Tool touch off from a single point.

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KJNC
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Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by KJNC »

Hello I've recently converted an OEM Avid CNC NEMA 23 controller over to Centroid Acorn (Mach 4... Why is it even sold?) and everything works rather smoothly (100khz seems to work fine with the Leadshine stepper drivers).
However, up until now I've always used LinuxCNC and did all of my tool height offsets manually so I'm not understanding everything perfectly.

I work with wood that I flatten in a planer before CNC and the thicknesses vary some.
Therefore, since my work requires somewhat consistent results I used the spoil board to touch off (IE offset it by how thick the stock is supposed to be), to set tools, and so forth.
Since I use an ER collet system I have no tool holders and must setup everything manually every tool change.

Do I insert my longest tool first, touch off with a conductive or mechanical switch, and then set WCS however I want?
Most examples use two tool setters or a movable switch--but I'm hoping to use a single stationary one, and set my work coordinates manually.
I realize I will need to set an offset of some sort so I only have to enter in stock thickness into WCS and there's some details that I'm not clearly seeing.

My username info mentions how I use CNC12 and a few other details--it's just a simple 3 axis router but I'm from the dark ages on some things as you can see.
swissi
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Re: Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by swissi »

KJNC wrote: Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:20 pm Hello I've recently converted an OEM Avid CNC NEMA 23 controller over to Centroid Acorn (Mach 4... Why is it even sold?) and everything works rather smoothly (100khz seems to work fine with the Leadshine stepper drivers).
However, up until now I've always used LinuxCNC and did all of my tool height offsets manually so I'm not understanding everything perfectly.

I work with wood that I flatten in a planer before CNC and the thicknesses vary some.
Therefore, since my work requires somewhat consistent results I used the spoil board to touch off (IE offset it by how thick the stock is supposed to be), to set tools, and so forth.
Since I use an ER collet system I have no tool holders and must setup everything manually every tool change.

Do I insert my longest tool first, touch off with a conductive or mechanical switch, and then set WCS however I want?
Most examples use two tool setters or a movable switch--but I'm hoping to use a single stationary one, and set my work coordinates manually.
I realize I will need to set an offset of some sort so I only have to enter in stock thickness into WCS and there's some details that I'm not clearly seeing.

My username info mentions how I use CNC12 and a few other details--it's just a simple 3 axis router but I'm from the dark ages on some things as you can see.
Look at the ProbeApp and this post Guide on how to measure Tool Heights and set WCS Z0 on a Router or Mill with none-fixed Tool Holders most efficiently. It will give you all the options you want.

The Single Tool Setter Method allows you to either measure the tools with the tool setter on top of the stock or as you want to do, at a fixed location on the spoil board and you enter the stock thickness as an offset. You can use the M6 Tool Change macro that comes with the ProbeApp that will launch the ProbeApp-ToolSetter at every tool change and will measure the tool height offset of the new tool before the job continues.

The ProbeApp also supports the Avid Touch plate that will allow you to also set WCS X0 Y0 in addition to measuring tool height offsets.

-swissi
If you are using Fusion 360, check out my CNC12 specific Post Processor
If you are using a Touch Probe, Tool Touch Off Device or a Triple Corner Finder Plate, check out my ProbeApp

Contact me at swissi2000@gmail.com
martyscncgarage
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Re: Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by martyscncgarage »

While Swissi makes a great probe app,
Go to YouTube and watch Centroid CNC Mill Training video. While its more complex than for a router, the part setup concept is the same.
I think its worth a 1 hr. watch.
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
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KJNC
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Re: Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by KJNC »

Thank you Swissi and Marty for the responses.
Although the Probe App looks great I've found that a basic tool length offset works on LinuxCNC--so I think after watching some videos I'll likely find the basic method that Centroid Mill uses (I do strongly think a cheap 3d taster with Probe App might help me down the road).
I've gone through the manual some and it's great seeing high caliber documentation.

