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

.mpr .xxl

MPR to XXL converter

Turn a woodWOP .mpr program into a Xilog Plus XXL program for SCM and Morbidelli machines.

Open tool
.mpr .pgm

MPR to PGM converter

Turn a woodWOP .mpr program into a compiled Morbidelli PGM program for SCM and Morbidelli machines.

Open tool
.mpr .nc

MPR to G-code converter

Turn a woodWOP MPR program into plain ISO G-code for routers that take it.

Open tool

Converters that produce it

.xxl .mpr

XXL to MPR converter

Turn a Xilog Plus XXL program into a woodWOP .mpr program for Homag, Weeke and Brandt machines.

Open tool
.pgm .mpr

PGM to MPR converter

Turn a compiled Morbidelli PGM program into a woodWOP .mpr program for Homag, Weeke and Brandt machines.

Open tool

Machines that use this format

  • HomagHomag, Weeke and Brandt machining centres running woodWOP
  • WeekeHomag Group boring and routing centres
  • BrandtHomag Group machines programmed from woodWOP
  • woodWOPProgramming Homag Group machining centres

Frequently asked questions

Does netool read MPR files?

Yes. netool reads the panel, vertical and horizontal drilling, rows of holes, contours and routing, working out the formulas as it goes, and writes the result as Xilog text or a compiled Morbidelli program. Pockets, grooves and sawing are not read yet: they are named where they appear and the file is refused rather than converted without them.

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?

Yes. netool reads the panel, vertical and horizontal drilling, rows of holes, contours and routing, working out the formulas as it goes, and writes the result as Xilog text or a compiled Morbidelli program. Pockets, grooves and sawing are not read yet: they are named where they appear and the file is refused rather than converted without them.