Easy Offset Question

I posted this in mach mill but not too much action going on there I guess. So since I'm using a Tormach I will post here as well.

After facing my part I have the perfect zero for z. So I zero out z. I then touch the facing tool off on my manual touch block. Now, what buttons do I push (procedure do I use) to enter the offset number from the z dro so that when I manually put a new tool in (I am using collets) and touch off on the same block It will go to and start cutting at zero when I start the program?

Are you using the Tormach version of Mach3 or the retail version?

Assuming your have your tool table set up, you first need to tell Mach3 what tool you're using to touch off. You can do this in the default screen ("Program Run") of Mach3. Look for the "Tool Information" box on the bottom-middle of the screen. Then lower the tool down onto your touch block. Now go to the "Offsets" tab of Mach3. On the top-left there is a box labeled "Gage Block Height". Enter the height of your touch block into the DRO of that box. If you now hit the "Set Z" button (in the same box) you'll note that your Z DRO will be set to the same value as your block height.

If you change to a different tool number in Mach3 the Z DRO should reflect the change in tool length.

I have the version that doesn't look anything like the one you have pictured. I suppose it is the Tormach version. By setting up the tool table I suppose you are saying to set the dia. only since you dont know the length? Then as each tool is called, I touch them off and hit the "set z" in the offset page and the value I entered in the block height, which should be the value my original facing tool touched off with, will be entered into Z? I will see if I can reconcile the two versions of offset pages and give it a try. It's actually not too big of a deal to write down the original touch off value and reenter it into z on each touch off. But if i can enter this number just once and then hit a button on each touch off, it will be nice, and less chance of making a mistake. Thanks for your help and input!

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Originally Posted by inov8r

I have the version that doesn't look anything like the one you have pictured. I suppose it is the Tormach version. By setting up the tool table I suppose you are saying to set the dia. only since you dont know the length? Then as each tool is called, I touch them off and hit the "set z" in the offset page and the value I entered in the block height, which should be the value my original facing tool touched off with, will be entered into Z? I will see if I can reconcile the two versions of offset pages and give it a try. It's actually not too big of a deal to write down the original touch off value and reenter it into z on each touch off. But if i can enter this number just once and then hit a button on each touch off, it will be nice, and less chance of making a mistake. Thanks for your help and input!

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With tormachs software it's best to have the length of all your tools preset into the tool table. This can be done a number of ways. Likely the easiest is using a surface plate with a 3/4 bore and a height caliper.

Height Gauges

Looks like $175

You could of course touch all your tools off a block ahead of time and set lengths like that. But I think that may burn up a lot of time.

Last option would be tormach tool setter which is around $1000 but will be the quickest way to set tool length

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by inov8r

I have the version that doesn't look anything like the one you have pictured. I suppose it is the Tormach version. By setting up the tool table I suppose you are saying to set the dia. only since you dont know the length?
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Oops, sorry. I thought you were asking "how do I set the initial Z offset?" not "how do I measure my tools?".

This video series (2 parts) will probably tell you what you need to know...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8apTgMTvjI

Basically, to measure the length of a tool you literally measure the tool. The more accurate, the better. However, if you just want to get started you could grab a tool, set an arbitrary length to it, lower it down onto your touchoff block, 'zero' your Z DRO, change tools, touchoff the new tool on the same block, and add the Z DRO value to the arbitrary length you set for the reference tool.

So, if your reference tool is roughly 100mm long and you want to call it "tool #1" you'd open the tool table and enter "100" into the length field. Touch your gauge block and 'zero' the Z axis. Now, switch tools. Let's say the new tool is ~115mm long. In order to touch the gauge block with the new tool you'll need to raise the head 15mm. When you do that, the Z axis DRO will read something close to "15.000". Let's say it actually says "14.900", you'll add 14.900mm to your reference length of 100mm to establish that the new tool is exactly 114.900mm long. Make sure you do not 'zero' the Z axis DRO again until you're done measuring all your tools. If the next tool is, let's say, 8.501 mm shorter than the reference tool, the Z DRO will read "-8.501" after you touch it down to your gauge. You'll want to add the negative value of -8.501 to 100. The difference is 91.499, enter that into the tool table.

This method will work fine as long as the length of your reference tool doesn't change. You could tell Mach3 that your reference tool is 1000mm long, as long as long as the next tool is set to 1014.900mm, you'll be OK. If your reference tool length changes somehow (like, it breaks) you'll be screwed and you'll have to start over. That's why it's recommended to measure the actual lengths using something like a height gauge.

Thanks for the input but I believe we are way off track now. I am using a single collet only, no tts, tools get loaded by hand into the collet as they are called. Hirudin, you are correct, my question was about setting the inital z offset. And each tool after that.

Shoot, sorry again.

I'll make this one short...

If you're looking to simply set the zero-point of a single tool you can just lower the tool down onto the gauge, click the Z DRO, type in the height of the gauge, and hit <enter>.

Make sure to set the zero after any tool change (M6 T#) or tool length offset change codes (G43/G44 H#) in the program. I suppose if your tool list is blank this is less critical, but it's probably a good practice anyway.

I'd definitely recommend moving to a TTS-style tool holder system. When I switched, the number of bits I broke and parts I ruined from incorrect Z settings dropped significantly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BRuGBH6T4Y

Yep, way easier, lol