[TurboStep]

Over on the Facebook Tormach Operators group there was some interest on a tool breakage detector. Most of the contributors believed the easiest way to implement this would be to use a (cheap) tool setter and a macro. Well, I’ve been playing around with probing routines recently and thought I’d have a go…
The attached files include two subroutines (“tool_length_check.ngc” is the main routine and uses “set_work_offset.ngc”) and an example program “tool_check_example.nc” to demonstrate the usage. This should be considered a potential starting point for further improvement. Place the subroutines (ending with .ngc) in gcode/subroutines and the example program, like any other program, somewhere in the gcode folder.
If anyone is interested I’d recommend first probing air with Z0 set well above the tool setter, using larger values, perhaps 0.5” tolerance and 1” over travel and to trigger the tool setter by hand. Also reduce the feed rate and be prepared to stop the program. I don’t own a tool setter but I tested the code with a probe and it seems to work.
As always - AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
Z clearance must be carefully planned, either by retracting to a safe Z height after completing the op or returning to the predefined position set by G30. Take care that the head returns to the correct height for the ATC after the tool check! It uses a very conservative vertical path, probing from the previous height down to Z0 using the currently set feed rate. This might be too slow for final use, so after initial experimentation the subroutine could be modified to rapid down to some lower level (e.g. +1”) before starting the actual probing.
Program execution stops if errors are detected. Error messages are written to the Status tab. The text messages are a mix of system generated messages and my own. System generated error messages are perhaps a little cryptical but I haven’t yet found a way to override them. I’ve tried to keep my own messages a little more understandable.
For personal reasons I don’t like posting on social networks but anyone can feel free to post a link to this thread on the Tormach Operators page.
Regards
Step