NEW CNC Control Functions for Lathes

If you have an Okuma lathe in your shop, you might be interested to know we’ve released four new CNC control functionalities you can now start using. We’re always working to improve control functionality, and some of these enhancements are driven by customer requests. In response, following are some new standard functions that are designed to help make your machine usage easier. In each of these descriptions I’ve referenced manual numbers in case you’d like to dive into the full documentation. If you need a new copy of your manual, your distributor will be happy to provide one for you. (If you’re not sure who your local distributor is, you can look them up here.) 

LATHE TOOL SHAPE SETTING, P300L (LE32-207)

This new function for the P300L CNC control makes it easier to set tool graphic data. No need for stl files and the Easy Modeling function. From the Tooling screen, Turret tab, select [F3] Tool Type Select and a pop-up shows the choices available, as seen in the screen shot here. Spindle selection and lathe or milling tools are possible, depending on specification. If there are multiple tooling setups on the machine then the turret data can be output as a file to be used again later. At program selection (PSelect) of the tooling file, .ATD, can automatically be imported or it can be done on the Turret Tooling tab.

MDI INPUT SELECTION, P300S/L, (LE32-206)

This request has been around for a while and is now possible: the selection of previously typed MDI commands. With the parameter set to the ON condition (this is needed for the function to work), from the RUN screen, [F1] MDI Input will pop-up in the history window. Available is a Tab showing your History llist and a definable Command List tab. The Command List is an editable file in the MD1 directory.

IMPROVED DRILLING CYCLES, P300S/L, (LE61-791)

Improvements to the lathe drilling cycles have been made to make them more similar to the mill control cycles. A Return plane is possible with the use of an ‘R-value’ set by parameter, an M- or G-code. An improved single block allows more motion with each Cycle start button push, settable by parameter. Additional cycles are now available: Fine boring- shift tool off-center, Back Boring, and Reverse/Left hand tapping.

TOOL RESTART FUNCTION, P300S/L, (LE61-788)

This new CNC control function is designed to help when restarting cutting programs. Using [F7] Tool Restart, the program is read through and a list of the tool change command lines are displayed. Selecting a specific line will then allow the machine to safely restart at the chosen tool command. The function is available for both single and dual turret machines.

Give these new functions a try and let us know what you think in the comments below. And feel free to contact us or your local distributor if you have any questions.

Matt Roux, CMfgE, is Applications Engineer, Okuma America Corporation.