In the postprocessor world, the configuration process is as
important as the performance of the product. There is nothing more
frustrating for a post-writer (the person configuring the post to
get the results required for a specific machine) than to have the
software apply hard-coded rules, overriding the intent of the
post-writer. When implementing OmegaPost, we made sure the software
always follows the rules defined in a simple ASCII template file to
fully control the postprocessing activity, with as few hidden
automation rules as possible.
To accommodate today's CNC controllers, OmegaPost has been designed
from the ground up for maximum flexibility with robust features and
expanded structures.
A few examples: Most postprocessors support only 26 NC register definitions, and you
are required to "work around" this limit. OmegaPost supports
ten-digit register names, and each register can have a 1-32
character prefix and a 1-32 character suffix. Each register has
separate modality, formatting, and register characteristics.
Post postprocessors support very primitive 1-6 digit variable names
or user event names. OmegaPost supports 32-character variable and
user event names.
Most postprocessors can be extended to support CNC subroutines.
OmegaPost automatically supports toolpath and subroutine arrays.
Most postprocessors can be extended by skilled personnel to support
MillTurn CNCs, but there is no built-in technology to support the
multiple coordinate systems and mode-switching necessary for
effective support of this class of CNC equipment. OmegaPost contains
DefineMode and ModeSet commands that enable the post-writer to
define and invoke modes based-upon the criteria that makes sense for
the machine being supported.
Most postprocessors contain a comprehensive list of system variables
that have evolved over the years as the technology evolved; they are
organized in a numeric order that has followed the evolution of CNC
technology. OmegaPost's system variables are carefully named based
upon each variable's function and an overall set of guidelines such
that the post-writer can remember them because they are meaningfully
named.
Most postprocessors are designed to support a single CAM system, and
over the years they have been adapted to interface to other CAM
systems for financial reasons. From its inception OmegaPost was
designed to accommodate multiple CAM systems. The base CAM system
for OmegaPost is SURFCAM®, and there are a series of CAM system
readers that each have the responsibility of doing whatever is
necessary to present data to the template in a consistent manner.
This allows a single template to professionally support multiple CAM
systems
We can go on and on about OmegaPost's superior capabilities, but the
best way is to obtain an evaluation system and see for yourself what
this product can do. |