Home

Downloading

1. li Origin point south west T upper surface 7 z Flipx Flip Y a ong externa app l Offsets X 0 yj0 zjo mm I FlipzZ cation 1n which case ae B P q i IV Allow circular interpolations you must indicate its Donat display point to point path move name and arguments When you machine with an external driver an intermediate file will be created in the format specified and the external programme will be called up with its arguments as specified in the command line text box Galaad will then continue to operate independently while the external driver gets on with its work If no file name is specified here it will be requested when starting the process It is possible to accelerate the generation of the intermediate file by disabling the path displays which may slow the process depending on the performance of your computer Other parameters help you change the co ordinate system and orientation of axes If you do not set a command line the intermediate file will no less be generated but no external programme will be called up to chain the process If you do not indicate an intermediate file to be transferred to the external driver then you will be prompted to give a name every time you start a new process Since this file is automatically generated by Galaad it is probably not useful to save it under its own name instead you should overwrite it every time you start a milling process The important thing is Galaad s design file
2. O Custom spindle commands In the extreme case that your spindle requires a particular control that remains out of reach but still connected to the CNC Galaad allows you to define your own custom codes to be sent to the controller The codes lines must be text without frame characters lt CR gt lt EOT gt efc and integrated into two files named SPINDLE ON and SPINDLE OFF or possibly SPINDLE ON TXT and SPINDLE OFF TXT which are more implicit under Windows These files must be located in the Galaad installation directory Galaad s default codes are then replaced by these internal codes Important Keep in mind that it is possible to define for each tool via the Extensions button of the tool parameters dialogue box one or several special outputs for switching the spindle on off when this tool is mounted These special outputs specific to one tool preempt and replace the default outputs for the spindle Note that default outputs or these tool dependent outputs remain valid even if you have selected a tachometric spindle whatever the model with special outputs for spin direction and speed control If you experience any output a aa switching problems in relation to x 0 ave a particular tool and that one IV Automatic change Tool changer only then please open the tool p Special tool head switching i parameters dialogue box and Switch on through output 12 2 with pause of 250 ms check that this tool
3. Design Object Geometry Handles Displays the control points used by Beta Splines Quadra Splines or B zier curves Selecting them with the right mouse button does the same thing directly or through a pop up menu Design Object Convert to polygon Erases the geometrical properties of the selected object arc curve or text In the case of text the function Text Convert to polygons does the same but keeps the text block associated in a single selection group Design Object Define as hatching Defines the currently selected object as hatches Objects created by hatching or pocketing are automatically given this flag Objects defined as such cannot be welded and can be selected by the filters Design Object Surface Calculates the surface covered by the closed object or connected toolpath that is selected If several closed objects are selected the result is the sum of all surfaces even when they overlap one another An open object has a null surface A toolpath in 8 like a Moebius tape will have a surface that is partly positive and partly negative and consequently a truncated result Don t ask for too much Design Object Trace length Displays the total length of all selected objects and indicates the number of points they contain This calculation does not apply to isolated drilling points or groups of points Design Object Distance between points Displays the distance between two points to be
4. This focus takes the form of a contour in the selection frame Note that objects selected in red have priority and always have the focus Shifting the focus to another selection or returning to the design mode deselects the object Both the red and blue point selection icons can be found in the group of selection icons Let us start with the red one A straightforward example is to draw a simple polygon or a rectangle Click on the icon shown above then on one of the vertices of your shape For it to work the tip of the arrow cursor needs to be very close to your chosen vertex If all goes well there should now be a red spot on the vertex with a ring around it showing that it has been selected and has the focus Useful shortcut instead of using the selection icon simply click directly on the vertex with the right mouse button If the key is held down during this operation the point will be selected in blue instead of red As Advanced design techniques 5 59 GALAAD 3 described earlier clicking on arcs and curves with the right mouse button allows their geometric features to be edited It is therefore necessary to press the key simultaneously in order to select a red point on one of these figures Ctr still being necessary to select a blue point How to use a selected point Select a red point and click on it with the left mouse button and whilst keeping it held down drag it to a new position then release th
5. 10 2 SIN 360 T SIN 2 360 T Y 10 2 COS 360 T COS 2 360 T Epicycloid X 20 COS 360 T 2 COS 10 360 T Y 20 SIN 360 T 2 SIN 10 360 T Trochoid X 20 COS 360 T 4 COS 10 360 T Y 20 SIN 360 T 4 SIN 10 360 T Lissajous X 30 SIN 2 360 T Y 30 SIN 3 360 T 0 05 23633 J Special functions 13 217 GALAAD 3 For the same price you will find their general equations given below for the angular variable T running from 0 to 360 degrees Spiral X SIN N T R T 360 Y COS N T R T 360 Where N is the number of spirals and R the maximum radius Cardoid X R 2 SIN T SIN 2 T Y R 2 COS T COS 2 T Where R is the size of the cardioid Epicycloid X R1 R2 COS T R2 COS R1 R2 R2 T Y R1 R2 SIN T R2 SIN R1 R2 R2 T Where R7 and R2 are the radii of the internal and external circles of the epicycloid Trochoid X R1 R2 COS T H COS R1 R2 R2 T Y R1 R2 SIN T H SIN R1 R2 R2 T Where R and R2 are the radii of the internal and external circle of the trochoid and H is the period of the moving point Lissajous X AX SIN FX T Y AY SIN FY T Delta Where AX and AY are the amplitudes of the Lissajous ellipse FX and FY the horizontal and vertical frequencies and Delta the smallest phase difference between the points This little list is certainly not exhaustive not by a long shot
6. 2a am lt gt a 5 gt 2 Despite the title this abundant collection of tools also creates several non Cartesian shapes and also ones that haven t got much at all to do with rectangles other than being regular closed polygons eleu 11 160 Rectangle constructs a Cartesian rectangle in the classic way by defining one of its diagonals Centred rectangle constructs a Cartesian rectangle by defining the centre and one corner Chamfered corners constructs a Cartesian rectangle with cham fered corners Fillet corners constructs a Cartesian rectangle with fillet radii in the corners Inverted corners constructs a Cartesian rectangle with the corners turned inwards Clipped corners as above except that the internal corner can be placed anywhere within the rectangle up to the centre point Overview of design icons Cc c GALAAD 3 Inverted fillets constructs a Cartesian rectangle with fillet radii that are inverted about their points of tangency Oblique rectangle constructs a non Cartesian rectangle by drawing two adjacent sides Oblique square constructs a non Cartesian square by drawing one side then indicating the direction to complete the square Hexagon constructs a non Cartesian hexagon with 90 end angles by drawing two adjacent sides Obround constructs a non Cartesian rectangle with semicircular ends by drawing two adjacent sides
7. 98 ME NT 4 2000 XP T Diagnostic M Multithread gt mr or later As already mentioned in the chapter on installation Galaad does not add any files to your computer except in its installation directory with the exception of a couple of shortcuts placed on the desktop and in the Start menu These shortcuts GALAAD LNK LANCELOT LNK etc are placed in the usual sub directories of C WINDOWS or C WINNT and are of the classic type providing the association to the executables Two new keys are added to the Registry in HKEY_CLASSES ROOT GALAAD and HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE GALAAD to associate GAL files with Galaad Nothing else is done to the registry Should you ever remove Galaad and delete its folder then you can find and remove its registry keys if you really want to but Windows will not be bothered if you forget Galaad s executable files are compact and self contained created entirely using the Borland OWL without the use of exotic VBX controls or other adornments Some DLL s that have been developed by Isel Automation are added to drive UPMV4 12 controllers that are directly integrated in the PC The core module of Galaad is the programme GALAAD EXE which manages the design and working environment For convenience Galaad s machining and manual control module has been created as a stand alone executable program LANCELOT EXE which is automatically called up by Galaad who passes it all necessary arguments an
8. Design Arc Set a cross mark Places a red or blue cross on the selected arc at an angle determined by yourself This cross is a virtual element for reference purposes and is fixed to the design board not the arc Design Hatching Fills the surface of the selected object or connected toolpath with hatches to be defined Please refer to the chapter Toolpaths for more details about hatching and pocketing functions Design Pocketing cycles Fills the selected object or connected toolpath with successive contour lines in a pocketing cycle Design Global contour Union Creates a new object by following the perimeter s of selected objects that are overlapping but only if a new closed shape has been produced Design Global contour Intersection Creates a new object by following any closed internal shapes produced by selected objects that are overlapping but only if a new closed shape has been produced Design Path Contour Creates a new object by running a cutter round both sides of an open shape or the outside of a closed shape If the selected object is closed the contour produces two paths Design Transmutation Creates the intermediate paths between two selected shapes which must not be connected paths For example from two paths that represent topographic contour lines this function will interpolate intermediate curves or an object and its internal island will be given successive pockets that transform one
9. Extruded Constructs a 3 D mesh by extruding selected objects from a flat rectangular surface the area of which is deter mined with the mouse This feature can be used with both closed and open objects and in the second case it is necessary to input the distance from the object at which the mesh is to be created The resulting shapes can be either male or female depending on the depths used Design 3 D mesh Contour lines Constructs a rectangular mesh with Z depth depending on selected contour lines Design 3 D mesh Resection points Constructs a rectangular mesh from simple Z points that must be selected and are considered as attractors Design 3 D mesh Track Constructs a ridged mesh with simple sloping walls using the selected open shape as the crest of the ridge You can select the depth and lateral distance from the object to determine the wall profile as if the track was made by a conical tool Design 3 D mesh Background Image Constructs a mesh of dots or lines whose depth varies according to the brightness of the pixels of the background image in a given area to be pointed This will produce a 3 D profile for use with a conical engraving cutter The result may be long to machine in dot mode but is very spectacular with photos Once the wiremesh has been created and selected it is possible from the position amp dimension Overview of menus 12 199 GALAAD 3 dialogue box key to globally
10. GALAAD USER S MANUAL Copyright 1992 2005 Bertrand Lenoir Welter All rights reserved As with previous versions the development of Galaad 3 has been greatly helped by three professional users who have made numerous suggestions and given up a great deal of their time to the fiery sometimes explosive prototypes Simple thanks can never be enough for the contributions that these three people have made towards the development of this software however it would be improper if they were not named here Without doubt recognition goes to Patrice Berger a model maker near Annecy France and an old friend of Galaad with which he makes many beautiful things Christian Goubin a technology teacher near Vannes France and an insufferable supporter based on the number of suggestions that he has made and finally Yves Laporte Prestical Company a polystyrene carver near Bordeaux France also notoriously unlucky when it comes to stumbling across unbelievable bugs These three dangerous pyromaniacs have been the cause of many a late night but in the end it was all worth it for the good of the project Simply thank you B Lenoir Welter April 1999 July 2005 COPYRIGHT RESPONSABILITY Copyright 1992 2005 Bertrand Lenoir Welter All rights reserved No part of this software and user s manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means for any purpose whatsoever without the written permission of the author
11. Parameters Workspace General Allows you to set the general workspace parameters See the chapter on Workspace parameters Parameters Workspace Advanced Allows you to set the advanced parameters for the application See the chapter on Workspace parameters Parameters Workspace Restrictions Level 1 3 Directly loads a set of predefined restrictions saved in the files LEVEL N CUS that have been installed with Galaad but that can still be modified Parameters Workspace Restrictions Change Allows you to define restrictions i e customise the Galaad workspace by removing icons and menu functions See the chapter on Workspace parameters Parameters Workspace Override restrictions Allows you to ignore all restrictions that have been previously imposed on the workspace and therefore come back to full mode restriction set is not lost Parameters Workspace Change password Allows you to change your password in the usual manner Note that the password is stored in the PASSWORD TXT file in the installation directory Overview of menus 12 211 GALAAD 3 Parameters Colours Gives access to display colours of all visual components of Galaad and its machining module Parameters Function keys Allows you to customise the keyboard by assigning a menu command to each of the function keys from F1 to F12 alone or associated with Ctr Just click on the corresponding line then select a com
12. Text Rebuild Completely recreates all the selected text using all its parameters Text Convert to polygons Converts the selected text into simple polygons and curves based on its current style This is a one way process and any text specific properties style alignment and text will no longer be available Objects remain associated Text Split Only works after a single letter has been selected using Text Arrange letters and splits the text into two distinct blocks at the currently selected letter Text Merge Merges all the independent blocks of selected text into one single block Style parameters are those of the first block of text in the sequence Text Writing direction Opens a box in which you can change the primary and secondary direction of texts This allows some of the more exotic languages to be used in their correct orientation Text Increment numbers Increases the first number found in the 12 210 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 selected block of text by one unit The block of text may be either normal or auto incremented Text Decrement numbers Decreases the first number found in the selected block of text by one unit Text Column of numbers Creates a column of numbers in either descending or ascending order Text Text file Imports text from an external text file txt The text retains its text format and can be edited by the above commands O Parameters menu
13. Turning F elo x r Parameters r Move Feed direction East gt West X irs ss to g Continuous IV Perform roughing passes C 10mm gt Pecks 25 mm gt Speed 5 minis 4 g D C 4mm Finishing layer 05 mm C 10mm Finishing speed 5 mms gii C 4400 mm Z aime 2 Ce Se Corin Cah Y clearance distance 2 mm ec x _ 40 mmis Plunge speed 10 mmis way OM ere ube te peene a Rotate 1000 rpm gt Workpiece origin Position Z 50 X 130 Location on workpiece west surface Ea P Rouri Toot pass 0 Like Galaad s milling module a new window pops up on the screen and allows you to simultaneously set the parameters of the turning cycle left hand side and the workpiece origin right hand side As soon as the window is displayed Gawain opens up the dialogue with the numerical controller possibly after a reference run that resets the axes Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM 15 243 GALAAD 3 The first parameter is the feed direction which applies to the cutter movement when machining This direction is the same as the design if the rotation axis of the lathe is aligned on the Y axis of your machine i e west east if machining from left to right or the opposite direction Due to mechani cal reasons the workpiece is not pulled out of its clamp feeding from the needle to the clamp is more usual rather than
14. operations The list of aE AAA TET assignable functions is fixed T input t 0 H Erea Z tiogsrs No eiea but long enough Once again it is better to begin with a short trip to the manual control window or the I O test window and its Refresh and Loop buttons so you can take note of which buttons correspond to which inputs and which states This manual control is not available on all machines 9 146 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O External driver Galaad understands the whole process from designing the object through setting the reference points to automatically machining it however machines not known to Galaad cannot be controlled directly by it in real time mode Galaad can still be used to design an object ready for machining but a different software package will have to be used to download the program and or control the milling process When using this option Galaad will start the external process directly from the Machine Mill command or the corresponding icon In this case the current design is automatically exported in the format required by the external driver which is immediately started as a new Windows task Note that this driver programme can equally be an application running under a Windows DOS session In reality the two modules Galaad and Lancelot represent the design part and the driver part of the same software You may use Galaad as a CAD application with any other CN
15. 16 VGA graphics adapter Gas lt A mouse or equivalent pointing device aps Windows 95 operating system r Obviously Galaad will feel happier it s likely that you will too with a more powerful PC as described below The recommended configuration is at least a 200 MHz processor with 64 Mb RAM a graphics card with 1024 768 256 resolution and a small joystick By the time you read this the most basic machine available will probably be much more powerful than this Note that Galaad is not a particularly demanding piece of software and there is little point in buying the latest state of the art PC for it you would be better off buying a high quality monitor Note do not dismiss the idea of a joystick as it frequently proves ideal for controlling a machine in manual mode See chapter 7 on advanced milling functions for more information on configuring and using a joystick Foreword 15 GALAAD 3 O Be inquisitive Whatever you may get out of this manual you will no doubt learn mostly by actually using the software There will always be those complex functions that you will have to refer to the manual to find your way through however your best bet both now and in the future is probably to follow your instinct Galaad is house trained and so won t actually bite when you make a mistake At worst it will send you a disapproving warning which will no doubt be bearable in view of the relationship you should h
16. Arg2 gt Run external program and skip to next instruction immediately Manual control will help you find the right positions input amp output states Don t forget that the Refresh and Loop buttons allow you to check inputs and clicking on outputs changes their state A good preliminary manual drive is worth any teach in session Machine parameters 9 143 GALAAD 3 O Inputs Outputs Mill parameters 21x The last page of the Table Controler Spinde Speeds Advanced Inputs Neel machine parameters allows joer ress the functions of the binar Safety door on inputs 7 8 enabled y inputs and outputs to be Tool sensor on input 4 disabled Step 1 mm M re configured for use with the Events 4 custom peripheral devices Coolant off gt on outputs enabled pi P Workpiece clamp on outputs enabled x your application r equir es Manual drive lamp on output enabled 1st pass cleaner on output enabled 7 Galaa d swi tches the Abort machining if inputs enabled Y A Pause machining if inputs enabled x outputs at various logical Redo machiningif inputs enabled stages of the machining __ Enerdedinputsouputs Local menua dive process to allow the control of these associated devices and also reacts to the triggering of inputs Several input or output numbers may be indicated for one item Examples outputs 12 2 9 12 a
17. Crosses Displays a visual grid of crosses on the work board Display Visual grid Dotted Displays a visual grid of dotted lines on the work board Display Visual grid Solid Displays a visual grid of solid lines on the work board Display Visual grid Matrix Displays a visual grid of millimetric lines on the work board which always correspond to the smallest ruler graduations whatever the zoom state is This is probably the best mode of operation if your computer is fast enough Your graphic card must work in True colours mode Overview of menus 12 207 GALAAD 3 Display Visual grid Set step Allows you to define the distance between two lines of the visual grid Display Background Image Enabled Allows you to display or remove from the board the background image to trace from Display Background Image Open Loads a background image BMP format automatic conversion in black amp white to trace from Zoom functions remain valid until a maximum enlargement is reached The background image is of course passive and cannot be machined See the Design 3 D mesh Background image function to create a toolpath from a background image Please note that tracing is easier with a light image or dark in case of a black background See below functions for controlling light Display Background Image Paste Loads a background image that is currently on the Windows clipboard Display Ba
18. Over time you will gradually learn to estimate feed speeds without running the risk of breaking cutters often caused by going too fast You will soon develop a feel for the correct values required Conversion of the entered feed speed to classical units like m min or mm s is displayed below This may help you feel comfortable with both these units which are the most commonly used When you are ready click on OK with the mouse or press 5 the values are immediately applied to the selected objects and the new characteristics indicated in the display area at the bottom of the screen If no 2 34 Learning to design GALAAD 3 objects are selected the new values are not lost but become the new default values that will be applied to the next and all subsequent objects drawn that is until it is changed again Important note You can have as many depths and speeds as there are objects on the board These two parameters are completely independent of each other and are not connected with either a cutter or a machining pass as with many other 2 D CAD CAM software In addition you can have as many objects on the board as you like limited only by the memory installed in your PC which can be huge With modern PC s the practical limit is likely to be your creativity Remember that you can also draw objects in 3 D with variable depths as we will soon see You now know how to draw objects reposition them enlarge reduce them and
19. Parallelogram constructs a parallelogram by drawing two adjacent sides Diamond constructs a diamond by defining one of the diagonals of a Cartesian rectangle that surrounds it Centred equilateral creates an equilateral triangle by marking out a circle that inscribes it Equilateral draws an equilateral triangle by marking out one side and a general point in connection to this side Isosceles draws an isosceles triangle by marking out its base followed by its height Star draws a star with N vertices to be defined by its inscribing circle then the interior circle Click the first circle using the right mouse button to freeze the construction as it is Crossed star does the same as the previous icon whilst crossing the transverse lines of the branches Regular polygon creates a regular polyhedron defined by drawing the circle in which it is inscribed Overview of design icons 11 161 GALAAD 3 O Arcs and cyclic shapes This large and powerful family of icons gives access to tools for constructing various circular curves by a variety of different methods Some trigonometric curves are also included in this series It should be remembered that when designing a toolpath for machining purposes circles are not absolutely closed shapes but are open 360 arcs that have a start and end point These define where the cutter will enter and leave the circle ae O Db B 11 162 Circle construct
20. The only limit to the creation of crooked curves is the imagination and moreover the spirit of geometrical adventure of the user But there is more to life than maths Galaad understands the following functions ABS returns the absolute value ATG returns the arc tangent in degrees ATGR returns the arc tangent in radians Cos returns the cosine in degrees COSR returns the cosine in radians CUBE returns the cube EXP returns the exponential FRAC returns the fractional part 13 218 Special functions GALAAD 3 HCOS returns the hyperbolic cosine HSIN returns the hyperbolic sine INT ae returns the integer part LN CLs returns the natural Naperian logarithm LOG returns the logarithm to base ten RAND returns a randomised value max argument max 999 RND returns the value rounded to the nearest whole number SIN returns the sine in degrees SINR returns the sine in radians SOR aas returns the square SORT returns the square root TG AEN returns the tangent in degrees TGR returns the tangent in radians To finish in style try a small triple equation that will launch us violently into the third dimension T varies from 0 to 600 in steps of 1 X 20 COS 3 6 T Y 20 SIN 3 6 T Z T 20 Note well that the value of T varies from 0 to 600 which will give us an angular variation for the sine and cosine va
21. These scaling factors are linked very closely to the pitch of the ballscrews and the resolution of the motors as set in the Table page and ultimately all distance values are rounded to the nearest motor step or half step quarter step etc Unless you want to correct a micro error all scaling factors should be left at value 1 Descending further into the cave you will find on the shelf on the left the features to reverse the direction of any or all of the axes which will tell Galaad to send negative distances to the CNC instead of positive ones and vice versa Warning The purpose of inverting an axis is not to correct the orientation of axes for example Y axis direction but only to change the sign To change the orientation you must reset the position of the machine zero point in the reference run at the bottom of the Controller page But here you can interchange the X and Y axes to correct an incorrectly wired machine or if the usual operator position is not facing the Y axis Galaad is a well behaved application that can correct other people s mistakes Machine parameters 9 139 GALAAD 3 For those who want to supervise the milling process from afar it is possible not to allow screen saver while machining of course temporarily Screen saver parameters remain unchanged but it is not started as long as the milling process is in progress You can instruct Galaad to send parameters to the CNC when initialising
22. awakened If this initialisation fails a small message box will appear informing you on the nature of the problem Galaad will spend up to ten seconds trying to initialise communications with the CNC and in case of failure offers to retry But first of all attempt to establish why it did not work using the following Learning to mill 3 41 GALAAD 3 check list Is it switched on Is the cable connected correctly between the computer and CNC Are the machine parameters set correctly in Galaad Assuming that all is well and communications are successfully established with the CNC confirmed by a small beep Galaad may warn you that it needs to make the machine perform a short reference run so as to find the zero point and waits for you to press OK Returning to the workpiece origin 96 Galaad Milling lo x Machining parameters l Advanced options Workpiece origin Continuous C 10mm z Commands r Move Ea 86 Sn Jo Ta Speeds C 1mm C 140mm lt a 1400 mm Z SF te Cc 254 mm fe eth Cae eG te Sy eo a r Workpiece origin Position X 20 Y 10 Z 62 Drive to Memorise Restore Location on workpiece south west w upper surface x fe Tool centre F C Tooledge 1 5mm co CED Version 3 14 02 05 Pro E Manual E 3mm U2 015mm fijp 742 Be auto 0 25 mm It is now necessary to tell Galaad where to find the workpiec
23. if they are locked All transferred objects are automatically selected even those locked one minor exception to ease handling or to permit resending them to another layer Display Visual layers Layer N Allows background layers to be hidden if required The active layer is always visible Display Visual layers All layers Makes all background layers visible objects in inactive layers are displayed in grey Display Visual layers Active layer only Hides all background layers and only displays the active layer If the active layer is changed the view will be updated accordingly Display Visual layers Name layers Allows you to name layers These names will be present in all future designs and are not connected to a specific design Display Trace Thin Displays all objects on the active layer using thin lines Objects in inactive layers are always thin and greyed Display Trace Bold Displays all objects on the active layer using bold lines Display Trace Object dependant Displays objects on the active layer using a line thickness that has been design for each object see the green 12 202 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 design icon to define object colours and thickness Display Trace Path Start points Displays a small cross at the start points of all objects on the active layer whether or not they are part of a larger connected toolpath This can ease the checking of tool
24. in which case the controller s internal parameters are updated at each new machining operation based on what is set in these pages If your CNC requires many parameters that have all been set at the factory e g SM Motion controllers it might be better to uncheck this option If you have a joystick Galaad needs to know this so that it can monitor it when you are performing a reference run or driving the machine manually If not leave this box unchecked until such time as you obtain a joystick something that you will not regret For the joystick settings please refer backwards to the chapter Advanced milling functions somewhere in the section Moving the axes It is possible to automatically lift up tool when Z ok pressed i e as soon as you click on the zok button which validates a new workpiece Z origin Hence the tool will be lifted up to the new retraction point which is the workpiece top surface minus the retraction height This eases the next operations on axes because you do not have to lift Z up manually for example to move XY horizontally towards a new origin point The option to chain all Z passes for every object means that all succes sive depth pecks that approach final depth will be made one by one before skipping to the next object instead of making all objects partially for every approach depth peck before increasing pass depth which is default mode You may then ask Galaad to bufferise simple drills p
25. ters that are used b h i parame y I Use G62 G60 fast passing mode iA Galaad only when they are Number of inputs I6 Number of outputs 16 E enabled If your machine has iiiaisation parameters been configured at the factory or F7 Diiva modo PS0 fo H irice r I Stop at E1 gt PS2 o0 M Halt at E3 gt PS3 o0 when installed perh aps it 1S Special command gt PS10 oo better to leave them unchanged x Y Z A B gt I A gt Number of digits 2 2 2 2 2 or at least those concerning M B gt Gear factor 1 10000 f10000 10000 advanced controls I C gt Gear factor 2 um um mm I D gt Drag error 10000 jioooo f10000 j10000 410 I E gt Start Stop ramp 0 a 500000 too 00 oo f0 i 00 If your machine is fitted with TF Kv factor i I G gt Start Stop freq 0 a speed override potentiometer Tm Ha gt Software limit you must indicate it here along Ti Sotware init y P J gt Max speed with the number of inputs outputs M K Homingspeed 2000 2000 2000 2000 au that are available from the eee ff fafa gt Inposition window 5 5 5 5 5 hardware Galaad can manage a I N gt Switch clearance F f F p I 0 Drive mode l 1 1 1 1 maximum of 32 inputs and 32 Pie a a E outputs which should be quite Cancel enough for most applications The famous G62 G60 passing mode of the SM 300 400 allows the system to chain vectors without stepping through an intermediate null speed This gi
26. the south west angle of a rectangular workpiece the zero point Z being generally located at the top surface of the workpiece or at its bottom surface You must manage the position of the file zero point yourself from the module that has been used to create it In case of a 4axis machining task the standard location of the Y origin point is always at the centre of rotation of the A axisThis standard applies to Kay s graphical display If your file did not use this the display will not represent the toolpath correctly nevertheless the machining process will remain correct provided that you have set the Y origin at the corresponding location in the file For 5 axis machinings the X origin point is similarly presumed to be located at the centre of rotation of the B axis Otherwise Kay s co ordinate system complies with the geometrical standard with ascending values for X from west to east left to right and for Y from south to north front to rear However it is still possible to change the file origin pointonce it has been opened in Kay The File Dimensions amp origin command opens a dialogue box in which you can manually specify the Cartesian dimensions of your raw material and locate the origin point inside these dimensions including a fixed position at an XY corner of the rectangle and the Z point at the top or bottom surface x The corresponding Dimensions File origin H X width 60 mm Xo from west border 2667 mm dialo
27. try again You now have several objects selected that can be manipulated as if they were one position size delete etc Another way is to start by selecting one or more objects then press and hold down on the keyboard and select some other objects Unlike earlier the new objects are selected without deselecting the ones already selected You can continue like this until all objects are selected including selections from zones 2 32 Learning to design GALAAD 3 O The magnetic grid As you will certainly have noticed both the design cursor and selected objects can only be moved in discrete steps that correspond to the graduations of the rulers along the edges This is a common feature of vector design software which provides a grid of invisible points that are not linked to the graphical resolution of the display and cannot be addressed directly by pixel co ordinates Although this grid is invisible its influence on the drawing is no less effective The default value for the graduation is one unit of the rulers At first sight it may appear that it is not possible to construct or position the design cursor or an object anywhere other than on a grid point However please note that numerical values entered from the keyboard are not affected by the grid The smallest step is 1 1000 which should be sufficient for most needs Galaad considers that if you have entered a numerical value for a position then that is where you wish
28. Gerber RS274 D file classical format therefore contains diaphragm numbers that are either predefined in the optical library of the photoplotter or referenced in the file itself or in an attached library file Light printing instructions are very simple the flash head can be moved with the diaph ragm shut to a given XY position movement without light printing or with the diaphragm open light printed track or even be sent to a position and the diaphragm being opened then shutto light print a fixed point pad This makes a total of three positioning instructions plus the number of the diaphragm that is currently used A more elaborate format which keeps the ascending compatibility with that mentioned above has been defined under the name of Gerber RS274 X or Extended Gerber This new format uses the same light printing instruc tions but its major advantage is that it integrates in the file header all geometrical indications about used diaphragms and even drillsin fact a Gerber RS274 X file requires neither an attached library file nor a table of predefined diaphragms Any useful data that is required to create the printed circuit is contained in the file Naturally Percival can read this heading information whenever available If your own electronic CAD application offers an export function under Gerber RS274 X format it is the one you should use Should you open a classical Gerber RS274 D file no information related to diaphragm
29. IF GOSUB instructions which still leaves a rather comfortable margin for most applications And finally the INCLUDE instruction allows you to call an external file which can either be another Kynon programme and this would define a super block or a 2 D or 3 D vector path file In the same way a co ordinate offset applies to this external file to relocate it This can be interesting in order to integrate a whole path without having to encode the sequence of movements Kynon motion programmer 16 259 GALAAD 3 O Programme management commands Some not so easily classed instructions can help supervise several process steps hereafter and helter skelter The REM Remark instruction known to well educated programmers allows you to add a comment into the sequence for the the next generation who will have to decrypt the programme and try to understand how it works if it does Obviously this instruction is neutral and consequently has no effect when executing On the other hand a message can be sent to the operator during the process execution using the MESSAGE instruction which pops up a window and displays the attached text The operator can then either acknowledge it by pressing the key or clicking on OK or abort the process with or clicking on Cancel As long as the message remains unacknowledged by the operator the process is suspended With certain numerical controllers it is possible to send instru
30. Special functions for more details on constructing 3 D meshes Design 3 D mesh Crossed Constructs a 3 D rectangular mesh from two open shapes in the XY plane that are nominally perpendicular to each other Both shapes control the X Z and the Y Z profiles Design 3 D mesh Circular Constructs a 3 D circular mesh with a radial cross section based on a selected open shape drawn in X Y and rotated around an axis perpendicular to the X Y plane selected by you 12 198 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 Design 3 D mesh Revolved Constructs a 3 D cylindrical mesh with an axial cross section based on a selected open shape drawn in X Y and rotated through 180 degrees around an axis in the Y Z plane selected by you Design 3 D mesh Sheaves Constructs a mesh between two open shapes selected in red If the shapes are all at the same depth the result will be a 2 D mesh otherwise it will be 3 D Design 3 D mesh Lofted Constructs a 3 D mesh by covering a series of open shapes representing cross sections at that position and drawn in the XZ plane e g boat or wing profiles First draw the cross sections in the XY plane then flip them into the XZ plane with Design 3 D effects Flip X and Z planes then select them all and use this function The smoothing function is very useful to enhance the final result Please note that the maximum number of usable sections for one lofted mesh cannot exceed 32 Design 3 D mesh
31. This is only supported if it was either copied from Galaad or from another software package as a vector graphic See also Edit Copy and Edit Paste above You can paste a background bitmap image from the clipboard using Display Background image Paste Edit Reframe and paste Places a copy of the object s currently on the clipboard into the current design and allows it to be resized at the same time See comments above Overview of menus 12 185 GALAAD 3 Edit Duplicate Add one real copy Copies the selected objects and pastes them at an XY position to be pointed Machining data depth speed tool remain unchanged The original objects and their copies are indepen dent unlike the virtual copy see below Edit Duplicate Add one virtual copy Copies the selected objects and places a virtual copy of them at the position selected by the mouse The copy remains linked to the original In fact is doesn t exist in the memory or in the file which saves space but it is displayed and machined normally A virtual copy follows all modifications of the original Note if you make one or more virtual copies of a set of objects each series of copies will be machined immediately after the original But if your original objects are associated see yellow icon of association then each group of copies will be fully machined before the next copy Hence this association helps saving time when milling You may associa
32. To do so constitutes a forgery punishable under local law and international copyright treaty Any person legally acquiring this software is permitted to make copies of it on the condition that it is strictly in accordance with the terms of licensing agreement in their possession namely that it is for evaluation purposes only and not for commercial gain Integrating this software either totally or in part with another piece of software constitutes a breach of copyright Moreover no part of the software may be disassembled or de compiled in any way without the written consent of the author Galaad is supplied as is and no guarantee is given or implied as to the results obtained by its use or regarding overall satisfaction with the end product Galaad is a complex piece of software and has been extensively tested however these tests are not guaranteed to have removed all bugs and minor errors from the software Finally no guarantee can be given that subsequent versions will necessarily be compatible with existing versions The user is solely responsible for using the software and ensuring that the results obtained by using it are those expected No responsibility will be attributed to Galaad its authors or distributors for any damage caused either directly or indirectly to the machine tool any peripheral devices cutters stored data or any other object including hardware and software involved in the usage of Galaad None of the abo
33. as parameters of secondary importance It is true that feed speeds are supposed to be based on these two factors when cutting metallic components But the fine tools used in engraving or for cutting softer material are very fragile and demand that other factors are of primary importance namely the tool diameter profile and cut depth Galaad takes this approach in its calculations The spindle speed is displayed immediately before machining and controlled directly from the software where this is possible i e if a remote speed control is available and of course correctly parametered from Galaad See CNC parameters spindle section for more details The main parameter that prevents expensive cutters being broken is the maximum depth per pass which defines the deepest cut that the tool can make in any one pass In the case of a cylindrical cutter the theoretical depth is equal to the length of the cutting fluted part but that supposes that the tool is solid It is preferable to stick to something a little closer to twice the diameter of the tool to prevent unwelcome surprises and assorted expletives If the tool is conical engraving javelin or hemispherical 3 D ball end its maximum depth is simply the height of the cone or the radius of the hemisphere assuming that the teeth extend that far NB The maximum cut depth per pass also depends on several other factors not least the resistance offered by the material In addition it goes
34. basic 2 2 D driver for 2 3 axes and accepts pure 2 D graphics files 7 108 Advanced milling functions SS WORKSPACE PARAMETERS GALAAD 3 O General This chapter is concerned with the parameters that control the working environment of Galaad namely how the information is presented on your screen but excluding the display functions discussed earlier Use the menu command Parameters Workspace to access these features the first of which covers a few general features The resulting dialogue box r Units allows you to set the units of dis tance and speed used by Galaad The units for the distance are passive and don t actually affect anything only serving to provide the symbol displayed after the numerical value am a On the other hand the speed is used in the units specified Length mm d Speed mm s M Quad view Position of main XY view J Origin of XZ lateral view up side down side Origin of YZ lateral view left side right side The software actually calculates all speeds in mm min as this constitutes the smallest division If you choose to work in other units they are converted when they are entered and before being displayed If you change the speed units internal data in memory and files still remains in mm min only the display changes You can choose to place the main plan view in any of the four positions of the quadruple vi
35. been determined and confirmed simply click on the Memorise button and supply a name to refer to it To use a previously stored position click on the Recall button and select it using the name you gave it Automatic tool measurement It may be that your machine is fitted with a device for determining the length of a cutter This is usually in the form of a small device fitted with a pressure sensitive upper surface which is capable of sending a signal when touched e g a micro switch The cutter makes a controlled descent onto the sensor until it is triggered thus determining the length In this case it is even more important to perform a reference run first especially if you have changed the thickness of the workpiece or the tool length The software works as follows First Galaad needs to locate the XY position of the tool sensor on the machine bed Then it must calibrate the precise vertical distance between the trigger point of the tool sensor and the surface onto which the workpiece will be mounted Once these two operations have been done the software can automatically send the cutter to a position above the tool sensor drive it down and calculate the position of the surface of the work using the thickness of the work that was previously entered if 9 The third button in this series allows the position of the tool 42 sensor to be determined and calibrated First position the cutter just above the tool sensor as near to the
36. but the other functions would require write access amen 5 Defining a workstation C This computer is a master or standalone on a network is done from This computer is a slave iH lob ho M the Parameters Network Galaad directory on master computer seen from here User Pe command The escaneo acelin Ea dialogue box that appears Load from this master directory IV Workspace general parameters I Workspace restrictions allows you to choose the F7 Tool parameters type of workstation and IZ CNC machine parameters I Current board design when starting Galaad caa control the functionality ofa slave installation If your workgroup comprises several slave workstations it can be useful to specify the identity of the workstation This might retain their interest a 10 152 Using a network GALAAD 3 little longer The most important parameter is obviously the definition of the Galaad directory on the master workstation as seen from the slave unit For example if Galaad has been installed in the folder C GALAAD on the master computer this folder can be mapped as E GALAAD on the work stations in general this is the only part of the disk ID that changes You can search for this distant drive by clicking on the Browse button It is obvious that access to the network must be available in order for you to browse it All that s left is to define which parameters will be copied from
37. characters outlines If any text is selected when these para meters are modified then it will be reconstructed using the new values Note that these parameters will not affect text constructed using Galaad s in built fonts as these are already m TrueType fonts Hatch density Medium Q Spline curve resolution Medium v I Delete superimposed lines thin fonts m Clipboard scales Import Export 1 m Miscellaneous Undo Redo 5 levels Design timer pause 3 4 minutes IV Allow direct snapping to neighbour points JT Limit direct snapping to active layer only I Limit rapid data palettes to active layer only IV Always select using green preview mode IV Display info tip about green selection I Allow automatic zoom shift IV Keep workspace environment when exiting IV Open machining process with workpiece origin Cancel pre hatched TrueType fonts are made for the screen or the printer and consequently cannot encode simple lines without thickness For example a simple capital I will be represented by a rectangle or two overlapped zigzag lines in case of a zero thickness but never using a single vector Start and end points of a TrueType path always match If the font has no thickness i e a null grease Galaad can for each drawn character search for and delete superimposed lines to obtain an optimal path with single vectors Clipboard scales apply to design entities that
38. checking and atcha hang fhe proces con nector It is possible to preset the status of outputs at boot so these outputs will be enabled when the card is plugged even if Galaad is not running A binary input can be reserved to check any error signal that feeds back from the power stage from positive end switches or from any generator If this input is enabled or disabled depending on your settings the CNC card stops motion immediately and Galaad aborts the milling process This input is an optional parameter The reference run on AxeMotion cards is managed by Galaad from the controller s low level functions Consequently it is neces sary to indicate the inputs that correspond to rapid approach switches XY near end switches for large machines and zero end switches with their trigger state normally open input set to enabled normally closed input set to disabled It is possible to add a small shift value relative to the contact points so that the machine at its absolute zero does not touch the switches Furthermore X and Y runs may be driven simultaneously in a diagonal line to save time with a final run of one axis at a time Other parameters are very classical and commun for all CNC cards Most of them are related to your machine motors inertia etc Machine parameters 9 127 GALAAD 3 O SM Motion 300 amp 400 controllers SM Motion control racks or xl cards offer a wide range of eee EER meats
39. commands that correspond to the milling process to the cable Annuler 9 130 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O Spindle Mill parameters Py ix The next page of para Table Controller ae Speeds Advanced Inputs Outputs meters allows you to define the spindle that is Model Machine standard spindle fa More ag aidalla mounted on the milling JT Only start when tool is feeding laser cutter water jet etc r r ie machine if any and its SER a ae ae ai control system Switch on by enabling outputs 3 Switch off by disabling 7 outputs 3 I Rotation speed control aie For most applications Furrup deis i eoe e i a the spindle is simply the j Communication standard model that is Pott None ajea E provided with the table Baudiate E600 z Party Nore Databits 5 z Stopbis 7 z But it remains possible to Flow contol M cts ATS Nuz Moosa orafi M sonofi use a chosen customised system with alternative control The top box displays available spindles known to Galaad Since some tables are not provided especially for milling tasks perhaps the model you have does not appear in this list and you may therefore have to define it yourself If in doubt always select the standard spindle that is associated with the machine Please note that changing the machine or controller in the previous pages of the dialogue box resets the spindle to a standard model H
40. cylinder Project onto cone modifies the object selected in red to produce a 2 D representation of its projection onto a transparent cone Project onto sphere modifies the object selected in red to produce a 2 D representation of its projection onto a transparent sphere O Milling data Within this small group of features the first one will probably be used frequently The last two items are little gadgets that actually turn out to be very practical See also the rapid data palettes to copy paste depth feed speeds and tool numbers Depth speed tool sets either the default machining parameters depth feed speed cutter details or those of the selected object s Pen defines trace colour and thickness as default settings or for selected objects Of course this is useful only for the screen display and the printout Copy depth speed tool copies and stores the machining parameters of the selected object for later use See below Paste Depth speed tool applies the previously stored machining parameters to the selected object s See above Overview of design icons 11 169 GALAAD 3 O Zoom Zoom icons allow you to change the magnification of the view so that the design can be seen more clearly without affecting the actual design Several successive views are memorised to allow you to backtrack which is entirely independent of the Undo Redo features in design mode Note that fast zoom in
41. darken the machined result by increasing the top depth Zo or to increase the contrast by stretching the depth field Dz This wiremesh function is obviously related to the function Display Background image and the result can be checked with Display Final rendering Trace or the corresponding icon Design 3 D mesh Change Add perpendicular mesh Creates a framework of mesh lines perpendicular to the selected mesh Design 3 D mesh Change Make bi directional This will convert a unidirectional mesh into one with alternate directions along adjacent parallel lines Design 3 D mesh Change Make unidirectional This will convert a bi directional mesh into one with the same direction along adjacent parallel mesh lines Design 3 D mesh Change Make continuous This will convert individual mesh lines into a continuous zigzag mesh i e the cutter will not be retracted at the end of each mesh line Design 3 D mesh Change Make individual This will convert a continuous zigzag mesh into a series of individual mesh lines i e the cutter will be retracted at the end of each line Design 3 D mesh Change Reduce stepover Reduces the spacing between adjacent mesh lines of the selected mesh Design 3 D mesh Change Increase stepover Increases the spacing between adjacent mesh lines of the selected mesh Design 3 D effects Reverse Z trajectory Inverts the depth profile of the selected objec
42. does not have Switch off through output 2 12 with pause of ms Cancel special extensions that concern the spindle 9 136 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O Speeds Mill parameters 2 x This page of para Table Controller Spindle an Advanced Inputs Outputs meters covers speeds that m Values are related to the machine Minimum 0 1 Maximum 50 mms 4 5 Ea itself rather than any Multiply all speed values by 1 P A j specific tool or design Miscellaneous Reference move 25 mms XY rapid moves 50 mms Usually these spee ds Z rapid move down 50 mm s Z rapid move up 50 mm s are set once and for all as Tool sensor approach 10 mm s Digitizer lowering 10 mm s they are nii linked to any S particular job They affect pesene neither the feed speeds Default speeds XY 20 mm s z fio mm s defined in your design Progressive acceleration if motion button remains pressed nor the plunge or drilling speed set in the tool library Your controller is capable of driving your machine over a wide range of speeds but they may not be specified All the same limits have to be imposed for mechanical and safety reasons and it is necessary to specify a minimum and a maximum speed so that Galaad can ensure that they are never exceeded These limits can usually be found in the technical information provided with your machine but not always If you cannot find them th
43. for bugs Although Galaad is presumed to be intelligent software nobody is perfect and it may occur that some wrong operations are made when communicating with the machine for example if some parameters are incorrect To ease solving such problems Galaad saves in an archive file named GALAAD XON all data telegrams that are exchanged with the numerical controller unless you have disabled the option to archive data flow If you experience problems whilst driving the machine you will probably be asked by the technical support to provide the corresponding archive file The operation is very simple as soon as you get the error redo it if you have started another machine drive close the milling window whatever the driving module is and call the menu function Help Debug from Galaad Do not restart a manual drive as that x would erase and overwrite the last archive Edt 5 I Workspace parameters which corresponds to the actual problem The Piensa dialogue box allows you to select several T Machining parameters parameter files including the last archive eh ne Just validate this box and a file named FZ Last data flow archive GALAAD BUG will be created and edited T These files GALAAD BUG or GALAAD XON are located in Galaad s installation folder and you will probably be asked to send one of them via e mail or fax once printed The GALAAD BUG file encapsulates GALAAD XON plus other files that correspond to other ticked checkbo
44. gt Dim 1475 x195 mm Import I Xmirror Rotate jo z e Z clearance height 2 mm CNC Z contact margin 0 mm Optimised path Version 3 01 03 05 Pro E Parameters E71 Uila 3 17 mm Fio Be auto E0 20 mm One of Galaad s windows appears requesting milling parameters but with a file import dialogue box on top of it In fact Galaad is the core of the software responsible for the design and management of the parameters When you want to machine the current design Galaad simply calls Lancelot and lets this module communicate with the CNC As far as Windows is concerned Lancelot is a completely independent application Consequently you can start it as a background task and return to Galaad to design another job Very practical for long jobs at least that is if you can stand the noise Your Advanced milling functions 7 107 GALAAD 3 ever watchful eyes will no doubt have spotted that Galaad sometimes adds an additional dodgy button to the task bar Lancelot module is dedicated to machining work and goes hand in hand with Galaad but it can be run by itself For example imagine that you want to machine an HPGL file produced by some other software but without using Galaad Start Lancelot then select your file which will be imported ready for machining and you will then be taken back to the preview screen Then all that remains is to set the machining parameters and it is here that the fixed values especi
