Lesson Fifteen: Spindle Limiter G50

Spindle Limiter G50

G50 actually has two functions on turning centers. Though seldom used for this purpose
on current model turning centers, G50 can be used to assign program zero from within
the program. But again, since geometry offsets are available with all current model
Fanuc-controlled turning centers, G50 should not be used to assign program zero unless
your (older) turning center/s do not have geometry offsets. Frankly speaking, using G50
to assign program zero is rather dangerous. Among other things, it requires that the
machine be in a precise location prior to activating the cycle. If its not, it is likely that
the result will be a crash. Since the machine need not be in a precise location prior to
activating the cycle when geometry offsets are used to assign program zero, geometry
offsets make turning centers much safer to work with.
It is the second application for the G50 command that we address in this presentation. As
is introduced in most basic CNC courses, G50 can also be used to limit spindle speed.
This is commonly necessary when youre working in the constant surface speed mode
(G96), specifying speed in surface feed per minute or meters per minute. Since the
machine will be automatically determining the speed in rpm based upon the diameter
being machined, it is possible that the machine will be trying to run at a faster rpm than
you want it to in some applications. If, of course, you have no speed limiting
requirements, G50 can be omitted from the program, and the machine may run up to its
maximum speed in rpm whenever it is required.
Chuck changes
Many turning center users change chucks on a regular basis. Ideally, the various chucks
you use will have maximum spindle speeds that match or exceed the turning centers you
use them on. However, you may have chucks that cant keep up with your CNC turning
centers. You may, for example, have a turning center with a maximum spindle speed of
6,000 rpm. For this machine you use two different chucks. The three jaw 8" chuck that
came with the machine is capable of matching the 6,000 rpm main spindle capacity. But
from time to time, you must replace this chuck with a larger 12" chuck that has a
maximum speed designation of 4,000 rpm. You must, of course, confirm that this larger
chuck never runs faster than 4,000 rpm!
One way to handle spindle rpm limitation is through parameter settings. However, this
tends to be a rather permanent method for spindle speed limitation. If, for example, you
will always be using a chuck with a maximum spindle speed designation of 4,000 rpm on
a turning center that has a maximum spindle speed of 6,000 rpm, you can set the related
parameters and forget about the need for spindle limitation. Youve made a permanent
change. The related parameters for a 16T Fanuc control range from parameters 37413744.
The more often you make chuck changes, the more cumbersome it will be to change
parameters for the purpose of limiting spindle speed, especially if the changes are made
manually, by the setup person while the machine is down between production runs.
Though you may be able to use the G10 command within your program to modify
parameter settings, a more convenient method may be to use G50. For the previous

Lesson Fifteen: Spindle Limiter G50

scenario (8" and 12" chuck), simply begin all programs using the 8" chuck with the
command
N005 G50 S6000 (Limit speed to machines maximum rpm)
In similar fashion, begin all programs for the 12" chuck with the command
N005 G50 S4000 (Limit speed to 4000 rpm)
Out-of-round workpieces
Another, more common application for the spindle speed limiter is related to workpieces
that do not run true in the spindle. Rough castings held in hard jaws tend to run out quite
severely. It is likely that if the machine is allowed to run at its maximum spindle speed
(as would happen if you face a workpiece to center in the constant surface speed mode),
the workpiece would be thrown from the spindle.
Whenever running workpieces that dont run true, the setup person should cautiously test
for maximum spindle speed during setup. With the setup made and a workpiece loaded,
they will start the spindle at a slow rpm. Cautiously, and in small increments, they can
increase spindle speed until they feel a small amount of vibration. They should then limit
the spindle speed with the G50 command to something smaller than this test rpm. The
command
N005 G50 S1500
for example, will limit the speed to 1,500 rpm.
Do note, however, that spindle speed and cycle time are inversely proportional. As
spindle speed increases, cycle time gets shorter. It is quite likely that after the workpiece
has been rough machined, it will run much truer in the spindle than it did in its raw state.
It would be wise to test for maximum spindle speed again after the roughing operations
have been completed. If its possible to run the spindle faster after roughing, another
G50 command may be included in the program (after roughing) to limit the spindle rpm
to a higher value. This will minimize cycle time.
Bar feeders that cannot keep up with the main spindle
Ideally, a bar feeder should be designed to handle the same capacities as the turning
center being used. If the turning center can handle up to 2 in diameter bar, so should the
bar feeder. If the turning center has a maximum spindle speed of 6,000 rpm, so should
the bar feeder (at the maximum bar diameter and length). Current model bar feeders
allow amazing capacities with regard to maximum speed, bar diameter, and length. It is
not unusual for a bar feeder manufacturer to boast the ability to rotate at 6,000 rpm (or
more) while holding a two inch diameter, twelve foot long steel bar.
While these high quality bar feeders are available, many machine tool builders (and CNC
users) do not equip them for cost reasons. Additionally, even these very high quality bar
feeders do have limitations that may constrain how fast bars can be rotated. For example,
most require that bars be perfectly straight when placed into the bar feeder in order to
meet their maximum rpm claims.
In reality, there are many CNC bar-feeding turning center users that cannot allow their
spindles to be rotated up to the machines maximum (while holding a twelve foot bar)
without experiencing vibration in the bar feeding unit. Most are required to limit the
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Lesson Fifteen: Spindle Limiter G50

