The XXL file format

A .xxl file is a plain-text CNC program written by Xilog Plus, the programming environment supplied with SCM and Morbidelli machining centres.

Extension: .xxl
Type: Plain text
Media type: text/plain
Vendor: SCM Group / Morbidelli
Usually produced by: Xilog Plus, CAD/CAM post-processors

What a .xxl file contains

An XXL file is readable text. It opens in any editor and can be written by any CAM post-processor. The first meaningful line is an H header that describes the panel to be machined: its length, width and thickness, the unit of measurement and the reference corner. Everything after that is a sequence of machining commands in ISO style, one per line, each starting with a command word such as G0 or G2 followed by lettered parameters.

How a program is structured

A typical contour program moves through four stages. The H header sets up the panel and SY selects the working side. A first G0 positions the spindle over the start point and selects the tool with a T parameter. A G1 with only a Z value plunges to the working depth. The cutting moves follow, G1 for straight cuts and G2 or G3 for arcs, and the program closes with a G0 retract. Blank lines and lines beginning with a semicolon are comments.

Which machines and software use it

Xilog Plus has shipped with SCM and Morbidelli machining centres since the late 1990s and remains the usual authoring format on those machines. Newer controllers load the XXL text directly. Older controllers, such as Author-series machines running early Xilog or TRIA control software, cannot read text at all and expect a compiled binary program instead.

Opening and editing XXL files

Because the format is text, Notepad, VS Code or any other editor will open a .xxl file without special software. Coordinates are decimal millimetres, so a value can be read and changed directly. Take care with the header: the panel dimensions and flags on that line determine how every coordinate below is interpreted.

Converting XXL to a machine program

If your controller expects a binary .pgm, the XXL has to be compiled. SCM did this with WinXISO. The converter on this site does the same job in the browser and reports, command by command, which encodings are proven against a machine-tested file and which are a labelled guess.

Converters that read it

.xxl .pgm

XXL to PGM converter

Convert Xilog Plus .xxl programs to the binary .pgm format read by older Morbidelli CNC controllers.

Open tool

.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

Converters that produce it

.pgm .xxl

PGM to XXL converter

Read a compiled Morbidelli .pgm program back as the Xilog text it was made from.

Open tool

Commands in this format

HVerifiedH: the panel header
SYVerifiedSY: the working side
BVerifiedB: boring
FVerifiedF: which face to work
PARVerifiedPAR: give a name a value
G0VerifiedG0: rapid positioning
G1UnverifiedG1: straight cuts and plunges
G2VerifiedG2: clockwise arcs
G3UnverifiedG3: counter-clockwise arcs
XB, XBO, XBR, XBRBUnsupportedXB and drilling cycles
X Y Z I J V TVerifiedParameters: X Y Z I J V T

Frequently asked questions

Is XXL the same as G-code?

It is close but not identical. XXL uses ISO-style motion words such as G0, G1, G2 and G3 with lettered parameters, so it reads like G-code, but the header line, the SY side selector and the macro commands are specific to Xilog Plus.

Can I open a .xxl file in Notepad?

Yes. XXL is plain text with one command per line, so any text editor will display and edit it.

What is the difference between .xxl and .pgm?

XXL is the text program you write or post-process. PGM is the compiled binary file that older Morbidelli controllers load. The two hold the same machining information in completely different encodings.

Which commands can this site convert?

The header, SY, G0 positioning, G1 straight cuts and plunges, and G2 and G3 arcs. Drilling cycles and other macros are refused rather than guessed. The command reference lists each one with its support level.