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If you have some knowlege and experience in coding you might consider writing your own post processor to translate this aptsource file or any CL data file.

With so many different configurations of machining centers and controllers out there it would be unreasonable to expect any CADCAM system to generate the G code directly.

But, even with MasterCAMs robust machine and control definition utilities and excellent post lanquage it still requires a considerable learning curve and a lot of time to develop the knowledge and skills needed to prepare the machine and control definition files and the.pst post script file to direct the MasterCAM post processor to generate the code needed for your 4 or 5 axis machine.

CNC Software, Inc.

MasterCAM dealer to prepare your post files for the more complex multiaxis and mill-turn machines.

They have several already prepared that can be purchased from your dealer.

The good news is you only have to make the investment for each machine once.

Even more good news; If you need a mill post for a 3, 4 or 5 Axis machine, my lower overhead expenses allow me to make machine definitions and posts at a much lower cost than your dealer can offer.

The folks at Dassault adopted an entirely different philosophy to this whole post processing challenge.

They developed a processor that outputs a text data file called aptsource or just plain APT.

APT is an industry standard CNC program file that is well documented and has been a standard long before ISO G code.

In CATIA the type of machine is defined internally and a table called the post procssor table or PPTable with the file extension.pptable is used to direct CATIA in outputting the APT statements to an aptsource file with the extension.aptsource.

Only a few machines are capable or reading this aptsoruce file directly.

This means the aptsource file must be translated to generate the G code needed for a particular machine.

To get this done Dassault has partnered with third-party companies to work with their customers to make posts.

The trouble is the cost can be considerable to have one of these outfits make a good post for you.

If the machine is complex or you have several different machines each requiring a unique post processor the cost can be considereable.

There are other post writers not affiliated with Dassault who offer more affordable alternatives you can find online.

What does the post processor actually do The answer is: Quite a lot, particulary for 4 or 5 axis programs.

With a typical 3 axis machine the post is basically a translator but it must also perform angular calculations and map intermediate X and Y coordinates for the circular commands G2 and G3.

The post must also generate the canned cycles for drilling such as G82 and G83 and must calculate the angles and map the helical motion for circle milling and thread milling.

As difficult as it may be to comprehend, CADCAM systems do not output any angular data for multi-axis operations.

Instead they output lots of vectors with the base point at X0, Y0 and Z0 and IJK values defining the second point.

This IJK is the XYZ position of the second point from X0, Y0 and Z0 defining its direction.

It is for this reason multi-axis data generated by CADCAM is often referred to as center line or CL data.

With this understanding you can see the post must calculate the axial angles for your program from each vector and re-map the X, Y, and Z values for each point to compensate for the angle.

The post must also do a bunch of other stuff along with this such as determining toolpath types, keeping track of axial limits, Turning axis brakes on and off, computing inverse feed rates, etc.

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