 Machine tools are dangerous and may cause
great injury. This information was collected from a
variety of sources, is neither complete nor verified, and is of
a general nature for theoretical study only. Any attempt
to duplicate the operations described should be done with the
guidance and supervision of a qualified instructor who will
teach the appropriate safety skills and fill in the
missing details. Follow this link for
Statements of Warning,
Limitation & Responsibility. |
Conversational Programming
Kent Mill Acu-Rite Control
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This Page Load a Tool Program A Pocket Cut Drill A Row of Holes More Programmed Ops - Brief and Rapid Version |
Linked Pages Start-Up, Shut Down, XYZ Datum |
Load a Tool |
1. Before a cut or procedure can be
programmed, a Tool Selection should be loaded into the Kent Acu-Rite
Control. 2. First, set XYZ Part Datum and Z-Retract. Press "Use". If a tool-change is required and the XY Part Datum will remain the same it is only necessary to change the Z-Datum and Z Retract. 3. Press the "PGM" on the Control Keypad to enter Program Mode. 4. Press the "Tool" key on the Control Keypad to load a  tool into the program.5. Enter the diameter of the tool. 6. Move the curser to the Tool option and press the button below "Tool Types". 7. Highlight the Tool Type and press Enter. 8. Save the tool setting by pressing "USE". |
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Program a Pocket
Cut This complicated looking piece was machined using several programmed "Pocket" cuts.  When cutting a Pocket the cutter must be
smaller than the pocket to be cut. An End-Mill will leave a corner radius the size of the Mill. For a straight cut (as shown on the knobs) program a Pocket Cut that is larger than the desired cut... In this case into open air. |
1.
Set XYZ Part Datum and Z-Retract. Press "Use". 2. Press "PGM" to enter Program Mode. 3. Press "Tool" on the control panel keyboard. Load your Tool selection. Press "Use". 4. Press the "RECT" button on the Control Keypad. |
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5. Press the "Pocket" Soft-Key button. 6. Enter the XY location for one corner of the pocket. 7. Enter the size of the pocket. Use XY coordinate values, so that an "X" dimension to the right is Positive, to the Left is Negative. In the same way, "Y" to the back of the table is Positive, to the front of the table is Negative. 8. The opposite (2ND) corner location is automatically generated (in blue letters). Double check the blueprint to make sure all input information is correct. 9. Set the "Z-Begin" just above the part. The End (usually a negative number) is how deep the cut will be. 10. Fill in the number of Passes you want the cutter to make to reach the final depth... as well as the Z-Feed rate that the cutter will plunge. 11. Direction refers to a Clockwise or Counter-Clockwise cutter path. In Pocketing, CCW is used to Climb-Cut. CW would be used for Conventional Cutting. Spindle Speed and Forward/Reverse are set from above the spindle (See Start-Up/Shut-Down). 12. Finish options are not necessary. 13. Once the Pocket Cut information has been entered press "USE". |
 14.
Turn on the Kent Spindle and
adjust to desired speed.15. To Edit a Program, high-light the step (shown in Blue to the Left) and press "Enter" on the Control Keyboard. Save Edits by pressing "USE". 16. To start the programmed Pocket Cut press "GO" on the Control Keyboard. 17. An "ATTENTION" warning box with the Loaded Tool will appear. If all looks good, press "GO" a second time to begin the Pocket Cut. 18. Pressing "STOP" once will pause the programmed cut. Pressing "GO" will continue the program. Pressing "STOP" a second time will cancel the programmed cut. |
  19.
When the programmed cut is complete the cutter will rise up to
the "Z-Retract" position. At this point, Turn Off The
Spindle and begin programming your next procedure. |
Drill A
Row of Holes
(2 or more) This
operation is good for drilling two or more evenly spaced holes
in a row. Depending on the speeds and feeds used, it can also be used with a Ream, or for any plunge cut. The holes must be identical in the "Z-Begin" and "Z-End" dimensions. All holes programmed in this function will use the same Z-Feed rates. As long as a tool has been loaded, the Tool Selection used in drilling may not need to be changed. As long as the Spindle Speed and Feed are set appropriately, the Kent Acu-Rite Control does not care what dimension the tool is for plunge/drill operations. |
1. First, change the tool to the drill or
ream needed. 2. Set XYZ Part Datum and Z-Retract. Press "Use". 3. Press "PGM" to enter Program Mode. 4. If this is your first operation you will need to load a Tool selection. Press "Tool" on the control panel keyboard. Load your Tool selection. Press "Use".  5. Press the "PGM" button on the Control to go into Program Mode. 6. Press the "HOLES" button on the Control Keypad. |
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7. Choose the "ROW" option button from the DRO display. 8. Fill in the X and Y center-point of your first hole. 9. Fill in the X and Y center-point of your last hole. 10. The drill will Rapid-Move to the "BEGIN" position. The "END" point is how deep you want the drill to go. 12. Enter the number PECKs and the FEED Rate. 13. The ROW of holes must be evenly spaced. 14. TOOL RETRACT: The number of complete retracts in a given operation. DWELL is how long the tool will pause at the top of a retract. 15. As long as you set the Spindle Speed and the Feed Rate appropriately, the TOOL setting will not usually matter. 16. DWELL time is optional. |
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17. Press "USE" to save the program. 18. Turn on the Kent Mill Spindle to the desired speed. 20. Make sure the highlighted program line is either at the top (TOOL) or below the program. Press "GO" to begin. 21. Press the "GO" button a second time when the "ATTENTION" TOOL box appears. This will start the ROW OF HOLES procedure. 22. Keep your hand ready at the "STOP" button on the Control Keypad to pause or stop the program. Press "STOP" Once to Pause, Twice to Cancel The Operation. "GO" will restart operation after Pause/Stop. 23. When the holes are complete the drill will return to the "Z-RETRACT" position. Turn off the spindle and begin setting up the next procedure. |
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More Programmed Operations...
Brief and Rapid Version Mill or Fly-Cut a Line Drill a Single Hole Face with a Mill |
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Mill or Fly-Cut a Straight Line 1. Select the "LINE" button from the Control Keypad while in Program Mode. 2. Fill in the information as required.  3. In the "TOOL" selection the "OFFSET" is based on the direction the line is being cut. A "CENTER OFFSET" will cut straight down the center of the line with the same amount being cut from each side. 4. Programmed Cuts deeper than a single pass need to be either edited with the "Z-END" decreased, or use the "REPEAT" function as shown in "Shortcuts, Tricks & Advanced Features". |
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Drill a
Single Position Hole 1. When drilling a single position hole, select the "POS" key from the Control Keypad. 2. At the beginning of the Drill Program Cycle, the drill will rise to the "Z-Retract" level before moving to the XY POINT Coordinate. 3. From the Z-Retract, the drill will Rapid Feed to the Z-BEGIN. Once the drilling is complete, the drill will Z-Rapid straight up to the Z-Retract point again. |
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Face with Mill 1.
Press the "RECT" program key on the Control Panel Keyboard.
2. Choose the "FACE" option. 3. It is not necessary to compensate for cutter size when imputing the "1ST CORNER" or "SIZE". In FACE mode, the Kent Acu-Rite automatically cuts over the edge of the part. |
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