I suppose the one thing I might have not seen is an explanation for what the acceleration time means in the Wizard Setup (I don't see docs for this--but could be totally wrong). Yesterday I skimmed through Marty's video of setting up a single X axis on a bench and wanted to know what the Accel meant--as I do 3d work and wanted to start some benchmarks.
I don't know which is preferred but I attached a screenshot from the video and circled the setting--the machine is accelerating fast enough that I suspect this isn't IPS^2 format and I'd like to tune some settings for 3d production work.
Attachments
IPSAccel.png
martyscncgarage
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Re: Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by martyscncgarage »

Accel/Decel is the time in seconds that the motor ramps up and slows down.
Too fast and the machine can be jerky and abrupt...
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
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tblough
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Re: Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by tblough »

As Marty said. Number of seconds to reach max Rate. Smaller numbers = faster acceleration, jerkier moves, possible motor over-current faults.
Cheers,

Tom
Confidence is the feeling you have before you fully understand the situation.
I have CDO. It's like OCD, but the letters are where they should be.
hartracer86
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Re: Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by hartracer86 »

Hello all, is there a recommended amount of time you suggest for the Accel and Decel? I know every machine will be different, but I didn't know if there was a baseline setting or not.

Best regards,
-Philip Hart
kentonsj
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Re: Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by kentonsj »

KJNC wrote: Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:20 pm Hello I've recently converted an OEM Avid CNC NEMA 23 controller over to Centroid Acorn (Mach 4... Why is it even sold?) and everything works rather smoothly (100khz seems to work fine with the Leadshine stepper drivers).
However, up until now I've always used LinuxCNC and did all of my tool height offsets manually so I'm not understanding everything perfectly.

I work with wood that I flatten in a planer before CNC and the thicknesses vary some.
Therefore, since my work requires somewhat consistent results I used the spoil board to touch off (IE offset it by how thick the stock is supposed to be), to set tools, and so forth.
Since I use an ER collet system I have no tool holders and must setup everything manually for every tool change.

Do I insert my longest tool first, touch off with a conductive or mechanical switch, and then set WCS however I want?
Most examples use two tool setters or a movable switch--but I'm hoping to use a single stationary one, and set my work coordinates manually.
I realize I will need to set an offset of some sort so I only have to enter in stock thickness into WCS and there are some details that I'm not clearly seeing.

My username info mentions how I use CNC12 and a few other details--it's just a simple 3 axis router but I'm from the dark ages on some things as you can see.
The router version comes with a tool touch off option for setting your WCS Z zero height. The magic happens in the mfunc6.mac and there are plenty of examples in this forum of how people have modified it to suit their needs. If you like a fixed location, you can have the mfun6.mac go to that location and probe for Z zero in your current WCS. Each time you change a tool, the z zero will be re-measured with the fixed tool touch off location. In your application with a stationary switch, just adjust the offset for the thickness of your touch probe to make Z zero where you'd like it to be (Assuming your probe isn't at the spoilboard level). Each time you change bits and re-probe, the Z zero will be at the same relative height.

I like to zero to my spoilboard when I'm using sheet goods and cutting dados. The plywood sheets can vary in thickness but with a zero on the spoilboard, I know that my dados are always the correct depth from the finished side of the plywood. I also probe to the top of the workpiece, occasionally. I usually do this for V-carving where you aren't as concerned about the finished thickness but you want the depth of the engraving to be spot on. I have my mfunc6.mac set up with a couple of probing options, one is to use the zero that is already set, the other is to jog the machine over to a location and place my tool setter at that location and probe for zero and the last is to use a fixed tool touch off location for subsequent tool changes. I use a wireless tool setter and it functions as my moveable and stationary tool setting probe. I would caution against changing the WCS to allow for the thickness of the workpiece. I would recommend probing for zero on the top or bottom of your workpiece and using the correct material thickness in your CAM to ensure you don't have any Z height discrepancies. I would be more than happy to share my mfun6.mac with you if you'd like. I could probably film my router in operation and demonstrate each example. I would need a few days to accomplish this.
KJNC
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Re: Tool touch off from a single point.

