Overdrive
Pro Tool File Spreadsheet Tab
The spreadsheet tab provides a spreadsheet interface to the tool file. The spreadsheet has several tabs at the bottom, enabling access to the various sheets within the Excel workbook. Since it is sometimes easier to edit the tool file in a spreadsheet interface, you can make all the changes that were discussed earlier within the spreadsheet. Be aware, however, that if you decide to edit the tool file using the spreadsheet, all values must be entered in metric units. In addition to being an alternate way to edit the tools and settings, the spreadsheet houses the brains that write the G-code to your machine. Select the “Border Sequence” to access the explanations of how the spreadsheet writes the G-code. You can see various panel properties listed in column A of this worksheet. Column B houses the values of those properties. A close examination of the contents of column D will help you understand how G-code is written because column D contains formulas that refer to its values. Here’s how it works: When you ask the program to make G-code for a given part, it will open the tool file spreadsheet and populate column B with the information about that panel. As soon as this happens, the spreadsheet will recalculate the formulas. It will then copy each row of Column D to a file. This process will continue for the other worksheets, resulting in a G-code file that is written according to how the spreadsheet evaluated the formulas on each worksheet. There are several keywords that provide instructions for writing the G-code: [END] This keyword intends to stop writing the contents of column D. [PRINT] If this keyword is encountered while writing G-code, the spreadsheet will be saved in its current state. This provides a helpful debugging tool to allow you to see how the spreadsheet formulas are behaving as the G-code is being written. [HDRILL
LOOP] and [END HDRILL This
keyword indicates the beginning of the G-code required for the machine to
drill a single horizontal hole. For each horizontal hole found on the
panel, the program will write everything it finds between the HDRILL LOOP and
the END HDRILL LOOP. [VDRILL
LOOP] and [END VDRILL This keyword indicates the beginning of the G-code required for the machine to drill a single vertical hole. For each vertical hole found on the panel, the program will write everything it finds between the VDRILL LOOP and the END VDRILL LOOP. [SAW
LOOP] and [END SAW This keyword indicates the beginning of the G-code required for the machine to make a single sawing operation. For each sawing operation found on the panel, the program will write everything it finds between the SAW LOOP and the END SAW LOOP. [SETMILL
LOOP] and [END SETMILL This keyword indicates the beginning of the G-code required for the machine to make a “setmill” operation. For each “setmill” operation found on the panel, the program will write everything it finds between the SETMILL LOOP and the END SETMILL LOOP. [ROUTE
Each routing operation has a single “setmill”, followed by one or more vectors. After the program has completed writing “setmill” instructions, it will begin a second loop that handles each vector of the routing operation. The ROUTE LOOP keyword indicates the beginning of the G-code required for the machine to make a routing operation. For each vector of a given routing operation, the program will write everything it finds between the ROUTE LOOP and the END ROUTE LOOP. There is one more important piece of information you should know concerning G-code writing. If the program finds an empty row or a row that evaluates to a blank string “” in column D, it will ignore it rather than printing a blank line of G-code. If you want to print a blank line, you must use the keyword [SPACE]. This feature allows you to use Excel’s formula logic to make conditional statements that are only written to the file when given conditions are met. Using the spreadsheet to write G-code can be fun and will put you in full control. However, it can be a little tricky in the beginning. Please do not hesitate to ask Microvellum for assistance. We have written tool files for most point-to-point machines and routers on the market and will likely have an answer to your question. |
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