In-Place 5X Connection

When swapping between 5X solutions, it is sometimes desired to perform the table rotation without lifting the tool off the part. For instance, in a Table-Head machine, if the tool is nearly vertical, the solution swap mainly involves the rotation of the table. The head only makes a very small rotation.

This behavior is controlled by the M5_SWAP_INPLACE system variable. GPP2 will perform an in-place solution swap if the overall rotation of one axis is less than twice the value of M5_SWAP_INPLACE.

The following diagram shows a Table-Head machine, with a Z-axis table and an X-axis head. The head is nearly vertical, and the solution swap requires the table to rotate 180 degrees while the head only rotates from, say, -2 to +2 degrees.

Clearly, the axis with the smaller rotation here is the head (beta). Suppose that M5_SWAP_INPLACE is set by the EX2 program to 2.5 degrees, and that the head rotates from -2.0 to +2.0 degrees. In such a case, GPP2 will perform the move from solution A to solution B without retracting away from the part.

Notes:

By default, the value of M5_SWAP_INPLACE is negative, so this feature is never invoked unless the EX2 program explicitly modifies it to a non-negative value.
Setting M5_SWAP_INPLACE to exactly 0 will perform an in-place swap only if one axis does not need to rotate at all (For example, the head is perfectly vertical, and only the table rotates).
It is not recommended to perform an in-place solution swap with non-ball tools, since the intermediary orientations may damage the part (unless one axis does not rotate at all).
Recall that no collision check can be performed by GPP2. An in-place solution swap with a relatively large inclination of the head may collide with the part or stock. It is the responsibility of the PP developer and the user to ensure that this behavior is only used in safe situations.