Hi I have an Optimum F80 mill running Siemens 808D with a 10 tool changer I'm just wondering if I can send a signal somehow to an output in the program that gives a binary number for the current tool after a tool change.

I would like to wire up a secondary encoder on the tool changer that checks the current tool chosen is the one the program meant to bring up. I've had the machine miss a tool change, although extremely rare, the consequences would be disasterous if not caught and I want another type of encoder put on to check the current tool is correct. Any ideas on how to do this are welcome, I thought a signal output during a program and then checked by an arduino or similar against the arduino's currently registered tool, which tripped an alarm if it wasn't the same, would work.