[Thomas Mantz.]

Hello,

I'm new to NX 7 and i need help with macros. I want to get the machining time of an operation with a macro and print it to a text. Is it possible to achieve this or does NX extract the machining time in a txt file in another way?

[1 Infinite Loop]

I'm not sure if there is an easy way to do this with a macro or journal. Perhaps someone else could chime in about that.

A simple but not very elegant method is to use a post called "program length and time" that should be a default post in your post directory. You can post individual operations or a group and display the results by checking "list output" at the bottom of the post processing dialog. In the display window you can then print the result or save it as a text file. Just so you know, this post behaves as a non-turbo mode post so large programs will take a bit of time to process.

Using custom commands you can also output time info in a nc file as well as in shop docs. I haven't done any fancy custom commands so I just output the time at the end of the nc file with a basic custom command someone gave to me. I was thinking about customizing my shop docs more but when nx8 came out with a different format I decided to hold off and I have not yet had a chance to customize the new nx8 docs. The new doc format can be customized without Tcl-Tk knowledge as well as having the ability to output individual program groups whereas the old advanced html docs cannot.

[Thomas Mantz.]

Thank you for your answer. I think i will follow the method you proposed to extract the time, to make a start. I hope in the future someone will post a macro in order to minimize the computational time.

[1 Infinite Loop]

I forgot to mention in the ONT there is a column that displays the time for individual operations as well as for the groups. I don't know if there is a way to extract time from the column. Anyway, if you cannot see the column then all you have to do is right click on a column then go down to columns on the drop down that appears. There you can check/uncheck all the different types. If you want to change the order which they appear you can go down to the bottom of the drop down and click on configure. In there you can easily see the order and change it to whatever your preference is.

Back to macros...I recommend making journals rather than macros. Journals tend to be more portable when upgrading from version to version whereas macros can "break" when upgrading.

[camster]

You can export the Operation Navigator to a spreadsheet or browser from the navigator pop up menu.