Customising with PCIs and PDIs

There are several ways of adding or changing functionality to EdgeCAM. These are through the use of PCIs
and PDIs.

Creating PCI Templates

PCI Customisation

PDI Customisation

1

EdgeCAM User Guide

Customising with PCIs and PDIs

There are several ways of adding or changing functionality to EdgeCAM. These are through the use of PCIs
and PDIs.

Creating PCI Templates

PCI Customisation

PDI Customisation

Customising with PCIs and PDIs

There are several ways of adding or changing functionality to EdgeCAM. These are through the use of PCIs
and PDIs.

Creating PCI Templates

PCI Customisation

PDI Customisation

Creating PCI Templates

The creation of PCI templates provides an alternative way of creating a basic PCI based on a sequence of
manufacturing instructions. The PCI created will contain a user-specified selection of existing instructions,
with or without their dialog input and a single form-fill input for the variables used.

The advantages over the more traditional methods of command capture are :

The sequence can be developed and edited until you are satisfied before committing it to PCI form.

The variables used to add flexibility to the PCI will be collected together automatically into a single
dialog to be completed at run-time.

Common geometry - used by more than one cycle within the PCI - will be digitised once when running
the PCI and this will not need to be repeated for each cycle.

2

EdgeCAM User Guide

Customising with PCIs and PDIs

There are several ways of adding or changing functionality to EdgeCAM. These are through the use of PCIs
and PDIs.

Creating PCI Templates

PCI Customisation

PDI Customisation

PCI Customisation

PCI is a parametric macro language that works directly on the EdgeCAM database.

Its main features are:

Save command sequences as ASCII text files. These can replayed to recreate the same or similar
sequences of events.

Edit the PCI file to add functionality. Any EdgeCAM command may be called, with both predefined
modifier values and digitised information for that command.

Program flow, user input/output, entity selection, string manipulation and calculations are aided by a
set of high level directives.

Automatically generates comments during the command save. Further comments can be added at
any time.

Create, call, and delete user-defined variables.

Interactively define and use variables and user input dialogs with the command save facility.
Complete ‘family of parts’ macros can be developed without further editing. Program flow control
based on conditional tests can be added by editing the PCI macro in any text editor.

PCI files can only be created and executed from within the Design and Manufacture modes. This includes
the ability to initialise the Code Generator and Tool Library and then return to the Manufacture mode to
continue a sequence.

PCI Variables can be displayed in the PCI Variables Window. From this window you can edit/delete/view the
PCI Variables.

PCI files usually work correctly on non-English language versions of EdgeCAM.

For more information see the PCI Reference help.

3

EdgeCAM User Guide

Customising with PCIs and PDIs

There are several ways of adding or changing functionality to EdgeCAM. These are through the use of PCIs
and PDIs.

Creating PCI Templates

PCI Customisation

PDI Customisation

PDI Customisation

PDIs are executable programs written specifically to work within the EdgeCAM environment. Each PDI is a
library of commands used to perform a particular task; for example, to draw a bolt head. Then by simply
starting the PDI, you execute all the commands in that PDI library.

EdgeCAM provides two types of PDIs:

PDIs started from the Run Executable (Custom menu) command. The list of available PDIs in the
edge\cam\pdi\cat-run directory is displayed as .exe file names. Select the one you require:

PDIs already merged into the menu structure. These appear as standard menus commands and
toolbar command buttons. The Rectangle command in the Geometry menu is an example of such a
PDI. This type of PDI is stored in the edge\cam\pdi\menu-run directory.

Note for Advanced Users - You can produce your own PDIs with the PDI Toolkit. You must also learn
about the internal workings of EdgeCAM.

4

EdgeCAM User Guide

Customising with PCIs and PDIs

There are several ways of adding or changing functionality to EdgeCAM. These are through the use of PCIs
and PDIs.

Creating PCI Templates

PCI Customisation

PDI Customisation

Copyright

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Pathtrace Engineering Systems and its registered resellers or sub-resellers shall have no liability or
responsibility to the licensee or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss or damage
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EdgeCAM User Guide