tool table organization

[memeryR2HAC]

Hello,

I’m including a little background in case it’s helpful.

I’ve just started using Fusion 360 Manufacture to generate the NC programs for my cnc mill.

It’s an old Lessnor Maehr Spindle Wizard; I replaced the original Bandit control with A-M-C drives, a DSPMC standalone control, and Mach on a laptop.  It has an NMTB40 spindle with the original Summit Dana manually operated tool changer.  I have encoders with indexes and setup work offsets in Mach and I setup tool offsets for a couple hands full of tools.

I setup my tool table for just those tools and generated the NC programs to cut my first project with tool changes successfully.  Now, I’m putting together a larger collection of tools and setting up my tool table in Fusion and I’m questioning how I should handle drill bits.  I have a couple drill bits I’m going to be using constantly in production and I figure I’m going to put them in dedicated tool holders with DA300 collets and give them a tool # and treat them just like I would an end mill but of course I also have a tool holder with a 1/2” drill chuck on it and a whole wide world of drill bits I might need to use whenever.  Off hand, I’m thinking I should pick a number range starting at say 100 to hold cutting data for drill bits but I figure there is probably an industry standard way of doing this that I just don’t know about so I’m asking here.

How should I organize my tool table to include the cutting data for an unknown and ever increasing # of drill bits?

[memeryR2HAC]

Hello,

I’m including a little background in case it’s helpful.

I’ve just started using Fusion 360 Manufacture to generate the NC programs for my cnc mill.

It’s an old Lessnor Maehr Spindle Wizard; I replaced the original Bandit control with A-M-C drives, a DSPMC standalone control, and Mach on a laptop.  It has an NMTB40 spindle with the original Summit Dana manually operated tool changer.  I have encoders with indexes and setup work offsets in Mach and I setup tool offsets for a couple hands full of tools.

I setup my tool table for just those tools and generated the NC programs to cut my first project with tool changes successfully.  Now, I’m putting together a larger collection of tools and setting up my tool table in Fusion and I’m questioning how I should handle drill bits.  I have a couple drill bits I’m going to be using constantly in production and I figure I’m going to put them in dedicated tool holders with DA300 collets and give them a tool # and treat them just like I would an end mill but of course I also have a tool holder with a 1/2” drill chuck on it and a whole wide world of drill bits I might need to use whenever.  Off hand, I’m thinking I should pick a number range starting at say 100 to hold cutting data for drill bits but I figure there is probably an industry standard way of doing this that I just don’t know about so I’m asking here.

How should I organize my tool table to include the cutting data for an unknown and ever increasing # of drill bits?

[programming2C78B]

No standard. I'd keep all the drill bits as tool 0 so they dynamically adapt to every program based on when they are used. Only number tools that have dedicated holders.

[programming2C78B]

No standard. I'd keep all the drill bits as tool 0 so they dynamically adapt to every program based on when they are used. Only number tools that have dedicated holders.

[memeryR2HAC]

thanks, can you explain about tool 0?  Do controls ask for offsets for tool 0 or something?

[memeryR2HAC]

thanks, can you explain about tool 0?  Do controls ask for offsets for tool 0 or something?

[programming2C78B]

No, tool 0 in fusion will automatically update the next sequential available number in your set up. 

tools 2-4 in this setup are all in my library as Tool 0

for example

[programming2C78B]

No, tool 0 in fusion will automatically update the next sequential available number in your set up. 

tools 2-4 in this setup are all in my library as Tool 0

for example

[memeryR2HAC]

Hmmmm

I got ya, for me though, I’m not really seeing the appeal of that.

I think I’d rather give them their own range and not have them intermix with my other tool numbers.

Unless someone talks me out of it, I think I’m going to reserve the 100’s for drills and taps (both those with dedicated tool holders and those that need to be chucked up)

That way, at least with the taps that use tap collets with squares I should be able to get away without redoing the offset each time.  If I’m systematic about it I can probably get away with reusing offsets on a lot of the drills too.

[memeryR2HAC]

Hmmmm

I got ya, for me though, I’m not really seeing the appeal of that.

I think I’d rather give them their own range and not have them intermix with my other tool numbers.

Unless someone talks me out of it, I think I’m going to reserve the 100’s for drills and taps (both those with dedicated tool holders and those that need to be chucked up)

That way, at least with the taps that use tap collets with squares I should be able to get away without redoing the offset each time.  If I’m systematic about it I can probably get away with reusing offsets on a lot of the drills too.