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Offline N4NV

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Turn tool table
« on: February 25, 2009, 10:48:54 AM »
I must be doing something wrong.  In MachTurn I am setting up an 8 station tool turret.  I put a 5/8" drill rod in a collet and then set all the tools based on that.  When changing to my actual part, the only thing that needs to change is the Z zero.  I will put in my part, take a facing cut with my tool #1 then click axis position zero for the Z axis.  When I do this, the other 7 tools do not have the new Z zero position.  Should I be clicking part zero instead?  What am I missing?

Thanks

Vince

Offline jimpinder

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2009, 06:22:50 AM »
Vince, I have read, and re-read your post. I think this is what you are saying - Your tools are all set up in a turret, and all referenced to a particular tool, if you change the reference  for that tool, the references for the others do not change.

Your surmise is incorrect ( I think). The tools in your holder are all referenced to a particular distance above the workpiece. The fact that you used one of the other tools to do it is irrelevant. They all have individual references.

The thing that is changing is the height of the workpiece.

The only way to do it, as far as I can see, is introduce an offset - G55 to 59 etc for your different programs.
Your are clearly a long way along the road, I assume that you have home switches, if you have a tool turret etc.
Your tool height, as set, is your "home" for your Z axis in Machine Co-ordinates. When you put in an offset for the X and Y axis, you must also include one on the Z axis to bring the tools down (or up) to the correct height.
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Offline N4NV

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2009, 10:29:18 AM »
This is a lathe not a mill, which is why I am using MachTurn.  There is no Y axis.  What I am having a problem with is the Z distance.  The X distance does not change with a part change, only Z.  For some reason, I can't get the new Z distance to adjust for all the tools in the turret.  The manual goes though how to set up the tool table, but I can't find where is says what to do to set a new Z distance for a new part.

Vince

Offline N4NV

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2009, 11:59:28 AM »
I think I found my problem.  I was not setting up a tool #0 as the reference tool.  I thought that tool #1 could be the reference tool.  I will check it today and see what happens.

Vince

Offline Hood

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2009, 01:22:20 PM »
Tool 1 can be the reference tool as long as it has no offsets, to get the X offset for it you use Home Off distance, or at least I do. As far as the screen and which buttons to press afraid I cant help as I have never liked the standard Turn screen so made a quick one of my own to suit the way I work.
Hood

Offline N4NV

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2009, 02:07:14 PM »
Hood, I am still trying to figure out this thing.  So if you are using tool 1 as your reference tool, you would set the X and Z DROs for the actual position of the tool, then you would set up all the other tools and use offsets for them.  If I was going to set up a new part, would I change to tool 1, move it to the end of my part, then zero the Z axis DRO?  Would this then set the new Z 0 to all the other tools?

Vince

Offline Hood

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2009, 02:20:50 PM »
OK way I do it is I home theĀ  axis, I then jog and take a cut and measure the Dia and can then work out from there what the Home Off value should be set in Homing and limits. Once that is done I take a facing cut from the stock and set the Z DRO to zero, I then set up the rest off the tools to that tool.
After I have all tools set up I can call any of them to go to 60mm dia and they will, I can also zero on the end of the stock with any tool and all will be at zero when they are touching the end of the stock, the important thing is that Mach knows which tool/offset is in position so always make sure you at least MDI the current tool and offset before you zero on the end of your stock, I however always tend to finish code by setting back to tool 1 ready for the next job.
 It would be good to have an offset DRO as well as just the tool number DRO as that is basically telling you nothing, I can have up to 10 tools for each tool position so it may say its at tool6 but there is no way of knowing which offset it is at, I am in hope that Brian will add this when he eventually gets working on Turn.

Hood

Offline N4NV

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2009, 06:15:38 PM »
I just spent another couple of hours in the garage.  I deleted my offsets for my #1 tool, my reference tool, set my "Axis Position" dro's to tool #1.  I then had to re-do all my tool offsets in the tool table (tools #2 through #8).  I verified that if I am on tool #1 and I zero the Z axis position (the upper left of the original screen set) then all the other tools will have the proper new Z zero.  I did not try to zero the Z axis while on another tool because it takes me over an hour to re-set all the tools and I did not want to risk it.  Now I am wondering what the "Part Zero" dro's are for?  Also, if I find that during a program that a tool it not cutting as deep as it should, can I click "Feed Hold", open the tool table and adjust the wear for the current tool, then return to the program and if I hit "Cycle start", will it make an adjustment on the next pass?

Vince

Offline Hood

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2009, 06:23:40 PM »
Sorry dont have a clue what the Part Zero DROs are for, dont have them on my screen, best bet is to ask Steve Blackmore as he made up the standard Turn screen.

Again sorry dont have a clue as I have never had to do that.
Hood

Offline jimpinder

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Re: Turn tool table
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2009, 04:38:13 AM »
Vince - Just a thought - how do you select the tool in the toot turret. The standard lathe command is T0101, the first two figures being the tool number and the second two being the offset. They are both treated seperately.

You can, in theory, use, for example T0301, i.e. tool 3 with offset 1.

The offsets need to be entered in the tool tanle, as you have done, but the full four figures must be given in the command.


Not me driving the engine - I'm better looking.