COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN AND

COMPUTER AIDED
MANUFACTURING
UNIT - IV
Keshavamurthy.Y.C
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
RVCE.

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 UNIT - IV
CONTENTS

Computer aided part programming: Concepts
of computer aided part programming, APT
language structure, Geometry commands,
Motion commands, Post processor commands
and Auxiliary commands.

APT programming: Compilation of control
commands, repetitive programming, complete
part programming in APT.

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 CONCEPTS OF COMPUTER AIDED
PART PROGRAMMING

For complex jobs, manual part programming
becomes an extremely tedious task and is subject
to errors.

Many part programming languages have been
developed to generate part programs
automatically.

Computer aided part programming consists of two
parts
 Definition of work part geometry
 Specification of operation sequence and tool path.

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PART PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

APT (Automatically programmed Tools): This was
originated at the Servomechanism Laboratory of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT).

Versions of APT for particular processes include
APTURN (for lathe operations), APTMIL (for milling
and drilling operations) and APTPOINT (for point-to-
point operations)

ADAPT (Adaptation of APT): This was developed by
IBM. ADAPT was intended to provide many of the
features of APT while utilising smaller computer.

EXAPT (Extended sub-set of APT): This was developed
in Germany on the basis of the APT language.

UNIAPT: This was developed by United computing
Corp of Carson, California.

PROMPT: Developed by Weber NC system, Inc.., of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Automatically programmed Tools
PART PROGRAM

Processor
INPUT TRANSLATOR

ARITHMETIC
ELEMENT

CUTTER
LOCATION DATA

POST
NC BLOCKS
PROCESSOR

APT CONFIGURATION

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 APT LANGUAGE STRUCTURE

APT is not only an NC language but also a
computer program that performs the calculations
to generate cutter positions based on APT
statements.

There are four types of statements in the APT
language:
1. Geometry Statements
2. Motion Statements
3. Post-processor statements
4. Auxiliary Statements

APT language consists of different types of
statements composed by letters, numerals and
punctuation marks:

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 APT LANGUAGE STRUCTURE

Letters: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Numerals: 0123456789

Punctuation Marks:

/ A slash divides a statement into two sections

, A comma is used to separator between the elements in a
statement

= An equal sign is used for assigning an entity to a
symbolic

() The parenthesis are used for enclosing the nested
statements

$ A single dollar sign when placed at the end of a line in
the part program indicates that the statement continues
in the following line

Keywords: There are certain reserved names called key
words in the language, which have a fixed meaning.

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 APT LANGUAGE STRUCTURE

Arithmetic operations

Addition +, Subtraction -, Multiplication *, Division /,
Exponentiation **
LIBRARY FUNCTIONS

ABS Absolute value

SQRT Square root

SIN Sine of the angle in degrees

COS Cosine of the angle in degre3es

TAN Tangent of the angle in degrees

ASIN Angle of Sine in degrees

ACOS Angle of Cosine in degrees

ATAN Angle of Tangent in degrees

EXP Exponential

LOG Natural Logarithm

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 Automatically programmed Tools

APT stands for Automatically Programmed Tool. It is
a language that defines the tool path with respect to
the part geometry, and often forms the basis for post-
processor generated NC files.

The APT language consists of four types of
statements.

Geometry statements will be used to specify the
elemental features defining the part shape.

Motion statements are used to specify the path taken
by the tool.

Post-processor statements control the machinery,
controlling coolants as well as the feeds and speeds.

Auxiliary statements complete the picture, specifying
the part, required tools, etc.

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

All geometric elements must be defined before tool
motion is programmed.

Geometry statements associate a symbol with a
description of the geometric element and its
parameters.

The general form for a geometry statement is:
symbol = geometric type/parametric description

The symbol consists of up to six alpha-numeric
characters, containing at least one alpha character,
and avoiding APT reserved words (KEYWORDS).

The symbols provide a means to name the geometric
features. The equals sign separates the symbol from
the geometric type.

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

The geometric type describes these features. POINT, LINE, PLANE,
and CIRCLE are valid APT geometric types. The forward slash
character separates the geometric type from the parametric
description of the feature.

The parametric description specifies the location and size of the
feature. It may include dimensional data, positional data, and other
APT words relating the feature to previously defined APT symbols.

To specify a point:

P0 = POINT/1.0, 1.2, 1.3 specifies a point at XYZ coordinates 1.0,
1.2, and 1.3, respectively.

P1 = POINT/INTOF L1, L2 specifies a point at the intersection of lines
L1 and L2, which must have been defined prior to the statement.

P2 = POINT/YLARGE, INTOF, L3, C1 specifies a point at the
intersection of line L3 and circle C1 at a Y position above the center
point of the circle, positive in Y direction.

