WELsoft Website Notes
Note 6
Target audience: All WELturn and WELmill users and CNC machine users
Subject: Software for creating NC code
NC code can be worked out manually with pencil, paper, calculator and the help of CAD software. It is tedious to do and prone to errors. There is CAD/CAM software which will do the job for you but it tends to be very expensive.
When it comes to manual coding, the WELmill and WELturn code format is easy to understand and a full explanation, with examples, is given in the files Machining with WELmill and Machining with WELturn which are supplied with the software. You can write the NC code for WELmill or WELturn in a text editor like Notepad.
CAD/CAM software lets you draw, on your computer screen, the profile of the part you wish to make. It allows you to set the paths the cutting tools are to follow and the NC code is created instantly. It really does allow you to make what you can design and frees you from having to design only what you can make.
The CAD/CAM software which we, at WELsoft, are most familiar with is the superb but expensive AlphaCAM. It creates NC code in a format which WELturn and WELmill can use.
There many other CAD/CAM programs available: do a web search. Among them, we have experience of using Galaad from Unimatic Solutions (020 8922 1002 or www.galaad.net ). It will create code for WELmill. A demo CD ROM is available from Unimatic. We will be gaining experience very soon of creating code for WELmill and WELturn with EdgeCAM from Pathtrace Ltd.
If you have experience of other really good but moderate cost CAD/CAM software please let us know.
September 2002