SCM Group machines
SCM Group is the Italian parent of Morbidelli and of the Xilog Plus programming environment. Machines sold under several names in the group share one program format, which is why a file written for one will often load on another.
- Type
- Machine builder
- Based in
- Italy
- Programmed with
- Xilog Plus, WinXISO, Maestro
- Machine control
- Xilog, Tria
- File formats
- .xxl, .pgm
One toolchain, several machine names
The group sells machining centres under more than one name, and a shop that runs two of them quickly notices that the programs look the same. That is not a coincidence: the programming environment is shared, so the part program is the common currency across the group rather than something tied to a single model. What changes between machines is the physical envelope, the tool table and the aggregate fitted, not the language the program is written in.
XXL is the text, PGM is the compiled form
There are two file formats in this world and they hold the same information. A .xxl is the program as a person wrote it: plain text, readable, one command per line. A .pgm is that same program compiled into a binary the control loads directly, with the commands turned into numbered records and the coordinates into integers in hundredths of a millimetre. Neither is a drawing. Both describe a sequence of moves and operations on a panel of a stated size.
Which one your machine wants
The control generation decides it. Newer controls take the XXL text as it stands. Older machines, in particular the Author series running early Xilog or Tria control software, will not show a .xxl in their file browser at all and expect a .pgm. If you are unsure, look at what is already on the machine: the extension of the programs sitting in its own directory is the answer, and it is more reliable than the model number.
What netool can prove, and what it only labels
netool documents 11 commands of the language and publishes a support level for each. The reference corpus behind that is 116 XXL and PGM pairs produced on an SCM Tech 100 with a Tria 4000 control, compared byte for byte. Where an encoding is confirmed against those files it is marked verified. Where it was derived but never seen coming off a machine it is marked unverified, written with a warning, and refused outright in strict mode. Nothing is quietly approximated.
Leaving the SCM world
Moving a program to a Homag, Weeke or Brandt machine means leaving this format family entirely: those run woodWOP and load MPR. The moves translate; the conventions do not, and depth is the worst of them, since woodWOP measures a contour from the underside of the panel rather than from the top. netool converts XXL or PGM to MPR and returns 44 reason codes that name, in plain words, anything it would not carry across.
File formats on this site
Converters for these formats
XXL to PGM converter
Convert Xilog Plus .xxl programs to the binary .pgm format read by older Morbidelli CNC controllers.
Open toolXXL to MPR converter
Turn a Xilog Plus XXL program into a woodWOP .mpr program for Homag, Weeke and Brandt machines.
Open toolPGM to XXL converter
Read a compiled Morbidelli .pgm program back as the Xilog text it was made from.
Open toolPGM to MPR converter
Turn a compiled Morbidelli PGM program into a woodWOP .mpr program for Homag, Weeke and Brandt machines.
Open toolMPR to XXL converter
Turn a woodWOP .mpr program into a Xilog Plus XXL program for SCM and Morbidelli machines.
Open toolMPR to PGM converter
Turn a woodWOP .mpr program into a compiled Morbidelli PGM program for SCM and Morbidelli machines.
Open toolXXL to G-code converter
Turn a Xilog Plus XXL program into plain ISO G-code for routers that take it.
Open toolPGM to G-code converter
Turn a Morbidelli PGM program into plain ISO G-code for routers that take it.
Open toolRelated entries
- MorbidelliSCM Group machining centres, programmed in Xilog Plus
- Xilog PlusProgramming SCM and Morbidelli machining centres
Common questions
What file format do SCM machines use?
Xilog Plus writes .xxl, a plain-text part program. Older controls, including the Author series with early Xilog or Tria software, load a compiled binary .pgm instead. Both describe the same machining; they are two encodings of one language.
Will a program from one SCM machine run on another?
Often, because the language is shared across the group, but never assume it. Tool numbers, the aggregate fitted and the working envelope differ between machines, so a program that is valid text can still be wrong for the machine in front of you. Treat a transferred program as a new one and dry run it.
Is Morbidelli the same as SCM?
Morbidelli is one of the machine brands within SCM Group rather than a separate company. For file format purposes they behave as one: the same Xilog Plus environment, the same XXL text and the same compiled PGM.
What is the difference between Xilog Plus and Maestro?
Xilog Plus is the older environment and writes .xxl. Maestro is SCM's newer software and writes .xcs, a different file that netool does not read. If your programs end in .xxl you are in the Xilog Plus world, which is the one these converters cover.
Is netool affiliated with SCM Group?
No. netool is an independent converter. SCM, Morbidelli, Tria and Xilog Plus are trademarks of their owner and are named here only to describe the file formats netool reads and writes.