New Ideas for UCCNC features?

[Lobos8403]

I'd like to see an active tool input box(for changing active tool), and the opportunity to change the offset for that tool location from the main panel. Perhaps just a box under the active tool such as in mach 3.

Thanks!

[cncdrive]

Thanks for the reply. Any idea when it will be supported? Once it has that feature and Gerry releases his screenset for purchase, I think the hobby market (and then professional with custom machines) will start switching over in droves. The uc100 has already eliminated quite a few headaches for me while still using mach. I would love to switch software as well.

Great to hear you are happy with the UC100.
You know this was not a priority for us while we had so many other ideas and things to implement, but getting closer to what we wanted to achive when we started developing the UCCNC about 3 years ago,
so probably we can also make this to be developed asap.
The other reason why we thought this is not a proiroty, because what we see is that only a low % of the users running rotary axis and even if they have one only a few % of their jobs are rotary jobs,
so far we concentrated more on the functions which more users using everyday.

[cncdrive]

I'd like to see an active tool input box(for changing active tool), and the opportunity to change the offset for that tool location from the main panel. Perhaps just a box under the active tool such as in mach 3.
Thanks!

There is a Tool number DRO in the bottom-right side of the screen, close to the Reset button.
We made that DRO read-only though.
The issues we see is that the tool number could be easily misstyped if you can type the tool number simply into a DRO, the requirement to execute a M6Tx makes it more difficult to mess it up.
Also in Mach3 you can type in basicly any numbers if I recally upto 256 and there is no way to limit that, also we did not figure out yet how to limit that number in a way that it would be comfortable for the user.
So, this could be problematic for ATC machines, because if you misstype the tool number then your machine will likely to make a collosion.
If the tool number DRO is read only then changing the tool will call the M6 macro and the code in that can limit the number of tools or the possible tool numbers.

Also it is not really nice if an ATC machine has e.g. 8 tool posts only and you can still enter a tool number upto 256, like you can do that in Mach3 ... this also gives a higher possibility for misstyping, because e.g. you accidentally typing in the letter 2 two times then you can get a value of 22 while your machine has 8 tools only, so this should not even be possible.
A better solution for this is yet pending, for now the tool number DRO is read only to avoid these kind of issues.

[Derek]

The problem with tools is whether it's a T# or a G43 H#. T refers to the slot that the ATC has the tool in. The G43 H# is the offset from the tool table. It seems to me that a DRO that would accept 1-96 and implement G43 H# would be the best way to handle it for most people. Right now the tool DRO is T#.

[Lobos8403]

The problem with tools is whether it's a T# or a G43 H#. T refers to the slot that the ATC has the tool in. The G43 H# is the offset from the tool table. It seems to me that a DRO that would accept 1-96 and implement G43 H# would be the best way to handle it for most people. Right now the tool DRO is T#.

This is a good point. Being able to change the tool is one thing, but locking the offset from the tool table with the active tool is something that would reduce user syntax input error risk.

[cncdrive]

This is a good point. Being able to change the tool is one thing, but locking the offset from the tool table with the active tool is something that would reduce user syntax input error risk.

The RS274 standard says that the tool number and the tool offset number should be independently setable.
Ofcourse we could lock them together, but that would mean we do not follow the standards.

[ger21]

As to teh tool table There should be a section to be able to assign a toolSlot# to a tool #. IF you were to turn the ATC option on then you simply assign a tool slot# to a tool #. THEN teh program will use teh TOOL Slot # in lue of teh tool # for things such as offsets. That way all your tools could be setup and ready to use in teh tool Table . THEN you select what tools you need to load into teh tool changer for the job. IF you change jobs that require different tools then simply reassign teh ToolSLot # to a different set of tool#.

Can't you just do that in the screen? Create a page for your ATC, where you can enter the tools that are in the slots.

[ger21]

You know that you can't make anything idiot proof.

Yes, you'd need to have the tool change macro handle the swapping.
I don't see how the macro could ever mess up your tool table, because it would never actually touch the table. Just read the appropriate info and pass it to UCCNC.
Say you have an 8 tool changer, and want to call tool 10, which is in slot 2.
Your code has a T10 M6.
You macro looks at your ATC page, sees that tool 10 is in slot 2, and calls a T2 M6, and does a G43 H10.
Do G41/G42 normally use the H word as well? So that you could do the same thing?

Our router at work is setup something like this, with a separate page showing the carousel where you enter the tools in the slots. It's separate from the tool table. However, I believe that the tool table does have a slot #, and this page updates that data.
So, until CNC Drive thinks it's needed, I think the macro method would work fine.

But I don't have an ATC, and my needs are quite different from yours.

[Derek]

It's my understanding that T# is always the slot and G43 H# is the offset from the tool table. The only people using T# are most likely people with an ATC and that is usually macro controlled. The G43 H# is used by anyone with repeatable tool holders. In Mach I could type a number in a DRO and when I hit return it would apply the offset. UCCNC does not operate this way. In order to apply the offset from the tool table I need to type in G43 H# into the MDI. It works but is clunky. The thing that sucks is since the tool # DRO reflects what slot number is loaded I'm never really sure what offset is loaded. This has been a problem for me since I tested the first version of UCCNC.

Derek

[ger21]

The only people using T# are most likely people with an ATC and that is usually macro controlled.

No, anyone that uses programs with multiple tools use the T#, along with M6. That's the way virtually all CAM programs output tool change commands by default. And you don't need an ATC to change tools.
Along with the M6 T#, most CAM programs will immediately follow with a G43H#. So, in most cases, the Length Offset # will match the Tool #.
What you're asking for is two different things.

I just looked at Mach3, and I think that it is wrong in the way that it works. In Mach3, Changing tools also changes the Length Offset. So it appears that when Mach3 see's an M6 T#, it internally also does a G43 H#
And in Mach3, if you do a G43 H# without a tool change, there's nothing to tell you which Length Offset is in effect, unless you look at the tool offset on the Diagnostics page.

I can see adding a separate DRO for current G43 offset, but it should not replace the current tool # DRO or it's functionality.