help.hlp

This is a CNCPro source file. It is include the G-Code interpreter source.

HelpTopic1
CNC Pro is designed to be a controller
for any CNC machine via PC parallel port.
It is also designed to run in MS-DOS.
It is fully configurable to almost any 
machine through the Setup menu item.
The default password when promped is:
"password" all lowercase.  You can change
this password to "none" and not be
prompted again.

CNC Pro takes any G-Code file 
that ends in ".txt". Just put g-code
files in the folder named gcode and 
load them with CNC Pro through the
File menu item and then press <E>
to execute that file.

alt-f -> File menu item
alt-s -> Setup menu item
alt-o -> Operator menu item
alt-h or F1 -> help menu item

at almost any time the F1 key 
will bring up a help menu pertaining
to your current field location.

in the file, operator, and setup screens
you can change fields by using the up and
down arrow keys. you can change the 
contents of any field by pressing enter
or the space bar.

Supported G/M codes
-------------------
F     feed rate is followed by a feed speed
      eg. "F180"
V     (not available in CNC Pro Lite)
      set or use a variable. specify
      V0 through V100 eg. "V59=2.34"
      use V0 through V100 eg. "G01 XV59"
X     location or distance to move in the x axis
      eg. "X3"
Y     location or distance to move in the y axis
      eg. "Y3"
Z     location or distance to move in the z axis
      eg. "Z3"
W     location or distance to move in the 
      auxiliary axis eg. "W3"
      this character may not be "W", it could also
      be "A" or "B".
G0    fast move
G1    linear move
G2    clockwise rotation
G3    counterclockwise rotation
G4    dwell followed by a P parameter
      with a dwell time in milliseconds
      eg. "G4 P2000" dwells for 2 seconds 
G17   XY plane for arcs
G18   ZX plane for arcs
G19   YZ plane for arcs
G20   inch units
G74   inch units
G21   metric units
G75   metric units
G22   (not available in CNC Pro Lite)
      do subroutine followed by a P parameter
      with a subroutine number
      eg. "G22 P20"
      up to 100 subroutines can be specifed in
      a program. each subroutine is defined 
      after the M30 statement and is signified 
      by the '$' character.  M0 is not supported
      within any subroutine and if called, the
      subroutine will be terminated. each
      subrountine is terminated by M2. eg.
      ...
      G22 P20 V1=2 V2=1
      G22 P20 V1=5 V2=3
      M30