45. in an C Use one single tool for all drills with circular boring gt 1 gt FR 10 Fraise rainurer o1 4 flutes Ss SS aaa a epoxy board without brea Use for each drill the closest bigger tool without circular boring fees king during the cycle So 1 1 gt FR 10Fraise amp rainurer a1 4 flutes gt x it seems reasonable to 2 2 gt FR 15 Fraise rainurer 01 5 4 flutes z7 x Cancel 3 3 gt FR 20 Fraise rainurer 02 4 flutes x bore only holes that are 7 x greater than a minimum e EE diameter and still accept J Perform a circular boring for all drills over 1 mm ie tool changes for smaller drills O Milling The screen display is not the ultimate goal at least not with Galaad so it is now time to machine i e mill the copper and drill the epoxy The Machine Mill umu xi command pops up a final General dialogue box that allows ooo MELI z you to set the sequence of A Scania ER E the tasks to be performed Chan evtonaicalytomiing node add depth and speed data ees for engraving and drilling oo BM aeo oe operations then send the Baring circles tum C counterclockwise clockwise result to Galaad s milling E module or even to the Depth 0 25 mm Contour speed I0 mms design module if you wish SAIC Cerne Coe to add something on the I Hatch unused areas Distance between hatches 05 mm board such as a cropping TA Link hatches Hatch spe
46. in use to a floppy disk from which they can be transferred to another work station Parameters Transfer disk Receive parameters Uploads all or part of a set of parameters previously saved onto disk using the above function Overview of menus 12 213 GALAAD 3 O Help menu Help General Displays general help on the use of the programme Help Tips Displays useful tips on using Galaad Help Machine Displays help on using the machining module Help Restrictions Displays help on setting restrictions Help Debugging Creates a text file containing some or all of the parameters currently in use together with those of the last machining opera tion to assist technical support staff For more information please refer to section The hunt for bugs in the chapter Machine parameters Help Licence Allows you to enter a temporary licence code that is valid for one month with the key unplugged This licence can be renewed three consecutive times maximum and the current installation of Galaad must have detected the key at least once during the past three months The only purpose of this command is to allow the replacement of a lost or damaged key and keep on working while it is returned This function cannot unblock the user s licence of a Galaad installation that has no key Please note that the identification number is not fixed and changes every time a new temporary licence is validated Help About Di
47. into the other Design Mask Inside Cuts any objects intersected by the selected object and if it is a closed shape all objects contained within it are deleted Protected objects are not affected This function corresponds to an incision paths are cut with new points created at the split point followed by the deletion of objects or object parts that are inside the selected object which can even be an open path Objects that are partly deleted lose their geometrical 12 196 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 properties arcs curves or text Design Mask Outside Cuts any objects intersected by the selected object and if it is a closed shape all objects not contained within it are deleted Protected objects are not affected Design Incise Cuts at the points of intersection any objects intersected by the selected object that are not protected Alternatively the mouse can be used to define where the incision should be made The difference with the Design Object Split function is that the target object can be cut anywhere not only at an existing point The incision may be multiple with the mouse line or the incision path from the selected object Incised objects lose their geometrical properties arcs curves or text Design Trim At selected object Cuts at the point of intersection any objects neither selected nor protected that are intersected by the selected trimming objects and deletes the remaining pa
48. it is a curve then its last sector is deleted and its geometrical properties are kept Overview of menus 12 191 GALAAD 3 Design Object Close By adding a point Closes an open object by adding an additional point and consequently another segment If the object has geometrical properties arc or curve then the object closure is made by adding a sector of the same nature arc or curve sector and its geometrical properties are kept Design Object Close By moving last point Closes an open object by moving the end point so it coincides with the start point which does not change If the object has geometrical properties curves adjustment is made by moving the last sector and geometrical properties are kept Design Object Close Through red cross Closes an Open object by adding segments from end point to red cross and from red cross to start point If the object has geometrical properties arc or curve this function does not apply You must convert the object into a simple polygon Design Object Degrade distorts the selected object according to framed random values that move XYZ co ordinates To avoid degrading depths just set the Z variation to 0 The geometrical properties of the object arc or curve are obviously lost when degrading Design Object Link Constructs a new object between the end points of two objects of the same type one end point having been selected in blue and the
49. just the first object or to all selected objects In addition you can choose to run the test at all depths or limit it to the first pass The aim is to quickly evaluate the result and especially the depths relative to the Z origin of the workpiece On certain machines you can download the complete toolpath into the machine s memory and possibly save it to a local disk or storage unit In this case machining will not be undertaken immediately but is stored in the local memory for later use without the supervision of Galaad You will have to press the Start button on the machine anytime you want the process to be completed Since this process is completely local the PC can then be switched off Not all machines have such local memory or disk If your workpiece is bigger than the active table area it is possible to parcel the surface by limiting the process to smaller ranges and shift the workpiece once one mill has been achieved You must indicate lateral margins which will remain ignored during the current cycle The workpiece is considered as reduced to the available surface i e lateral margins will not be machined and therefore it is the workpiece origin that is shifted This is like giving a reduced window on a large workpiece For example a 300 1200 mm part can be machined on a table with a usable range of 500 500 mm you just have to run the parcelled process three times and indicate successively margins of 0 mm north and 800 mm s
50. little pins If in doubt plug in your printer and see what s left 5 Note 3 Talking about parallel ports don t plug Galaad s protection key dongle into the serial port linking the computer to the machine The dongle must be plugged into the parallel port Centronics port LPT or printer port or the USB port whatever configuration of machine you have The printer cable is then plugged into the dongle which is totally transparent as far as a printer Zip drive scanner or any other parallel device is concerned If you are using Windows NT 2000 XP or a USB dongle then it is Machine parameters 9 121 GALAAD 3 always necessary to use a special driver Jump back to the chapter covering installation for more details The serial communication protocol takes the transmission speed also referred to as the baud rate into account Generally this speed is set by the CNC and the software is adjusted to match it rather than the other way round Do not change this speed unnecessarily as increasing the speed is not going to save you any time In fact higher transmission speeds are more susceptible to errors caused by airborne electrical interference On the other hand if you experience transmission problems because of a long cable or a hostile environment large motors saws neons arc welders efc reduce the baud rate on both the CNC and Galaad The following values are given as a guide to the maximum length of cable that can be
51. master computer Please refer to the chapter dedicated to network functions for more details File Network Save as public file Saves the current design in the appropriate workgroup if one has been defined located in the Public folder on the Master computer File Transfer disk Send design Performs an immediate save of the current design to a removable disk or a mapped network drive using a default filename not visible so that it may be quickly transferred to another workstation using the corresponding receive design function of the same sub menu The drive amp directory to be used are set in the Disk location function of the same sub menu File Transfer disk Send tool library Performs an immediate save of the tool library to a removable disk or a mapped network drive using a default filename not visible so that it may be quickly transferred to another workstation See also Parameters Save parameters for transferring the environment settings between workstations File Transfer disk Receive design Replaces the current design with one previously sent from another workstation to a removable or network disk If the current design has been changed you are prompted to save it File name is not transmitted since it may refer to a directory tree that does not correspond on the recipient File Transfer disk Receive tool library Replaces the current tool library with one previously sent from another wo
52. must produce for a stepper motor to make one revolution or in the case of a servo motor the number of pulses returned from the encoder The bottom frame is for defining a fourth axis and even a fifth if one is fitted which can have one of three possible configurations in Galaad A rotary axis parallel to either the X or the Y axis the same for the Z axis but for use with a knife blade and finally as a slave axis allowing there to be two actuators on any of the three main axes The pulses per revolution of the motor or encoder can be specified independently as with the main axes Very frequently asked question most Isel machines have fourth axes with 6571 400 x 16 42857 or 19743 400 x 49 35873 pulses revolution depending on the model BS BS BS BS BS O Numerical controller Mill parameters 21x The next page allows Table a the CNC to be specified and the parameters for the Type Isel Automation yfimca 7 More P x x serial communication to I Local memory IZ 3D interpolation IV Circular interp l a ad be set if used m Communication Zz a moen In addition the posi Baudiate 19200 Parity f None Databits 8 Stopbits 1 z tion of the machine s zero Flow contol J CTS RTS Nul z M DSR DTR Nui z I Xon off point also called the m Reference move Machine zero datum home point or r Perf a Datum point South west ee reference point has to be Sewanee seve T eve 2 minutes specified
53. normally somewhere at the front of the machine in retracted position The default speed is the same as that specified for the XY rapid and the Z lift up moves but you can set a different value if you wish The neighbouring button Tool parking defines the position where the very last tool goes to after finishing its machining cycle Given that it is assumed that the machining is either finished or abandoned this position is normally set to move the spindle well away from the operator so as to allow better access to remove the workpiece Parameters of this new dialogue box are the same as the previous one with identical functions If you park the tool near to zero on one or more axes it is recommended that you leave a small distance of say 1mm so as not to leave the machine pressing on a limit switch This can increase the lifetime of the mechanical contacts Thank you on their behalf Advanced milling functions 7 89 GALAAD 3 1 pass 2 pass cutting pass The first parameter frame at the top right of the window is entitled passes Unfortunately this term has several different meanings the most common being each pass that the cutter makes across the workpiece In Galaad s terminology the cyclic machining operations are defined as follows starting from the top the tool sequence defined by you the passes based on the order of work 1 and 2 passes cutting out the pecks based on the maximum depth a to
54. not the driver s intermediate file You may also indicate neither programme nor file in which case no driver will be called up and you will be prompted to give a file name every time Please note that the file name and its complete path is automatically added at the end of the command line Consequently it is not useful to enter it twice 9 148 Machine parameters 10 USING A NETWORK GALAAD 3 O Sharing disks amp folders One of Galaad s important functions concerns the interconnection of several workstations and the means of exchanging designs and parameters The professional user will find it advantageous to reserve one computer for design work and dedicate another obviously connected to the CNC specifically to the machining work In an educational environment it is useful to be able to prepare the working environment for all students including the design and organisation of their files from a single workstation Logistically it is necessary for all the computers to be connected to a local area network and able to run Windows This network does not need a client server architecture or any particular hierarchy as Galaad defines its own hierarchy between the master workstation and all its slave units If your network is organised on the client server model then it goes without saying that the master installation will be on the file server but Galaad is equally happy with a peer to peer arrangement A
55. of the tool sensor confirm the message The very first time keep your finger over the emergency stop button Note that you can always try this out with an old cutter or with a suitable piece of dowel The accuracy will not be affected Galaad retracts the cutter to the Z axis zero point and moves it laterally until it is directly above the tool sensor The tool is then lowered until the tool sensor is activated assuming that it is switched on of course In the latter case well it is probably better not to think about it When the sensor is activated the movement is immediately stopped and the position is obtained from the CNC The software has the position of the workpiece support in relation to the tool mounted in the spindle and what is more it knows the position of the tool switch triggered with the same cutter Now all it has to do is calculate the difference When measuring in automatic mode Galaad simply positions the cutter directly above the tool sensor and lowers it until it the sensor is activated By taking into account the height of the sensor it now knows where the machine s bed is located in relation to the cutter As it already knows the thickness of the workpiece it will then know where to find the upper surface If you have fitted a reference corner so that the X Y position of your workpiece is always in the same position you will hardly ever have to find the workpiece origin manually other than the occasional check Note
56. of upper lower case characters All Galaad modules accept speific arguments Of course the first usable argument is a file name to be opened as soon as the programme starts The automatic links between GAL files and the Galaad module or between KYN files and the Kynon module are based on such arguments For example double clicking on a GAL file makes Windows run Galaad and give it as argument the path and name of the file that has been double clicked If you do it manually just start Galaad with the following command line this is an example C Program Files Galaad Galaad exe F Files Galaad Design gal This will start Galaad and ask it to automatically load the file Design gal which is located in the folder Files Galaad of disk drive F If a design is already in progress and not saved of course Galaad will display it and ask you to save it first In addition to the file to be loaded at start up the other arguments that are accepted by the Galaad design moduleare as follows CUSTOM automatically switches to the custom restricted mode that applies the global restriction set you have defined and may redefine according as you like RESET gets rid of the current design and starts Galaad with an empty board This may help if the current design file has been altered when saving 20 278 Technical matters GALAAD 3 to disk and prevents Galaad from starting normally AUTOMILL opens Galaad with the current d
57. out functions around the cursor are also available using the amp or 2 keys or by using the mouse wheel 11 170 Zoom in increases the magnification by a factor of 2 around the point clicked Alternatively drag the mouse over the required area Global view cancels the current zoom and returns to view the whole board Temporary zoom as Zoom above but it is cancelled by the next click of the left hand mouse button Magnify selection magnifies the view so that the selected object fills the screen with a small border Zoom ends magnifies the ends of the selected object so you can check whether it is open or closed Undo previous zoom cancels the last zoom operation There are four levels of cancellation Redo previous zoom Redoes the last zoom operation cancelled by the previous command Zoom out x2 reduces the magnification by a factor of 2 This stops at the view of the full board Move visible range slides the window when the mouse is moved with the left button held down Overview of design icons GALAAD 3 O Visual dimensions These icons have no link with machining functions but represent a small bonus for technical drawings You can use them to add numerical indications on the board Visual dimensions are dynamic i e they are updated auto matically while changes are made on designed objects Their style can be changed using the Parameters Visual dimensions dialog
58. right mouse button but this time aiming for the segment away from a vertex If the segment is particularly small simply zoom in a bit The other features also apply i e using the key to select a blue segment and the K key triggers the selection of segments on objects sensitive to the right button In fact the only difference between selecting points and segments is where you aim If you are aiming at a point then that is what you will get otherwise it will be a segment All accessories are the same As you might have expected the key moves between segments in a forward direction and the addition of the KS key reverses the direction Adding the key moves directly to the start or end segments Click on one of the extremities of a red segment with the left mouse button keep it pressed down then move it The segment can be enlarged or reduced but only along its axis without affecting the rest of the object Both ends of a segment can be manipulated in the same way Now do the same thing with the right mouse button This time the segment can be rotated round its other end without changing its length Combining the use of both mouse buttons effectively allows you to change the polar co ordinates of a segment 5 62 Advanced design techniques GALAAD 3 Segments selected in red are used by many of the design icons notably when constructing lines parallels perpendiculars intersections and others but when it comes to m
59. side and colder side The only information that is still missing and this is bad news for owners of a CNC milling machine is the contour of the whole printed circuit board with its origin points O Excellion files Another file format concerns the drilling process of padsin a printed circuit this format has been elaborated for Excellon Automation multi drills It is used less today with the surface mounted components but nevertheless it concerns the creation of electronic circuitry so Percival can not ignore it Like Gerber files Excellon files contain XY drilling co ordinates and tool numbers whose diameters correspond to the holes And like classical GRB files EXL or sometimes DRL files unfortunately do not contain this drilling diameter information so it is necessary to fetch it in attached files that are not 17 266 Percival printed circuit engraver GALAAD 3 standard or indicate it manually once the file as been loaded which is the basic solution that Percival offers Furthermore there are actually two different Excellon formats one using real co ordinates XY numerical values are formatted and indicated in immediately usable units the other being a bit older in co ordinates with no trailing zeros on the righthand side which may induce position errors if the file does not contain header information about the numeric framing format To avoid this problem Percival lets you select both formats under tw
60. start automatically now would be a good time to switch it on and set the required rotation speed Immediately the tool moves towards the starting point of the first object to be machined rapids down to just above the surface of the work then reduces speed and plunges in before making the horizontal moves When this object is finished the cutter is retracted to just above the surface then moves on to the Learning to mill 3 45 GALAAD 3 next object where the process is repeated By default the objects are machined in the sequence in which they were drawn but there are plenty of ways of tinkering with the order LT aax LB 1st pass Bet i2mm GH o1 mm plas 4 20 mmis 0 25 mm Several small buttons at the bottom of the window allow you to override the Z position or the feed speed in increments When the machining cycle is finished Galaad stops the spindle and returns it to its park position The workpiece can then be removed Bedo from its fixings unless there are other cutters yet to be used Machining completed successfully Your piece is machined and you now know how to do it You can return to the other parameters and advanced O machining functions later For now we have covered the essential points of the process 3 46 Learning to mill 4 LEARNING TO SAVE FILES GALAAD 3 O Current design Before moving on to more elaborate creations temporarily quit Galaa
61. techniques which will tell you more about the methods and functions Designing with Gawain is as intuitive and should not cause any problems at first sight Important the rotary axis is supposed to be connected to a simple motor with non indexed rotation speed Therefore the turning process can produce only symmetrical workpieces around the rotary axis e g chessmen or chair cross bars Consequently it is not possible to perform threading operations with Gawain According to the geometrical references of turning standards Z is the lateral feeding axis and X is the vertical diameter axis which might induce some confusion about positions and dimensions Galaad and Gawain comply with the official standards If you are familiar with milling applications but not turning then you will have to remember that the X and Y axes of the design become respectively Z and X But the general use is unchanged so this should not be your biggest problem The display of the workpiece profile on the design screen shows the turning path at the top where you draw your lines and curves using design icons like in the Galaad CAD module and its symmetrical twin at the bottom area which remains inactive no need to click here The whole display represents the global workpiece once machined So you design the half profile of the workpiece the opposite side being displayed passively For a better overview of the machined result sharps angles of the profile are
62. that phases 1 and 2 of the setup can be redone at any time Th g Once the tool sensor has been set up you can use the fourth button to measure the tool length A particularly important parameter is the speed at which the tool descends onto the tool sensor which is set in the tool parameters Because of the mechanical inertia of the Z axis changing the approach speed can have an effect on the measurement of this value Consequently it will be necessary to recalibrate the tool sensor Take care when setting the descent speed Advanced milling functions 7 105 GALAAD 3 Manual control Besides finding the workpiece origin prior to machining Galaad also allows you to drive your machine around manually just for the hell of it and just to check that all is well Use the menu command Machine Manual control to obtain a new window with the main features required F Galaad Manual drive 0 x Commands r Move Continuous C 10mm 1mm 3 Br 2 Jo Ta C 140mm 7 y C 1400 mm C 2 54 mm sending CETTE Receiving ee Manual command hd Send File gt gt gt r Control pts MNN E E E E E Tan ee Outputs i 2 E E E C E E iip PS SE T B E E E E Version 3 01 03 05 Pro E Manual Emm U a1 mm wo REN mms 0 mm There is no point dwelling on the functionality of this control window as you already know it well However we will point out tha
63. that point to be and the magnetic grid is not applied hence it is possible to select any position on the board even when the grid is active This entered position remains unchanged If entering a numerical position is not suitable for a particular situation then simply change the grid step size by using the function Design Magnetic Grid Set from the menu bar A small dialogue box allows you to xl independently set the X amp Y steps i e the Cattesian values to which positions are rounded up down PMEG S T If you leave a value empty or auto the rounding will be to the smallest graduation on the ruler that varies with the zoom This is step 5 probably the best mode of operation because Enabling Cul key press Gensel you can zoom in out and stop worrying about the grid Y step fauto mm I Enable XY grid The polar grid rounds the slope angle of the line that is currently under construction when pressing Ctr You can also completely deactivate the grid and work directly at a pixel resolution but this is not recommended for precision work This grid is there for your convenience and using it will certainly make life easier Help yourself Learning to design 2 33 GALAAD 3 O De profundis Your artistic creations must not be made without forgetting that the ultimate aim even if a long way away is for Galaad to drive a CNC milling machine This naturally requires additional in
64. that the cycle will be IV Repeat the process after a pause of 30 s restarted after a set delay and once eee the previous cycle has been comple Leave spindle on ted with no errors The workpiece origin remains the same Cancel A serial process can also be para x IV Make a series X number 7 Shift 3 mm oo metered to get a matrix of workpieces on the machine It is necessary to 7 N eee y Y number 5 Shift 3 mm i indicate the number of workpieces per z a I Reference move between cycles row and column and the origin offset Leave spindle on from a given workpiece to its closest XY neighbours U0 At the end of a cycle the machine moves towards the tool change position if another tool must be mounted to complete the process or towards the tool parking positiononce the workpiece is finished Kay 3 D CNC driver 14 233 GALAAD 3 xl When opening a CAM file con taining several successive tool cycles that apply for example to roughing and finishing passes but it can also be something more complicated then you 2 ie gsr colae ms are immediately prompted to indicate odie dla how tool changes should be managed by Kay Current file contains several cycles that call the following tools gt 142747779713 718722725 Ignore tool changes C Extract tool n Ma and reject others The list of tools th
65. the installation to another folder with the help of Windows Explorer by renaming the target folder or cutting pasting it to another drive or subdirectory No problem with this Galaad is easily moved Don t forget to manually redirect the Windows shortcuts on the desktop and in the Start menu Installation 1 21 GALAAD 3 O Uninstalling Galaad It was not felt necessary to create a programme to automatically uninstall Galaad due to the simplicity of the installation and the absence of any files except those in the folder into which it was installed To remove Galaad it s a case of deleting its folder using Windows Explorer or a similar tool It s that simple You can then manually delete the icons from the desktop and the shortcuts in the Start menu which will remove all trace of Galaad from your hard disk Never again will you be bothered by Galaad it s your loss If you are not happy with the idea of three keys remaining in the Windows Registry it s pretty easy to delete them these keys concern the links between GAL files Galaad designs and GALAAD EXE program GLI files Galaad libraries and GALAAD EXE and between GAW files Gawain turning designs and GAWAIN EXE These keys are of no use once Galaad has been removed from your hard disk they will take up no space or system resources nor will they interfere with other applications but you have every right to remove the even the smallest du
66. the duplication about a red point or a red cross As the process produces an inverted copy it cannot be virtual Advanced design techniques 5 65 GALAAD 3 an object selected in red along the length of a trace selected in blue Optionally they can be orientated to lie on the tangent of the trace but in this case the copies will not be identical because they will have rotated so cannot be virtual oon therefore real objects will be produced J Duplicating along a blue trace places multiple copies of Jj A duplicate trace between points takes the portion of an object located between a red and a blue point and makes a single copy of it Obviously the points must lie on the same object or path Cloning is a less sophisticated function than duplication that simply produces a single virtual copy of the selected object mirrored in one of the four quadrants This can help in constructing perfectly symmetrical shapes without having to specifically design the other half It goes without saying that the clone is machined in the same way as the original and inherits the same machining parameters An object clone is always stuck to one Cartesian border and cannot be moved any further which may limit the interest of such a function You should weigh up the advantages and disadvantages against those of the mirror duplication which does not impose such immediate neighbourhood but on the other hand makes a real an
67. the feeding direction of your choice i e from left to right or from right to left Also depth and speed parameters disappear One single feed speed can be set directly in the machi ning window for the whole process On the other hand the tool parameters Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM 15 239 GALAAD 3 remain valid in Gawain even if turning cutters have little relation with Galaad tools Turning tools are not drilling engraving or milling cuters but passive blades that erode a turning workpiece like potter s hands The profile can be machined in successive passes using different tools So it is necessary for each design object to be assigned a tool whose technical parameters have already been set It is possible to define a library of a maximum of 50 tools Click on the green icon that assigns a tool If an object is selected its tool will be the one displayed The corresponding dialogue Ee xl box allows you to choose a tool Identification for the design items to be Tool number 1 a Rubout _Del lt lt Ins gt gt Name Outil 1 created afterwards or for cur Feeding direction Left edge feed rently selected objects if any You can not only choose a tool but also change the technical Cancel Profile point by point 2A xf z Z x Origin point Z 0 x J0 mm Zji0 110 s Z x Origine shift Z parameters of the one you choose i e its cutting profil
68. the height H of the rectangle at that point As long as the gap is not gigantic it does not matter if you measure H along the board or the square Calculate G using the formula G G 100 H and simply enter the value into the text box marked XY orthogonal correction Then machine a new rectangle to test the result If the problem has become worse then the correction has been made in the wrong direction Simply reverse the sign of the correction and make it negative i e enter G instead of G This time it should be better An alternative method to check for any error involves measuring the two diagonals of the rectangle that you have just cut We will spare you the maths lesson as it is slightly more complicated and best left for devotees of applied trigonometry Welcome to the Club The maximum acceleration parameter is only for use with CNC s such as RM SM Motion or TechLF for which Galaad takes care of calculating all the kinematics of the trajectories Unless otherwise advised by your supplier it is recommended that you leave the default value as set by Galaad unless of course you don t mind if the cutter does its own thing on the corners Another important kinematics parameter for these controllers is the Start Stop motor frequency which gives the start end speed for accelerated vectors This is set in the controllers special dialogue boxes see Controller pages Machine parameters 9 141 GALAAD 3 O The hunt
69. the master installation Besides the main environmental and machining parameters it is also possible to retrieve the current design from it In this case the copy of Galaad on the slave unit will open and display the design that has been previously prepared by the teacher If the network is down or there are difficulties accessing the master workstation the slave units will temporarily revert to stand alone mode and forget about the master installation until they are restarted This allows the group to carry on working in the event of a network problem It is pointless dwelling on the effects of the network restarting as the slave units will return to their normal mode of operation When the parameters have been changed on the master machine it is not absolutely necessary to restart the copies of Galaad currently running on the slave units in order to update the workspace Simply use the Parameters Network Upgrade workspace command on the master machine then on each slave unit to first save the current environment then load the new parameters O Exchanging files Using Galaad on a network is not limited to downloading the environment parameters To help workgroups the software allows files to be stored centrally on the master computer The method is very simple but best explained with an example Galaad is installed in the folder C GALAAD on the master workstation which will be mapped as say E GALAAD when seen from the slave uni
70. to be executed by the numerical controller that oversteps a predefined timeout lapse or a message to the operator which must be acknowledged by Yes or No condition becoming true when affirmative Slight variation the IF SKIP instruction allows you to manage conditional jumps depending on an input state but this instruction differs from the above because it can be uploaded to the machine s local memory depending on the controller type for example Isel C 10 C 142 and IMC4 The number of lines Kynon motion programmer 16 257 GALAAD 3 to be jumped can be negative backward jump positive forward jump or null conditional wait loop Kynon can manage numbered counters for example when repetitive loops are created with an internal GOTO instruction that exits the loop Simply insert in the programme if possible before entering the loop a COUNTER that will be initialised to a given value zero or otherwise Then in the loop add an incrementing or decrementing command for this counter for example Counter 3 1 which means that the data in counter number 3 will increase by 1 every time the loop is executed This instruction will obviously be followed by a conditional jump related to the counter level if the corresponding value has overstepped a given threshold In such case the programme will have executed N times the loop before jumping to the next instruction lines Similarly the REITERATE command allows you
71. to each other within 0 25 mm This trajectory can be used for contouring or hatching but unlike objects that are Welded together they can be disconnected and regain their independence and geometric properties arcs and curves Please refer to the previous chapter Joolpaths for more details about connected paths and related features Machine Toolpath Disconnect objects Disconnects objects that have been connected using the above command Machine Toolpath Weld connections Welds together all connected objects into a single polygon All geometric properties arcs and curves will be lost Only neighbouring arcs that share the same centre and radius or neighbouring B zier curves can be welded together without loss of properties Beta Spline and Quadra Spline curves cannot be welded unless they become simple polylines See also Design Objects Split to remove welds one by one from a red selected point Machine Toolpath Define as start point Allows the end point of an object or connected toolpath to be redefined as the start point The point must first be selected in red Machine Toolpath Close path Closes the trajectory by adding a segment or adjusting ends Machine Toolpath Set clockwise Sets the machining direction of selected objects to clockwise Machine Toolpath Set counter clockwise Sets the machining direction of selected objects to counter clockwise Machine Toolpath Reverse
72. to repeat several times the last N lines of the programme Close up this looks like a loop with an internal counter but this instruction can be stored in the machine s local memory depending on the controller type still Isel C 10 C 142 and IMC4 It has little interest if you do not have such a machine or do not use the upload to the local memory O Macro commands To ease reiterations improve the modularity and consequently the legibility of the programmes it is possible with Kynon to define programme blocks which will be called from another part of the programme For example you define a given procedure that contains movements output switching etc and you wish to reuse this procedure without modifying it and without adding a complicated set of jump instructions Kynon can define a sequence of commands that begins with a heading BLOCK instruction with a block name and ends with an END BLOCK instruction When the process reaches the block header line it jumps directly to the end of the block without executing the inner lines The block is considered as a neutral set when executing so you can locate it anywhere in the programme body before or after a call to this block To execute the inner 16 258 Kynon motion programmer GALAAD 3 lines it is necessary to call the block with an EXEC BLOCK command Furthermore and here it becomes extremely interesting you can assign a co ordinate offsetto your call For examp
73. used in a normal electrical environment courtesy of Cisco Systems 2 400 Baud 60m 4 800 Baud 30m 9 600 Baud 15m 19 200Baud 15m 38 400 Baud 15m 57 600 Baud 7 6m 115 200Baud 3 7m That s it for the serial port If your machine is connected to a parallel port things are much simpler and you will be able to use your modem whilst machining On the other hand it will be more difficult to print when machining Important If you do not have a machine connected to your work station set the communication port to None The next pages refer to the complete parameter set of the machine which you can logically access through Parameters Machine Full data 9 122 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O Table Don t proceed beyond here until you have read the information given above which will not be covered again Check that the necessary connections have been made to your serial or parallel port and that the dongle is plugged into the parallel port The basic machine parameters have been set a fortiori to the full parameters described below The complete machine parameters are accessed via the menu command Parameters Machine Full data Mill parameters E x This command opens a is Controler Spindle Speeds Advanced Inputs Outputs multi page dialogue box which contains all the Model IselAutomation fcPm3020 a i L information relating to the T 4
74. welding technique When disconnecting objects you will find that each object regains its independence and also its geometric properties that it had prior to being connected Your objects have not been harmed in any way There are other associated functions for working with connected toolpaths For example you can select a connecting point in red and define it as the start point of the toolpath or perhaps change the overall direction in which it will be machined without affecting the end result If this turns out to be necessary you can permanently weld the connections but in this case the objects will lose their geometric properties and be converted into simple polygons 6 86 Toolpaths TF ADVANCED MILLING FUNCTIONS GALAAD 3 O Tool parking positions We have briefly seen the basic functionality of Galaad s integrated machining module You have probably already machined something success fully with it and wish to know more about the features available it is therefore time to delve deeper Take a design of your choice then start the machining module or the simulation if your CNC is currently unavailable Galaad Milling Pe a ATE 5 gt FR 30 Fraise rainurer 3 fites E E BO Fil ie No doubt you are very familiar with this screen and already know how to control the tool sequence If not then you have arrived here a little prematurely and should first complete your apprenticeship then return he
75. west edge of the board 7 E value E click on the OK button with the relative to the south edge of the board 7 areal mouse or simply hit to confirm Y co ordinate Enter the required figure and p n Learning to design 2 27 GALAAD 3 It is worth mentioning that pressing and simultaneously reverses the direction of movement and will allow you to return to the previous entry point This is not just confined to Galaad but works in all Windows applications The key validates the whole dialogue box Note Galaad s orientation system defines as west east the negative towards the left positive towards the right X directions south north the negative towards the foreground positive towards the background Y directions and down up the negative towards deep positive towards retraction Z directions This corresponds to the mathematical standard This standard orientation remains valid for machine control Warning a greater value for the depth therefore corresponds to a lower Z axis towards negative direction even if Galaad reads and displays the depth in absolute value eX You will no doubt have noticed that the dialogue box provides drop down boxes for setting the origin of the point entered Therefore it is possible to define a Cartesian value relative to a point other than the origin of the board 0 0 which is by default situated at the south west corner bottom
76. x R o Ma machine CNC and pe F spindle You will find the 290 190 mm s Z basic parameters as T EA pitch or linear motion per axis SEE r eo iz gt lc already discussed above 7 buried in a mass of more Motor steps x 400 y 400 z 400 pulses axis revolution complex data m Extra axes or special axis pian i Lathe A axis v Resolution 6571 pulses axis revolution Don t panic at least Sth axis Non existent Resolution pulses axis revolution not yet as we will go into the details of this and the penny should drop Moving on from the machine s model number set in the basic parameters we now have to provide some additional information this time the actual number of axes Most machines in the list have 3 axes XYZ but some specific configurations can t have more than 2 axes and others have a 4 turning axis A or a double master slave axis or even a 5 axis B Refer to the technical information provided with your machine and if in doubt choose 3 axes which is quite enough The usable range represents the maximum travel of each axis the combination of which defines the maximum working envelope of the machine We have seen in the basic parameters the ballscrew pitch and the consequences of using the wrong value If your machine has axes fitted with different pitched ballscrews then they must be set here The motor steps Machine parameters 9 123 GALAAD 3 specify the number of pulses that the CNC
77. zones several fast zooms magnify the location where a snap point is available the snap is performed then a zoom out is made if necessary to enter the next point of the object under construction 2 36 Learning to design 3 LEARNING TO MILL GALAAD 3 O Technical control Before setting fire to your mill it may be worth casting an eye over the settings within Galaad There will inevitably be some misunderstandings for example in cases where parameters are out of range Proceed immediately to the menu do not pass Go do not collect 200 and select the function Parameters Machine Basic data This should open a dialogue box for a model which displays a summary of the key technical characteristics of your machine CNC machine If all is well you will F x m Identification fi d th t th th Model sel Automation ICP 3020 d n a ese are sarne Controller fisekAutomation _ IMC4 z as you used when defining the CNC during the instal r Connection l z ation of Galaad Port COM1 19200 bauds z Detect p Technical data If this is not the case R 1290 Y 4190 Z 490 pa ya T aeS then it is not too late to Ballscrew pitch or linear motion per axis revolution 5 mm as E eae change any of the para meters displayed It is assumed that you know the model of your machine or at least the type of controller it uses If not then it is time t
78. 0 153 11 156 11 157 11 159 11 160 11 162 11 164 11 165 Special effects Milling data Zoom Visual dimensions 12 OVERVIEW OF MENUS File menu Machine menu Edit menu Design menu Display menu Text menu Parameters menu Help menu 13 SPECIAL FUNCTIONS Got a head for maths 3 D meshes 14 KAY 3 D CNC DRIVER General File origin amp co ordinates Workpiece origin Parameters Milling 15 GAWAIN 2 AXES TURNING CAD CAM Non indexed turning Lathe parameters Tour of the launch pad Workpiece origin Automatic process 16 KYNON MOTION PROGRAMMER Automaton for axis controls Programming technique Motion commands Switch and pause commands Jump commands 11 167 11 169 11 170 11 171 12 174 12 179 12 185 12 191 12 202 12 210 12 211 12 214 13 216 13 221 14 228 14 229 14 231 14 232 14 235 15 238 15 242 15 243 15 245 15 246 16 248 16 251 16 254 16 256 16 257 Macro commands Je eg Programme management commands Manual drive teach in User defined buttons 17 PERCIVAL PRINTED CIRCUIT ENGRAVER General features Gerber files Excellon files Extracting contours Hatching empty zones Boring drills Milling 18 OWEIN GRAPHICAL TOOLPATH BROWSER 19 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 20 TECHNICAL MATTERS Command line arguments Integration into an automated chain Interface with Windows TrueType and Galaad fonts Downloa
79. 02 Tool library opens a 0a 02023 024 025 0O 0 O2 0 2 aa passive window that shows which tools have 03 0203 04 Os 0s O37 O33 O33 O40 O7 0204804 04 O4 O47 Os O43 O50 been defined and which ee tools are actually used in Name FR 10 basic slot cutter i ig Diameter 1 mm Profile cylindrical 4 flutes Parameters the current design Dis Maximum depth 2 mm Active machining Os 7 0 mm played values are read only This window provides an overview of the tool library with the tools that will be used for the current workpiece indicated by a tick Simply click on any tool number to display a summary of the tool parameters Access to both viewing and editing the full details is via the Parameters button Please note that Galaad allows the use of a tool that has not been defined but in this case it will not be possible to calculate any contouring toolpaths or automatic 6 72 Toolpaths GALAAD 3 feed speeds and it will be up to you to decide what to mount below the spindle at the time of machining The second command for managing tools gives access to tool definitions A given tool is defined when at least its two main parameters have been set namely diameter and profile This is sufficient for Galaad to calculate the correct compensated toolpath and approach from the workpiece origin but this should not prevent you from entering a full description of other physical properties of a cutter The alternate and fa
80. 6 mm The first point is easy simply press the key and type in the co ordinates The second point is slightly more difficult as we need to calculate the co ordinates of the corner diagonally opposite by adding the dimensions to the co ordinates of the point already entered Galaad provides access to the Windows calculator but should do this menial work for you This example of a simple rectangle was perhaps not a good choice as it is possible to position the second point using relative dimensions in two ways Firstly by using polar co ordinates and secondly by drawing the rectangle in roughly the correct place then selecting it and numerically modifying the dimension of the selection frame The effort remains minimal but all the same there is room for improvement and there is a better way Try the following construct a rectangle by entering the first point whichever way you like with the mouse or numerically then press the key to position the second point 5 52 Advanced design techniques GALAAD 3 Instead of displaying a dialogue box for the co ordinates of the second point Galaad will have anticipated what you intended to do and provides a dialogue box to input the rectangle size directly Simply enter the width e and height of the rectangle X width 165 4 mm i Y height 132 1 mm a Actually Galaad follows your work and attempts to anticipate your requirements frequently offering context sensi
81. 9 Machine parameters remains valid for the use of Kay module even if certain specific parameters only refer to machining with Lancelot It is worth reminding you that Lancelot is called directly by the main 242 D design module Galaad It can manage only 2 or 3 axes but can still supervise a 3 D milling including with external files Simply the rapid movements when the tool is retracted up are filtered and redefined by Lancelot which applies the maximum pass depths that are assigned by Galaad s tool parameters Furthermore Lancelot allows you to control extended inputs outputs for processes related to special peripherals On the other hand Kay module manages from 3 to 5 axes but drives the machining process with the file as it is with no addition of passes which it is presumed to have already been defined by the CAM module that generated the file 14 236 Kay 3 D CNC driver GAWAIN 2 AXES TURNING CAD CAM GALAAD 3 O Non indexed turning Turning applications with Gawain closely look like milling but are somewhat simpler This module is not as powerful as Galaad but workpiece designs are much less complex with just a unique external profile The use of the Gawain module assumes you are already familiar with the use of Galaad as well for the design as for the workpiece origin intake and the automatic machining If this is not the case please go back to chapters 2 Learning to design and 7 Advanced design
82. C machine driver module which will be called ENT automatically via the Machine Mill LANCELOT ERER command Alternatively it is possible to call up the Galaad machining modules Lancelot specialised in 2 D processes and Kay 3 D from another CAD application The Lancelot programme just has to be called up with the mill file name as an argument and the standard name of the file format in brackets if the extension is not significant Example C Program Files Galaad Lancelot exe C MyDesign plt or C Program Files Galaad Lancelot exe C MyDesign xyz plt Please note that calling up an alternate CNC driver is not absolutely direct but goes through Lancelot as an intermediate module that defines milling parameters and manages tool sequences and cycles In fact it is Lancelot and not Galaad itself that will chain to the external CNC driver once the intermediate file is generated Machine parameters 9 147 GALAAD 3 To configure an external driver programme use the command Para meters Machine External driver The big dialogue Machining process x Machining is directly managed by Galaad box that opens will Meanie allow you to choose Command line frc Program Files HeidenHain HDrive exe Browse between using Galaad s own internal driver Lancelot or a stand Intermediate file C Program Files Galaad Galaad iso Format 1S0 G Code for CNC Mill Process Scale 1
83. D 3 positive angle produces a counter clockwise trigonometric rotation and that classic italic text which slopes to the right therefore defines a negative angle In some types of engraving the hatching out of the interior is not done at the same depth as the outline therefore Galaad lets you set the hatch depth as a percentage of the outline depth By using a relative depth as opposed to an absolute one you can work with a collection of objects that have many assorted depths The style of hatching produced is affected by the choice of either zigzag or hatching Zigzag is simply a hatching of which the adjacent lines are joined at alternate ends This results in a shorter machining time as the cutter does not have to retract move to the start of the next line then feed in again between each line However you might want all the hatch lines to be independent in which case you can also specify the direction they take It is also useful to be able to choose whether the hatching is machined before or after the outline It is very common to cut the outline last as this produces a sharper definition of the contour however as usual it is entirely up to you Finally you can tell Galaad whether or not to avoid internal islands objects totally enclosed within other objects so that they remain exposed Important to be considered an island the inner polygon must be closed and have its depth lesser or equal to that of the outer
84. D vectors including colours and line thickness with a relative accuracy more focused on graphics than real technique Galaad does not import images that are encapsulated in EMF files This format is also available for export EPS is the Adobe Encapsulated PostScript format for 2 D vectors based on straight lines and B zier curves it is dedicated to printers 2 D design software and other graphical systems An EPS file may also contain bitmap images and font definitions which Galaad will not read This format is also available for export ISO G Code is the standard format for files that are dedicated to CNC machine tools In the design module Galaad will load only 24D or 3 D3 D files with XYZ or XAZ co ordinates A variant of the ISO standard encodes arcs with absolute co ordinates for the centre mainly used by NUM control lers If your ISO import displays fanciful arcs then try the other available version of the format Another variant the G code for 2 axis lathes uses XZ co ordinates instead of YZ Also some G code formats have custom ex tensions dedicated to a particular machine Galaad provides a small list of these with their own special codes All readable variants of G code format are also available for export NCI is the 24 2D and 3 D3 D data exchange format for MasterCam software dedicated to CNC drivers This format is also available for export Overview of menus 12 177 GALAAD 3 EXL is the format of Ex
85. Design Advanced opite Moving the axes Defining the workpiece origin Automatic tool measurement Manual control Galaad and Lancelot WORKSPACE PARAMETERS General Advanced functions Restrictions for education 5 52 5 53 5 55 5 56 5 56 5 57 5 58 5 59 5 62 5 64 5 64 5 67 5 68 5 70 6 72 6 78 6 82 6 85 7 88 7 90 7 92 7 92 7 94 7 96 7 101 7 103 7 106 7 107 8 110 8 111 8 113 9 10 11 MACHINE PARAMETERS Main parameters Table Numerical antol Isel IMS6 controller SM Motion 300 amp 400 Sak 3 TechLF CNC 4AX 4BX amp 8AM controllers Solectro SML 33 controller Generic controllers Spindle Tachometric Sadka on ES apn Tachometric spindle on PWM output Tachometric spindle on multiple binary outputs Programmed sequence of commands External control programme Custom spindle commands Speeds Advanced parameists The hunt for bugs Automatic tool changer Inputs outputs Extended inputs outputs Local manual drive External driver USING A NETWORK Sharing disks amp folders Main workstation Secondary workstations Exchanging files OVERVIEW OF DESIGN ICONS Points Lines Polylines and Seven Rectangles and polyhedrons Arcs and cyclic shapes Text Selections 9 120 9 123 9 124 9 127 9 128 9 129 9 130 9 130 9 131 9 133 9 133 9 134 9 135 9 135 9 136 9 137 9 139 9 142 9 143 9 144 9 145 9 146 9 147 10 150 10 151 10 152 1
86. If you have already used vector design software such as CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator you will have no problem in becoming familiar with Galaad The modus operandi is quite conventional HLA Machine Edit Let us begin by opening the File menu and clicking on Open the New command The current design will be removed mle and replaced by a blank drawing board ave as It then requests the overall dimensions of the new workpiece Measure your material eee width 00 mm and enter the dimensions in the appropriate place These dimensions can be modified at i e2 fmm any time by using the following command Ziickness f0 mm File Material dimensions in the same menu Check the values and click on OK Z OK HD Lets begin with something simple like a straight line Locate the line icon in the design icons on the left hand side of the screen ignoring the multitude of other icons that fly out the basic icon will do fine Click on it and return to the drawing board The cursor will have changed from the oblique white arrow to a red cross complete with cross hairs Move the mouse and the red cross will follow its movement along with the cross hairs which indicate the current position on the rulers In addition the numerical co ordinates are indicated at the bottom 2 26 Learning to design GALAAD 3 of the screen and updated when the position settles Click somewhere on the board and release the
87. On the other hand 3 D displays with wiremesh or surface rendering represent the workpiece as it has been designed regardless of the tool shape and therefore without the possible conflicts These two views are printable as they appear on the screen s we Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM 15 241 GALAAD 3 O Lathe parameters If it reassures you the technical parameters of your turning machine seen from Gawain are much simpler than corresponding machine parameters seen from Galaad No long list of fully predefined machines with all their options values and hesitations but a reduced set of numerical controllers that are known to Gawain Nevertheless this reduced set integrates almost all control lers that fit the milling machines other Galaad modules are able to drive Lathe parameters 2x It is necessary to specify Mechanics Controller Speeds Advanced parameters if a 3 axis is fitted to your machine which is the most common with Galaad users If yes the turning module Type SM 300 Stepper Toolat North V Saxes M Local memory JT Circular interpolation Usable range Ballscrew pitch Motor steps will provide a couple of Z 200 mm 2 5 mm Z 400 pulse axis rev control buttons that drive x J100 mm x 5 mm x 400 pulse axis rev the Z axis 0 the cutter San be aligned onto the rotation axis of the workpiece to be per machined The mechanical chara
