Advice on converting Machine Code from Imperial to Metric

[Stressedwoodman]

This morning, with foul weather outside, was the perfect opportunity to generate some test G codes to check if the imperial setup is working as it should. I have wasted ages in aspire trying to figure how to write out an imperial set on gcodes. Although you set the units as inches in the setup page, it converts everything to metric when it writes out the gcode. Only noticed it as it tried to set the z height to 10, not the 0.3 I had inputted, thanks go for soft limits. I cannot find any obvious toggles to tell aspire to write out in imperial, and the help is not helpful.

[johnsattuk]

Overall a bit longer than 2 mins then

[Stressedwoodman]

Found it... for some strange reason would only allow me to pick a different translator, with a single tool path highlighted.

[phill05]

This morning, with foul weather outside, was the perfect opportunity to generate some test G codes to check if the imperial setup is working as it should. I have wasted ages in aspire trying to figure how to write out an imperial set on gcodes. Although you set the units as inches in the setup page, it converts everything to metric when it writes out the gcode. Only noticed it as it tried to set the z height to 10, not the 0.3 I had inputted, thanks go for soft limits. I cannot find any obvious toggles to tell aspire to write out in imperial, and the help is not helpful.

Did you chose the Imp "Post Processor" before you saved your toolpath in Aspire.

Phill

[Stressedwoodman]

All sorted confident that the machine understands and does what it’s told to in the imperial setup. It was as easy as Dean said.... Not sure what was going off with the MDI last time but that working as I would expect.. Any screws up won’t be the machine setup... the idiot driving it or dodgy g code.

Now for the difficult bit.. understanding the gcode... already emailed the vendor of the code to ask why there is a different datum(G90) for each tool change. In my 30 odd years of engineering I have never seen datums refined so many times.

[JAZZCNC]

Overall a bit longer than 2 mins then

But one time only John.! . . .Not every time he wants to run imperial G-code.

[JAZZCNC]

Now for the difficult bit.. understanding the gcode... already emailed the vendor of the code to ask why there is a different datum(G90) for each tool change. In my 30 odd years of engineering I have never seen datums refined so many times.

G90 is not a Datum, it's switching the mode to Absolute, G91 puts it into incremental mode.

[johnsattuk]

But one time only John.! . . .Not every time he wants to run imperial G-code.

[Stressedwoodman]

A bit of a stupid question, which shows my ignorance in NC coding. These imperial programs I am using have a tool change callout G43. This line is causing me an issue on some of the latter programs I am running, as I have limited Z axis travel and don’t have the luxury of allowing the spindle to go to Z1 an inch above the work piece. It’s weird why the programs have tool changes specified as it’s all one tool.

Can I simply remove the line from the programme ... or do I just modify it to say Z0.25. I am not clear whether the program refers back to the tool change or not. I have searched the program and it only has one g43 callout.

[JAZZCNC]

Can I simply remove the line from the programme ... or do I just modify it to say Z0.25. I am not clear whether the program refers back to the tool change or not. I have searched the program and it only has one g43 callout.

G43 is tool length compensation, so if you have not set any tool lengths in your tool table then you can just delete it. Or you can just change the Z value.
Somewhere in your CAM program, you will have a setting to change the Z value.