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This documentation section has text mostly about DANCAM.EXE (tm) and DANPLOT.EXE (tm), my CAM programs, and might be looked to for information on some of the CAM program commands. See also the other documentation files, and pages in this Web site, for additional information. The disclaimer and most of the other legal text has been moved to SECTION: 0 , you must read the disclaimer, End User License Agreement (EULA), and other legal text, before you read any of the other documentation or use any part of this HTML document or associated files and programs. Be sure to read all the Warnings in SECTION: 3.2.10.0 , and the other documentation, before running, installing, testing, or using any of my programs, and especially before using DANCAM.EXE (tm) and DANPLOT.EXE (tm).

The text in this section was derived from the CAMPLOT.DOC file that was in the original v2.6 distribution, and has been updated somewhat so that some of the changes made in v2.7 are reflected. It may take me some time to get back to work some more on this section, but you can help proof-read what is here now. Some adjustment may be required for versions prior or subsequent to v2.72 since there are variations between versions and the various revisions of versions.

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DANCAM.EXE (tm) and DANPLOT.EXE (tm) are meant to be used with DANCAD3D (tm) or DANCAD87 (tm). DANCAD3D (tm) lets you draw line segments in a certain order, and keep that order of line segments in the tool path file that is saved. Since you know the order of the points you want the tool to move to, to make your part all you have to do is draw the line segments between the points you want, in the order you want, with DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor. To make quasi circles, quasi curves, and surfaces you can use some of the various other commands DANCAD3D (tm) has for drawing and editing tool path files. If you wish to use some other program to make tool path files for use with DANCAM.EXE (tm) or DANPLOT.EXE (tm) you can try to write a computer program to convert the other program's file format into the DANCAD3D (tm) ASCII file type.

DANCAM.EXE (tm) or DANPLOT.EXE (tm) can make ASCII tool path files without using the CAD programs to draw the lines by using their "teach" mode. Within the teach mode you can Jog the tool around, mark the starting point of a line of movement, Jog to the ending point of a line of movement, and save the line segment marked to the ASCII file to record that motion for later repetition by executing the tool path file you made. The teach mode in v2.7 has a graphic display, so you can see the line segments of the tool path file as you draw them, and in EGA and VGA video mode you can see the line segments displayed in color to check the feed rates used. The teach mode has an option that lets you mark several points you want to have fall on a curved motion path, then the program smoothes the path between the marked points to make a smooth quasi curve in the tool path file saved. Tool path files you have made with the teach mode should be looked at by using the drawing editor in the CAD programs to see if there are any mistakes in the tool path file that need to be edited out before the tool path file is executed in the CAM programs to repeat the motions made while you where teaching the motions to make.

The CAM programs also each have a replicate scanning command that can be used to make a tool path file that would be used to make a reproduction of sorts of the scanned object. In the teach mode you need to manually teach the movements, which could be done by tracing around an object. In the replicate modes the object is scanned in raster fashion automatically by using a sensor probe. The CAD programs are then used to process and edit the files produced by the replicate scanning in order to make a tool path file suitable for execution in the CAM programs in order to make something.

The CAM programs can also be used to make tool path files. The CAM program's teach mode will save the automated machine tool movement data in DANCAD3D.COM (tm)'s ASCII drawing file type, so you can use DANCAD3D.COM (tm) to view and edit the lines in the tool path file made with the CAM program teach mode. It is recommended that you always inspect your tool path files with DANCAD3D.COM (tm) by viewing the movement lines in the drawing editor before you try to machine the part using the tool path file, since the tool path file may contain mistakes that you may not be aware of without a close inspection of the finished tool path file.

If you use the teach mode in DANPLOT.EXE (tm), only draw lines while the "tool" is in the down position, use the keys listed in the teach mode menu to move the tool from up to down. After you move the tool down press the [Del] key on your keyboard to start a new set of lines, just like you would do in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor, then press [Ins] until you need to move the tool up again, and then repeat as needed. Gaps are permitted in tool path files used in DANPLOT.EXE (tm), but the tool must be up during the motions across the gap between the line segments.

Many of DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing features can be applied to the drawing of a tool path file for use in guiding the motion of a tool driven by DANCAM.EXE (tm) or DANPLOT.EXE (tm).

