Cycle 225 ENGRAVING

ISO programming

G225

Application

This cycle is used to engrave texts on a flat surface of the workpiece. You can arrange the texts in a straight line or along an arc.

Cycle sequence

  1. If the tool is beneath Q204 2ND SET-UP CLEARANCE, the control will first move to the value from Q204.
  2. The control positions the tool in the working plane to the starting point of the first character.
  3. The control engraves the text.
    • If Q202 MAX. PLUNGING DEPTH is greater than Q201 DEPTH, the control will engrave each character in a single infeed motion.
    • If Q202 MAX. PLUNGING DEPTH is less than Q201 DEPTH, the control will engrave each character in several infeed motions. The control will always complete the milling of a character before machining the next one.
  4. After the control has engraved a character, it retracts the tool to the set-up clearance Q200 above the workpiece surface.
  5. The process steps 2 and 3 are repeated for all characters to be engraved.
  6. Finally, the control retracts the tool to 2nd set-up clearance Q204.

Notes

  • This cycle can be executed only in the FUNCTION MODE MILL machining mode.

Notes on programming

  • The algebraic sign for the DEPTH cycle parameter determines the working direction. If you program DEPTH=0, the cycle will not be executed.
  • The text to be engraved can also be transferred with a string variable (QS).
  • Parameter Q347 influences the rotational position of the letters.
    If Q374 = 0° to 180°, the characters are engraved from left to right.
    If Q374 is greater than 180°, the direction of engraving is reversed.

Cycle parameters

Help graphic

Parameter

QS500 Engraving text?

Text to be engraved within quotation marks. Assignment of a string variable through the Q key of the numerical keypad. The Q key on the alphabetic keyboard represents normal text input.

Input: Max. 255 characters

Q513 Character height?

Height of the characters to be engraved in mm

Input: 0...999.999

Q514 Character spacing factor?

The width of the characters varies. X = width of the character + default spacing. This factor allows you to influence the spacing.

Q514=0/1: Default spacing between the characters

Q514>1: The spacing between the characters is expanded.

Q514<1: The spacing between the characters is reduced. This can lead to overlapping characters.

Input: 0...10

Q515 Font?

0: Font DeJaVuSans

1: Font LiberationSans-Regular

Input: 0, 1

Q516 Text on a line/on an arc(0-2)?

0: Engrave text in a straight line

1: Engrave text along an arc

2: Engrave text along the inside of a circular arc (circumferentially; not necessarily legible from below)

Input: 0, 1, 2

Q374 Angle of rotation?

Center angle if the text is arranged on an arc. Engraving angle when text is in a straight line.

Input: –360.000...+360.000

Q517 Radius of text on an arc?

Radius of the arc in mm on which the control will engrave the text.

Input: 0...99999.9999

Q207 Feed rate for milling?

Traversing speed of the tool in mm/min for milling

Input: 0...99999.999 or FAUTO, FU, FZ

Q201 Depth?

Distance between workpiece surface and engraving floor. This value has an incremental effect.

Input: –99999.9999...+99999.9999

Q206 Feed rate for plunging?

Tool traversing speed in mm/min during plunging

Input: 0...99999.999 or FAUTO, FU

Q200 Set-up clearance?

Distance between tool tip and workpiece surface. This value has an incremental effect.

Input: 0...99999.9999 or PREDEF

Q203 Workpiece surface coordinate?

Coordinate on the workpiece surface referenced to the active datum. This value has an absolute effect.

Input: –99999.9999...+99999.9999

Q204 2nd set-up clearance?

Coordinate in the spindle axis at which a collision between tool and workpiece (fixtures) is impossible. This value has an incremental effect.

Input: 0...99999.9999 or PREDEF

Q367 Reference for text position (0-6)?

Enter the reference for the position of the text here. Depending on whether the text will be engraved along a circular arc or in a straight line (parameter Q516), the following values can be entered:

Circle

Straight line

0 = Circle center

0 = Bottom left

1 = Bottom left

1 = Bottom left

2 = Bottom center

2 = Bottom center

3 = Bottom right

3 = Bottom right

4 = Top right

4 = Top right

5 = Top center

5 = Top center

6 = Top left

6 = Top left

7 = Center left

7 = Center left

8 = Center of text

8 = Center of text

9 = Center right

9 = Center right

Input: 0...9

Q574 Maximum text length?

Enter the maximum text length. The control also takes into account parameter Q513 Character height.

If Q513 = 0, the control engraves the text over exactly the length indicated in parameter Q574. The character height will be scaled accordingly.

If Q513 > 0, the control checks whether the actual text length exceeds the maximum text length entered in Q574. If that is the case, the control displays an error message.

Input: 0...999.999

Q202 Maximum plunging depth?

Maximum infeed depth per cut. The machining operation is performed in several steps if this value is less than Q201.

Input: 0...99999.9999

NC programs contained in this User's Manual are suggestions for solutions. The NC programs or individual NC blocks must be adapted before being used on a machine.

