Using System Data Within a Part Program

During part processing, there may be a need to monitor and/or record real time system data. For example, the output energy from the laser may be required to stay within a specified range for proper hole drilling. If the output energy falls outside this range, then the processing should be stopped until the cause is found and corrected.

A wide variety of system data is available on the S94P controller. The format for accessing a particular piece of data is to use a question mark (?) followed by a descriptive name. The most common System Parameters are shown in the Programming section of the Operator/Programming manual. Here is a list of commonly used data.

?DATE = Current date

?TIME = Current time of day

?FEEDRATE = Programmed feed rate (times the feed rate override)

?LAS_AVE_POWER = Average laser power in Watts

?LAS_EXT_POWER = Average laser power measured by external power meter

?OFC_ERROR = Current OFC error (distance from nominal)

?PRESSURE = Assist gas pressure

All the system parameters in System Variables > System Params tab can be accessed by adding a ? in front of the System Parameter name. The data may output to an SPC file, specified in a G58 operator message, or read into system variables. Examples for each of these are shown below:

G80 Feed Rate = ?FEEDRATE

G58 LASER POWER IS ?LAS_AVE_POWER WATTS

V1=?OFC_ERROR