How do you find your turning tools?

[martha.deans]

Turning and turn/mill users of Fusion 360! I am interested in learning more about how you hunt down the tool you are looking for in the tool library. The more information the better, but below are some prompt questions as well:

When you are programming a part, and searching for the tool you would like to use in a turning operation, how do you go about finding that tool?

Are you reliant on the library structure of your tools? For example, you know that a tool like the one you're looking for is in a specific library because of the way your libraries are organized.

Do you use the filtering capabilities on the right side of the tool library? Do you use search? If yes to either of those questions, what parameters are you commonly searching and filtering by?

If no, what method do you typically use?

This is all going to be helpful to know as we add more turning tool capabilities, so we can make sure that the meaningful parameters are available to search, filter, and otherwise locate tools during selection. Thanks in advance!

[StefansB]

Hello,
Lists of already existing tools can be used as base. You can edit it or make your own list.

In my experience, I make a new tool according to the parameters of the supplier.

You can use tooldok or sandvik suppliers, or whichever is more convenient for you.

After that, filters are already used, respectively according the processing operation.

The only thing I don't like is that the vendor libraries do not have turning tools and the cad files given by the supplier are useless because they cannot be imported into fusion.

By that I meant that it is easier to make your own tool list than to search for it, because the existing tool list that is available is very poor.

Below you can see the tools I created according to the parameters of the tools that can be found on the supplier's website.

[martha.deans]

hi @StefansB – thanks! I am mostly asking once you have created the tools that you have in your shop, how do you go about tracking one down when you are ready to use it in an operation? Are you always scrolling through the full list? Do you use the search bar at the top of the window? It looks like maybe your libraries are sorted by machine, do you update the libraries to match what's always in the machine currently?

[parilla88]

I find the tool library in particular for turning rather chaotic. I just scroll through the list to find the right tool, too many clicks to use the filter.

The problem for me is that the library is ordered by insert first, then tool holder, so the library is consumed by the many  dozens of inserts that you use.

One tool holder can accept many inserts, so in my opinion a cleaner library would be select tool holder first followed by a dropdown to select the insert followed by insert grade etc.

[martha.deans]

@parilla88 that's great feedback, thanks! If you were able to locate tools by the holder, how would that change your use of search or filter capabilities? 

[parilla88]

I would still search by scroll, as the library would be reduced from from a many entries to maybe a dozen.
Drills and taps however I use the search by size.

[bradcarr730]

Is there still no search function? I would love to be able to search for product id ####### rather than scrolling down to it...  Harvey tools has quite the library. 

I know I can attempt to use filters, but some of their tool geometry doesn't register in the filters. 

-Brad