Video Clips
Tool Location Acquisition Program
Tool Offset Measuring Program
Tool Holder Air Blow Off Feature
Manual Tool Change Demo
Setup Program
Tool Change Demo
Tool Location Acquisition Program
A file is included which will automatically find the center of the Tool Holder
when it is properly located in the Tool Bay. This file is called TL-FINDV.SBP.
Once the machine is zeroed at the machine 0,0 , insert a ¼” shaft into one of the Tool Holders.
This can be a broken ¼” shaft bit, a dowel pin or anything with a clean and
uniform circular end profile. Insert a Tool Holder in Tool Bay #1. Attach
the grounding wire with the two alligator clips from the bottom of the Tool
Holder to the grounding plate attached to your machine. The Tool Holder must
be oriented so that the anti-rotation slots are at a 45° angle to the Tool
Pallet. Manually load the Tool Holder with the 1/4" shaft into the Tool Changer. Position the tool bit ~ ¼” above the center of the Tool Holder.
The program will find the top of the Tool Holder and then probe the
outside of the Tool Holder for 2 points on the Y-axis. The program
calculates the center of these points and probes 2 points on the X-axis
using the calculated Y value. The program saves the center points for Tool Holder #1. The
program pauses and prompts for the grounded Tool Holder to be moved to the next
Tool Bay. Hit any key to continue once the Tool Holder has been moved
. The process continues till all the Tool Bay centers have been
identified. The program then writes the centers to a file called TLPOSTN.SBP
which will be located in the directory where the SB.EXE file resides. Open
this file and copy the contents to the VARIABLS.SBP file in the locations
requested
(Click the images below for a video of the Tool
Holder Finding Program)
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Tool Offset Measuring Program
A file is included with the program files which will automatically set the
tool bit offset height for the Tool Holders. The program has the
option to measure a single tool bit offset or all the offsets. The 1st
time the program is run choose A for All and all the tool bit offsets will
be measured and stored. If a tool bit is replaced or repositioned to a
different Tool Bay, run the program and just select the number of the tool
bit which has changed. The program will only measure and store that
tool bit offset. The offsets are later used to adjust the Z axis
setting during a program which utilizes automatic tool changes.
(Click the images below for a video of the Tool Offset
Measuring Program)
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Tool Holder Air Blow Off Feature
The
MRT Automatic Tool Changer incorporates a Tool Holder Blow Off feature each time
a Tool Holder is picked up from the Tool Pallet. Exhaust air from the draw
bar solenoid is directed down the side of the Tool Changer through a nozzle.
When the Tool Changer is just above the Tool Holder, the drawbar solenoid is
activated a few times (programmable number of times) to remove any debris from
the taper of the Tool Holder before the Tool Changer pulls the holder into the
taper of the collet chuck on the Tool Changer.
(Click on the image to see a video of the Tool Holder
Air Blow off Feature.)
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Manual Tool Change
It is not always required or desirable to use the Automatic Tool changes when
running one part, a small run, or a part with only one size tool path.
Sometimes the programming time is not justified. In this case Tool Holders
can be changed manually by pressing the red button on the side of the Solenoid
Control Module. This will actuate the drawbar and either release the
current Tool Holder or enable the Tool Changer to grab a new Tool Holder. Using this method, bits can be changed in just a few seconds anywhere you
can reach the Tool Changer. If power is not applied to the system, a Tool
Holder can still be removed or inserted, as long as there is sufficient air
pressure, by pressing the red button on top of the
solenoid. This operates the spool in the solenoid manually causing the
drawbar to extend and either release the current tool or accept the new tool.
(Click on the image to see a video of Manual Tool
Changes)
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Setup Program
One method of programming the Automatic Tool Changer is to use and offset for
the programmed part 0,0. This offset is measured from the
machine 0,0. A setup program must be run before any program which utilizes
automatic tool changes so the software can position the Automatic Tool Changer
properly during the execution of the program. This setup program 1st asks
for the X and Y offset of the part to be machined. Next, the program moved
the ATC to the offset 0,0 location. The zero plate is placed on top of the
programmed part Z axis zero. The program lower the Tool Changer till contact is
made with the plate and zeros out the Z axis. Next, the program lifts the
Tool Changer to a clearance distance above the Tool Pallet zero plate and moves over
the plate. The Tool Changer lowers till contact is made the Tool Pallet zero
plate. The distance between the Z axis zero of the part and the zero plate
on the Tool Pallet has now been programmed and the software can correctly
position the ATC correctly for automatic tool changes if relation to the part Z
axis zero.
(Click on the image to see a video of the
Setup
Program)
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Tool Change Demo
This video show the part pictured below being cut. The purpose of this
video is to demonstrate the operation of the MRT Automatic Tool Changer,
therefore it is not necessarily the most efficient cutting program . The
video shows the beginning and ending of each cut and travel to and from the Tool
Pallet to save file size. The high res video is huge and the others are
very large.
(Click on the image to see a video of the part below
being cut)
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