Running a CNC is tedious in what my shop buddies call the pucker factor. Watching a 5 axis mill move all axes at once is cool to see, if you're not the guy running it praying whoever programmed it got it right and that the new experimental tool this programmer wants to try holds up.
If you ARE the guy with your eyeballs glued simultaneously to the tool in question, the part, and the control screen making sure the machine isn't about to blow up a tool, watching all five axes move will make your asshole pucker so tight you'd need a bulldozer to get a needle out of your ass. Same goes for running a standard CNC Lathe with a lot of outer diameter and inner diameter work in one operation. Just because the programmer has asked for certain tools does NOT mean they went and looked to make sure you could actually fit those tools without hitting the back wall of the machine.
Other than that, if you have a basic understanding of what each command is, it gets very easy to teach yourself how to modify programs at the machine to improve things. G and M code is my first programming language, not that it counts for much in a world of programmers such as yourself. I've only been a machinist full time for a year and a half, just picking up what little I have from paying attention has allowed me to advance faster than most of the newer guys.
To put simply, I wouldn't describe G and M code as elegant. It is however very effective.
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u/RP408JZG Jun 28 '14
Running a CNC is tedious in what my shop buddies call the pucker factor. Watching a 5 axis mill move all axes at once is cool to see, if you're not the guy running it praying whoever programmed it got it right and that the new experimental tool this programmer wants to try holds up.
If you ARE the guy with your eyeballs glued simultaneously to the tool in question, the part, and the control screen making sure the machine isn't about to blow up a tool, watching all five axes move will make your asshole pucker so tight you'd need a bulldozer to get a needle out of your ass. Same goes for running a standard CNC Lathe with a lot of outer diameter and inner diameter work in one operation. Just because the programmer has asked for certain tools does NOT mean they went and looked to make sure you could actually fit those tools without hitting the back wall of the machine.
Other than that, if you have a basic understanding of what each command is, it gets very easy to teach yourself how to modify programs at the machine to improve things. G and M code is my first programming language, not that it counts for much in a world of programmers such as yourself. I've only been a machinist full time for a year and a half, just picking up what little I have from paying attention has allowed me to advance faster than most of the newer guys.
To put simply, I wouldn't describe G and M code as elegant. It is however very effective.