Hi,
It will take a long time to resolve all the issues in our 'system' but in the meantime I have implemented a system on the machine I run that makes us more responsive in terms of setting tools/jobs. The control is a recent Fanuc. We setup a folder for an op/job. In there are main and sub pgms. We also write a 'parameters' pgm that lists the tools, work offsets and any other parameters required, eg
#101=1 (Spot Drill)
#102=2 (Drill)
etc etc
In our main program, rather than program tool numbers and corresponding offsets eg T1 M6;G43 H1 D1; we now put T#101 M6; G43 H#101 D#101;
This approach means that: -
1. The pgm is tidier, always starting from T#101 and continuing in sequence.
2. If a tool you can use (eg a spot drill) is already set up in the carousel at pot57 you merely change the value in the list (eg #101=57 Spot Drill).
3. No more swapping tools around, resetting tools, editing pgms (very risky with T, H and D to find), no loading up offsets or changing values in offset tables, even when running multiple ops - as each op has its own parameter list.
It works well and is saving us time and heartache. There are many other benefits you find out as you go.
We now do the same for Work Offsets as we never seem to get the same combination of setups twice...
Hope this hasn't confused the issue!
DP