How to keep track of tools on a side mount tool holder

My current Haas mill has an umbrella style tool holder, and it's easy for me to keep track of the tools, for example If I'm running a job and I put a 3/16 drill bit into tool holder 7 when the job is done I know where to find it afterwards so that I can put my plastic tag back on that tool so that I can keep track of it in the storage rack.

I recently purchased a DM-2 that has the side mount tool holder, and I haven't got it hooked up yet, but I've been watching the haas videos and it sounds like the machine will be constantly changing the pocket location in the side mount tool holder.

So I'm just curious how most people keep track of their tools once they are in the machine, or when they are being taken out of the machine for storage in the tool rack?

Especially when you have several drill bits that are close in diameter.... it seems like it would be a real hassle trying to keep track of the tools.

Maybe I'm not understanding the videos correctly?

I'm sure once I get it up and running it will make more sense to me..... but just curious how you guys handle this?

Thanks,

Kent

hy :) some cnc's use a random position magazine

you could use a marker, or an electronic label sticker, or engrave a serial on them

Thank You very much for the response ( all the way from Antarctica )

I've watched several videos on the side mount tool holder, and I think I'm starting to get an understanding of how they work. ( the part that's confusing is that your tooling appears to move to different pockets during the operation... but I think I'm starting to understand the concept )

Yes, I think I am going to go the route of using the electronic label sticker using my P-touch machine.

Thanks again,

Kent

hy kentdesautel :)

such a side magazine has some advantages :
... it moves among the shortest path, thus lowest magazine index time; to achieve this, it uses random positioning, like there is a big chance that your tool is taken out from a pot that is dif from the return pot
... it should allow using prestaged tools, thus low tool change/arm swing idle time; it means that after a tool change, it indexes towards next tool on the list :)
... it may allow to use fix pots instead of random pots ( i use this for the renishaw, because other pots may get chips, etc, while the renishaw pot is on high maintenance :) others prefer to keep also the test-bar inside a fix pot, but i rather keep it inside a box, because i rarely used it ) it may also be possible to have the neighbour pots always empty, so to make room for a large diameter tool ( i used to keep a o120mm tool )

so far so good, is only normal functionality

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being on side, it has the benefit that alows tool changing while the machine is cutting

the example about electronic labeling, is from a big plant, that has a centralized tooling room, that suplies each machine atc; the electronic label is being read by a senzor before a tool change, so to be sure that it loads what it should load, and if all ok, also offsets are being loaded from a database; i don't know what type of labels are those, but they exist; if i remember, there is no source of power inside them, yet they somehow work

a simpler approach is to use a paint marker, and write a number on the flange, or draw some kind of a gliph :) you know, use your imagination

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another thing, is that is needed to always corelate 3 things :
... real pot inside magazine
... tool number inside program
... tool library register, that corelates the 2 above

maybe at this moment this does not make sense, but you will see once you start using the machine :)

normal behaviour is like this :
... put tools inside magazine, and write a list like this : dril-pot3, spot-pot7, endmil-pot15245 :)
... look inside program, and see that spot is tool 1, drill is tool 2 and endmill is tool 3
... now edit the library register, and asign [tool 1 - pot 7] , [tool 2 - pot 3] and [ tool 3 - pot15245 ]
i think you got the idea

in reality, things may get confusing, because tool 1 may allready be registered to a different pot, so you will have to unasigned it, or change your program, or edit your cam settings

one way or another, you will find your method :) for okuma machines, is possible to use a custom application, that manages such relations automatically, like it scans program for T arguments, and asigns/edit them corectly; for example, imagine that you received a program from someone else, and you normally should open it and scroll it all the way, to locate T codes : this is time consuming, but it can be done with a single click :) also, you may run a short tool change program generated automaticaly, that presents you all the tools that will be used inside a program, by loading them inside the spindle one-by-one, before you begin to machine, so to be sure that all tools to come are the correct ones

some tasks can be simplified / kindly :)