Tuesday, 30 June 2026

Automated flange probing using CHIPS?

Flange probing? Fnaaaarrrr!

But seriously, rather than manually position the probe at each of the 8 bores / holes, I guess I could create gcode to do this for me, saving the coordinates to a log file (CHIPS does this automatically). Then I could take the coordinates from the log file and update or create a sketch from them.

Or rather, I could get Mr AI to generate the file for me. I told it to use the CHIPS probing functions within CNC12 and take my coordinates of the approximate hole centres as starting positions. This is what he / it came up with. I've removed a load of blank lines to make it 

(===================================================================)
(       AUTOMATED FLANGE PROBING ROUTINE VIA CHIPS ADD-IN          )
(===================================================================)
( Clears offsets, rapids to approx holes, probes via CHIPS P9114,  )
( and logs True X, True Y, and Dia into probe_cycle_history.xml    )
(===================================================================)
G21 (Metric Mode - Change to G20 if your dimensions are in Inches)
G90 G54
T99 M6 (Load Touch Probe - Adjust tool number to match your carousel)
(----------------------- CONFIGURATION VARIABLES -------------------)
#501 = -6.0    (Z-Depth: How deep inside the holes the probe will trip)
#502 = 38.0    (Nominal Diameter of the 4 Main Bores)
#503 = 10.0    (Nominal Diameter of the 4 Bolt Holes)
(----------------------- [USER INPUT] APPROX CENTERS ---------------)
(--- 4 Large Main Bores ---)a bit more compact.
#10 = 0.000    (Bore 1 Approx X)
#11 = 0.000    (Bore 1 Approx Y)
#20 = 0.000    (Bore 2 Approx X)
#21 = 0.000    (Bore 2 Approx Y)
#30 = 0.000    (Bore 3 Approx X)
#31 = 0.000    (Bore 3 Approx Y)
#40 = 0.000    (Bore 4 Approx X)
#41 = 0.000    (Bore 4 Approx Y)
(--- 4 Small Bolt Holes ---)
#50 = 0.000    (Bolt 1 Approx X)
#51 = 0.000    (Bolt 1 Approx Y)
#60 = 0.000    (Bolt 2 Approx X)
#61 = 0.000    (Bolt 2 Approx Y)
#70 = 0.000    (Bolt 3 Approx X)
#71 = 0.000    (Bolt 3 Approx Y)
#80 = 0.000    (Bolt 4 Approx X)
#81 = 0.000    (Bolt 4 Approx Y)
(===================================================================)
(                     PROBING SEQUENCE START                        )
(===================================================================)
G43 H99 Z15.0   (Apply tool height offset, move to safe clearance Z)
(--- PROBE BORE 1 ---)
G00 X#10 Y#11       (Rapid to approx center)
G01 Z#501 F1000     (Feed smoothly down into hole)
G65 P9114 D#502     (CHIPS Bore Cycle: Appends data to history XML)
G00 Z15.0           (Retract out of hole safely)
(--- PROBE BORE 2 ---)
G00 X#20 Y#21       (Rapid to approx center)
G01 Z#501 F1000     (Feed down)
G65 P9114 D#502     (CHIPS Bore Cycle)
G00 Z15.0           (Retract)
(--- PROBE BORE 3 ---)
G00 X#30 Y#31       (Rapid to approx center)
G01 Z#501 F1000     (Feed down)
G65 P9114 D#502     (CHIPS Bore Cycle)
G00 Z15.0           (Retract)
(--- PROBE BORE 4 ---)
G00 X#40 Y#41       (Rapid to approx center)
G01 Z#501 F1000     (Feed down)
G65 P9114 D#502     (CHIPS Bore Cycle)
G00 Z15.0           (Retract)
(--- PROBE BOLT HOLE 1 ---)
G00 X#50 Y#51       (Rapid to approx center)
G01 Z#501 F1000     (Feed down)
G65 P9114 D#503     (CHIPS Bore Cycle)
G00 Z15.0           (Retract)
(--- PROBE BOLT HOLE 2 ---)
G00 X#60 Y#61       (Rapid to approx center)
G01 Z#501 F1000     (Feed down)
G65 P9114 D#503     (CHIPS Bore Cycle)
G00 Z15.0           (Retract)
(--- PROBE BOLT HOLE 3 ---)
G00 X#70 Y#71       (Rapid to approx center)
G01 Z#501 F1000     (Feed down)
G65 P9114 D#503     (CHIPS Bore Cycle)
G00 Z15.0           (Retract)
(--- PROBE BOLT HOLE 4 ---)
G00 X#80 Y#81       (Rapid to approx center)
G01 Z#501 F1000     (Feed down)
G65 P9114 D#503     (CHIPS Bore Cycle)
G00 Z50.0 M05       (Clear part completely, stop spindle)
M30 (End of Program)

But no. In the end it bearly seemed worthwhile. I'd have to determine the approx hole centres and also manually transcribe the output (ie accurate / actual hole centres), no matter what.

So no, I couldn't be arsed to go this route. Instead I just used the CHIPS boring macro to acquire the coordinates and entered them directly into the Fusion sketch. But it looked plausible.

No comments:

Post a Comment

CAM setup for the flange plate

I have a couple of these end mills from SGS Tool (now branded as Kyocera SGS). Called "V-Carb 55SS Short", aka "Series 55...