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Auto Tool Changer Manual Override

Auto Tool Changer Manual Override is used when you have a tool that doesn't fit in the tool changer magazine and needs to be manually loaded and unloaded from the spindle.

Enable User Fields in the Tool Table

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There is a column in the Tool Table that allows you to specify for which Tools need to be manually changed.  The options are "None" which means there is no override or "Manual" which means this Tool will need to be manually loaded into the spindle.

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When executing a Tool Changer Override the Tool Change sequence is a bit of a hybrid between a Auto Tool Change and a Manual Tool Change sequence.


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Configuration

Modifying GoTo Positions

Go to Configure>Control>Tools

Change the "Max Tools" value to whatever your highest tool number.

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Add New Tool Range

It is possible to Override a tool that is mapped to a Tool Pocket, but this would waste that Tool Pocket because the machine will never try to use it.

The advised way of using this feature would be to modify the ToolInfo.lua and setup an additional group/range of tools that are not assigned to Tool Pockets.

Open the following file in Notepad ++ "C:\Mach4\Profiles\"Your Profile Name"\ToolTables\ToolInfo.Lua"

Default Configuration:

----- Tool Configuration Info ----- 
-- Global Variables --
-- Production needs to configure these variables before shipping
TOOL_NAMES = {
	{["Name"] = "Spindle Empty", ["Start"] = 0, ["End"] = 0, ["UseToolPocket"] = 1},
	{["Name"] = "Spindle (1)", ["Start"] = 1, ["End"] = 99, ["UseToolPocket"] = 1},
	{["Name"] = "Spindle (2)", ["Start"] = 100, ["End"] = 100, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Spindle (3)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Spindle (4)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Saw (1)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Saw (2)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Drill Bank (1)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Drill Bank (2)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Laser", ["Start"] = 250, ["End"] = 250, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0}
}

New row added with a range of Tool numbers starting from Tool #100 to Tool #199 with the option "UseToolPocket" set to 0.

----- Tool Configuration Info ----- 
-- Global Variables --
-- Production needs to configure these variables before shipping
TOOL_NAMES = {
	{["Name"] = "Spindle Empty", ["Start"] = 0, ["End"] = 0, ["UseToolPocket"] = 1},
	{["Name"] = "Spindle (1)", ["Start"] = 1, ["End"] = 99, ["UseToolPocket"] = 1},
    {["Name"] = "Spindle (1) Manual", ["Start"] = 100, ["End"] = 199, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Spindle (2)", ["Start"] = 100, ["End"] = 100, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Spindle (3)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Spindle (4)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Saw (1)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Saw (2)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Drill Bank (1)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Drill Bank (2)", ["Start"] = 999, ["End"] = 999, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},
	{["Name"] = "Laser", ["Start"] = 250, ["End"] = 250, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0}
}

This is the line that was added:

{["Name"] = "Spindle (1) Manual", ["Start"] = 100, ["End"] = 199, ["UseToolPocket"] = 0},

Now you should be configured to allow Tool calls using M6 T100 - M6 T199 for manual Tool Changes.

 

 

 

 

This feature was added to build number 26546

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