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IndustryArena Forum > CAM Software > UG NX > How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    45

    How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    It was usually taking about 1-2 weeks straight. It took me 4 weeks on the last part because of an instability issue with NX10 (worst decision ever was to upgrade btw), but actual up time on the application was really only about 2 weeks. Granted, I was having 4-5 crashes a day and with no IT support and no one else in the shop willing to run UG to help troubleshoot it, it ended up being a Windows Security update causing a memory leak that would crash the machine every hour or so and destroy my toolpaths

    I see my counterparts with Mastercam with completed programs running within a week.

    I have to ask, is this normal? Now, mind you, I pick apart my toolpaths etc, because I have found some gouging issues in cavity mill depending on what geometry the part has, amongst some other strangeness. So, in, general, I expect it to take a little bit more time, however, 3 times as long?

    Anyone know any good ways around this, or is this just the nature of the beast?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    78

    Re: How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    Fairly vague description of your situation! Are you running low on hardware resources? When you mentioned you have no IT support I assume you are speaking of your company's IT. Do you have support with Siemens? If you are on Siemens support you could try their manufacturing forum as well as eng-tips.com's NX forum. Your security update problem sounds painful to say the least! As for any co-workers or casual users running NX I doubt they will be of much help to you because like anything there is a fairly steep learning curve so don't waste your time with them. I usually program 3-axis but have tested 5-axis operations for purposes of a new machine evaluation and they don't seem to crunch very long but part size and complexity is everything. You did not mention your hardware setup nor the NX version. I would definitely not run anything less then 10.0.2; that is a must. You should be able to generate operations as fast or faster than mastercam and with more robust capabilities as well. X6 is old but somewhat quick and I seem to recall it didn't keep very good track of updated IPW model which always made me doubt it's ability to accurately keep track of rest material. X7, well, let's not waste any time on that version lol and X8 had horrendous issues with their IPW, flagging every operation under the sun whether it was affected or not. However X9 seems a lot better according to our users. We compare software once in a while and I have to admit MC has some nice bells and whistles but the overall package can't compare with NX.
    NX 10.0.3

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    45

    Re: How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    I really think that the issues stem mostly from a host of issues, mostly related to the OS, maybe some other things. . I am fairly quick now, but, the first few parts were abysmally slow. I am learning MCX9 which in alot of ways does have parts of the program that run much faster than NX10. Just seemed like too often in NX10 I am having to go into manual toolpath edit because one toolpath goes nutty, use generic toolpaths or point/curve, etc to get good finishes and good control of toolpaths. I am somewhat old school in that I like to control my approaches, engages, etc and I don't like surprises. For some reason though NX10s 3d verification seems to be a DOG.

    I also learned NOT to use sequential mill in 10 LOL. It crashed the system pretty badly. We also I think had some residue of a virus we had in the past few months. Either way, a 3 ax part is no problem and that is mostly what I do now anyway, so, I guess we go from there.

    Sadly too, I am one of the better NX programmers I have run into online, much to my amazement.. Some of the stuff I have seen other programmers do I have no idea what was going on when I open the files lol... If I had left crazy moves and such in my programs I would never hear the end of it lol.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    78

    Re: How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    I hear ya. Well, solid hardware and OS is huge. Sometimes windows can get a bit messed up but it is a lot better than it used to be.

    The NX learning curve is fairly steep and you will get along with much more as you progress. Everyone has different preferences for tool path styles and I encourage you investigate the options if you aren't able to get away for a class and you should be able to get it to do what you need.

    Crashes should be uncommon so if you are having them there is something amiss. Contact gtac if you can. For starters a clean part model makes a world of difference. We have one customer who consistently supplies us with bad parts and I almost always have to fix areas that cause weird or bad path moves. I would do a Heal Geometry on a couple parts to see what it finds; especially parts with many faces and non-prismatic faces. When it completes it will display the results of what was fixed: smoothness, vertices, gaps, etc-. If you received a really bad part it will return results of zero fixed for everything which is an indicator the part is horrible in which case you might even want to contact who sent it to you.



    I like to completely control my engages/retracts as well and so far 3-axis can song and dance any way I like. I especially like Smoothing which replaces the myriad of engage/retract options and works really nice. The 4/5-axis operation have it except for 5-ax cavity milling and seq milling, which makes sense.

    Feel free to post again with specific issues. Like I mentioned Eng-Tips is another decent forum to ask questions in but if you are on Siemens maintenance that would be another good place to post.
    NX 10.0.3

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    78

    Re: How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    I forgot to mention about Verify. I had to test some different settings to get the result I wanted. There is animation accuracy setting which I set to fine and the IPW resolution can be set to fine, medium or coarse. The tolerances it uses for those setting can be set in customer defaults and also in the prt file on the fly. You'll have to try different settings to see what works for you; everyone's parts are different. I settled on .020", .010" and .005" for coarse, medium and fine. The caveat for me is when I have a large part with some very small corners then I either have to use medium which loses small detail or fine which takes a while. Thankfully that's the exception and verify works well for most of my work.

    As far as I know there are not tolerances for Show Thickness by Color but you can change the numbers for thickness ranges. I change mine depending on model size, how much blank I have, leaving plus stock, zero stock, negative stock, etc-.

    From what I heard Siemens is continually working on verify and eventually is combining it with machine sim which makes sense. At the moment machine sim seems a bit cumbersome to use and I only use it when I'm simulating someone else's posted nc file. My programs are usually run on parts mounted to precision holders/pallets so nothing exciting happens much, lol.
    NX 10.0.3

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    83

    Re: How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    Hi

    I'm teaching students on NX CAM at a university. So I have 20 stations with NX10. I have to say NX10 is not stable and we have a problems. For example there has been situations where different stations are acting differently on a same task (model and operation are exactly the same).

    Tim

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    78

    Re: How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    Quote Originally Posted by timoty View Post
    Hi
    I'm teaching students on NX CAM at a university. So I have 20 stations with NX10. I have to say NX10 is not stable and we have a problems. For example there has been situations where different stations are acting differently on a same task (model and operation are exactly the same).
    Tim
    I believe you identified the problem. Application software does not change so your problems and differences between workstations are most likely OS and/or hardware related. Also 3rd party software can affect your system as well. Malware can cause some big problems too. At our site NX is extremely stable; I experience a hard crash perhaps only once a year at most. I have been using NX since UG v9 or 10. NX 1 would have been UG 19 so if you follow the versions then NX 10 is really version 30.

    A very important aspect of NX is to use supported hardware, OS versions and video drivers; this is extremely important and cannot be overlooked. Some people are using non-certified components and their system may work fine but if the stations don't work right then you are on your own. I recall updating a video driver to a newer, unsupported version and GTAC support identified it to be causing the file open dialog to malfunction. Reverting back to the certified driver immediately solved the problem.

    Are all of you running certified systems? You can check you configurations at the Siemens site.
    NX 10.0.3

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    83

    Re: How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    BTW, can you share the model to understand complexity of programming?

    Tim

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    45

    Re: How long does it usually take for 5-axis programming in Siemens NX10?

    OH, I guarantee we likely are NOT running on certified systems lol. My personal PC runs it like a boss, but, the job I left had a Dell station that sucked wind lol.

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