Axis Orientation - Milling

A typical vertical machining center has

three controlled axes, defined as X-axis, Y-
axis, and Z-axis.
X-axis is parallel to the longest dimension
of machine table, Y-axis is parallel to the
shortest dimension of the table and Z-axis
is the spindle movement.
On a vertical CNC machining center, X-axis
is the table longitudinal direction, Y-axis is
the saddle cross direction, and Z-axis is the
spindle direction.
Functional diagram of a three-axis CNC machining center.
 Selection of Zero Point
In order to define certain points on a workpiece,
first decide where to put the coordinate system on
the workpiece, especially where to place the zero
point.
For milling, the zero point (or reference point) of all
dimensions may be placed anywhere on the
workpiece. This zero point may be called as
'workpiece zero' (WZ) or workpiece datum.

Example of Zero Point Options on Workpiece

 CNC MILLING
Axis Orientation - Milling
A typical vertical machining center has
three controlled axes, defined as X-axis, Y-
axis, and Z-axis.
X-axis is parallel to the longest dimension
of machine table, Y-axis is parallel to the
Basic axes of a typical vertical CNC machining shortest dimension of the table and Z-axis
center is the spindle movement.
On a vertical CNC machining center, X-axis
is the table longitudinal direction, Y-axis is
the saddle cross direction, and Z-axis is the
spindle direction.
Vertical spindle milling machine Horizontal spindle milling machine
 OVERVIEW OF GENERAL RULES

Milling only:

Reach the Z-axis milling depth in G40 mode

(cutter radius offset cancel mode)

Do not forget the offset number D.. to include in the program - it is a

small error that can cost a lot

Retract from the depth (along Z-axis only) after the radius offset has been
canceled

Make sure the cutter radius offset corresponds to the work plane selected
 END MILLS

some of the most common machining

operations that can be performed with an end
mill - HSS, cobalt, solid carbide or an index able
insert type:
Contouring and peripheral end milling
Milling of slots and keyways
Channel groves, face grooves and recesses
Open and closed pockets
Facing operations for small areas
Facing operations for thin walls
Counterboring
Spotfacing
Chamfering
Deburring
CNC mill programming exercise shows the use of
• G90 Absolute Programming • G91 Incremental Programming
P5

P3
P4

G91 G01 X0 Y0
X50.0 (with P1 as previous origin) to P2
P1 P2 X20.0 Y35.0 (with P2 as previous origin) to P3
X-25.0
(with P3 as previous origin) to P4; On P3 mark X,Y axis,
so, X will be –ve value from P3 to P4
X-45.0 Y45.0
(with P4 as previous origin) to P5; On P4 mark X,Y axis,
so, X will be –ve value & Y will be +ve value from P4 to P5
Y-80.0
(with P5 as previous origin) to P1; On P5 mark X,Y axis,
so, X will be zero & Y will be - ve value from P5 to P1
M30
CNC Mill G02 G03 Circular Interpolation Programming Example
CNC mill program to ONLY show the use of
• G02 Circular Interpolation CW
• G03 Circular Interpolation CCW
(Without using end mill diameter/offset G41 or G42/ Plane selection G17)

G90 Absolute Programming

 COMPENSATED CUTTER PATH

In practical terms, using cutter radius offset

(and tool nose radius offset on lathes) should
be considered for a number of reasons:
Unknown exact size of the cutter radius
Adjusting for the cutter wear
Adjusting for the cutter deflection
Roughing and finishing operations
Maintaining machining tolerances … and
many others

The first thing to take care of is to eliminate the

misleading terms clockwise and counterclockwise.
These terms are reserved exclusively for circular
interpolation and have no place in discussion of the
cutter radius offset. Instead, the more accurate
terms Left and Right are used for clarity in milling
program.
Tool path not compensated (above) and compensated (below), by the specified cutter
radius
Climb milling and Conventional milling mode for a right hand cutter and spindle
rotation mode M03
 Cutter radius compensation in milling
Job edge/surface
Top Views

Cutter/end mill

Cutter path left to programmed (job surface to be milled) path

when looking from behind the cutter while moving at job edge

Cutter path right to programmed (job surface to be milled) path

when looking from behind the cutter while moving at job edge
Top view of part for milling

Cutting tool path is in the order of points

P1-P2-P3-P4-P5-P1. That is also the order these
coordinates will be entered in CNC program.