88. Overview of menus GALAAD 3 O Edit menu Edit Undo Successively undoes changes made to the current design from the Machine Edit and Design menus This only applies to the design process File and display functions are not concerned The size of the undo stack can be set in the workspace parameters Edit Redo Successively redoes the last undone operations on the current design Edit Repeat Repeats the last operation performed on the current design This only applies to the design process Edit Restart Undoes the last operation performed on the current design and restarts the function that has been undone with new parameters Edit Delete Deletes the object point or segment currently selected in red i e having the focus Same function as the key Edit Cut Places a copy of the current selection onto the clipboard then removes the selection from the design This can now be Pasted elsewhere in the design or into another software package that accepts vector graphics See also Edit Copy and Edit Paste below Edit Copy Places a copy of the current selection onto the clipboard but does not remove it from the design This object can then be pasted onto the board or in another design application that accepts vector graphics under EMF format See also Edit Cut above and Edit Paste below Edit Paste Places a copy of the object s currently on the clipboard into the current design
89. Start argument The format of Kynon programme files is text type and the syntax is not very complicated closely looking like the instruction list on the screen It is important to use this syntax and particularly the spaces because bad instruction lines will be ignored As a conclusion anything that can be done by Galaad modules under the control of an operator can also be done automatically using command line arguments These may be a bit difficult to handle by a user from the Windows desktop but much easier to integrate in a calling application that encapsulates Galaad in a superset including a batch process Technical matters 20 281 GALAAD 3 O Interface with Windows This chapter is for those users who have a solid understanding of the control mechanisms within the Windows environment The various technical details described below can help when trying to resolve the possible problems associated with either loading or using Galaad Remember that Galaad Target xpert eT is a coherent collection of panet Type Fase Vuk files comprising modules Pare awe LN ae EERE K corca created with the Borland laie Lean fo Sell a F owl G sr 2 tee C 5 02 compiler and Import Library lib me ae i i Platform M BwCC T vex intended exclusively for C use on the Windows 32 Target Modet liwa e A faui M Oe bit platform in graphic P C Dynamic Static mode that is Windows 95
90. The angular step applies a polar grid relative to the previous point when the key is pressed during a line or polyline design For more details about the magnetic grid please refer to the chapter Learning to design Design Magnetic grid Snap to grid Causes the selected object to jump to the nearest snap point of the grid values currently set This is useful if the grid values have changed or if objects were drawn with the grid inactive Design Magnetic grid Snap and size to grid As above but the object will be resized to fit between the nearest snap points Design Align amp centre Pops up a window for selecting among all possible alignments and centring horizontally vertically or both The palette is wide and should match almost all cases Design Object Change layer Layer N Moves the selected object s to Layer N See the zero point of the rulers bottom left of screen for the current layer number Rapid data palette when in Layer mode does the same without stepping through the menu and allows you to skip from one layer to another See hereafter the functions at the top of the Display menu to setup the visible layers and the active one Design Object Open Opens a closed object by deleting the last point drawn and consequently the last segment If the object is an arc then it is transformed into a semi circle or half ellipse i e 180 from the start point with the same rotation direction If
91. a fixed depth to clear out material from a defined area Polar co ordinate position defined by its radial distance from the origin and the angle from the X axis Port port on computer to which the communications cable to the CNC is attached Post processor programme that produces the machining code for the CNC in the required format 21 288 Glossary of terms GALAAD 3 Profile of a tool cross sectional view of a cutter cylindrical conical hemispherical etc Rapid move non cutting moves where the tool is clear of the workpiece made at the machine s rapid speed Reference move special move whereby the machine sets each axis to zero by sending them one at a time to find the built in reference switches Resolution the smallest movement the machine can make Retract vertical movement when the tool is pulled up out of the work Retract height a safe vertical distance above the surface of the work that the tool retracts to before making any rapid lateral moves Roughing initial course cut to remove the bulk of the material rapidly whilst still leaving a small amount of stock material to be cleaned up with a finishing pass See Finishing Snap a jump to the nearest position meeting the snap s criteria Spindle device for holding and spinning the cutting tools usually driven either electrically or pneumatically Step machining pass with the cutter at a restricted cut depth Stock material
92. a segment both selected in red then selects a new point at the start of the original segment and a new segment starting from the original point Swap point segment as above but with a blue point and segment O Special effects The special effects provide a comprehensive set of tools that allow the objects selected in red and these only to be tortured Manipulation can be from simple 2 D positioning to 3 D bending including miscellaneous rotations and projections Please note that objects lose their geometrical properties arcs curves and texts if the torture applied changes their shape Cartesian move allows the object selected to be moved in all directions by values entered for X Y amp Z Polar move allows the object selected to be moved in the X amp Y directions by values entered for the angle and radius Centre horizontally centres the object s selected about the vertical axis of the cursor See also Design Align centre that allows you to use many references on the board Overview of design icons 11 167 GALAAD 3 Centre vertically centres the object s selected about the vertical axis of the cursor Centre both simultaneously centres the object s selected about both the horizontal and vertical axes of the cursor Flip horizontally inverts the selected object about the vertical axis within the selection frame Flip vertically as above but about the horizontal axis Flip dia
93. achometric spindle on multiple binary outputs If your numerical Multi outputs spindle control xj controller has neither an Pastendiection Iv Start clockwise gt output 10 11 bled analogue nor a PWM output a I Start counter clockwise gt output 110 12 bled but provides a wide range of ma binary outputs then it is still Spesdcontol 1 1 Resolution 8 bits Mode digital 0 gt 255 possible to control the spindle Soom ae Bitn 12 gt output 0 rotation speed by switching SENE E E logarithm several outputs that must be Btn 10 gt output 0 P eari A Bitn 9 gt output D e ia linked to an external D A eee Boo converter Bin gt output E Bitn 6 gt ouput enabled z Bin 5 gt output j4 Bitn 4 gt output 5 3 Garral i Since an analogue outp ut Bitn 3 gt output at spindle switch off is actually an internal D A Bin 2 gt output 7 E Bitn 1 gt output fe H converter most parameters F IV Perform a progressive run up of 5000 rps remain identical to those for a Floor value 0 corresponds to a speed of 0 rpm spindle contr ol on an Ceiling value 255 corresponds to a speed of 50000 1pm analogue output see above Vv Reset all bits to zero You can set the number of bits that will drive the DAC 1 minimum but do not expect too much of an analogue signal in such case and 12 maximum which giv
94. active layer is concerned Furthermore if objects are selected they are displayed alone and the rest is hidden It is possible to change trace and background colours from the left side of the screen just under the design icons All this remains valid for other functions of final rendering Display Final rendering Mesh Displays a 3 D wire frame representation of the cutter path showing both the width and depth of the path relative to the material dimensions Display Final rendering Surface Displays a 3 D rendered surface representation of the cutter path showing both the width and depth of the path relative to the material dimensions Display Final rendering Parameters Allows you to setup the few parameters related to 3 D final rendering in mesh mode Display Permanent final trace Permanently displays the machined trace of the objects in the active layer calculated from the tool profile and diameter The colour is set in Parameters Colours at the Dot enhance ment entry which also corresponds to display enhancement spots around isolated dots Overview of menus 12 205 GALAAD 3 Display Quad view Allows you to split the screen into four different views of the current design i e plan XY front XZ side YZ and 3 D view The basic layout of the split screen can by configured in Parameters Workspace General A double click on the 3 D view switches it to full screen and back again When
95. ad disappears and is replaced by a new screen for configuring the functionality This screen has the same menus and icons as the main Galaad screen plus some extra buttons giving access to the additional parameters 8 114 Workspace parameters GALAAD 3 It is possible to save a set of restrictions from the workspace parameter window using the Save button and of course Load to restore it Mees FE ES De To remove access to a particular command line in ys en a menu simply open the menu and uncheck the line Open a oe v Save Cires by clicking on it For example if you want to remove v Save as a the New file command from the File menu click Network on it to remove its tick When you return to the normal design screen that line will have disappeared v Material dimensions Global scale from the menu Comment Elapsed time v Print CurlsP If all the functions of a sub menu are deleted Import Cull ER Galaad automatically deletes the parent line from the v Exit Galaad main menu so that you do not have a line that opens vabecaoulnes into an empty sub menu The only menu lines that will be visible are those preceded by a tick or ones which open into a sub menu that is not empty It is just as easy for the design icons The configuration screen displays two matrices one above the other When you click on one of the main icons down the left hand side all the fly ou
96. ally the depth and speed become particularly useful As for the rest i e setting the workpiece origin and the starting of the machining process etc well you ve heard it all before Note that Lancelot can be run directly or from another application software than Galaad with a data file given as argument If it is standard the file name extension indicates the format Otherwise it is necessary to give Lancelot the standard extension between brackets Examples C Program Files Lancelot C CadCam MyFile plt or C Program Files Lancelot C CadCam MyFile xyz plt The quotes just help integrate a file name that includes spaces into one single entity to avoid splitting it in two different arguments Please refer to chapter 20 for more information about command line arguments that are related to the different modules Kay module does the same for 3 D files with more restricted formats A whole section is dedicated to Kay hereafter Let us just mention here that the main difference between Lancelot and Kay lies in the fact that Lancelot reads only the active part of the CAM files tool down in the material and consequently uses the inactive rapid speeds and drilling cycles that have been defined in Galaad On the contrary Kay drives the machine with the CAM file as it comes with absolutely no changes including inactive vectors Kay is a 3 D milling machine driver for 3 5 axes and requires already prepared CAM files Lancelot is a more
97. alogue box helps you choose which parameter sets you want to receive and those you want to reject 8 118 Workspace parameters Load parameters x Parameter set name Standard bd Delete m Load IV Workspace general parameters IV Workspace restrictions IV Network access parameters I Printer parameters J Tool parameters I CNC machine parameters MACHINE PARAMETERS GALAAD 3 O Main parameters Setting up the parameters of your machine tool is one of the most important parts of configuring Galaad and must be done with the greatest care Normally this only needs to be done once and it is unusual to have to reset these values once the machine is performing correctly Using incorrect values will not normally harm your machine except with very unusual mechanical configurations At worst it will be happy to sulk in a corner and totally ignore you at best it will respond a little and make the odd excusable silly move In order to help you configure your very first CNC machine Galaad provides a reduced dialogue box giving access to the main parameters only leaving the finer details until later It goes without saying that this only applies to full standard machines that can be found in the list of models known to Galaad Use the menu command Parameters Machine Basic data to find them Without doubt the most mam x important parameter is the F Identification mode
98. along with ieee During ef move enable outputs details of how and when a reference run should be performed The model of the CNC will normally be set based on the type of machine whose details have already been entered However some types of light weight or custom built machines can use a variety of different controllers in this case you must specify what type it is yourself In addition some controllers can use 9 124 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 memory cards which act as a buffer and are also used to provide a local store of motion profiles that are repeated periodically In this case you can choose not to use this buffer and let the machine take each movement directly from the software This will result in the movement being continuously interrupted by the transmission of the data and consequently rather jerky If your CNC has a memory card then it is best to use it If it hasn t then it is useless and even hazardous to pretend the contrary It will not work any better On the same lines trying to improperly increase the size of the buffer memory will lead to errors during automatic processes Change this value only if you are absolutely sure It is possible that your CNC is an old model that cannot move three axes simultaneously in which case Galaad provides the option of only inter polating the X amp Y axes and stepping the Z axis but you must then uncheck the XYZ interpolation Likewise for circul
99. an simply shift a set of lines using the File Shift command Block macro functions can also help in such cases see next pages The question of actual position has no sense with the MOVE REL instruction which uses only relative values The sequence is identical but then the origin has no more importance since all movements are driven relative to the previous point Keep in mind that Kynon checks the absolute position of the next point to be reached and will stop if you are trying to escape from the valid range of an axis The ARC and ARC REL instructions describe an arc of circle on the XY plane which starts from the current position to another XY target position around an IJ centre Depending on the instruction you have used coordinates are indicated in absolute i e relative to the global path origin point or relative co ordinates 16 254 Kynon motion programmer GALAAD 3 The SPEED instruction defines the motion velocity for the linear axes on the actual path and not the velocity of the axis that carries the longest movement like most numerical controllers read If you move a rotary axis A or B with a linear axis X Y or Z the speed applies to the linear motion and the rotary axis will obviously be synchronised If the rotary axis moves on its own then the speed becomes a tangential velocity around the rotary axis unless you have previously indicated a fixed angular speed in s Consequently the speed will be gr
100. and can be set in rpm per second It is of course subtracted from the run up lapse 9 132 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O Tachometric spindle on analogue output Analog output spindle control x If an 8 bit an alogue pna output is fitted to your JT Start clockwise gt output enabled v P 7 y numerical controller JT Start counter clockwise gt output enabled zj Galaad should be able Speed contiol to control the spindle Z Reset D A converter to zero at spindle switch off Scale d b o IV Perform a progressive run up of 5000 rps Cc ae rotation sp ee y exponential addressing directly the Floor value 0 corresponds to a speed of 0 ipm C square root eal dd SS g d y Ceiling value 255 corresponds to a speed of 50000 rpm D D A converter wi th a calculated value At the top of the window you can indicate the corresponding outputs for the spin direction Obviously these outputs may replace the standard switch on switch off outputs Spindle standard defines as a positive speed a clockwise rotation speed most tools turn right and a negative speed if it is counter clockwise trigonometric It is possible to indicate a negative speed in tool parameters and when adjusting this speed before the launch of the milling process The extreme values of the speed range must be indicated here and also the scale if it is non linear O Tachometric spindle on PWM output PWM outp
101. anipulation and adjustments segments selected in blue are much more powerful Now select a segment in blue from a polygon in your design As you can see on the screen and unlike with a red segment the whole object is either scaled or rotated around a point when the extremities of a blue segment are dragged with the mouse left or right button keeping the same functions as for handling the red segment i e rotating and stretching This may also help you to scale and adjust objects according to a basic pair of co ordinates Moreover if other objects are anchored to the one containing the blue segment being manipulated then they are all resized and rotated together as with blue points This can help rotate objects around a pre set point Anchor all of the objects together and to a segment created specifically for the operation Select this segment in blue and rotate it accordingly Numerical dimensioning using the key is essential for an accurate result Advanced design techniques 5 63 GALAAD 3 O Moving groups of points This unique little icon from the selection series is well worth a passing mention This icon allows you to select part s of one or several objects so their appearance can be changed without First it is necessary to define a selection zone and all points within it no matter what object they belong to will be selected and can then be moved or scaled repositioned or stretched independent of
102. another language Post Processor is the custom format you can define from the big dialogue box available from Parameters Post processor Almost all syntaxes and co ordinates systems are allowed BMP is the Windows standard bitmap image format for a non vector output of the design File Exit Galaad Saves the current working environment including the current design and exits Galaad O Machine menu Machine Mill Starts the milling process for the current design on 2 or 3 axes depending on the machine type using either the internal machining module Lancelot or the predefined external driver When clicking on the corresponding icon pressing the key simultaneously calls the Manual control function instead Machine Turn 4 axes Starts the milling process using a 4 rotary axis for the current design that is wrapped around a cylinder with a straight or reshaped profile Y co ordinates become A co ordinates the board becoming a cylinder It is possible to use a path selected in blue to define a non cylindrical global profile Z depths then vary depending on the blue selected profile Display 3 D view Cylindrical helps you visualise the projection of the design onto the cylinder Machine Simulate Simulates the normal milling process for the current design using the internal machining module Lancelot Process steps are identical to the real milling cycle except that no external drivers are called when s
103. anted that it is a bit more complicated but it can be viewed as an extension of the rectangular mesh method The aim is to draw in XY a series of XZ sections which will be used as references to construct the mesh Select each XY section one at a Special functions 13 225 GALAAD 3 time and use the Design 3 D effects Flip Y and Z planes command which will convert them to XZ sections Ensure that you are happy with their positions on the board then select them all before calling the Design 3 D mesh Lofted command and completing the ensuing dialogue box fiii ti it ig 7 Sie a a ae meng pi a Ss fe ae Ss oo KES K OR SSS ORY SNA l ANONA As usual we will finish on a ligh ter note Try and quickly construct a somewhat strange and rather artistic shape instead of something useful by using several sections drawn free hand Note that Galaad only uses a maximum of 32 reference objects Viewed from above the result is similar to the rectangular mesh method but this time the area is defined by the outer extremities of the reference objects rather than being a simple rectangle The width of the result is determined by the width of the reference objects whilst the height of it is controlled by their position on the board What is not so clear from this view is how the depth and profile of the mesh have been generated as the original reference s
104. ar interpolation if your machine is not able to produce arcs from a specific single command These features depend only on the actual controller and not the mechanics of your machine Unless you have a specific reason stick to the default values pre programmed into Galaad Communication with the CNC is via either a serial or a parallel port which has to be specified Refer back to the basic parameters for information on serial communications If your computer is not connected to a machine select None instead of a port which will redirect the machine commands to a file of your choice When using a serial connection it is essential to set the parameters for the communication protocol The parameters in Galaad have to be set to match those of the CNC rather than the other way round Refer to the technical data for your CNC to find the correct parameters The most common configuration is 9600 baud with no parity 8 data bits and 1 stop bit Isel machines that use the IMC4 are usually set to run at 19200 baud Do not touch the flow control parameters unless you fully understand how the communication to your CNC functions Here again playing with parameters brings more pain than pleasure The most important item in the reference move frame is setting the position of the machine s datum point It is assumed that whatever the machine looks like the Z axis zero point is always at the top of the travel i e with the tool fully retracted Yes ev
105. are problems There are many things to check If your machine reacts to some commands for example performing a reference run correctly it is safe to assume that the communication is functioning In this case first check that the correct model of controller has been selected then its capacities inter polations and memory card Finally carefully check the manual control Frequently asked questions 19 275 GALAAD 3 The result is not the same as the design Several machine parameters will need checking especially the pitch of the ballscrews and the resolution of the motors Also cast an eye over the scale factors in both the design and machining modules The machine moves all by itself when referencing This is only likely to occur when you have specified the use of a joystick in Galaad s parameters These little beasts are very versatile by nature and require careful configuration when used You can check the calibration of your joystick in the Windows Control Panel or remove it from the machine s advanced parameters if it continues to misbehave It is impossible to make a toolpath go round a trajectory Itis possible that you have a small break in the proposed toolpath which prevents it from being used as required Zoom in on the contour and check it It is impossible to apply a design function to an object Check whether your object is on the active layer and that it is not protected use the Display Trace Pr
106. art with hatching Find the icon for constructing closed polygons and construct a large one with at least six or seven vertices Then add a smaller one that is entirely inside the first one Now select the two polygons or just the outer one if you prefer and choose the command Design Hatching from the menu Hatching E The dialogue box that opens will let you define the para Distance between adjacent hatch lines fauto mm meters that will be used to Slanting fo 9 Belative depth i00 1 hatch out the area enclosed by z the outer polygon There are Zigzag Machine hatch before outline d h C Hatching C Altemate DOG not too many options and they C North gt South A C South gt Noth FF Avoidintemal islands are not very complicated or at least they won t be after a little pe practice The first text box sets the interval between two adjacent hatch lines In general this distance should vary with the diameter of the cutter tool used If you leave the value set to Auto Galaad sets this distance to half the diameter of the tool Then hatches will have an overlapping ratio of 50 Remember that this varies with the cut depth when you are using a conical engraving cutter However you can change this if you so desire Hatch lines can also be inclined at any angle positive or negative with respect to the vertical which is the default zero setting Remember that a 6 82 Toolpaths GALAA
107. at have been detected in the file is displayed at top of the dialogue box and several options are then available 1 Tool changes are simply ignored In this case Kay will consider that one single tool is used to machine the whole path i e the one that is mounted on the spindle when starting the process Then the whole file is machined with no interrupts 2 Only one tool cycle in the file must be processed The code lines that refer to this tool are the only ones that generate machining motion and all others are ignored It is therefore possible to redo an exclusive cycle 3 Tool changes are managed by Kay Then several sub options are possible 3 1 All tools are pre calibrated or have the same virtual length i e moun ting a new tool does not require setting a new workpiece origin for the Z axis In this case Kay interrupts the machining process when it comes to a tool change command in the sequence that has been defined in the file and displays a message that asks the user to mount the new tool that is going to start its cycle As soon as the message is acknowledged the process is resumed 3 2 Any tool change requires a new workpiece origin intake for the Z axis In this case the tool change message is displayed but then Kay returns to the manual control screen for the intake of a new workpiece origin Clicking on the yellow button that launches the process starts the new cycle 3 3 Tool changes require a new workpiece origin inta
108. available and you may remove all lines of code before or after the active one This is remains the kind of exercise that should be reserved for experts who are used to direct programming on a numerical controller display 18 272 Owein graphical toolpath browser FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS GALAAD 3 This chapter provides answers to the most frequent questions and problems about Galaad with corresponding answers or observations Is Galaad a 3 D software package No Galaad s central design module is a 2D vector editor with depth codes Nevertheless Galaad provides a limited number of 3 D features for creating paths or meshes and in addition several types of 3 D file can be imported into it The machining module is fully supports 3 D for 3 or 4 axes and the Kay CNC driver drives from 3 to 5 axes for full 3 D milling In shart Galaad can help you take your steps into the world of 3 D and can manage advanced 3 D millings from external CAD CAM software How many depths and speeds can I have in a design There is no limit Galaad can manage as many depths and feed speeds as there are objects on the board In the case of 3 D objects there are as many depths as there are different points in the object However the tool rack is limited to a maximum of 50 cutters which should be quite adequate for most applications In what way is the educational version limited Only the user licence is limited Galaad still retain
109. ave established with Galaad at least from Galaad s point of view So don t hesitate in learning what Galaad 3 can do there is no shame in being a beginner and consequently no reason to be shy If you have any doubts about how a function works the best way to find out is to jump in and try it even if the end result is quite what you expected you can always cancel if things do not go to plan Trial and error is often the best way to learn how software really works Galaad is no exception 16 Foreword I INSTALLATION GALAAD 3 O Setup Galaad 3 is supplied on a CD which contains all the files that will be transferred onto your hard disk The installation program will normally start automatically a few seconds after the drive door has been closed Under certain circumstances the AutoRun fails to start depending on your Windows configuration In this case it is necessary to run the SETUP EXE programme on the CD using the Start button and the Run option If your CD drive corresponds to the D unit which generally occurs on a basic PC type D SETUP and click on OK Setup pare x When the SETUP program G is run be it automatically or GALAAD manually it produces a blue screen and a series of dialogue boxes to enable the installation to be configured according to your wishes Thank you for choosing Galaad 3 Installation is quick and easy Files are only placed in the Galaad installation dir
110. ayers Layer colours are set from Display Visual layer Name layers Display Path colour mode Tool dependant Displays all objects in the active layer in the colour set for the cutter selected Tool colours are set from Parameters Tools Display Path colour mode Object dependant Displays all objects in the active layer in the colour set for each Objects colours are set from the green design icon Display Path colour mode Default tool Displays in black actually 12 204 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 the primary path colour all objects on the active layer using the default tool and the rest in grey actually the secondary path colour Display Path colour mode Default depth Displays in black all objects on the active layer using the default depth and the rest in grey Display Path colour mode Default speed Displays in black all objects in the active layer using the default feed speed and the rest in grey Display Path colour mode Black background Sets the background to black Normal lines will appear in bright green Please note that all display colours are set from Parameters Colours Display Final rendering Trace Displays a plan view of the cutter path using a line of width equal to the cutter diameter relative to the current magnification and board dimensions The left mouse button allows you to zoom in and the right mouse button to return to the global view Only the
111. ays a small palette at the top of the design area showing the cutters used in the current design to allow rapid selection of them Display Data palette Machining depths Displays a small palette at the top of the design area showing the machining depths used in the current design to allow rapid selection of them 12 206 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 Display Data palette Feed speeds Displays a small palette at the top of the design area showing the feed speeds used in the current design to allow rapid selection of them Display Data palette Pen colours Displays a small palette at the top of the design area showing the colours used in the current design to allow rapid selection of them Display Data palette Pen thickness Displays a small palette at the top of the design area showing the thicknesses used in the current design to allow rapid selection of them Display Margins Places a small margin around the design board allowing you to check trajectories that have a certain tendency to escape Lateral margins are passive and it is not possible to click in them Display Rulers Displays the rulers to the left and at the bottom of the board Rulers are purely visual clicking on them calls up no functions Display Visual grid None Removes the background grid from the work board Display Visual grid Points Displays a visual grid of points on the work board Display Visual grid
112. be a total surprise Indeed you can find here the classical buttons for manual motion of axes with corresponding speed sliders and motion mode selectors continuous or stepped Those who have become familiar with the crooked functions of the manual control will also recognise the double panel of binary inputs and outputs The bottom of the page provides classical control objects that allow one to set a workpiece origin It is not useful to enumerate again and again the subtle functions that appear at the right hand side of the screen they have already been com mented in the previous pages Help us avoid converting trees into paper this manual is already guilty enough in that matter If you are reading only this chapter and are not familiar with manual drive from Galaad software probably because you have purchased only the Kynon licence then please jump back to the previous sections as follows if we dare to say Chapter 7 Advanced milling functions section Moving axes which will Kynon motion programmer 16 249 GALAAD 3 tell you how to move axes manually at a given speed in continuous or stepped mode with the mouse keyboard or joystick and we insist heavily on this joystick Chapter 7 Advanced milling functions still now section Manual drive to learn how you can read inputs and switch outputsfrom a mouse click Chapter 3 Learning to mill section Workpiece origin which rather logically describe
113. better to use the LABEL instruction to define a landing line for a jump in the programme Nevertheless Kynon accepts to jump directly to a line whose number is known and is even courteous enough to shift the winning number when new instructions are inserted above this line but there are at least two serious reasons to use labels firstly reading the programme is much easier secondly you do not need to check the changes of line numbers to keep your jumps correctly targeted You define a label ie a line name then you can add a jump to this line whatever its number is and however it evolves It is obvious that the label line is neutra i e nothing happens when it is executed such lines are just fixed references in the programme sequence Jump instructions can be either imperative i e Kynon executes the jump whatever or conditional which can become much more interesting The two imperative jump instructions are GOTO and GOSUB that probably most BASIC programmers know The first makes a one way jump whereas the second makes a temporary jump until the programme encounters a RETURN instruction which allows you to define round trips to specific sections of the programme especially in conditional mode In the same way the conditional jump instructions are IF GOTO and IF GOSUB The conditions are either an input change from low high state to the other one a loop counter see next pages with a value that reaches a threshold an instruction
114. bject Design Fillet Inserts a single fillet radius at the vertex of a polygon selected in red alternatively all the vertices can be filleted if the whole object is selected Design Fractal Creates a fractal design by replacing each segment of an object selected in red with an object selected in blue suitably scaled to fit on the condition that the blue object is an open shape Then a copy of the blue object path replaces every segment of the red object This operation is interes ting only if repeated several times Design Equation Simple y f x Constructs a simple plane curve based on a mathematical formula Maths fans will immediately refer to the chapter Special functions for more details concerning the syntax and available functions Keep in mind that these maths functions remain valid when entering co ordinates or any numerical value except enumerative values i e anything that may contain a decimal point Design Equation Triple x y z f g h t Constructs a curve in 3 D space based on three mathematical formulae Design 3 D mesh Rectangular Constructs a 3 D rectangular mesh with a cross sectional profile in the XZ plane that follows a selected open shape drawn in the XY plane if only one shape is selected If two profiles are selected a more complex mesh is produced with the XZ profile changing smoothly from one profile to the other In either case the XY area is determined with the mouse See the chapter
115. ble to move at very fast inactive speeds On the same lines the Z contact margin allows you to define the stop point for the rapid move down before entering the material Zero corresponds to the workpiece top surface A small margin still in absolute value may avoid a hard contact Galaad has the option to restrict machining to selected objects only which is useful if you are returning to a job that has been interrupted or only wish to machine part of a design This function is like a filter you simply select the objects required and tick the appropriate checkbox Galaad will ignore any objects that are not selected Similarly you can filter out layers remembering that by default only the active layer will be machined The only objects that will be actually milled during the current tool cycle appear in black in the little preview window at left hand bottom Other objects that correspond to other tools rejected layers or filtered on selection appear greyed in this preview Advanced milling functions 7 93 GALAAD 3 Advanced options The intermediate tab of the window allows you to access the advanced options which will remain unused most of the time Note that it is possible to turn pages using the key or skip straight to the workpiece origin page using except if advanced options have been enabled The top frame allows a test path to be performed before actually cutting any material The path can be restricted to
116. but this is not classical development with many changes Building a Kynon programme which is generally short is closer to a line by line lesson in that it is related to the manual drive as we will see in the next pages Kynon motion programmer _ 16 253 GALAAD 3 O Motion commands The main command in this group is the MOVE TO instruction which moves the axes to the indicated position This instruction will generally follow a SPEED instruction which defines the corresponding motion speed The MOVE TO instruction does not require the co ordinates of all axes one co ordinate is sufficient to define a movement Obviously if the position to be fetched is the same as the current position nothing happens which is always better than an accident Very important Position co ordinates are alwaysrelative to the origin point of the global path If your application does not need an origin point and is happy with a simple machine absolute origin then you can simply set all origin positions to zero In such case the machine zero point reference run will be the actual origin for the path fin Exceptionally you have the Pomon we ve a a e right to indicate a negative origin E Kynon is more permissive than CD CED CED CED EED Galaad in that matter If you have entered a series of motion commands that define a fully correct path but at the wrong location do not panic there s no need to redo every thing you c
117. cal identifier can be displayed at the start point of each object showing the depth cutter number feed speed etc as shown below 0 25 For example you may want to display the depth of an object at its starting point or all the variations along the trajectory The same applies to the feed speed the cutter and the machining sequence number of each object In addition you can use colour to highlight differences instead of just having a single colour Each cutter can have a colour assigned to it and Galaad can be set to show objects in the colour corresponding to their cutters Alternatively Galaad can highlight all objects using the current default machining parameters whether this be the cutter the depth or the feed speed In this case there will only be two distinct colours on the board For example if the display colour is set to Default tool then all objects on the active layer that use the current default cutter will be displayed in black with all other objects displayed in grey A black background produces a clearer distinction as the main traces are then shown in green You can assign a fixed colour to any object once and for all In any case keep in mind that this has very little interest for actual millings Please also note that selected objects are always displayed in red or blue locked objects in pink visual not machined objects in grey and tool compensated paths in dark green This will remain unchanged unless you me
118. cations being made to any restrictions imposed unless of course the user knows the password When installed the default is galaad upper or lower case it does not matter Keep the following important information to your self if you lose your password it can be found in a file named PASSWORD TXT in the Galaad installation folder Find it using Windows Explorer and double click on it That s all there is to it However if you have also lost this manual all you can do is reinstall Galaad but you do 8 116 Workspace parameters GALAAD 3 not know this as you are no longer able to read these lines Welcome to the other side of the mirror The blue Maximum values button EEMI x opens a dialogue box allowing you to p Steg material mension OOOO oe X min no max foo mm impose various limits that the user Z i F a Y min f1 max 11000 mm can enter when inputting numerical o O values These cover the size of the PE Machining data board and the machining charac oo een teristics of objects plus a Z limit for Maximum feeding speed 100 m s the workpiece origin to prevent Z imit for origin intake mm Cancel accidents with tools Don t forget that you can prevent any tool from being used other than the current default by selecting the appropriate tick box in the dialogue box behind the green button Summing up on the restrictions that can be imposed on Galaad from the Restrictions of use dia
119. ce the exact position of the origin you can click on one of these text boxes and obtain a dialogue box to enter the values directly Very important it is not necessary to actually position the cutter at the origin point to confirm it The physical position of the axes and the position of the workpiece origin are totally independent although several buttons serve as a bridge between the two Certainly you may need to move the axes initially to find where the workpiece origin is situated but once it has been established and confirmed to Galaad you can move the axes without the slightest effect on this origin Remember that the classic way of finding this datum is to manually drive the Z axis until it is over the workpiece then bring it down until the tip of the cutter is skimming the upper surface of the workpiece or alternatively whatever the workpiece is on This is best done near to the centre of the work Once this has been done as accurately as possible you can click on the green button marked Z ok The current position will then be transferred to the textbox for the Z workpiece origin Don t forget to indicate whether this refers to the upper or lower surface of the work using the combo box provided just below the green buttons Now raise the Z axis so that it is clear of the work and any obstacles You can now set the X and Y values in a similar way but this will take a bit longer First we are interested in the combo box that se
120. cellon Automation machines that are dedicated to drilling operations on printed circuits This format contains only XY co ordinates for drill points with tool numbers Two variants exist depending on the data format with or without trailing zeros to the right If your import displays a fanciful result then try the other available version This format is also available for export from simple drill points GRB is the format of Gerber Scientific Instruments machines that are dedicated to flashing operations of printed circuits In the design module Galaad reads only XY co ordinates regardless of plotter aperture shapes and sizes See the Percival module for printed circuit works Percival loads all Gerber file data and allows you to engrave contours This format is also available for export UIUC is the format of Airfoil Co ordinate Database that is dedicated to wing profiles for aeroplanes DAT files as defined by the Aerospace Engineering Dept of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign This specialised format is not available for export OMA is the 2 D polar format of Essilor machines that are dedicated to cutting operations on lenses Two variants exist in 400 or 800 points mode both of them being available for export DIS is a 3 D3 D Cartesian wire mesh format that is used by the French Institut G ographique National for topographic co ordinates between two referenced altitudes This specialised format is not available fo
121. centre as possible The best way to do this is to lower the cutter until it is just above the sensor Note it is assumed that the X Y position of the tool sensor does not change with each machining operation as Galaad stores this position and uses it for all future automatic measurements Consequently this method cannot be used with a floating sensor that is manually positioned on the surface of the work each time it is used When the tool is directly above the sensor click on the above mentioned button 7 103 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 The dialogue box which then EES E opens is in two distinct parts Phase 1 position which set the actual location of ae the tool sensor on the table surface and calibrate the trigger position Phase 1 is to confirm Validate this Z position as workpiece I upper surface the XY position for the centre of L loner ettece the tool sensor Current sensor table offset mm I Validate this XY position as tool sensor centre m Phase 2 Z offset Zaris 0 mm n The sensor is fixed aside the board Tick the corresponding box aid on the board surface at every use and click on the OK button r Current use Consequently the sensor XY position on the machine bed is fixed If you are using a mobile sensor e g set on the top surface of the workpiece to be machined then you must always put it in the same place Otherwise Galaad will lower the t
122. ch stop when a binary input state is changed All motion commands apply to co ordinates and therefore to axis positions These commands are SPEED MOVE TO MOVE REL ARC ARC REL HOME reference run MOVE UNTIL ORIGIN SCALE and PASSING Switching and pausing commandschange output states or pause the programme for a given length of time Unlike Galaad which is able to manage multiple outputs simultaneously it is not possible with Kynon to switch a whole block of outputs with a single command You must define a sequence even if the time between each instruction is limited to the com munication delay with the machine which is generally very short These commands are OUTPUT DAC Digital to Analogue Converter PWM Pulse Width Modulation SPINDLE PAUSE and WAIT UNTIL Jump commands fixed or conditional break the linear process sequence by skipping instruction lines forwards or backwards These commands are GOTO GOSUB LABEL RETURN IF GOTO IF SKIP COUNTER BLOCK END BLOCK EXEC BLOCK INCLUDE and REITERATE Management commands allow you to add a neutral comment line modify the programme execution mode in the machine interact with the operator or call external software These commands are REM remark BUFFER MESSAGE SEND and RUN Kynon s programme editor is purely passive unlike classical text editors you do not type the language instructions yourself The list of available commands is displayed in the central col
123. ckground Image Scale Allows the scale of the background image to be varied as a percentage of the original Galaad must prepare the background image before its display namely convert its levels of grey which can be a long operation Consequently it is recommended not to use big original images if they must be reduced here Display Background Image Position Allows you to locate the background image on the board Display Background Image Enlighten Increases the global light of the background image Display Background Image Darken Decreases the global light of the background image Display Background Image Contrast up Increases the global contrast of the background image Display Background Image Contrast down Decreases the global contrast of the background image Display Background Image Original Undoes all light and contrast 12 208 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 changes that have been applied to the background image Display Background Image Negative Reverses the light of the pixels of the background image for a negative display Display Global comment Determines whether a comment produced with the File Comment command is visible Display Visual dimensions Enabled Displays visual dimensions that have been added to the current design Display Visual dimensions Recalculate all Recalculates all dynamic visual dimensions that have been added to the curren
124. clicking on the corresponding icon temporarily pressing the key displays a quad view with a rotary 3 D part Display 3 D view Plane Displays the 3 D view at full screen size This is for viewing only no operations can be carried out on this board When clicking on the corresponding icon pressing the key temporarily displays a rotating 3 D view Display 3 D view Cylindrical Displays the 3 D view with a cylindrical projection at full screen size This is for viewing only no operations can be carried out on this board In fact the view can be non cylindrical if an object is selected in blue and indicates the external profile Display 3 D view Detailed Displays the 3 D view with projections of all paths onto the top surface Details are displayed only in the small 3 D view not in the full screen one But if you double click on the small 3 D view it will be magnified with details Display Data palette None Removes the data palette at the top of the screen See the Rapid data palettes section at the end of the Advanced design techniques chapter for more details about data palettes Please remember that left right mouse click on the palette title on the left skips to the next previous palette mode Display Data palette Layers Displays a small palette at the top of the design area showing the layers used in the current design to allow rapid selection of the active layer Display Data palette Tools Displ
125. constructs a spiral from the number of turns and by defining the inner amp outer enclosing circles with the cursor Right mouse click freezes the spiral at the first circle Overview of designicons 11 163 GALAAD 3 O Text The tools for working with text are few Except for the initial creation and manipulation of individual letters most work is performed with the text editor as it remains in text form for later editing unless converted to geometry by you Please refer to the Text menu and its advanced functions plus the AutoText argument from the command line for automatic updates on the board see the chapter that explains technical matters at end of this manual 11 164 Text block creates a paragraph of text with the current font settings contained within a rectangle defined by the cursor It is possible to write vertically or reverse the text by setting the corresponding parameter in the text entry dialogue box Text on trace places text along the path of a shape selected in red The text is written from the start point to the end point of the shape that represents the water line The shape is saved and attached to the text even after it has been modified or deleted Arrange letters select individual letters in a piece of text so that they can be repositioned Move between letters with the tab key Warning these manual changes are lost if the text or its style are modified Edit O
126. ct one last time and click on the locking icon shown below Once locked an object cannot be selected nor can any part of its composition This is particularly useful when you wish to work on a group of objects without affecting others that are within the same area The locked objects remain visible displayed in pink and will be machined in the normal way but cannot be selected Note that there is a keyboard shortcut that uses the combination of the and keys you will need to reset the Caps Lock To unlock objects it is necessary to use the menu command Edit Unlock and either unlock all of them or simply select them with the mouse You can also reuse the same locking icon if no object is currently selected Galaad should understand that you want to unlock something instead O Associating objects Another classic selection feature is the ability to group some of the objects together then treat them as though they were a single entity One for all and all for one This function can be found quite logically amongst the other selection icons 5 56 Advanced design techniques GALAAD 3 Draw several objects and select them all then click on this icon Henceforth they will act as a single object and selecting any object of the group will also select all the others Note that text blocks use a different system in order to maintain character spacing However text blocks can be associated with other text blocks a
127. cteristics are rather simple and allow you to set gear factors that convert position values into motor pulses for each axis and the maximum lengths of these axes real maximum and not the actual length of your turning platform If your platform is located behind the cutter it is possible to change here the general orientation of the machine tool at south in such case This determines the direction of the machine s Y axis ie turning X axis Other parameters are classical and very easy to setup if you are already familiar with the CNC configuration as it can be defined from Galaad for the milling machine i e the communication port which should be the same if your machine manages both milling and turning applications the speed for the rapid movements plus some advanced parameters It is not very useful to tell you much about this Please refer to chapter 9 Machine parameters for more information about the common parameters of the turning and milling machine 15 242 Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM GALAAD 3 O Tour of the launch pad Once the workpiece has been designed it is time for a test of your turning machine in real conditions Since there is no Machine menu in Gawain you must search in the File menu to get the appropriate Turn command or Simulate in case of panic x Gawain remains a courteous module and provides a practical shortcut to get access to its own machining module Be camain
128. ctions to the local memory for execution later onEither the machine starts executing already loaded instructions whilst receiving the next ones ring buffer or the machine first receives all the instructions then executes them linear buffer This depends on the machine you are using Kynon provides an Upload mode in its menus that uses the local buffer if it exists But this does not forbid the use of buffer management commands inside the programme itself Hence you can locally manage some sequences for example the chained movements in passing mode mentioned above in the motion command section Since certain numerical controllers may integrate some instructions that are unknown to Kynon you still have the possibility to handle them yourself using the SEND command which will simply transmit the corresponding telegram on the communication port without trying to understand it Kynon will nevertheless add data frame codes according to the machine dialogue protocol At last you may execute external software Windows or DOS using the RUN instruction which will call up this executable programme and either skip to the next line or wait until its execution is terminated to resume the current process 16 260 Kynon motion programmer GALAAD 3 O Manual drive teachin An interesting feature of Kynon is the fact that you can directly drive the main functions of the machine linear or rotary movements output switching input checki
129. d Click on the window close button or use the command File Exit Galaad Galaad quickly shuts down this software certainly knows who s in charge here Now restart Galaad by double clicking on the icon on the desktop or from the Start menu by using Start gt Programs gt Galaad After using Galaad a few times you will soon realise that when it starts it restores itself to the same workspace conditions that existed when it was last closed with exactly the same drawing on the board This is a peculiarity of Galaad that allows it to be closed without first asking you so save your current work You can therefore work on the same design many times before having to save it New file S E On the other hand if you call for a new file A Current board has been modified or open an existing one you will be given the Do you wish to save changes x 4 7 option of saving the current design first or risk aes i losing it forever If due to principle habit shared resources or some other reason you are unhappy with the automatic save feature you can disable it using the menu function Parameters Workspace Advanced The choice is yours but remember that it is activated by default when Galaad is first installed Note that both the automatic save on exit and timed backup during normal work set in Parameters Auto save are stored as part of the working environment and not in a named Galaad design file If Galaad is shared betwe
130. d consequently independent copy Mirror dupli cation or cloning it is up to you to choose the right function 5 66 Advanced design techniques GALAAD 3 O Rapid data palettes When creating a complex design it soon becomes difficult to manage the machining parameters object by object using the green icon to access them one at a time Therefore Galaad provides a shortcut for this This function is very important Draw several objects on the board using a variety of depths feed speeds and cutters so that they are all different Now use the menu command Display Data Palette Machining depths Depths 025mm J 06mm 1mm fo A small horizontal line of data blocks will have been added to the display between the board and the speed buttons This shows all the machining depths that you have used with the current default being highlighted by a green border When you select an object its depth is highlighted with a red border Now click on another depth shown in the data palette and the depth of selected object will be set to this new value without having to go via the dialogue box With two clicks of the mouse you can change any depth to any other depth currently used in the design This feature also works with feed speeds and cutters Even better click on one of the blocks within the data palette with the right mouse button and keep it pressed Only objects with that depth remain visible Double clicking with the right mous