You should look at the DANCAD3D (tm)'s macro documentation, including Appendix B, information on the drawing commands and the macro language. Macros might be useful for creating, converting, editing, or manipulating tool path files.

Tool path files might look a little strange to you at first, but if you know what type of tool is being used you should be able to figure out what the finished part will look like. The lines in the tool path make the tool move around the finished part, and so the finished part is the space where there are not lines in the tool path, since the lines in the tool path are where material was to be removed.

One common characteristic of some tool paths for milling is that they contain a lot of parallel lines or concentric circles. The spacing between the parallel lines or concentric circles would give the depth, or width, of the cut to be made. Successive "stacked" planes of parallel lines might be used to rough out deep pockets. The lines for the finish cut are the last lines that you draw. If you are using the backlash compensation for your automated machine remember to draw the lines for the rough cuts back from the finish cut line by twice the amount of backlash for each axis.

When you create tool cycles for pockets or counter sunk holes you should make the starting and ending line segments stick up above the surface of the work-piece. Always make sure that the tool movements for each pocket, or other area being machined, begin and end well clear, away from, the part you are making so that the tool does not bump into the part on its way to the next area being worked on. You will not need to connect the "flag poles" sticking up above the plane of the work-piece surface since DANCAM.EXE (tm) will automatically move in a straight line to the next point (i.e. to the next top of a "flag pole.") If you do not want the CAM program to go in a straight line to the next "flag pole" you will need to draw a safe path around any obstacles. The [L]ink command in the CAD programs can be used to connect the "flag poles" so you can see the linking motions as line segments on the drawing editor screen.

The rapid motion type in the CAM programs does not move in a straight line from point to point like the linear motion type, so you need to be extra careful about arranging the "flag poles" or other clearance movement extension parts of your tool path files if you are going to be using the rapid motion type movements in the CAM programs.

Tool path cycle "symbol" elements that you create can be altered with DANCAD3D (tm)'s [M]agnify and [R]otate commands to adjust the size of the cut to be made. Since you generally want the parallel lines in your tool path cycle spaced about one third the diameter of the end mill, if you magnify "across" the parallel lines you will change the radius of the cutter you need to use. If you magnify a tool path cycle for a pocket in the axis of the parallel lines the depth, or width, of the cut will not change. If you magnify across the pocket's parallel lines, increasing the spacing between the parallel lines, you can still use the tool cycle element if a larger diameter cutter is used. If you use a larger, or smaller, cutter you would need to magnify along the length of the cuts as well to compensate for the change in the total length of the cuts made.

You might want to use the Alias symbol drawing feature in DANCAD3D (tm) to quickly load tool cycle element files, into a tool path you are drawing. The Alias feature lets you load a symbol, or in this case a tool motion cycle saved to a file, by pressing [Alt] and [SomeKey], you can then drag the loaded lines, in this case a tool path cycle, into correct position and drop them there. The [D]ot cyclize command in the CAD programs can be used to load tool cycle files at marked points automatically.

You might be able to write a macro in DANCAD3D (tm) that will automatically create your tool cycle from prompting you to type in the pertinent dimensions, e.g. tool radius, length and width of cut, depth of cut, rotation or tilt if any, and so on. See the description of the INPUT macro command in Appendix B.

Holes can be drilled by having DANPLOT.EXE (tm) read an ASCII tool path file that just has dots, i.e. line segments with no length, where you want the holes to be. The depth of the holes, and drill feed rate would be set up in DANPLOT.EXE (tm)'s configuration menu. See the [O]ptimize command in the CAD programs to rearrange the dots for drilling in a tool path file so that the automated machine might waste less time making unnecessary movements due to the dots being drawn in less than optimum order. See the [D]rill points command in the CAD programs to extract the drill point dots from shapes or symbols, such as PCB pads, that are loaded into the drawing workspace. The [C]lean command in the CAD programs can be used to help make sure the drill point dots fall on an even grid spacing.

