woodWOP MPR
MPR is the program format of woodWOP, the programming software on Homag, Weeke and Brandt machining centres. It is plain text, and it is readable, which is rare in this corner of the trade.
- Extension
- .mpr
- Type
- Plain text
- Media type
- text/plain
- Vendor
- Homag Group
- Usually produced by
- woodWOP, Homag, Weeke and Brandt machining centres
A file of blocks
An MPR opens with a header naming the format version and the panel, then a block that gives the panel dimensions names so the program can be resized without being rewritten. After that comes one block per operation: a macro for a vertical hole, another for a hole into an edge, another for routing. The file ends with a single exclamation mark, and woodWOP treats a file without it as cut off.
Contours are written apart from what is done to them
A path is a numbered list of points: where it starts, then each straight or curved move from there. The routing macro does not contain the path; it points at a range of it, naming the first and last element. The same path can therefore be routed twice with different tools, and a path can be drawn and left unused.
Depth is measured from the underside
This is the convention most likely to catch someone out. A drilling depth is measured down into the material, as you would expect. A contour's depth is not: it is written as the height of material left standing beneath the cut, so a 6 mm deep cut in an 18 mm panel is written as 12, and a cut right through is written as 0.
Arcs are radii, not centres
Most part-program formats name the centre of an arc. woodWOP names the radius and which way round the tool goes. That is enough to describe any arc except a complete circle, which has to be written as two halves, and it is not always enough to recover the exact centre the original file named.
Windows line endings and the Windows code page
An MPR uses carriage return and line feed, and the Windows-1252 code page rather than UTF-8. This matters more than it should: woodWOP opens a file with Unix line endings as an empty panel rather than refusing it, which is a harder fault to spot than an error message.
Converters that read it
No converter yet
Converters that produce it
Frequently asked questions
Which machines read MPR files?
Machining centres from Homag, Weeke and Brandt, programmed through woodWOP. The format is also read by a number of CAD and nesting packages that post-process to it.
Is MPR the same as MPRX?
No. MPRX and MPRXE are a later XML format from the same family. They hold similar information in an entirely different shape, and a program that reads one does not read the other.
Can I open an MPR in a text editor?
Yes, and it is worth doing. The blocks are legible, the parameter names are German words abbreviated, and the panel dimensions are near the top. Save it with Windows line endings if you edit it.
Does netool read MPR files?
Not yet. netool writes MPR from other formats today. Reading one is the next step, and it is a larger job, because a woodWOP export carries formulas, machine-specific tuning keys and macros whose meaning has to be established before a converter can claim to understand them.