The ICAM.DEF File
The ICAM.DEF file contains parameter definitions that control the operation of both QUEST and GENER. This file is located in the icam_appdata directory.
ICAM.DEF can be modified by running the Configuration Utility from the desktop or Windows command prompt (see “The ICAM Configuration Utility”) or by selecting Tools»Configuration from the QUEST or GENER menu bar.
The ICAM.DEF file can also be modified using a text editor. When editing the file, keep the following in mind: The “begin xxx” and paired “end” commands indicate that the values assigned with the “let” commands between these commands are for a specific purpose. Do not move the “let” commands out of the “begin … end” block. Each “let” command defines a symbol, where the text string on the right of the = is assigned to the symbol named on the left. Text not surrounded by quotes will be converted to uppercase characters. Quote the text to preserve case. Environment variables may be used as all or part of the text value. A $ symbol in front of a name identifies it as an environment symbol (e.g., $icam_lib). Enclose the symbol name in braces { } if the name contains characters other than digits, characters and underscores, or to distinguish the symbol name from immediately following text (e.g., ${icam_lib}tmp). Use $$ to specify $ as text. Anything following a # character (outside of a quoted string) on a line is considered a comment and is not processed.
The following list describes the meaning of each symbol that is referenced by Icam Post, with the default shown in ( ) parenthesis. Items are listed alphabetically.
block_size
(off)
Specifies whether the size of each tape record is written at the start of the tape record. If “on” is specified, the size is written in ASCII using two bytes, followed by a blank. Valid choices are “on” and “off”.
circles
(segmented)
When ISO source, APT-like source and other ASCII formatted CL files are read in, they are automatically converted to ICAM’s binary format. In this binary format circle records can be stored in one of two ways: “segmented” (default) and “unsegmented”. With the segmented circle record structure, a series of 5000 class records is created representing the points on the circle. The points are generated so that straight lines joining the points are all within a tolerance of the true arc. With the unsegmented record structure a single 15000 class record is generated containing the circle center and radius.
The CONTRL APT source command can be used to override the circle method chosen here.
cir_360
(yes)
This specifies the circular arc limits when the CL file input to GENER is APT-like. It indicates if the CAM system can generate a full 360 degree arc using a MOVARC or CIRCLE command with just the circle center, axis and radius information. Use “no” if the CAM system generates multiple MOVARC or CIRCLE commands for a full 360 degree arc. In this case, if the start and end point of the circle are the same, then a span of zero degrees is assumed. Use “yes” (the default) if the CAM system can generate full 360 degree arcs. In this case, if the start and end point of the circle are the same, then a span of 360 degrees is assumed.
cir_dir
(automatic)
This specifies the default circular interpolation direction used when the CL file input to GENER is APT-like. GENER selects the circular interpolation direction based on the data found in the circle record. The default “automatic” is clw for CIRCLE/ and cclw for SURFACE/. If this data does not conform to the standard, you may have to reverse the direction. Use “clw” or “cclw” to override the default action of “automatic” Use “none” if the circle record does not indicate direction, in which case arcs must be less than 180 degrees.
The CONTRL APT source command can be used to override the direction chosen here.
cir_gofwd_catia
(no)
This specifies how the GO*** continuous path motion commands are processed when read from an APT-like CL file in GENER. Specify “no” to use the industry standard interpretation, which drives the circle or cylinder until the desired end condition is reached with the part or line check surface. Specify “yes” to interpret the command based on the Dassault Systèmes document “Syntaxes Interpreted by APT Import”, which extracts the arc data and end point from the CIRCLE and LINE or CYLNDR and PLANE definitions (this is the default with the “catia” input format).
cir_no_adjust_ps
(no)
Controls the definition of an implied part surface following each motion in an APT-like CL file. The part surface is the tool tip contact plane when interpolating circles using one of the GO*** continuous path motions commands. Specify “no” to automatically assume an AUTOPS operation following each motion (this is the normal default). Specify “yes” to inhibit the automatic definition of the part surface, relying instead only on AUTOPS and PSIS commands in the APT source file (this is the default with the “catia” input format).
cir_ps_autops
(no)
This specifies how an AUTOPS command should be processed when read from an APT-like CL file in GENER. The industry standard interpretation of AUTOPS is to establish a part surface passing through the current tool tip position and parallel to the XY plane. The part surface is the tool tip contact plane when interpolating circles using one of the GO*** continuous path motions commands. Specify “no” to select the industry standard interpretation (this is the normal default). Specify “yes” to instead establish the part surface as passing through the current tool tip position, but perpendicular to the tool axis (this is the default with the “euclid” input format).
