Pocket number does not update

I have been running my Cincinnati 10HC2500 for about a year now on EMC (currently running 2.4.5) . I decided to get the tool changer working so that the machine could run lights out.

The tool changer is now working properly, but does not update the pocket number in the tool table. I have added " RANDOM_TOOLCHANGER = 1 " to the EMCIO section of the INI file. As I understand from the documentation, the pocket number should be changed by EMC after driving the iocontrol.0.tool-changed pin high. Is there something I am missing?

Thanks
Glenn

The machine is a 30 tool chain type magazine with a twin arm style tool changer.

The tool change works great, I can change from the MDI page as well as from the program

I wrote a program like;

T1 M6
G04 P1
T15 M6
G04 P1.....

working my way through the whole magazine in different direction to make sure everything was working and counting properly.

But in the tool table page, the POC numbers never change. In the above example, shouldn't the POC number change from 1 to 15 when the changer switches T1 from the spindle and puts it into the T15 chain pocket?

The tool number at the bottom of the main page does change as well as the physical view of the tool on the preview window. (cone to cylinder, etc)

Thanks
Glenn

Andy,
Thanks for the reply but I don't think you understood my question.

I started with all the pocket numbers in the tool table matching the tool numbers.

Then I load a tool, for instance T1 from tool chain pocket 1. Now T1 is in the spindle. After I am finished with T1 , I call another, say T15.
The tool chain rotates to pocket 15 and removes tool 15 with one hand of the twin arm. The swing arm rotates to the front and the empty hand of the twin arm grabs T1 from the spindle and swaps it with T15.
Then the swing arm rotates back to the chain and puts T1 into Pocket 15. And what should happen now is that the tool table should be updated so that T1 is in POC 15. The next time I call T1, the chain needs to rotate to tool chain pocket 15 to get it. This is normal random tool behavior. But, for some reason the tool table is never updated.

There are two s32 for this (from the IOCONTROL section of the manual)

iocontrol.0.tool-prep-number (s32, Out) The number of the next tool, from the RS274NGC T-word

iocontrol.0.tool-prep-pocket (s32, Out) The pocket number (location in tool storage mechanism) of the next tool, as described in the tool table

I am passing tool-prep-pocket to classicladder for my chain rotation.

And from the tool change docs in the wiki

Non-random tool changer -- a type of changer where the current tool is unloaded into an empty pocket, the changer moved to the pocket holding the new tool, and the new tool is loaded from this pocket.

Random tool changer-- a type of changer where the current tool is exchanged with the tool in the prepared pocket.

Tool number-- unique identification for a tool. Depending on mechanism, a tool number might or might not identify a pocket. In the case of a random toolchanger, the tool table holds the mapping from tool number to pocket number; on tool change, the tool table is updated to reflect the tool's new pocket position.

I also read somewhere in my searches that EMC handles the updating of the tool table.

Thanks
Glenn

John,

I think I have found the problem. It appears that you need a POC 0 line in your tool table. I was a little confused by why I would need to activate tool length compensation (G43) to make the tool table update.
I ran the program both ways (with and without G43) and it seems to update the tool table now properly.

Is there any way to make the tool table sort by T numbers and not POC numbers?

Thanks to both you and Andy for your help in this.

Glenn