We get a lot of questions about Toolsets; where are they found?, why do tool definitions seem to change often and unexpectedly ?, seemingly ‘lost’ tool defintions?, where are they stored?, how to organize tools?, mass create or mass change tools?
First of all, what are Sheetcam Toolsets ?
Toolsets are groups or lists of named tools (tool definitions) ordered by tool number and displayed in the Tools window in the left hand gutter of the main window. It cannot be closed.
Toolsets also have a set of Path Rules stored with them if so defined. (Path Rules can also be stored as a separate file of type .rule from the dialog that manages Path Rules, and likewise loaded as such). One or more Tools make up a Toolset. Tools are used by cutting Operations.
Where are Toolsets stored on the computer and Sheetcam environment ?
Toolsets are stored in several places for your convenience, however this can lead to some of the confusion over tool definitions being mysteriously different from use to use of sheetcam over time.
These stored places are:
- in the job file. This cannot be overridden, and it is automatic without any form of confirmation message. Storing toolsets in a .job file is key in attempting to maintain consistent results when using a job file multiple times over multiple start/exit events of sheetcam.
- in the ‘default toolset’. This is NOT automatic, rather it is only done if you click Yes to the pop up window prompt of “Do you want to save the Default Toolset?”. HOWEVER, if you had previously clicked to ignore this dialogue as an annoying message, then you WON’T see it again until you make it annoying again via menu Options-‘Application options’-‘Annoying dialogs’.
- in the ‘default toolset’ saved on demand via menu File-‘Save default toolset’. The default toolset is stored in the sheetcam settings folder, (see menu Help-‘Open settings folder’).
- by your explicit action, Toolsets can be saved as files of type .toolset via File-‘Save Toolset as’, the destination folder most often is your sheetcam settings folder, but can be saved to any folder if you make such a selection during the save operation. This is a good practice to save your toolsets as individual and separate files on a frequent basis.
Why do Tool definitions seem to change from time to time unexpectedly ?
So based on the above explanation, Toolsets are stored at least in job files and in the Default Toolset. So which set takes precedence when opening a job file ? This depends on the menu Options-‘Application options’-Advanced, ‘Always use default toolset’ option checkbox. It works as described when a job file is loaded AND there are Tool number conflicts in both the job file and the default toolset. Also, under the circumstance of the same option state, AND a tool number existing in the job file but NOT in the default toolset, then you will see a pop up window prompt asking which action to take. Again, if you don’t see this pop up but think you should, then check the annoying dialogs settings as noted above.
How to orgainize Tool definitions ?
This is totally up to the user. I have multiple plasma cutter power sources and torches, so I like to keep my tool definitions organized by plasma power source in explicitly saved Toolset files. The concept of a Default Toolset is merely a convenience for me, I set it to which ever Toolset file I’m using that day or job cutting session. Also, since my CNC machine is multi-process of milling, plasma, and laser, I save toolsets by that grouping as well.
Best practice to create and/or maintain many tools ?
There are couple of tips and tricks here…
- define a couple of tools to establish a pattern. Then export the toolset to a spreadsheet file (.CSV file), via menu File-‘Import/Export toolset’. Now edit the .csv file with Microsoft Excel, be sure to save the file as .csv. Now import the .csv as a toolset.
- to maintain mass tools, use the menu Tools-‘Tool table’ dialogue. This allows you to easily compare tool differences while also editing the tool definitions as needed for consistency.
- explore the experimental plugin PlasmaTool. see menu Options-‘Plugin Options’-PlasmaTool and enable it’s use (then restart sheetcam). see menu Plugins-PlasmaTool. This plugin is a pattern for easily selecting pre-defined tool definitions from a canonical tree list which is represented from .csv files. An individual or company can build .csv files to expand the use to other plasma cutter and torch combinations if so desired.