comment
Specifies an alternate comment delimiter to use when GENER inputs APT-like source files. The delimiter can be one or more characters in length. The setting of an alternate comment delimiter will not affect the normal processing of the $$ comment delimiter.
dnc_eor
If the dnc format is fixed or packed the end of record character or characters can be defined. If special characters must be entered, use the standard Icam Post ^### format where ### is the ASCII code of the special character. For example, ^013^010 would be the character codes for a carriage-return line-feed end of record marker. Be sure to specify 3 digits when specifying the ASCII code. By default, there is no end of record marker for fixed or packed records.
dnc_format
(variable)
The DNC file can be formatted in 3 ways; variable (default) fixed and packed. Variable indicates that each tape block will have a variable size, taking only the required space. Fixed indicates that all blocks are of a given size. If a tape block is shorter than the given size, the record is blank filled to the end. Packed is similar to fixed except that the next record is used to fill space at the end of a given record. In other words, packed tries to fit as many logical blocks on a physical record as possible.
dnc_recl
(72,80)
If the DNC format is fixed or packed the default record size is 72,80 where the first 72 columns contain data and the records are blocked at 80 characters. This default can be altered by specifying the data portion of the record and optionally the full size.
dnc_seq
(no)
Sequence numbering can be provided in the non-data portion of fixed length tape blocks (fixed or packed). By default, the numbering is in columns 73 to 80. Use “no” to have no sequence numbering. “left” left justifies the sequence number, while “right” right justifies it. Use “padded” to add leading zeros to the sequence number field of the record.
erfile
Specifies the path and file name of the GENER error message file. If a file is not specified (the default), internal error messages are used.
extended_chars
(1-127)
Specifies the valid range of characters permitted in a text string. By default, GENER only recognizes characters in the ASCII range 1-127. All (or portions) of strings containing NUL or characters with the sign bit set will be processed as floating point values. To have GENER recognize extended characters, specify the additional characters by ASCII code. A range of characters can be specified using nnn-nnn. Separate multiple specifications using a comma (,). For example, to permit characters in the range 145 through 200 and the NUL (0) character, specify “145–200,0”. Specify “0–255” for all characters (not recommended).
Specifies default file extensions (or file types) for the various output files that are created by QUEST and GENER. The default file extension is used when a specific name is not specified on the GENER command line. The QUEST listing file (file_ext_list) and GENER listing file (file_ext_nclist) extensions are used when these listings are generated in a regular file format (i.e., not HTML). The subprogram tape file extension can be changed using the $SUBEXT macro variable.
file_locks
(system)
Specifies how the Icam Post database is locked when it is being written to. The default “system” lock uses Windows file locking. For legacy purposes, Icam Post supports the simulation of Windows file locking by creating a temporary lock file indicating that the database is in use. This is called a “file” lock. Database file locking can be disabled by specifying “no”. ICAM recommends that Windows file locking always be used. This is the default.
Specifies default file extensions (or file types) for the QUEST listing (html_ext_list) and GENER listing (html_ext_nclist) files when using the HTML output format.
icam_appdata
If used, this configuration setting must be manually added at the start of the ICAM.DEF file before the first “begin” command.
let ICAM_APPDATA = "directory path"Specifies the application data directory path, overriding all other application data directory definitions to this point. The content of the current DEF file (i.e., the one containing the icam_appdata definition) is ignored. The target directory ICAM.DEF file, if one exists, may contain an icam_appdata setting, which will be recursively applied. A circular reference will be diagnosed with an error.
If an ICAM.DEF file does not exist in the specified application data directory, then default values will be used for all configuration settings.
input_format
(apt)
Specifies the default input CL file type. Valid choices are “apt”, “ai”, “cadra”, “catia”, “cdc”, “cv”, “duct5”, “esprit”, “euclid”, “hms”, “hypermill”, “ibmb”, “ibme”, “icam”, “iso”, “mcam”, “nclcam”, “nx”, “ptc”, “topsolid” and “ug2”. The apt format supports APT-like source statements generated by most CAM systems (the default). The ai, cadra, catia, cdc, esprit, euclid, nx and ptc formats support APT-like source statements generated by these specific systems. The icam format supports ICAM’s binary CL. The iso format supports ASCII CL defined by the ISO 3592-2000 standard. The cv, hms, ibmb, ibme, nclcam and ug2 formats support binary CL generated by these CAM and APT systems (binary CL file support is a licensed program option). The hypermill format supports POF files from OPEN MIND. The mcam format supports NCI files from Mastercam. The topsolid format supports “.cam” files from Missler TopSolid. The duct5 format supports numeric CL from DELCAM. This symbol can be overridden with the GENER /format command line qualifier.
