FANUC simulators: Reading in NC programmes with/without decimal point

Last change: Dec 9, 2024

FANUC controllers and those from other manufacturers that are based on FANUC often require a coordinate notation with a decimal point. If this is omitted and the program is read in at the controller, the coordinate is interpreted as a micrometer value instead of a millimeter value! The FANUC simulators in SYMplus™ also behave according to this template, which can of course be “disastrous”, especially when reading in externally created NC programs, if you are not aware of this.

From release 67 of SYMplus™ (expected to be released in Q1 2025), it will therefore be possible to specify how the simulator should interpret coordinate information when reading in via a setting in the INI file of the respective simulator. By default, a record “G0 X24” (coordinate without decimal point!) is read in as “G0 X0.024”.

Open the corresponding ini file, e.g. by clicking on Edit in the context menu (right-click). The file names are somewhat “cryptic”, e.g. the preset file for the FANUC 18i-TB (G-Code System A) in turning is called F18ADWX.INI, the variant with C-axis is called F18ADWC.INI, the one for the FANUC 0i-MC in milling is called F0ICFWX.INI. If you are unsure whether you have “got” the right file, please contact our support.

In this file, you may have to create a new section “[INTER_SPEC] and under this you type ...

DezimalPunkt=0

In context, it looks like this, for example:

:
SimArt=1
EditArt=1
[INTER_SPEC]
DezimalPunkt=0

Restart the SYMplus™ program and use a simple example to make sure that it has worked. For example, create a new NC program, switch to the “Free Editor” with F7 and write “G0 X24” as the first program line after the program header. If you then switch back to the “Guided Editor” with F7, the line should be reformatted to “G0 X24.”. If the record was converted to “G0 X0.024”, it did not work. Then try again, bearing in mind that the simulator must be restarted after the change in the INI file.

If necessary, contact our support team for further assistance. Ideally, you should then send the INI file you have edited as an attachment to support@cnc-keller.de.