Change the following contents as needed:

  • Tools
  • Cutting parameters
  • Feed rates
  • Clearance height or safe position
  • Machine-specific positions (e.g., with M91)
  • Paths of program calls

Some NC programs depend on the machine kinematics. Adapt these NC programs to your machine kinematics before the first test run.

In addition, test the NC programs using the simulation before the actual program run.

 
Tip

With a program test you determine whether the NC program can be used with the available software options, the active machine kinematics and the current machine configuration.

Example

11 CYCL DEF 225 ENGRAVING ~

QS500=""

;ENGRAVING TEXT ~

Q513=+10

;CHARACTER HEIGHT ~

Q514=+0

;SPACE FACTOR ~

Q515=+0

;FONT ~

Q516=+0

;TEXT ARRANGEMENT ~

Q374=+0

;ANGLE OF ROTATION ~

Q517=+50

;CIRCLE RADIUS ~

Q207=+500

;FEED RATE MILLING ~

Q201=-2

;DEPTH ~

Q206=+150

;FEED RATE FOR PLNGNG ~

Q200=+2

;SET-UP CLEARANCE ~

Q203=+0

;SURFACE COORDINATE ~

Q204=+50

;2ND SET-UP CLEARANCE ~

Q367=+0

;TEXT POSITION ~

Q574=+0

;TEXT LENGTH ~

Q202=+0

;MAX. PLUNGING DEPTH

Allowed engraving characters

The following special characters are allowed in addition to lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and numbers: ! # $ % & ‘ ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] _ ß CE € ° ©

 
Tip

The control uses the special characters % and \ for special functions. If you want to engrave these characters, enter them twice in the text to be engraved (e.g., %%).

When engraving German umlauts, ß, ø, @, or the CE character, enter the character % before the character to be engraved:

Input

Character

%ae

ä

%oe

ö

%ue

ü

%AE

Ä

%OE

Ö

%UE

Ü

%ss

ß

%D

ø

%at

@

%CE

CE

%Euro

%deg

°

%Copyright

©

Non-printable characters

Apart from text, you can also define certain non-printable characters for formatting purposes. Enter the special character \ before the non-printable characters.

The following formatting possibilities are available:

Input

Character

\n

Line break

\t

Horizontal tab (the tab width is permanently set to eight characters)

\v

Vertical tab (the tab width is permanently set to one line)

Engraving system variables

In addition to the standard characters, you can engrave the contents of certain system variables. Precede the system variable with %.

You can also engrave the current date, the current time, or the current calendar week. Do do so, enter %time<x>. <x> defines the format (e.g., 08 for DD.MM.YYYY.) (Identical to the SYSSTR ID10321 function).

 
Tip

Keep in mind that you must enter a leading 0 when entering the date formats 1 to 9 (e.g., %time08).

Input

Format

%time00

DD.MM.YYYY hh:mm:ss

%time01

D.MM.YYYY h:mm:ss

%time02

D.MM.YYYY h:mm

%time03

D.MM.YY h:mm

%time04

YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss

%time05

YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm

%time06

YYYY-MM-DD h:mm

%time07

YY-MM-DD h:mm

%time08

DD.MM.YYYY

%time09

D.MM.YYYY

%time10

D.MM.YY

%time11

YYYY-MM-DD

%time12

YY-MM-DD

%time13

hh:mm:ss

%time14

h:mm:ss

%time15

h:mm

%time99

ISO 8601 calendar week

 
Tip

Properties:

  • It comprises seven days
  • It begins with Monday
  • It is numbered sequentially
  • The first calendar week (week 01) is the week with the first Thursday of the Gregorian year.

Engraving the name and path of an NC program

Use Cycle 225 to engrave the name and path of an NC program.

Define Cycle 225 as usual. Precede the engraved text with %.

It is possible to engrave the name or path of an active or called NC program. For this purpose, define %main<x> or %prog<x>. (Identical to the SYSSTR ID10010 NR1/2 function)

The following formatting possibilities are available:

Input

Meaning

Example

%main0

Full path of the active NC program

TNC:\MILL.h

%main1

Path to the directory of the active NC program

TNC:\

%main2

Name of the active NC program

MILL

%main3

File type of the active NC program

.H

%prog0

Full path of the called NC program

TNC:\HOUSE.h

%prog1

Path to the directory of the called NC program

TNC:\

%prog2

Name of the called NC program

HOUSE

%prog3

File type of the active NC program

.H

Engraving the counter reading

You can use Cycle 225 to engrave the current counter reading as found on the PGM tab of the Status workspace.

To do so, program Cycle 225 as usual and enter the text to be engraved, for example: %count2

The number after %count indicates how many digits the control will engrave. The maximum is nine digits.

Example: If you program %count9 in the cycle with a momentary counter reading of 3, the control will engrave the following: 000000003

Defining counters with FUNCTION COUNT

Operating notes

  • In the simulation, the control only simulates the counter reading you specified directly in the NC program. The counter reading from the program run is ignored.