input_width
(72)
Specifies the maximum number of characters in the input record when GENER inputs APT-like CL. Up to 256 characters per input line can be specified, with a minimum of 40. This symbol can be overridden with the CONTRL APT source command.
insert
Specifies the name of an APT-like input file to read and process before GENER processes the main APT input file. An insert file will only be processed when using one of the APT-like input formats. If this symbol is not specified, then an insert file will not be processed. This symbol can be overridden with the GENER /insert command line qualifier.
interface_kit
(automatic)
Specifies either “automatic” (the default) or the name of a CAM interface kit.
Each CAM interface is self contained in a separate directory. All standard interfaces can be found in the kit subdirectory below the installation directory. User customized interface kits can be created in the kit subdirectory below the application data directory. The value specified for the interface_kit symbol must match one of the subdirectory names of the kit directories. The application data kit subdirectory is searched first for a matching kit name, before searching the installation kit subdirectory.
Each kit must contain an ICAM.DEF file defining the configuration details that are necessary for that specific CAM system format (see the “CAD/CAM System Interfaces” annex for interface kit details). Kit DEF file symbols take precedence over (i.e., override) those in the regular ICAM.DEF file.
Automatic interface kit selection uses special
kit_clfileandkit_cltextdefinitions in the ICAM.DEF file in each interface kit to assist the post-processor in selecting the appropriate interface kit based on the input CL file. Thekit_clfilesymbol defines a file-match pattern unique to the specific CAM system (e.g., “*.aptsource”). A semicolon can be used to delimit a series of possible file-match patterns (e.g., “*.ncl;*.ncl.*”). Thekit_cltextsymbol defines text (in the form of a regular expression) that is expected to be found in the first 100 bytes of the file if the kit can not be uniquely defined by the file-match pattern. If two or more kits are valid candidates, then GENER will prompt for the appropriate kit, or if prompting is not possible, will abort execution with a diagnostic message.This symbol can be overridden with the /kit command line qualifier.
isn_on_output
(yes)
Specifies whether 1000 class records should be created when the CL input file format is APT. A 1000 class record identifies the input command by an ISN number. The ISN number is referenced in error messages and optionally with the tape listing as an aid to tracking the source of problems. Valid choices are “yes” and “no”.
keyword_size
(24)
Specifies the maximum number of significant characters in a Major or Minor keyword, within the range 6-24 characters. It is an error to attempt to load keywords that are longer than this limit from a words file. When processing aptsource files, keywords longer than this limit will be quietly truncated before testing for a match with a known Major or Minor keyword.
language
(english)
Specifies the name of the default language to use for all text output. The language name must match a subdirectory name of the “$icam_lib/bin/$icam_bin/lang” directory. If “language” is not specified, or if it is invalid, all text output will be in English. This symbol takes precedence over the LANG environment variable.
lines_per_page
(60)
Specifies the number of lines per page on all output listings. If 0 (zero) is specified, there will be no page breaks and headers will be output at the top of the program and at the top of the program summary only.
max_errors
(0)
Specifies the maximum number of errors (severity 8 or higher) that are permitted during post-processing. Once this limit is exceeded, post-processing will abort. A value of zero (the default) inhibits this feature, meaning that post-processing will not intentionally abort.
Specifies the source (.mac) or object (.obj) file names of standard user-defined macros that GENER will automatically place before and after macros defined within the selected post-processor. The “mbdef” symbol specifies the full path and file name of a file containing user-defined macros to be matched before regular post-processor defined ones; the “madef” symbol specifies the full path and file name of a file containing user-defined macros to be matched after regular post-processor defined ones. Use an ENDMAC command to end each user-defined macro in the source file. Startup/Shutdown macros can not be specified.
Macros can be optionally precompiled using the QUEST /compile command line qualifier. Precompiled macro object files are cross platform compatible but are not cross version compatible.
