TANTO, C3, LEFT, TANTO, C4
L8 = LINE/LEFT, TANTO, C3, RIGHT, TANTO, C4
L9 = LINE/RIGHT, TANTO, C3, LEFT, TANTO, C4
L10 = LINE/RIGHT, TANTO, C3, RIGHT, TANTO, C4
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Motion Statements
These are used to describe the path taken by the cutting tool.
Syntax: Motion command/descriptive data
Example: GOTO/P4
GODLTA/1.0, 3.0, 0.0
Set-up commands
Motion Commands
Point-to-point motion Contouring motion

commands commands
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Post-Processor Commands
These functions are used to specify the machine tool functions.

These are described below.
• Coolant turns on, off.

COOLANT • Example: COOLNAT/ON, COOLANT/OFF,
COOLANT/FLOOD, COOLANT/MIST
• It is used to specify the feed rate in mm per

FEDRAT minute
• Example: FEDRAT/100.0
• It is used lo stop the machine at the end of a

END
section of the program.
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Post-Processor Commands
These functions are used to specify the machine tool functions.

These are described below.
• It is used to specify the machine tool and to call

MACHIN the post-processor for that machine tool.
• Example: MACHIN/MILL, 1
• It is used to specify the turret position on the

turret lathe or drill or to call a specific tool from
TURRET an automatic tool changer.
• Example: TURRET/T30
• It is used to specify the spindle speed in a

SPINDL revolution per minute.
• Example: SPINDL/3000
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Auxiliary Commands
These commands are used to prepare the computer for:

• Accepting the part program,
• Improve the readability of the part program
• Control the output of the computer.
CLPRNT FINI PARTNO
• It is used to obtain • It is used to • It is used at the

the computer indicate the end of start of program to
print, out of the the computer identify the part
cutter location program. program.
sequence on the
CNC tape.
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CNC Part Programming

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CNC Part Programming

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CNC Part Programming

• List the steps involved in the development of part program

• Methods of manual part programming

• Computer aided part programming

• Part programming is used to do the work by dividing it into part by a computer,

• Manual part programming is used to solve simple tasks. It is difficult to solve

Fundamentals of Part Programming

Prepare the process

Select the drive axes

Decide the tool path

Write the part program

Test the program

Document the program

Fundamentals of Part Programming

Fundamentals of Part Programming

Machine Tool Selection

Drive Axes Selection

Cutting Tool Selection

Machining Parameters Planning

Job and Tool Set-up Planning

Testing the Part Program

Documentation of Part Program

• The use of NC/CNC machine tools necessitates a detailed process planning of

• The following figure shows the process plan of the component.

Machine Tool Selection

Machine Tool Selection

1. Positional machine tool (point-to-point):

Machine Tool Selection

2. Paraxial machine tools (straight line):

• If surfaces are to be machined at an angle to

• An example of this tool is the milling of a

• In this NC milling machines the operation

Machine Tool Selection

3. Continuous path machine tools:

The typical components obtained by continuous path turning and milling

Drive Axes Selection

Positional control in two axes.

Line control of two axes for position and velocity.

Positional control in two axes and line control in a third axis.

Drive Axes Selection

Line control of three axes for position and velocity.

Continuous path control in two axes.

Cutting Tool Selection

Machining Parameter Planning

Tool Path Planning

• A huge number of coordinates need to be

Job and Tool Set-Up Planning

Job and Tool Set-Up Planning

Job and Tool Set-Up Planning

• The number of tools needed for completing the

Testing the Part Program

unit for the production of a component.

tool, the work piece and the clamping device.

• The program is run block by block, during the trial run.

• This is dynamic for eliminating the possibility of collisions during machining.

speed without much loss of time.

Documentation of Part Program

It is the essential task of CNC manufacturing.

Manual Part Programming Methods

• Numerical control information is passed to the MCU in the block format.

• Each block of the NC data may be arranged differently, depending on the

control system requirements of the system configuration.

The four basic tape formats used for NC input are:

1. Fixed sequential format