131. d ease transfer operations in both directions If you do not succeed in loading a file under a given format the best solution is to try another 12 176 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 Available formats are as follows HPGL is a format dedicated to HP plotters and has become a 2 D vector standard Galaad is compatible with 2 2 D extensions that encode Z depths and drilling speeds mainly used by GravoGraph and Roland tables This format is also available for export DXF is the AutoCad software 3 D data exchange format almost a standard for architecture software Galaad accepts only Text DXF and does not read Binary DXF This format can contain surface information that makes no sense for Galaad who will therefore load only the vector paths lines arcs curves efc Please note that successive versions of DXF format have quite important differences In certain cases Galaad may read more easily a given version of DXF format than another one The best bet is to try and see This format is also available for export NCP is an Isel Automation proprietary format for 3 D vectors dedicated to Isel Remote drivers This format is specific for Isel CNC machines It is also available for export WMF is the old 16 bit Windows Meta File format for 2 D vectors and bitmaps and should not be used much now Its encoding possibilities are limited This format is also available for export EMF is the Windows Enhanced Meta File format for 2
132. d files This enables the machining to be 20 282 Technical matters GALAAD 3 run as an independent task whilst Galaad returns to perform further design work Windows undertakes all of Galaad s file management including use on a network and therefore you can use long file names and any legal Windows features available in this area Galaad 3 s file extensions are GAL and library objects are GLI Double clicking on a GAL file causes Galaad to be started and the file opened and displayed To prevent worries about portability communication with the machine uses the standard stream control functions of the Windows API Create File ReadFile WriteFile etc rather than the old functions that accessed the ports directly This is to provide compatibility with the latest and future versions of Windows in particular Windows NT However in the computer domain it may be wiser not to predict anything A little reminder if your machine is fitted with a special spindle that is started or stopped with codes other than the default ones built in Galaad can substitute ones provided by yourself It is also possible to use an external DOS or Windows programme just for the spindle Please refer to the Spindle section of the Machine parameters chapter O TrueType and Galaad fonts Galaad 3 uses standard or compatible TrueType fonts having the Windows flag TRUETYPE_FONTTYPE These vector fonts are constructed from two t
133. d in a given order which may vary during execution In that matter the Kynon module has been added to the set of main functions of the Galaad software and here graphics are no longer the main purpose Please note that Galaad s standard licence grants access to the use of the Kynon module and all additional programmes though it is no less possible to purchase a restricted licence for the use of Kynon alone 16 248 Kynon motion programmer GALAAD 3 9 Kynon SAMPLE 7 10 x File Edit Parameters Help 03 Exec Block ANDRECT X0 Y0 Z0 MoveTo Z Continuous 04 Exec Block ANDRECT X0 Y60 Z0 MoveTo XYZ C 10mm MOVE TO MOVE REL C 1mm AnG C 10mm 10 Rem END OF PROGRAM ArcEp 11 Rem OUTPUT C 100mm 12 Block RNDRECT PAUSE C 254 mm 13 Speed 0 8333 REM 14 Move To X20 Y10 BLOCK 15 Move To ZO END BLOCK 16 Speed 0 0833 EXEC BLOCK 17 Move To 2 1 INCLUDE 18 Speed 0 1667 GoTo 19 Move Rel X 40 LABEL 20 Arc Rel CCW X 10 Y 10 10 J 10 RETURN 21 Move Rel Y 20 MOVE UNTIL 22 Arc Rel CCW X 10 Y 10 F10 JO ean 23 Move Rel X 40 Friona IF SKIP COUNTER REITERATE ORIGIN SCALE HOME SPINDLE DAC PWM BUFFER PASSING MESSAGE SEND RUN At start up the Kynon module displays the window shown above For experienced Galaad users the right hand side of the window should not
134. d in this chapter 6 76 Toolpaths GALAAD 3 Nevertheless the plunge speed can also be set in the other traditional way namely as a percentage of an object s feed speed In this case you just have to indicate this ratio in the corresponding edit zone in percentage of feed speeds The two methods are mutually exclusive therefore entering a percentage value will delete an absolute value and vice versa At the end of the day the choice is entirely yours and is likely to be influenced by the type of work that you undertake Note that it is only possible to have automatic plunge speed if the feed speed is set to auto and the plunge speed set to a percentage of the feed speed The deburring cycle is a classic drilling operation which repetitively retracts the drill out of the hole after it has cut a predetermined amount and returns it back to the depth it has just reached ready to take the next cut This cycle is repeated until the required final depth is reached The purpose of this operation is to prevent a build up of swarf which can have detrimental effects and is particularly important with deep holes at very accurate diameters Obviously this also depends on the material Another very similar routine is the chip breaking cycle the difference being that the drill is only retracted by a very small amount and is not lifted completely clear of the hole The purpose of this is to break up the long spirals of swarf produced by certain
135. d object with progressive scaling rotation and offset features Since copies are different from the original they cannot be virtual Edit Duplicate Trace between points Copies the portion of a trajectory located between a red point and a blue point located on the trajectory itself It can then be positioned with the mouse or keyboard Both points can be on different objects if these are connected in a single path see Machine Toolpath Connect objects Edit Duplicate At 4 corners of the board Virtual Makes three copies of the selected object at the other corners of the board without changing its orientation virtual copies Edit Duplicate At 4 corners of the board Symmetrical Makes three copies of the selected object at the other corners of the board each of them being reversed horizontally and vertically Edit Duplicate Suppress copies Deletes all virtual copies of the selected object Edit Duplicate Suppress one copy Deletes one virtual copy of the selected object by specifying its number order in which they were created Edit Duplicate Make copies real Converts all virtual copies of the selected object into independent real objects Edit Duplicate Make copies homologous This function is used when two or more objects have virtual copies attached to them and only affects the virtual copies The selected object with the largest number of virtual copies is taken as the datum All o
136. d point remains fixed the object rotates around it and is also scaled relative to it Without the presence of the red point to act as the anchor point the blue point cannot be moved Very important the effects of the blue point are much greater than at first sight Select a blue point on another object and move it Although the red point is on a different object it still acts as the pivot point What is more if the blue point is placed on an object within a group of objects that are anchored together all those objects will pivot at the same time This can help when making fine adjustments Apart from being able to snap to or numerically position a blue point there is not much else you can do with one except delete it gS Advanced design techniques 5 61 GALAAD 3 O Selecting and handling segments In the same way as with points individual segments can also be selected and have their own special functions notably for the construction of new lines based upon them parallel perpendicular etc Selected segments are always orientated that is to say they have a direction indicated by a start point and an arrow head which helps when entering details numerically Important note the direction of such a selected segment is independent of the toolpath of which it forms part As usual look in the yellow selection icons to find the segment selection icons As with points segments can be selected by clicking with the
137. d with characters that were previously prohibited by earlier versions of Windows and DOS so don t restrict yourself to old DOS filenames 4 50 Learning to save files 2 ADVANCED DESIGN TECHNIQUES GALAAD 3 This chapter is intended to introduce you to the subtleties of Galaad s advanced drawing techniques It is recommended that all users even experienced ones read the chapter covering the basics before proceeding any further as it contains several useful tips that are often overlooked O Numerical co ordinates An important feature when designing parts that are to be manufactured is the ability to specify numerical positions and dimensions accurately You will not have forgotten that pressing the key opens a dialogue box that allows the position of the cursor to be set without being affected by the current magnetic grid Small tip by the way You may enter any numerical value using a mathematical expression e g a chain of dimensions 12 31 2 4 6 35 written like this in its edit zone Hence you do not need to search for Windows calculator and copy paste your result in an edit zone This subtle facility applies to any numerical value you have to type Please refer to the chapter Special functions hereafter for the syntax and the function identifiers that Galaad maths formula analyser can understand Now imagine that we wish to construct a rectangle 65 4 32 1 mm with the south west corner at 12 3 45
138. ders 4B and 3A using either Windows Explorer or Galaad The teacher also has the option to save some public files in his own folder C GALAAD PUBLIC 4B These files can then be opened by the students using the File Network Open a public file command They will then be saved into a public file available to the entire group 10 154 Using a network o H OVERVIEW OF DESIGN ICONS GALAAD 3 This chapter aims to provide a brief overview of the design icons and describe their general function They are particularly numerous and we are not going to cut trees down for more pages The best way to become familiar with their purpose is to actually use them rather than simply read about them O Points This series of tools allows you to create points to indicate where holes have to be drilled When drilling a feed speed that is motion in the X and or Y directions is meaningless unless the plunge speed is expressed as a proportion of the feed speed See the command Parameters Tools N a P m 11 156 Single points allows points to be placed anywhere on the board Each point is an independent object Line of points places points at regular intervals along a line The group of points is a single object Rectangular array of points creates a rectangular matrix of points at regular intervals Circular array of points creates a circular matrix of points Each point is at a gi
139. ding the latest updates 21 GLOSSARY OF TERMS 16 258 16 260 16 261 16 262 17 264 17 265 17 266 17 267 17 268 17 269 17 270 20 278 20 280 20 282 20 283 20 284 0 FOREWORD GALAAD 3 O Brief Curriculum Vitae Galaad is a CAD CAM CNC software package Computer Aided Design Computer Aided Manufacturing Computerised Numerical Control the point of which is to enable you to design i e draw then manufacture i e mill parts or objects that you need In view of the geometrical nature of most components and the associated toolpaths this requires a classical approach to the design work Galaad is a single integrated package that covers all aspects from drawing through to controlling the milling machine and not simply a collection of different applications This integration in a homogeneous set offers many advantages making it easier both to learn and to use even for absolute beginners It is important to mention here that in spite of its name Galaad 3 is not 3 D design software Its application domains are mainly engraving and cutting works on plane materials Galaad provides special functions that create 3 D wiremeshes for example cut profiles or curve surfaces it accepts 3 D handling and effects it can import and mill 3 D external files but it cannot create handle import or mill volumes that are made of facetted or NURBS surfaces Only 3 D vector trajectories that represent a toolpath are acce
140. direction Reverses the machining direction of selected objects Machine Tool compensation Define toolpath Allows details of the cutter compensation to be defined and creates a toolpath offset by half the diameter of the selected cutter Please refer to the previous chapter Toolpaths for full details of tool compensations 12 182 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 Machine Tool compensation Create a new object Allows a new independent object to be created from a selected object offset at a distance Machine Tool compensation Define as start point Sets the position of the start point of a closed compensated path as if the original shape design had its start point there Machine Tool compensation Add feed in segment Horizontal Z Allows you to control how the cutter approaches a tool compensated toolpath by defining a new entry segment that keeps the same depth as the previous entry point thus with a standard drill in cycle It is possible to successively add as many feed in segments or arcs as necessary This avoids letting the tool descend into the material too close to the designed object by positioning the entry point a bit further away Warning if the compensated path is recalculated change of object shape tool or depth in the case of a non cylindrical tool add ons at ends cannot be recalculated and are therefore lost So it is better to add these segments or arcs once the object shape and s
141. e and its offset if you are using a tool rack with pre calibrated tools that you have measured accurately x mm The cutter profile can be defined roughly with two sets of co ordinates around its origin point This point corresponds to the tool end which touches the workpiece for example the sharp angle of an oblique blade When setting the workpiece origin it is this point that will be the reference Each couple of ZX co ordinates gt o defines a new segment on the tool jE xi profile Consequently it is not possible to design a really complex m p profile but basic cutters remain zex x E definable very easily Origin point In the case of a sectioning cutter only the Z width of the tool can be defined Such a cutter is considered to be a simple bar with a flat end and 15 240 Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM GALAAD 3 therefore with a rectangular profile This type of tool is rarely used in a turning profile since it just cuts the end of the already machined workpiece eth When you ask for a final display of the trace actually machined Gawain calculates and shows any conflicts between the originally designed path and the application of the cutter profile As usual with Galaad this is purely indicative you can y still decide to ignore the warning and start a turning cycle regardless of these overlaps even if the workpiece profile may therefore be altered
142. e form of a circular or toroidal mesh comprising concentric and radial mesh lines The quad view is then displayed automatically so that you may admire the results Take a cross section along any of the radial mesh lines the original reference curve is clearly visible The variation in depth of each radius from the centre outwards follows the profile of the curve from left to right The absolute dimensions of the reference curve will be adjusted to match the length of the radii which are defined by the distance between the inner and outer circle Each concentric circle in the mesh is confined to an XY plane the depth is constant and consequently can be machined with a 242 D machine Alternatively you can define the inner construction circle as having a radius of zero i e a point to avoid having a hole in the centre of the mesh Now we will move on to a different type of mesh this time cylindrical rather than circular Start with something simple and generate an arc with a very large radius by using the icon for an arc defined by three points You can equally use any other icon that will allow you to produce a similar result Don t worry about being precise it s not too important Select it and position 13 224 Special functions GALAAD 3 it somewhere towards the top of the board Now use the menu command Design 3 D mesh Revolved and quickly move on past the dialogue box that appears Position the horiz
143. e however you always have the option to prune those not required for your educational needs Simply delete unwanted functions from the menus by unchecking them remove the icons from the available list by dragging and dropping set the limits of numerical values entered by the user and define the level of disk access rights available The aim here is to thin out the software a little It goes without saying that all disabled features are not visible to the user Workspace parameters 8 113 GALAAD 3 Configuration of the features available is obtained via the menu command Parameters Workspace Set restrictions As the name implies it is mainly a question of removing icons and items from the menu Three restriction levels have been predefined and you can load them directly without setting their parameters These levels correspond to files Level N cus that you may modify according to your own wishes see hereafter You can also directly open a set of restrictions that you have previously defined Setting a restricted workspace is done from the Parameters Workspace Restrictions Change command which gives you access to the following workspace parameter window amp Galaad Restrictions of use E x File Machine Edit Design Display Text Parameters Help Drag and drop the icons you wish to enable Open Save OK 3 Cancel Add all Delete all When you select this feature Gala
144. e at a reduced speed Of course both buttons can be pressed simultaneously to combine their functions There is a wide range of joysticks available from very basic models through to those that are worthy of an SR 71 with force feedback They will all work with Galaad but unless you intend accumulating many hours on a flight simulator only choose a basic model Also note that a very basic joystick with binary on off buttons works as fine as an analogue model since Galaad defines triggering motion thresholds and consequently does not consider angles of the broom Advanced milling functions 7 97 GALAAD 3 Nonetheless whatever model of joystick you have it is necessary to configure and calibrate it for Windows This will be found in the Windows Control Panel and not surprisingly labelled Joystick You have to specify the model of your joystick which by default is a simple 2 axis 2 button device then calibrate it Incorrect calibration may lead to untimely motion of the axes which is never good for the survival of your cutters It is also necessary to tell Galaad that you wish to use the Manual control with joystick feature which is done from the advanced tab of the full machine parameters This small additional precaution prevents an axis moving by itself without any warning if a joystick is not present And this is very important if you remove or disconnect the joystick from your computer disable the joystick con
145. e button selects all these objects To skip from one palette to another click on the left block that displays the palette type tools depths etc with the left mouse button for next type and the right mouse button for previous type Note that Galaad can display a maximum of ten palette blocks possibly only six if your vital space is reduced On the same lines only one palette can be displayed at a time Advanced design techniques 5 67 GALAAD 3 O Keyboard shortcuts We recommend you to print this list out and keep it close to your work station Not all key combinations may be of use to you but the main ones most certainly will be Default 5 68 Advanced design techniques or fa f zooms in around the cursor opens a position dialogue box lt gt 5 opens the dialogue box for depth feed speed cutter Esc or End interrupts the current operation or deselects deselects all objects points segments blue or red m P backspace undoes the last operation including pointing redoes the last operation except pointing moves the cursor or selection by one step of the grid moves the zoomed view sets the magnetic grid size 10 times smaller larger ets the magnetic grid size to automatic ruler divisions tab skips the selection to the next object point or segment moves from the current selection to the previous one refreshes the display quad
146. e cutter will take around an object Start by indicating whether the cutter will be offset to the outside if you wish to keep the object intact or the inside if you wish to produce a cut out the size of the object of the shape Then specify the direction of the toolpath clockwise or counter clockwise This is important as the machining will only be done in this direction and a little arrow is shown at the start point of the toolpath to indicate in which direction the cutter will travel iy The rotation of the tool combined with its direction of travel is important as it Ken influences the whole cutting process If ee ee the cutter approaches the work as shown to the left it is called conventional Ms milling the opposite is climb milling With a light milling machine conventional milling is likely to produce the best quality finish With a cutter rotating clockwise as shown above this equates to a clockwise toolpath when cutting on the inside of a closed shape and counter clockwise when cutting on the outside Moreover Galaad chooses the direction automatically but if you want to change the direction you can do so as you have the last word Toolpaths 6 79 GALAAD 3 You can specify how external angles are to be machined Galaad can produce either sharp angles by extending the toolpath beyond the actual vertex so that the tool loses contact with the work or rolled angles by rolling the cutter arou
147. e design select all objects and change the machining parameters However Galaad offers a shortcut allowing you to override these values globally with fixed feed speed depth passes and drilling cycles which can be disabled For example you have a design containing a whole range of depths and feed speeds to be machined with a rough cycle in passes of 2 mm However you now wish to machine the design with this tool in one pass at a final depth of 1 mm at a speed of 5 mm sec with neither pecks nor deburring cycles In this case simply specify a fixed depth of 1 mm a feed speed of 5 mm sec and tick the No drilling cycles option The machining cycle will now use these new values and ignore those specified in the design r Fixed values ______ I Depth at 1 mm IV Pass at 5 mm IV Feeding speed at 10 mmis VV No drilling cycles Note the Fixed values do not change any of the design or tool parameters in Galaad This feature can help you make last minute changes at the point of machining depending upon the tool to be used Design The last machining parameter frame contains a variety of tools to manipulate the result The first one allows the scale to be changed and applied at the time of machining without having to modify the design itself if it does not match the final dimensions of the physical workpiece you have actually prepared Just indicate a different scale and let it go Note that
148. e file saving I Enable file overwriting network drives as well By unchecking the boxes you can prevent e A E n with the master computer all Cancel access to other directories and restrict read or access permits are reported to m the local disk write access to the drive As it says in the dialogue box should there be a network failure then all network drive permissions will automatically be transferred to the local hard disk Refer to the chapter specifically on Using a Network for more details on that matter The green parameter access button calls up a dialogue box that controls a user s rights to modify certain key features The top one allows you to prevent the pseudo reg eee ee icons being displayed that show the M Allow machining parameter change Caneel snap features provided by the func tion keys T Display top function keys I Use reduced dialog boxes IV Ask for password to access restriction changes I Allow tool change Several dialogue boxes with reduced features exist as an alternative to the full versions and contain less parameters to be set These reduce the complexity of choice and make it easier for the user to learn how to use the software Not all dialogue boxes have such an alternative only the most complex ones such as the selection parameters the tool library and the machining module Checking the Ask for password to access restriction changes box prevents modifi
149. e frame is either enlarged or reduced in size depending on the movement and the dimensions of the object are also changed similarly When using the diagonal blocks you will see that all the dimensions change but the aspect ratio is maintained This allows you to vary the size of an object without changing its general appearance Snapping to positions bis repetita when you move enlarge or reduce a selected object the presence of another object in the vicinity shows orange axes for Cartesian alignment near its borders or centre To automatically align the selected object on an orange axis just press the bar on the keyboard without releasing the mouse button The X or Y keys make a partial snap so you may align only one axis when both are displayed Once an axis has been snapped the object moves only along the other axis until you release the mouse or snap to another position You will no doubt remember that the key opens a dialogue box to allow a position to be defined from the keyboard This little feature is also available for all design and object manipulation functions in Galaad Now press the key Learning to design 2 31 GALAAD 3 This time a different dialogue SsssituliGiue m Position box appears in the middle of the EIS a screen You can define the relative to the west edge of the board 7 position of your object in the Y coordinate 20 mm upper part and its size in the relative to the south edge o
150. e mouse button The whole object will also follow to this new position Now try the same thing but with the right mouse button this time only the point itself is moved the rest of the object is unaffected As you would expect by now these operations can also be performed from the keyboard The now familiar key opens a dialogue box designed specifically for positioning the selected point alone or the with the entire object this is equivalent to using the right and left mouse buttons The usual keys allow the whole object to be moved along with the point and simultaneously pressing the key results in only the point being moved If a point is selected in red then pressing the key will cause the selection to move on to the next point in the object or the connected objects If the is pressed simultaneously the direction of travel will be reversed Using the key moves immediately to the end point and to the start point Next feature with a point selected in red press the key This will simply delete that point and thus change the shape of the object The selection then moves to the preceding point if one exists This function may help you practice some surgical strikes on objects Slightly more difficult draw two simple straight lines with an extremity of one at or very near an extremity of the other They are distinct objects that can be selected individually Now select a red point at the ends where they meet and use the command Design Ob
151. e on the bed of the machine You can see it certainly but Galaad can t It only knows the dimensions and the toolpaths that it must follow Therefore we must give it a reference point x y z and tell it precisely where to find the workpiece in relation to this point In fact don t forget to mount the workpiece but if you just want to have a dummy run without breaking anything that is fine 3 42 Learning to mill GALAAD 3 The process consists of driving the machine manually one axis at a time until the cutter is situated at an edge or on the surface work as explained below Use the buttons arranged in a circle situated at the top right hand side of the control window for X and Y motion and the triangular buttons for Z up and down movement When you press a button the movement is continuous until the button is released You can use the small arrow keys on the keyboard or even better a joystick to produce the same movements Important the right mouse button moves axes at slow speed or the key Very helpful for finishing the workpiece origin approach on a given axis If you need to make a movement of a fixed distance use the radio buttons on the right hand side to select the distance The movement stops when you release the button or when the distance has been covered In the preview window a cursor with cross hairs moves at the same time as the axes If you do not have a machine connected it is the only thi
152. e position of its own axes however you can choose to make a reference run at more frequent intervals if you so wish In fact if your machine is really losing steps perhaps there are more important parameters you should check and not only in Galaad Before we forget it a discrete but no less important button Moe situated to the right hand side of the controller type gives access to special parameters of the CNC electronics Selecting any particular controller pops up the same dialogue box that applies to a given type of machine These special para meters are described hereafter 9 126 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O AxeMotion controllers AxeMotion cards are usually destinated to persons Ma ci Pip Chek sand cnaome XY OE who build them selves their Stabsr of nkass wt tect IETS TaT SEITI own machine but have been Basko tsysky PI He Acebes ION Hae integrated into several SI oeoc existing tables Cheap and ANESSE LINA ap very easy to integrate these Daaka lube USB controllers provide really advanced perform fnd SEN A 1 rs Lai 0 er ances Their parameters are IE sammie You maf El erabied NO eration NO common for all AxeMotion i Za oef Sf erated HO im cards including the Pulse dew wsl foe baa Box which has an extended Zesrerd iwache i gt B Dasarce kon iach cortsctpont fw page for freely assigning the F aiani aiea A pins of the output DB25 T kason
153. e text that is given as argument it will be ignored You may put several successive AutoText arguments for multiple replacements Also if there are several occurrences of the same text in the design the first found will be replaced which is one less for consequent replacements AUTOQUIT closes Galaad as soon as other arguments have been applied This one is complementary to AutoMill or AutoText Machining modules Lancelot and Kayalso accept a direct file name from allowed import formats The file extension determines the import filter If this extension is not standard it becomes necessary to add the standard extension between brackets as the argument immediately after the file name Example Kay exe Design nc iSo to open the file Design nce under Technical matters 20 279 GALAAD 3 the ISO import format Other arguments that the Lancelot and Kay modules recognise are as follows and are also valid for the Kynon programming module AUTOSTART skips all intermediate stages without asking the operator anything exactly like Galaad s AutoMill argument mentioned above Machining parameters are the default ones workpiece origin is the last one used messages to the operator s attention are not displayed except the very last one before the actual launch of the automatic process which the operator can only confirm or abort The module closes as soon as the process end message has been acknowledged by the o
154. eater when the position is closer to the axis centre For an A axis the arc radius is the YZ distance from the current position to the origin point for a B axis the XZ distance applies If you want a rotation of the A or B axis whilst the current YZ or XZ position is 0 0 then Kynon will not dare to divide by zero and therefore the speed will be the maximum value the numerical controller can perform This particular case should never occur if your path has been validated The MOVE UNTIL command starts a movement to a given position movement which is stopped if an input state changes Kynon immediately updates its position registers but it is up to you to manage the following sequence with absolute or relative movements depending on your application The HOME instruction allows you to drive a position reset of an axis to the machine absolute zero Each axis can be driven individually It is rather usual to shift the Z axis up first to avoid big problems The position of the path origin can be changed while runningysing the ORIGIN instruction which allows you to relocate all subsequent co ordinates Here subsequent means executed after and not below in the program me especially if there are jump instructions On the same subject it is possible to change the co ordinates scaling factor while the programme is being executed by using the SCALE command At last the PASSING instruction eligible only for certain numerical control
155. ece cylinder it is possible to locate the cutter edge at the west end left east end right or centre of the workpiece Warning The workpiece that is actually mounted on the lathe may be longer than the designed workpiece for example if the part inside the motor clamp is not integrated in the design West and east borders actually correspond to the ends of the designed workpieceif different from the real raw cylinder Once the cutter edge is positioned at the chosen origin point click on the zok button which saves the co ordinates of the axis as the workpiece origin location For the X axis depth diameter inside the workpiece you may choose to approach either the rotary axis let it be fully understood that the workpiece is not yet clamped or the external surface of the workpiece if it is perfectly cylindrical and centred around the rotary axis which is not always the case Validate the position by clicking on xo h Of course you can set Z and X regardless of the sequence Please note that the last position that has been used remains stored relative to the raw workpiece diameter If you always locate your turning platform at the same position you should not have to set the workpiece origin anymore once it has been driven even for a new workpiece with a different diameter 15 245 Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM GALAAD 3 O Automatic process Once the turning parameters and workpiece origin have bee
156. ecomes apparent when it is necessary to specify a depth at which to cut and becomes a reality only at the time of machining There can be as many different depths as there are objects on the board and these objects are all perfectly flat with a constant depth for the full length of the path Despite this primitive flatness the code in memory actually has a Z co ordinate for each point on the object In the case of a flat object the Z code is redundant and regrettably useless but watch the projections and deformations as you can never tell just what can happen to an object Therefore the internal code in Galaad for co ordinates memory and files is always 3 D in a way that is absolutely transparent to the designer To confirm this try selecting a point in red and pressing the key The co ordinate window will show the 3 D values for it i e X Y et Z Consequently you can select points along a trajectory one at a time and set their depths to create a toolpath of varying depth This is clearly seen when using the lateral views In the Design 3 D effects menu or the special effects icons you will find a few functions for manipulating objects in space Simply select a trajectory in blue that will provide the variation in Z for the object selected in red Remember that by keeping the key pressed whilst selecting an object the selection is made in blue instead of red This is also valid with points and segments when used with the right mo
157. ections can not be distinguished from the rest of the mesh The YZ lateral view shows how the mesh changes at the reference sections However the 3 D view shows how this method of construction works much better The successive sections originally drawn in XY now provide the controlling XZ sections and retain their existing dimensions TR A ENEAN EEN R S a e TSS EEN Sl vee In addition note that if two objects occupy the same Y position there will be two different sections at the same spot which is not possible except to make an infinite number of transformations Galaad does not do this and will refuse to produce the mesh 13 226 Special functions E KAY 3 D CNC DRIVER GALAAD 3 O General The Kay module is a component of Galaad software that can be used independently either with the Galaad standard licence or with its own limited licence Kay is a CNC machine driver i e it simply loads CAM files under ISO G code Isel NCP or MasterCam NCI format from which it supervises the automatic milling process once the workpiece origin has been set using the same functions as Galaad s standard machining module Kay is specialised in the milling of 3D toolpaths from 3 to 5 axes 4 and 5 axes are presumed to be normalised i e rotary axes A and B according to the current standard The manual drive applies to all axes that are available on the
158. ectory hence Galaad can be removed by deleting this directory using Windows Explorer and manually removing shortcuts in the menu and on the desktop Installation directory The first one asks the usual question regarding where you wish to install Galaad on your hard disk The default folder is e e C GALAAD but the choice is yours I Create a shortcut in Windows Start menu IV Create a shortcut on Windows desktop IV Associate Galaad 3 files GAL with this installation If you wish to install Galaad into another folder simply type in its name or use the Browse button which will open a small window enabling you to browse the directory tree and select a destination folder It is not necessary to install Galaad in the default directory or even on a local hard disk What is more Galaad does not modify any files other than those in its own folder except for desktop shortcuts to it In particular the innumerable system files associated with the Windows galaxy are not affected by the installation of Galaad onto your hard disk 1 18 Installation GALAAD 3 A standard installation of Galaad 3 requires 30 Mb of space available on your hard disk plus some for storing your own designs Installation from an Internet download contains less Galaad fonts and design samples it therefore requires less disk space Finally the SETUP program performs the little additional Windows setup tasks namely the add
159. ed 10 mm s contour Any information relative to sequences tools depths and speeds will be recovered by Galaad or its milling module Lancelot which will drive the milling process or link to your custom external programme You an then close and exit Percival 17 270 Percival printed circuit engraver OWEIN GRAPHICAL TOOLPATH BROWSER GALAAD 3 A small add on utility the Owein module is able to display 3 D toolpaths that are encoded in ISO G code Isel NCP or MasterCam NCI files It accepts from 2 to 5 axes be it fully understood that the 4 axis A and the 5 axis B are classical rotary axes respectively parallel to the X axis and the Y axis according to the current standard turning around the linear support axis and hence defining the zero point Obviously XYZ axes are supposed to be linear and Cartesian axes of a direct orthonormed system Owen sareszaso ioi xi File Display Help 0 A88 252 88 252 512 674 A88 252 27 A88 252 20 941 A88 252 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N Owein allows you to directly modify coordinates in the file that is displayed under ISO or NCP format at the left side of the screen Just double click to edit a line of code Changes are considered immediately for the display and you may also save the modified file Some side functions like global shift inversion and scale are
160. eing constructed and can be edited immediately however this does not mean that they cannot also be edited at a later date Arcs do not show these straight after construction but can nevertheless be edited later on Construct an arc or an ellipse either open or closed n using the appropriate design icon of your choice Then oe press either the key or select the object to leave the l design mode Now click inside the shape with the right mouse button and a special edit frame will appear around l i the object ea Note that the mouse double click does the same if the object below the mouse is alone You can then modify the shape by moving the red blocks this allows the centre radii start and end points to be edited Alternatively you can press the key to open a dialogue box and access the parameters numerically When you are finished select another object or simply press the good old key Note that in the case of Beta Splines you can vary the attraction of any node by simply pressing the or keys Use the key to move between them Advanced design techniques 5 55 GALAAD 3 For other objects that are not editable in this way clicking with the right mouse button will select a segment or a point See the specific paragraph on this feature O Locking objects This old but nonetheless useful function allows objects to remain visible without being selected and hence not changed in any way Simply select an obje
161. en in Australia The X axis zero point is Machine parameters 9 125 GALAAD 3 usually to the west or if you prefer to the left viewed from the front of the machine However the Y axis can have its zero point to the north the back or the south the front of the machine depending on the model Simply power up your machine and give it a reference run to see where the datum point is situated This parameter will also be updated automatically when the machine model is changed probably not a very common occurrence The tick box immediately below controls whether or not Galaad warns you before making a reference run For safety reasons it is always preferable to have this feature enabled lt Extremely important the position of the reference point t consequently gives the general orientation of the machine s axes This parameter has a huge importance in the machine drive to define the basic geometry For example if you have a Y axis that seems to move in the reverse direction change here the north south position Reversing the axis with the available flips in the advanced CNC parameters is useless is such case If you have an lt external driver program this parameter has no effect When a machine is fitted with stepper motors it is sometimes necessary for peace of mind to reset the position of the axes by performing a reference run Galaad does this automatically if the machine loses power as it then no longer knows th
162. en several users multiple session then this saving should be directed to a named file to prevent conflicts in the working environment In addition double clicking on a GAL file will automatically start Galaad and load the file However if the current design has not yet been saved Galaad will give you the opportunity to save this file before proceeding Therefore you can fearlessly double click on any GAL file that appears in Windows Explorer This is without doubt a very useful feature and well worth mentioning 4 48 Learning to save files GALAAD 3 O Files and folders A complete installation of Galaad complete with all the examples is spread across several folders Organising the folders in the directory tree on your hard disk into a clear logical structure is a good way to ensure that your files will be easily found in the future This is preferable to simply saving your files onto your hard disk haphazardly like throwing old clothes into a drawer Both Windows Explorer and Galaad provide tools to help you organise file storage When opening a file the dialogue box will also let you delete and rename both files and folders at will As far as Galaad is concerned it suggests that you save your designs in a sub folder FILES in the installation folder which already contains several sub folders of examples Without doubt the best thing is to follow this lead also placing your design folders in this FILES sub folder tha
163. en use the following as a guide It is unusual to cut slower than 0 25 mm s or make a rapid move faster than 50 mm s but some large machines may well be capable of a faster speed Sometimes travelling too fast can result in a loss of position and consequently damage to the workpiece and or the cutter Don t blame Galaad for these errors if you have been exceeding the limits If the speeds sent to your machine are not correct you can always change them globally with a post multiplier which is set to 1 by default The central frame on this page sets the speeds of the various automatic moves that occur when the tool is not actually cutting material The reference run speed is quite simply the speed at which the machine will move to find the reference position For the sake of the limit switches and the electronics within the CNC do not use too fast a speed as repairs can be expensive The literature accompanying your machine and controller may contain recommendations Machine parameters 9 137 GALAAD 3 The XY rapid moves are the horizontal movements that take place when the tool is retracted to a safe height above the work the rapid plane and moving between machining operations The Z rapid move down moves are those that take place from the rapid plane down to a point just above the surface of the work The tool then slows down to a speed that depends on the cutter being used before entering the material Therefore this speed toge
164. enhanced with dotted lines that link to the symmetrical path You will soon notice that there are much fewer design icons in Gawain than in Galaad It is obvious that design functions that create dots or closed shapes are useless in a turning application since the purpose is here to draw parts of the profile using lines arcs and curvesthe whole design being a single continuous path from one lateral end to the other one In fact it is 15 238 Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM GALAAD 3 possible to draw several different profile sub sets along the feed path without connections Empty spaces between shapes will simply not be machined so the workpiece remains raw material at these locations Therefore you have the right to make a non continuous path la x ps eS P Grid auto 1 mm fio 0 obj Phn B m el x nm m x men 2 x m 2 em aaaea Since there is only one profile the design entities must be connected to build a single path Gawain understands that shapes whose ends meet globally make one path Galaad contains a connection function which is useless here Gawain considers that two entities do not build one path if the distance between the nearest ends is greater than 1 10 of a millimetre In this case the turning process will retract the cutter to skip from one end to the other Along the same lines the design sequence has no importance When machining Gawain will ask you to indicate
165. er a small amount then drive the cutter to the left side west of the workpiece When close to the edge reset the step size to 1 10 mm or use slow motion with the right mouse button and carefully position the cutter so that the point is directly above the edge of the workpiece It often helps to lower the cutter to improve accuracy If using a cylindrical or hemispherical cutter it is easier to find the edge of the workpiece with the side of the tool Galaad knows the diameter of the tool and can automatically correct the position In the latter case don t forget to select the option Tool edge instead of Tool centre situated just above the large yellow start button Galaad needs to know which method to use in order to make the correct adjustment You have now found the X value of the workpiece origin Click on the green xok button to confirm that this position is correct Finally repeat the above operation but for the Y axis and using the south edge of the workpiece again confirming the position with the appropriate button With a conical cutter it is possible to save time and find the X and Y positions simultaneously at the south west corner of the work then confirm both positions simultaneously It is possible to do all three axes together but it is recommended that the Z axis is set towards the middle of the work rather than at a corner as it is more accurate 3 44 Learning to mill GALAAD 3 With
166. er the largest diameter of the active cutting part of the tool If the tool is not cylindrical for example with a conical engraving cutter or a 3 D hemispherical cutter this is frequently the same as the shank diameter For a cutter with a special profile e g a surface mill in reversed T or a pyramid tool the right value will be the maximum active diameter The profile of a cutter linked with its diameter determines how the width of the cut will vary with depth Profile families are cylindrical drilling boring cutting flat milling conical engraving or chamfered cutting hemispherical 3 D milling ball end pyramidal reversed conical cutter for surfacing and arcade conical tool with fillet borders With a cylindrical tool the width is constant irrespective of the depth but with a conical or hemispherical cutter the width will get wider as the cut depth increases up to the maximum diameter that the tool can cut With a conical tool it is necessary to accurately specify the point angle This angle is the full included angle measured from side to side and not the half angle from the centre line If the two l sides are unequal measure the largest half angle then double it as when the tool rotates about its axis it will describe a cone swept out by the largest side 6 74 Toolpaths GALAAD 3 The automatic calculation of feed speeds is also based on the number of teeth and the speed of rotation of the cutter
167. es a fine resolution for most cases Corresponding outputs do not need to follow one another in a sequenced list You must assign an output number for every bit that defines the analogue signal value Galaad will then calculate the pattern of all outputs that represent the binary digits of the digital value which produces the required rotation speed 9 134 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O Programmed sequence of commands Galaad offers x the possibility to Start sequence Stop sequence DAC 255 lt RPM gt 10000 OUTPUT 1 OFF dive into the OUTPUT 30N OUTPUT 3 OFF g PAUSE 1000 Daco computing code DAC 255 OUTPUT 1 ON and program the sequence of com E mands for swit 1 Available commands oie ourectt be z gt gt Set jut to O 5 spindle yourself by lt PWM 100 lt APM gt 50000 D sa P onal to 0 100 denerding on RPM value PAUSE 0 5 lt RPM gt gt Make a pause during N milliseconds depending on RPM value using a predefined WAIT UNTIL INPUT 1 ON gt Wait until binary input 1 gets enabled OFF for disabled RUN MyProgram exe Arg Arg2 gt Run external program with arguments and wait until exit instruction set START MyProgram exe Arg Arg2 gt Run extemal program and skip to next instruction immediately Galaad will interpret your instructions one by one when starting or stopping the spindle This sequence gives access to binary analogue or PWM outp
168. esign or any other that has been passed as an argument and immediately starts the machining module even if it is linked to an external driver programme The machining module which takes over skips over the normal stages and does not ask the use anything Machining parameters are the default ones the workpiece origin is the last one validated messages to the operator s attention are not displayed except the very last one before the actual launch of automatic process which the operator can only confirm or abort and which allows them to check the displayed toolpath that is going to begin see below the AUTOSTART argument for Lancelot amp Kay which is the logical continuation of this AUTOMILL argument AUTOTEXT instantly modifies the existing text of the current design or any other that has been passed as an argument whatever its style and mode inline or written along a curve This argument must be followed by two others that indicate which block of text should be replaced and the text it should be replaced by For example if the design contains Old text that must be replaced by New text the command line will be Galaad exe AutoText Old text New text Here it is important to take care of the order of the arguments text to be replaced immediately after the AUTOTEXT argument and the new text immediately after the text to be replaced and the upper lower case of characters If the text that is found does not exactly match th
169. est updates Galaad evolves continually Besides bug fixing new functions are added periodically following user requests and discoveries These improvements may be of interest to you and updating is very easy if you have access to the Internet If so simply point your browser to http www galaad net and head to the download page You will find full instructions in several languages on how to obtain the latest version Basically it is a matter of downloading the latest executable files unzipping them and overwriting your existing files it s that simple 20 284 Technical matters GLOSSARY OF TERMS GALAAD 3 The aim of this glossary is to provide a guide to the meaning of certain words used in this manual which may not be apparent to an inexperienced user 2 2 D motion generated by the simultaneous interpolation of any 2 axes with the third one being stationary engraving or cutting application 3 D motion generated by the simultaneous interpolation of 3 axes A toolpath whose depth varies is presumed to be 3 D Arc circular or elliptical curve open or closed Axis motor actuator assembly enabling either linear or rotary movement of the spindle or the workpiece X axis horizontal linear axis X moves from west east Y axis horizontal linear axis Y moves from south north Z axis vertical linear axis Z moves from low high A axis rotary axis with the axis of rotation around the X axis B a
170. ettings are definitely validated Machine Tool compensation Add feed in segment Oblique Zo Manually adds a feed in segment that starts from the material top surface zero depth to the depth of the previous entry point Machine Tool compensation Add feed in arc Allows you to control how the cutter approaches a tool compensated toolpath by defining an arc to create a curved entry path Machine Tool compensation Set feed out path Allows you to control how the cutter leaves a tool compensated toolpath by defining a new exit segment that keeps the same depth as the previous exit point Machine Tool compensation Set feed out arc Allows you to control how the cutter leaves a tool compensated toolpath by defining an arc to create a curved exit path Machine Tool compensation Remove toolpath Removes the selected compensated toolpath s Machine Tool compensation Rebuild toolpath Rebuilds selected toolpaths removing any entry or exits paths that have been added Overview of menus 12 183 GALAAD 3 Machine Tool compensation Flip inside outside Takes selected tool compensated paths and exchanges the compensation direction i e outside to inside and left to right The direction of travel is also reversed to maintain the same cutter approach climb or conventional milling so open shapes will be cut from the opposite end and closed shapes in the opposite rotation Machine Tool compensati
171. ew When you change its position the view on the main screen remaining visible behind the dialogue box is immediately changed so that you can see the result At the same time you can also change the orientation of the lateral views namely the position of the upper surfaces which correspond to Zo The frame at the bottom of the dialogue box sets the two Windows system sound functions that are called to produce a warning zap when you make an error but of course this is a rare occurrence or a confirmatory OK when a long operation finishes without a problem which does happen sometimes The choice corresponds to the event sounds set via the Sound icon located in the Windows Control Panel 8 110 Workspace parameters GALAAD 3 O Advanced functions The next command in the Parameters Workspace sequence provides access to some advanced functions of a more technical nature It is best not to experiment too enthusiastically with these parameters unless you understand and appreciate what results to expect as these may not be obvious initially Galaad will probably not feel worse but your design workspace might not benefit by the change However as usual you are in control Constructing texts with Windows Advanced parameters x TrueType fonts requires graphical parameters First the density of the hatching used to automatically fill the characters and also the degree or resolution of the Q Spline curves used for
172. example you must write Y Y 20 SIN 4 X and not Y 20 SIN 4 xX the result of which will be that the object will lose all its Y thickness Try this triple equation the results are interesting enjoy X 50 2 Y X 10 COS 4 X Y 2 Y X 10 SIN 4 X Z X 10 The following little creation works very well in space simply open the file 3 D MOGULS to see the results We will give you the recipe set the dimensions of a new board to 100 60 20 mm and create a network of lines quite closely spaced covering the surface of the board this is easiest by simply duplicating one Select everything and transform them using equations the magic formula being X X Y Y you can simply leave these boxes blank Galaad will quickly understand that nothing changes here and above all Z 10 5 SIN 10 X SIN 10 Y We ll stop the massacre there You can wake up now that s the end of the maths 13 220 Special functions GALAAD 3 O 3 D meshes Before starting to rejoice it might be a good idea to check whether your CNC is capable of exploring the third dimension If it is only capable of journeying with two axes then reading this section will be for pleasure only but at least you will know what the software is capable of doing As you will no doubt have realised Galaad s design editor works on an XY plan and allows the occasional excursion into the thickness of the board The presence of the Z axis only b
173. f the board z lower part By default the XY ooo E a elative tothe upper suface gt position of your object shown in relative tothe upper surface the dialogue box refers to the Dimensions south west corner of the selection esau OM st Dy height 40 mm X scale fi frame but you can also use any of esl 2 eoe the other reference points by clicking on the red blocks em You will quickly realise that Galaad does not really like it if your objects extend beyond the edge of the board especially when entering a co ordinate from the keyboard Since your board represents the raw material to be machined it seems somewhat logical that creating toolpaths outside of this workpiece makes no sense At this stage of the proceedings you know how to draw basic objects snap to existing points enter dimensions for their positions select objects delete and manipulate them Now we are going to select several objects simultaneously so that they can be manipulated as a group There are several ways of doing this The first consists of clicking on our selection icon if the cross hair design is currently showing then defining a rectangular area of the board To use this method press and hold down the left mouse button drag the cursor a little way and release the button The red selection frame surrounds the area covered and all the objects within the area are now selected If you only caught one or none at all
