Plate Production & Sheet Control

[GrandpaB]

I have a project to create 352 individualized plaques. I have a list of all the names to individualize all the plaques. My plan is to create all the plaques and then individualize them one at a time. I have used V-Carve's Plate production to create a project with 352 sheets. I would like to create a single toolpath that includes all the sheets and then manually insert some G-code after each sheet that will pause the Shark, allow me to change plaques, and then resume.

Ideally the inserted G-code would move the router to a position so that the plaques could be easily changed, and stop the router. After I click on Resume, the router would turn on, move to XYZ0, and continue individualizing the nest plaque.

My questions are: 1.) Is this possible? 2.) If so, where can I find the G-code? 3.) As a more elegant solution that would eliminate manually editing the G-code, could a gadget be written that would insert the G-code after each sheet?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[WoodEraser]

I would set up a placement template of 24" x 24" with spots to fit as many plates you can get on it then use plate production and run a whole sheet at a time.
Hold them down with dbl sided tape. This would be a lot faster than one at a time.

What size are your plates ?

[meb]

Your first question "Is it possible?". Yes

Your second question "If so where can I find the G-code?". You will have to edit the .tap file yourself. You will have to use Addressing, G-code, and M-code. If you want to do this then contact Next Wave Automation to verify that they are using standard Addressing, G-code and M-code because they could be using modified versions to meet their needs. You would make each plaque a sub-routine and call the first one, run the code, return to your code where it pauses, then call the next sub-routine until all plaques are cut, then go to the end program at the end of the original .tap file.

Your third question "As a more elegant solution that would eliminate manually editing the G-code, could a gadget be written that would insert the G-code after each sheet?". This could probably be done but it would take a lot more programming and and testing than it would be worth unless you do these plaques all the time.

Essentially the gadget would generate a file that starts with the setup parameters for the job, then looks at the number of plaque .tap files and adds that many blank lines to the code, these open lines will be filled with calls for sub-routine code for each plaque as the gadget builds the new .tap file. Then the gadget adds a call for sub-routine to the first open code line set aside for calls, then strips the setup parameters and the ending parameters from the first plaque .tap file and adds a return to the first call, stores this at the end of the open lines set aside for the calls to sub-routines. Then it adds the next call to sub-routine using the next open line number. Then takes the unneeded information from the next plaque .tap file, adds a return and stores this at the end of the code. The gadget would continue to build the new .tap file until all the plaque .tap file were addressed then it would ad a set of closing parameters to the end of the new .tap file and go to a routine to save the file with your choice of file name adding the .tap extension.

I think you would be better off doing what WoodEraser posted.