The OPTYPE Command [MLEPC]
The OPTYPE command is used to define the type of operation that follows. Ideally, the CAM system (perhaps via the interface kit) should define the operation type data, but the OPTYPE command also has an option to provide for automatic detection of the operation type.
If the post-processor has an Operation Event (OE) macro defined (see “Operation Event Look-ahead”), then GENER will invoke a look-ahead to determine information about the upcoming operation. This information is available to the post-processor developer via a series of $OE.* system variables, as well as the $P variables of the OE macro.
The command syntax is as follows:
![\textbf{OPTYPE}\;\textbf{/}\;\begin{pmatrix}\!\begin{array}{l}\textbf{TOOL}\\\textbf{MILL}\\\textbf{TURN}\\\textbf{AXIAL}\\\textbf{AUTO}\end{array}\!\end{pmatrix}\;\icamrange{0.66}{0}\,\bigl[,\mathit{arguments}\,\bigr]](../../_images/math/ac6f0dd2ba9aee25f81ba1825a4d137231a9f195.svg)
A TOOL operation type should be called at the start of a tool change. Only tooling related look-ahead information is available with this operation type. The purpose of a TOOL event is to allow the developer to localize all special motion logic in an OE macro. For example, the TOOL event could be used by the developer to take the tool home.
The MILL, TURN and AXIAL operation types invoke a look-ahead to determine the first positioning motion, start of cut position, feed, speed, coolant and compensation settings. The new operation type is available to the OE macro as a $OE.OPTYPE system variable. The last operation type is available as a $OPTYPE system variable.
The AUTO operation type invokes a look-ahead to determine if the operation is a tool change, milling, turning or axial, setting $OE.OPTYPE accordingly. The primary purpose of OPTYPE/AUTO is to cause the OE macro to be executed with information about the upcoming operation for CAM systems that do not have a method of outputting this information in the aptsource.
The optional arguments are additional parameters that can help the developer in deciding between different machining strategies (e.g., TCP, LCS). The syntax is undefined, allowing the developer to use these arguments for any purpose desired. The arguments are available as-is to the OE macro as a $OE.OPARGS system variable. The last operation arguments are available as a $OPARGS system variable.
Operation information is stored internally in $OPTAB and related tables (see “Operation Variables”). There is a built-in limit of 999 operations that can be recorded, after which processing will occur as normal but further operation information will not be updated to the operation variables.