Transcript Introducing ME Consultant Professional V1.50

ME Consultant Professional V2.0
The ultimate planning tool for CNC
machining centers. A must-have for
anyone serious about manufacturing!
Contents:
General Information
Main Windows
Getting Started with Machining Calculator
Getting Started with Job Planner
Material Planner
Thread Data
Drill Depth Calculator
Surface Finish Calculator
Machining Data Editor
Machine Specifications Editor
Configuration Basics
Back
What Is MEPro?
ME Consultant Professional (MEPro) is a program written
to help you with planning, estimating, and programming for
CNC machining centers and lathes.
MEPro is a fast and accurate alternative to stacks of
reference books, hours of Internet searching, and
repetitive, error-prone manual calculations.
MEPro is extremely easy to use. It gives you a massive
amount of useful, well-organized information in exchange
for a very small amount of your time.
MEPro is designed to be equally useful to users of the inch
or metric system.
All functions are accessible through a dropdown menu in
the Machining Calculator window, or a right-click context
menu available in any window.
The program should run fine on any 32-bit Windows
system. Your screen needs a minimum resolution of 1024
x 768 pixels for best display of all the available functions.
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Who Needs MEPro?
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CNC Programmers
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Applications Engineers
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Manufacturing Engineers
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Design Engineers
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Manufacturing Managers
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Planners and Estimators
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Supervisors
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Inspectors
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Machinists
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What’s In MEPro?
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Advanced, Interactive Machining Calculator
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Integrated Job Planner and Estimator
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Material Weight, Volume, And Cost Calculator
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Massive Screw Thread Database
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Drill And Countersink Depth Calculator
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Surface Finish Calculator
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Comprehensive Drill Cross Reference
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Center Drill Dimensions
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Socket Head Cap Screw Dimensions
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Hardness and Tensile Strength Comparisons
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Machining Data Editor
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Machine Specifications Editor
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Highly Configurable Interface
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The Machining Calculator Is
Amazingly Powerful and Easy to Use
The Machining Calculator gives
you precise speed and feed
information for twenty of the
most common CNC machining
center and lathe tools.
It comes with a database of
twenty materials. You can
easily modify or add to the
material data.
Very little typing is required for
efficient use - you change one
value and all the others update
automatically.
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The Job Planner
Viewer Window
The Job Planner takes data from the Machining Calculator
and creates a Job Plan for your operation.
Summary Window
Job Plan Window
The data for each machining sequence, and all the totals to
that point, are displayed in the Viewer and Summary
Windows, respectively.
Add or remove a Tool - the Viewer and Summary Windows
update instantly.
Change a Tool Diameter - machining data for that tool is
recalculated. The Viewer and Summary Windows update.
Add some Passes, change the Material, decide to run the
job on a different Machine - do whatever - a click or two
with the mouse and the entire job recalculates!
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The Machining Calculator and Job Planner
Work Together To Make Planning A Breeze!
The windows fit without overlapping on a screen having a resolution of 1024 x 768 or better.
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The Material Planner
The Material Planner instantly calculates
the weight, volume, and cost of the
material you'll need for an upcoming job.
It comes with a large database of the
materials you're most likely to need.
Adding more materials is easy, and so is
adjusting the unit cost of a material in
response to changing market conditions.
You can enter data in inches, feet,
millimeters, or meters - or even switch
around as you work!
Once you've made the calculation, the
Material Planner can post it to the Job
Planner.
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This is the information you're
most likely to need for
manufacturing threaded
components.
Thread Data
More Than 1200 Sizes
An invaluable reference for
programmers, inspectors,
machinists, and design engineers.
The Tap Drill Guide automatically
shows you the best drills for the
thread you're displaying. Form
taps are supported for most
thread types.
An Info Window has application
and plating guidelines, along with
other useful information, for each
thread type.
Infeed calculations for manual
machinists.
Inch or metric display.
Prints a complete report for each
thread size, which is especially
useful to machinists and
inspectors.
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The Drill Depth Calculator
Calculating the depth to feed a center drill, spot drill, or countersink to machine a specific chamfer
diameter on the face of a part is one of those recurring time-wasters that every programmer and
machinist is familiar with.
The Drill Depth Calculator turns this into a few seconds' work.
It can also tell you how deep to send a twist drill to machine a full-diameter hole of a specific
depth.
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The Surface Finish Calculator
The main influence on surface finish,
particularly in turning, is the combination
of tool radius and feedrate.
The Surface Finish Calculator gives you
the theoretical feedrate needed to achieve
a specific surface finish when using a
given tool radius.
CNC programmers and machinists need a
reliable tool to make this calculation, so
that they don't feed too fast and make
unacceptable parts, or feed too slowly and
increase costs.
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The Machining Data Editor lets you edit the data
used by the Machining Calculator and Job
Planner.
The Machining Data Editor
You can modify, add to, delete from, or
rearrange the data.
A customer calls and needs a rush quote, an
old job but with a material change. He says the
new material has historically run well at 20%
higher speed and 10% higher feed than the old
one.