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

To specify a line:

L1 = LINE/P0, P1 specifies a line by two points,
previously defined.

L1 = LINE/1.0, 1.2, 1.3, 2.0, 2.1, 2.3 specifies a
line by two points, given as explicit coordinates.

L2 = LINE/P2, PARLEL, L1 specifies a line through
point P2 and parallel to line L1.

L3 = LINE/P1, RIGHT, TANTO, C1 specifies a line
through point P1 and tangent to circle C1 on the
right side of the center point.

L4 = LINE/P1, ATANGL, 45, L1 specifies a line
through point P1 at an angle of 45o to line L1.

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

To specify a plane:

PL0 = PLANE/P0, P1, P2 specifies a plane
through three, non-colinear, previously defined
points.

PL1 = PLANE/P3, PARLEL, PL0 specifies a
plane through a point P3 parallel to a plane PL0.

To specify a circle:

C0 = CIRCLE/CENTER, P0, RADIUS, 1.0
specifies a circle of radius 1 from a center point
of P0.

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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Automatically programmed Tools
Geometry Statements

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Motion Statements

Motion statements are used to describe the path
taken by the cutting tool.

Syntax of the motion statement is given by

Motion command/descriptive data

For example: GOTO/P4
GODLTA/1.0, 3.0, 0.0

Motion commands can be broadly classified into
three groups
1. Setup commands
2. Point-to-point commands
3. Contouring motion commands

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Motion Statements

Point to point motion – may be specified as absolute, or as

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 Automatically programmed
Motion Statements
Tools
SETUP COMMANDS

Start point: At the beginning of the motion statements, the tool
must be given a starting point.

This point may be the target point, the location where the operator
has positioned the tool at the start of the job.

FROM command is used to establish the starting point of the tool at
the start of the job.

FROM/TARG TARG is the symbol given to the starting point.

FROM/x, y, z

Where x, y and z are the coordinates of the target point.

The format for motion commands follows the pattern:

motion/description

The initial motion starts from a home position, and takes the form:

FROM/P0 or FROM/ 0.0, 1.0, 2.0

The FROM motion statement occurs only once for each set of a
motion type, at the start of the set of motions.

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Motion Statements
SETUP COMMANDS

Cutter: The cutting tool description is defined as follows

CUTTER/dia

Eg: CUTTER/25.0

Defined25 mm diameter milling cutter.

Tolerances: Tolerances are specified as outside tolerance
(OUTTOL) and inside tolerance (INTOL).

Outside tolerance indicates the allowable tolerance between
the outside of the curved surface and any straight line
segments used to approximate the curve.

Inside tolerance indicates the allowable tolerance between
the inside of a curved surface and any straight line
segments used to approximate the curve

INTOL/0.005

OUTTOL/0.005

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Motion Statements
SETUP COMMANDS

INTOL/0.005

OUTTOL/0.005

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Motion Statements
POINT TO POINT MOTION COMMANDS

There are only two basic commands:

GOTO and GODLTA

GOTO/P7

GOTO/2.0, 5.0, 0.0

In second statement the tool has been instructed to go to
the location whose coordinates are x=2, y=5 and z=0

GODLTA command specifies the relative movement along
the axes specified.

GODLTA/dx, dy, dz

GODLTA/1, 2, 0

Instructs the tool to move from the present position 1 unit
in x direction, 2 units in y direction, z-coordinate remains
unchanged.

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Motion Statements
CONTOURING MOTION COMMANDS

Contouring motion – is the most common motion used in
APT programming, and these statements specify the tool path
continuously throughout the motion.

They make use of three surfaces: (a) drive; (b) check; and (c)
part surfaces.

Drive surfaces represent the surface along which the vertical
edges of the tool will follow.

Part surfaces specify the surfaces the tip of the tool will follow.
And check surfaces describe where the tool will come to rest
after it has completed the motion of the current step.

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CONTOURING MOTION

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CONTOURING MOTION

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CONTOURING MOTION

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CONTOURING MOTION

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CONTOURING MOTION

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Motion Statements

There are four locations for the tool to stop with respect to
a check surface. These four possibilities each have their
own modifier words.

The TO modifier stops the tool when the first surface of
the tool would come into contact with the check surface.

The ON modifier stops the tool where the center point of
the tool would come into contact with the check surface.

The PAST modifier stops the tool where the last surface of
the tool would contact the check surface.

And the TANTO modifier stops the tool at the point of
circular tangency with the edge of the tool.