As was mentioned above, when there is a gap in between the lines drawn in a tool path, my CAM programs normally skip over the gap and go to the next point in the tool path, although there are differences between how my two CAM programs achieve this. If you wish to use my CAD programs to convert an ASCII tool path file, you have made for use with my CAM programs, that contains some gaps into a G code file, for use with some machine that uses G codes, you will probably have to use the [L]ink command in the CAD programs to remove the gaps from the tool path line sequence since some G code interpreters and controllers treat gaps in the tool path as a fatal error, and would stop at a gap and not finish the tool path.

For lines that are drawn in the tool path, the line segment color is used to determine the feed rate based on the values entered into the CAM program's configuration file. In the CAM program configuration file you can set the speed the tool travels over a wide range from the maximum rapid move, down to very slow. When the below pull-in speed motor speed ramping is on, the line color determines the maximum speed that will be achieved if the line segment is longer than the ramping slope up and down distance, i.e. on short lines not enough time exists to "ramp" all the way up to the feed rate speed requested.

As may have been mentioned elsewhere the line color in the tool path also controls the auxiliary relays, dwell, and the programed pause for the machine operator. If, in the DANCAM.EXE (tm) or DANPLOT.EXE (tm) configuration menu, you set up the auxiliary relay "D" to come on with line color #1 and your tool path starts with a line in line color #1 you can use the auxiliary relay to start the spindle motor of your tool automatically. Likewise you can program the spindle motor to shut off by using another line color, and also have another color for use with the dwell and programed pause for machine operator. The status of the auxiliary relays may return to the default at the end of the tool path file and so might shut off the spindle and coolant flow automatically. Always find out what the default states for the auxiliary relay pins on the parallel port are before you hook-up the relays, you can check the pins on your parallel port with a high impedance volt meter.

Press [L] for "Line Style" while drawing in DANCAD3D (tm) to select the current drawing line color number. The commands in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor's [L]ine edit sub-menu's [L]ine style command may let you alter the line color of any line segment in any element that is already loaded into the workspace.

The [P]alette command in the CAD program drawing editor's [S]et-up sub-menu lets you change which line color is displayed for which line color is drawn. You can change the default color for line color 1 from dark blue, to white, and such. Line color 0 sets the color used for the background of the drawing editor and the CAD main menu preview command in some of the video modes. The CAM programs can read a palette file saved from the CAD programs, so that the line colors displayed in the CAM teach mode's graphics display will match.

With an EGA, VGA, or VESA SVGA video board you can see your tool path line segments displayed in 15 colors with DANCAD3D (tm)'s main menu [P]review command, or the drawing editor. This color display can help in checking that you have the feed rates selected correctly. In versions subsequent to v2.7 other display modes may have been added, so check the versions of the programs you have to see what modes are available in them.

The following are the steps required to draw a tool path element while being able to visually see the shape of the cutter on the computer screen. Please see also sections pertaining to DANCAD3D (tm) for any possible explanation of the commands indicated below.

The most obvious method of compensating for the tool radius in operations such as vertical milling is to simply draw the line of the tool path off to one side of the part by the amount of the radius of the cutter. Selecting the [D]elta cursor position display reading in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor will show you the relative distance of the drawing cursor from the last marked point so you will not have to do so much subtraction or addition in your head.

To help in visualizing the interference of the cutter with the finished part, fixtures, and the machine itself you can use the [D]rag command in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor to drag an element with the outline of the tool while drawing the lines for your tool path from inside the Drag command. If you want to you can include the outline of any tool holder with the tool outline, so as to keep track of interference between the tool holder and the work-piece. The tool and holder outlines can be in 3D so that you can change views, by using the [V]iew command, while drawing the tool path inside the Drag command and see the tool and holder 3D outline from any view. Before you enter the drag command you can load or draw an element that has outlines of the finished part, the raw stock, and the fixtures and machine parts, to aid you in keeping track of all the obstacles that you do not want to collide with.

The instructions below list the steps involved in using the [D]rag command while drawing a tool path. In a practical tool path drawing session you would probably exit and enter the [D]rag command several times in order to use the [P]olygon or other commands in the drawing editor.

To make editing of the tool path easier you should probably have DANCAD3D (tm)'s automatic output macro feature turned on, i.e. in modes New or Append, so that if you make a mistake, or want to make some changes later, you can edit your output macro rather than having to fiddle with the drawn lines, that are part of your tool path file, with the drawing editor's line editing commands.