You need to define that new material, and fast.
It’s so easy - a quick series of mouse clicks
followed by typing in a name for the new
material.
The supervisor tells you the normal machine
for that job is down. It will have to run on an
older model, a much slower one. How much
will that add to the cost?
Three clicks in the Job Planner to recalculate
the old job for the new material on the
substitute machine.
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The Machine Specifications Editor
The Machine Specifications Editor lets you
define and modify six key performance
characteristics for each of your machine
tools. These values are used to optimize
output from the Machining Calculator and
Job Planner.
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The Configuration Window
This is where you decide how you want
MEPro to be set up when it starts.
You can opt for a full-blown inch or metric
setup.
Do you want tooltips turned on? They're
great for learning the program, but you
might want them turned off later.
How many decimal places to display?
What are your rapid clearances? There
are safety and efficiency considerations.
What spindle efficiency rating do you
want power calculations to be based on?
Do you want a "canned" set of labels for
the printed Job Plan Report?
No matter how you have things set up
in the Configuration Window, you can
change the settings around as you
work. They just won't be saved for
next time unless you save them in the
Configuration Window.
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Time Savers - No Explanation Needed
Socket Head Cap Screws
Hardness and Tensile Strength
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More Time Savers
Center Drills
Drill Chart
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Getting Started With MEPro
The first time MEPro is run, this window will pop on your screen. You’ll have to select either
inch or metric as the default startup mode. Don’t worry about locking yourself in to one system
or the other here – it’s easy to reconfigure MEPro at any time, or even to switch back and forth
between measurement systems as you work.
If you go with the inch system, a machining data file will be created with speed data listed as
surface feet per minute and feedrate data listed in inch units. This file will be named
MEInchData.dat.
If you select the metric system, the data file will have speed data listed as surface meters per
minute and feedrate data listed in millimeter units. It will be named MEMetricData.dat.
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The Configuration File
A configuration file, me.ini, will also be
created the first time MEPro runs. It
contains startup options for many MEPro
functions. The initial values assigned to
me.ini are intended to be suited to the
measurement system you selected (inch or
metric). They’re all very easy to change to
meet your needs.
All data and configuration files are located
in the same directory as the main program
file. Any of them that can't be found when
the program is run will be recreated by
MEPro (with default values).
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The Machining Calculator
When MEPro is run, the first thing you’ll see is the Machining Calculator. It starts up
with some arbitrary selections - Cast Aluminum, a pre-defined CNC machine called
Machining Center 1, and a High Speed Steel (HSS) Spot Drill with a diameter of .500,
set to drill .100 deep.
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What The Machining Calculator Does
The Machining Calculator suggests speed and feed values
for a specific combination of cutting tool and workpiece
material. Twenty tool types and twenty material types are
defined initially. You can easily create as many additional
materials as you need.
In addition to cutting parameters, the Machining
Calculator displays cycle times and power requirements
for your proposed operation.
The Machining Calculator requires very little user
input. Much like a spreadsheet, when you change one
value, all the dependent values are recalculated and
redisplayed. You can do “what if” experiments very
easily and plan cutting operations that make the most of
your expensive tools and machinery.
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A Bit Of Caution
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Workpieces can be held securely or poorly.
Machine tools vary widely in their ability to take a cut.
Some workpieces are more rigid than others.
Sometimes cutting tools are used inappropriately.
Some cutting tool designs work better than others.
Some cutting tools are sharp, others are dull.
Some cutting tools are rigid, others aren't.
Unanticipated problems can crop up.
There's no way for the Machining Calculator to factor in nonoptimal conditions without your help. If your setup isn’t rigid or
your workholding is inadequate, serious problems can result. If
your cutting tool isn’t in good condition, or is inappropriate for the
operation, you could see unexpected results.
You, the user, are completely responsible for the results of
applying the recommendations made by the Machining Calculator.
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Getting Started With The Machining Calculator
Select a Material Type, Machine, and Tool from the dropdown lists at the
top of the window. The Machining Calculator displays the suggested
spindle speed (RPM) and feedrate (IPT, IPR, IPM) for the current
combination of Tool and Material, along with the material removal rate
(MRR) and machine power (HP) required.
If you want accurate information about cycle times, input the quantity
(Hole Qty) and depth of holes (Hole Depth) or the quantity (Pass Qty) and
length of passes (Pass Length).
Practice changing some of the displayed values to see the effect on
others. Change the Material Type and watch practically everything else
change. Move the Tool Diameter scrollbar and see how many other
values change in response. Think about the reasons for those changes.
That’s really about all you have to do to get a wealth of information from
the Machining Calculator. There are some options we’ll need look at, but
nothing is really complicated about using it.
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Entering Data
To enter a value, just type it into the appropriate edit box and left-click anywhere
outside that edit box. Instead of clicking, you can also press the Enter key or Tab
key. The Enter key inputs the value that's currently visible in the active edit
box. The Tab key inputs the value, then advances the focus to the next relevant
edit box.