Post by KJNC »

kentonsj wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 3:14 pm
KJNC wrote: Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:20 pm Hello I've recently converted an OEM Avid CNC NEMA 23 controller over to Centroid Acorn (Mach 4... Why is it even sold?) and everything works rather smoothly (100khz seems to work fine with the Leadshine stepper drivers).
However, up until now I've always used LinuxCNC and did all of my tool height offsets manually so I'm not understanding everything perfectly.

I work with wood that I flatten in a planer before CNC and the thicknesses vary some.
Therefore, since my work requires somewhat consistent results I used the spoil board to touch off (IE offset it by how thick the stock is supposed to be), to set tools, and so forth.
Since I use an ER collet system I have no tool holders and must setup everything manually for every tool change.

Do I insert my longest tool first, touch off with a conductive or mechanical switch, and then set WCS however I want?
Most examples use two tool setters or a movable switch--but I'm hoping to use a single stationary one, and set my work coordinates manually.
I realize I will need to set an offset of some sort so I only have to enter in stock thickness into WCS and there are some details that I'm not clearly seeing.

My username info mentions how I use CNC12 and a few other details--it's just a simple 3 axis router but I'm from the dark ages on some things as you can see.
The router version comes with a tool touch off option for setting your WCS Z zero height. The magic happens in the mfunc6.mac and there are plenty of examples in this forum of how people have modified it to suit their needs. If you like a fixed location, you can have the mfun6.mac go to that location and probe for Z zero in your current WCS. Each time you change a tool, the z zero will be re-measured with the fixed tool touch off location. In your application with a stationary switch, just adjust the offset for the thickness of your touch probe to make Z zero where you'd like it to be (Assuming your probe isn't at the spoilboard level). Each time you change bits and re-probe, the Z zero will be at the same relative height.

I like to zero to my spoilboard when I'm using sheet goods and cutting dados. The plywood sheets can vary in thickness but with a zero on the spoilboard, I know that my dados are always the correct depth from the finished side of the plywood. I also probe to the top of the workpiece, occasionally. I usually do this for V-carving where you aren't as concerned about the finished thickness but you want the depth of the engraving to be spot on. I have my mfunc6.mac set up with a couple of probing options, one is to use the zero that is already set, the other is to jog the machine over to a location and place my tool setter at that location and probe for zero and the last is to use a fixed tool touch off location for subsequent tool changes. I use a wireless tool setter and it functions as my moveable and stationary tool setting probe. I would caution against changing the WCS to allow for the thickness of the workpiece. I would recommend probing for zero on the top or bottom of your workpiece and using the correct material thickness in your CAM to ensure you don't have any Z height discrepancies. I would be more than happy to share my mfun6.mac with you if you'd like. I could probably film my router in operation and demonstrate each example. I would need a few days to accomplish this.
I've not used CNC12 much and been stuck with the old setup (abused imported machine) 7 days a week for some time--it's tough migrating until I get time off. I have learned however that tool touch off is very nice (Linux CNC but know CNC12 is just as good if not better!)--I can setup the stock, and it's very fast with different WCS. But as you said later on--unless you've got different heights for vices or something it's best to just do 0 on the bottom or top without offsets.

For many years I'd just touch off the bottom and input a positive Z offset--I do this on my own and never had actual training so it's taken me longer to connect the dots... All the NC programs were assembled together manually with different programs--then I finally tried a fully fledged CAM program for the first time and know I wasted a lot of time with no flexibility beforehand.

I just tried 0 being the top of my double sided fixture tape and the bottom of the stock.
It's strange working with all positive numbers when not cutting and even more so when WCS changes to a new part (G54,G55, G56, etc) that is thicker--as stock is very expensive and thicknesses always vary depending on the part.
The benefit is I do not have to remember the initial WCS offsets and 0 is constant--much less to think about or do.

I greatly appreciate the offer.
I've not completely finished the retrofit and do not have the touch off switch on hand right now.
I'll be certain to check out the Router option for CNC12 and check out that function file.
For now I've got to machine a large block of plastic and will see how the new machine does since it is no longer crippled with Mach4.
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