The steps here assume that you will be using DANCAD3D.COM (tm) to draw cutter paths with radius compensation for the cutter shape by using the Drag command. My CAD programs also have an automatic radius compensation command, [R]adius comp, that can be used as a drawing aid, can perform cutter radius compensation while loading a G code file through use of G code commands G40, G41, and G42, can perform approximate cutter radius compensation on loading or tracing BMP drawings, and do automatic 3D cutter radius for contour surfaces by using the NC Fill tri path, a.k.a. FILL_TRIANGLES, command.

If you want to change the line color attribute for any of the line segments in the tool path, such as the line segment for the final cut, you can use the commands in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor [L]ines sub-menu. The conversion of the line color attributes in the tool path data file, into feed rates, is done using the values that you have entered into the DANPLOT.EXE (tm) and DANCAM.EXE (tm) feed rate table, e.g. option #4 in the DANPLOT.EXE (tm) and DANCAM.EXE (tm) configuration installation sub-menu.

You can also draw the bulk of the tool path in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor's [D]raw lines sub-menu, and only when the lines for the final cuts need to be drawn go into the [D]rag command in the [E]lements or [O]n screen sub-menu to align the cutter outline to the final shape outline guide element. Doing most of the drawing of the tool path lines outside the [D]rag command might be easier and quicker. If you want to add line segments to the tool path element that you started in the [D]raw lines sub-menu use the [D]rag command as described above in step 5. but select command [E]lastic line in place of command [B]egin element (the [E]lastic line is normally off in the [D]rag command, but you can turn it on so that you will be able to see the location of the line you are about to draw.) Be sure that you remember to [E]rase any guide elements in the workspace before you save the tool path element to an ASCII file so that the guide elements do not accidentally become part of the tool path file!

If you need to use the [U]ndo line command to "back up" while drawing your tool path, be sure to put the drawing cursor at the last point in the tool path that remains, and press the [Del] key to reestablish the last point drawn as the starting point of the next tool movement line you will draw. That is, so you do not leave unintentional gaps in your tool path motions. You can use the [R]ecord point and [J]ump to point commands to make going back to points the cursor was at earlier easier.

If your tool path ends up being in several elements you can use the [J]oin command to join the elements into one element. Since the Join command can change the element order, you might do better to erase the guide elements, and then save the tool path elements as element #0 which will combine all the elements in the workspace into a single file, with the order the same as the element numbers in the work-space. Always inspect your finished tool path files to make sure that elements where joined in the desired order, otherwise the tool may move in incorrect directions to connect the out of order elements. You can write a macro if you need to rearrange several elements, e.g. save all the elements in separate files, initialize the drawing work-space, then load the elements back in the desired order, and then save all of the elements to one file by selecting element zero as the element to save.

DANCAD3D (tm) supports the CalComp "Drawing Board II" digitizer tablet, so if you have paper drawings of a part, you might generate the required tool path by moving the drawing board's "cursor" puck around on the drawing. The drawing should be taped down to the tablet so as to avoid movement. You might approximately figure the cutter offset by taping a transparent scaled outline of your cutter to the cross hairs on the tablet's "cursor" puck. You would use the edge of the cutter shaped cutout taped to the tablet's "cursor" as a guide to follow around the outlines of your part's shape on the part drawing or photograph taped to the tablet face. Since it might be hard to move the "cursor" puck to points less than plus or minus 0.01 inch, you would probably want to work with drawings larger than ten times the finished parts actual size. If you photograph parts with a confocal lens you can make an enlarged photograph that lacks perspective and so would be better for tracing around to get the true shape. A shadow-gram of a part can be made by having the light source at a great distance, or by using a collimated light source that comes in parallel rays from a large lens or concave mirror. Such a shadow-gram can be useful for tracing since it lacks perspective due to the part thickness, that would introduce dimensional errors for the portions of the part not in contact with the photographic paper or translucent screen.