Numerical data can be input in several formats. If you want to enter a value of
.250, type in .250 or any numerical expression that evaluates to .250 (1/4 or 1-3/4
or .5*.5 are some examples).
Because the program is designed for manufacturing, you can also input an
expression with one space (for example, you can specify a drill diameter of 1 3/16
and MEPro will convert it to 1.1875). Remember, only one space is allowed in
your expression.
MEPro won’t let you make many mistakes. Non-numerical input won’t be
accepted. If numerical input isn’t within the allowable range for a particular
characteristic, it will be adjusted to the closest-possible legitimate value. For
example, the diameter range for carbide twist drills is .015 to .750. Values smaller
than .015 will be adjusted upward, and values larger than .750 will be adjusted
downward.
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Materials
MEPro comes with extensive machining data for
twenty materials commonly used in
manufacturing operations. This data is the
result of averaging recommendations from a
large number of technical organizations and
cutting tool manufacturers.
These materials, with perhaps some "tweaking"
to suit specific needs, will probably be enough
for most users. Later in the tutorial we'll see
how easy it is to modify the machining data or
create entirely new materials.
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Tools
MEPro can make machining calculations
for twenty different types of cutting tools.
These tools are commonly used on CNC
machining centers or lathes, and most of
them show up on both.
Five of the tools (those with an "HP"
prefix) are included to let you define
cutting data for some of today's highperformance tool geometries and
coatings. As we'll see later, they can
easily be configured to reflect their
enhanced cutting capabilities.
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Cutting Speed
Changing cutting speed values causes recalculation of
machining time, material removal rate, and power
requirements
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute
SFM - Surface Feet Per Minute
SMM - Surface Meters Per Minute
RPM Limit - A means of limiting the maximum revolutions
per minute displayed or used in calculations. All machines
have an absolute maximum RPM, and some tools or setups
have a maximum safe RPM.
Spindle % works like the spindle override on a CNC
machine.
Reset - Sets Spindle % to 100.0
Becomes pink when Spindle % is over 101.00, and blue
when under 99.00.
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Feedrates
Changing feedrate values causes recalculation of
other feed outputs plus machining time,material removal rate,
and power requirements
IPT - Inches Per Tooth (Chip Load)
MPT - Millimeters Per Tooth (Chip Load)
IPR - Inches Per Revolution
MPR - Millimeters Per Revolution
IPM - Inches Per Minute
MPM - Millimeters Per Minute
Feed % works like the feed override on a CNC
machine.
Reset – Sets Feed % to 100.0
Becomes pink when Feed % is over 101.00, and blue
when under 99.00.
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Cut Variables
Length, Depth, and Clearance values affect machining time.
Cut Depth and Cut Width values affect material removal rate,
power requirements, and end milling speeds, feeds, and
machining time.
Pass Length - turning and milling tools
Hole Depth - holemaking tools
XY Clearance - rapid clearance for milling tools
Z Clearance - rapid clearance for holemaking tools
XZ Clearance - rapid clearance for turning tools
Cut Depth - axial depth of cut for milling tools
radial depth of cut for turning tools
Cut Width - radial depth of cut for milling tools
radial depth of cut for boring tools
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Cutting Tool Characteristics
Flutes - holemaking and end milling tools
Inserts - face mills and turning tools
A change causes recalculation of feed outputs,
machining times, material removal rate, and power
requirements
Tool Diameter - holemaking and milling tools
Turn Diameter - turning tools
A change causes recalculation of speed and feed
outputs, machining times, material removal rate, and
power requirements.
When the diameter of an end mill or face mill is
reduced, Cut Depth and Cut Width may also be
reduced.
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Machining Calculator Options
Inch - inputs and display in inch units
Metric - inputs and display in metric units
Tips - Turns the Machining Calculator tooltips on or off.
Sticky Data - When checked, saves the most - recent data for each tool type, so you can
go back to a previous tool without having to input all the cutting conditions again. When
unchecked, tool data is reset to defaults each time you select a new tool.
Mill Radius - When checked, adds the radius of a milling tool to the pass length for cycle
time calculations.
Radial Feed - When checked, applies a radial chip thinning factor to the feedrate
calculation for face mills and end mills when the Cut Width is less than half the Tool
Diameter.
Decimals - Lets you specify how many decimal places to display for some of the
machining data.
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Machining Time
Minutes Per Hole - Shows the time in
minutes per hole or pass.
Display only.
Minutes Total - Shows total time in minutes
for all holes or passes.
Display only.
Hole Qty – holemaking tools
Pass Qty – turning and milling tools
Change causes recalculation of Minutes
Total.
Maximum Qty is 10,000
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Machining Power
HP - machine power (horsepower) required to perform
the defined operation. Display only.
KW - machine power (kilowatts) required to perform
the defined operation. Display only.
Both measures are based on the material removal rate
for the active material.
MRR - material removal rate - volume of material,
expressed as cubic inches or cubic centimeters,
removed per minute with the currently defined
operation. Display only.
Spindle Efficiency
Change causes recalculation of power requirements.