174. file name 2 modify blocks of text in this file 3 start the machining process and skip the operator s dialogue stages 4 close itself once the process is complete As seen before some existing arguments may help you build that sequence stages 3 and 4 being merged into one single argument Please refer to the arguments described above for more details It is obviously not possible to tell Galaad to create or modify pure graphic items from the command line which would be much too difficult and require too many parameters It you wish to create a design automatically and start its machining process with no operator interference then the best way to do it is to create a file in a standard format that Lancelot or Kay can read and call them up with the corres ponding file name as an argument followed by an AutoStart argument that will launch the automatic milling process and will even close the module once the cycle is complete Please note that if Galaad s machining task is performed by an external driver it will be opened automatically if the corresponding arguments have been passed to Galaad or Lancelot which is the one that actually chains to the external driver For a more complicated process that requires advanced input output controls temporisation etc the Kynon module should do the job since it is also able to load and execute immediately any programme that has been generated by external software using the same Auto
175. finally precisely define their milling parameters So you are ready to use the milling machine that has been impatiently fidgeting and pulling on its cable One last effort a minor detour via the zoom and we will be there Learning to design 2 35 GALAAD 3 O Zoom It is useful to be able to enlarge part of the board to check or adjust the objects or even use a smaller step of the magnetic grid when in automatic stepping mode This family of functions is designed to help here For now we will limit our review to the first two of them This should be very familiar from other Windows software so simply try it You can now define an area of the board to enlarge or a simple point around which Galaad will apply a magnification factor of 2 In the latter case it is sufficient to click and release on the same point To return to a view of all the board no zoom select the first fly out icon Global View Very useful tip it is possible to perform a fast zoom using the amp or fw key Galaad will automatically enlarge the zone around the mouse cursor without aborting the design operation that is in progress This can be reiterated and you can zoom out using or If you have a wheel mouse and have installed the driver that is provided with it a backward or forward rotation of the mouse wheel calls the same zoom functions without touching the keyboard This is often helpful to ease snap operations in crowded
176. formation namely the machining depth feed rate and details of the cutter tool to be used Those three define the extra dimensions Galaad needs to manage compared to a classical 2 D CAD system that is presumed to talk to a printer They are all reachable simultaneously Click on the green icon on the left of the board again without worrying about the other fly out icons A new dialogue box will then pop EEE xl up which will let you enter the milling Zdspth depth for the objects that will be E oa designed hereafter along with their TATS D feed speed and finally the cutter tool JT Visual object will not be machined Make a pause before machining this object that will be used to manufacture them I Ignore Zpasses when machining this obiect r Feed speed Enter a new machining depth for automatic amp mm s 0 36 m min aa your chosen objects Note that you can EZ os select the Cut out option to link depth to actual board thickness 1 gt FR 10 Fraise amp rainurer 1 4 flutes 7 Further options are also accessible A JT Apply to default values as well objects about to be drawn from this dialogue box If you are not familiar with calculating feed speeds then let Galaad do it for you automatically By default the software calculates an approximate value and takes into account the hardness of the workpiece the physical characteristics of the cutter and the depth of each pass
177. ge old adage it might work better if you turned it on sometimes works miracles Fortunately polite machines are in the habit of letting you know when they are powered up If nothing is illuminated as such Learning to mill 3 39 GALAAD 3 then you have Galaad s permission to remove your seat belt and investigate Incidentally certain commands also require the drives to be powered and the safety covers to be closed so check these as well In the meantime Galaad has collected a large amount of information and displayed it in the dialogue box shown below Don t panic and do feel free to experiment as you cannot do any harm yet Jove sae ei cal ia ft ie pocta m oo xfs At this stage we are not going to examine all the options available in this window You will have already noticed that your design is also displayed here The only machining parameter that interests us at the moment is the tool sequence which is displayed above the design If your design has objects that use several different tools the corresponding blocks in the tool matrix will be highlighted In the absence of any defined sequence the boxes are a uniform yellow and await your selection Simply click on the tools required in the order that you wish them to be used 3 40 Learning to mill GALAAD 3 When a tool is selected for use it is circled in green and those yet to be selected have a red cross through them Once a tool has finis
178. ghbourhood of an existing object pops up a small red point A short tip about the logical position will also appear By pressing the space bar on the keyboard you automatically snap the cursor to the small red point i e you directly validate the corresponding position This is very useful when dealing with a lot of pointing tasks particularly on polygon vertices intersections arc centres etc If there is no small red point then the validated point will correspond to the current cursor position Note that the middle button or wheel button of a three button mouse has the same function rather than requiring a keyboard input even though the space bar is not too difficult to find To manage a snap operation that would correspond to a click using the right mouse button press simultaneously the key Caps Lock This is also valid for the mouse middle button A little bit more complicated but worth mentioning you may manage a two stroke snapping i e snap to the X co ordinate of a small red point then move somewhere else on the board to snap another Y co ordinate or the co ordinate of the current cursor position Learning to design 2 29 GALAAD 3 You only have to locate the cursor close to the first concerned point so that it is highlighted then press the X or Y key to temporarily store the X or Y co ordinate A vertical or horizontal red axis appears across the board but nothing is stored at this moment You may
179. gonally a combination of the above horizontal and vertical operations Rotate 90 rotates the object s selected by 90 counter clockwise whilst maintaining the origin of the selection frame Rotate rotates the object s selected around the centre point of the selection frame The key allows entry of the angle Slant slants the object s selected about the vertical axis The key allows entry of the angle Wrap wraps the selected object s within an outer and inner circle and allows the included angle and orientation to be defined Vanishing point modifies the selected object so that segments in the chosen direction project back to the vanishing point Perspective modifies the selected object so that it appears to have depth and disappear into the page Panoramic modifies the selected object so that it appears to be a wrap around panoramic view Bend modifies the object selected in red so that its Y profile follows that of the object selected in blue 11 168 Overview of design icons GALAAD 3 Stretch as above but only applied to the top of the object selected in red Compress as above but only applied to the base of the object selected in red Bend Z modifies the object selected in red so that its depth follows the Y path of the object selected in blue Project onto cylinder modifies the object selected in red to produce a 2 D representation of its projection onto a transparent
180. gue box can be Ylength 32 mm Yo from south border 2667 mm displayed every time a Z thickness 21 256 mm Zo from top surface 5 mm file is opened if you so i function please tick the Relocate Ae upper sutace il of raw material m gt p corresponding checkbox J Display this window at every file opening at the bottom Unies wish To enable this IV XY origin to south west There are more commands available in the File menu to manually shift reverse or rescale co ordinates You may also filter part of the file by indicating start and end points of the toolpath All vectors and arcs located before or after will be ignored but commands that concern speed tool change etc will remain active 14 230 Kay 3 D CNC driver GALAAD 3 O Workpiece origin As soon as the file is loaded and the active range message validated Kay starts communicating with the machine The current CNC parameters and communication port are stored in a file that is shared with other Galaad modules changes in the machine parameters apply to all modules provided that you restart them if they are already open on the desktop There is no need to delve into details here for further information on these CNC para meters and what they refer to see chapter 9 Machine parameters The workpiece origin intake is driven classically from the manual control panel and green buttons for validation The purpose of the manual drive is t
181. h a horizontal axis Inner angle between segments displays an angular dimension between two segments to be selected Outer angle between segments does the same as mentioned above but with the indication located outside the segments Are centre displays the position of the centre of an arc of circle or ellipse to be selected Radius displays a dimension arrow between the centre and the circumference of an arc Inner diameter I allows you to add a diameter indication inside a circle an ellipse or an arc Inner diameter 2 allows you to add a diameter indication outside a circle an ellipse or an arc Outer diameter displays an external arrow dimension that points to the circumference of an arc Relocate dimension allows you to move a visual dimension that has been previously located on the board Erase deletes visual dimensions to be selected See also the Display Visual dimensions Delete all command Overview of design icons 12 OVERVIEW OF MENUS GALAAD 3 Here follows a complete list of all the commands found in Galaad s menus together with a brief summary of their function They are too numerous to describe in full here and anyhow the best way to understand their actions is to actually use them but first cross your fingers O File menu File New Initialises a new board and allows you to override the default values for the material and machining parameters material
182. h ballscrews and not even basic screws then this value corresponds to the linear distance that each axis moves for one revolution of its drive motor In the case where the axes have different values you will have to use the Parameters Machine Full data option Communication between Galaad and the CNC takes place through a cable which takes commands from Galaad to the CNC and returns data or acknowledges back to Galaad Most machines use serial communication in which case you plug one end of the cable into the machine or its CNC and the other end into a free serial port on your computer Some PCs are still equipped with two such ports labelled COM1 and COM2 of which one may be used by the mouse Others have a specific port for the mouse PS 2 and may have only one serial port fitted It is essential that you plug the cable into an identifiable port on your computer Note 1 If your PC is fitted with an external modem then one port will be allocated to it If you have to choose between the mouse and the modem disconnect the modem as Galaad needs the mouse In this case you can always get a switch box which will allow you to select either the modem or the CNC as required but not both at once Note 2 Once again don t confuse a 25 pin serial port with the 2 parallel port which is for a LPT printer The parallel port is always a DB25 female in relief but with 25 little holes whereas a serial port is always male hollow but with 25
183. he beginning of the path This speed may not be equal to the feed speed if the cutter has different capabilities for plunge and lateral feeding You must set the correct value here At the bottom the rotation speed lets you control the turning motor if the CNC allows it This speed is given for the tool being located at the edge of the profile i e at the maximum diameter of the raw workpiece When the cutter plunges deeper smaller diameter the rotation speed consequently increases so that the tangential speed under the cutter edge remains roughly constant 15 244 Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM GALAAD 3 O Workpiece origin Now let us go through the right hand side of the screen Four main buttons and two sliders allow you to move the Z and X turning axes i e X and Y on a Cartesian milling machine at a given speed Keyboard arrows obviously correspond to these buttons and also the joystick moves axes if you have parametered it Like all Galaad manual control modules it is possible to use a continuous or stepped motion If a 3 axis is fitted to your machine Z on a Cartesian milling machine a couple of small buttons help you set the cutter height so that it is aligned on the rotary axis This height will be stored for future machinings Setting the workpiece origin is done by gently approaching the active end of the cutter to a reference position on the raw workpiec or the Z axis lateral feeding motion along the workpi
184. he material to be cut When Galaad is installed a tool library comprising only one pre defined cutter exists It is likely that your personal collection of cutters will have much more Simply change the parameters of this tool and create the others To avoid cluttering up the list you may delete previously created tools that are no longer of any use to you by clicking on the Rubout button to leave that tool 6 73 Toolpaths GALAAD 3 number empty Alternatively if you would like to compact the tool library by moving all of the tools down by one position click on Del lt lt or on Ins gt gt to insert a tool in the middle of the list The last button Delete all clears all the following tool numbers in the library after the current one not included Each cutter can also be given a name and a colour which is only displayed if the mode Display Colours Tool dependant is selected The name of the tool appears in the list and is displayed in the message before setting a workpiece origin This has no other function than to remind you which tool this number corresponds to The key parameter of any tool is the diameter and leaving it blank tells Galaad that the tool is not yet defined consequently there is no point in entering any of the other information as it will not be stored in the tool library until a diameter is entered It is important to be as accurate as possible with this figure which should be measured ov
185. he new origin point minus the position of the old one Concerning the second case no path reference point it is necessary to validate the point 0 0 0 as the path origin Hence programming movements will be made in absolute co ordinates from the machine zero point which is set by the reference run If you notice that this machine zero point has drifted away which should never occur either you need to globally readjust all programmed co ordinates with the File Shift function or you can indicate a path origin point that is not 0 0 0 Note that you may exceptionally indicate a negative origin point in Kynon It is more permissive than Galaad pointing this area The instructions for relative movement MOVE REL and ARC REL are obviously not concerned by these considerations about the path origin point Kynon motion programmer _ 16 261 GALAAD 3 A manual path teach in can be done very easily once the origin point has been correctly validated Simply move the axes directly to the target position using the manual Pos Z drive buttons then click on the blue buttonsat the top centre of the Kynon window Pos XY Pos XYZ For example you move the three axes XYZ to a given position that you wish to fetch in two steps then you click successively on Pos XY and Pos Z the programme will memorise a movement to the XY position then a Z movement to the actual point These buttons automatically insert the c
186. hed its work it is crossed out in yellow This notation is important It is up to you to specify the sequence in which tools are used and objects machined In the absence of a user defined sequence indicated by all the boxes remaining yellow the tools will be used in numerical tool order A summary of the tool characteristics is shown below the tool selection matrix When the cursor passes over a tool that has been used in your design its parameters are shown whether or not it is selected for use The rest of the time it shows the characteristics of the first tool to be used It is possible that you have only used one tool In this case the tool sequence cannot be used to control the order in which the objects will be machined so move on to the next phase Mount the appropriate tool into the spindle and click on the Workpiece origin tab or press 3 O Workpiece origin The machining parameters page disappears and is replaced by the page for setting the workpiece origin which is also packed with control options A small message box appears from i i i 5 Setting workpiece origin for tool 1 nowhere to remind you which cutter toolis 4 ieee 11mm nica ie to be used in the process Click on OK you have no choice Communication between your favourite software and your chosen CNC is opened upon accepting the above message This initialisation may take several seconds depending on the machine and if it has just been rudely
187. hich is that X varies from 0 to 100 in steps of 1 consequently the SIN component varies from 0 to 360 The amplitude is determined by the multiplication factor to the left of the SIN component in this case 20mm and the depth is given by the value of Zo Another little one just for fun a Y 10 LOG X with X varying from 1 to 100 in steps of 1 and Yo 30 mm 13 216 Special functions GALAAD 3 If you inadvertently set X to 0 and consequently the LOG function to 0 an error message and reprimand will probably appear to remind you that LOG 0 is not allowed But now let us move on to more serious matters a double equation for a flat curve Call up the Design Equation Triple x y z f g h t command and enter the following equations X 20 COS 3 6 T Y 20 SIN 3 6 T Z 0 25 This time the variable is T and as before it varies from O to 100 in steps of 1 The X axis is proportional to the COSINE and the Y axis to the SINE of T both of which are developed over 3 6 100 i e 360 degrees and have a common amplitude of 20 This produces what looks very like a circle of 20mm radius Don t forget to set the centre of the board as Xo and Yo For starters you can amuse yourself by entering the equations described below with the variable T varying from 0 to in steps of 0 01 with Xo and Yo always at the centre of the design board Spiral X 20 T SIN 4 360 T Y 20 T COS 4 360 T Cardoid X
188. hine parameters 9 129 GALAAD 3 O Solectro SML 33 controller Solectro SML 33 racks a bit older but xi still excellent do not require many special E parameters You just have to indicate here M4 Send SPE SPA code Number of SPA cards 2 whether your hardware is equipped with an A E E g external speed override potentiometer and the number of I O cards Please note that the Solectro SML 33 controller always performs the reference run with X and Y together in a diagonal line It is not possible to modify this or drive a one axis reference run O Generic controllers If your machine contains a numerical controller that can only receive commands but does not return usable data to Galaad for example Gravo Graph Roland or Suregrave it remains possible to drive it directly in unidirectional mode for automatic millings In such case Galaad cannot provide manual drive functions since this requires position feedback and specialised commands Hence the communication is write only from Galaad to the numerical controller But if the machine has a control panel with EOMME local manual drive for workpiece origin intake A ndee eot EO nan gt x jalaad ly talk to thi of machi there is hope yet Galaad will prompt you to set Scan e es fe A This means that the workpiece origin must the origin directly from the machine and will be set on the machine as Galaad can only download the actual machining process then send the
189. ically be obtained by using a suitable digitising probe Drill operation where the cutter descends into the workpiece to make a hole See also Plunge Encoder precision measuring device mounted on a servomotor to provide feedback to the CNC as to the exact position of an axis Feed motion whilst cutting material either horizontally or in 3 D Feed speed speed of motion whilst cutting material either horizontally or in 3 D Glossary of terms 21 287 GALAAD 3 Finishing a second machining pass following a roughing operation to remove any residual stock and provide an accurate finish see Roughing Initialisation operation to establish communication with the CNC Island material within a pocket that is to be left intact Linear interpolation simultaneous movement of two or more axes resulting in a straight line Machine Origin see Machine zero point Machine zero point absolute zero position 0 0 0 of the machine determined by in built reference switches Manual control the CNC is controlled directly by Galaad to determine the position of the workpiece origin Override increase or decrease the final speed plunge or feed Pass a single machining operation roughng finishing or cutting out of the design Plunge the phase where the cutter descends into the workpiece to the required depth before making any lateral moves See also Drill Pocketing Cycle a series of moves each at
190. iginal object and move it the copy also moves by the same amount Modify the shape of the original using any function you like there are plenty to try and the copy takes on the same shape If you select a point on the original and either move or delete it the copy is also changed accordingly In fact most duplications in Galaad are virtual by default Also when you place a series of copies at regular intervals the copies are all virtual copies and will therefore be modified at the same time as the original This is most useful when modifications have to be made as only the original needs changing and all the copies will follow suit Having said that copies do not have to be virtual copies and if you wish independent copies can be produced The dialogue box for duplication gives you both options What is more you can make virtual copies real so that they become independent objects The Edit Duplicate menu contains all the necessary functions to undertake this but remember that the reverse process is not possible real copies cannot be made virtual so you must decide in advance We will not dwell on the simple duplication methods in line in a matrix in a circle or special which can easily be understood by trying them but instead move on to the more advanced features Mirror duplication makes a copy of the selected object about a variety of axes of symmetry leaving the original object in place It is even possible to make
191. ilst the second is for using it We will delve a little further into W g how this device works as it can be very useful when finding the nee workpiece reference point 70 The last button on the right hand side allows you to send the ma o machine to the predefined tool change position If an automatic tool changer with a xl custom programmable sequence is fitted ras E to your machine clicking on this button S E J I I pops up the changer management win PPPT AVY dow for manual control When a milling process has been roughly interrupted with the last tool left on the spindle this feature becomes very useful as it allows you to park the tool in i SA Daan EA Ee OA en its rack before starting an automatic Run sequence process that could generate a conflict 7 100 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 Defining the workpiece origin You have already seen the ins and outs of setting the workpiece origin in Galaad Without going into the details of this remember that the software needs to know where to find the workpiece that it has to machine and consequently asks where to find the reference point and where the workpiece is situated in relation to it The co ordinates of this point are given in 2 3 or 4 axes depending on your machine and the type of work you are doing They are displayed at the top of the workpiece origin frame Position x 30 20 z 62 A 0 If you know in advan
192. imulating Overview of menus 12 179 GALAAD 3 Machine Upload Starts the normal milling process for the current design but stores commands in the machine s local memory Enabling Upload machining to the controller memory checkbox in Advanced options of the milling module does the same but here the process start is automatic tool retraction height and current workpiece origin are preset here Machine Manual control Displays a control panel allowing the machine to be controlled manually independent of the design The manual control can be used as a test to check the communication with the machine See also the Parameters Machine I O test function in this case Machine Surface Table Allows the top surface of the machine s removable bed to be cleaned up to provide a good flat working face The default surface range corresponds to the active length of XY axes but you may change it The angle cross avoids leaving the tool fillet in the corner that will be used as the XY workpiece origin Machine Surface Workpiece Allows the top surface of the current workpiece to be cleaned up to provide a good flat face Machine Digitise Surface Calls the 3 D digitisation process on the 3 axes XYZ for a Cartesian volume Machine Digitise Cylinder Calls the 3 D digitisation process on the 3 axes XAZ for a cylindrical volume mounted on the A axis Machine Digitise Manual Calls the digitisati
193. in the opposite direction The clamp is presumed to be immovable with the needle on the other hand having lower resistance to feed in strength However the choice remain yours fully If your turning cutter cannot plunge deep into the workpiece which is somewhat usual then you may begin with roughing passes of a set peck depth Also the feed speed for these roughing passes is accessible indepen dently If a depth this is an improper use of that word when turning diameter is more correct is greater than the peck value Gawain will maximise the depth and make a new pass at this location until all depths are reached for the roughing cycle After roughing passes with or without pecks a small thickness can remain unmachined This is namely the finishing layer Even if you have not indicated a value here the finishing pass will still be driven in this case at the same diameters as the roughing But the finishing speed can be different and is set independently Please note that unlike most milling applications the finishing speed is generally slower than the roughing speed The X clearance distance determines the relative position to which the cutter is retracted from the workpiece edge between two active paths This edge corresponds to the theoretical cylinder circumference i e the rotary axis minus the radius of the workpiece The plunge speed corresponds to the movements of the cutter along the turning X axis to reach the diameter at t
194. indicate here with the corresponding speed Obviously the operation is performed only if the path depth is greater than the plotting depth This function is useful only with certain tools and very hard materials Next Galaad allows the plunge speed speed at which the tool cuts vertically into the material to be set independently from the horizontal or 3 D feed speed given to each object This speed is linked to the characteristics of the cutter itself and can be set at a fixed value once and for all Whatever its design an engraving cutter does not drill as well as a proper drill bit In essence the machining process follows this sequence the tool moves horizontally at a safe height above the workpiece and at a rapid speed V1 to a position immediately above the start point of the first object to be machined It then moves down at a rapid speed V2 to just above the surface of the work before plotting at a very slow speed V3 and entering the material at the plunge speed V4 The part is then machined 2 D or 3 D trajectory at the feed speed V5 and finally the tool is retracted vertically at a rapid speed V6 to a point above the workpiece The speeds V1 V2 and V6 are not related to the workpiece but depend on the performance of the machine hence these parameters can be found in machine parameters The feed speed V5 of each object is determined when it is constructed and the plotting and plunge speeds V3 amp V4 are set as discusse
195. ine increases decreases the attractive pull of a node Del deletes the node Ins inserts a node When editing a B zier curve gt movement of a control point breaks the tangent at the node Ctrl movement of a control point locks the angle of the tangent Del deletes a node Ins inserts a node 7 cuts the curve in two at the highlighted node When setting the rotation or inclination of an object 4 JW increases decreases by one degree NB Function keys F1 to F12 alone or combined with Ctr can be easily customised and directly associated to menu commands using Parameters Function keys Advanced design techniques 5 69 GALAAD 3 O Display functions A screen filled with objects can be very disconcerting when all of them have different and hidden machining characteristics and having to select each object in turn to display its depth feed speed tool etc soon becomes very tedious Galaad provides alternative ways of displaying this data As you may have already noticed the Display menu is hardly the smallest around and consists of numerous commands buried in an array of sub menus A selection of the most commonly used features is detailed below The trace functions change the appearance of drawn objects This allows you to make all trajectory points visible or just limit it to the points on a toolpath where objects are connected In addition a small numeri
196. ing the X and Y radii with the right mouse button which terminates the construction process there Note that the start and end points will be at the standard trigonometric zero position i e at 3 o clock It is also possible to stop the process one step further on which will allow the start and end points to set at any angle required The construction of other shapes also works in a similar fashion for example a star before defining the internal circle radii before the internal circle and angular spacing or a spiral before the internal circle 5 54 Advanced design techniques GALAAD 3 In any case please remember that you can end the construction of a shape at anytime without losing what has already been drawn simply by clicking with the right mouse button to indicate the last stage O Editing object geometry Nobody is perfect and sooner or later you will find that you will need to modify a design without starting from scratch A typical example is a B zier curve where the positioning of a node has an effect on the previous one and depends on the distance between them Almost certainly there will be times when the result is not quite what you had imagined and you will wish to make adjustments to obtain the desired shape Four types of object retain the ability to be edited geometrically arcs of circles or ellipses Beta Splines Quadra Splines and B zier curves The last three still show their nodes after b
197. ion in the machining sequence tool cycle and pass If several objects are selected the internal sequence of the group is unchanged This remains valid for all other sequence commands listed below You can display the position of each object in the sequence by using Display Trace Identify Sequence Machine Sequence Set as last Moves the selected object to the last position in the machining sequence Machine Sequence Set order of appearance Allows the selected object to be placed in any position in the machining sequence Machine Sequence Mouse select successively Allows you to set the machining sequence by pointing objects one by one from the first to the last Sequence numbers are displayed during the operation Machine Sequence Reverse Reverses the order of the selected files within the selection only Objects that are not selected are unaffected Machine Sequence Optimise Rearranges the machining order of all objects to minimise the moves between them The first object in the sequence is unaffected Open objects may have their toolpaths reversed to start from the nearest end Machine Sequence Sort by increasing depths Makes an automatic sequence related to the depths of each object you can then reverse the order Overview of menus 12 181 GALAAD 3 Machine Toolpath Connect objects Creates a single toolpath to join objects they must be selected first that are adjacent
198. ion key commonly called a dongle Depending on its type the dongle must be plugged into the LPT port printer port or a USB port on your PC so that Galaad can read it and thereby give you full access to all features Not having a dongle is in effect not having a user licence which will prevent Galaad from communicating with the outside world In this case it will neither be possible to execute the milling process nor export any designs to another software package including using copy paste You will however be able to save designs and drive your machine manually even though automatic machining will not be accessible For professional licences it is not necessary to have the key attached to the parallel port of your PC at all times Galaad can simply re enable the licence monthly At the appropriate time it displays a message requesting you to attach the key to the port for a moment so the licence may be refreshed This restricted functionality is deliberate for several reasons Firstly it allows the software to be copied legally for evaluation purposes by potential users Secondly a user of Galaad may well wish to install it on several computers dedicated to designing and reserve a single PC for driving the CNC An unlicensed version is no less subject to the current legislation covering intellectual property rights You have the right to copy the Galaad 3 CD ROM or its downloadable version for your own use or for distributio
199. is for now With two shapes and three movements you have constructed a mesh describing a 3 D surface The rest of these are just variations on a theme Returning to the plan view the reference curve is no longer selected but is still present on the board and has changed colour Galaad understands that it is an object used to produce the design but not to be machined and conse quently transforms it into a visual object Anyway it has not lost any of its characteristics and can be modified if you wish Now delete your mesh and draw a second curve for example an arc with a large radius then select them both 13 222 Special functions GALAAD 3 You now have two references selected Generate a new rectangular mesh with the same parameters This time Galaad will construct a mesh that makes the transition from one curve to the other The Y position of each object determines which reference curve will be the nearest to each edge of the rectangle This mesh requires a CNC that is capable of 3 D interpolation as all points on the surface are at a variable depth Galaad can use a maximum of two reference curves with this type of mesh There is one way to extend this principle as we will see later Now draw two simple objects for example a en Oe B zier curve and an arc with a large radius Lay 1777777777777777 them out such that one is generally in the X direction and the other in the Y direction without doubling back as il
200. itch on and feed move In such case the two laser pause values define an extra delay after enabling i e before starting feed motion and before disabling i e after ending motion The difference with the above mentioned run up parameter is that these two delays are not used if the spindle is a classical one that remains continuously active during the whole process In this case they are greyed Galaad is able to drive the rotation speed of 2 x a tachometric spindle if it is connected to a PRAA control system through an analogue data Speed falaa lalala o channel or similar Several special parameters Eer must be set in this case Spindle rotation speed is normally predefined for every tool However when starting the spindle in manual or automatic mode a dedicated window will pop up to allow you adjust the speed Note that the system controlling speed analogue PWM or multi outputs and spin direction does not override the binary outputs that have been set for power on off Consequently these outputs remain valid with such spindles If you do not wish to use them because they are redundant with the rotation control system then just delete the corresponding output numbers or set them to zero In the case of a spindle with a rotation speed control system see hereafter the possible channels depending on your machine Galaad can even drive a progressive run up to avoid overloading the electrical power supply This run up is linear
201. ition of shortcuts for starting Galaad and the association of GAL files with Galaad so that opening them will start Galaad automatically If you do not require these additional features untick the appropriate boxes at the bottom of the window Then click on the Next gt gt button Galaad the general charac GAL teristics of your CNC machine CNC machine parameters gt xj It is now necessary to tell if one is actually connected to If a CNC machine is connected to this computer please give the 7 technical specifications stated below Accuracy is not vital at this this workstation If not do not stage as all of these settings remain accessible from Galaad 3 S 2 ence instalation ie completa waste your time going into detail just validate this page as it is There is no CNC machine connected to this computer oS The following CNC machine is connected to the computer Mil IselAutomation gt ficP 2020 7 gt Connected to COM1 v Detect Note that these parameters Eang none can be modified after Galaad gt C ed zA D 7 esol ee has been installed errors can anaes therefore be fully corrected at a later date If you are installing Galaad onto a workstation connected to a CNC machine select the option that will allow you to specify the type of machine and the communications port to which it is connected Click on the Next gt gt button one last time A final dialogue box will appear confir
202. ive by default because it may render the manipulation less easy in certain cases As you already know Galaad can save its workspace parameters when it is closed so that when you next open Galaad your last design will automatically be reloaded even though it may not ever have been saved This is set as the default mode when Galaad is installed However if several users share the same computer this can be a bit awkward so simply deselect this option and Galaad will behave in the classic fashion and give you the option to save before closing down It is possible to directly open machining process with workpiece origin i e without stepping through machining parameters except if there are several tools that require a sequence or non standard values When this checkbox is ticked the Machining parameters page is skipped but you can come back to it and the workpiece origin page is displayed immediately O Restrictions for education One of Galaad s main features lies in its ability to restrict the features and levels of access it presents to the user This option can be particularly useful when it is used in an educational environment or for any new user Galaad is rich in icons and diverse functions which can be a bit daunting to the uninitiated hence it comes with the ability to change its personality by restricting what is on offer He who can do more can do less When first installed Galaad has all its features displayed and availabl
203. ject Weld from the menu Galaad will join the two objects at the red point to form a new single object try selecting one of the original ones The operation can be reversed by using the menu command Design Object Split which will also work on the intermediate vertices of any polygon You have two objects again It goes without saying that only end points can be welded together and only intermediate points can be split Please note that certain objects cannot be joined in this way and that it is only possible to weld objects that have the 5 60 Advanced design techniques GALAAD 3 same properties e g an arc and a polygon However dissimilar objects can be connected using other methods as will be seen later Note that the point selected in red maintains its position and becomes the common point for the new object this is most apparent in the case where the two original points had different depths and where one point has to change its depth What s more should they have different machining speeds the new object also takes its speed from the object that contained the red point When objects are split both the position and speed values return exactly as they were prior to being split Now let us consider the blue points Once again draw a simple polygon or a rectangle and place both a red and a blue point anywhere on it but of course on different vertices Now move the blue point with the mouse You will notice that the re
204. ke for the Z axis but this can be done automatically by the tool sensor In this case as soon as the tool change message is acknowledged Kay makes an automatic measurement of the new Z origin on the tool sensor and immediately resumes the cycle 3 4 The machine includes an automatic tool changer whose programmed sequence was previously defined in the CNC parameters Kay then parks the current tool in its rack selects the next one and if necessary measures it on the sensor 14 234 Kay 3 D CNC driver GALAAD 3 O Milling Like all other driving modules in the Galaad set the big yellow button starts the machining process defined in the file from the previously set origin point It is possible to enable the Stepped mode in which case every machining command must be validated from the keyboard except if the corresponding option is unticked at the bottom left of the screen Keep in mind that the space bar stops the automatic process the same as when you click on the emergency button at the bottom right of the screen ioii The __ se _ button at the bottom left of the screen allows you to interrupt the machining process as soon as the tool is retracted above the workpiece In this case the interruption is not immediate It is still possible to resume the process where it has been interrupted This can be useful to clean the tool or workpiece during machining with no risks of marking the material However if the toolpa
205. l be times when in order to position them it is not very convenient to create a group of associated objects Conversely there may be times when you wish to fix an object to an absolute position even though it belongs to a group and the others are to be moved Consequently Galaad provides two adaptable methods for this The absolute position of an object on the board can be fixed or alternatively the position of an object relative to other objects can be fixed without creating an association The absolute anchoring of an object freezes its position and prevents any further attempts to move it Draw two objects and anchor one in position then select both objects and move them both Still selected the anchored one will not want to move this is very irritating Anchoring objects relative to each other is less restrictive The position of each object can be changed but moving one object will result in all objects anchored to it being moved by an equal amount Draw three objects select them and anchor them relatively to each other Now select only one of them and move it the others will also move by the same amount even though they were not selected As well as its practical use for positioning a group of objects the relative anchoring function has some interesting side effects that will be of interest later on when we look at the selection and manipulation of points and segments To release anchored objects it is once again necessar
206. l of the machine Look o E Go 7 E through the double list of oo ESE e g known machines until you m Connection find yours and select it For Pott None 19200 bauds z Detect the most part the other d m Technical data parameters will be loade Range 290 mm Y 190 mm Z 90 mm automatically Note that Ballscrew pitch or linear motion per axis revolution 10 mm Canca machines are sometimes re Maximum speed 20 mm s badged by importers The type of controller is usually governed by the model of the machine however some types of light weight machine can be used with a variety of different CNC s If in doubt check both the equipment and its technical information Moving directly to the frame at the bottom of this window the physical characteristics of the machine can be set These depend on the machine s model but bear in mind that they can and do change with time so check the technical data supplied with your machine if any and especially the pitch of the ballscrews If this value is set incorrectly then the machine will work 9 120 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 almost normally but all movements will not be of the correct distance and speed Too small a figure increases the values of the co ordinates sent to the machine and consequently the size of all movements Conversely too large a value reduces the size of all movements If your machine is not actually fitted wit
207. l user s licence of Galaad covers all modules this is not the forced sale of useless modules simply the standard Galaad licence provides access to all features If you have any questions relating to the licence that you have been supplied with do not hesitate to contact your supplier Remember that if you have been sold a copy legally it will come with a dongle For further information or in case of difficulty we invite you to visit the official Galaad web site at www galaad net Note are fully recognised all registered trademarks and the corresponding owners rights that may appear in this manual 14 Foreword GALAAD 3 O System configuration For those who are interested in the details Galaad 3 was developed during 1998 9 using Borland C 5 02 OWL on two PCs linked by Ethernet One fitted with a 350 MHz AMD K6 3D processor and 256 Mb RAM running Windows 98 version 4 10 1998 for the development the other fitted with a 120 MHz Cyrix P6 and 64 MB RAM running Windows 95 4 00 950a for testing The code was compiled as 32 bits for an i486 processor with a maths co processor In simple terms this means that Galaad 3 will run neither on a PC fitted with an i486 SX or SXT processor or earlier nor under Windows 3 11 or earlier if such systems are still in use somewhere on this Earth Strict minimum specification is ce 50 MHz i486 DX processor L 16 Mb RAM a iw 30 Mb of available disk space ee ee ial 640 480
208. le you define a series of XY movements which draw a rectangle with rounded corners using linear and circular movement instructions and the start point of this rectangle is 0 0 All movements are written inside a block that is named for example ROUNDRECT Hence ROUNDRECT becomes an instruction like any other that you may insert in your code and give it XYZAB co ordinates according to your wishes If you put the instruction line ROUNDRECT X10 Y20 Z30 somewhere Kynon will execute all lines inside the block named RECTROND and will shift its XYZ co ordinates by 10 20 30 ie all inner co ordinates are added to these values The main purpose if obviously multiple calls to ROUNDRECT with different co ordinates But this can also be used to simply ease the reading of the programme Please note that all or part of the position arguments XYZ etc are optional If you do not indicate one the corresponding co ordinates when executing the block lines will be the actual co ordinates of the inner lines with no offset To close this section it is worth mentioning that a block can contain an inner call to another blockand so on to define more and more elaborated macro blocks In the same way a block can call itself but it is better to avoid this unless it contains a conditional jump to the block end line so you do not have an infinite recursive loop in fact Kynon is able to stack a maximum of 256 successive calls this maximum value also applies to all
209. left Bear in mind that if you enter a dimension that is relative to a given point located right above then it will probably be a negative value Returning to our cursor you will now see it has been fixed at the point defined in the dialogue box and that the mouse click has been applied You now know how to fix something at any absolute position using Cartesian co ordinates To enter a value in polar co p Distance ordinates for the second point 12 only you must press relative to the previous point 7 simultaneously T Angle js This will open a similar dialogue relative tothe west gt east drection z A box but for co ordinates in the form R as opposed to X Y 2 28 Learning to design GALAAD 3 As for Cartesian co ordinates the numerical values of the current position of the cursor are shown when the dialogue box is first opened At this stage of the apprenticeship you know how to use the design cursor and define points numerically Practice drawing by using some of the other design icons for example rectangles and circles However don t spend too long at this early stage and stick to the white design icons as the others yellow green and blue are not directly involved with the drawing process as you will see a little later O Snapping to positions If you already have something visible on the board perhaps a simple line you will have noticed that locating the cursor in the nei
210. lers allows you to chain vectors with no deceleration before the end point and no re acceleration after the start point This mode obviously assumes that you are using the BUFFER command see next pages so that there are no transmission delays between vectors which would cut the benefit of the chaining If your machine does not read this passing mode instruction it will simply be ignored Kynon motion programmer 16 255 GALAAD 3 O Switch amp pause commands In addition to axis motion Kynon can address outputs and check inputs The main command in this group is the OUTPUT instruction which sets a given output in a high active or low inactive state the default state being generally inactive It is up to you to connect the peripheral devices of your custom application to the corresponding outputs Please note that unlike Galaad it is not possible with Kynon to specify a multiple outputs number that should be switched in a single operation You must set the switching sequence line by line The DAC instruction sets the signal level of the machine s analogue output number 1 if it exists The resolution is 8 bits which allows you to set values between 0 and 255 from 0 to Vmax On the same topic the PWM instruction sets the frequency of the machine s PWM signal again if it exists and the pulse width in percentage i e between 0 and 100 These commands allow you to drive an analogue device such as a rotation or dispen
211. let s just say that there are no good programmers only old programmers And unfor tunately we know what we are talking about In a classical programmed sequence and Kynon matches this model for the most part the sequence begins at the top and instructions are executed one by one downwards until the last line of the programme is reached However there are some instructions which allow you to break that sequence by executing jumps forward or backward Kynon also offers the possibility to define blocks of macro instructions over which the sequence will skip regardless of what they contain but can be called and recalled at several stages of the process This will be described later A basic Kynon programme consequently has a beginning point at line 1 followed by a more or less long series of operations that will be executed one by one until the last line is reached Once this end line has been executed the process is completed There are four major groups of instructions in a Kynon programme which will be detailed later with the usual examples Motion commands send one or several axes to an absolute position or perform a relative movement at a given speed Arc commands are also available the circular interpolation being valid only in the XY plane This Kynon motion programmer 16 251 GALAAD 3 group of instructions also integrates reference runs which reset the machine to its zero points or conditional movements whi
212. ll that is required is that the slave installations have access to a designated area on the hard disk of the master installation Let us consider the following network with a master machine M and several slave units S1 S2 S3 etc Galaad is installed on M in the folder C GALAAD and also on all the S slave units in folder C GALAAD As well as accessing its local hard disk C each slave unit S can also access the hard disk C on the master machine M which will be remapped to another drive on the slave units for example E In this way Galaad running in the folder C GALAAD on workstation S1 sees the copy of Galaad installed on the master machine as being in folder E GALAAD Thereafter the slave unit can load its parameters and current design from the master machine M instead of taking them from its local hard disk This gives the user of the master machine M the ability to globally control the configuration of the slave machines S What is more the slave units S can store their work centrally on the master machine instead of on their local hard drives 10 150 Using a network GALAAD 3 To enable data to be exchanged between workstations each slave unit must be able to access the hard disk on the E master computer or at least the folder where Galaad is installed It is assumed that your network is already configured and that disk sharing has been enabled If not see Print and file sharing
213. logue box Remove unwanted functions from the menus Only lines that are preceded by a tick are displayed Lines that would open an empty sub menu are automatically removed Configure the design icons With each series of icons the lower matrix shows which icons will be displaced and where they will be located Define the disk access rights Controls file access on both a local drive and a network drive if present Set permission to modify parameters Controls access to the technical machining parameters Restrict dimensions Limits the range of values that the user can enter Using these restrictions it is easily seen that you can construct a very watered down version of Galaad Of course all restrictions can be turned off in a single hit without losing them by using the command Parameters Workspace parameters 8 117 GALAAD 3 Workspace Override restrictions If you have controlled access to the restrictions with a password you will be asked for it Selecting to override the restrictions returns Galaad to full strength which causes it to disappear from the screen for a few seconds whilst the screen is rebuilt Don t worry though as it will soon return Please note that you can also save the restricted configuration using the com mands Parameters Save parameters and Load parameters or send them from one workstation to another using Parameters Floppy disk Send and Receive A small di
214. lues ranging from 0 to 2 160 degrees namely 6 complete revolutions Don t forget to set the centre of the board as Xo and Yo At first sight the result is a simple circle centred in the middle of the board But select a 3 D view of it and you will see that is in fact a helix descending into the board which is quite obviously due to the linear variation of Z If you like maths have fun experimenting A small additional feature Galaad allows the user to apply these equations to existing objects and transform their appearance Simply select the object and apply the Design Effects 3 D Transform using equations command The co ordinates entered in the equations are always given as variables but relative tothe south west corner of the object Because of this its global position on the board is not changed as a result of the transformation These equations accept the labels X and Y as variables which correspond to the points making up the object and it must be understood that when using multiple equations it is the initial values of these co ordinates that are passed to the mixer Each equation is based on the results of the previous equation in Special functions 13 219 GALAAD 3 the order in which they are processed OK but don t look as this is deep in the internal workings of Galaad Don t forget to add the original value of the co ordinate into each equation if you do not want to completely flatten your object For
215. lustrated Select them both and apply the Design 3 D mesh Crossed function providing the necessary parameters This time Galaad does not ask you to define a rectangle but constructs a mesh from the two curves using the intersection point and their lengths to define the mesh size and position It is as though you had drawn the XZ and YZ lateral sections of your mesh GEEZ ME eg BEES RY ON ON NO N N A n N WN RY Wares Le ly le f UZ LI Vii WL The shape of the Y curve is applied to the depth first followed by the X curve to produce the overall 3 D effect You already know how to create a rectangular meshed surface from one or two simple shapes drawn in plan Now we will review another variation along the same lines but this time producing a radial surface Special functions 13 223 GALAAD 3 Delete everything from the drawing board and draw a B zier curve similar to that shown on the left using the appropriate design icon As before ensure that the curve does not double back on itself in the vertical plane Select the curve and use the Design 3 D mesh Circular command then provide the necessary parameters for the mesh Finally you have to draw two concentric circles with different radii Make one of them small and the other large so that a decent sized mesh is produced Galaad performs a few calcula tions then displays the results in th
216. ly spaced dashes at intervals defined by yourself Dot dash line as above but comprising alternate dots and dashes at intervals defined by yourself Segments constructs a series of segments as defined by you along the path of an object selected in red Duplication constructs a copy of the segment selected in red which is offset by one grid step ready to be positioned Parallel constructs a line parallel to the segment selected in red between two user selected points Tangent at point constructs a line tangent to the vertex selected in red Bisector at vertex constructs a line parallel to the angular bisector of the vertex point selected in red Overview of design icons 11 157 GALAAD 3 ae 11 158 Bisector of segments constructs a line parallel to the bisector of the vertex between the segments selected in red and in blue Angular constructs a line at an angle defined by you from the segment selected in red Perpendicular constructs a line along the perpendicular bisector of the segment selected in red Intersection constructs a line from a point defined by you to a segment selected in red Conical sheaf constructs a sheaf of lines you set the spacing from a point selected by you to an object selected in red Sheaves creates a sheaf of lines you set the spacing between an object selected in red and one in blue see also 3 D meshes or the function Design Tran