DANCAM.EXE (tm) and DANPLOT.EXE (tm) have a "teach" mode that allows you to use them to create a tool path file that can be "re-played" to make parts. Just use the Joy- stick, hand-wheel encoder, the cursor keys, or enter the position of end points with the teach command's [G]o-to point command. See main menu option #6 in DANCAM.EXE (tm) or DANPLOT.EXE (tm). Note that only DANCAM.EXE (tm) records the actual Z axis position for the movements marked out. The Joy- stick buttons work like [Del/.] and [Ins/0] in DANCAD3D (tm) to mark the start and end of line segments. In the teach mode command you might also be able to make quasi curves in 3D space by using the curve fitting option and marking points to curve fit that are not in a single plane. The compensation for the cutter radius would be done while the tool was Jogged around inside the teach mode, and so would not need to be added by editing later.

The [R]adius comp command in my CAD program's [N]C sub-menu takes an outline element of a part and creates a new outline that follows the source outline at a distance to one side equal to the radius value entered. You can select for the result outline element to follow along the right or left side of the source element. The [R]adius comp command can be used with quasi circles and free form quasi curves made of short line segments. [R]adius comp command can be used with concave and convex quasi curves, and elements that combine straight lines and free form curves. The lines in the source element cannot cross over each other. If any slots or groves are drawn in the source element they must be wider than the diameter of the cutter, i.e. more than twice the cutter radius value entered, or the [R]adius comp command will not make the path reach the bottom of the grove. Some care must be given to the lines drawn that approach and come from an element drawn that is given radius compensation, so that the tool will not enter the work-piece at an angle that would chop off corners and such in a way that would be undesirable.

The [R]adius comp command can work on 2D source elements drawn in one of the three planes parallel to the major axis, and so can be used for various lathe or milling operations without having to use the [R]otate command for planes other than working from the [F]ront view.

Radius compensation like the drawing editor's [R]adius comp command can be achieved by using the G code commands G40, G41, and G42 in your G code files that you load by using the [F]iles [L]oad [I]ndustry [G] code command.

The application of the G code commands G40, G41, and G42 in my CAD programs G code interpreter may be somewhat different than in some other G code interpreters or machine controllers, in as much as my command usage allows for straight lines, arcs, and free form quasi curves made of short line segments all to be mixed while the radius compensation is used. The G code commands G41 and G42 can be active while the arc commands G02 and G03 are used, and the resulting path will follow around the arcs made by the radius value for the currently selected tool.

The radius for the currently selected tool, e.g. T00, T01, T02, is obtained while the G code file is being loaded from the tool offset table that is configured in the [F]iles [L]oad [I]ndustry [G] code command sub-menu.

The [J]et [F]atten command that is used in conjunction with the [J]et [T]race command can be used to approximate cutter radius compensation within one pixel in the Jet page file, i.e. +/- 1/300 inch for the 300 d.p.i. Jet page files, or +/- 1/150 inch for the 150 d.p.i Jet page files. Grater accuracy could be obtained if the scanned image was an enlarged view of the part and the therefore the traced outline could be reduced to be made smaller with the [M]agnify command, i.e. with 4x reduction you could get accuracy of about +/- 0.0008 inch.

The [O]utline command in the CAD program's [H]ardcopy sub-menu combines several of the Jet commands to make tracing outlines easier. You can enter the value for the cutter radius compensation that you want to use. If the drawing is an enlarged view, you would enter a proportionately larger value for the radius compensation, i.e. if your view is 4x you would enter for times the radius value. The radius compensation can work in a positive or negative direction depending on if you want to cut around the outside or the inside of a shape. If you are cutting around the outside of a dark shape you would use positive cutter radius values so that the tool would be moves away from the dark areas. If your dark areas marked holes to be cut out you would use negative cutter radius values so that the cutter would move in smaller motions only inside the marked holes.

Even with the cutter radius compensation for scanned images, you would probably want to use a small cutter so that inside corners would not get rounded off too much.

DANPLOT.EXE (tm)'s special replicate scanning mode can be used to scan the object in cases where you want to scan in the same machine that will be used to cut out the part in order to cancel out dimensional distortions or differences between the scanning and machining machines. The *.NOR scan file made in DANPLOT.EXE (tm) is converted into a BMP file by using the file utility commands in the CAD program's [F]iles [U]tilities sub-menu.

