Programming Live minus CAD.

[Darrollh]

Good evening,
I am programming a part live without a CAD model and wanted to use auto features but, its not working out so good. I am sure its user error as I am used to having a CAD all the time, whether I am on the machine or not. So, how do I use auto features without the model?

[Quality ish]

I've never used them, and I write all of my programs just as you describe. I touch off the appropriate surfaces, and "edit", "override guess" when necessary.

[Darrollh]

Really! I love the auto features. Its so so so much easier to program with. All I have to click on a surface, click the feature and it will put all the like features into the routine! Works like a champ with Clearance Cube. Now I just need to be able to auto features on a live part without CAD.

[acgarcia]

Do you have a print? Type in the nominals in the auto feature window and make sure your ijk s are correct.

[bfire85]

If you browse the help file, it'll tell you how to do this. Off the top of my head for a circle, you need three hits on a planar surface and then three hits inside the bore.

[NinjaBadger]

Auto features were designed for sheet metal, bear that in mind. If you're 'teaching' them, the first thing it wants to know is surface (sheet face) vector.

However, I'd just type them in, when I train people I dedicate quite a bit of time to defining auto features from print (it's great for getting people thinking about xyz's and ijk's).

[KIRBSTER269]

B a m !!!!!!

[MikeD6]

Bring up the auto feature window, then manually touch the features with the probe and the numbers will generate. Then you can change nominals, number of hits, etc. The number of manual hits you need to take depends on the feature type. For example, a circle needs three hits on the surface, then 3 inside the hole. You'll have to look in the help file for the others. Or if you know what your xyz and ijk values are, just type them in manually.

[KIRBSTER269]

Try to Set all your Z's To "0" , after your alignment of course. That way your X's and Y's are the numbers you have to punch in from your print. With your Z's set to 0, you can adjust your depth in your auto features, and of course your IJK's try to keep them square, unless of course angled planes and holes. Then you got to make your adjustments there. I know on this forum, in a galaxy far, far, away. Someone had some Excel thingy that they put on here to help you figure the IJK's

[KIRBSTER269]

https://www.pcdmisforum.com/forum/pc...el-spreadsheet

maybe it was this. I don't have Excel on this computer

[Schlag]

And by the time you do all this it was probably less work to annoy someone to just ask for the CAD.... There's always a CAD somewhere, you just need to ask the right person....

[louisd]

Make sure some garbage is turned off like avoidance moves, sample hits, and the depth is set to zero.

[sealevel]

^ ^ ^ ^ this. Once the garbage is tossed, your mind tells you to close your eyes and the feature is made like easy pizza. CAD is just a topping.
(well, might need a drawing)

[2013_junkie]

I've got tens of thousands of programming hours without cad both online and offline (mainly offline though). What's hanging you up? The name of the game usually is building alignments, lots of alignments to get you where you need to be (or doing a ton of trig to figure out vectors). Unfortunately for me, cad is just not an option a lot of the time.
The attached image is abour 46 inches long, 900 or so characteristics.
Capture.PNG

[mckenzie]

our customers have the cad. its what the prints are based off of but they will only give us the prints to make the parts from. especially fun when the dims are rounded to 2 place decimal for general tolerance. trying to guess which dims are rounded and which are actual 2 place dims is fun especially if the tol is +/-.005 and the dim is rounded from .125 to .13 for example

[Schlag]

So you get a print and they program the CNC by hand all old school ?

[mckenzie]

I get a print create a cad model from the print and the guys on the floor use the in house cad to program the cnc. or its a part we made years ago that has no cad so they keep making changes to the original program as the revs update.

[2013_junkie]

Yea man, the F-18 parts (ge engine parts) we make, print was made on 7-1-75, by hand, hence no model....So when I asked GE directly for the model the said no, we don't have models for legacy programs. its the same way for all of our stuff that goes to the F-16, Lancer Bomber, MD Helicopters, Cfm (we do have it for the new Cfm Leap tho), the list goes on. And yes, our mill programmers either program with no cad, or they will make bits and pcs of a model to get them through it.
Cad hasn't always been around, and its definetly not necessary.

[sealevel]

The cargo plane we were making -- CAD as you mentioned it's definitely not necessary, but them Air Force anal retentives wanted to see some CAD crap. We got some Russians and early Unigraphics releases and somehow built it (with a few supplemental ETCH-A-SKETCH dwgs and cocktail napkins)
The good ol' days!