217. machine Kay BOTTLE NCP 15 x File Parameters Help Commands r Move UEC ECT o r Speeds Z Po Continuous C 10mm C4 mm 7 A C 140mm ae f C 1400mm A eS f ai C 254 mm Workpiece origin Position X 30 Y 20 Z 10 Ajo Bjo Drive to Memorise Recall G Abs C Rel Stepped Pause Workpiece origin At start up Kay displays a classical manual control window for workpiece origin intake and immediately asks for a file to be machined If you do not select a file it can be used as a manual drive module 14 228 Kay 3 D CNC driver GALAAD 3 Please note that the file name can be passed as an argument with its access path in which case the file will be opened automatically Hence Kay can be directly integrated at the end of a CAD CAM CNC processing chain If you use a software application that can create the toolpath under a format known to Kay and that this application can call an external machine driver as Galaad does and give it the name of the file that has been created Kay will automatically open this file The file extension then indicates the format If this extension is not known to Kay just add it as an argument next to the file name in brackets Examples C Program Files Galaad Kay exe calls Kay without giving it a file to open C Program Files Galaad Kay exe C CadCam File iso calls Kay and asks i
218. mand in the top menus Please note that the F10 key is generally reserved by Windows and is not customisable Parameters Visual dimensions Sets the style of all visual dimensions that have been added to the design Parameters Network User Allows you to configure the current settings of the workstation on the local network See the chapter on Using a network Parameters Network Workgroup Determines which workgroup the current Galaad instance is attached to This does not modify the Galaad installation but changes the access to central folders on the disk of the master workstation See the chapter on Using a network Parameters Network Upgrade workspace If the PC is either a standalone workstation or a networked Master the current environmental parameters will be saved or if the PC is a secondary Slave new environmental parameters will be loaded from the master workstation See the chapter on Using a network Parameters Tools Allows you to define the detailed parameters of the cutters within their own tool library See the chapter on Toolpaths Parameters Machine Basic data Allows you access to the basic data for the CNC See the chapter on Machine parameters Parameters Machine Full data Allows you access to the full details of the CNC See the chapter on Machine parameters Parameters Machine I O test Opens a reduced dialogue window that helps you control the input
219. materials into shorter lengths that will be thrown clear Finally bottom area of the dialogue box shows some basic statistics about the use of each cutter These are simply for information purposes Galaad does not sound an alarm if some sort of limit is reached Each tool has a life cycle that depends on how it is used and on its physical characteristics This information is to help you monitor the life cycle but ultimately you are the one in control Toolpaths 6 77 GALAAD 3 O Tool compensation When you construct an object with Galaad the drawing is supposed to be an accurate representation in space of the cutter path It may accurately represent the path followed by the point of the tool or the central axis at its lowest extremity but not necessarily the actual finished part Let us look at a suitable example that Galaad has an icon specifically designed for this purpose Imagine that you now wish to cut out this b a na star accurately from a thin sheet material so you set the cut depth to the thickness of the material and _ select the best cutter for the milling process Then you are ready to start cutting Or are you AN Construct a simple five point star remembering the centreline of the tool and the tool does not have an infinitely small diameter so the finished result will be a bit smaller than it was actually drawn The difference is half the diameter of the cutter used and as we wanted the s
220. ming the folder into which Galaad will be installed and showing the software licensing agreement which you are of course already familiar with having read the previous chapter Installation 1 19 GALAAD 3 Now click on the Install button which will start the installation process and transfer files from the CD to your hard disk This can take from fifteen seconds to more than a minute depending on the type of installation and the performance of your machine A progress bar shows how things are proceeding and a message confirms when the process is complete Following this message you can start Galaad for the first time and thereafter by using the icon that has been placed on the desktop or the shortcut created in the Start menu Your installation is now complete O Software driver for the dongle key Unlike with Windows 95 98 ME direct communication between Galaad and its dongle key plugged onto the printer port or a USB port cannot take place under Windows NT kernels including Windows 2000 NT 5 Windows XP NT 5 1 and subsequent versions With such operating systems it is necessary to use a specific software driver which handles the com munication This driver programme is located on the CD ROM and will be installed automatically after prompting you for approval Of course there is no need to install it on a workstation that has no licence If you wish to install or reinstall this driver open Windows Explorer
221. mit rapid data palettes to the active layer only controls whether objects on background layers can be referenced in the data palettes at the top of the screen If this is not checked your data palette can quickly become swamped with all the additional data however you lose the benefit of rapidly extracting machining parameters from an object in a background layer to give to one on your active layer The ability to always select using green preview which is active by default when installing Galaad displays in green the object that will be selected at a given moment if you press the right mouse button This function is somewhat useful when you have overlapped or neighbour objects Please note that the pointer must approach the actual path and not simply enter the Cartesian area of the object An appendix to this function it is possible to display info tips about green selection to check its geometry depth speed and tool number without requiring further selection This feature can be disabled for big designs or if your computer is not fast enough to allow a comfortable use in this mode When magnifying part of a design board it may be difficult to accurately move a selected object or point towards a location that is out of the zoomed area If you allow automatic zoom shift then the visual field will be instantly moved when the mouse pointer gets too close to an edge This function is 8 112 Workspace parameters GALAAD 3 inact
222. mouse button This fixes one end of a line and as you move the mouse you will see a moving line connecting the first point to the cursor As well as the absolute position of the cursor its position relative to the start point of the object is also indicated in both Cartesian and Polar co ordinates at the base of the screen Position the cursor wherever you wish then click and release the mouse button Galaad is then immediately ready to repeat the operation for another line Try again but this time using another method press and hold down the mouse button at the starting position drag the cursor to an end point and release the button The result is identical choose the method that you prefer Continue drawing simple lines and with the cross hair cursor visible on the board try using the arrow keys on the keyboard instead of the mouse Each time an arrow key is pressed the cursor will move by a small amount which depends on the setting of the magnetic snap grid see the bottom left hand corner of the display and instead of clicking with the mouse press the Spacebar to fix a point O Simple co ordinates Moving on a little further Rather than either using the mouse or the spacebar press and a dialogue box will appear that will allow you to directly enter the numerical co ordinates Just enter the value for the X co EEKE lt ordinate then press the tab 54 key om a_i E 7 1 mm to move onto the Y co ordinate felative to the
223. must preempt that sequence Hence Galaad presets the tool sequence depending on compensation passes but you have the right to break that order If you do so then a last warning message will ask you to confirm before proceeding Finally there are two little tick boxes one that will allow you to avoid islands when pocketing i e leaving intact all objects that are located within pockets in other objects and the other that enables 3 D angles to be produced which is only possible with a cutter that has a conical profile When the 6 80 Toolpaths GALAAD 3 contour is complete Galaad uses the point of the tool to cut a straight line in 3 D bisecting internal angles from the base of the cut to the surface of the work The resulting cut is identical except for the bevel which produces a neat effect It is not possible to change the geometry of a compensated toolpath that has been automatically calculated by Galaad except if you change the actual shape it relies on But some side functions may no less allow you to adapt this path to your special needs Once compensated trajectories are calculated and displayed just look for the interesting function in the Machine Tool compensation sub menu First you can create a new object from the calculated toolpath The new object will be fully independent from the original one If the selected object already has a tool compensated path this path will immediately be transformed into a ne
224. n This is provided that the contents are not modified in any way that all copy rights are acknowledged and that there is no possibility even indirectly of designs being manufactured with the software without a user licence Foreword 13 GALAAD 3 There are three types of user licence available The professional licence is the main one and is for those who wish to use the software to design and manufacture objects for commercial gain There are no restrictions with this licence The educational licence as its name implies is restricted to use in a training environment where there is no commercial gain either directly or indirectly from any objects manufactured Finally there is the hobby licence which has milling time restrictions and can be sold only to associations Using an educational or hobby licence must have no direct or indirect commercial purpose There is no difference in the functionality of the software under the different licences with the educational or hobby version having all the functionalities and features of the professional version except milling time restrictions for hobby Only the terms of use are different Consequently using an educational or hobby version to manufacture objects for commercial gain is a violation of the licensing agreement Some subsets of Galaad may be sold separately at a lower price in which case the corresponding licence is valid for these modules only Conversely the norma
225. n addition and still in Galaad s philosophy it can directly call up the milling module without requiring heavy manipulations of intermediate CAM files YW Percival SAMPLE GRB solder side seen from top Display Parameters Help ZEAN wel EZ Percival is not an electronic router not even a printed circuit CAD system Its capabilities are few compared to Galaad it provides no design function and consequently focuses on the simple preparatory milling works on isolation engraving and the drilling of a circuit that has already been designed 17 264 Percival printed circuit engraver GALAAD 3 O Gerber files The most widely known file format concerning electronic CAD is undoubtedly the GRB format or GBR or even sometimes other possible extensions This format is destined for Gerber Scientific Instruments photo plotters and has become a near standardin that domain The photoengraving of circuits using light printing techniques induces specific considerations that appear in the format Light printing is performed by an optical head that focuses the light beam on the circuit after travelling through a diaphragm at the locations where the copper should be preserved The diaphragms general ly have a predefined size and shape the simplest being a basic circular disc The pads may have more exotic shapes but the tracks are printed using simple circular diaphragms of given diameters along the connecting path A
226. n button that allows you to validate the Z position zo p Workpiece origin A The Z position then jumps into Postion x 12 y 2 z 62 the workpiece origin position Simply follow exactly the same steps for all other axes including rotary axes if necessary by physically approaching the point on the workpiece presumed to correspond to the zero point in the file and click on the other green buttons It is not necessary to move the axes to the origin point before starting the process If you have a fixed XY clamp and all your toolpaths refer to this co ordinate system i e start from this point then you just have to set the XY origin once and for all when you prepare your very first workpiece process Incidentally it is possible to memorise origins and recall them later The axis positions for the Z axis and for any potential rotary axes can also be memorised the last position used remaining valid until it is moved If your machine is fitted with a tool sensor please refer to chapter 7 Advanced milling functions section automatic tool measurement for detailed information The method is the same with Kay Note that the keyboard space bar stops a display update that is in progress This can be useful with very big files on a slow computer to avoid unnecessary screen updates Z O Parameters The whole of chapter 9 is dedicated to the Machine parameters Please refer to this chapter if you need any information about h
227. n in the manual when you learn how to restrict the information displayed but for now let us neither anticipate nor concern ourselves with all that appears on the screen 2 24 Learning to design GALAAD 3 The working area is divided into five distinct zones At its centre is your drawing board This shows the result of your creativity ready to be sent to the CNC to be manufactured with no further ado Simply it is in this area that your design will take shape and can be viewed from above in plan or by using the lateral and 3 D views At the very top of the screen is a classic menu bar This provides access to all functions from file handling through access to the CNC to manipulation of the display and is arranged in terms of functionality Nothing original here apparently even in Australia the menu bar is at the top Immediately below is the equally classic tool bar Each icon is a shortcut for a function in one of the menus which saves having to navigate through the maze of sub menus Just to give Galaad a proper non conformist feel some of these icons also have a fly out icon underneath On the far left of the screen are the design icons There you will find plenty to stimulate your creativity providing an array of tools for constructing the objects that will allow you to create your design When the mouse pointer is passed over these icons a group of icons will fly out offering a wider range of associa
228. n validated you just have to click on the big yellow button that starts the turning process Please note that the key is the keyboard equivalent I Gawain Simulation E SSS VY Roughing P Toolpass 7 8 gt 3mm EP S mmis A last message asks you to confirm the launch of the turning process It is time to start the lathe motor if it is not under control Validating this message starts the automatic process immediately If roughing passes have been parametered they are driven at the selected speed and will leave the finishing layer unmachined until the finishing pass is performed Once all passes have been completed or the whole process has been aborted a last message is displayed before closing the wind ow If every thing went well now you have another bishop for your crafts chessboard It may be slightly more complicated for knights 15 246 Gawain 2 axes turning CAD CAM KYNON MOTION PROGRAMMER GALAAD 3 O Automaton for axis controls If the main purpose of Galaad software is to perform milling and possibly turning operations the CNC machine that is used can roughly be defined as a more or less complicated set of motorised axes plus an electronic controller able to communicate with a specialised software application Hence we have several linear or rotary axes and input output signals the whole set being fully under tight control of your computer Consequently this gives the computer the abili
229. nd 2 and 9 inputs 14 1 7 14 or 1 or 7 The top frame indicates which inputs refer to the machine s peripheral devices such as the safety door or the test key keep in mind that you may enter several numbers in this edit zone and the tool sensor if any For certain numerical controllers that are unable to perform a continuous motion until the sensor input is triggered indicating a step becomes necessary Then the tool will descend by segments of a corresponding length until the sensor state changes and a dichotomic search for the trigger point will follow From this page you may manage output switching that corresponds to simple events such as a tool cooling system continuous or only when the tool is down an automatic workpiece clamp that will be activated from workpiece origin to the end of the automatic process a lamp for manual controls and a chip vacuum cleaner that stops at the end of the first pass the vacuum cleaner may of course be connected to the same output as the spindle to keep it active for all passes Obviously you can use more exotic peripherals on these events The bottom frame provides the facility to automatically abort machining if a designated input changes state In this case Galaad terminates the machining operation stops the spindle and returns it to the park position If you need something a little more drastic simply kill the power On the other hand you can arrange for a pause in the machining ope
230. nd 55 f the vertex to keep it in contact with the Hoa work The latter method is often T eae preferred as it helps to reduce burrs but ee the calculations can become rather heavy At the entry and exit points which can be in the same place if the object is closed you can add a lead in out distance so that the cutter enters and leaves the material a little way from the actual finished shape This prevents the work being marked when the tool descends into it something that can occur when the entry point is on the actual finished contour Galaad also allows you to manually add these points if you want to See the other commands in the menu command Machine Tool Compensation There are times when it is necessary to make a rough pass prior to making a finishing pass with the tool and feed speed specified for the object and which are displayed at bottom right of the dialogue box You can choose to use a different tool and feed speed for rough and specify how much material stock to leave on for removal by the finishing cutter Please note the tool sequence set when machining has priority over the rough finishing sequence so if you want to rough out with a different cutter remember to set the correct tool sequence to avoid putting the cart before the horse In fact if your design contains tool compensations with rough and finishing passes even before setting the sequence of tool cycles Galaad will remind you that a prior order
231. nd also non text objects To break the association it is necessary to use the menu command Edit Ungroup which provides a range of self explanatory methods If no object is currently selected the association icon switches to the reverse operation and lets you point to the targets Finally if all selected objects are already associated then clicking on the icon breaks the whole community O Protecting objects It can sometimes be useful to provide an object with a limited degree of protection to avoid leaving it alone on the torture table but still keeping it available for selection and position The protection function with its little shield allows only limited operations to be performed This feature prevents an object from being deleted or subject to any manipulation other than being moved or re scaled neither of which actually change the basic shape Galaad considers that these operations do not alter the actual geometry of the path and therefore allows them On the other hand the path can neither be cut incised reshaped nor have additional segments welded to it To unprotect an object use the menu command Edit Unprotect or click once more on the icon Note that protected items can be identified on the board with a small shield located near to their start point by using the menu command Display Trace Protection Advanced design techniques 5 57 GALAAD 3 O Anchoring objects Inevitably there wil
232. nd copper side Since the drilling diameter information exists in Gerber extended files automatic drilling process is possible with Percival The major problem with multiple drilling is that it requires one different tool for each series of drillsof a given diameterIf your CNC machine is fitted with an automatic tool changer you have less of a problem But if you do not have such equipment drilling a printed circuit board that contains many tools at different diameters may become tedious Even with pre calibrated tools you could spend more time mounting and releasing tools than the machine does completing its drilling cycles So Percival offers a simple solution since in terms of boring procedures less is more at least theoretically you can simply reserve one thin tool or perhaps a few thin tools which will be used for all drills Obviously the single or thinner tool must correspond to the smallest drillunless you accept that these drills are finally larger than expected The File Set drills command allows you to define the set of tools that will be used for all drilling operations on the circuit Percival printed circuit engraver 17 269 GALAAD 3 Drilling tools o i It is evident that a very Diiling diameters 0 25 0 70 73 81 mm small tool dedicated to vertical drilling operations will not be able to perform C Use for each drill the closest smaller tool with circular boring large boring circles
233. ndow the range being dependant on the CNC in use When this window opens the sliders are set at the default values that have been defined in the machine setup parameters at the bottom of the Speeds tab page You will remember that if required it is possible to click directly on the axis position LED display at the bottom and access a dialogue box to input a position directly from the keyboard In addition there are hidden commands namely a double click in the preview area which sends the axes to the corresponding X and Y position and the backspace key which goes back to the last position Motion speeds are those for manual sliders X BADOO mm 0 00 mm Z 560 00 mm You now know all the ways of driving the machine manually Advanced milling functions 7 99 GALAAD 3 Above the speed sliders there are four command buttons relating to functions specific to the machine ok 3s The first of these initiates a reference run to set the machine s L zero position I g The next button sends a direct command to start or stop the a gt spindle If the spindle rotation speed is under Zs x software control through a D A converter or a ERRE PWM signal the spindle speed dialogue box speed palala PELE em will pop up to provide full access to the ee Run tachometric control Bs The two buttons on the right are for a tool measurement 183 sensor The first allows its position to be defined then calibrates it wh
234. nds intact One final parameter link passes produces a short link between successive contours within the pocket so that the tool remains at the cut depth This is similar to zigzag hatching as described above and leads to shorter machining times This can become quite complicated when there are internal islands involved but Galaad will try to do its best The hatching function sometimes gives better results than the pocketing cycle in critical cases i e outline polygons that are made of very small and erratic vectors 6 84 Toolpaths GALAAD 3 O Connecting objects into one toolpath You have seen how the software can produce a contour or clear out an area defined by a single object The operation is somewhat more complicated when the path is made up of several different objects It will work if the objects are drawn or rearranged so that they are in the correct machining sequence Alternatively you could weld the objects together however there is a problem when welded together objects of a different nature lose their geometric properties and this makes it difficult to modify them at a later date For example take a design comprising an open aes circular arc followed by a simple polygon then a B zier curve which also links back to the arc to form a closed shape Here we have three independent objects two of which the arc and the B zier curve have intrinsic geometric properties but only a single path to cont
235. ng to build up a programmed path step by step So the process looks like Galaad s manual digitising function except that here you can access the supplementary commands of the machine and that up to five axes are available On the other hand the origin point becomes important Two concrete cases may occur depending on your application either your process handles a workpiece or a restricted volume which is located some where in the available machine space operations on workpieces or it applies to a global space with no local reference point pick amp place handling In the first case it is important to first define the origin pointof the programmed path Classically you just have to move the axes to the corresponding position and validate them with the XYZ OK green buttons Then all co ordinates indicated in the programme body for absolute movements MOVE TO ARC MOVE UNTIL and calls to programmed macro blocks or external files to INCLUDE will be considered relative to this origin point In extenso position 0 0 0 will correspond to the origin point which can be readjusted later so you do not have to shift programmed co ordinates If you have skipped this step and have already begun to encode movements simply position or reposition this origin it is not too late then call up the File Shift function to change all programmed coordinates in one operation The offset value for each axis will obviously be the position of t
236. ng that moves You can also set a position by double clicking directly in the preview window The co ordinates of the position will be shown by the LED display immediately below You can also enter a numerical position clicking on these LED displays or by pressing one of the X Y or Z keys on the keyboard xX BAROD mm Y 886 06 mm Z 886 06 mm However the aim is more than just to make the machine move along its axes as although Galaad may always know where the cutter head is it still has to be told where to find on the machine flatbed the workpiece that is going to be milled X gt Move the X and Y axes so that the spindle is positioned above the workpiece somewhere towards the middle Then use the Z down button to Learning to mill 3 43 GALAAD 3 lower the cutter until it is a small distance above the surface of the workpiece say 1 or 2 mm Go slowly cutters are expensive and accidents easily happen Next use the right mouse button or select the radio button for 1 10 mm steps and carefully lower the cutter to the position where it is just gently touching the top surface of the workpiece but not actually cutting into it You have now found the Z value of the workpiece origin Click on the green zo button to validate the Z position p Workpiece origin The Z position is then uploaded to Position x 12 y 2 z 62 the workpiece origin box Now reselect continuous movement and lift the cutt
237. nimum angle specified to reduce calculation and milling times Design Polygon Delete useless points Deletes all intermediate points along the length of a trajectory that have no effect on the object s shape and that are not visible Design Polygon Smooth Produces a new trajectory from the selected polygon by generating a B zier Curve that passes through its vertices allowing you to specify by how much the curve can deviate from the original polygon Design Polygon Create equivalent Beta Spline Produces a new trajectory from the selected polygon by generating a Beta Spline that uses the vertices from the original polygon as its control points Design Polygon Create equivalent Quadra Spline Produces a new 12 194 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 trajectory from the selected polygon by generating a Quadra Spline that uses the vertices from the original polygon as its control points Design Polygon Create equivalent B zier curve Produces a new trajectory from the selected polygon by generating a B zier Curve that passes through its vertices with Galaad calculating the shape from the original polygon Design Red segment Delete Deletes the segment selected in red and splits the object into two independent pieces Design Red segment Divide Adds one additional point along the length of the red selected segment at the position of your choice Design Arc Edit Opens a dialogue b
238. o tell Kay where the file zero point is on the raw workpiec o do so simply move the cutter head manually towards the co ordinates of the reference point one axis at a time Use the XY and Z motion buttons at top right When you click on a button the movement is continuous and stops when you release the mouse You can also use the keyboard arrows or even better the joystick to drive the axes If you wish to make a fixed length movement use the small radio buttons indicating lengths on the righthand side of the screen The movement stops when you release the command or the distance has been reached You may enter a numerical positionto fetch by clicking directly on LED displays at bottom of the screen or by pressing X Y or Z keys Xx BADOE mm Y 686 00 mm Z 986 06 mm However the goal of the workpiece origin intake is not just to make the machine move along its axes Natural ly Kay always knows the position of the cutter head but it still does not know where the toolpath is on the 7 machine bed X gt It is not necessary to position all axes simultaneously at the workpiece origin point To ease the procedure you can operate separate approaches for X Y and Z then validate the correct position for each axis individually For example you move the Z axis to the point that corresponds to the file zero Z Kay 3 D CNC driver 14 231 GALAAD 3 and once the machine is at the correct position click on the gree
239. o contact your distributor after first of all carefully checking that the model number is not marked somewhere possibly in the most inaccessible of places Entering the wrong machine type is not a serious problem Neither your machine nor your computer will be damaged In the worst case it will not respond and simply ignore you If in doubt give it a try Have the courage to try always have courage An important detail you have probably already installed a cable between your computer and your CNC If not Galaad could find it difficult to control the CNC Progress in wireless information technology is certainly rapid but it is unfortunately still necessary to have physical connection between most machines and Galaad Whilst on the subject certain machines require a special asymmetrical cable with hardware handshake loops at machine end of which the correct end must be connected to the PC and the other to the machine 3 38 Learning to mill GALAAD 3 To send information to this cable Galaad must at least know which communication port to use Most CNCs receive their instructions down a serial RS 232 cable direct or USB virtual but not all It is important to tell the software to which port the RS 232 cable is connected Usually the machine is connected on COM1 or COM2 serial port However take care as this is subject to seasonal variations and the whim of the installer All variations are found but generally the tendency is t
240. o distinct entries which allows you to directly choose the correct numerical model If your file looks wrong load it again using the other available Excellon format and all being well things should look better An Excellon file cannot represent a printed circuit not even its pads but only the drills If your electronic CAD application provides an export function under Gerber or Excellon please select Gerber which contains much more geometrical information O Extracting contours Isolating tracks and pads requires a preliminary calculation that defines path contours according to the end diameter of the cutter tool that will be used for the engraving task This calculation manages collisions should trajectories overlap This is the main purpose of Percival which from the geometrical information the Gerber file contains will be able to create isolation paths and even allow you to remove the copper from all empty zones using hatchwork These functions can be applied from Machine Calculate contours or hatches xi The distance between the tool ae axis path and the track or pad 20 gt POG 10 Pointe graver 03 17 conical 60 border is generally the engraving cevoo EJE o tool end radius But you may gt Distance from borders 0 144 mm reduce or expand that distance and k set the number of successive Extra contours around pads O Cancel contours if you wish to reinforce the isolation Number of successive con
241. o leave the cutting out until last otherwise you could end up with a piece that has just been cut out getting loose catching a cutter and getting ruined or breaking the cutter Consequently Galaad overrides the sequence defined in the design and places the objects into two groups engraving and cutting out however within each group the design sequence is followed 7 90 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 It is often useful to take a cut in more than one pass rather than just a single pass at the full depth by starting with a heavy rough cut followed by a light finishing pass Let us consider an object to be cut at a depth of 10 mm We could make a single cut at 10 mm or start with a rough cut of 9 9 mm and follow it with the final cut at the full depth The 1 pass will remove most of the material from the track machined and the 2 pass removes the 0 1 mm remaining material and any swarf remaining from the first pass During the 2 pass the cutter has little work to do and consequently the feed speed can be much higher Obviously this depends on the material Therefore you can choose to make two passes with objects that are not cut out For objects that are to be cut out there is no point in making a 2 pass since the cut depth is already equal to the thickness of the workpiece On the contrary you could make the cut a little deeper to ensure that the piece is cut out cleanly Depending on the material this extra dep
242. o put the CNC on COM1 If in doubt try this way first and if it does not work try putting it on COM2 etc If you have a USB to Serial converter it can appear below in the list for example COM3 COM4 COM5 or COME It is up to you to try and remember that trying won t cause collateral damage to the computer nor installed applications even those already running You will notice that the dialogue box for configuring the machine connection allows you to tinker with the baudrate of the connection If you have chosen an existing model from the list of known machines it is best not to meddle with it Using a higher communication speed will not make your CNC run any faster Possibly you have no machine connected to your PC In this case select No machine as model number and None as communication port The machine will be virtual but you can follow the logical machining process on the screen all the same Validate this dialogue box by clicking on OK if you have changed anything otherwise still click OK just in case O Guided tour of the launch pad Your board contains the wonders of your creative genius the parameters of your machine are correct the launch window is clear and your seat belt is fastened There is no longer any reason to delay the launch Authorisation for ignition and blast off is found in Machine Mill Houston clear for lift off A minor digression check that you have not forgotten to turn your machine on The a
243. ocked items in the active layer of the design Remember that locked items cannot be selected Edit Unlock Mouse select Allows you to unlock a single locked object by clicking on it with the mouse or select a group of objects by dragging the mouse over them Edit Ungroup All Ungroups all items in all groups of the active layer whether selected or not Bear in mind that the association of objects makes an automatic selection of the whole group when one is selected Edit Ungroup Selected objects Ungroups all items in any groups 12 188 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 selected in red Note that clicking on the yellow association icon when selected objects are already associated ungroups them if confirmed Edit Ungroup Mouse select Allows you to extract a single object from a group by clicking on it with the mouse Edit Ungroup Mouse selection and associates Allows you to break a group by clicking on one object with the mouse Edit Ungroup Select all grouped objects Selects all objects of the active layer that belong to a group Edit Unprotect All Unprotects all Protected objects whether selec ted or not Remember that protected objects can be moved and re sized but neither deleted nor reshaped in any way Edit Unprotect Selected objects Unprotects all protected objects that are selected in red Edit Unprotect Mouse select Allows you to unprotect protected objects b
244. ol can cut except 2 pass the cutting order of the objects or paths based on the design itself A complete machining operation is therefore a repetitive sequence comprising finding the workpiece origin then automatically cutting the part with a series of tools Each tool can have 1 pass 2 pass and cutting out pass When making 1 pass and cutting out pass it is necessary to adhere to the maximum cut depth that the tool can make Finally at each such depth the appropriate paths are machined Notwithstanding this a simple machi ning operation might only use a single cutter only have a single pass and a single peck We have already seen the tool sequence so let us return to the passes When you design an object in Galaad you can give it a depth If this depth is greater than the thickness of the material it is limited to this value and the object is marked as cut out In this case changing the thickness of the material will globally change the depths of objects to be cut out Therefore on the one hand we have objects to cut out and on the other objects to engrave or mill at a lesser depth For practical reasons Galaad schedules all cutting out operations last in the sequence for each tool The reason for this is simple when a piece is cut out there is every chance that it will not remain in place whilst other objects are being machined When the work comprises a mixture of milling and cutting out it is obviously better t
245. om aperture angle and 2 points constructs an open arc by defining its aperture angle and plotting its ends floating centre Arc from tangent constructs a circular arc tangent to the endpoint of a segment selected in red by plotting its end point Arc from 2 fixed tangents constructs a circular arc tangent to two segments one selected in red and one in blue if a solution exists Arc from 2 sliding tangents constructs a circular arc tangent to the axes of two segments one selected in red and one in blue Untrimmed fillet constructs a circular arc tangent to two lines by defining the radius and selecting them in green with the mouse Trimmed fillet as above except that the tangent lines are trimmed to the arc Are from 3 tangents constructs a circular arc tangent to three lines by selecting them in green with the mouse Radii constructs a group of radial lines by defining the inner amp outer enclosing circles and the start amp end angles with the cursor Gear wheel Rack constructs a simple rack or pinion by defining the key parameters and positioning the result with the cursor In case of a gear wheel a coaxial circle is added to the construction Epicyloid constructs an epicyclical curve within a circle defined with the cursor The shape can be built regardless of its size then extended or reduced Rosace constructs a shape with petals inside a circle defined with the cursor Spiral
246. on Filter toolpaths Sets the criteria for selecting compensated toolpaths Machine Tool compensation Advanced parameters Allows you to control how compensated toolpaths are produced The angle display threshold indicates the minimum angle of the trajectory that will show a circle to represent the tool The rolled angle threshold defines the minimum angle that will trigger an arc around the path point and the vector stepping The spacing percentage smoothes the path before calculations erasing the points that appear to be insignificant Machine Depths Summarise If there are no objects selected this displays a summary of all objects and their cut depths otherwise the list is limited to the selected objects only See also the rapid data palettes Machine Depths Change globally Allows the cut depth to be set to the same value for a group of selected objects Machine Feed speeds Summarise If there are no objects selected this displays a summary of all objects and their feed speeds otherwise the list is limited to the selected objects only See also the rapid data palettes Machine Feed speeds Change globally Allows the feed speed to be set to the same value for a group of selected objects Machine Duration calculates the theoretical time required to machine existing paths the cleared moves being ignored since they are related to machining parameters clearance height and finishing pass 12 184
247. on now let us look at the radio buttons which set the movement distance The default setting is continuous which results in an axis moving as long as the button remains depressed though it will obviously stop when it gets to the end of its journey Unless your machine parameters are incorrect the halt should be soft and gently decelerated An alternative and frequently easier way of finding the reference point is to move in predefined steps for which Galaad provides the necessary features These buttons limit the movement to the distance selected for example if you specify a distance of 1 mm then this distance will not be exceeded in each step If you release the button before the distance is reached then the motion will stop immediately So you can move the Z axis down by say 10 mm without fear of breaking the tool and having to constantly monitor the distance even if you had less than 10 mm clearance between the tool and the workpiece Of course the axis is also stopped in this mode before brutalising its ends Note that for diagonal movements the distance specified refers to the distance that each axis will move and not the length of the resulting path For example if a distance of 10 mm is specified and a diagonal move is made in the X and Y axes then the length of the actual path will be 14 142 mm if Pythagoras was right The speed at which manual movements take place is set by the little sliders situated on the left hand side of the wi
248. on process requiring you to manually control the machine and confirm each probed position The major interest of this function is to physically pick up one by one the co ordinates of a shape that has been placed on the machine The three available entities are the point the polyline and the 3 point arc Note that co ordinates are absolute the origin being the machine zero Newly digitised entities are appended to the file so that it is possible to resume a digitising process Machine Timers Allows you to control several machining timers that can be used to monitor time spent on different jobs Machine Material library Allows you to select the material 12 180 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 corresponding closest to the workpiece This information will only be used by Galaad to calculate the automatic feed speeds It is possible to weight these speeds from Parameters Automatic feed speeds Machine Tool library Opens a window showing the key parameters of the tools currently defined within the tool library and which are used in the current design Access is also available to set the full parameters The List button generates a text output of the list into a file named GALAAD TXT this can be printed from Windows Notepad which is opened automatically Machine Recent tools Browses a list of the tools used in the last five designs Machine Sequence Set as first Moves the selected object to the first posit
249. ontal axis about half way up the board and click to set the position This will be the axis around which the shape will be revolved Once again Galaad knows how to manage the situation itself and will rotate the curve through half a revolution to produce the mesh If you are unfortunate enough to trigger an error message telling you that the thickness of the material has been exceeded don t worry just accept it For now it is important to understand how the function works you can always work out for yourself any questions relating to thickness when you come to machine the thing It goes without saying that you can also do the same thing with different reference objects and they will produce an even more complex result As with all the other types of mesh avoid any doubling back as this will produce a mesh that will be difficult or impossible to machine The Sheaves mesh method follows the same construction technique as for designing flat sheaves between an object selected in red and another selected in blue Consequently it is first necessary to set the depths of each object Galaad will then be happy to create sheaves between the two and add the perpendicular mesh lines noting that the objects must both be selected in red this time The last type of mesh that can be produced with Galaad involves drawing a series of sections of the required result Gr
250. ool over a place where no sensors are there to stop it Otherwise you will have to do an emergency stop if you don t want to apologise to your broken tool You will notice that a small round blue icon appears in the preview window to indicate the XY position of the tool sensor which now has to be calibrated To do this bring the cutter back to the position where the work piece is normally found and using the tip of the cutter very accurately find the machine flatbed on which the workpiece normally sits You can also find the upper surface of the work but in this case the thickness of the material and its sticker will also have to be measured very accurately Here accuracy is extremely important Any error at this moment will interfere in all future tool length measures until you redo this calibration process Once this operation is complete click once again on the tool sensor setup button to run phase 2 and measure the vertical distance between the machine bed and the contact point on the sensor Indicate whether the Z position is the upper or lower surface of the workpiece Choose one of the two options and click on OK The software must now lower the tool A tomessucthwateetbeweenthewaiaecesnd Onto the tool sensor It already knows the the sensor position to measure the vertical distance between the sensor and the machine s bed 7 104 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 If you are sure about the XY position
251. ope it is the same An object is not modified by being selected though its colour temporarily changes to enhance it But it is possible to manipulate it with the help of the numerous tools that Galaad offers Let the fun begin 2 30 Learning to design GALAAD 3 The first and most obvious thing that can be done to a selected object is to delete it What could be easier Press the key or call Edit Delete The object and the selection matrix disappear You can undo this deletion using the key Backspace that is generally located just above the key on an ordinary keyboard or by calling Edit Undo or the corresponding icon of the top toolbar The second and no less obvious thing is that the object can be repositioned at another location Simply move the cursor to inside the selection frame click and hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse The selection frame follows your movements and so does the selected object itself if your computer is fast enough Release the mouse button to place the object in a new position The crosshairs show the position on the rulers and the co ordinates in the display zone are updated during this operation You may still use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the frame by steps of one unit on the rulers Now try clicking on one of the red median blocks of the selection frame with the left mouse button and whilst keeping it held down move the cursor then release the mouse button Th
252. orresponding instructions at the active line of the programme Important remember that the Galaad module allows you to export design paths to Kynon s programme formatThis can be very helpful when creating full graphics based paths Last of all you can enable disable all outputs under control by clicking their numbered rectangles and use the Refresh button or the Loop button cyclic refreshing to check input state changes O User defined buttons In addition to numbered outputs it is possible to define custom buttons that correspond to your peripheral devicesThese buttons are displayed at the bottom left of the Kynon window The Parameter User buttons function pops up a dialogue box in which you can give each button a title active and inactive colours Clicking directly on a user defined button will enable you to disable one or several outputs that are classically defined or will make a system call to an external executable programme Laser HeNe Nitrogen valve YAG laser Clamp 16 262 Kynon motion programmer PERCIVAL PRINTED CIRCUIT ENGRAVER GALAAD 3 O General features The Percival module has been added to the Galaad set to allow owners of a CNC machine to transform Gerber or Excellon files produced by electronic CAD software to drilling and engraving paths that isolate copper tracks This prototyping module is fully integrated into Galaad sharing the tool library and the CNC parameters I
253. ost of the parameters that PEET J J concern the InterpCNC card are F Siutasi wheres rune aga very classic The Start Stopfrequency and the acc l ration are determined by the mechanical characterisctics of your machine inertia power and gear factor of the motors Therefore it is not possible to give any typical values The motors enable output helps when the power stage provides an ENABLE input that cut the current when the machine is not moving This avoids motor overheating when not used This output can also be used with the other parameter output status at boot up that determines which output must be enabled when the card is powered on even before communicating with the PC A binary input can be reserved to check any error signal that feeds back from the power stage from positive end switches or from any generator If this input is enabled or disabled depending on your settings the CNC card stops motion immediately and Galaad aborts the milling process This input is an optional parameter The InterpCNC card manages itself the reference run provided that you have indicated the inputs that correspond to rapid approach switches XY near end switches for large machines and zero end switches with their trigger state normally open input set to enabled normally closed input set to disabled X and Y runs may be driven simultaneously in a diagonal line to save time with a final run of one axis at a time Mac
254. otections command I ve lost my password Don t panic Use Windows Explorer and find the file PASSWORD TXT in the folder where Galaad is installed double click on it and your password will be displayed The worst possible scenario is that you re install the software into the same folder where the existing parameters and any work already saved will not be lost 19 276 Frequently asked questions 20 TECHNICAL MATTERS GALAAD 3 O Command line arguments A relic from the DOS age it remains possible with Windows application software to give a starting programme some specific arguments Obviously no arguments are attached to the default icons associated with Galaad modules However you may add some indications provided that you have a special workspace configuration for example a workstation for CAD CAM tasks and another one for machining sessions under the operator s control These arguments may be passed manually from the Run command of the Windows Start menu or permanently integrated to the properties of a Galaad shortcut icon be it an original or a simple copy An argument is indicated in the command line after the programme call with an intermediate space character Several arguments may be passed one after another and their order has absolutely no impact If an argument must contain space characters then you have to put it globally between double quotes also all arguments are read regardless
255. other in red Note that this operation produces an independent object and not a continuous toolpath The type of the new object will depend on the existing objects and the depth will if required slope to join them The speed is taken from the object whose end point is selected in red Design Object Weld Joins the end point of the nearest object to another object whose end point is selected in red The resulting object will take its machining speed from the one containing the red point which is the master and will retain all of its properties This function also applies to a set of selected objects to weld their nearest ends together Note that certain objects cannot be welded together namely those that have been designed for use with dissimilar cutters protected objects and hatch lines Welding objects erases the geometrical properties of each object except if they are of the same nature and can be extended like B zier curves See also the reverse command Design Object Split 12 192 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 Design Object Split Breaks two objects that have previously been welded at a point selected in red provided they are not protected Both resulting parts lose their geometrical properties in the case of a curve To split a Quadra Spline or a B zier curve at a node and keep its properties you must edit its geometry right mouse click click on the node so it is given the focus then press the 4 key
256. our or clear out Galaad offers an interesting alternative to simply welding them together This will not affect the properties of the individual objects It integrates the different objects into a single toolpath by simply connecting the neighbouring ends of path components Select an end point of one of these objects and apply the menu command Machine Toolpath Connect objects and if all goes well the object will now be joined This will be confirmed if you try to select either of them individually you will now find that they act as a single entity However it is much quicker to apply this command globally by first selecting all of the objects Nothing seems to have changed except for the appearance of small dots at the connecting points where the objects join provided that the menu command Display Trace Paths Link points is ticked You now have one single continuous toolpath made from the group of shapes which can be handled as a single object This command also has a shortcut in the toolbar at the top of the 3 screen Toolpaths 6 85 GALAAD 3 Now that you have this continuous path it can be contoured hatched or pocketed just like a single object However please note that a toolpath may remain open as with our previous example as you can connect and contour along an open shape The aim is to define a macro object that Galaad will see as a single entity without having to resort to the less friendly
257. out going into detail note that you can also Locetionon workpiece soun west z use several other positions on the board besides the south west for the reference point Simply tell Galaad by selecting one from the combo box above the yellow start button When you confirm the position of the workpiece origin Galaad will then know the co ordinates and therefore the position of the origin but it is still necessary to tell Galaad where this is in relation to the workpiece e g at the south west corner Generally either the south west or the north west corners are used but there may be times when another position would be more appropriate The important point is that the origin used when designing is consistent with the origin set on the machine O Blast off The workpiece origin has been set for all three axes Galaad now knows all that it needs to know namely where to find the origin and where to find the material in relation to that point Fasten your seat belt lift off is imminent Now you can click on the big yellow button labelled Start Machining the one you ve been itching to press for ages The cutter is retracted if it is low and AN Erene setcater Pet am sindica 4futes one last message warns you that machining Pecks 2mm Rotate 8000 rpm gt is about to start This is your last chance to Lei chicken out Pressing OK starts the automatic machining process straight away If your spindle does not
258. outh then 400 mm north and 400 mm south then 800 mm north and 0 mm south Three successive 400 400 mm windows will have been applied to the workpiece You must obviously shift the workpiece very accurately when restarting cycles It is better not to define parcels that could split object trajectories if possible Even if Galaad manages this automatic splitting split paths might be visible on the workpiece It can be useful to machine selected objects only to avoid this problem 7 94 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 It is possible to machine the job repetitively in the same place This is for a production run of the same design and allows you to set a delay between each cycle You can specify whether the spindle should be left running and whether a reference run is required before each new part so that the machine zero is reset Ensure that you allow enough time to load the new parts and remove your hands unless you want a rough manicure Remark when the tool cycle is completed normally Galaad displays a message on the screen that allows you to redo the process This gives the same result as the repeated machining but with an unlimited pause as long as the operator doesn t acknowledge the message by clicking on redo Furthermore it is possible to link the redo option to a binary input of the machine for this refer to the machine parameters chapter Another type of repetition is serial machining which produces m
259. ow to define your machine from the Kay module Setting the machine parameters is exactly the same from the main module Galaad or from Kay and any changes that are made from a given module apply for allChanging one or several CNC parameters resets communication as soon as the changes are entered In the same way the Parameters Reopen communication command avoids 14 232 Kay 3 D CNC driver GALAAD 3 closing then restarting Kay in case of a break in communication for example a temporary switch off of the machine The initialisation process is then restarted The upload to CNC memory and save to CNC card options concern only machines that have a local memory which is able to store the whole toolpath and execute it locally either from the buffer memory or from a memory card or disk drive It is possible to trigger a system shutdown once the automatic milling process is complete In such case Kay is automatically closed once it has sent a system shutdown command to Windows Depending on its format and its generator programme the toolpath file may or may not contain commands that switch a coolant device on and off Obviously Kay switches off the coolant at the end of the process whether it is complete or not even if this switch off was not specified in the file In all cases the output that corresponds to the coolant system must have been defined in the machine parameters A repeated process can be xl defined so