maximum rpm in the CNC program in order to eliminate vibration. If, for example, the
setup person determines (through testing) that a 12 foot long, 2" diameter bar cannot run
any faster than 2,000 rpm, the command
N005 G50 S2000 (Limit spindle speed to 2000 rpm)
given at the beginning of the program will limit the machine to the bar feeders capacity.
Many bar feeding turning center users make use of this command often when their bar
feeder cannot keep up with the machines maximum spindle speed.
However, if the CNC program often requires spindle speeds over 2,000 rpm, a great deal
of program execution time can be lost. Again, time is inversely proportional to spindle
speed. If a spindle speed of 4,000 is required during a given machining operation while
the spindle is limited to 2,000 RPM, for example, it will take twice as long to complete
the machining operation.
If you are faced with spindle limiting problems when bar feeding, first check into your
bar-feeder manufacturers specifications for your particular bar feeder. If the
manufacturer claims that your bar feeder should perform better than it does, solicit their
help to correct the problem. Possibly the bar feeder is simply out of alignment. Possibly
the use or more (or better) spacers within the bar feeder are required. Possibly you can
demand that your material supplier provide straighter bars. Possibly you can have your
CNC operator perform a bar straightening operation internal to the machining operation.
If you find that your bar feeder simply cannot keep up with your CNC turning center,
your second alternative is to shorten the bars length. A six foot bar, for example, will
allow a much faster maximum rpm than a twelve foot bar. Unfortunately, this alternative
almost defeats the purpose of bar feeding in the first place, which is unattended operation
for as long a period of time as possible. Additionally, the added operation of cutting the
bars in half may introduce (more serious) work handling problems. (Do note that more
and more bar feeders require cutting bars. Most have automatic bar loading abilities that
increase the period of unattended operation.)
A third alternative to handling this maximum rpm problem is to allow the maximum
spindle speed of the machine to increase as the bar gets shorter. By using this technique
workpieces being machined late in the bar will be made faster than workpieces made
early in the bar.
To reap the fullest benefits of this technique, there can be no finish consistency
requirements on the workpieces being machined. While workpieces run late in the bar
will actually have better finishes (they are machined at speeds closer to optimum for the
material), there will probably be noticeable differences in workpiece finish. Even this
problem can be overcome to some extent if all finishing operations are performed at the
same (beginning) speed in rpm mode. At least the time required for all other operations
can be minimized.
Programming for this technique can be relatively simple if subprogramming or
parametric programming techniques are used. The bar can be broken into segments.
Each segment will allow a different maximum spindle rpm. For example, say you have a
12 foot long, 2" diameter bar to machine. Each workpiece is 0.875 long and the cut-off
tool is 0.125 wide (1.0 inch overall distance from workpiece to workpiece). In this case,

Lesson Fifteen: Spindle Limiter G50

each twelve foot long bar will allow 140 workpieces with a four-inch remnant (144
inches overall bar length for a 12 foot bar). If we divide the bar into four segments, thats
35 workpieces per segment (140 divided by 4 is 35).
Before running the first bar, the setup person will test for maximum rpm. Say the
machine allows a maximum speed of 4,000 rpm, yet when the twelve foot bar is rotated,
the setup person can only safely get to 2,000 rpm before vibration is experienced. At this
point the setup person will run the normal CNC program for the workpiece and machine
thirty-five workpieces while limiting spindle speed to 2,000 rpm. After the thirty-fifth
workpiece, they will stop the cycle and test for maximum rpm a second time. With the
shorter bar (3/4 its original length) it is likely that the maximum speed will be higher than
for the bar in its original state. For our example, lets say the setup person is able to
safely reach 2,500 rpm before vibration occurs. At this point, the setup person will run
another thirty-five workpieces limiting maximum rpm to 2,500 rpm and stop again. With
the bar half its original length, say the setup person finds the bar can be rotated at 3,200
rpm without vibration. The setup person will then run thirty-five more workpieces and
stop for a final test. With the bar only one quarter of its original length, say the operator
finds that the bar can be rotated all the way up to the machines maximum 4,000 rpm
without vibration. The last thirty-five workpieces will then be machined from the first
bar.
For all other bars in the production run, a different program will be run. Using
subprogramming techniques, here is an example program that would run each bar
segment with a different maximum rpm.
O0001 (Main program)
N005 G50 S2000 (Limit to 2,000 rpm for first segment)
N010 M98 P1000 L35 (Run the first thirty-five workpieces)
N015 G50 S2500 (Limit to 2,500 rpm for second segment)
N020 M98 P1000 L35 (Run the second thirty-five workpieces)
N025 G50 S3200 (Limit to 3,200 rpm for third segment)
N030 M98 P1000 L35 (Run the third thirty-five workpiece)
N035 G40 S4000 (Limit to 4,000 rpm for fourth segment)
N040 M98 P1000 L35 (Run the fourth thirty-five workpieces)
N045 M30 (End of program)
This controlling program differs from most bar feeding programs in that it no longer
depends upon the end-of-bar signal to stop the automatic operation of the bar feeder.
Instead, this program will stop due to the M30 program ending command.
Though this technique does force the programmer and setup person to do more work for
the machining of the first bar in each setup, if running high production quantities, it can
dramatically reduce the overall time it takes to finish the production run. A typical
savings by incorporating this technique when bar feeders limit the maximum rpm to
2,000 or less and when some machining operations require 4,000 rpm is at least ten
percent of the overall cycle.