for a better finish and shorter working times
Have you ever heard of the machine commands ERF=@R, ERF=@F or ERF=@N?
These commands are available in the standard set installed in an Amastone Next CNC router (thanks to the use of a highly professional control such as OSAI) and they allow you to change the dynamics of the CNC machine’s movements.
Knowing when to use these commands can make an enormous difference in terms of working time and finish quality of a stone-working operation.
In this context, dynamics signifies how the machine handles all curves and any change in direction. Hence, dynamics modifies the balance between speed and precision.
With a CNC machine, you can perform numerous types of stone-working jobs often very different from each other, from writing to engraving, and from cutting to 3D machining.
If you are a CNC machine operator, you must have had to favor precision over speed on some occasion whereas on other occasions you may want just the opposite without knowing how to do so.
With the commands in question, you can easily change the machine’s type of behavior and either optimize the working time or obtain a better-than-average finish.
You can execute these commands on the machine either as MDI (Manual Data Input) commands or directly within the processing ISO code. The machine can then automatically change its “character” (smoother or more nervous?) within the program itself.
I’d like to examine three commands in this article. Here they are in detail:
- ERF = @R
With this command, the value @R is assigned to variable ERF.
The letter R stands for roughing.
This command then sets the machine to roughing mode, maximizing the cutting speed. - ERF = @F
With this instruction, the value @F is assigned to variable ERF.
The letter F stands for Finishing and with this command the machine will make movements in an extremely smooth mode, working on the curves and edges so as to obtain the best possible finishing quality. - ERF = @N
If you want to compromise between machining speed and workpiece finish, the variable ERF can be assigned the value N which stands for Normal (normal balancing).
Let’s see a practical example in the ISO code from the two stone-working steps shown in the two images.
The work consists of two operations in this example: roughing, in orange, and lateral edge finishing, in blue.
In the first phase we want to favor speed because it is a roughing operation and for this reason we insert the following command in the code: ERF = @R
In this way we tell the machine to work dynamically in “fast” mode; this is appropriate for optimizing movement in terms of stone-working time and therefore is suitable for roughing operations.
After the roughing phase, the program anticipates a finishing pass for the edge.
In this second phase, by inserting the command ERF = @F in the code, we set the dynamics to “precision” modeinstead. In this way we tell the machine to favor precision over speed. With this command, therefore, the machine dynamics are set to optimize the quality of the finish. The machine will make soft movements and absolute cutting precision will be obtained.
SAMPLE ISO CODE
N6 (UAO,1)
N7 G90
N8 G79 G0 Z0
N9 M3 S8000;DYNAMIC ROUGHING MODE
ERF = @R
N10 G0 X100.182 Y103.937
N11 Z50
N12 M8
N13 G0 Z5
N14 G1 Z-5 F800
N15 X103.434 F100.
N86 G79 G0 Z0
N87 M5
N88 M9
N89 ;——- CHANGE TOOL ——-
N93 T3.3M66
N94 M3 S6000DYNAMIC FINISHING MODE
ERF = @FN95 G0 X12.682 Y191.437
N96 Z50
N97 Z5
N98 G1 Z-5 F200
N99 X190.934 F50
N100 Y9.568.
N106 M30
It doesn’t end here
These commands may also be calibrated accordingly as a function of special work requirements.
@R, @F, @N are in fact three numerical values which can be increased or decreased by software developers during machine configuration. This way you can increase or decrease the absolute level of accuracy and speed.
Obviously, in an amastone CNC router, technicians can modify these parameters remotely, even in the post-sales phase if requested by the customer for particular situations.
And you? Have you ever used these or similar functions to change your CNC machine’s working mode?
Let us know and leave a comment below.