EASY-TO-USE SHOP FLOOR PROGRAMMING
22 October 2003 - GE Fanuc Automation CNC Europe SA

GE Fanuc's latest user-friendly shop floor programming software increases machine tool operators' productivity by offering an environment that enables development from a drawing to a production part in a very short time. GE Fanuc CNCs are all easy and quick to program for turning, milling and compound machining using Manual Guide i. Self explanatory menus and graphic simulations guide the user through the development, producing highly efficient results even for complex processes.

GE Fanuc Manual Guide i Software is a cycle control with an ergonomic CNC operator interface used to program cycles based on ISO-code format. The operator uses a Graphical User Interface with easy-to-use icons that create part programs interactively in a very few steps. All the relevant information is provided on a single CNC screen. The user does not have to constantly switch between several screens, with the possibility of getting lost in multiple pop-up screens. A machine status window, with actual position, feed rates and load metrics, is always displayed. Soft-keys with icons offer intuitive menu selection so that operators, without any previous GE Fanuc user experience, can quickly use them to create part programs without reference to any documentation.

The software offers many features, which facilitate communication between the end user and the machine. For example, the component to be machined can be created graphically and interactively on the screen. 3D machining simulation for both turning and milling, including milling on an inclined surface, helps reduce the time for part program checking and virtually eliminates errors.

The new Manual Guide i combines the functions of the previous separate Turning and Milling versions. The user can configure software for a turning, milling or compound machine using the one standard software interface. This is very beneficial for operators who may only be familiar with one operation. For compound machining, instead of developing separate turning and milling operations, both can now be configured easily with Manual Guide i and carried out in one pass without re-setting the workpiece, thus increasing productivity.

Set-up guidance for offset measurement, workpiece centring and on-machine measurement helps to reduce set-up times. Tool measurement results are set into tool offset data automatically, and on-machine measurements, that are set into the work, coordinate offsets automatically. Multi-path operations and synchronisation are fully integrated in Manual Guide i Software.

Programs generated by Manual Guide i can be mixed seamlessly with programs generated by CAD/CAM. The user also has powerful new part program editing capabilities: the ability to cut and paste, or copy, a part program, in a manner familiar to users of word processor software; guidance comments, which are given at the bottom of the screen to G or M-codes marked by the cursor; the ability to insert a prefixed program using a series of registered normal part program blocks; and exclusive use of registered M-codes.

http://gefanuc-europe.com

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