In the Professional configuration of AlibreCAM you can take advantage of the XY Instance operation. This allows you to create linear or circular XY arrays of one or more toolpath operations. Here’s how its done using a part example submitted by Erik Granberg of Granberg International, located in Pittsburg, CA.
The fixture plate shown in this example is part of the Jergan Quick Exchange Die system Erik has implemented on each of his seven Haas machining centers. The instance is for the four ball lock guide pin and bushing locations. Here are steps for setting up the XY Instance operation in AlibreCAM.
1. Create the toolpath operations for the initial (master) toolpaths.
2. Create the XY Instance. From the Program tab, select Create Misc Operations and then XY Instance.
3. From the XY Instance dialog select the type of instance and specify the spacing parameters and then pick OK. In our example, we are creating a Linear Instance with an X Spacing of 16” and a Y Spacing of -12”. The +/- values are relative to the original toolpath location.
4. An XY Instance folder will be added to your Machining Job Tree.
5. Drag & drop each of the toolpath operations into the XY Instance folder in the order you want them to be posted.
6. Selecting the XY Instance folder will display all instances in Alibre Design graphics window.
7. Now right-click on the XY Instance folder and select Post to display the posted g-code. You will notice that each toolpath instance is posted.
More about Granberg International
A special thanks to Erik Granberg and Granberg International for allowing us to share their AlibreCAM success story! For more information about Granberg International and their available product line we invite you to visit them on the web at https://granberg.com/, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
