Calculating Cycle Times on CNC Lathe

Greetings

Is there software that you are aware of to produce a cycle time from a CNC program? It appears Pathtrace/Edgecam will not do it. This is a very old concept and I clearly remember using software for programming in years gone by.

This is a very fundamental issue and all our shop floor scheduling and consequently sub-contracting decisions are made from what is at the moment little more than guess work.

Many thanks Maurice

Greetings

Is there software that you are aware of to produce a cycle time from a CNC program? It appears Pathtrace/Edgecam will not do it. This is a very old concept and I clearly remember using software for programming in years gone by.

This is a very fundamental issue and all our shop floor scheduling and consequently sub-contracting decisions are made from what is at the moment little more than guess work.

Many thanks Maurice

Maurice,

Hmmm.... Are you sure about Pathtrace and Edgecam ? These are modern programs, and this is a very basic function.

I use Mastercam and It's always had this feature. Not much of a big deal really. You have all the mathematical elements, IPM, IPR, RPM, etc., right there in the code.

With MC you have to add the chip to chip times for the tool changes, but it's usually pretty close. Of course, as soon as you fiddle with the feed override it's all out the window. Having said this, you have to be carefull about quoting jobs based on simulated cycle times. Most programs need to be tweaked (in the CAM system) after the first try. It can affect the cycle times either way.

Regards

Mark