V4- Estimate Machining Time
After having it half-done for 2 years, I finally completed the Estimate Machining Time function.
I was debating some type of correction factor that would multiply the estimated time by some amount to try to give a more accurate estimate but that seems like a lot of extra UI and confusion when a disclaimer can do the job.
Robert,
You really should indicate units for estimated time. Seconds, minutes, hours, fortnights, or years. (me bad)
Straight raw computed numbers with a warning to never trust computers is best for me. Actually I just look at the g-code file size, add a fudge factor if I know there will be lots of very short moves and reckon about an hour per megabyte.
I expected that to be the first comment. My problem is that I never tell the user what unit of time the feedrates need to be entered in. For inches is seems to be standard to use in/min but I have seen both mm/sec and mm/min in use. MeshCAM has never needed to know this in the past- it just passes these numbers to the post processor.
I only use inches for my mill (even though I do all my CAD in mm) so I’m not sure about the common metric units for speed. I think that mm/min is more common but I have no idea how prevalent mm/sec is. People using mm/sec would get incorrect machining times. I thought it would be better to leave it unsaid and avoid the problem.
Do any metric people out there have any sense of the mm/min to mm/sec ratio?
And just for you Jeff, I can add furlongs/fortnight if it helps.
-Robert
Robert,
Furlongs/fortnight when I’m feeling mean or cranky or just want to confuse folks
Most of the time just plain old mm/min, no sense involved on this end, but you already knew that
jeffD