Tools and tool changes
The project’s tools
Tools in the Browser lists the tools the project cuts with; click it to see them all in Properties, or click one tool. Each has an id (T1, T2, …), which is the tool number in the G-code, and:
| Setting | |
|---|---|
| Type | endmill, drill or V-bit |
| Diameter | mm |
| Spindle speed | rpm. Required: a program can’t start the spindle without it. |
| Centre cutting | whether the endmill can plunge straight down. Profiles spiral down with any endmill; when it can’t plunge, pockets go down round a helix and sloped tabs may be no steeper than the ramp angle. |
| Angle, Tip | V-bits: the included angle and the flat tip’s diameter |
Each operation names its tool: pick it in the operation’s form, or on the command line
chipload op tool part.chipload --op 2 --tool 3 (the tool must be in the project). Changing
the tool keeps the feeds; check them. Tools usually come from your tool
library:
the project keeps its own copy, so it cuts the same later.
Tool changes
Operations run in the list’s order. A run of operations next to each other with the same tool is a tool group, and between groups the tool changes. The Browser draws a line at each change.
Tool changes (Job settings > Machine) says how a job with several tools is written:
- One file per tool:
part-1-T1.nc,part-2-T3.nc, … Change the tool by hand between files, set Z zero with the new tool, and keep X and Y zero. Every post can do this. - One file with tool changes (
T2 M6): for a sender or controller that handles the change. Only posts that support it offer it (GRBL, whose sender must do the change).
The command line can override it for one run: chipload run part.chipload -o part.nc --tool-change program. The setup sheet lists the tools in the order they’re used.