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Tap Pitch Selector
These controls are enabled when a Tap is the active tool
type. The screenshots show some of the tap pitch options
available in MEPro.
When the TPI option button is selected, the values
represent threads per inch. When the MM option is
selected, the values represent the tap pitch in millimeters.
TPI and MM are both usable whether you're working in Inch
or Metric mode. If you're working in Inch mode and need
data for an M8-1.0 tap, for example, just select the MM
option button, then 1.0 from the pitch selector. Click on the
Metric mode option button, input 8.0 into the Tool Diameter
edit box, then switch back to Inch mode. Everything will be
converted for you.
Of course, you could stay in Inch mode the whole time and
just input the expression 8/25.4 into the Tool Diameter edit
box to get the same result.
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Opening The Job Planner
When the Job Planner is first opened, what you see are three new windows arranged
around the Machining Calculator. There aren't any numbers showing in these three
windows, except in the Machine $, Eff %, Setup, and Tool Sec boxes.
The values in those edit boxes are taken from the MachineSpecsData.dat file, where the
performance characteristics of your machine tools are defined.
Machine $ - hourly rate for the active machine
Eff % - overall efficiency factor for the active machine
Setup - default setup minutes for the active machine
Tool Sec - tool change seconds for the active machine
Select a different Machine in the Machining Calculator and you'll see some of these values
change in the Job Planner.
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Adding a Sequence
What we're trying to do here is have you tell the Machining Calculator
what kinds of tools and cuts you want to have in your proposed job, so
that it can figure out all the machining parameters and send them to the
Job Planner, which will keep track of and display everything. If you want
a printed report after everything looks good, you can have that too.
There's already a machining operation defined in the Machining
Calculator (I'll refer to a unique machining operation as a"sequence" after
this). It's the one that shows when you first run MEPro, a Spot Drill going
.100 deep.
Start out by clicking the Seq + button in the Job Planner and see what
happens.
The machining data for the sequence is posted to the Viewer Window,
while current time and cost totals appear in the Summary Window. The
Spot Drill is now shown as the Active Sequence (sequence #1) in the Job
Planner,
Select a different material in the Material list of the Machining Calculator
and watch what happens to your machining times and summary values.
It's that quick and easy to play what-if games with different materials,
whether you've defined one sequence or a hundred.
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Job Planner Commands #1
Active Sequence - this can be either the sequence
you've just added or the sequence you've chosen to
make active, perhaps for editing or deletion.
To change the Active Sequence, you can either select a
new one from the dropdown list in the Job Planner, or
click on the ID number of the desired sequence
(leftmost column) in the Viewer Window.
Notes - you can insert a descriptive note for each
sequence. The note will display on the printed report.
Active Material - this is the material upon which the
current Job Plan machining calculations are based.
To change the Active Material, select a new one in the
Material dropdown in the Machining Calculator. The
Job Plan will instantly recalculate.
Active Machine - this is the machine upon which the
current Job Plan non-machining calculations are based.
To change the Active Machine, select a new one in the
Machine dropdown in the Machining Calculator. The
Job Plan will instantly recalculate.
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Job Planner Commands #2
Move - this is used to rearrange the order of your
defined sequences.
Say you had five sequences defined, and wanted
to move sequence 5 up to become sequence 3.
Type 5 in the From box and 3 in the To box, then
click on the green button (it will be green if you
have more than one sequence defined).
Tips - this turns the tooltips on and off for the Job
Planner.
Win Sync - when this is checked, all four windows
minimize as a group rather than individually.
When they're hidden, some external applications
allow them to maximize as a group and some
don't.
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Job Planner Commands #3
These values can be modified freely. Each change
results in an update of the Summary Window data.
Machine $ - the Active Machine hourly rate
Eff % - Active Machine efficiency ("fudge factor")
Material $ - unit material cost
Setup - Active Machine setup minutes
Tooling $ - tooling and fixturing cost for the job
Tool Sec - Active Machine tool change seconds
Process $ - job process cost (plating, heat treat, etc.)
Part Sec - part change seconds per part
Lot Size - lot size for the job
Extra Min - extra minutes per part (for any purpose)
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Job Planner Commands #4
Seq - deletes the Active Sequence.
Seq + assigns the data currently displayed in the
Machining Calculator to a new sequence.
Tool - subtracts one from the current number of
tool changes - useful if you're doing more than
one sequence with the same tool and don't want
the extra tool change seconds added to the total.
Tool + adds one to the current number of tool
changes.
Edit lets you edit any value in the Active
Sequence.
Update recalculates the Job Plan after using Edit.
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Editing A Job Plan Sequence
You can change any value in a previously-defined
sequence.
Make the sequence you want to edit the Active
Sequence.
Click the Edit button. It will turn pink as an indicator
that you're in edit mode.
All the machining data for the Active Sequence will be
pasted into the Machining Calculator.
Using the Machining Calculator, make any changes you
like to the values.
Click Update to recalculate the Job Plan and exit edit
mode.
You can exit edit mode without saving changes by
clicking the pink Edit button.
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Job Planner Commands #5
Feed - reduces all feedrates in the Job Plan by 5%.
