This is what a short section
of G-code looks like from Ace converter for five rivets:
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.000000 Y0.000000
G01
Z0.000000
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.047000 Y0.500000
G01
Z0.000000
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.094000 Y0.500000
G01
Z0.000000
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.141000 Y0.500000
G01
Z0.000000
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.188000 Y0.500000
G01
Z0.000000
G00
Z3.000000
Ace thinks we want to
drill holes at each spot, not emboss rivets. So we have to change things a bit.
I have set up my machine so that when Z=0, the rivet punch is retracted and
when Z=1, the punch goes down, making the rivet. The rivet does not form
instantly, so I add a little time (“dwell”) in the down position to make sure
the rivet is fully formed. I also add a little dwell in the up position just in
case something gets stuck for a split second (and it has). This is where the
“Replace” command is helpful.
Step 1 – Replace “G01 Z0.000000” with:
G00 Z1. (this means “push the die down and make
the rivet”)
G04 P600 (prepare for a delay and that delay is for
.600 seconds)
Notice that we want to
replace one line (G01
Z0.000000) with two lines. Word
can do this by going to the Replace dialog box and hit these buttons: More >
Special > Manual Line Brake when you want to type the second line. The
Manual Line Brake symbol looks like ^l . So the dialog box looks similar to
this when you are finished with this replacement:
Replace: G01 Z0.000000
With: Z1.^lG04 P600
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.000000 Y0.000000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.047000 Y0.500000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.094000 Y0.500000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.141000 Y0.500000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00
Z3.000000
G00
X0.188000 Y0.500000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00
Z3.000000
Step 2 – Replace “G01 Z0.000000” with:
G00 Z0 (this means “raise the die”)
G04 P200 (prepare for a delay and that delay is for
.200 seconds)
G00 Z0
G04 P200
G00
X0.000000 Y0.000000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00 Z0
G04 P200
G00
X0.047000 Y0.500000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00 Z0
G04 P200
G00
X0.094000 Y0.500000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00 Z0
G04 P200
G00
X0.141000 Y0.500000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00 Z0
G04 P200
G00
X0.188000 Y0.500000
G00 Z1.
G04 P600
G00 Z0
G04 P200
If you were to run this
little program, you would make five rivets at the x and y positions specified
on your sheet of brass or styrene.
I use Microsoft Word on
my home workstation, but it is expensive and I did not have a copy to run on my
rivet machine computer. Not wanting to be succumb to the sin of software
piracy, I rejected loading Word on this computer and tried, in vain, to try to
make WordPad’s or Notepad’s “Replace” function search for one line and replace
it with two lines. (I’m sure, now, someone will tell me how trivial it all is!)
So, I Googled “free word processor” and found a – not free – but $40 word
processor that worked as well or better than Word for this application. It’s
EditPad at www.editpadpro.com . Maybe
you can find a truly free program by being a little more persistent.