Hi all,
       I am building a machine that will have three cutting spindles mounted in order to use three tools in sequence without a tool changer. However even though I have got a Mach3 license I cannot seem to get the control to recognise that it is anything other than tool 0 it is using. When I click on help it says there is no help available and this is the same on help for work offsets. Is this something I am doing wrong or has my license failed to activate. I am programing as below -

T1
G54G90G00X30.Y0Z50.(FIRST SPINDLE)
G43Z20.H1
 
G00Z50.

T2
G00X50.Y0Z50.(SECOND SPINDLE)
G43Z10.H2

G00Z50.

T3
G00X-50.Y0Z50.(THIRD SPINDLE)
G43Z10.H3

G00Z100.
M30

You can check the license from help menu, under About Mach3...
If license is ok you will have your name in box licensed to:

At tool leght comp I am unable to test but from memory I think you need M6 in tool number line eg. T1 M6.

Regards Mika

If you look on General Config, you will see that you can alter what action Mach3 takes on a tool change.

The default is "Ignore Tool Change". If you type in the M6 followed by T*** and alter the config - in your case I think I would use the "auto tool changer" option, becasue the other alternative stops the machine to let you change tools.

If, on your tool table, you put in accurate offsets for the three spindles, along with the tool lengths, the machine should then move to the new spindle.

My thanks to you both I will try these ideas tomorrow and report back.

I take it that you are moving the work to the next spindle/tool instead of changing tools?

If so then all you need to add is a G43 H# ( # being the tool # in the tool table) to change the tool comp. YOu are not really changing tools just changing the comp offset.

G43 H1
G54G90G00X30.Y0Z50.(FIRST SPINDLE)
G43Z20.H1
 
G00Z50.

G43 H2
G00X50.Y0Z50.(SECOND SPINDLE)
G43Z10.H2

G00Z50.

G43 H3
G00X-50.Y0Z50.(THIRD SPINDLE)
G43Z10.H3

G00Z100.
M30

Just a thought, (;-) TP

Sorry - I didn't read the GCode before replying - and so missed the fact that new co-ordinates are given for each spindle. If you include the spindle offsets in the tool table, the machine will take these up as well, and save you having to write them.

I have a drilling feature on my lathe. The offsets and lengths in the tool table are such that the tool ends up on the centre line of the lathe, with the tip of the tool 2mm short of the chuck (which is my Z0 position)

T0101 (or any tool number)
G0 X0 Z0

would bring the tool to that position. The only thing I have to alter is my Z position to allow for the length of the job.

The plan is to make balsa wood bodies for fishing floats. There is going to be a small Peatol lathe "pool cue" headstock mounted on the bed of the router which will hold and rotate the balsa dowel from which the bodies are shaped. The three tool spindles are to be mounted in a row under the normal Z axis pointing towards the end of the dowel. This will then make the Y axis the Z and the Z becomes the Y. In one spindle is mounted a 25mm diameter x 3mm wide grinding wheel which will have a 1.5mm radius on its diameter. The other two spindles will house a short starter drill and a longer half round D bit type drill to put th hole through the body using the "deep hole drilling" principle of having both the workpiece and drill rotating in oposite directions. I need to drill a range of hole sizes through the various bodies and want to use setting collars on the drills so that the short are all the same length and the long ones are all the same length. This will enable me to change drill sizes without having to touch the tool lengths. The grinding wheel path will be programed from the centre point of its 1.5 radius and then cutter comp of 1.5mm introduced in order to get the required shape of body. All programs will be taken from a datum point of the centre line (x/y) and end face of the collet chuck (z) which holds the balsa dowel. This way if I ever lose position I only have to re set once and all programs will run again.

Tried again but the control does not seem to recognize that there is a tool length or cutter compensation and goes to the programed positions on the DRO's. For instance if I program the tool to go to Z20. and the tool is say 50mm long I would expect the machine to go to Z70. on the DRO. I have checked that my name is in the license box but nothing seems any different from before I licensed it.