I have been loosing my mind trying to get Mach3 to run a lathe program as I intend it to.
Some basics-
Retrofit Hardinge CHNC1 running steppers, SmoothStepper, G203V's.
No toolchanger. Running Gang tooling on a tooling bar at 1.000" centers (Omni turn style)
I have the gang tool bar set up like this-
1st position. master tool holder. tool 1.
2nd position. NO TOOL. BLANK.
3rd position. tool number 2.
4th position. tool number 3.
5th position. tool number 4.
NOTE: 1st position is closest to operator.
I have a relatively simple file I created in BobCad ver 25 lathe that has the following-
1 spot drill op. done with tool 2, a spot drill in the 3rd bar hole.
1 through drill op. done with tool 3, a jobber length drill in the 4th bar hole.
1 roughing/finishing profile op. done with tool 1, a cutoff style tool in the 1st (master tool) bar hole.
1 cutoff op. also done with tool 1.
1 chamfer in prep for bar pull, done with tool 1 also.
1 bar pull done with a puller, tool 4, in 5th bar hole.
Loop.
I know that my locations of tools 2,3 & 4 are 1 inch apart from each other and they are tools that do not use an X offset (because they are drills and a bar puller.)
I know that tool 1 (master tool) is not on a center and is at an arbritrary place.
If my stock is .5" dia, and I want to setup the master tool, and then the others how do I go about this?
I have RTFM like 10 times and have been trying things for hours...
I suspect that this is all so much simpler than it seems. but with several diff coordinate systems, offsets, touch offs, entering cut diameters in the X axis DRO, Etc. I am so confused...
Can someone lay it out from start to finish?
Note-
I have used G52 to run this part in the past, but I think this is less than ideal on a ton of levels. for instance- wear offsets. also- I am calling a tool, but not really. more like I pretend to call a tool and just shift the part location. Seems wrong to do that.