Feed + increases all feedrates in the Job Plan by 5%.
Spindl - reduces all speeds in the Job Plan by 5%.
Spindl + increases all speeds in the Job Plan by 5%.
F-100 sets all feed overrides in the Job Plan to 100%.
S-100 sets all speed overrides in the Job Plan to 100%.
Calc forces a recalculation of the Job Plan.
Zero subtracts the Active Sequence values from the
Summary (it "zeros out" the sequence). Clicking the
Zero button a second time restores the values. This can
be useful for "what if" experiments.
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Job Planner Commands #6
Notes opens the Notes Window, where you can define up
to twelve sets of notes for the heading of a Job Plan
Report.
Hide minimizes the Job Plan Window. If Win Sync is
checked, all Job Planner windows and the Machining
Calculator will be minimized.
Save saves the Job Plan data as a .csv file, which can be
easily imported into your favorite spreadsheet program for
use with custom report formats.
Clear clears the Job Plan from memory.
Load loads a previously-saved Job Plan (.csv file) into
memory.
Close closes the Job Planner.
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Adding Notes To The Job Plan Report
After the sequences are defined, you
might want to add some descriptive
notes before printing or saving a
report.
Click Here To Add A Label
The Notes Window has space for up to
twelve labels and associated notes,
which will be displayed at the top of
the printed Job Plan Report.
Labels and notes may be edited freely,
but the total number of characters for a
label and its companion note can’t
exceed fifty.
To create or edit a label, click in the
background area just above the
appropriate note box.
Clear Labels erases the labels but not the
notes
Reload Labels loads any default labels you've
created in the Configure Window.
Clear Data erases the notes but not the
labels
Clear All erases everything
Close Window closes the Notes Window.
Any labels or notes are retained.
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The Job Plan Viewer
Expanded View enlarges the Viewer
Window to show as much of the Job
Plan data as possible.
Compact View
Compact View shrinks the Viewer
Window to show a smaller amount of
the Job Plan data.
Increment controls the range of lot
sizes displayed in the Unit Cost section
of the Job Plan Report.
Expanded View
Preview displays a detailed Job Plan
Report, with option to print. Print
prints the report immediately, without a
preview.
Hide minimizes the Job Plan Viewer
Window.
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The Job Plan Summary
Values shown in this window update
as required whenever you make
changes to the Job Plan.
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The Job Plan Report
This job has twenty-two
tools.
The labels and notes
from the Notes Window
are at the top.
The machining data
from the Viewer
Window is in the
middle.
There's a complete
Summary at the
bottom.
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The Material Planner
Getting Started
The first time the Material Planner is run, it generates a data file.
Depending on your configuration, the density values in the file represent
either pounds per cubic inch or grams per cubic centimeter.
If configured for inch data, the file will be named WeightUSData.dat.
If configured for metric data, the file will be named WeightMetricData.dat.
Materials can be added to the file by opening it in a text editor like
Notepad. Cost information for each material type is maintained in the
same file.
You can also modify and save material cost information directly from the
Material Planner.
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The Material Data File
The format of the data file is simple. Here's a typical line:
Aluminum,.0975,.50
As this line was taken from WeightUSData.dat, it says that the material named
"Aluminum" has a density of .0975 pounds per cubic inch, and costs fifty
cents per pound.
The metric equivalent, taken from WeightMetricData.dat, would be:
Aluminum,2.6988,.50
It says that the material named "Aluminum" has a density of 2.6988 grams per
cubic centimeter, and costs fifty cents per kilogram.
You can modify the density and cost values as needed. If you add a new
material, be sure to include a number for the cost, even if you don't plan to
use it (.50 would be fine).
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Materials And Shapes
Choose a material category by clicking on the appropriate option button (Metal, Wood,
Plastic, Other). Next, select a specific material from the dropdown list.
The density will be displayed to the right, in pounds per cubic inch or grams per cubic
centimeter, depending upon the active input mode. The density value can only be modified
by editing the data file.
Select a shape from any displayed in the frame at the left edge of the Material Window.
Depending on which shape you pick, you'll have to furnish from one to six dimensions
before volume, weight, and cost calculations can be made. The labels above the input
boxes will change to fit the requirements of the active shape.
In the case of Fabrications (Pipe, Angles, Channels, I-Beams), you'll have to select a size
from the dropdown list. Except for the length, all inputs for the selected size will be
entered automatically. These values represent industry standard dimensions and can't be
modified.
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Material Units
Dimensions can be entered in any combination of Inches, Feet,
Millimeters, and Meters.
The current input mode is displayed at the top of the Inputs Frame.
You can enter everything in the same mode, or switch around as you
dimension a shape. Selection of the input mode is done in the
Options Frame at bottom-center.
As an example, if you had round stock with an outside diameter of
thirty millimeters and a length of ten feet, you could input the
diameter in Millimeters, then switch to Feet for the length.
All values display in the currently selected mode.
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Material Planner Inputs
When you select a shape, two or more of the labels above the six edit
boxes change to indicate the inputs required.