The initial contouring motion statement is the GO/TO,
which defines the initial drive, part and check surfaces. It
takes the form:

GO/TO, drive surface, TO, part surface, TO, check surface

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 Automatically programmed Tools
Motion Statements

An example would be:

GO/TO, L1, TO, PL1, TO, L2 specifying that the tool should
use line L1 as the drive surface, plane P1 as the part surface,
and line L2 as the check surface.

Note: the GOTO and the GO/TO statements are not the
same. The former specifies point to point motion (see
below), and the latter initiates contouring motion.

Continuing contouring motion statements are given from the
vantage point of a person sitting on the top of the tool.

The motion words are: (a) GOLFT; (b) GORGT; (c) GOFWD; (d)
GOBACK; (e) GOUP; and (f) GODOWN. The sense of these
words depends on the direction the tool.

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 Automatically programmed Tools
POST PROCESSOR COMMAND

Post processor commands are used to specify the machine tool
functions.

The post processor commands are as follows

COOLN T: Coolant turns on, off, flood, mist.

COOLNT/ON (Turns on the coolant)

COOLNT/OFF (Turns off the coolant)

COOLNT/FLOOD

COOLNT/MIST

FEDRAT: It is used to specify the feed rate in mm per minute

FEDRAT/100.0

END: It is used to stop the machine at the end of a section of the
program.

MACHIN: It is used to specify the machine tool and to call the post
processor for that machine tool

MACHIN/MILL, 1

MILL identifies the machine tool type and 1 identifies the particular
machine and post processor

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 Automatically programmed Tools
POST PROCESSOR COMMAND

TURRET: It is used to specify the turret position on the turret lathe
or drill or to call a specific tool from an automatic tool changer.

TURRET/T30

SPINDL: It is used to specify the spindle speed in a revolution per
minute

SPINDL/3000

REWIND: It is used to rewind the control tape to a known tape
mark, which is generally the start of the tape.
AUXILIARY COMMANDS

These commands are used to prepare the computer for accepting
the part program, improve the readability of the part program and
control the output of the computer

CLPRNT: It is used to obtain the computer printout of the cutter
location sequence on the CNC tape.

FINI: It is used to indicate the end of the computer program

PARTNO: It is used at start of program to identify the part program.

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 Automatically programmed Tools
REPETITIVE PROGRAMMING

Sequence of similar statements which need to be referred
more often in a part program are referred by a MACRO
statement.

This feature is similar to a sub-routine in FORTRAN and other
computer programming languages.

MACRO sub-routine is defined as follows

Symbol=MACRO/parameter definitions

In order to activate the MACRO sub-routine, the call
statement must be used

CALL/symbol, parameter specification

Symbol should be the name of the MACRO that is to be
called.

Very last statement is TERMAC

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PROBLEM 1

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SOLUTION :1

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SOLUTION :1

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PROBLEM 2

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SOLUTION: 2

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SOLUTION: 2

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PROBLEM 3

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SOLUTION: 3

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SOLUTION: 3

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PROBLEM 3

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PROBLEM 3

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 APT WORD DEFINITIONS

ATANGLE: At angle. Indicates that the data that
follow represent a specified angle.

CALL: Used to call a MACRO subroutine and to
specify parameter values for the MACRO

CENTRE: Used to indicate the center of the circle.

CIRCLE: Used to define a circle in the XY plane.

Methods of definition

C1=CIRCLE/CENTRE, 4, 3, 0, RADIUS, 2

C1=CIRCLE/4, 3, 0, 2

C1=CIRCLE/CENTRE, P1, RADIUS,2

C1=CIRCLE/CENTRE, P1, TANTO, L1

C1=CIRCLE/XSMALL, L2, YSMALL, L3, RADIUS, .3

C1=CIRCLE/YLARGE, L2, YLARGE, L3, RADIUS, .3

C1=CIRCLE,XLARGE, L2, YLARGE, L3, RADIUS, .3

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 APT WORD DEFINITIONS

CLPRNT: Auxiliary statement, can be used to
obtain a computer printout of the cutter location
sequence on NC tape

COOLNT: Coolant (post processor statement)
Turns coolant on, off and actuate other coolant
options

COOLNT/ON

COOLNT/OFF

COOLNT/FLOOD

COOLNT/MIST

CUTTER: Cutter (auxiliary statement). Defines
cutter diameter to be used in tool offset
computations.

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 APT WORD DEFINITIONS

END: End (post processor statement) Used to
stop the machine at the end of the section of
program.

FEDRAT: Feed rate (postprocessor statement).
Used to specify feed rate

FINI: Finish (auxiliary statement) used to indicate
the end of the complete program.

XLARGE: In the positive x-direction. Used to
indicate the relative position of one geometric
element with respect to another when there are
two possible alternatives

XSMALL: Negative x direction

YLARGE: Positive y direction

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