Resuming to drill a pattern of holes (Block Search)
Variants of the block search in SINUMERIK Operate
Aim of this application
The design of a program, for the drilling of a pattern of holes, is easily possible with SINUMERIK Operate. During the machining, however, the program could be reset because of an error or because of a manual reset (e.g. when boring deep holes).
How can the program being restarted, after the reset, from the last drilled position and not from the beginning? How can the manufacturer provide this resuming?
This article shows the basic possibilities of the Block search in the overview. The documents linked below cover various scenarios in more detail, e.g. the block search in DIN ISO programs, cycles and ShopMill programs.
Resuming with Block Search
“Block Search” is provided in SINUMERIK Operate as a standard. When the program has been resetted, the softkey “Block search” can be pressed. SINUMERIK Operate lets then to choose, how to prepare the program for the resuming (here is a simplified description):
Block search with calculation:
The calculations, which are stated in the program before the seeked block, will be taken into account for the resuming:
- With approach (to contour): the end position of the block which is prior to the target block is found with <CYCLESTART>. The program runs in the same way as in normal program processing. This is used to be able to approach the contour in any circumstance.
- Without approach (block end point): the end position of the target block (or the next programmed position) is approached, using the type of interpolation valid in the target block. Only the axes programmed in the target block are moved. If machine data 11450 SEARCH_RUN_MODE bit 1="1" is set, the rotary axes of the active swivel data record are prepositioned after Block Search. If necessary, a collision-free initial situation must be created manually on the machine in JOG REPOS mode before starting the program execution. This is used to approach a target machine position in the program (e. g. tool change position).
Block search without calculation
The Block Search will find the desired block, but without performing the calculation stated in the part-program (e.g. without outputting auxiliary M-codes or action blocks after the NC Start). With this search mode, a desired block can be found very fast, when it’s not necessary to resume the program for the machining.
Block search with program test (SERUPRO)
The NC starts the selected program in the program test mode, e.g. perform multi-channel Block Search with calculation. If the NC reaches the specified target block in the actual channel, it stops at the beginning of the target block and deselects program test mode. After continuing the program with NC start (after REPOS motion) the auxiliary functions of the target block are output.
Scenarios for DIN/ISO programs, cycles and ShopMill
To describe the examples in the document for download, the following parts have been used:
- SINUMERIK 840D sl version 4.5 SP2
- SINUMERIK Operate version 4.5 SP2 mit Run MyScreen
The listing of the programms and the documentation are available at the Siemens Support-Portal.