Post-Processor Vocabulary

This chapter contains the individual post-processor commands and related options recognized by GENER. Commands are listed in alphabetic order below. The string of letters within the square brackets [ ] in each of the section titles identifies the NC applications that the command is applicable to, as follows:

[M] mill

[L] lathe

[E] wire EDM

[P] punch press

[C] flame, laser or other contouring

[S] composite post-processor

Syntax Format Conventions

The syntax for post-processor commands is listed using the following format conventions:

Square brackets $\big[ \; \big]$ encase syntax that is optional. The 0:n symbol preceding the bracketed item, as in $\icamrange{0.8}{0}\,\big[,a\,\big]$ indicates that the bracketed item a can be repeated zero or more times.
Parentheses $\big( \; \big)$ encase syntax that lists a number of choices, one of which is required. The parentheses are omitted when the syntax is a simple choice among a number of keywords. The 1:n symbol preceding the parenthesized item, as in $\icamrange{0.8}{1}\,\big(,a\,\big)$ indicates that the item a can be repeated one or more times.
Any value not contained in square brackets or parentheses must be programmed each time the post-processor command is used.
Formal keywords are shown in bold upper case, as in ON and COOLNT.
Lower case words within angled brackets identify common syntax, as in <axis>. The syntax of axis is then defined separately. This makes complex syntax more readable.
Italicized lower case words identify variable parameters supplied in the syntax, such as offset or 'name'.

Most syntax consists of zero or more fixed parameters that must be coded in a specific order, followed by optional qualifiers that can appear in any order. Many qualifiers are couplets, which consist of a qualifier keyword followed by a value (either numeric or keyword). The order of the couplet cannot be reversed; if the syntax is “[,RANGE,value ]” then coding “3,RANGE” will result in an error, only “RANGE,3” is permitted.

Alternative forms for a command are listed separately, with the command name repeated. Consider the following example for fixture compensation:

$\textbf{CUTCOM}\;\textbf{/}$ $\icamhsp{0.707mm}\textbf{ON}$ $\icamhsp{0.707mm}\raise0.10ex\hbox{$\icamrange{2.66}{1}\!\begin{pmatrix}\!,\!\begin{pmatrix}\!\begin{array}{l}\textbf{XCOORD}\\\textbf{YCOORD}\\\textbf{ZCOORD}\end{array}\!\end{pmatrix}\,\bigl[,\mathit{offset}\,\bigr]\end{pmatrix}$}$

$\textbf{CUTCOM}\;\textbf{/}$ $\icamhsp{0.707mm}\textbf{OFF}$ $\icamhsp{0.707mm}\raise0.10ex\hbox{$\icamrange{2.66}{1}\!\begin{pmatrix}\!,\!\begin{array}{l}\textbf{XCOORD}\\\textbf{YCOORD}\\\textbf{ZCOORD}\end{array}\!\end{pmatrix}$}$

Two alternate forms are listed to show that the optional offset scalar is only permitted when using the ON command.

In the first form, the ON keyword must be coded at the start of the command. The ON keyword can then be followed by one or more axis qualifiers. The axis qualifier is a choice of XCOORD, YCOORD or ZCOORD, optionally followed by an offset number. The following commands would be valid:

CUTCOM/ON,XCOORD
CUTCOM/ON,ZCOORD,4,XCOORD,7,YCOORD,12
CUTCOM/ON,YCOORD,XCOORD,ZCOORD

The following commands however would not be valid:

CUTCOM/XCOORD                  Missing ON at start
CUTCOM/ON                      Missing axis specifier
CUTCOM/ON,4,YCOORD             Couplet order reversed

In the second form of the CUTCOM command, the OFF keyword must be coded at the start, followed by one or more axis qualifiers. The axis qualifier is a choice of XCOORD, YCOORD or ZCOORD.