Tom Hubin wrote: >Hello Jon, > >I have seen no way to follow your procedure on a standard Sherline 5410 >(metric 5400) mill. > > > OK, I see what you are doing here. You are changing tools, and want to manually touch-off the next tool, and then continue the program. Well, EMC doesn't really handle stopping in the middle of a program and then restarting. That I have to admit.
One fix for this is to set up your tooling and fixtures so you do all the workpieces with one tool before changing. I often swap parts while the spindle is running, and then run the program on the next part. So, instead of changing tools, I'm changing workpieces. Yes, this is adapting to the program, instead of the program adapting to me. And, I usually have separate programs for each tool/step of the process, as the restarting in the middle of a program with EMC is cumbersome. But, I have set up procedures for swapping tools and continuing with EMC. In the program, it retracts the quill to the top, which makes the drawbar accessible (on a Bridgeport). I use almost exclusively end mill holders rather than collets, so the tool length in the spindle will be constant. I made a replica of the Bridgeport's R-8 spindle that can be placed on a surface plate. The tools can then be measured with a height gauge. The first tool is often a center drill, so I call that the "reference tool" and all other tools are measured against that length. A zero offset is used with the reference tool, and the difference between that and the other tools is entered in the tool table. When the program is run, it retracts the spindle, stops it and goes to pause. When I put the new tool in, I continue, and the program does a select tool, then activates tool length offset, and does a Z move, which interpolates in the tool length offset. After that, the new tool's tip will be the correct distance from the work. This way, I don't have to touch off the tools after each tool change. Jon Addresses: FAQ: http://www.ktmarketing.com/faq.html FILES: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO/files/ Post Messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Moderator: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Moderators] URL to this group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO OFF Topic POSTS: General Machining If you wish to post on unlimited OT subjects goto: aol://5863:126/rec.crafts.metalworking or go thru Google.com to reach it if you have trouble. http://www.metalworking.com/news_servers.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jobshophomeshop I consider this to be a sister site to the CCED group, as many of the same members are there, for OT subjects, that are not allowed on the CCED list. NOTICE: ALL POSTINGS TO THIS GROUP BECOME PUBLIC DOMAIN BY POSTING THEM. DON'T POST IF YOU CAN NOT ACCEPT THIS.....NO EXCEPTIONS........ bill List Mom List Owner Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