The [F]ill tri path command in the CAD programs' drawing editor's [N]C sub-menu can be used to produce a 3D tool path for making a contoured surface in your automated machine from an element made of triangles. The macro keyword for the [F]ill tri path command is FILL_TRIANGLES.

One of the options in the [F]ill tri path command is to introduce a 3D offset away from one side of the surface, which might be used to compensate for the radius of a ball shaped cutter. In order for this 3D cutter radius offset to work well, the size of the triangles in the source triangle element of the surface must be smaller than the surface tolerance distance, in order for the concave and convex portions of the surface to have the correct height. The [D]ivide triangles command can be used to reduce the triangle's size before the [F]ill tri path command is used. For portions of the surface in the middle of large flat areas it may be possible to make the triangles somewhat larger, and let the [F]ill tri path command fill in the cutting lines, but the curved parts, especially those parts of the surface with a radius close to the radius of the cutter the triangles need to be very small. Because the triangles need to be small, and therefore there would be very large numbers of triangles, the file sizes of the temporary and tool path files will be very large, and you will need the maximum amount of free space on your disk drives.

If the cutter radius value of zero is used, and the source triangle contour surface element is drawn taking into account the cutter radius that will be used to machine the surface, the triangles in the surface may be able to be made larger, and the preparation of the tool path might involve working with smaller files since so many triangles will not be needed.

The 3D cutter radius compensation that the [F]ill Tri path produces will only work with a ball or hemispherical cutter. If you need to use another shaped cutter, you might be able to use the replicate mode in DANCAM.EXE (tm) with a probe the same shape as the cut the cutter makes, see below.

When you use the replicate mode in DANCAM.EXE (tm) the size and shape of the scanning probe introduces an offset to the end points of the line segments saved in the file made while scanning. If the scanning probe has the same size and shape as the cutting tool's cut shape then the scanning probe will introduce the correct amount of 3D cutter radius compensation to the points in the scanned data that can be edited in the CAD programs and used as a tool path file to make a replicated part.

To capture fine details during the replication scanning you would want to use a pointed probe, but to get a smooth finish you would want to use a ball shaped cutter, so the radius of the scanning probe and therefore also the cutter will be a compromise between the requirements for detail and surface smoothness.

Having the spindle rotating the probe while scanning may improve the accuracy of the tracing by the scanning probe, but would probably mark or damage the part being scanned more.

When you need to use commands that create new elements such as the [P]olygon command, or the [F]it-curve command in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor, you can unite the separate elements created in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing work-space into a single ASCII tool path file by erasing any guide elements (e.g. the finished part outline element, and the tool outline element) and then use element number 0 as the element to save with the [S]ave [A]SCII command. The [J]oin command in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editors [E]lements sub-menu can also be used to unite elements into a single tool path element, however you need to check the line order after you use the [J]oin command to make sure that the lines are arranged in the right sequential order. You can use the [F]ind points command in the [L]ines edit sub-menu to check the order of the points in the lines drawn in the work-space.

If you need to rearrange the order of elements that will become a tool path file you can save all the elements in the workspace with DANCAD3D (tm)'s main menu [F]iles [S]ave [E]lements command. Then [I]nitialize the workspace. Then use the main menu [F]iles [L]oad [3]D-Quick command to reload the individual elements one at a time in the order you want the elements to be in. When all the elements are loaded back into the work-space in the proper order, use the main menu [F]iles [S]ave [A]SCII command to save all of the elements as element number 0 to make the tool path file from the combination of all of the loaded elements. You can also write a DANCAD3D (tm) macro to do such element rearrangement operations for you automatically, see the example macro below.

EXAMPLE: VERSION v2.7A
         { Macro to rearrange the element order. }
         { The workspace would have four elements here... }
         SAVE ELEMENTS MYELE.3DR
         INITIALIZE
         LOAD 3D MYELE004.3DR
         LOAD 3D MYELE002.3DR
         LOAD 3D MYELE001.3DR
         LOAD 3D MYELE003.3DR
         # 0 SAVE ASCII MYTLPATH.ASC
         { End Macro. }

In v2.7 the [J]oin command was revised and now has three modes: join all of the elements in the workspace into one element, join all of the elements with their element number above the selected element's number, and join just two selected elements from all of the elements in the workspace. If you just join two elements the element numbers for many of the elements can change, so use the [U]pdate command in the drawing editor to check which elements numbers belong to which elements after you use [J]oin.

