tool offset hard to make it work

[chrisdax]

i'm very happy with uccnc and all is working very well , exept when i change the tool during milling :

i change tools manually and i have a fixed probe on my table.

usually when i start a job i do a manual 0 on work piece, i read " probing user guide " and tried to follow the instructions ... but it does not work :

1: probe on fixed probe
2: reference work piece manually

i can start to mill my workpiece now, it's ok

BUT : during milling but when i change the tool , i try to do a fixed probe , no new tool offset is stored , and the Z is wrong with the new tool inserted,

i don't understand why i can't do this easily, this is a very basic operation ( just a tool change and new tool offset stored ) and it's should be easly to do no ?

Chris

[cncdrive]

How do you probe?
Using macro or probe screen or ... ?

[chrisdax]

I'm using probe screen
I follow instructions on found on help

[chrisdax]

so ? did you had time to see the problem ?
i'm using probe screen with latest UCCNC version, fixed probe and manual tool change,basic operation like tool lengh change should work without any tweaking or macro writing , no ?

ideally it should be :

-set Z=0 on work piece
-got to park 1
- probe tool - value 1

milling
M6 Gcode

- go to park 1 / wait tool change
- probe new tool - value 2

set new tool offset = value 1 - value 2

and that's it

Chris

[chrisdax]

Maybe some "macro experts" can help me ?

Chris

[bhdavis]

I'm trying to understand what you are doing.

Are you assigning a tool number to each bit when you make the change? Do you have a fixed probe in addition to a portable probe you are using to identify the top of the material?

To start at the beginning, with automatic tool changers each tool has a number. If you have T1 loaded and measured on a fixed position probe then that bit length is recorded in the tool list section of UCCNC for T1.

If you then use that bit to touch down to the top of your material UCCNC knows where the top of your material is in relation to that bit length.

If you then call for and automatically load T2 and it gets measured on the fixed probe, that measurement gets recorded in the tool list for T2. Then UCCNC can calculate the top of material position in relation to the length of bit T2. UCCNC knows which bit it has because it was told to pick up a specific tool number.

If you are not using this system that is calling up specific tools by a tool number that is recorded in the tool list, then UCCNC isn't going to be able to determine where the material surface is after swapping out tools.

So, if you are simply unloading the first tool that was used to touch down to the material surface, and then loading a different bit, with no T#s involved, then you have to touch down to the surface of the material again, not to a fixed location probe.

Does this help?

I apologize if I'm completely missing your situation and this explanation is not really related to what you need to do.

BH

[chrisdax]

Hello,

thank you for your answer,

i try to explain my workflow :

i have a fixed probe on my table ( park 1 position ), no ATC , and no tool number,

-first , before milling, i do a Z=0 ont the material top: manually with bit touching top surface and " reference current as work piece ",

-then goto park 1 and probe ( fixed probe on my table ) to know the first probe offset

- Gcode for milling

- M6 on my Gcode,

- goto park 1 , unloading the first bit and load a different bit ( no tool number on the Gcode ) and fixed probe on the new bit to know the new offset ,

then i assume the new tool lengh and the previous are known, so it should be easy to set the new offset ?

Chris

[chrisdax]

ideally in machine coordonates, with a first fixed probe (a ) on the first tool and then a second fixed probe ( b ) on the second tool would be enough to konw the offset to apply no ? ( a-b will be the offset )

chris

[bhdavis]

ONLY if the tools are being recorded in the tool table.

BH

[chrisdax]

yes i understand, as i don't have a ATC, each time i mount the bit 1 ( for example ) the offset will be different, no ?

chris