As usual, left-clicking the mouse outside of an edit box inputs the value
you’ve just typed in. The Enter key or Tab key can also be used to input
the data. Additionally, the Tab key shifts focus to the next required edit
box for further input.
For shapes where they are geometrically possible, internal and external
fillets are established and initialized to zero. They're skipped in the first
run-through - you can go back and change their values later if you want
to.
Remember that you can use numerical expressions for your inputs, so
1.500 is the same as 1+1/2 or 1 1/2
Note that Feet is not the same thing as feet and inches - to input 1 foot 6
inches while in Feet input mode, you could enter 1.5 or 1+6/12 or 1 6/12
or 1+(6/12), but not 1 6.
Inputs that are recognized as being geometrically impossible are
adjusted up or down as appropriate.
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Material Planner Outputs
Once you've input all the required dimensions, Volume and Weight will be
calculated and displayed. Cost Data will be displayed also if you have
that option enabled.
You can change the dimensional values, quantity, and input mode at will
to evaluate the effect on volume, weight, and cost.
Changing the Material Type will cause a recalculation and redisplay of
volume, weight, and cost.
Changing the Material Shape clears all boxes - you start from scratch.
Outputs in Inches or Feet mode are in cubic inches (volume) and pounds
(weight).
Outputs in Millimeters or Meters mode are in cubic centimeters (volume)
and kilograms (weight).
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Material Planner Limits
Maximum Length
300 inches or 25 feet or 7620 millimeters or
7.62 meters
Minimum Length
.001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Maximum Outside Diameter
100 inches or 8.333 feet or 2540 millimeters
or 2.54 meters
Minimum Thickness - Width - Height
.001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Maximum Wall
49.999 inches or 4.166 feet or 1269.975
millimeters or 1.269 meters
Minimum Wall
.001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Minimum Outside Diameter
.001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Maximum External Fillet
50.000 inches or 4.166 feet or 1270.000
millimeters or 1.270 meters
Maximum Inside Diameter (Bore)
99.998 inches or 8.333 feet or 2539.949
millimeters or 2.539 meters
Maximum Internal Fillet
49.999 inches or 4.166 feet or 1269.975
millimeters or 1.269 meters
Minimum Inside Diameter (Bore)
.001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Minimum External or Internal Fillet
0 - a sharp corner
Maximum Thickness - Width - Height
100 inches or 8.333 feet or 2540 millimeters
or 2.54 meters
Maximum Quantity
10,000
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Material Planner One-Shot Calculations
There are two options for making simple one-shot
calculations.
If you know the volume of an object and the material
density, selecting the User Input Volume mode lets you
input the volume and calculate the weight.
If you know the weight of an object and the material
density, selecting the User Input Weight mode lets you
input the weight and calculate the volume.
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Material Planner Tricks
Some of the limits (maximum length or maximum quantity,
for example) are designed to keep things manageable.
An item that weighs 50,000 pounds is fine, but displaying
the total weight of two million of them wouldn't be.
In some cases it's possible to "fool" the program.
For example, if the length limit of 300 inches (25 feet) is
inadequate for a specific calculation - say, 5000 feet of wire
- a workaround would be to enter the wire diameter, then
select Feet mode and enter 25 for the Length.
Input the expression 5000/25 into the Quantity box, and the
correct Total Weight will be displayed.
This method should work equally well with most of the
other shapes.
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A Lot Of Thread Data
The Threads Window displays
detailed dimensional information
for more than twelve hundred
common screw threads.
There's a sophisticated Tap Drill
Guide with more than seven
hundred twist drill sizes. Form
tap drill sizes can be displayed
for many of the thread types.
An Info Window has application
and plating guidelines and
additional geometric information
for each thread type.
Lathe infeed calculations are
available for manual machinists.
You can Print a detailed report
for each thread size.
The display can be toggled
between Inches and Millimeters.
Tracking down thread data is one of the biggest timewasters in manufacturing. Manual calculations based on
partial data are likely to cause expensive errors.
It's all here, fast and accurate.
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The Tap Drill Guide
75% Thread Selected
When you select a Thread Size, the minimum
minor diameter (internal) is checked and the first
drill in the database which is at least that large is
positioned at the middle of the sorted Tap Drill
Guide. This gives a thorough overview of
drilling options for a specific thread, and is
much more useful than an ordinary tap drill
chart.
There's another worthwhile feature in the Tap
Drill Guide. For those Thread Types that have
Percent Thread data available, clicking the
desired percent value in the Percent Thread
listbox will cause the suggested drill size for
that thread to be positioned at the middle of the
Tap Drill Guide.
55% Thread Selected
Tap drill data for form (roll) taps is available for
many of the thread types. If the Form option
button at the top of the Tap Drill Guide is
enabled, selecting it will cause display of
recommended drills for form taps.
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The Thread Info Window
Some Useful Information
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The Thread Report
You can display and (optionally) print this report by clicking the Preview button. To print
the report immediately from the Threads Window, click the Print button.
