SINHA's Handbook of Fanuc CNC Lathe: Programming, Tooling and Operation

This handbook is especially designed for manual machinists who know absolutely nothing about programming, machining and operation of a CNC lathe, but wish to acquire expertise in this field on their own. It does not matter if the person does not even know the difference between G00 and G01, or similar basic things. This text would guide through all elementary concepts, without assuming any CNC background, and gradually proceed to cover all the complex concepts such as multi-repetitive canned cycles, radius compensation, live tools, polar interpolation, polygonal turning and the like. Basic tooling and set-up procedures are also discussed.Nearly all the G codes available on a lathe are described in detail, with a large number of programming examples. Nearly every line of all the programs has clear explanatory notes. Another unique feature of the book is the figures being in large numbers, which makes the learning easier, faster and interesting.The book is pretty exhaustive, hence termed a handbook. It is, however, written in a textbook style. The difference in the two approaches is that, for example, while a handbook would only explain the difference between the two available feed modes – feed per minute and feed per revolution – without explaining why feed per revolution is a better choice, a textbook would properly explain the theory behind it. Moreover, since a handbook is generally meant for reference only, it does not care much about arranging materials is a proper sequence. This does not provide a good learning experience, especially if a person desires to learn something from the scratch, as he/she will have no clue as to where to start and what sequence to follow. A textbook is carefully designed to eliminate such shortcomings. Therefore, like any other standard textbook, it is better to read this book cover-to-cover, without skipping anything, for the maximum benefit. However, experienced machinists/programmers may directly jump to the topics they are interested in. The INDEX at the end of the book (in the paperback/hardcover version) is quite detailed, making any search very convenient.A CNC machine requires a programmer for writing programs for the machine and an operator for running the programs on it. The role of the operator is limited to machine-setup activities only, not requiring too much skills. This role as a button-pusher alone does not have a great career prospect. It is, therefore, extremely important to learn programming as well, which is not a rocket science. Anybody with a sincere inclination towards it, can learn it. All that is needed is a step-by-step approach, starting from the very basic concepts and proceeding in the right direction. The present book is certainly going to be a great help, as it does not assume any CNC background; still the discussion proceeds to cover intricate programming features which are not commonly known. The transition between simple and complex concepts is gradual and pretty smooth, only requiring a sequential study of the book.The description in the present book is based on Fanuc control, particularly 0i TC control. While the basic things are same on all control versions of Fanuc, there can be some minor and non-significant differences in some cases. Many non-Fanuc controls also are quite similar to Fanuc, with some differences in canned cycles. One may need to occasionally refer to the respective machine manuals in such cases.In order to avoid making the book too bulky, macro programming and probing applications are not covered in the book. May refer to other books by the same author, covering these topics (Macro programming Fundamentals and Probing on CNC Machines, published on amazon platform). For an in-depth study of macro programming, CNC Programming Using Fanuc Custom Macro B, published by McGraw-Hill, is recommended. Read more