Hello Folks, would someone be kind enough to send or point me in the right direction of a macro to automate z height offset at the start of each run in Mach3 please. I will change x and y as needed, rapid to location would be appreciated. Thank you, Mark. (using "Automatic Tool Sensor Mach3 Z Axis Probe NC Auto Zero Check Touch Plate for CNC Router Milling Engrave Machine") can't seem to be able to upload image, anyway thank you. My apologies, from 0,0,0 being front left to wherever on back right.

Mach 3 or 4? You posted in the Mach 4 general discussion.

Still trying to work my way around a forum I personally find unnecessarily complex. If I stick with it I will get it. The question regards a G-code macro, which I now have, and JohnHaine  if your question was genuine, which I believe it was, below is a cut and paste from my request, which answers your question.
 (using "Automatic Tool Sensor Mach3 Z Axis Probe NC Auto Zero Check Touch Plate for CNC Router Milling Engrave Machine")
Just a general observation folks, if you have the answer, answer it, if not, forget it. I have been using Mach3 for over 20 years for all my machine builds coupled with Gecko 540's, coupled with 20 year old PC's with parallel ports, and never had problems. The problem is age, there is fierce competition in the NC space in both software and hardware that is current and supported. The last thing I want to see is this forum disappearing over the horizon because we couldn't support our community becoming old and stuck in our ways. We just got to keep it real. My personal thanks to two individuals who took the time to answer previous questions, "Tweakie" and Graham Waterworth. Thanks.

Hi Mark,

If it’s of any assistance the ‘Auto Tool Zero’ macro that I use is here; https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=47729.msg298232#msg298232
You could, of course, add X and Y axis positioning as part of the same macro but you would have to be using a suitable touch pad and probe which could enable Z zero, X zero and Y zero prior to the X,Y axis positioning move.

For many years I used a simple ‘passive touch plate’ (which only allows Z axis zero) but moved on to using an ‘active touch pad’ which was necessary when using non-metallic tooling. My X – Y positioning is always done manually using a laser cross hair with known offset from the tool centre.

Hope this helps,

Tweakie.

Mark, I just wanted to be clear that you were asking for a Mach3 macro rather than Mach4. 

I use a macro very similar to Tweakie's, manually positioning the tool over the height setter each time.  The table on my mill is rather small and mounting the setter permanently at a fixed position would take too much room so though I have thought about it I've not bothered.  In my usual workflow I never bother with rehoming each session as Mach3 retains the home position sufficiently accurately for soft limits to work, and I XY reference the machine to the work when it's clamped.  As Tweakie implies, if you have the tool setter at a fixed position and you reference the machine to the work, you would have to shift the origin to the coord system in which the setter was initially fixed on a tool change then back once the tool height is set.  Probably possible but I've never learned how!

Thank you both , Gentlemen, for your honest and succinct answers. The z zero tool I have ordered from Aliexpress has a description of "Automatic Tool Sensor Mach3 Z Axis Probe NC Auto Zero Check Touch Plate for CNC Router Milling Engrave Machine", idea being as you both have indicated, being permanently fixed in x and Y with an automatic script running z height touch off prior to machining. The unit is about 65mm high, appears to have some kind of air solenoid to blow a puff of air across the top of the touch off plate, for what that's worth, possibly just a bit of Chinese bling. I will check out the  link you have sent me, thank you.

On a second note, I posted a while back regarding probing of rifle stocks to bring into Alibre for clean up, machining strategy etc, utilising 4 axis. A fellow gave me some valuable information regarding depth blocking for z etc. I appear to have two probes in my stock, both unused and both at least 20 years old. Could I get confirmation, as far as we can see, that this probe will be able to do the job, also on Aliexpress."The Latest Upgrade V6 Anti-roll 3d Touch Probe Edge Finder Centering Desktop Cnc Probe Compatible With Mach3 And Grbl ", I do actually have a couple of lighter machines running GRBL, but it is Mach 3 I am interested in.

Thanks in advance, in Australia, we think of Americans during these troubled times and wish you all the best we possibly can.

Regards

Mark

I have one of those probes and it works fine with Mach3

For future reference,  it makes it much easier if you could post actual hyperlinks rather than the descriptive text.

Thanks John, not sure on possible sales promotion policy but know now,

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003466415556.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.573aw5dLw5dLNg&mp=1&pdp_npi=5%40dis%21AUD%21AUD%2079.96%21AUD%2079.96%21%21AUD%2078.37%21%21%21%402103205217468998747002526eead0%2112000028525705862%21ct%21AU%214574370593%21%211%210

This is the automatic z tool length compensation device:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006163585832.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.10.21ef1802ajLcyB

Thanks.