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The Drill Depth Calculator
The Drill Depth Calculator outputs the
depth to feed a center drill, spot drill,
or countersink to machine a specific
chamfer diameter on the face of a
workpiece, as well as the depth to
feed a twist drill to machine a fulldiameter hole of a specific depth.
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Drill Depth Calculator Usage
For Center Drills, you'll need to enter the Drill
Size and Chamfer Diameter.
For Spot Drills, you'll need to enter the Drill
Angle, Chamfer Diameter and Drill Diameter.
For Countersinks, you'll need to enter the Tool
Angle, Chamfer Diameter and Tip Diameter.
For Twist Drills, you'll need to enter the Tool
Angle, Drill Diameter and Full-Diameter Hole
Depth.
For all but center drills, there are two ways to
specify the included angle of your tool. The first
is a Std Angle dropdown list of industry-standard
angles for the active tool type.
The second is a User Angle edit box that allows
you to input whatever geometrically-valid angle
you like.
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The Surface Finish Calculator
The most important factors affecting the theoretical surface
finish are feedrate and tool radius.
The Surface Finish Calculator displays the range of
feedrate/surface finish combinations available when using a
specific tool radius.
The best way to get started is to make sure you're in the
correct units mode, then select the radius of your tool from
the dropdown list.
Next, enter the finish you need to achieve. The theoretical
required feedrate will be calculated and displayed.
Changing the feedrate updates the surface finish for the
active tool radius.
Changing the surface finish updates the feedrate for the
active tool radius.
Changing the tool radius updates the feedrate for the active
surface finish.
The maximum value allowed for surface finish is 500
microinches or 12.7 micrometers.
If Turning is selected in the Machining
Calculator, you can assign the
feedrate determined by the Surface
Finish Calculator to the Turning
operation by clicking on the Post
button.
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The Machining Data Editor
The Machining Data Editor lets you edit the
data used by the Machining Calculator to
calculate recommended speeds and feeds.
Each tool has edit boxes beside it that
contain either a cutting speed or a feedrate
value.
The boxes labeled SFM or SMM show the
cutting speeds for the various tool types
when machining the Active Material.
The labels for the other boxes represent tool
diameters, and the edit boxes contain the
corresponding feedrate values for the tools
when machining the Active Material.
Machinability is used to calculate machine
power requirements for a specific
material. In the Machining Calculator, a
material with a larger Machinability value
requires more power than does a material
with a smaller value.
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Modifying Machining Data - The Basics
The editor initially loads data for the
Active Material. If that's not the material
you want to modify, then select the one
you want to work with from the Defined
Materials dropdown list.
The material you select then becomes
the Active Material.
The Modify function lets you change the
machining parameters for a material that
already exists in your data file.
Once you've clicked it, the option to pick
a different material is disabled, and
several of the other input buttons turn
green and are ready to use.
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Modifying Machining Data - Individual Values
This is how you modify individual values, in contrast to making mass
changes.
Click the Modify button.
Change the values you're interested in by typing in the new values.
To cancel unsaved changes, click the Undo button.
If you cancel, the editor will exit Modify mode.
If you're saving the changes, click the Save button.
You'll be asked to confirm the Save.
If the editor detects a syntax error, that error will be highlighted and
you'll be able to correct it.
When there are no errors, the data will be backed up and saved.
The editor will exit Modify mode
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Modifying Machining Data - All Feedrates
This is how you modify all the feedrates by a
percentage factor.
Click the Modify button.
Click the Feed - or Feed + button.
All feedrates will be changed by 5% with each click.
To cancel unsaved changes, click the Undo button.
If you cancel, the editor will exit Modify mode.
If you're saving the changes, click the Save button.
You'll be asked to confirm the Save.
The data will be backed up and saved.
The editor will exit Modify mode.
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Modifying Machining Data - All Speeds
This is how you modify all the cutting speeds by a
percentage factor.
Click the Modify button.
Click the Speed - or Speed + button.
All speeds will be changed by 5% with each click.
To cancel unsaved changes, click the Undo button.
If you cancel, the editor will exit Modify mode.
If you're saving the changes, click the Save button.
You'll be asked to confirm the Save.
The data will be backed up and saved.
The editor will exit Modify mode.
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Creating New Machining Data
Clone creates data for a new material by duplicating the data from an existing one.
Select the material you want to Clone in the Defined Materials dropdown list.
Click the Clone button.
The new material data is created, and assigned the name "Unnamed Material".
To discard the new material definition, click the Undo button and exit Clone mode.
Before saving, rename the new material in the Active Material edit box.
Click the Save button.
If you've renamed the new material, the data will be backed up and saved.
If you haven't renamed the new material, you'll be reminded.
After saving, the new material will be appended to the list of materials.
The editor will exit Clone mode. You can now use Modify on the new material.
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Deleting Machining Data
The Delete function deletes the data for the Active Material.
Select the material you want to Delete in the Defined Materials dropdown list.
Click the Delete button.
A confirmation dialog will appear.
If you click No to cancel, the editor will exit Delete mode.
