touch probe together with tool probe?

Hi all

I bought a touch probe a while ago from tormach, to use with my CNC router which I built myself and which I control with linuxcnc.

I also have a tool probe from when I bought the parts for the machine, which I haven't used yet.

I now want to hook up both probes and figure out a workflow to make it all work. I need to do manual toolchanges. Up to now I just put in a tool, and touch of Z to the table or fixture using that tool. I touch off X and Y to my fixture using the touch probe.

I'm using verser's probe screen with the touch probe.

My question - what probe screen should i use with the tool length probe? I imagine I should do a TLO touchoff using the tool length probe to store the correct TLO into the tool table, and then use my touch probe to touch off Z to the fixture. But that means the touch probe is a "reference tool" and it means i have to also touch it off to the tool length probe? (might be impossible if one of the two has a weaker switch in it that the other...?)

Sorry for the noob question, just trying to figure out what the best workflow is going to be and how to set things up.

Thanks!
B

BigJohnT wrote:

I would start with manual touch off of your tool to the material. I use a dowel and I lower the tool to a point below the dowel (resting on top of the material then slowly move the tool up until the dowel clears. Stop and set the tool length or the G54 offset for z to the diameter of the dowel. I use a simple method to set the X as well with a dowel in the tool holder move it to -1/2 the dowel diameter and slide the material up to the dowel and that puts the left edge at X0.

I could possibly see where you could measure the tool touch off device and use a dowel to measure a known spot then maybe probe it... but it gets too complicated lol. I guess you could probe to a fixture point then probe the material Z and calculate the difference.

Do you have repeatable tool holders or is this a collet arrangement that needs a touch off each tool change?

JT

my ELTE spindle uses an ER20 collet, i have no toolholders. So i put in tools manually and have to touch off each time.
i've been touching off using the paper method which works fine but is time consuming... i bought these probes so would like to use them

what if i probe using the tool length sensor, and then probe the tool again but put a dowel in between the sensor and tool, that way i have two values and i can calculate what the height of the tool probe sensor is and what the tool offset is for that tool?

so basically i would not use the tool offsets in the tool table but just touch off to the fixture, but i put the tool length sensor in between the fixture and tool as i lower it... measuring it once with and without dowel in between tool and tool sensor i should be able to determine exact height of tool sensor which i can then afterwards keep using as i touch off tools to the fixture using the sensor...

Have you seen this...
softsolder.com/2010/04/14/emc2-ugliest-t...-probe-station-ever/

Rick G

Rick wrote:

Have you seen this...
softsolder.com/2010/04/14/emc2-ugliest-t...-probe-station-ever/

Rick G

not yet, i'll check it out