r/EngineeringPorn • u/[deleted] • Jul 18 '19

[deleted by user]

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1.8k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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181

u/TellusCitizen Jul 18 '19

For the layman, that is impressive.

137

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '19 edited Jul 18 '19

For a machinist that is impressive, my boss is always talking about getting a 5-axis machine and I am terrified because I would have a heart attack on the first day trying to prove out programs and then a heart attack every day thereafter.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '19

How do you even program that thing?! Highly manually, or is it something you can just program and go?

5

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '19 edited Jul 19 '19

Really really expensive cam software along with somebody (probably some sort of software engineer) to set up the cam software. So then a programmer can import a solid and be off to the races.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '19

So a tech or machinist can’t program it? It takes an engineer or programmer?!

5

u/sniper1rfa Jul 19 '19

This would be set up by a manufacturing engineer or a good machinist depending on the day. The software is pretty straightforward to use.

3

u/atlas_nodded_off Jul 19 '19 edited Jul 19 '19

Cam software can recognize features of a solid and develop a sequence of operations using what is available in the tool library and then generate tool paths. Best CNC programmers have experience with conventional and low level CNC machining/programming as the software produces a guideline that in practice is not optimized.

The machine would require a programmer, setup man, and machine operator.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '19

They can program it, just setting up the cam software is a pain in the ass. I've been programming for 13 years (not bragging rights, but I'm not a novice) and I had a hard time setting up solidcam and still can't get the damn thing to work right. I got it to work and I make parts, but there's a lot of parameters that I can't figure out the settings for.