ONGAA CAM for Wood CNCs

These days, with massive networks shares and a tendency to name folders something ‘reasonably’ understandable, we have created some VERY VERY longs path to get to our files. Win32 applications are limited to 260 characters, but windows 11 isn’t.

Even with registries being tweeked to have ‘LongPathEnabled’ only allows some application to access these deep paths.

The work around is to give your local PC a Virtual Drive to point right at it.

You can create a new, temporary drive letter that acts as a root for a deeply nested folder. Here’s howOpen Command Prompt.

Use the subst command:

subst X: “C:\Users\Name\Documents\Projects\2025\ClientA\Internal\Data”

X:\ now points directly to the data, significantly shortening the path.

Depending on IT policies, administrator permissions may be required.  At the same time, this cam also be added to net logon scripts to have it all happen automatically.

 … Read the rest

TPA Albatros is a numeric control used by several CNC manufactures to operate their machines.  Manufacturers include Biesse, Busellato and Felder.

A version of ONGAA CAM is now available that generates .tcn files directly from SolidWorks.  As with all ONGAA CAM versions, all geometry comes directly from the model.  No more copy/paste or starting over if the model needs changes. Model changes are automatically reflected in the next press of ‘Generate Program’.

Also with this version is the Wizard, with feature recognition, which does 80%-90% of the programming for you.

It does not get easier than than.

Ask for a demonstration today.   

 … Read the rest

The most recent version of ONGAA CAM Complete for Holzher machines now available.  5 axis programming is now as easy as point and click.  Geometry and A + C angle are retrieved from the model without copy/past or any manual numeric entry.  Saw, Route and Drill at any angle with same easy as vertical or horizontal processing.

Ask for a demonstration today!… Read the rest

From Simple Question to Powerful Automation

Sometimes, a simple question leads to remarkable breakthroughs. For us, that question was:

“How can we determine the best orientation of a part for machining?”

It sounds straightforward. A part is optimally oriented when:

• a) It fits within the machine’s constraints.
• b) The required machining operations are feasible.

Let’s break that down.

a) Fit — The Easy Part

Out of 24 possible orientations, only four make the Z-axis the shortest and the X-axis the longest. But when you factor in machine constraints, that narrows it down to just two viable orientations.

b) Machining — The Complex Part

This is where things get tricky:

• What machining operations are required?
• Is drilling needed, or are pockets involved?
• Which tools are compatible with the geometry?

These questions led to a thought experiment that evolved into a set of rules—now embedded in what we call “the Wizard.”… Read the rest

From 3D Model to MPR (CNC Program)

One of the ongoing challenges for manufacturers is to quickly get from concept to product. 3D CAD and/or ‘Solid Modelling’ has made designing and 3D rendering so much easier. An accurate model with photo realistic renderings goes a long way in customer confidence and business growth.

But how do we get from ‘pretty pictures’ to cutting and shaping parts, both easily and accurately?

HOMAG machines are controlled by software called WoodWOP. WoodWOP allows you to enter processing steps (and details) manually.  These steps or program, called a MPR file, is ultimately what is used to get the machine working. Manually entering every dimension, every speed and feed for every process is tedious, time consuming and error prone because we need to use a drawing to read the dimensions from and manually type them in again.

ONGAA CAM is the go between software for … Read the rest

WoodWOP offers a way to create and reuse ‘multi step programs’ as ‘Component Macros’ which are in essence subprograms. Component Macros are great for repeated machining such as Cam Lock machining or Euro hinge machining or even dowel drilling/insertion. Since anything you can program in WoodWOP can become a Component Macro, they can be very powerful and at the same time they can be very complicated.

For a Component Macros to be of any use, we need to tell them ‘what to do’, ‘how to do it’ and ‘where’ to do it. The ‘what’ and ‘how’ may seem obvious, for example Horizontal Drill a 8mm hole 32 mm deep. But is it really that simple?

Many processes have macro parameters that depend on ‘where’ the process takes place. H. Drill for example needs the direction of drilling, X+, X- Y+ or Y- to be set. A wrong setting may cause … Read the rest

It is more and more common to have multiple machine manufactures in one shop. When all programming was done ‘at the machine console’ the only thing we needed to do was give each programmer the same paper drawing.

Today, we do much of the programming ‘in the office’ using common tools and it can be a challenge to keep programs for each machine separate, machine specific and accurate.

The link between the model and the programs is key to multiple programs, whether for different versions or for different machines. ONGAA CAM uses both the part name AND the configuration name to identify a specific program. Each configuration gets its own program.

When you have both a HOMAG and a BIESSE or HOLZHER machines and want a programs for each, simply create a Solidworks configuration with a name like HG or HOMAG etc. Make this configuration active (show configuration) and create … Read the rest

Vacuum loss while machining is a real problem. Vacuum drops with each pierce and cut. Since the coefficient of friction is based on the area of the part, smaller parts are the most affected. Unfortunately, the lateral force applied only varies by material and feed so what was ok for large parts may not work at all for small parts.

Step one is to ensure that there are no machine vacuum leaks and than the spoilboard edges are seals etc. Here are several strategies that will help with the movement problem. Two of these strategies try to conserver vacuum for when it needed most and the third reduced the force feed.

Option 1: Conserve vacuum by not cutting through the material.

Leave an ‘onion skin’ to reduce the amount of air passing through the spoilboard. Parts hold more firmly. Two passed are required to fully cut the parts. The … Read the rest

ONGAA CAM for Holzer (or any NC-HOPS machine) is available.

The initial release provides all the basic operations, V Drill, H Drill, V Mill, V Saw and V Pocket. Horizontal operations are included in the next phase and will include H Mill and H Pocket.

ONGAA CAM Nest is available now.

The final phase will be to include all A+C axis functions; Drill, Mill, Pocket and Saw.… Read the rest

New with ONGAA CAM – for Homag, V 1.3.44 is the PNX file export capability during Nesting and Assembly level MPR generation.

PNX files are intended for integrating Panel Saw Optimization with CutRite / MagiCut.

As stated in the PNX format specification, the file contains the following fields with comma separators:

• Part Code
• Material Code
• Length
• Width
• Quantity
• % Over
• % Under
• Grain
• EdgeCode
• L1 Edgeband
• L2 Edgeband
• W1 Edgeband
• W2 Edgeband
• InfoBox1
• InfoBox2
• InfoBox3
• InfoBox4

Fields from L1 Edgeband to InfoBox4 are filled from Solidworks Custom properties, where all other fields are filled from ONGAA CAM data properties.

The actual format including which fields to shown is configurable (order and whether shown or not) which allows ONGAA CAM to integrate with other applications / process streams using only one format.

The intended usage is as follows: 

A model is created in Solidworks … Read the rest