260. owever it is more than likely that if you change the machine the spindle will be changed too If your tool head is actually a laser or water jet cutter or something equivalent you can only start it when the tool is feeding and switch it off when the tool is supposed to be rising This is related to special configurations that you have to check with your machine provider Predefined spindle models are controlled either through a binary output that is available on the controller hardware or via a dedicated communication port In both cases you can define associated parameters i e select an output and a binary state for switching on and off It is possible to select different outputs for one command for example the output n 12 2 actually corresponds to outputs n 12 then n 2 switched successively You may indicate up to four successive numbers for one digital switching This remains valid for all binary outputs Machine parameters 9 131 GALAAD 3 A delay can be set for the spindle run up that is the time it takes for it to reach full speed Galaad likes to use time efficiently and will make good use of this delay by moving the spindle to the start point of the first object It will then wait patiently if necessary for the spindle to finish accelerating before descending into the material If the spindle is activated during the feed phase only laser cutter water jet or liquid dispenser this delay occurs between cutter sw
261. ox allowing you to edit all features of the currently selected arc including centre point radius start and end angles etc Design Arc Select all arcs Selects all existing arcs that can be selected i e in the active layer and not locked Design Arc Clockwise Sets the direction of the currently selected arc as clockwise Design Arc Counter clockwise Sets the direction of the currently selected arc as counter clockwise Design Arc Close Closes the currently selected arc Design Arc Complementary Transforms the currently selected arc must be open into its complementary arc Design Arc Circular stepping Sets the vector stepping of arcs and ellipses i e the angle between two consecutive segments along the arc This stepping is reused when milling for arcs of ellipses or even arcs of circles if your machine does not make circular interpolation see CNC parameters Two automatic stepping modes are available that reduce the angle step depending on the diameter so you need not worry about the stepping whatever the arc size the greater the diameter the smaller the stepping angle Overview of menus 12 195 GALAAD 3 becomes and reciprocally The result is rounded to the floor value of the following scale 0 1 minimum 0 2 0 5 1 1 5 3 5 10 15 maximum The automatic mode with maximum vector arc distance is probably the most common in CAD applications
262. pauses Displays a small cross at the start point of all objects which require a machining pause A pause is a validation message that pops up on the screen before machining the object whilst the Overview of menus 12 203 GALAAD 3 process hangs in mid air The pause can be defined in the machining data depth speed tool dialogue box Display Trace Identifiers None Removes all object identifiers from the active layer see identifiers below Display Trace Identifiers Sequence Displays the machining sequence number at the start point of all objects on the active layer Display Trace Identifiers Tools Displays the tool number of all objects on the active layer Display Trace Identifiers Depths Displays the depth or range of depths for 3 D objects for all objects on the active layer Display Trace Identifiers Z Changes Displays the depth changes at the vertices of all 3 D objects on the active layer Display Trace Identifiers Feed speeds Displays the feed speeds of all objects on the active layer Display Path colour mode Monochrome Displays all objects on the active layer in black i e no distinction is made between different cutters In fact black is the default colour on a white background but can be changed from the Parameters Colours Primary paths entry Display Path colour mode Layer dependant Displays all objects in the colour set for their l
263. pen an edit box for the selected text so that it can be modified A double click on a text block does the same Auto incremented text allows you to write a block of text that will be incremented automatically during the milling process single or serial When starting the cycle all auto incremented texts are re viewed and you are prompted to give their current value Normal text that has already been written and selected can also become auto incremented using this icon Overview of design icons GALAAD 3 O Selections The selection tools cover a wide area from simply selecting anything not locked within the selection frame to specialised functions linked to the editing routines Select objects switches from design mode to selection default mode The cursor is shown as an arrow The key does the same to return from active design to selection mode Select all selects all objects on the current layer that are not locked The shortcut is the bar when already in selection mode Select equal depths selects all objects with the current machining depth or with the same depth as the object s currently selected See also the rapid data palettes with right mouse double click Filtered selection selects objects by their machining parameters or by selected graphical characteristics Swap red blue makes objects selected in red blue selected objects and vice versa Pressing the key while pointing an object or a
264. perator or if the process is aborted The AutoSkip argument allows you to skip these messages that remain active AUTOLOAD starts the machining process exactly like the above mentioned AutoStart argument except that the machining path is sent to the local memory of the machine with no run command Upload machining to the controller memory mode of the advanced machining options AUTOSTORE does the same as the AutoStart argument except that the upload goes to the controller s local disk drive w O Integration into an automated chain Galaad does not need external software from creation of the design to the automatic machining process Except the specific case of machines or spindles that cannot be driven directly and consequently require a call to an external driver it is therefore not necessary to include Galaad or part of it in a heterogeneous processing chain However and once this has been made clear it is still possible to find room for Galaad in a wider set in which case it will do its best to co operate with its workspace environment Obviously the commands that should be passed to Galaad can only be carried through the command line whose arguments have been mentioned above Considering that it is a programme 20 280 Technical matters GALAAD 3 that starts Galaad at a given moment in an automatic process chain the four main things that can be expected from Galaad are as follows 1 load a given GAL
265. plunges Display Trace Path Link points Displays a small point at the linking points of all objects that are part of a larger connected toolpath in the active layer Display Trace Path All points Displays a small point at the vertices of all objects on the active layer The design may become a bit overloaded especially with curves and the screen display slower Display Trace Tool compensation Feed in path Displays the feed in path of a compensated toolpath a circle represents the diameter of the cutter and a little arrow shows the path direction Display Trace Tool compensation Feed out path Displays the feed out path of a compensated toolpath a circle to represents the diameter of the cutter Display Trace Tool compensation Angles roughing trajectory Displays a circle representing the cutter diameter at all internal angles on the trace of a compensated roughing toolpath The threshold angle is set in Machining Tool compensation Advanced parameters Display Trace Tool compensation Angles finishing trajectory Displays a circle representing the cutter diameter at all internal angles on the trace of a compensated finishing toolpath Display Trace Protection Displays a small shield at the start point of all protected objects Display Trace Position anchors Displays a small anchor at the start point of all objects anchored to a position Display Trace Machining
266. polygon Note that you can select all the hatching within a design by using the filtered selection icon Toolpaths 6 83 GALAAD 3 Cancel the hatching operation or make use of the fact that the hatch lines are currently selected and simply delete it Now we will look at the pocketing cycles so find the menu command Design Pocketing cycles or use the shortcut icon easa b4 Once again the distance between aee M 7 adjacent passes is required this time ere ee pe We referred to as the stepover Direction A ee Angles 2 PA el E eae x The default value is set to half the equence C outtoin MV Avoid intem Is i For T rk partet A tool diameter but of course you can override this if you so wish Progressive Z lowering is a bit like the duplication function but with the addition that the depth is progressively lowered with each step towards the centre of the pocket producing a 3 D effect As with the contouring operation on which this function is based it is necessary to define the direction of the toolpath which is normally clockwise for internal paths Likewise you can also choose whether external corners on islands are rolled or sharp A pocket can be cut out in two basic ways from the inside to the outside or the other way around Galaad gives you the choice for that sequence In addition you also have the option to leave any internal is la
267. pted Therefore if you already have a 3 D CAD system that handles surfaces and volumes you need an intermediate module that can convert these shapes into vectors which define a final toolpath Only then can you mill these 3 D vectors using Galaad Galaad 3 is designed to be used on a PC running Windows 95 98 ME NT 4 2000 XP and whatever Microsoft has in store for our wonderful future It can drive a number of CNC machines with 2 3 4 or 5 axes either directly or by using an external driver programme It may also be encapsulated in a wider processing chain Consequently Galaad can be considered an open application We will see more later about the machines covered and details on how to configure them Additional programmes and icons appear when installing Galaad enabling you to make non indexed turning automatic motion programming printed circuit engraving or 3 D milling up to 5 axes These extra modules are described in the last chapters of this manual 12 Foreword GALAAD 3 O The User s Licence and working without a licence As with most software Galaad is the result of a lengthy development period and is therefore not freeware If you are reading this manual it is likely that you have legally obtained a copy together with a licence The terms of this licence concern you all the same as you may need to make authorised copies of the software The user licence for Galaad is always in the form of an electronic protect
268. r a USB port depending on the model If all is well there then it is likely that your operating system for example Windows NT4 2000 XP requires a special driver Run the program DONGLEDRIVER EXE that is on the Galaad CD ROM This program will detect the operating system and install the appropriate driver Can I still print with the dongle fitted Ofcourse The parallel port dongle is totally transparent to any peripheral equipment connected to it such as printers external disks scanners etc However except for educational or hobby licences it is not necessary to permanently leave the key on the PC when you plug it in the licence is enabled for one month then you can remove it Do not lose it though as it will not be provided separately Galaad refuses to drive my machine If your machine doesn t react at all when the software tries to communicate with it it is most likely that the connection to it is faulty or that the CNC parameters are not configured correctly Start by checking that you selected the correct model of CNC when setting up Galaad If this is OK check that the interconnecting cable is plugged in the correct way round and that it is in the correct port it could be worth trying the other ports Next check the RS232 parameters are correct especially the baud rate assuming that it is a serial connection and try different baud rates Finally just check that it is switched on Galaad can drive my machine but there
269. r export DEM is the 3 D3 D Cartesian wire mesh format for topographic co ordinates that are constructed from satellite pictures through the ISTAR stereoscopic system This specialised format is not available for export MNT is a 3 D3 D format for topographic applications containing clouds of points with XYZ co ordinates in Lambert projection Galaad is able to construct a non Cartesian wiremesh from these points This format is also available for export from all XYZ co ordinates on the board File Export Saves the current design as a standard vector format for use with another software package The list of formats comprises those mentioned above when it has been indicated that they are also available for export plus the following KYN is the text format of programming files in the Kynon module which allows you to create a programmed path from the Galaad design module Only motion commands will be exported CM3 is the vector format for Roland DG CAMM 3 or MDX engraving machines which accept 3 D3 D interpolations 12 178 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 PYS is the 2 D graphics format for Pyxis laser engraving machines and consists of a series of XY vectors with red and blue crosses being the origin and orientation direction for each layer C is a text format that reuses the MoveTo LineTo instructions of a programming language based on the same syntax basis as the C language which is rather easy to transcode into
270. r margin Then the contact point is approached with the sensor The milling depth will be relative to this Z point Contact is seeked until the theoretical surface plus the lower margin is reached The tool will not plunge any lower The main frame has been designed for automaticians It allows you to switch outputs during the different milling phases This covers the whole milling process from start to finish including repeated events i e drilling feeding and lift up You may switch outputs on these events and switch them back or keep them as they are add pauses or wait for input changes The two lines At feeding start and At feeding end add intermediate switching points on the path positions which are calculated from the feed speed This can be useful for glue dispensing O Local manual drive If your machine offers a xl dashboard that is connected M Allow manual dive from local inputs to the binary inputs then IZ Input tfe enabled gt tiogers 2 0k Stat you may assign functions to alo ME N p F Input f6 enabled tiogers movez l these inputs and Galaad will Femili eaa A e eee permanently scan inputs EAEE when in manual control T input sO A ensbed z t Usual commands are motion T Input 2 eec 0 fenabled gt tri Step 7 of axes and miscellaneous m ees paom Sepa id T Input 2 fenabled triggers ok y Cancel control items for all manual w e I Inputa E E enablec triggers Y ok
271. ration when an input 9 144 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 changes state in which case machining will be resumed when the input is returned to its original state However it is not possible to continuously quiz most controllers regarding the state of their inputs during normal operation so these events are only checked when the tool is retracted Galaad checks the state of the inputs just before plunging the tool into the work hence it is not possible to interrupt the operation when the tool is down in an active cutting position A final input can be checked this time when the tool cycle has ended normally to redo the same process automatically when the input is triggered This input may be connected to a button in front of the machine that avoids going back to the keyboard or mouse O Extended inputs outputs Galaad manages more input output related events than appear on the standard parameter page When you click on the Extended inputs outputs button a large window appears on the screen Extended inputs outputs enbe erabe disable Ei disable gt Machine parameters 9 145 GALAAD 3 If the workpiece thickness is varied it is no less possible to obtain depths that become relative to the actual position of the top surface that has first been touched by a probing system For any path to be drilled or milled the tool first descends to the theoretical position of the top surface minus the uppe
272. re when you are fully familiar with the use of this feature Consequently we are not going to return to the now well known tool sequence which covers the smaller part of this window But before looking at the numerous parameters on the right let us quickly review the buttons that control the position of a tool after it has completed a machining cycle 7 88 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 Click on the Tool Change button A small dialogue box will appear to Remain at curent position Fetch a fixed position allow the tool change position to be 1 specified Unless told differently this dyes co position is given in absolute co M ZPestion 1 mm ordinates relative to the machine s A aie ig pn physical datum point It represents the ee position where the cutter is sent at the Rea gaat Ween Cancel end of a machining cycle when another Speed mms tool has to be loaded If you do not want the tool to move from its position at the end of a cycle that is directly above the exit point of the last object machined simply select the option to remain at the current position Otherwise you need to enter the co ordinates for each axis Note that if you enter a value beyond the physical travel of an axis obviously Galaad may find it a little difficult to comply with your instructions Usually the tool change position is chosen to provide easy access to the spindle for the operator which is
273. redo the same operation using the same key to validate another point in case of error or even cancel it by making an ordinary point Move the cursor and highlight a new red point at another location and press the other or X key the one you have not used yet Galaad will automatically validate the position of the point that corresponds to this couple of X and Y co ordinates that were temporarily stored O Handling objects Let us stop scribbling now and see what can be done with objects that have been previously created Move the cursor to the left and click on the yellow selection icon ignoring the others that fly out The cursor returns to a white arrow and the last object drawn is framed by a matrix of eight red blocks Try clicking on other objects here and there on the board the red frame moves from one to another the outline of the object also turns red for ease of identification The design item within the red frame is then said to be a selected object an expression which will be used very often in this manual This point is fundamental With Galaad it is necessary to first select an object and then specify the action that will be applied to it With some other CAD software exactly the opposite is true and the action is specified first then the target object must be pointed Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages which we are not going to discuss here If you are already familiar with a method let us h
274. remaining after a roughing pass which will be removed by the finishing pass Surfacing operation to clean up the top surface of a piece of material so that it is parallel to the X Y plane of the machine Tool any cutter including slot drill end mill router engraving tool etc Tool Centre vertical axis around which the tool rotates Tool Cycle complete machining operation for one tool Glossary of terms 21 289 GALAAD 3 Tool Sensor device for automatically measuring the length of a cutter mounted in the spindle Tool shank parallel portion of the tool that does not cut and is held by the collet in the spindle Visual an object used in the construction of the design but not machined Workpiece Origin reference point on the workpiece to which all positions and moves are referred 21 290 Glossary of terms Printed in Nice by Fac Copies Office D ocument www FacCopies fr
275. rkstation to a removable or network disk File Transfer disk Disk location Defines the drive amp directory path to the removable or network disk for fast transfers from one workstation to another Default location points to the root directory of floppy disk drive A but you may indicate any local virtual or distant drive and any existing directory provided that you have write access when you want to send your designs or tool library Beware that a network disk unit may have different letters or names seen from different workstations File Material dimensions Displays a dialogue box allowing the dimensions of the raw material to be entered If you have already drawn Overview of menus 12 175 GALAAD 3 objects you cannot specify dimensions that leave any of them outside the board File Global scale Increases or decreases the dimensions of both the raw material and the design Consequently screen display does not vary File Comment Allows you to add a comment to the design in the top left of the screen This remains visible irrespective of the magnification unless it is turned off with Display Comment It is not machined File Elapsed time Shows the time spent working on the design timer located at lower left hand corner of the screen and allows you to pause or reset the timer Every new active design operation restarts the timer for three minutes File Print Defines the print parameter
276. rovided that your controller has a local memory buffer that is enabled for Galaad The difference is that Galaad does not drive drilling operations one drill at a time when there are successive drills in the machining sequence but loads the local memory buffer with several drilling operations If your machine controller is able to receive the following commands while it is executing the previous ones RM SM Motion Solectro or TechLF then transmission delays are masked and you save this time Real time operations are better on other machines 9 140 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 To compensate for a mechanical error caused by the X and Y axes not being accurately at a right angle to each other you can use the XY orthogonal correction factor after measuring the error The following example explains how Use the machine to cut out a large rectangle from any old cheap material using a cylindrical cutter Take a set square and test the corners looking for a gap or just daylight between the square and the material If you see a gap it is because the X and Y axes on your machine are not perpendicular In other words it machines a parallelogram when you program a rectangle After trying a large hammer consider the possibility that Galaad might be able to treat the problem homeopathically and effectively Accurately measure the gap G between the square and the material as far from the corner as possible and also
277. rts In the case of an open shape that is intersected only once the shortest piece is deleted However with open shapes that are intersected more than once or with closed shapes the pieces between the end points and the first points of intersection are removed The trimming selected objects are not affected The link trim icon in the Polylines series appears to be easier in most cases but this function allows you to trim several objects in a single operation Design Trim Selected objects only As above except that only the selected objects are affected i e they are all cut and trimmed Warning the sequence affects the result Design Trim Blue segment at red segment Cuts a blue segment at the point where it is intersected by a red segment and removes the shortest part of the blue segment Design Trim Red segment at blue segment Cuts a red segment at the point where it is intersected by a blue segment and removes the shortest part of the red segment Design Trim Red and blue segments at intersection Cuts both a red and a blue segment at the point of intersection and removes the shortest parts of both segments Overview of menus 12 197 GALAAD 3 Design Chamfer Chamfers the vertex of a polygon that is selected in red alternatively all the vertices can be chamfered if the whole object is selected Several chamfering methods are available plus a filtering function for the vertices of the selected o
278. s a 360 arc closed circle by plotting its centre and a point on its circumference that will become the start end point Here again pressing the key when setting the start point position applies the polar magnetic grid Inscribed constructs a 360 arc circle by defining one of its diagonals of the Cartesian rectangle that inscribes it The start point is set at 0 according to the trigonometric reference 3 o clock Three points circle constructs a 360 arc circle by plotting three points on its circumference Ellipse constructs an open Cartesian ellipse by defining its centre X and Y radii and start and end points To draw a closed ellipse right mouse click or press the key Inscribed ellipse constructs an open Cartesian ellipse by defining one of the diagonals of its inscribing rectangle then its end points Pie sector constructs an open Cartesian ellipse as above then closes it by drawing the radii from the start and end points Are from 3 points end point last constructs an open arc by plotting the start point an intermediate point and the end point Arc from 3 points intermediate point last constructs a circular arc by plotting the start point the end point and an intermediate point Arc from centre and aperture angle constructs an open arc by plotting its centre its start point and its end point direction Overview of design icons GALAAD 3 gt ebb DA gt A A Arc fr
279. s all the features and functionality of the professional version nothing has been removed However the educational licence does restrict the use of Galaad to training purposes only and specifically prevents it from being used to manufacture items for commercial gain Which machines can Galaad drive The machine parameter dialogue box contains a list of machines that Galaad can control directly without an additional post processor If your machine is not in the list Galaad will not be able to control it but could possibly be used to prepare your machining file with the aid of an external post processor How do I load files produced by other software The easiest method is to Copy and Paste but Galaad can also import a variety of files saved or exported by other software packages Import filters are numerous and include very specialised formats 19 274 Frequently asked questions GALAAD 3 I cannot import a file Although the file may appear to be in a format listed in Galaad s import filter it is possible that your file is in the manufacturers own version that contains enhanced features beyond the common standard to which Galaad has been written Try converting the file to a different format and importing that or import it into a different software then copy and paste it into Galaad Galaad does not detect the licence key Check that the dongle is plugged into the computer s parallel port the printer port o
280. s and prints the current design Please note that if the printout scale is left undefined Scale edit zone not ticked or scaling factor set to auto or empty then Galaad will try to fill up the whole available space on the paper All other printout parameters remain memorised including general identification data A custom page frame can be defined from the Frame tab of the printout dialogue box this frame will be located at the bottom right corner of the page and will display the identification texts that will be written at corresponding positions title date reference etc using preset styles The custom frame must be drawn separately and saved under Windows Enhanced Meta File EMF vector format or simple bitmap image BMP Therefore you can add your logo or any unchanged information to this frame design Galaad will stretch or compress the custom frame so that it matches the predefined frame dimensions XY position of the identification texts are relative to the top left corner of the custom frame So you ll probably waste a bit of paper before it looks perfect File Import Loads a design saved by another software package as a standard 2 D 22 D or 3 D vector format points lines arcs curves etc but neither images nor 3 D surfaces This design file is presumed to have been made by another CAD application and saved under a standard exchange format Galaad offers quite a large number of import export formats which shoul
281. s how you can define a workpiece originfor an automatic process In fact Kynon can ignore this origin point if there is no workpiece in classical terms Chapter 9 Machine parameters at last which should tell you all the possible ways to setup your CNC configuration and especially the gear factors and communication port The right hand side of the screen is now presumed to be known and the machine correctly defined but you may still play with the parameters At start up Kynon first opens the dialogue with the machine possibly resetting the axes with a reference run It then becomes possible to play with the buttons It is worth mentioning that you may enable disable an output by clicking directly on its corresponding number with the mouse This should help you check the reactions of the peripheral devices that you have connected to the machine Concerning inputs no realtime reading function is possible but you can display input statesby clicking on the Refresh button or make a cyclic reading by enabling the Loop button click again to disable If you have connected a peripheral that produces a signal to be monitored and you wish to check the number of the corresponding input or the correct electrical wiring of the device this cyclic reading may be very helpful Please note that Kynon can manage from 1 to 5 axesdepending on the capabilities of your CNC machine Classically XYZ axes are considered linear and AB are considered rotary a
282. s is available and consequently you must redefine the geo metrical properties of these diaphragms once the file is loaded i e for each Percival printed circuit engraver 17 265 GALAAD 3 set of pads indicate the shape and the size of the diaphragm and even the drill diameter if necessary and indicate for each set of tracks the size of the diaphragm which corresponds to the track width This must be done for each diaphragm referenced in the open file xi xl Number Shape Size Drill OK ok a2 mm 0 701 mm Number EM gt lt gt width 0 508 mm GES z lt gt Circle 7 2 032 x2 Cancel Apply this width to all tracks Apply to all pads _ Shape Size Drill Percival memorises your indications for the next file so it is not necessary to redefine pad and track diaphragms at anytime if your electronic CAD application always reuses the same references Obviously this task has no object if you are using the Gerber RS274 X format whose heading indications are picked up and immediately applied However as soon as the file is loaded if a diaphragm that is used in the file is not referenced then Percival displays a dialogue box which allows you to complete the missing references So in an extended Gerber file it is possible to get not only the geometrical design information about pads and tracks but also the drilling diameters of pads for soldering traditional components component
283. s outputs of the machine without motion This function is useful for checking the electrical connections See also Machine 12 212 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 Manual control command Parameters Machine External driver Allows you to use a milling or CNC upload programme that is not part of Galaad See the end of chapter Machine parameters Parameters Machine Post processor Defines a file format for export for a generic numerical controller or for an external driver that uses a parti cular language unknown to Galaad All usual syntaxes are possible with predefined canvas for the most common Parameters Auto save Allows you to set the period of time between each auto save of the current design Parameters New file defaults Allows you to define the default new file settings Parameters Rapid depth changes Allows you to determine the change in depth when using the or Ctr hotkeys Parameters Automatic feed speeds Opens the dialogue box which allows you to change the settings of automatically calculated feed speeds Parameters Save parameters Allows you to save the current set of parameters environment restrictions CNC tools under a given name Parameters Load parameters Allows you to fully or partially load a set of parameters previously saved using the above function Parameters Transfer disk Send parameters Downloads the full set of parameters currently
284. s should be identical it is more than probable that the set of input output commands should differ But it is up to you to manage these processes depending on the technical information you have Automatic tool changer x Toh Cancel j E i AV gt Offset XO yj zjo mm JV Enable automatic change for that tool Run live test m Pick up sequence m Parking sequence MOVE TO 210 H IV Then perform an automatic measurement on the sensor Do not park tool if it is the last one in the cycle Available commands MOVE TO X12 34 56 78 29 01 gt Move to indicated XYZ position using interpolated motion V Z optional MOVE REL amp 1 23 4 56 gt Perform relative motion from current position SPEED 5 gt Motion speed for MOVE TO MOVE REL and MOVE UNTIL OUTPUT 1 ON gt Enable binary output 1 OFF to disable gt Set analog output to 255 PWM 64 2 gt Set PWM signal to 64 2 PAUSE 1000 gt Make a pause no operations during 1000 milliseconds WAIT UNTIL INPUT 1 ON gt Wait until binary input 1 gets enabled OFF for disabled MOVE UNTIL INPUT 1 ON 212 34 STEP 0 1 gt Move Z to position with steps of 0 1 mm but stop if input 1 gets enabled HOME 2 gt Drive a reference run for the given axis one single axis at a time RUN MyProgram exe Arg Arg2 gt Run extemal program with arguments and wait until program exits START MyProgram exe Arg
285. search for Galaad3 in its CD ROM drive and double click on the programme DongleDriver exe This will load and install the appropriate driver to allow Galaad to communicate with the dongle key Under certain configurations of Windows 95 98 ME and especially when exotic peripherals are connected to the parallel port it is also necessary to install the driver If you have the USB version of the licence key then the driver is required anyway Run the above mentioned programme if you did not allow it to install automatically Note that Windows XP is able to detect the USB dongle key automatically when it is plugged in and install its own driver 1 20 Installation GALAAD 3 O The Lay of the Land Remember that installation does not add any files other than to its own folder except for the shortcuts on the desktop and in the Start menu These are the classic LNK files destroyed by Windows when you delete the shortcuts Additionally the only modification to the Windows Registry is the association of GAL design files and GLI object libraries files with Galaad which allows it to be started by double clicking on GAL File type files This association also adds the Galaad mini icon to GAL files visible in Explorer and Windows dialogue boxes used for file handling thus simplifying file identification The above adds a grand total of three little keys to the Registry O Moving Galaad If necessary it is possible to move
286. segment or a point selects it directly in blue Lock selection locks all objects selected in red which stops them being selected thereby preventing any changes being made to them CNA combination does the same but then requires the key to return to normal selection mode Select range of points allows two or more points to be selected from one or more groups of points and manipulated as a single group Please refer to the chapter Advanced design techniques Associate objects groups together all objects currently selected in red so that they can be handled as a single item in future If all selected objects are already associated then Galaad asks if you want to ungroup them without going via the Edit menu Overview of design icons 11 165 GALAAD 3 11 166 Protect objects protects all objects selected in red which prevents deletion and changes made to their shape If all selected objects are already protected then Galaad asks if you want to unprotect them without going via the Edit menu Anchor absolute anchors all objects selected in red to their current position on the board They can however be re scaled If all selected objects are already anchored then Galaad asks if you want to free them without going via the Edit menu Anchor relative ties together two or more objects selected in red so that they maintain their relative position and act as a group If all selec
287. selected in green These points may belong to different objects Design Object Display ISO G code Displays a simple G code program for the selected object s to assist in checking the co ordinates This is read only trying to modify the code is pointless Overview of menus 12 193 GALAAD 3 Design Polygon Link vertices Produces a polyline from a group of selected points by drawing a series of connected lines between the points in the order in which they were originally drawn The point co ordinates remain unchanged See also the reverse function below Design Polygon Unlink vertices Produces a series of points at the vertices of a selected polygon by removing the segments connecting them See also the reverse function above Design Polygon Set steps Adds additional points along the trajectory of the selected polygon by linear interpolation based on the maximum distance between consecutive points input by you Design Polygon Increase steps Adds additional points along the trajectory of the selected polygon by linear interpolation based on the multi plication factor input by you Design Polygon Reduce steps Deletes points from the selected polygon based on the reduction factor input by you and a filter that controls the minimum size of angle that can safely be removed Design Polygon Space steps Deletes points that are less than the minimum distance specified and less than the mi
288. sing control Though the purpose of the Kynon module is not focused on milling processes the SPINDLE command is available with the same external calling and speed setting capabilities as in Galaad The instructions therefore include rotation speed and direction arguments that may not apply to your machine depending on its type The PAUSE command allows you to suspend the process during a given time period The unit is the second and you may naturally use a decimal value In direct mode Kynon s basic time unit is the millisecond and it is not possible to set a smaller value In buffer mode asynchronous upload to local memory this depends on the capabilities of your numerical controller At last the WAIT UNTIL instruction suspends the process until an input state changes with a possible timeout lapse The operator can manually skip to the next instruction without waiting for the input to be triggered by pressing the key In such case no message is displayed on the screen but the current instruction line blinks so the operator knows the process is suspended 16 256 Kynon motion programmer GALAAD 3 0O Jump commands In any civilised programmable sequence it must be possible to break the linearity of the process and skip instructions imperatively or depending on certain conditions Obviously Kynon provides such possibilities with its jumping instructions Before we go further please keep in mind that it is always
289. smutation Are tangent constructs a line between an arc and a point defined by yourself If a segment is selected in red a dialogue box offers the possibility to refer to it Trimmed arc tangent as above but also trims the arc to the point of intersection once validated The part of the arc to be deleted has to be selected Double arc tangent constructs a line tangent to two arcs to be selected in green Double arc tangent with single trim as above but also trims the first arc selected to the point of intersection Double arc tangent with double trim as above but also trims both arcs to the point of intersection Overview of design icons GALAAD 3 O Polylines and curves The small family of polyline shapes includes basic polygons as well as some non circular mathematical curves and also mixtures of the two and possible links Remember that when constructing shapes with many points the right mouse button is used to plot the last node or the key Polygon constructs a simple polyline by successively plotting its vertices All position snaps are valid and pressing the key whilst plotting applies the polar magnetic grid Closed polygon as above but closes the polygon automatically if you dare to leave it open R IR Beta Spline constructs a Non Uniform Rational Beta Spline by plotting the control points which can then be manipulated Ne Quadra Spline constructs a curve with joined
290. splays version and copyright information This dialogue box also provides information about your installed version for potential updates and indicates the status of your licence 12 214 Overview of menus 13 SPECIAL FUNCTIONS GALAAD 3 This chapter is aimed at seasoned users who relish overcoming the many obstacles and technical pitfalls present in order to wring the last drop out of the software This will expose a few of the software s speciality functions which will push it to the limit It is expected that the vast majority of users will be happier to simply skip this chapter Here the Number reigns supreme O Got a head for maths No doubt you have noticed the Equation command hidden at the bottom of the Design menu This will project you into the frozen and sophisticated universe of applied maths With the help of a few equations you can create a 2 D or a 3 D trajectory from a polynomial Set the dimensions of a new board to 100 60 30 mm and use the Design Equation Simple y f x command Now enter the equation Y 20 SIN 3 6 X in the appropriate text box leaving the default values for X varying from 0 to 100 in steps of 1 but set Yo 30 mm Click on the OK button and a Sine curve with a period of one pops up like a jack in a box This could have been produced more easily by using the design icon for this purpose The SIN function uses degrees and not radians the result of w
291. ss with Parameters Colours 5 70 Advanced design techniques 6 TOOLPATHS GALAAD 3 O Tool parameters Galaad uses a tool library containing up to 50 different cutters Filling this library is one of the first jobs that should be done after the software has been installed The number and type of cutters will depend on how you intend using your machine start by filling it with the cutters that you wish to use right now and simply leave the rest empty until you wish to add more tools What is important is that the tools you actually mount below the spindle of your machine correspond exactly to those you enter into Galaad s tool library A reliable old method is to lay out your tools in a numbered rack and ensure that the numbers correspond to those in Galaad s tool library In this way you can rapidly find the references for each tool used and also quickly lay your hands on the cutter that Galaad asks you to load Having said that you can also add the name of your choice to each cutter this will be displayed beside the cutter number Note that in the library a tool number can be left unused even between two assigned numbers Tool numbers are simply identifiers and have no numerical meaning except for in a sorted listing Tool library management relies on two separate commands The first one acces p Sveton ond es tone sible from Machine Mi O2 O23 O4 Os Os O7 Os Os On i Ou 0O12 01 0u O15 Ot O1 O18 O13
292. st Galaad may have left on your computer Open Windows Explorer and select the Folder options command generally found in the Tool menu depending on your Windows version then File types page Seek for the GAL GAW and GLI extensions and remove them with the Delete button A greyed button means that the key is already erased The next boot of Windows will clean this up for good 1 22 Installation 2 LEARNING TO DESIGN SALAAD 3 O Contact On startup Galaad displays a small graphic image to keep your attention whilst the configuration files are loading If you have a restricted user licence or none at all a small message is then displayed reminding you of the terms of use The window shown below is the main design and control screen that you will soon become more familiar with X Galaad GALAAD 3 lo my File Machine Edit Design Display Text Parameters Help EC SH lc Salil 1b S al mps e Version 3 14 0205 Pro x 59 07 y10 mm fiii x 27 56 y35 mm mlx 1338 y 15 mm 44 55mm 51 8 k Grid 1x1 mm o 50bj 1793 QQ t 01 vimm i737 227mm Bel auto F 100 x 60 x 30 mm E At first sight it may seem that there is a great deal here but you will soon get to know your way around Each icon and each display area has its particular use In addition you can easily pick up the key functions available in the menus and design icons All will be clarified later o
293. ster way to access the details of individual cutters is via the menu command Parameters Tools This pops Rubout Delete lt lt Insert gt gt Delete all Z up a dialogue box which allows Peer all 50 tools in the library to be defined one by one simply by scrolling through the Tool number which can be found in the top left hand corner of the window When you are happy with the changes and new tool definitions click on OK which Tool parameters gt Identification Tool number Colour Name FR 10 basic slot cutter J Diet fF mo Wok Profile cylindrical gt Angle H Ak Minimum diameter at bottom of cone mm y Number of flutes 4 Rotation 4000 rpm Maximum depth per pass 2 mm Wu m Drilling cycles Preliminary plotting L mm gt Speed i mms Plunge speed 50 of feed speed orlockedto mm s Deburring depth Ei mm validates all changes including Chipbreaking depth mm retract mm masked ones otherwise click on Statistics A Actual machining time 24 59 18 s Total distance 460 225 mm Cancel to retain the previous are A settings Note selecting a tool to modify its parameters will neither change the default tool nor the tool used by any selected objects The tool library is completely independent of any design The cut depth and feed speed largely depend upon the physical characteristics of the tool as well as the hardness of t
294. t TOTO In addition the teacher has designated the workgroup as 4B Using anetwork 10 153 GALAAD 3 This workgroup name not previously mentioned is set by the Parameters Net work Workgroup command The dialogue gerran hl al box asks for a name and offers a list of those Cancel E previously used One or more students can work on TOTO and run Galaad with their workspace parameters loaded from E GALAAD They will open and modify the design which can then be saved under the name DESIGN for example Given that their restrictions only allow them access to the hard disk on the master computer their work will be saved to the master folder E GALAAD PUBLIC 4B TOTO DESIGN GAL However the teacher will collect all the design files of that workgroup into his master folder CAGALAAD PUBLIC 4B with each sub folder being allocated to a workgroup If the workgroup changes for example from 4B to 3A the design from workstation TOTO will be saved into folder E GALAAD PUBLIC 3A TOTO Therefore there will be no confusion between the different groups using the same workstation To check the work produced by the students working on the workstation TOTO the teacher opens their designs in the corresponding sub directory They can be corrected or marked ready for the next session Most importantly he can open them to start the machining operation At the end of the year the teacher tidies up by deleting fol
295. t and places the lowest depth upwards Design 3 D effects Flip X and Z planes Exchanges the X and Z co ordinates of the selected object Design 3 D effects Flip Y end Z planes Exchanges the Y and Z co ordinates of the selected object 12 200 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 Design 3 D effects Frame Z trajectory Sets a lower and upper limit on the depths of the selected object Design 3 D effects Project onto tilted plane Increases the depths of points on the route of the selected object according to the value of its XY co ordinate The tilted plane is XZ or YZ relative depths are kept Design 3 D effects Apply onto background Changes the depths of the selected objects depending on neighbouring objects for example to apply text onto an existing wiremesh The depths of the selected object are added to the neighbouring depths with a weight factor that depends on the XY dis tance Design 3 D effects Follow a continuous slope Increases in a regular fashion the depths of the points on the route of the selected object between its point of departure and its point of arrival Design 3 D effects Follow blue trace slope Along its Y trajectory Increases or decreases the depths of points along the route of the selected object following the relative Y co ordinates of the line of the object selected in blue Once again the XY path of the blue object is used as a reference to apply depth varia
296. t design Display Visual dimensions Delete all Deletes all visual dimensions that have been added to the current design Display Unselect all Removes all selections objects segments points The shortcut key is ESJ Esc Changing active layers does the same except if you use the rapid data palette Display Set pointer Sets the size and format of the design cursor Display Calculator Opens the Windows calculator provided that it is located in its usual system folder Display Refresh Rebuilds the current design The hotkey for this function is Ctrl Space Overview of menus 12 209 GALAAD 3 O Text menu Text Font style Opens the text style dialogue box font size spacing shading etc Note Kerning controls the spacing between two adjacent letters taking their shape into account an A followed by a V or an L followed by a T etc Text Arrange letters Allows letters to be selected individually and positioned independently from the rest of the text Movement from one letter to the next is done with the help of the tab key or with the shift key to reverse direction This command can also be found in the Text series design icons Text Edit Places a selected block of text into an edit window to allow you to both edit the text and change the alignment This command can also be found in the Text series of design icons or from a double click on a block of text
297. t icons in that group will be displayed in the upper matrix and in the default layout Simply drag and drop the icons required into the lower matrix choosing which square to place it in This feature can also be used to rearrange the standard placing to suit your personal preference Galaad does not suffer from agoraphobia and consequently insists that you do not leave any squares empty in your personal icon matrix Moreover it will notice this immediately and mark any offending squares in red If you try to leave any squares empty and consequently red Galaad will object and refuse to accept that layout The result must always be a complete rectangle without any empty squares Because of this you can arrange the icons in a variety of formats and may have to add an extra icon perhaps the one you hate the least to complete the rectangle When you are happy with an arrangement simply move on to the next item or press OK if you have finished but first let us look at the buttons that provide access to the other restrictions Workspace parameters 8 115 GALAAD 3 The yellow disk access button opens a dialogue box that allows you to control the ees access permissions for all disks seen from the A fle opening P PM Enable file saving workstation including network units This Enable file overwiiing covers not just local disks but also mapped Master computer disk Enable directory change I Enable file opening M Enabl
298. t slow speed using the right mouse button by pressing the key on the keyboard or by pressing the button 2 on the joystick default setting BS 9 138 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O Advanced Parameters rail pacar ax Now we come to the Table Controller Spindle Speeds aS Inputs Outputs spare room that contains a See r hotchpotch of machine mh a Output X f1 U zji o yr ep p related parameters that do Input x 1 U zji re not have anywhere else to Miscellaneous go I Flip axis XY orthogonality correction fo I Flip axis I FlipZ axis J Flip 4th axis Max acceleration 30000 pulses It 1S r ecommended that Po you obtain a compass T Allow screen saver while machining TEER before venturing alone IV Send parameters to CNC when initialising A ieee into this dark hole But IZ Lit up tool when Z ok pressed Archive data flow there again that is the IT Chain all Z passes for every object z IT Bufferize simple dils _Edit last archive purpose of this manual so follow the guide and stick to the path Right at the top of this page are the scaling factors whose values increase or reduce the magnitude of all distance commands sent to the CNC or returned from it for each axis We have already seen similar factors for the speeds but these only work in one direction Galaad machine because these values do not have to be returned as only the software can change them
299. t to directly open the file under ISO format C Program Files Galaad Kay exe C CadCam File xyz iso calls Kay and asks it to open the file the format being given after the name O File origin amp co ordinates As soon as the file is loaded Kay succinctly a displays the volume that is used by the toolpath on i t 2era 2 mm XYZ axes with extreme values and the speeds for feed and rapid movements This is purely indicative information which you cannot change here Rapid speed None gt 50 mm s Feed speed 16 7 mm s It is important to keep in mind that the formats of the files Kay reads contain no data about the raw material dimensions information which is essential for a milling process with Galaad These files provide only vectors and arcs that define the active and inactive toolpath with corresponding speeds and cutter references It is impossible to determine either the shape or the dimensions of the raw workpiece from the file datahe automatic drive will therefore start from an origin point that must be defined on the machine bed The origin point that is set with Kay corresponds point 0 0 0 of the file This point may even be completely outside the toolpath depending on the co ordinate system and the offsets that have been applied by the application that produced the file Kay 3 D CNC driver 14 229 GALAAD 3 Please note that it is common practice to find the zero point XY 0 0 at
300. t way they will appear at the same tree level as installed samples Thus Galaad does not impose any disk management model the location of your folders and files remains your choice Galaad is polite and will always send the file selection box into the last disk and directory location you used to avoid spending time climbing up and down the disk tree be it local or distant Memorising the last default location remains valid for most file and libraries functions Galaad s File New folder function prevents you from having to leave Galaad to use Windows Explorer to create new folders You are asked to provide a name for the new folder This eee will then be added into the list DAGALDRIELNALES of available folders You can RENEE also if you wish choose a dif j OK Cancel ferent path for it There remains nothing more for you to do than to save your future designs into this folder whose name will now appear on the list of folders available You can create as many folders as you wish but be sure to arrange them into some sort of logical order This is only a tool To delete a folder use Windows Explorer or the Open and Save as dialogue boxes that will allow this to be done by selecting the folder or file then pressing the key Learning to save files 4 49 GALAAD 3 Note Windows NTFS and FAT32 file systems allow Galaad to use long file names This allows you to save your files with long names an
301. t you can check the state of the CNC s inputs by clicking on the Refresh button or the Loop button for a cyclic reading which helps you to survey changes You can also flip the state of the outputs by clicking directly on their display boxes All the control codes exchanged with the CNC are displayed You can also send commands manually a line at a time by typing in the code and pressing the Send button or send a whole text file Don t type and send something just to see what happens At best it will not respond At worst well don t mess with the devil 7 106 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 Galaad and Lancelot You will have noticed that when installing Galaad it adds a folder to your desktop and start menu this folder contains more icons than expected with different names though in the past they all used to meet round a famous table Up to now you have only used the Galaad icon but perhaps the neighbouring one called Lancelot has intrigued you Come on then you can double click on it now lolx Machining parameters Advanced options workpiece origin Tools Passes Sequence IV 1st pass speed x 100 J7 2nd pass speed x 3 7 7 y 2nd pass layer mm 9 4 4 Cut pass stock base 0 1 mm 3417 mm Fixed values J Depth at mm Pass at mm Tool change Tool parking J Feeding speed at mms in lir Design pas i om
302. tangents by plotting the nodes Warning editing is sometimes difficult Bi B zier curve constructs a B zier curve by plotting the control points which can then be manipulated o N 6 Manual trace constructs a polyline by following the mouse whilst the left button is held down points with user defined amplitude period and number of cycles Hyperbole constructs a hyperbole by plotting its amplitude and period us rar Sine curve constructs a sine curve along an axis between two cr Link Trim extends or cuts a segment selected in green to adjust its 2 end onto a second segment to be selected In the case of a trim Galaad asks you to indicate the segment end to be deleted a Simple link constructs a polygon link between a segment selected in red and one in blue through the projected point of intersection Overview of design icons 11 159 GALAAD 3 RRRRR KI KJ SS Beta Spline link constructs a NURBS curve linking one segment selected in red and one in blue using the projected point of intersection as a control point Quadra Spline link constructs a curve with two nodes linking one segment selected in red and one in blue using the projected point of intersection as a control point B zier link constructs a B zier curve linking one segment selected in red and one in blue using the projected point of intersection as a control point oO x 8 Q S gt a cs wn amm w gt
303. tar to have precise dimensions the result can be scrapped In fact the toolpath must pass to one side of the JN path drawn on the outside if you want the star itself or on the inside if you want the star shaped hole N The drawing represents the actual path taken by va cutting in the material The cutter path must therefore be modified accordingly and moved by half the j P Se diameter of the tool This is called tool compensation 4 and thankfully Galaad does it for you Select your star and find the menu command Machine Tool Compensation Define toolpath which opens the inevitable dialogue box and provides the necessary controls This function also has a handy shortcut that can be found in the command icon bars at the top of the screen 6 78 Toolpaths GALAAD 3 Tool compensation x m Toolpath m Diectin The tool passes outside The motion is counter clockwise C inside C clockwise m Angles m Removal __________ The tool amp rolls around gt from header point 0 mm C follows straight lines gt from trailer point 10 mm m Roughing pass m Finishing pass T enabled at mm f gt FR 10 basic slot cutter 1 00 4 flutes 1 gt FR 10 basic slot cutter 0 1 00 4 flutes Feed speed auto mms Feed speed automatic setto mm s M Evod imena isands F 2D angles Cancel All that s left to do is define the path that th
