The number of reasons why G code programs are edited are as numerous as the number of machine shops. Some shops accomplish this with the crude, non-CNC tools of a text editor or by making the changes manually … and experience limited and often costly success in time, money and sometimes repairs. If your shop requires G code editing because of any of the reasons below, you owe it to the broken tools who have made the ultimate sacrifice to take a closer look at the G code conversion software from Kentech Inc.
• Have you ever developed a CNC program for a machine and then find out that the machine time is not available ... and you can't run the job on the other machine unless you re-program it all over again?
• Do you feel trapped into buying new equipment with the same CNC controls as the ones you now own for fear of the "control incompatibility" issue?
• Are your shop and your programmers divided and limited because some know one control and some know the other control?
• Are you a machine tool salesperson who loses sales because of the "control compatibility" issue?
• Do you run a CAD/CAM package and have to tweak your G code output?
• Do you use Search and Replace as a means of G code conversion in a standard text editor which is inefficient, impractical and has a limited degree of success.
Since 1986, Kentech Inc. has become a pioneer and a leader in the creation of automated G code conversion software. Our KipwareXC® and Kipware® CNC XChange can easily handle all of the above … and many more scenarios that shops come across every day that require manual edits for their G code programs.
What is G code Conversion Software?
G code conversion software from Kentech Inc. is designed to perform edits to standard, ASCII text format G code files automatically, with no user intervention. Performing such edits automatically brings the power of consistency, mistake free conversions … and we all know what mistakes in G code programming can cost in time and money.
Edits can range from the simple: convert M80 to M18 … to intricate, complex conversions such as convert: G73 Z-1.234 R.050 Q.100 F10.0 to Z-1.2 F4.0 G3 W.1 K.100 Q.01.
One of the most powerful features of this type of software is that it only requires the G code text file … no CAD or CAM file is needed … nothing but the existing G code text file. This enables the software to be utilized on G code programs that have already been proven on the floor … and the resulting converted files can be employed making chips in a matter of minutes. This is whether the old program was created 5 minutes or 5 years ago.
How does G code conversion software work?
Kentech has 2 types of Conversion software. Kipware® CNC XChange is referred to as “hard coded”. This means that all the conversion code is already pre-written into the software. The user basically loads the software onto the PC … selects the file to convert … and presses the convert button. All the conversion factors are pre-written in the source code and the software is completely automated. These packages are created for specific applications. Our most popular versions convert Fanuc G code to Okuma OSP code … and reverse. These are available for either turning or milling.
KipwareXC® is a completely user configurable package. The user creates a “ Profile” and uses a mix of pre-defined conversion options ( i.e. convert R to I,J … convert X radius values to diameter values, etc. ) and user created “macros” to basically tell the software what-to-convert into what. Using KipwareXC® the user can create an unlimited number of Profiles and within each Profile an unlimited number of user defined macros … which give the software a great deal of flexibility and power. Users can even utilize two different Profiles in the same file conversion operation … all automatically.
And the cost?
The $395 to $750 monetary cost for any of the packages from Kentech Inc. is easily outweighed by the time savings and the increase in up-time productivity that can be attained. Not to mention the savings in machine repair costs … broken fixture costs … broken tool cost … and more.
In addition to the standard off-the-shelf versions Kentech provides … we also create custom conversion solutions based on individual customer’s unique requirements.
If you think about any of the manual edits your shop is forced to make on any given day, we are sure that we have a conversion software solution that can help. Consistency and accuracy is vital when G code editing is required. Kipware® conversion software will save your shop hundreds of hours, allow your shop the flexibility to be more productive and allow your personnel to become more efficient by handling your G code editing tasks automatically and accurately.
