We are in the process of setting up fusion 360 in our shop. We are coming up with a standard tool list. we have several cnc machines that use a 2" facemill for example. The problem I am thinking about is that they are not all the same length. what is the best way to handle this?
Craig
As far as Fusion 360 is concerned, if they are all 2" diameter, the different lengths will not matter. You would enter your tool offset height at the control, not necessary to try and set it in the tool library, use the generic length.
Stephen,
That is what I was thinking. If it is close to the reach then we need to pay more attention so we don’t crash.
When the person setting up the job checking tools and running the first part should catch any issues. First thing I do is check the lengths of all my tools and the clearance from top of jaws. That way I know if I have to walk away or leave my Tools won’t crashing because of that so lesser of a chance to crash. At this point I have already went over my program in simulation in CAD/CAM, and in my graphics on the machine. I have total confidence at this time now its just approaches to watch for.
This is somewhat related to the topic regarding setting tool heights. I teach students to use the probe system to set tool heights and work offset in Z, I teach them to touch off the top of the part for setting tools and I teach them to set the tools from the table surface. I have this tutorial I provide them for setting the tools from table surface. This is for Haas controls, I would appreciate if anyone has time to review and critique.Tool Height Offset setting tools from bottom of table.pdf (862.8 KB)
A detailed setup sheet is critical in our shop. After programming our jobs in Mastercam then simulating them in Vericut if everything on the setup sheet is followed we usually don’t have a problem. Operators are required to go over every tool, standard or not, this ensures quality setups and more importantly repeatably.
You could always set your tool list to use the shortest tool. if you have a crash due to tool length, then you will see it and adjust from there. I would bet most of the time your shortest holder for a 2" face mill will work for most jobs.
That would so up in Fusion so I guess that is not a bad idea.
Stephen
I think you are on the right path. Most of the work we do is a one off. All the machinists here set their own tools. We have multiple height gauges on stands with taper pockets. They measure the tools and enter that into the control. We have 255 tools that we can setup in our control. Each machine has about 100 tools that we commonly use that are set and ready. Keep up the good work on teaching young adults to machine!