These symbols can be overridden with the GENER /ma and /mb command line qualifiers.
msys9
(no)
Specifies if the MSYS APT-like CL file command requires special processing to convert it from a 9 parameter to 12 parameter matrix format. Select “no” to process the MSYS command as-is (this is the normal default). Select “yes” to convert the 9-parameter MSYS command matrix from Unigraphics format to a standard matrix format.
non_std_contin
(no)
Indicates if a $ continuation marker can be used to continue a text string or comment from one input APT source card to the next. Valid choices are “yes” and “no”.
null_input
(error)
Specifies how null parameters in the input APT-like source CL file should be treated. A null parameter occurs when two commas appear in a row. Choices are: “error” to output a diagnostic and ignore the CLDATA record (this is the normal default); “zero” to use the value 0 for null parameters; and “ignore” to ignore null parameters (this is the default with the “catia” input format).
omit_after_slash
(0)
Specifies how many characters should be omitted following the slash (/) in fixed format text commands (e.g., PARTNO, PPRINT, INSERT…).
page_format
(list)
Defines the output page format. Either “list” or “fcc” can be specified. List type output uses a form-feed character to advance the printer carriage to a new page. FCC type output (also known as ASA) reserves the first character of each line as a carriage control indicator, where values of 1, 0 and space cause a page advance, double space or single space action.
plot_data
(cl)
This symbol specifies the output units of back-plot data generated by GENER. Valid choices are “machine” and “cl”. With machine output, XYZ coordinates are in the same units as the machine measured from the tool tip with vector information omitted. With cl output (the default), back-plot coordinate data is in the same units and reference system as the input CL data, also measured at the tool tip, but with vector information included if necessary.
plot_type
(apt)
This symbol specifies the output format of back-plot data generated by GENER. Valid choices are “binary”, “apt” and “catia”. Binary output produces a CL file that can be input to any ICAM product that accepts binary CL files. APT output (the default) produces an APT-like CL file. CATIA output produces an APT-like CL file compatible with the 3DEXPERIENCE NC Manufacturing Review feature.
start_lookahead
(20)
Specifies the number of records to search to find the first occurrences of the PARTNO, UNITS and MACHIN statements. If 0 (zero) is specified, a search is performed on the entire input file.
tape_eor
If the tape format is fixed or packed the end of record character or characters can be defined. If special characters must be entered, use the standard Icam Post ^### where ### is the ASCII code of the special character. For example, ^013^010 would be the character codes for a carriage-return line-feed end of record marker. Be sure to specify 3 digits when specifying the ASCII code. By default, there is no end of record marker for fixed or packed records.
tape_format
(variable)
The tape file can be formatted in three ways; variable (default) fixed and packed. Variable indicates that each tape block will have a variable size, taking only the required space. Fixed indicates that all blocks are of a given size. If a tape block is shorter than the given size, the record is blank filled to the end. Packed is similar to fixed except that the next record is used to fill space at the end of a given record. In other words, packed tries to fit as many logical blocks on a physical record as possible.
tape_recl
(72,80)
If the tape format is fixed or packed the default record size is 72,80 where the first 72 columns contain data and the records are blocked at 80 characters. This default can be altered by specifying the data portion of the record and optionally the full size.
tape_seq
(no)
Sequence numbering can be provided in the non-data portion of fixed length tape blocks (fixed or packed). By default, the numbering is in columns 73 to 80. Use “no” to have no sequence numbering. “left” left justifies the sequence number, while “right” right justifies it. Use “padded” to add leading zeros to the sequence number field of the record.
units
(inch)
Specifies the default unit of measure to be used before the first UNITS command or in the absence of a UNITS command. It can be set to “mm” or “inch”. Set it to “mm” if the majority of CL files are in metric and set it to “inch” if the majority of CL files are in imperial units.
Specifies if the HTML output format option should be used for the QUEST listing (use_html_list) and GENER listing (use_html_nclist) files. Valid choices are “yes” and “no” (the default).
user_questions
This symbol specifies the full path and file name of a user-defined questions file. QUEST uses this file to present a customized question section to the user. See the “User-Defined Questions” annex for file format details.
vm_picture_dir
("My Pictures\ICAM\260\")
This symbol specifies the directory to use when creating screenshots of a Virtual Machine simulation window. The default is the system “My Pictures\ICAM\260” directory. If this symbol defines a relative path, then the pictures directory will be relative to the input CLDATA file.
vm_video_dir
("My Videos\ICAM\260\")
This symbol specifies the directory to use when creating videos of a Virtual Machine simulation window. The default is the system “My Videos\ICAM\260” directory. If this symbol defines a relative path, then the videos directory will be relative to the input CLDATA file.
words
("$icam_appdata\dwords.dat")
Specifies a file containing additional major and minor words and codes used by your CAM system. By default, ICAM uses the ISO standard words with common extensions. This symbol can be overridden using the /words command line qualifier (valid for both QUEST and GENER).