Part origin

Contour change points required by the cutter path

+Y
P1 (0,0)
+x
 Startup Methods

To turn the offset on, to make it effective, the

cutter will be away from the actual cutting
area, in clear. The intended cutter size is 0.750
(R0.375), climb mill mode is desired, and 0.250
clearance is away from the contour. With these
numbers, the start position is calculated at
X-0.625 ,Y-0.625.

Once the start location is established, first few blocks of

the program can be written:
O3001
N1 G20
N2 G17 G40 G80
N3 G90 G54 G00 X-0.625 Y-0.625 S920 M03
For extra safety, cutter approach in blocks N4
and N5 to the depth of Z-0.55 (based on a 0.5
N4 G43 Z1.0 H01
inch plate thickness) was split into two N5 G01 Z-0.55 F25.0 M08 (FOR 0.5 PLATE THICK)
motions.
Next decision is selecting the Y position, to get the target
point.
 selecting option (a) should be the preferred
programming method of lead-in.
Combination of (a) and ©) is also a good
choice, with the Y-axis target in the negative
area.

Possible lead-in motions used to activate cutter radius offset

mode

At block N10, cutter has reached the end of the

0.625 radius. Contouring is not yet finished - the
bottom side has to be cut, along the X-axis. The
question is - how far to cut and when to cancel the
cutter radius offset?
This is the last cut on the part, so it still has to be
machined while the offset is in effect! The cutter can
end at X0, but that is not a practical position - it
should move a bit farther, still along the X-axis only.
How far is further? Why not to the same X-0.625 -
the original start position? This is not the only
clearance position available, but is the safest,
most reliable and consistent. Block N11 will be:
N11 G01 X-0.625
 FINAL PART PROGRAM

After calculating contour points, cutter

start/end point & applying G41 with
D/H offset no.

The safest place to cancel cutter radius offset, for any

machine, is away from the contour just finished. This
should always be a clear area position. The start
position can also be the end position.
 After the machining is complete, this finished
part will look like this

Y -20

x -20

G-Codes to be used in program

G00 – Rapid traverse.
G54 – Zero Offset no 1.
G64 – Continuous-path mode.
G90 – Absolute dimensioning system.
Cutter dia. 12.5mm G17 – X-Y plan selection.
G42 – Cutter radius compensation activation
G40 – Cutter radius compensation cancel
M03 – Cutter rotation clockwise
S – Spindle speed
F – Axis motion feed
D – Tool no
N5 G00 G54 G64 G90 G17 X-20 Y-20 Z50

N10 S450 M03 F250 D01 (12.5 MM DIA)

N15 C0 (C is used for rotary table) This block may be skipped / A simple CNC mill can also run this program

N20 Z5 (Rapid move towards part top surface to Z+5)

N25 G01 Z0 (Cutter face just at top surface of part)

N30 Z-5 ( Depth of cut)

N35 G42 X0 Y0 (Applying cutter compensation RIGHT (ACW) from part origin)

N40 X30 (Linear feed in X to +30)

N45 Y30

N50 X0

N55 Y0

N60 G40 X-20 Y-20 (Cancelling cutter compensation at start point)

N65 G00 Z50 (Cutter rapid move in Z direction to +50)

N70 Y100
N75 M30
G41: Left cutter
radius
compensation
i.e. cutter path
shall be 0.250”
shift from
programmed
path/contour
automatically.
 Slot size: 3”× 2”

End mill cutter dia. 3/8” = 0.375”

1”

4”
1” 2” 5”
(0,0,0) 3”

5”
%
:1001
N5 G90 G20 (Absolute coordinates and inch)
N10 M06 T3 (Tool change and Tool #3)
N15 M03 S1200 (Spindle on CW at 1200 rpm0
N20 G00 X1 Y1 (Rapid move to (X1, Y1))
N25 Z0.125 (Rapid move to Z0.125)
N30 G01 Z-0.125 F5 (Feed into part 0.125 at 5 ipm)
N35 X4 F20 (Feed across to 4 in. at 20 ipm)
N40 Y3 (Feed up 3 in.)
N45 X1 (Feed back 4 in.)
N50 Y1 (Feed down 3 in.)
N55 G00 Z1 (Rapid out to Z)
N60 X0 Y0 (Rapid to home position)
N65 M05 (Turns spindle off)
N70 M30 (End of program)
 Example with cutter compensation LEFT (G41)