304. te objects after they have been duplicated Edit Duplicate In line Duplicates the currently selected s objects in a straight line at regular intervals Edit Duplicate In matrix Duplicates the currently selected s objects in a rectangular matrix at regular intervals Edit Duplicate In circle Duplicates the currently selected s objects in a circular matrix at regular intervals Edit Duplicate Mirror To left etc Makes one real copy of the selected object mirrored about a vertical or horizontal line passing through the left most or right or above or below extremity of the object Copies are real and therefore independent from the original See also Edit Clone Edit Duplicate Mirror About red segment Makes one real copy of the selected object mirrored about a red segment which can be part of the object itself Edit Duplicate Mirror About red point Makes one real copy of the selected object mirrored about a red point which can be on the object itself 12 186 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 Edit Duplicate Mirror About red cross Makes one real copy of the selected object mirrored about a fixed red cross Edit Duplicate Along blue trace Places copies of the selected object at regular intervals along the course of a blue trace and if necessary moving the position of the original onto the trace start point Edit Duplicate Special Duplicates the selecte
305. ted functions Finally relegated to the very bottom of the screen is the display zone An Aladdin s cave of information about the current design including co ordinates dimensions and angles packed in higgledy piggledy Note Please keep in mind that the aim of this manual is not to teach you about the current Windows interface which at the time of writing this manual is supposedly nearly finished or at the very least the ground work is complete However several little reminders will be given here and there totally free but all the same don t hold out for an advanced technical course on the inner workings of Windows which are varied twisted and sometimes even logical Learning to design 2 25 GALAAD 3 O Baby steps As you will discover drawing with Galaad is not all that complicated However it is necessary to remember that the object of the exercise is to generate a toolpath for a machine cutter to follow and not just a pretty design to be simply printed Do not compare this with an image editor like PaintBrush PaintShop PhotoShop etc for bitmap files which work on a mosaic of pixels and not co ordinates Galaad CAD module is a vector graphic editor i e a line is constructed by defining the two points at its extremities then linking them it is not simply an array of black pixels This calls for greater precision and for the work to be approached from a graphical point of view as opposed to an artistic one
306. ted objects are already anchored then Galaad asks if you want to free them without going via the Edit menu Copy position amp dimensions loads the position and dimensions of the selection frame See related icon just below Paste position amp dimensions applies the previously copied position and dimensions into the selection frame Plot red cross places a fixed red cross on the board as a reference marker when designing or as the origin when machining This cross is plotted directly on the board and has no link with any objects Select red segment selects a segment in red This is required for many of the graphical editing functions Select blue segment as above but in blue Swap red blue turns a segment selected in red into one selected in blue and vice versa Flip segment reverses the direction of the segment selected in red This does not change the overall toolpath of the object that it is on Flip segment as above but for a blue segment Overview of design icons GALAAD 3 Plot blue cross like the red cross mentioned above but in blue so that a second reference marker is available Select red point selects a point in red This is required for many of the graphical editing functions for arcs and curves Select blue point as above for a blue point Swap red blue turns a point selected in red into one selected in blue and vice versa Swap point segment takes a point and
307. th could well corres pond to the thickness of the adhesive fixing the material on to the machine bed The feed speeds for both rough and finishing cuts are adjustable globally You can specify a multiplication factor for each of the speeds without having to modify the speed of each object individually These multipliers will be universally applied to the speeds of all objects whether they were set by you or calculated by Galaad If you choose to include such a finishing pass then in general a multiplication factor of 200 or 300 would probably be appropriate depending on the thickness of the remaining material that has to be removed In summary let us consider a piece to machine comprising a profile to cut out and some paths to mill If you decide to make two passes the machining operation will comprise the following sequence the paths will be cut out roughly during the 1 pass at a depth slightly less than the required depth and then finished at the full depth during the 2 pass but at a faster feed speed Then the piece will be cut out at a depth equal to the thickness of the material plus the extra depth If a separate finishing pass is not required then the first cut will be at the full depth Advanced milling functions 7 91 GALAAD 3 Fixed values It may be that you have to machine a workpiece design using feed speeds and milling depths other than those specified for the objects You can of course return to th
308. th is one single active block the pause will have no effect since it will correspond to the end of the global cycle Kay 3 D CNC driver 14 235 GALAAD 3 Like the standard machining module Lancelot at the bottom of the screen Kay displays some buttons that allow you to adjust the cutter feed speed and the spindle rotation speed if under control It is also possible to shift the Z origin i e change the toolpath depth whilst the machining cycle is in progress This offset is valid only for the current tool cycle and will not apply to any subsequent cycles Once the automatic process is complete all tools having been called the spindle is switched off the last tool is sent to its parking position Redo and a final message warns the operator that the workpiece machining is finished B Machining completed successfully If you have purchased only the Kay licence the current chapter may look succinct or even incomplete Please remember that this licence also gives you access to the Lancelot module which is Galaad s standard CNC driver and has already been described in chapters 3 Learning to mill and 7 Advanced milling functions of this user s manual Consequently it is highly recommended to read these chapters for more details not only about Lancelot but also about the general machining process Most functions that are described in these chapters remain valid for the Kay module In the same way chapter
309. the depth Z scale is set separately for easier control The resulting dimensions text box directly below are immediately changed to show the effects of the new scale alternatively you can enter the new dimensions directly and the new scaling factor will be displayed Remember that you may still enter a mathematical formula in these edit zones 7 92 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 When engraving on the reverse side of a piece of transparent material it is easier to select the X mirror feature when machining rather than producing your design already reversed With Galaad the user is free to concentrate on the finished result and leave this sort of detail until the machining stage Likewise if you need to rotate the complete design in 90 degree steps this can also be left until machining The small preview will assist in obtaining the correct orientation Very important the Z clearance height sets the vertical distance to which the cutter will be lifted before making lateral XY moves to start points of other objects to be machined This height is the absolute value of the distance above the top surface of the workpiece If the surface is not flat or if there are any obstacles such as clamps then you must specify a value that will allow the cutter to clear them safely or else there will be trouble On the other hand making this distance too large will unnecessarily increase the time taken to machine unless your machine is a
310. the rest of the design Except moving and framing no operations can be performed on groups of points It is not possible to globally delete points that are selected in a group Special effects are not available either O Duplication and cloning Duplication is a vital feature of design software Obviously using the copy and paste feature will allow a degree of redesigning However a special function is required if multiple copies are to be placed at regular intervals Galaad 3 also introduces a new feature virtual duplication intended to save both time and memory usage Start as usual by drawing an object If you copy the object and paste the copy back onto the board it will then contain two completely independent copies of that object Modifying the original has absolutely no effect on the copy and vice versa Once again select the object or the copy if you prefer and apply the function Edit Duplicate Add one virtual copy from the menu Galaad will display a selection frame for the copy to allow you to position it accurately of 5 64 Advanced design techniques GALAAD 3 course the key remains available as usual When you have placed this copy try selecting it As it does not actually exist it is impossible to select it only its image is visible however it can still be machined Don t worry about it just because it is virtual it still retains the machining parameters of the original Next select the or
311. ther with the feed speed is set depending on your work and the cutter being used The Z rapid move up covers all moves where the cutter is retracting away from the material Finally there are the tool sensor approach and the digitizer lowering speeds which as their names suggest cover the speed at which the cutter approaches the tool sensor and the speed at which a digitising probe approaches the workpiece if they are fitted to your machine The two values for manual control set the initial positions of the speed control sliders that will be displayed in the machine control windows Pre setting here avoids moving speed sliders anytime you open a manual drive window whatever the mode Angle speed for A and B axes can not be pre set and its default value remains 15 s If your numerical controller offers a speed xl override function RM SM Motion or TechLF Galaad may accelerate motion in progress when en ae driving manually This can be useful to manage both reve eco long movements and accurate approaches without having to change the speed slider all the time 2s BS Ticking the progressive acceleration checkbox pops up a small dialogue box that allows you to set the delay before acceleration start speed remaining the slider speed and the run up delay motion accelerates slowly until speed is doubled Delay before acceleration 3 4 s Remember that whatever the speed sliders display you can still move axes manually a
312. ther selected objects with virtual copies are then modified so that they have the same number of them and they have the same Overview of menus 12 187 GALAAD 3 relative offsets in X Y and Z depth Edit Clone Mirror to left etc Makes one virtual copy of the selected object mirrored about a vertical or horizontal line passing through the left most or right or above or below extremity of the object Only one clone of an object can exist at a time Like the virtual duplication the clone does not exist and is also modified when the original shape is But it will be machined like a normal path Edit Clone Suppress clones Deletes the clones of all selected objects Edit Clone Make clones real Converts the virtual copy of the selected object into an independent real object Edit Libraries Open Loads an existing library file from disk and allows it to be positioned on the design i e not whole board designs but only objects A library object keeps all machining data depth speed tool The default directory is the last one accessed Edit Libraries Gallery Displays all objects in a given library and allows you to select one using a double click Edit Libraries Save as Saves the selected object s to disk as a library object allowing you to give it the name of your choice Edit Libraries New Creates a new folder within the Library folder Edit Unlock All Unlocks all l
313. tical arc Advanced design techniques 5 53 GALAAD 3 Now imagine that you wish to construct a centred full ellipse i e completely closed There is not a design icon specifically for this simpler construction so steps 3 and 4 of the above process will have to be skipped Consequently we need to interrupt the construction without losing what has already been drawn and without aborting the whole process Furthermore certain design functions in Galaad are repetitive and have no definite last stage The simplest example is a polyline which requires a start point then an indefinite series of additional points It is up to you to decide which point will be the last When each new point is clicked the software adds it to the polyline and awaits the next point until you decide to indicate the final point by clicking with the right mouse button There are other repetitive figures that follow this pattern such as Beta Splines which have a maximum number of 256 nodes and B zier curves which have no such limits on their nodes Remember then that entering the last point of any repetitive cons truction is simply a case of clicking with the right mouse button This is also true for shapes drawn using a progressive construction technique If you wish to stop drawing a given construction before its last stage use the right mouse button as in the following example In the case of a closed ellipse it is simply a question of fix
314. tick The movement can be continuous or a fixed distance but in either case the movement is immediately interrupted if the button key or joystick is released When using the keyboard the X and Y axes can be moved either along the axes or diagonally by using the numeric keypad or cursor arrows The Z axis is controlled with the and keys However the A axis if fitted cannot be controlled from either the keyboard or a joystick Here the mouse reigns supreme Without wishing to sound too obsessive it is difficult not to expound the virtues of a joystick as a practical means of controlling the movements of a machine Besides entertaining you by exterminating hordes of aliens or shooting down enemy aircraft with other fine software this broom handle and its more or less long cable allows you to leave the computer and move closer to the machine This makes it much easier to approach the workpiece origin points without breaking cutters Using a joystick is simple just incline the stick along an axis or diagonal and the machine will move in that direction until you return the stick to the central position With the default configuration but you can change it according to your needs if you press and hold button n 1 the fire button pushing the stick forward or pulling it back will move the Z axis up or down as when flying with a hangglider but with less chance of lift off If you press button n 2 all movement X Y or Z will be mad
315. tions with Y co ordinates becoming Z co ordinates Design 3 D effects Follow blue trace slope Along its Z trajectory Increases or decreases the depths of points along the route of the selected object following the relative Z co ordinates of the object selected in blue which is therefore presumed to have a 3 D path Design 3 D effects Create a 3 D track Builds a 3 D polygon of which the variable depth allows a conical tool to flush the route of the two selected objects Design 3 D effects Transform using equations Subjects the X Y and Z co ordinates to three mathematical transformation equations See the chap ter on Special functions Overview of menus 12 201 GALAAD 3 O Display menu Display Active Layer Layer N Allows you to define layer number N as the active layer All other layers remain in the background and objects on them are visible in grey but not accessible Unless filtered objects in inactive layers can be machined and are greyed or invisible see next command about visual layers but remain unavailable for design operations No selection frame survives in an inactive layer Furthermore it is possible to limit snapping to the objects of the active layer This option can be set from the advanced functions of the workspace parameters Display Active Layer Transfer to active layer All objects on layer N Moves all objects from the chosen layer to the layer currently active even
316. tive responses Consequently on constructing a rectangle after entering the position of the first corner there is a strong probability that you would prefer to enter the actual dimensions of the rectangle rather than the absolute co ordinates of the second point Likewise when constructing other shapes such as a horizontal line or a circle Galaad will try to pop up a dialogue box that looks appropriate to the occasion However if you still wish to enter the numerical position of the pointer and nothing else then simply use the J combination which will pop up the ordinary dialogue box for a classical XY position O Partial constructions Constructing a complex geometric figure usually requires several stages These stages are different in the case of a figure that is constructed progressively such as an ellipse First the base is defined and then the form is added to produce the final result It may be that you need to interrupt the construction process before the final stages quite simply because the shape that you are constructing only requires the basic part of the icon s full function Take for example an open elliptical arc starting from a centre point which has four distinct stages and requires the following data firstly the centre point secondly the major and minor Cartesian radii X and Y thirdly the starting angular point of the arc and fourthly the angular end point of the arc The result should look like an ellip
317. to make the correction Note that changing the method tool edge or centre is not taken into account when you click on the green buttons If you confirm a position then change the method of defining it is necessary to reconfirm a new position It is useful to actually go to an origin point to check that it is correct To do this simply click on the Drive to button and confirm the values in the dialogue box that appears This dialogue box allows you to reduce the Z axis movement rather than actually make contact with the workpiece The movement and the associated limitation do not have an effect on the origin itself Just in case remember that you can stop a motion with the bar before it turns into a tool s nightmare Possibly in fact probably you will have fitted a reference corner to your machine comprising two solid bars accurately mounted along the X and Y axes of the machine forming a corner at the north west or south west of your bed The position of the resulting corner will not change whatever workpiece is fitted into it consequently there is no point in measuring it each time though it may be worth checking it occasionally The Z value will have to be determined each time as this will vary with the thickness of the workpiece and the length of the cutter 7 102 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 If you have several possible reference points you can save the settings until they are needed again When an origin has
318. touch the actual border of the active copper islands but need a contoured path The hatching tool is the same as the contouring tool Hatching density can be parametered It corresponds to the distance between two consecutive hatches The default value is the tool radius at the engraving depth for a conical cutter which gives an overlapping ratio of 50 But you may obviously choose a custom distance according to your needs Percival can link hatches together to define a zigzag path whenever possible without milling a shortcut through a contour Hatch ends approach 17 268 Percival printed circuit engraver GALAAD 3 the contours at about 10 of the hatching distance This leaves a very small margin to avoid eroding the active copper Logically the hatchwork is performed before the contouring process to obtain a better finishing of tracks borders Here again the final view shows the engraved circuit If hatchwork has been defined only the remaining copper of tracks and pads appears on the screen unless your tool diameter was too small compared to calculated distances Please keep in mind that the tool library is common to both Galaad and Percival and must correspond to what you actually have in the tool rack attached to your machine O Boring drills In addition to the track and pad isolation made during the engraving process Percival can also manage the drilling operations for a classical circuit with component side a
319. tours 1 a Percival printed circuit engraver 17 267 GALAAD 3 Once this information is known Percival can calculate all isolating contour paths for the circuit engraving task This calculation consists of several stages that may become rather long depending on the complexity of the printed circuit and the processing performances of your computer When the calculation of contours is completed Percival displays the printed circuit with the corresponding toolpaths You can magnify a zone on the screen using the left mouse button and return to the global view using the right mouse button You can also visualise the milled circuit using the Display Final rendering function or its shortcut icon O Hatching empty zones Engraving contours is sufficient to isolate tracks and pads but you may want to remove the remaining copperfrom the card surface This allows you to make sure there are no copper chips that have been left which would create shortcuts Furthermore the printed circuit looks much cleaner when the copper is totally removed Since your machine is happy to work while you enjoy a cup of tea and or read your e mails there s nothing wrong with increasing the number of paths to engrave The result is always better even for a simple circuit prototype The hatching function can be called up only if the track and pad contours have already been calculated This is because hatches are not supposed to
320. transit from and to Windows clipboard for exchange with other software applications Objects that are copied and pasted from Galaad to Galaad without closing the application are not concerned The first parameter of the bottom frame controls the number of Undo amp Redo levels that are stored i e the number of successive operations that can be cancelled The limit is 10 but a smaller number will speed up certain 8 111 Workspace parameters GALAAD 3 operations and conserve memory usage In fact it is very unusual to have to backtrack so far but you may seek a better balance point between processing speed and undo comfort If your workstation is recent and fast it is probably better to use the maximum value The design timer pause controls the duty cycle of this counter When you stop drawing the timer automatically stops after this pre set time delay to prevent it timing your lunch break The time is set in minutes but you choose how long The timer itself remains under the control of File Elapsed time Direct snapping to neighbouring points these are small red points that appear near the plotter when you are drawing which allow you to hook by pressing the bar on the keyboard or by clicking with the central mouse button It is possible to disable this function or simply limit direct snapping to active layer only if your designs are heavily loaded and background layers are of no interest to you The option to li
321. trol option in machine parameters As a ghost joystick returns ghost broom positions to Galaad this may result in erratic motion of axes Cutters don t appreciate this either x Enabling the m Technical settings Number of axes fej Number of buttons joystick checkbox pops up a sub sequent dialogue m Axis assignments Aet X 7 Axis 2 y 7 Axis 3 Z 7 Asis 4 ja v adamim ASS Tala SA S box that allows j Workpiece origin intake you to indicate Button 1 Flip Y gt Z Button 3 xY ok X F E the number of Button 2 Low speed Ad Button 4 2 Ok Start f axes and buttons Manual dii p ee and assign cus Button 1 Flip YZ bd Button 3 Spindle on off he Button 2 Low speed v Button 4 No effect tom functions depending on the m Manual digitizing Eni Button 1 FipY gt Z Button 3 Polygon stat pont 7 driving mode that Buton 2 low speed Button 4 Pobgon nent point is performed on the machine To modify the settings of this dialogue box it is therefore necessary to disable and re enable the Manual control with joystick option which sounds like a double click on a checkbox Don t tell Microsoft this is non conventional use of the Windows interface but the dialogue box appears only when the checkbox has just been ticked active 7 98 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 Back to axis moti
322. ts as the model that the slave units will copy when Galaad is started on them and consequently is the same as a stand alone installation It operates the same whether or not a network is present Using anetwork 10 151 GALAAD 3 The slave units collect their parameters from the master machine it does not send them to the slave units one by one Configuring a master installation is done in the simplest way possible In the network parameters simply indicate that This computer is a master or stand alone that s it The user of a master installation of Galaad generally the teacher opens Galaad and configures the working environment to suit themself or perhaps loads a profile saved on the local hard disk or a floppy They can also open a default design They then use the Parameters Network Upgrade workspace command to save the changes to disk The users of the slave units usually students then start Galaad which having copied the parameters from the master computer display the default design O Secondary workstations You have seen that the students need to load their environment parameters from the copy of Galaad installed on the teacher s workstation This requires them to have access to the hard disk on the teacher s machine via the local area network For a simpler installation with functions limited to down loading the master parameters you can restrict access to the Galaad folder on the master workstation
323. ts the location on workpiece of the origin point Note that there is no connection between the design origin the machine s zero point and the workpiece origin these Advanced milling functions 7 101 GALAAD 3 three references are absolutely independent Conventionally the design s XY origin is located at the south west corner of the drawing board but the machine s zero point could very well be at the north west corner The workpiece origin can be anywhere on the workpiece but Galaad needs to know where to find the work in relation to this point Consequently the combo box allows you to place the origin in any of the four corners in the centre of the four sides in the centre of the workpiece or at a reference point within the design for example a point selected in red or a blue cross When you change the reference point which appears as a small blue marker the preview window shows the position of the workpiece in relation to it You do not have to determine the X and Y position with reference to the centre of the cutter You can just as well work from the edge of the tool and Galaad will correct the position based on the radius of the cutter It goes without saying that if you are using a conical or hemispherical tool then the correction will be based on the maximum diameter This option is not available if you use the centre of the workpiece instead of the edge or a corner as the reference point because Galaad will not know how
324. ty to drive movements wait time lapses react depending on input signals and switch connected peripherals on offbe they electrical or electromechanical In addition for those who become interested in Galaad s extended inputs outputs for special applications such as glue dispensing or engraving on a variable Z surface may have noticed that the application is able to manage external signals and pauses during automatic machining processes In such particular cases Galaad remains no less focused on creating and driving a 2 D or 3 D kinematics path the management of electrical signals being a secondary function which is closely framed by the fact that a geometric path must be followed The main Galaad module cannot manage all possible cases and particularly conditional jumps loop sequences or interactive messages to the operator Even including external controls Galaad s movements remain a graphical pathwith a start point an end point and a unique sequence with no possible dynamical redirections Most Cartesian machines that have been built for automatic milling can also become compatible with other types of more exotic applications with or without a milling spindle and a cutter tool such as automatic pick amp place or more generally motion that interacts with the workpiece Furthermore the sequence of handling or a similar operation can not always be displayed as a path design but rather as a list of operations that must be performe
325. type and size cut depth feed speed cutter details You may set the default values from Parameters New file defaults Simultaneously pressing the and keys when the command is called or its corresponding icon opens a new board with the same dimensions and milling values as the current one in this case the dialogue boxes do not appear File Open Loads an existing design from disk The default directory is the last one accessed When clicking on the corresponding shortcut icon pressing the key simultaneously calls the Import function instead File Gallery Displays all files in a given folder and allows you to select one by double clicking File Save Saves the current design to disk If the design has not yet been named this function is the same as Save as detailed below When clicking on the corresponding shortcut icon pressing the key simul taneously calls the Export function instead File Save as Saves the current design to disk allowing you to give it a different name File New folder Creates a new folder in which to save designs It will be located within the File folder File Merge with Loads an existing file and adds what it contains to the current work with possible offset of XY co ordinates File Network Open a public file Loads a design from the appropriate workgroup if one has been defined located in the Public folder on the 12 174 Overview of menus GALAAD 3
326. ue box Other commands are also available through the Display Visual dimensions menu Manual quote allows you to add a mark with a free comment somewhere on the board with no links to existing objects XY position displays a couple of numerical values over a position arrow associated to a vertex or point you have to select Intersection adds an XY position couple at the intersection point of two segments you have to select Abscissa adds a vertical axis with a numerical indication of the corresponding co ordinate Ordinate adds an horizontal axis with a numerical indication of the corresponding co ordinate Horizontal distance allows you to put a dimension between two points that indicates the distance between abscissas Vertical distance allows you to put a dimension between two points that indicates the distance between ordinates Distance between points displays a double arrow between two points to be selected Point segment distance displays a double arrow with the perpen dicular distance between a point and a segment Inner distance between segments displays a double arrow with the distance between two parallel segments Overview of design icons 11 171 GALAAD 3 11 172 Outer distance between segments does the same as mentioned above but with the indication located outside the segments Tilt angle adds an arrow dimension to a segment indicating its angle wit
327. ulation or perform a dummy run without the workpiece in place so that you can see the path the tool will take and gain an understanding of the complete machining process Now move on to set the origin by clicking on the Workpiece origin tab or by pressing the tab or key I Galaad Milling 15 x Machining parameters Advanced options Workpiece origin r Commands Move S G C 10mm Speeds Camm a z C 140mm x Ove EA OA A T J commis C 4400 mm z i cn ae fini ene 10 minis C 254 mm r Workpiece origin Position K 20 10 Z 62 Drive to Memorise Restore Location on workpiece south west z upper surface fd E C Toolcentre HF C Tool edge 01 5mm cuc CE D Version 3 14 0205 Pro E Manual E3 mm U2 015mm fijp 742 Be auto 0 25 mm You will have no doubt noticed that the top right hand section of this window is for manually moving the axes of the machine The Z and A rotary axis buttons may or may not be active depending on the number of axes fitted to your machine 7 96 Advanced milling functions GALAAD 3 After initialising the CNC and performing a reference run to set the zero position of the axes you can use the axis jog buttons Actually there are three possible ways of moving the axes by clicking on the appropriate buttons on the screen with the mouse by using the corresponding keys on the keyboard or by using a joys
328. ultiple copies of the same piece laid out by the machine You only design the part once and specify that a series of duplicate parts are to be machined Galaad produces an array of identical parts spaced at regular intervals on the machine s bed Note that the margin defines the distance between the edges of adjacent boards and that the small preview will help you visualise how the results will be laid out At the bottom right hand of the page some parameters allow you to resume an aborted machining without starting the process at the first object of the sequence This helps to finalise an interrupted machining process whatever the cause of the interruption Note that the machining module continually saves the cutting progress so it can be recalled in case of a power failure or system crash Yes does happen sometimes But resuming an interrupted machining is always optional even if it is obvious that the process did not end normally you must enable this option but the process parameters are already specified Advanced milling functions 7 95 GALAAD 3 Moving the axes We have nearly finished reviewing the machining parameters and all that s left to do is say a short prayer before experimenting with your fragile cutters on a somewhat more robust workpiece Before becoming an expert in setting these parameters it is inevitable that you will suffer a few cold sweats and broken cutters Don t forget that you can either run a sim
329. umn of the window you simply click on them to pop up a dialogue box that gives access to the corresponding command parameters This should at least avoid syntax errors which are somewhat usual with a classical text editor When the active line displayed in negative colours is empty clicking and validating an instruction will add it at this position in the programme by shifting down the following instructions If the line already contains an instruction either the instruction you have clicked on is identical in which case it will be a simple change of its parameters it is even simpler to double click directly on the line in the programme or it is not identical then the new 16 252 Kynon motion programmer GALAAD 3 one will be inserted just before the existing one which will be shifted down Therefore if you wish to insert a new instruction which is identical to the existing one you must first insert an empty line using the ns key Conversely you can delete the active line whether it is full or empty using the key All consequent instructions are immediately shifted up Warning When you write a programme with Kynon you are still in manual drive mode Keyboard arrows and PgUp PgDn keys or keys do not move the active line but actually move the axes of the machine Moving the active line of the programme can be doneonly with the mouse Consequently the programme body provides little interactivity
330. under the Network icon in the Control Panel a However the point is not to have a close look at your network but simply to show the principle that part of the hard disk on the master computer has to be accessible to each slave unit If this is not the case then you should consult your network administrator Note that it is not necessary for the master workstation to be able to access the hard disks on the slave machines as Galaad does not need this O Main workstation To use Galaad on a network it is necessary to define one workstation as the master and all others as slaves to it The slave units will copy the working environment on the master computer by taking their parameters from it and possibly save their designs back to it It is normal for the CNC to be connec ted to the master machine but this is not mandatory You have probably only got one dongle for the whole work group The dongle must be plugged into the master computer By loading their parameters from across the network the slave units will see the dongle under the terms of the user s licence If your network only comprises two computers one for design work and one for the machining process plug the dongle into the design machine and consider this to be the master It is necessary for this machine to be running when you start Galaad on the secondary machine so that it will be able to access the dongle to permit machining to take place The master workstation ac
331. use button To construct a mesh Galaad uses more or less the same principle except that it no longer needs the blue trace the red one is sufficient Draw in the normal XY plan mode the profile that you want to appear in either the XZ or YZ plane It is not necessary to produce a lateral view as Galaad understands perfectly what you want from the red trace Special functions 13 221 GALAAD 3 Draw any curve for example a B zier curve with the trajectory going from left to right that does not double back on itself i e no two points should have the same X co ordinate but it can go up and down Got it Select the curve and use the Design 3 D mesh Rectangular command which will produce a dialogue box requesting the spacing of the mesh and a few additional parameters Complete it and press the OK button You will be returned to the drawing board then asked to define the rectangular area of the mesh Use the mouse to drag over a large rectangle that covers most of the board and is wider than it is tall X gt Y but don t worry if it overlaps with the curve Galaad will generate a mesh the size of the rectangle and use the reference curve to generate the variations in the Z depth The quad view is then automatically displayed if not already active Depending on the design of your curve and the thickness of your material it is possible that you will get an error message stating maximum depth exceeded Ignore th
332. ut spindle control xj If your numerical peara controller contains a semi JT Start clockwise gt output Jenabied zj l h k I Start counter clockwise gt output enabled 7 Zi anne outp ut t ig gt based on a PWM signal po then Galaad should be able PWM frequency 8000 Hz Scale linear EOE logarithm to control the spindle by at spindle switch off exponential A savere root directly addressing the PWM floor value 0 square Sand PWM timer data Most IV Perform a progressive run up of 5000 rps Cancel parameters are identical to Floor value 0 of cycle corresponds to a speed of fo ipm j Ceiling value 100 of cycle corresponds to a speed of 50000 1pm those for spindle contr ol on an analogue output PWM signals use a single output bit that consequently works in 0 1 mode but this square signal is time sliced according to a given frequency The Machine parameters 9 133 GALAAD 3 percentage of the high state compared to the total period gives a pulse relative width from 0 no high states to 100 full width high state A small integrator circuit can convert the pulses into an analogue signal doing so with only one output bit PWM floor value is the percentage of pulse width that corresponds to the minimum voltage when the spindle motor just begins to turn Galaad will consider that the speed range starts from this value and not 0 and obviously ends at 100 of the signal O T
333. uts wait states and even external programmes You may use a mathematical formula and the lt RPM gt variable for several instructions O External control programme If your spindle is External program for spindle control x r Start spindle poe ears Command line C Dos SpinCtLexe SPEED lt RPM gt Browse alaad with absolutely r Rotation speed change while milling no contr ol channels Command line C Dos SpinCtrLexe SPEED lt RPM gt Browse available from the 7 r Stop spindle CNC but was provided Command line C Dos SpinCtiLexe SPEED 0 Browse with its own driver paemes programme for Win Multiply lt RPM gt value by 1 Cancel Call extemal then wait until execution ends dows or DOS it should AE Sears ah still be possible to You may indicate in command lines variable values for rotation speed and tool number using lt RPM gt and lt T gt z identifiers Example C Galaad Spindle exe Cw lt RPM gt becomes C Galaad Spindle exe Cw20000 when establish the link speed must be set to 20000 rpm The three commands available are switch on change rotation speed and switch off For each one you must indicate an external programme with its own arguments of course it can be the same executable programme Galaad will replace the variable arguments lt RPM gt and lt T gt by the actual rotation speed and the tool number Machine parameters 9 135 GALAAD 3
334. ve terms and conditions affect your statutory rights under current law or legislation NEMO LEGEM IGNORARE CENSETVR Ignorance of the law is no excuse TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD Little Curriculum Vite The User s Licence and working T a licence System configuration Be inquisitive INSTALLATION Setup Software driver for the donele key The lay of the Land Moving Galaad Uninstalling Galaad LEARNING TO DESIGN Contact Baby steps Simple co ordinates Snapping to positions Handling objects The magnetic grid De profundis Zoom LEARNING TO MILL Technical control Guided tour of the launch pad Workpiece origin Blast off LEARNING TO SAVE FILES Current design Files and folders 12 13 15 16 1 18 1 20 1 21 1 21 1 22 2 24 2 26 2 27 2 29 2 30 2 33 2 34 2 36 3 38 3 39 3 41 3 45 4 48 4 49 5 ADVANCED DESIGN TECHNIQUES 7 Numerical co ordinates Partial constructions Editing object geometry Locking objects Associating objects Protecting objects Anchoring objects a Selecting and handling points Selecting and handling segments Moving groups of points Duplication and cloning Rapid data palettes Keyboard shortcuts Display functions TOOLPATHS Tool parameters Tool compensation Hatching and pocketing wae Connecting objects into one toolpath ADVANCED MILLING FUNCTIONS Tool parking positions 1 pass 2 pass cutting pass Fixed values
335. ven minimal distance from its nearest neighbour Bored point drills a hole of a given diameter by integrating the tool compensation Either the drill down and lift up can both be performed at the centre or the drilling can be helicoidal Points on a trace places points at regular intervals along a trace selected in red It is possible to add a small random variation of the distance to create irregular intervals Points on vertices places points at the vertices of a polygon selected in red Connect points makes the reverse operation by creating a polyline that links the group of selected points Overview of design icons O Lines GALAAD 3 This collection of design tools is particularly rich and with good reason as there are many ways in which choosing a couple of co ordinates to draw a line across a battlefield can be done It is probably not useful to state here the various possibilities for plotting snapping or entering positions of ends whatever the line may be HANNEL N Line constructs a single line between two points by clicking with the mouse When drawing pressing the key applies the polar magnetic grid that rounds the line slope Horizontal line constructs a horizontal line whatever the vertical position of the cursor when adding the second point Vertical line does exactly the same as above except that it is now for a vertical line Dashed line constructs a line comprising regular
336. ves very nice results for non circular curves Galaad then pre calculates and optimises the whole trajectory kinematics It is much better to leave it enabled unless you experience obvious problems when milling Please note that this function is of no use if the local memory buffer has been disabled Most initialisation parameters are preset at the factory and therefore do not require any changes except parameters A number of digits after decimal point which must be set to 2 for all axes B amp C gear factor to convert distance units in pulses and parameter K speed for reference run It is probably better not to touch the others except if the provider or a qualified technician tells you to Only enabled parameters are sent to the machine provided that the option Send parameters to CNC when initialising is ticked see Advanced page hereafter 9 128 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O Soprolec InterpCNC controller The InterpCNC card developed by Soprolec and avail Motor carted able fully mounted or as a kit is a EE aE soy to date one of the most popular er Ag a controllers for the hobbyists who Mtas eration etad E erated build themselves their own ma DORA d ae chines This card communicates AAKER through a classic RS232 serial e L port which usually accepts good pen ww Woe J enabled PO z quality USB Serial converters o EN ae z roa Hf 4 andisi PODI z M
337. view or 3 D view icon shows a rotating 3 D view Ctrl pulls the alarm Abusers will be fined ll Q t T jE Q a Design mode cross hair cursor visible oE opens a polar position dialogue box Space__ snaps to the small red point lt backspace cancels the last pointing Ctrl when pointing a line applies the polar magnetic grid With selected objects mouse select adds to selection Space _ select all Ctrl increases decreases the depth 0 01 mm by default Ctrl J Home Ctrl End sends the object to the first last place in the sequence JC locks the selected object AOMH inverts the selected object 7 inverts the selected object about the X Y bisector 4 selects in red the object s start point segment GALAAD 3 With selected points KS moves only the selected point Ctrl increases decreases the depth 0 1 mm by default Ctrl E selects the last point Ctrl selects the first point Del deletes the point C selects the whole object selects the segment starting from this point With selected segments Ctrl selects the last segment Ctre G4 selects the first segment Del deletes the segment selects the start point of the segment selects the entire object When editing arcs Sets the direction as clockwise counter clockwise When editing a Beta Spl
338. w object without any questions Otherwise you will be prompted to indicate a compensation distance and all other classical parameters for such calculation It is also possible to add a feed in out segment or arc that will complete the calculated path at its ends The feed in segment may even follow an oblique Z slope from the workpiece top surface down to the object depth Be aware that Galaad does not check the validity of your add ons especially concerning possible collisions with other paths No written law will limit the number of such additions consequently you can cascade several to create a real feed in out polyline But when the tool compensation is recalculated automatically or on demand all add ons disappear Therefore it is better to draw them last Toolpaths 6 81 GALAAD 3 O Hatching and pocketing cycles When engraving there is frequently a need to highlight an area such as the inside of a character this is known as hatching In addition milling operations sometimes require an area to be hollowed out to leave what is known as a pocket for example a surface between two engraved borders such as letters or any closed shape Galaad provides ways to accomplish this Hatching an area consists of engraving a series of shallow parallel lines across it very close to each other Alternatively pocketing uses a normal slot drill or similar to remove all the material within the pocket down to the required depth Let us st
339. without saying that a new carbide tool will have a much better performance than an otherwise identical but well used HSS tool The unsupported length of the cutter i e that protruding below the collet must be taken into account The longer the length the slower it should cut to prevent excessive deflection and a broken cutter Then there is vibration directly proportional to the spindle speed it can be detrimental to the quality of the finish and fatal to the cutter Clearly the less cut depth the less work the tool has to do removing Toolpaths 6 75 GALAAD 3 material and the less resistance it will feel Galaad takes this into account when calculating feed speeds Note that Galaad manages increasing depth passes and avoids passing twice in deep paths that have been already milled during a previous pass In the case of 3 D paths the tool then only does the active part of the trajectory for the current pass this also applies for the ending lift up point So there no time is wasted with a tool passing several times in the same final path Just below half way down the dialogue box is a section which contains several parameters applicable to vertical motion only i e when a tool is plunging or drilling into the material It also covers clearances for drilling cycles used for clearing material out of deep holes The first parameter the preliminary plotting forces the tool to drill the material for a small depth that you can
340. xes For the record the debugging File open 12 2 2002 03 55 00 Galaad release is 3 09 02 2002 file GALAAD XON contains the Isel Automation IMC4 gt COM2 lines of code actually exchanged Kynon module during the various phases of the Initialising CNC machining operation Each line is 9070000 651 52 607 i 00 00 00 651 S gt 08 given an information header comp 00 00 00 661 S gt 0B1 1 Enabl Ea H gt 00 00 00 661 S gt 0d 1000 1000 100 using a time tag ie the number of 00 00 00 661 S gt 0V Read ver milliseconds elapsed since the gt Reference run 5 00 00 00 661 S gt 0R4 Homing communications were opened The AA P eee ae next character indicates the direc 00 00 00 661 S gt OR1 Homing tion of data flow gn for Sending 00 00 00 661 S gt OR8 Homing and R for Receiving Manual drive 9 142 Machine parameters GALAAD 3 O Automatic tool changer Still in this advanced parameters page a button allows you to reach the system that controls an automatic tool changer A tool changer whatever it looks like rack barrel or anything else always uses a sequence of automatic commands for moving axes switching outputs waiting for inputs to change etc Galaad offers the ability to program for each tool a pick up sequence i e the process that will load the tool from where it was parked and mount it on the spindle and a parking sequence i e remove it and store it in the rack If position
341. xes that are presumed to be parallel to XY It could be the case that your machine is different and does not match this configuration however this should not block your use of the Kynon module A special setup of the machine gear factors may help you solve this problem to obtain co ordinates that correspond to reality even if the units displayed no longer make sense 16 250 Kynon motion programmer GALAAD 3 O Programming technique The left hand side of the screen displays a zone that is supposed to contain the sequence of instructions to be executed in other terms the programme and just below a preview of the path if any If the axes of your machine are not Cartesian you can get rid of this preview thus getting more room for the programme itself by unticking Parameters 3 D view The body of a Kynon programme may be displayed in capitals or lower case colours or monochrome The top of the Parameters menu helps you select all this Operators who already have programming language skills even the basics should not have big problems becoming familiar with Kynon Also absolute beginners have not been forgotten learning this programming technique is very easy and close to BASIC language which is the simplest ever invented and was made for beginners as its name says Beginner s All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code Therefore you should not encounter huge problems creating a Kynon programme and then well
342. xis rotary axis with the axis of rotation around the Y axis C axis rotary axis with the axis of rotation around the Z axis Baud rate units of speed for serial data communication bit s CADCAM Computer Aided Design Computer Aided Manufacturing Cartesian co ordinate position defined by its linear distance from the origin along the X Y and Zaxes CCW Counter Clockwise 21 286 Glossary of terms GALAAD 3 Chip breaking cycle drilling operation where the bit drills to a set depth then retracts slightly to break the swarf spirals before descending and drilling a further step The cycle is repeated until the required depth is reached Chip clearance cycle drilling operation where the bit drills to a set depth then retracts completely out of the hole to clear the swarf before descending and drilling a further step The cycle is repeated until the required depth is reached Circular interpolation simultaneous movement of two axes resulting in a circular arc CNC Computerised Numerical Controller Contouring a compensated toolpath usually around the inside or outside of a closed shape such that the centre line of the tool is at a distance of half the diameter from the trajectory of the shape Cut out machine an object at a depth equal to or greater than the thickness of the material Cutter see Tool CW Clockwise Digitise operation whereby the points on the surface of an existing object can automat
343. y clicking on it with the mouse or select a group of objects by dragging over them with the mouse If anchorage is relative then only clicked objects are released from the group Edit Free anchors Mouse select and acolytes Releases the anchors on objects selected with the mouse and those existing between other objects in an anchored group of which they are members Edit Free anchors Select position anchored objects Allows all objects Anchored in position to be selected then handled as a single entity Edit Free anchors Select relation anchored objects Allows all objects Anchored to other objects to be selected then handled as a single entity Edit Free anchors Select acolytes of selected objects Selects all objects Anchored to those selected g Z Z 12 190 Overview of menus GALAAD 3 O Design menu Design Continuous construction Produces a continuous trajectory by joining the start point of a new object to the end point of the last object drawn Note that this only applies to open shapes and does not apply if the same open shape is drawn twice in succession unless it is first reselected See also Machine Toolpath Disconnect objects to undo this operation Design Magnetic grid Set Sets the step size for the magnetic snap grid Leaving a value unset or set to auto defines a variable step that always matches the smallest graduation of the rulers whatever the zoom is
344. y clicking on them with the mouse or select a group of objects by dragging over them with the mouse Clicking on the yellow protection icon when all selected objects are already protected unprotects them if confirmed Edit Unprotect Select all protected objects Selects all objects in the active layer that are protected without unprotecting them Edit Free anchors All Releases all anchored objects in the active layer whether selected or not This applies to both objects anchored in position and objects anchored together Keep in mind that absolute anchorage fixes the position of the objects on the board they can be reduced or expanded but not moved and relative anchorage moves simultaneously associated objects when one of them is moved in its own Edit Free anchors Selected objects only Releases all anchored objects that are selected in red If anchoring is relative only the selected objects are released from the group Note that clicking on the corresponding yellow anchorage icon relative or absolute when all selected objects are already anchored in the same mode releases them if confirmed Overview of menus 12 189 GALAAD 3 Edit Free anchors Selected objects and acolytes Releases all anchors on objects selected in red and those existing between other objects in an anchored group of which they are members Edit Free anchors Mouse select only Allows you to release a single anchored object b
345. y to use the menu this time Edit Free anchors As with protected objects objects anchored in position can also be identified this time with a small anchor by using the menu command Display Trace Position anchors The corresponding icon can also be used for releasing anchored objects if none are currently selected 5 58 Advanced design techniques GALAAD 3 O Selecting and handling points We have seen how to select and handle objects Whilst this type of selection is fundamental for using Galaad it is not the only one Several construction and manipulation functions require that one or two points be selected so that the position can be reused as a given reference Galaad has three distinct selection methods for objects points and for segments Then for each of these three there are two possibilities selection in red which is the main method with selection in blue as an alternative therefore giving a total of six possibilities each with a different purpose What is more as several of these selections may be present simultaneously Galaad shows the focus on only one of them at any one time 1 On the other hand objects selected in blue can never have the focus as they cannot be manipulated in any way and only serve as a reference for other functions but points and segments selected in blue can have the focus Returning to point selection they help to draw locate accurately and even modify trajectories
346. ypes of geometrical objects polygons and Q Splines The hatching or clearing out of the interior is undertaken automatically by Galaad which detects the external contours and any islands Specifying Italics uses the corresponding TrueType font however if there is no italic version available you can always incline the characters yourself and specify the angle of inclination Alternatively if the italic version exists you can change the slope angle You may find TrueType fonts that have no pen thickness though Windows cannot manage fonts with simple lines for example a capital l Technical matters 20 283 GALAAD 3 drawn from a single line actually a rectangle with no width but no less a to and fro movement In such case Galaad is able to get rid of superimposed vectors which saves time when milling even if the vectors do not match absolutely Please refer to the Parameters Workspace Advanced settings to enable or disable this option The old Galaad fonts are still available to provide simple line characters that do not exist as TrueType fonts or equally fonts where the hatching is already done The fonts approximately fifty of them are installed in the FONTS sub folder Three extension are used GLF for Galaad Light Font simple line fonts very useful GOF for Galaad Outline Font thick contoured fonts and possibly hatched and GSF for Galaad Special Font special fonts such as Braille O Downloading the lat

Downloading

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents