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CNC Tips and Techniques
A Reader for Programmers
Peter Smid
Industrial Press Inc.
New York
A full catalog record for this book will be available
from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-0-8311-3472-3
Industrial Press, Inc.
989 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10018
Sponsoring Editor: John Carleo
Developmental Editor: Robert Weinstein
Interior Text and Cover Design: Janet Romano
Cover Photo courtesy of: James A. Harvey
Copyright © 2013 by Industrial Press
Printed in the United States of America.
All rights reserved.
This book, or any parts thereof, may not be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form
without the permission of the publisher.
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Since 2000, Industrial Press has been fortunate to include Peter Smid among its family of authors. Both a popular and prolific author, Peter has anchored the CNC portion of our list, headed by the worldwide bestseller, CNC Programming Handbook, now in its third edition.
CNC Tips and Techniques: A Reader for Programmers is Peter’s fifth book with Industrial Press. During the past decade, in addition to all of his responsibilities as book author, consultant, and educator, Peter wrote a regular column for Shop Talk, a monthly magazine that offered “metalworking solutions for the manufacturing and machining industry.”
Peter wrote dozens of columns for Shop Talk, and his columns addressed the full gamut of CNC topics. They addressed tapping and threading and knurling. They addressed program length and memory needs. They addressed personnel issues, for example, the advantages and disadvantages of having programmers and operators as separate positions or merged. A variety of columns focused on G-codes, M-functions, cycles, and macros. And there were still more.
Ever since Shop Talk ceased publication, these columns have been unavailable. Now, in CNC Tips and Techniques, Industrial Press is delighted to bring them back to you —over 60 of the best of Peter’s columns —under one cover, so that you can have full and easy access to the advice Peter has been sharing over the past decade.
Each of these essays has been thoroughly reviewed since its initial publication and updated as needed to reflect ongoing changes in the field. They are presented here in chronological order of when they first appeared. An alternative table of contents, organized by topic, has been included, and at the back of the book you’ll also find several useful appendices and an extensive index.
We hope you’ll find CNC Tips and Techniques a valuable addition to your CNC library, and that Peter’s advice will make your work more efficient, more effective, and more rewarding.
Peter joins us in welcoming your feedback and questions. Simply write to us at [email protected], and we’ll be sure to share your messages with him.
Industrial Press
April 2013
Peter Smid has been a professional consultant, educator, and speaker, with many years of practical, hands-on experience in industry and education, including CNC and CAD/CAM applications on all levels. His consulting has focused on the practical use of CNC technology, part programming, Autocad®, Mastercam® and other CAD/CAM software, as well as advanced machining, tooling, setup, and many related fields. As a consultant he has successfully assisted several hundred companies with his wide-ranging knowledge.
Over the years, Peter has developed and delivered hundreds of customized educational programs to thousands of instructors and students at colleges and universities across United States, Canada and Europe, as well as to many manufacturing companies and private sector organizations. He has actively participated in many industrial trade shows, conferences, workshops and seminars.
Peter has also written many articles and in-house publications on the subject of CNC and CAD/CAM and for six years he wrote a monthly column in the Shop Talk magazine.
Peter Smid is the author of four other best-selling CNC books published by Industrial Press, Inc. and all books are also available as e-books. For more information, go to www.industrialpress.com.
CNC PROGRAMMING HANDBOOK
A Comprehensive Guide to Practical CNC Programming
Third Edition - ISBN 978-0-8311-3347-4
CNC CONTROL SETUP for MILLING AND TURNING
Mastering CNC Control Systems
ISBN 978-0-8311-3350-4
FANUC CNC CUSTOM MACROS
Programming Resources for Fanuc Custom Macro B Users
ISBN 978-0-8311-3157-9
CNC PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUES
An Insider's Guide to Effective Methods and Applications
ISBN 978-0-8311-3185-2
Peter welcomes your comments, suggestions and questions.
Please write to him at [email protected]
I have made a number of references to several manufacturers and software developers in this book. It is only fair to list them below:
FANUC and CUSTOM MACRO or USER MACRO or MACRO B are registered trademarks of Fanuc Ltd, Japan
Mastercam is a registered trademark of CNC Software Inc.,Tolland, CT, USA
Edgecam is a registered trademark of Pathtrace, Inc., UK
NCPlot is a registered trademark of NCPlot LLC, Muskegon, MI, USA
AutoCad is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., San Rafael, CA, USA
WINDOWS is a registered trademark of Microsoft, Inc., Redmond, WA, USA
There are other companies mentioned in this book.
Caterpillar, Fadal, Haas, Iscar, Makino, Mitsubishi, Okuma, Sandvik, Siemens Yasnac ... and some others that may have escaped me.
Also, my thanks to the publishing team at Industrial Press.
John Carleo, Janet Romano, Robert Weinstein
...without you, this book would not have happened
Table of Contents