Newport MM4006, User Manual

Page: 342 / 411

MM4006 T r a j e c t o r y Functions Tutorial
Both radius and sweep angle are expressed in double precision floating
point numbers. It is particularly interesting to mention that the sweep
angle has a range of 1E-12 to 1.7E304, allowing execution of arcs from a frac-
tion of a degree to a practically infinite number of overlapping circles.
The second method of defining an arc is to specify the X-Y coordinates of
the end point. Using the exit angle of the previous element, the controller
will determine the unique arc that fits the parameters (Fig. 5.6).
Fig. 5.6 — Arc defined with end point.
This automatic mode of describing an arc can simplify the process of geo-
metrically defining a trajectory, significantly reducing the Programing time.
A particular application is in approximating an irregular path (Fig. 5.7).
Fig. 5.7 — Contouring with arcs.
By specifying an entry angle and a number of X-Y coordinates, the con-
troller will automatically perform a circular interpolation that closely
approximates the desired trajectory.
< % )
[ N e w p o r t 5 . 7 E l m o I S I E n 1020 - 03/03