Old school G-code vs. CAM post processors - which one causes more scrapped parts?

I've been running a Haas VF-2 for about two years now and I keep going back and forth between typing G-code by hand and using the CAM post processor at my shop. Last week I wrote a simple contour manually and it ran perfect, but the CAM version for the same part had a retract height that crashed into a clamp. Am I wrong for thinking hand coding is more reliable for simple jobs, or are people just not dialing in their post settings right? Has anyone else found that CAM introduces extra moves that can cause problems?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant_palmer11d ago

That manual contour you ran perfect is exactly why I've been writing more code by hand lately. I used to swear by CAM for everything but after one post processor sent my tool through a soft jaw I'm back to typing G-code for anything simple.

hugo5011d ago

Ngl, that soft jaw incident sounds like a solid argument for keeping a manual override nearby. Post processors have that special talent for making you appreciate the simple life of typing G01 X Y F. Tbh, I'd rather crash my own code than let a CAM wizard do it for me.