Specifications

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Southwestern Industries, Inc.
TRAK LPM Programming, Safety, & Operating Manual
Pause Events are useful if you want to stop the program to make a measurement, change
a fixture, etc.
NOTE: In general, you should avoid programming a Pause Event between two
connective events. The Pause Event will cause the events to NOT be connective.
To program a Pause Event press the PAUSE softkey. Because there is no input required,
simply press SET to load and the event counter will advance by one and the Select Event
screen will reappear.
In run, press the GO key after a pause to continue.
8.14 TAP Events
Tap Events allow rigid tapping. The feedrate of the thread will be calculated from the
pitch and RPM entered. The RPM range that the ProtoTRAK PMX is from 150 to 2000
rpm. An error message will occur if you try to tap outside of these ranges.
To program a tap event press the TAP softkey.
Prompts in the Tap event:
X: the X dimension to the center of the hole (Help key active and allows the selection of
a left-hand thread).
Y: the Y dimension to the center of the hole
Z Rapid: is the Z dimension to transition from rapid to feed.
Z Begin: the top of the work piece
Z End: the depth of the thread
PITCH - the distance from one thread to the next in inches or mm. It is equal to one
divided by the number of threads per inch. For example, the pitch for a 1/4-20 screw is
1/20 = .05 inches
RPM: spindle RPM
Tool #: is the tool number you assign
8.14.1 Tapping Notes and Recommendations
- Harder materials will require slower speeds and tap size may also be limited.
- Make sure your tap is not dull. Dull taps will require more torque to cut and may not
cut threads to specification.
- Cutting oil will play a large role in determining the size of tap you can use in a given
material.
- Make sure your tap is running true in the holder.
- The tap has to attain sufficient speed as it is entering the work piece. The ProtoTRAK
PMX CNC will automatically calculate the distance required to gain momentum and that
distance may be different than the programmed Z Rapid. (That is why we require the Z
Begin dimension).
- Selecting Help (blue question mark) at the first prompt of the Tap event will give you
the ability to switch to a left-hand thread. This choice is not available in the Tap option
of the Bolt Hole event.