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ToolOffset Help

Machinist18

Plastic
Joined
Aug 9, 2022
We recently just acquired a TM-2P CNC mill from 2011. I’m having issues with the tool offsets not being in numerical order and on top of that, when I hit tool offset measure key, it puts the position in a completely different tool and not the one I have highlighted so I have to scroll through and find where it got placed and write that number in the tool that I wanted. It also has replaced tools I’ve already touched off. Has anyone else had this issue or have any idea how to solve it?
 
I'm probably far from the most qualified person to answer this but I don't see anyone else jumping in. I'm not sure how applicable this is to your machine but your problems sound like the struggle I had when I first got my MM1. How are you measuring work offset in z and tool offset? There's a menu setting for T1 measures work and then everything else is set off that (The way I'm used to). When I first got mine that wasn't enabled and I was confused for a bit until I found that.
 
I’m measuring all my tool offsets off the table and changing my z work offset according to my part. Everything seems to be working, it’s just when I hit “tool offset measure” for tool 1 it puts the coordinate for the height offset in tool 8 instead of tool 1. The other issue is that my tool offsets are sorting by tool type and not tool number, so I have to scroll through 300 offsets to find a certain number tool.
 
OK, so it's weird enough that I have to ask: It is an umbrella type toolchanger correct?
What happens when you MDI in: T1 M06 ?
Which position will the turret be in and what tool number is indicated on the Offset page?
 
Yes it’s an umbrella tool changer. All the tools I pull up, the correct tool comes out and the offset page tells me the right tool in the spindle, but when I go to touch it off it puts the offset in the incorrect tool offset and screws up the tools I’ve already touched off.
 
Again, that's not normal ...


Let's do this step by step:

1: Index the changer to Tool 1 ( In MDI, type T1 Turret forward )
(Tools 1 should be in spindle)

2: Jog down to the setter, hit OFFSET and Tool1 should be highlighted ( do not cursor around, just let it be where it is )

3: Hit Tool Offset Measure. The number in the Height offset of Tool 1 should change

If it does anything else, then your machine got it's brain messed up.
 
It has to have its brain messed up. I’ve messed around with it for the last 3 days straight. The tool offset measure button doesn’t work for any of the 20 tools that it holds, it puts it in the wrong tool offset for all 20 of them. Is there anyway to fix that? Updates? Or anything? It’s a huge inconvenience to have to find where the number actually went and write it down for all 20 tools then go back and manually type them all in..? Especially when I’m swapping out tools constantly every day.
 
What happens when you wipe out ALL offsets and tool data and start anew?
Everything offset ( work or tool ) just wipe it clean.
 
I wiped them all out when I first got the mill, before I even knew I had this issue, and started from scratch. Then I wiped them all out one more time and I’m still having the same issue. And it’s always the same ones. I’ll “tool offset measure” on tool 1 and it always puts the coordinate in tool 8. Same with 2 going to 14 and 3 going to 1. It’s a never ending cycle.
 
So here's the way I do it. T1 is Part offset measure and t2-9 are tool offset measure. T1 offset is always zero for me. But in that menu I have "tool measures part" or however it's phrased as enabled.
 
Yes, I used to do that, but with this mill I just touch them all off the table and take one of the tools and touch it off my part, all of that works fine, I just can’t get the offsets to enter in the corresponding tools to what is in the spindle
 
Ok then yes that's... wonky, maybe something weird with advanced tool management if that's enabled? I'm just shooting in the dark at this point.
 
The tool offset measure button can be a bit odd to work with, although I have never had it place an offset for an active tool in an offset box that is not active. If I am using the Tool Offset Measure button, I will typically call up the tool I want to touch off, set it off the part surface or where ever I want to touch off to, hit the measure button, and then immediately hit Next tool. When you hit Next tool it will call the next active tool in your offset table up (IE if you are on T1 it will go to T2 typically.) However, here recently I have been touching off all of my tools based off a common point. I will typically take the spindle nose, touch it off on a dial touch setter and set that into my G54-G59 Z offset page, and then measure each tool relative to that point. This gives you all positive tool offsets (as opposed to the distance from Z axis home when using the offset measure button) and makes setting different G54-59 Z offsets a bit easier. It takes a bit more time to do a set up, but It hasn't let me down yet.
 








 
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