P3 P4

P2 C1 C2
P5

P7
P6

P9 P1
P8

Start point (-0.625, -0.625)

Point X Y I J R
P1 0 0 - - -
P2 0 1.125-0.2 = 0.925 - - -
C1 - - 0.2 0 0.2
P3 0.2 1.125 - - -
P4 1.0 1.125 - - -
P5 1.0 0.75 - - -
C2 - - 0.25 0 0.25
P6 1.25 0.5 - - -
P7 1.75 0.5 - - -
P8 1.75 0 - - -
P9 -0.625 0 - - -
Start Point -0.625 -0.625 - - -
H01: End mill D01 length offset (Z)

P1 to P2
P2 to P3 (Destination point)
P3 to P4 ( Y is unchanged)

P4 to P5 ( X is unchanged)

P5 to P6 (Destination point)

P6 to P7
P7 to P8 ( X is unchanged)
P8 to P9 ( Y is zero)
Start point (-0.625, -0.625)
Cutter at Safe height -
- at start point
 Cutter path without Compensation (here G41)

Start point (0,0)

+X

-Y

Either use I,J or R in N7 Block

Here arc centre lying on x axis of cutter centre i.e. start point & it is minus 0.750 on Y axis
Program without using G41)
G00 : Rapid traverse.
G54 : Zero Offset no. 1.
G64 : Continuous-path mode.
G90 : Absolute dimensioning system.
G17 : X-Y plan selection.
G42 : Cutter radius compensation activation (right hand
side movement)
G40 : Cutter radius compensation de-active
S : Spindle speed
F : Axses motion feed
M : Cutter motion (3=clockwise, 4=anti-clockwise)
D : Tool no
C is used for rotary table
M30 : End of main program
N5 G00 G54 G64 G90 G17 X-20 Y-20 Z50

N10 S450 M03 F250 D01 (12.5 MM DIA)

N15 C0 (Rotory table axis; Optional block)

N20 Z5

N25 G01 Z0

N30 Z-5

N35 G42 X0 Y0

N40 X40 Y0 U5

N45 X40 Y30 U8

N50 X70 Y30 U-2

N55 X70 Y50 U-2

N60 X0 Y50 U6

N65 X0 Y0

N70 G40 X-20 Y-20

N80 G00 Z50

N85 Y100 N90 M30

G02 G03 with R

O0010 (INTERPOLATION EXERCISE)

T1 M06 (1/2 DIA. 4FLT. END MILL)

G90 G54 G00 X-0.35 Y-0.25
S1450 M03
G43 H01 Z0.1 M08
G01 Z-0.625 F50. X-0.25 F14.5 Y3.5
G02 X0.5 Y4.25 R0.75
G01 X3.5
G02 X4.25 Y3.5 R0.75
G01 Y0.25 X4.
G03 X3.75 Y0. R0.25
G01 Y-0.25 X-.35
G00 Z1. M09
G28 G91 Z.0 M05
M30
 PART PROGRAM FOR MACHINING CENTRES (MILLING)

% 100; (Main programme)

N5 G17 G71 G90 G94 G54; (Parameters Setting)
N10 T2 L90; (Home position)
N15 G00 D2 Z50 M3 S700 X10 Y-25; (Position of tool)
N20 G01 Z-1.5; (Position of cut)
N25 G01 X4 F100 M8; (Cutting slat)
N30 G00 Z100 M9; (Final position of tool)
N35 M30; (Main programme end)
Manual Part Programming Example

Tool size = 0.25 inch,

Feed rate = 6 inch per minute,
Cutting speed = 300 rpm,
Tool start position: 2.0, 2.0
Programming in inches
Motion of tool:
P0 p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p1 p0
%101; (Main programme)
N2 G17 G71 G90 G94 G54; (Parameters Setting)
N4 T1 L90; (Home position)
N6 G00 Z5 D5 M3 S500 X20 Y90; (Position of tool)
N8 G01 Z-2 F50; (Position of cut)
N10 G02 X60 Y50 I0 J-40; (Circular interpolation clockwise-CW)
N12 G03 X80 Y50 I20 J0; (Circular interpolation clockwise-CCW)
N14 G00 Z100; (Final position of tool)
N16 M02; (End of programme)