Brother Part Counters

Overview

Part counters play a few important roles when using Chatter:

• Track parts output
• Enable prediction of production completion time
• Signal to Chatter that a machine is being set up

Part Counter Variables

Brother part counters are tied to the following variables:

Chatter Description	Brother Description	Variable #
Part Count	Workpiece counter 1 current	#3802
Part Goal	Workpiece counter 1 completion (or target)	#3803
Part Count Increment	Workpiece counter 1 count (or Count)	#3801

Part count is the current number of parts in your run. Part goal is the amount of parts you want to produce in the run. Part count increment is the number of parts produced in a single cycle.

For a complete listing of the Brother Part Counter variables, see the Brother Workpiece Counter Variable Reference

Accessing Part Counter Variables via the Control

To access your part counters on the Brother control, first navigate to the MONITR screen, and select Workpiece Counter from the menu. This will display a list of the part counters which can be edited.

For purposes of production tracking, we are primarily concerned with Current Value and Target Value (a.k.a. Completion) for Counter 1. Set current value to the number of parts already produced (or 0 if starting a new run), and target value to the total number of parts to be produced.

Incrementing the Part Counter Variables with M211

You can increment the part counter at the end of the program by enabling the M211 modal, which will tell the control to increment the part counter upon M99 or M02

%
O1000 (PART COUNTER EXAMPLE);

(YOUR PROGRAM);

M211 (ENABLE PART COUNTER INCREMENT);
#3801 = 1 (SET PART COUNT INCREMENT TO 1);

M30 (INCREMENT PART COUNTER);
%

For programs that produce multiple parts per cycle, you can change the 1 to the number of parts produced in the cycle.

Modifying your Post Processor

We recommend modifying your post processor to automatically increment the part counter at the end of each program to ensure consistent behavior across programs and avoid manual editing of G-code. In a typical post, you'll just add the following lines before the M30 or M99 command:

M211 (ENABLE PART COUNTER INCREMENT);
#3801 = 1 (SET PART COUNT INCREMENT TO 1);

M30 (INCREMENT PART COUNTER);

If your post processor allows for exposing custom settings to the post UI, consider adding an option for multiple part incrementing as shown in this blog post. The technique demonstrated in Fusion 360 is applicable to other CAM systems as well.

References from the Brother Docs

Below are the relevant sections from the Brother documentation that describe the workpiece counter variables and how to use them.

6.2.6.12 Workpiece Counter

The set values on the workpiece counter screen is read and written.

Variable #	Description	Capabilities
#3801	Workpiece counter 1 count	Read/Write
#3802	Workpiece counter 1 current	Read/Write
#3803	Workpiece counter 1 completion	Read/Write
#3804	Workpiece counter 1 ending	Read/Write
#3811	Workpiece counter 2 count	Read/Write
#3812	Workpiece counter 2 current	Read/Write
#3813	Workpiece counter 2 completion	Read/Write
#3814	Workpiece counter 2 ending	Read/Write
#3821	Workpiece counter 3 count	Read/Write
#3822	Workpiece counter 3 current	Read/Write
#3823	Workpiece counter 3 completion	Read/Write
#3824	Workpiece counter 3 ending	Read/Write
#3831	Workpiece counter 4 count	Read/Write
#3832	Workpiece counter 4 current	Read/Write
#3833	Workpiece counter 4 completion	Read/Write
#3834	Workpiece counter 4 ending	Read/Write

12.3.4 Workpiece Counter Specification (M211 to M214)

If a code (M211 to M214) is specified to a workpiececounter (1 to 4) and commanded in memory operation, the commanded counter is counted up per counted amount when M02 or M30 is executed. The counter is cancelled when power is started, [RST] key is pushed, M02 or M30 is executed, operation is reset, or workpiece counter cancellation (M221-M224) is executed. Eg: If M211 and M212 are executed in an operation program when the counted number of the counter 1 is 1 and the counted number of the counter 2 is 2, the counter 1 counts up per 1 and the counter 2 counts up per 2 when M02 or M30 is executeded. (NOTE) M211 to M214 can be commanded in MDI operation.

12.3.5 Workpiece Counter Cancel (M221 to M224)

To cancel a workpiece counter (1-4), command an M code (M221-M224). Then, the commanded counter cancels counting when the M code (M221-M224) is executed in memory operation or MDI operation.