The [S]plit command in DANCAD3D (tm)'s drawing editor's [J]ockey sub-menu lets you break up a single element in a tool path file into smaller elements for editing. [S]plit can be used as an "un-do" for [J]oin. If you forget to use the [B]egin command to start a new element, and part of your tool path gets appended to one of the guide elements, you might use [S]plit to break off the part you want to keep, and use the [E]rase command to erase the other part.

You can also use the CAD program's [W]rite command to load two or more ASCII tool path files to manually join them, or to load an ASCII tool path file to extract part of the motions.

If you load several tool cycles, i.e. short tool path files, into the drawing work-space that do not connect, you may want to use the [P]lotterize and [L]ink drawing editing commands to add motion line segments so that the connecting motions between the elements loaded and joined will make for a properly completed tool path file.

Although not strictly the domain of using DANCAM.EXE (tm) or DANPLOT.EXE (tm) I might say something about setting up the work-piece. In order to be able to make usable parts you will need to be very careful in your choice of fixtures for holding the work-piece. The position of the work-piece relative to the tool's home position must be known to small tolerances if you are to be able to flip a part over and cut the back side to line up with the front side. To aid in lining up the part when you flip it over you might make a special tool path that drills holes all the way through the part to act as reference points, or just makes some finished flats on sections that will be later cut off. You could then make a tool path file that would move a dial gage around in the tool holder (with the spindle off) and pause on points on the work-piece to help with alignment. Various kinds of edge finder could be likewise used to zero in on holes and flats. If such a set up routine was put at the head of the tool path the [A]djust tool position command in DANCAM.EXE (tm) and DANPLOT.EXE (tm), i.e. [Ctrl] and [A], could be used to jog the tool around to line up before the cutting starts. Be sure the safety shields on your automated machine are closed while you Jog the machine in the tool adjusting Jog command mode.

When you prepare a tool path that will have the tool position in the machine being adjusted with the [A]djust tool position command while the tool path is being executed, you need to pay attention to the location of the last point in the tool path file relative to the starting or home position so that the movement to the last point in the tool path file is not shifted buy the adjustments to the tool position to be "past" the starting or home position, where such movement might damage the home switch or other parts of the machine. It is best to have the last point in the tool path file be above the work-piece and clear of any obstructions, and have the program make a substantial movement, i.e. movement grater than the sum of all possible adjustments, from the last point in the tool path file back to the home switch or starting point by itself.

You might divide your roughing and finish tool paths into separate files. After you do your rough cutting and turn your machine off you might use a dial gauge or caliper to see if the part is coming out properly before you close the safety shields, turn the machine back on, re-home the machine, and run the final cut tool path. Before you run the final cut tool path, you might be able to use DANCAD3D (tm) to make adjustments to the offsets from home position and such in the final cut tool path file to correct for any measured errors in the rough cut.

To minimize errors in the centering of the work-piece on your automated machine, and such, it is always best if the whole part can be produced without un-clamping the work-piece, or at least moving the clamps around one at a time without letting the work- piece move at all, e.g. use three or more clamps. If you can make the finished part from one set up, all you might have to worry about is that you have the part centered well enough that you do not run out of material on one side of the work-piece.

To make small three dimensional parts you might construct a fixture that lets you bolt down a guide plate with guide pins, and then submerge the work-piece in a block of firm wax (or special low temperature melting point metal alloy containing Bismuth & Indium) that has guide sleeve inserts cast into the block of wax such that the block of wax can be rotated and centered on the inserts (over the fixture's guide pins) without losing the accuracy of position of the part inside the block of wax. After making all the cuts from one side a mold would be placed over the fixture and new melted wax pored over the part such that the block of wax with the work-piece inside of it and the embedded guide sleeves can be flipped over to work the other side. Liquid plastic, or molten lead alloy, clay, plaster, or tar could be used in place of the wax so long as the encapsulating material can later be washed or melted away without damaging the valuable part, i.e. work-piece, inside, and the material would not damage the cutter when the cutter cuts through the material to get at the work-piece inside.