If you click Yes to proceed, the data file will be backed up as MEInchData.dat.bak
or MEMetricData.dat.bak. The active data file will then be saved, after deleting
data for the Active Material.
The editor will exit Delete mode.
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Rearranging Machining Data
The Move function moves the data for a material to a new location in the Material
list.
Click the Move button.
To cancel the move, click the Cancel button.
Enter the From and To positions for the material to be moved.
Click the green input button below the From and To edit boxes.
The data is moved.
To undo the Move, click the Undo button. The Move is reversed and the editor
exits Move mode.
To save the Move, click the Save button. The Move is saved and the editor exits
Move mode.
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The Machine Specifications Editor
The first time you run MEPro, a text file is created which stores performance information about
five theoretical machine tools. By modifying the values in this file to reflect your actual machines,
you can increase the accuracy of calculations made by the Machining Calculator and Job Planner.
You can add, remove, or modify a machine, as well
as change its position in the Machine dropdown list.
The following values can be modified.
Max RPM - Maximum RPM available to the machine
HP or KW - Power available to the machine spindle,
expressed as HP or KW
Spindle % - Spindle efficiency of the machine tool,
expressed as a percentage
Tool Change - Chip-to-chip tool change time,
expressed in seconds
Setup - Average number of setup minutes per job
Shop Rate - Monetary value of one hour of machine
time
Except for the machine name and the power rating,
these values can be temporarily changed inside of
MEPro.
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Modifying Machine Specs - The Basics
The editor initially loads data for the Active
Machine. If that's not the machine you want to
modify, then select the one you want to work with
from the Defined Machines dropdown list.
The machine you select then becomes the Active
Machine.
The Modify function lets you change the
specifications for a machine that already exists in
your data file. Once you've clicked it, the option
to pick a different machine is disabled, and
the edit boxes become ready to receive input.
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Modifying Machine Specs
This is how you modify individual values
Click the Modify button.
Change the values you're interested in by typing in the new values.
To cancel unsaved changes, click the Undo button.
If you cancel, the editor will exit Modify mode.
If you're saving the changes, click the Save button.
You'll be asked to confirm the Save.
If the editor detects a syntax error, that error will be highlighted and
you'll be able to correct it.
When there are no errors, the data will be backed up and saved.
The editor will exit Modify mode
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Creating New Machine Specs
Clone creates specifications for a new machine by duplicating the data from an existing one.
Select the machine you want to Clone in the Defined Machines dropdown list.
Click the Clone button.
The new machine specs are created, and assigned the name "Unnamed Machine".
To discard the new machine definition, click the Undo button and exit Clone mode.
Before saving, rename the new machine in the Active Machine edit box.
Click the Save button.
If you've renamed the new machine, the data will be backed up and saved.
If you haven't renamed the new machine, you'll be reminded.
After saving, the new machine will be appended to the list of machines.
The editor will exit Clone mode. You can now use Modify on the new machine.
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Deleting Machine Specs
The Delete function deletes the data for the Active Machine.
Select the machine you want to Delete in the Defined Machines dropdown list.
Click the Delete button.
A confirmation dialog will appear.
If you click No to cancel, the editor will exit Delete mode.
If you click Yes to proceed, the data file will be backed up as
MachiningSpecsData.dat.bak. The active data file will then be saved, after deleting
data for the Active Machine.
The editor will exit Delete mode.
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Rearranging Machine Specs
The Move function moves the data for a machine to a new location
in the Machine list.
Click the Move button.
To cancel the move, click the Cancel button.
Enter the From and To positions for the machine to be moved.
Click the green input button below the From and To edit boxes.
The data is moved.
To undo the Move, click the Undo button. The Move is reversed
and the editor exits Move mode.
To save the Move, click the Save button. The Move is saved and
the editor exits Move mode.
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MEPro Configuration Basics
Startup options for MEPro can be
modified by clicking the Configure
button at the right edge of the
Machining Calculator.
Changes are saved to the configuration
file me.ini, and take effect the next time
you run MEPro.
Options can be changed at any time for
the window you're working in, but the
startup mode will always be determined
by settings in the configuration file.
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MEPro Configuration Categories
The Units section lets you specify which
measurement system is to be active, at
startup, for each of the MEPro functions.
The option buttons are labeled I for the
inch system and M for the metric.
The Tooltips section lets you choose
whether to have tooltips turned on or off,
at startup, for six of the MEPro functions.
The Decimals section lets you choose how
many decimal places to display, at startup,
for four of the MEPro functions.
The Machining section lets you modify
startup parameters related to the
Machining Calculator and Job Planner.
Controls to modify startup parameters for
the Material Planner are located in the
lower left corner of the Configure Window.
The Job Planner Labels section gives you space to
create up to twelve default labels for the printed Job
Plan Report. If you don't want labels, leave these
boxes blank.
You can change the labels from inside the Job
Planner to customize an individual report. They'll
revert to the default set each time you close and
reopen MEPro.
Detailed explanations of Configuration features are in the User Guide.
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The End
Thank you for your interest in ME Pro!
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