      $20
      XV1
      YV2
      X0
      Y0
      M2
G43   new tool followed by a P parameter
      with a tool number eg. "G43 P11"
G49   cancel tool length compensation
G50   cancel scaling
G51   scaling followed by a P parameter
      with a scale factor and also followed
      by X, Y, and Z parameters determining
      scaling point eg. "G51 P1.5 X3 Y3 Z2"
G53   machine coordinates
G54   offset 2
G55   offset 3
G56   offset 4
G57   offset 5
G58   offset 6
G59   offset 7
G60   (not available in CNC Pro Lite)
      constant contouring OFF
G64   (not available in CNC Pro Lite)
      constant contouring ON
G70   independant auxiliary axis
G71   auxiliary axis follow X axis
G72   auxiliary axis follow Y axis
G73   auxiliary axis follow Z axis
G80   (not available in CNC Pro Lite)
      cancel drill cycle
G81   (not available in CNC Pro Lite)
      single pass drill cycle on
      up position specified by R parameter
      drill position specified by Z parameter
      e.g. "G81 R1 Z-.5"
      where parameters are in absolute coords.
G83   (not available in CNC Pro Lite)
      multiple pass drill cycle on
      up position specified by R parameter
      drill position specified by Z parameter
      max depth/pass specified by Q parameter
      e.g. "G81 R1 Z-.5 Q-.25"
      where parameters are in absolute coords.
      except Q (pass depth).
G90   absolute coordinates
G91   relative coordinates
G92   reset machine coordinates to the 
      coodinates specified by the following
      X, Y, and Z parameters
      eg. "G92 X0 Y0 Z0"
      -only works while in G53
G95   (can not use within a subroutine)
      quit executing current file and begin 
      executing next file specified
      eg. "G95 #c:\path\to\file\file.ext"
L     (can not use within a subroutine)
      loop a line of gcode 
      looping parameter specified by a number 
      eg. "L100" 
      executes the line of code its in 100 times 
M03   user defined output 1 on
M05   user defined output 1 off
M07   user defined output 2 on
M08   user defined output 3 on
M09   user defined output 2 & 3 off 
M10   user defined output 4 on
M11   user defined output 4 off
M06   go to tool change position
M00   cycle stop
M30   cycle stop and rewind
M99   cycle stop and rewind and cycle begin
M100  rotate +90 deg. about the x axis
M101  rotate -90 deg. about the x axis
M102  rotate +90 deg. about the y axis
M103  rotate -90 deg. about the y axis
M104  rotate +90 deg. about the z axis
M105  rotate -90 deg. about the z axis|
HelpTopic2
configure the parallel port to fit the
control electronics that run your machine|
HelpTopic3
configure the bits on the port to be high
or low for activation. pick to turn on
or off e-stop and limit switches. pick how
to configure the auxiliary axis|
HelpTopic4
pick which units to display in
pick the label for the auxiliary axis
  and the output switches
determine jog speed settings
determine feed rate inctrement settings|
HelpTopic5
determine all the settings that control the machine
such as:
accelerations
step size
maximum velocity
and backlash|
HelpTopic6
determine all homing settings such as:
homing direction
debounce distance
homing speed
and working length|
HelpTopic7
change current password to something else.
if you set this to "none", the system will not
prompt you for a password when entering the 
setup menu.|
HelpTopic8
load the default setting supplied with the program
sets the configuration to <default>|
HelpTopic9
save current settings as a certain .cfg file name
to be specified|
HelpTopic10
save current settings with the name of the current
.cfg file|
HelpTopic11
exit setup without saving any of the changes you
have made since entering the setup menu|
HelpTopic12
determine the port address with which to communicate
with your machine. the usual default for this address
is 0x378|
HelpTopic13
determine the step and direction pins of the control
electronics and then set up these pins acordingly|
HelpTopic14
determine the limit switch and emergency stop pins
of the control electronics and then set up these pins
accordingly|
HelpTopic15
determine the user defined output pins of the control 
electronics and then set up these pins accordingly|
HelpTopic16
turns on/off dynamic update of coordinate display.
to enable faster output of steps/second you will want
this setting ON.|
HelpTopic17
determines the direction the axis moves with respect
to the pin high or pin low|
HelpTopic18
turns the auxiliary axis on or off|
HelpTopic19
determines whether the auxiliary axis is set to:
do what the x axis does,
do what the y axis does,
do what the z axis does,
or be independant|
HelpTopic20
determines whether pin high or pin low activates the
limit switch|
HelpTopic21
switches between a hold line (servo catch up),
emergency stop button, or turns setting off.
if hold line is selected, an e-stop button can
also be connected to the same pin. once e-stop 
activated you must press the escape key to break
the program.|
HelpTopic22
determines whether pin high or pin low activates the
emergency stop|
HelpTopic23
determines whether pin high or pin low activates the
user defined output switch|
HelpTopic24
sets the time units to display feed rates in|
HelpTopic25
sets the time units to display auxiliary feed
rates in|
HelpTopic26
units to display coordinates in|
HelpTopic27
auxiliary axis character label:
W -> linear axis
A or B -> radial axis|
HelpTopic28
units to display auxiliary coordinates in|
HelpTopic29
set user defined output label
max of 3 characters|
HelpTopic30
invert the arrows on the keyboard so that
the up and down arrows are the x axis jog
control and the right and left arrows are
the y axis jog control|
HelpTopic31
determine the jog speed of the axis|
HelpTopic32
set the feed rate increase and decrease
speed increment.
this is used during a program to speed
up and slow down the feed rate of the machine|
HelpTopic33
determine the homing direction of the axis|
HelpTopic34
determine the homing speed of the axis|
HelpTopic35
determine the debounce distance of the axis.
the debounce distance the how far the machine
carriage will move after a continuous activation
or deactivation of the limit switch.|
HelpTopic36
determine the length the axis is allowed
to move without running out|
HelpTopic37
determine the backlash value for the axis.
backlash is the compensation distance that
the motors must turn during an axis direction
change.|
HelpTopic38
determine how many motor steps per machine unit|
HelpTopic39
determine the maximum velocity of the axis.
maximum velocities can be determined by
increasing the speed until the machine 
stalls and then take about 70% of the stall
value and use it for the maximum velocity 
value.|
HelpTopic40
determine the maximum acceleration for the axis.
maximum accelerations can be determined by taking 
linear force of each carriage and deviding it by
the mass of that carriage.  if you don't want to
do all that a safe bet is around 1 ft/sec^2 or
.33 m/s^2.|
HelpTopic41
load a gcode file.
gcode files should be placed into the 
"c:\cncpro\gcode\" directory.
gcode files should end with the
extention ".txt"|
HelpTopic42
load a configuration file.
configuration files are created
and saved by the user. they consist
of the parameters that determine which
machine is being controlled by the 
software.|
HelpTopic43
determine the coordinate offsets such as
machine coordinates or coordinate offsets 2-7|
HelpTopic44
determine current tool and define the tool
table.  each tool number has three parameters
associated to it: 
discription, diameter, and length.
by pressing the insert button new tools
can be created and by pressing the delete
button tools can be deleted.  an existing
tool can be selected to be the current 
tool by selecting it with the field and 
pressing enter or space bar.|
HelpTopic45
determine the position in the machine
coordinate system that the machine locates
to in order to do a tool change.|
HelpTopic46
determine if the machine movement under a
G0 (rapid move) command is linear interpolated
or simply the quickest way between two points which
may not be linear.|
HelpTopic47
determine the units of the coordinates displayed.|
HelpTopic48
determine if the coordinates that specify the 
center of an arc are always specified relative
to the current position or if they are specified
depending on which mode (relative or absolute) 
the program is in.|
HelpTopic49
determine if your driver takes a step when the
step bit goes from a HIGH to LOW state or a LOW
TO HIGH state.  please consult your driver 
retailer to determine which type you have.|
HelpTopic50
edit a gcode file.  this menu item actually
calls the DOS editor program "edit" or the
PC-DOS editor program "e".  you must have one of
these programs in order to edit your gcode files
during a cncpro session.  you must also have
the path to one of these programs defined in the
%PATH% environment variable.|