A three jaw chuck can be mounted on the table of a vertical milling machine to hold round parts that need to be flipped over without losing the centering of the part. Once you find the distance from the home switch home position to the center of the three jaw chuck, i.e. using a gauge in the mill spindle, those home position to chuck center offsets will be the same for various sizes of round parts locked in the three jaw chuck until the chuck is removed or repositioned.

To give you something to test the DANCAM.EXE (tm) and DANPLOT.EXE (tm) programs with I have probably included some demo ASCII tool path files in the distribution with the programs. After you get your motors hooked up, and have adjusted and calibrated the programs configuration to your computer and automated machine, you can execute these demo files to see if the motors are working properly and the configuration values you entered are correct.

A demo batch file is provided for each of the CAM programs. Enter DEMOPLOT.BAT from DOS with the prompt changed to the drive and directory the DANPLOT.EXE (tm) files are in. DEMOCAM.BAT does the demonstration for DANCAM.EXE (tm).

EXAMPLE: C:\DC27>DEMOPLOT.BAT
         C:\DC27>DEMOCAM.BAT

You can also enter the filename of the demo ASCII tool path files after the CAM program name manually from the command line, or pick menu option #1 in the program and enter DANCAM.ASC or DANPLOT.ASC, according to the CAM program of the same name, to see the programs work.

EXAMPLE: C:\DC27>DANPLOT DANPLOT.ASC 1
         C:\DC27>DANCAM DANCAM.ASC 1

Your automated machine should be equipped with an emergency stop switch, i.e. a large red mushroom button switch, so that you can kill the power and stop your machine in a safe way if something goes wrong and you need to stop the automated machine quickly.

You may be able to pause, or interrupt, the motion of the motors by using the computer's keyboard pause feature, by using a pause switch wired to one of the parallel port pins, or by pressing the [Ctrl] and [X] keys on your keyboard. When the rapid movement type is used, or the overdrive ramping is being used, you should not pause the program from the computer's keyboard with the [Pause] key or the [Ctrl] and [NumLock] keys, unless you want to abort the program's current command or abort the tool path since with stepper motors the motor position can get off of the commanded position if they stop abruptly. When the rapid movement type is used, or the overdrive ramping is being used, you should pause or exit the program by using the Windows (tm) commands that let you exit one program and use another program, such as the key combinations [Ctrl] and [Esc] or [Alt] and [Tab], unless you want to abort the program's current command or abort the tool path since with stepper motors the motor position can get off of the commanded position if the motors stop abruptly. When the rapid movement type is used, or the overdrive ramping is being used, you should not pause CAM programs by using the pause pin connection on the parallel port, unless you want to abort the program's current command or abort the tool path since with stepper motors the motor position can get off of the commanded position if they stop abruptly.

If your automated machine uses servo motors rather than stepper motors you may have more latitude in the method that you use to pause your machine since servo motors can recover position after the step pulses abruptly stop, although the motors may overshoot the commanded position and damage something if they were moving when the CAM programs were paused abruptly. It is better to press the [Ctrl] or [Control] key on the computers keyboard (in v2.7) and let the motors ramp their speed down to stopped, if that is how they are set up and the command you are using does that, before you exit or pause the programs in some other way.

See also the various commands that are active while your tool path executes in the version of the programs you have, since these commands change somewhat from one version to another. In v2.7 you generally press the [Ctrl] or [Control] key to bring up a small menu while the tool path executes to access such commands. You can adjust the tool position while the file executes by pressing keys that activate the tool position Adjust command. Take all necessary precautions to protect yourself from harm, and never expose yourself to any moving parts. Be sure to turn off your automated machine and exit my CAM programs back to the DOS prompt if you are going to be where you cannot monitor what is going on.

You can load the example *.ASC tool path files into DANCAD3D (tm) or DANCAD87 (tm) to look at how they were drawn. You might use the Files Load ASCII command from DANCAD3D (tm)'s main menu to load the example *.ASC files, and then use the [P]review command or the [D]rawing editor commands to look at the lines in the example tool path files. The [W]rite command in the CAD programs can be used to look directly at the ASCII data since the ASCII data in the tool path file is a form of text file, i.e. DOS *.TXT type file.