Originally Posted by
TXFred
I'm really baffled by this post. You're not referencing your mill when you first start it up? Why not?
Because I don't need to.
Doing that will eliminate the Mach errors.
Also, why are you breaking up your gcode?
So that I can easily modify individual operations. For example, I have two separate files for spotting and then drilling. I might decide after spotting that the divots should be deeper. Trivial to change the g code and run it again.
If you don't have a tool changer, then Mach will move to the tool change position and wait for you to swap tools. But that will only work if you have homed the machine, because the tool change position is defined in machine coordinates.
I don't want the tool to move to some pre-defined machine position. I usually insert in a G0 Z3 or press the page up button.
And why don't you want G43?
Because I don't own the machine. I just come in with my tools, zero them, make the part, and then pack up my stuff and leave. No need to mess with somebody else's tool table.
As for the extra tool change commands, those don't happen in the current version of Sprut. You could see if the most recent Tormach post will work with your older version.
95% of the computers I have access to have SC 7.1.3, so I prefer to stick to that version to avoid backward compatibility issues. Using the latest post processor on that didn't help and just gave me an annoying dialog box about flipping the A axis.