Tool Table Brainstorm
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2021 11:35 am
I need some help coming up with a better solution to my current tool table situation. We just got bit in the butt by a job because I do not have path rules set up to account for the corners and starts on our laser machine. The job on 1/2" stainless took about 2.5 times longer to cut than sheetcam predicted, not sheetcam's fault, totally my fault.
The laser control interface handles all the corner controls, start controls, pierces, everything. I just need to make sheetcam mirror this so the report times will come out right. Each and every material and thickness we cut has 8 different power/feed settings as well as a pierce, a start, and two corner settings.
I currently have my tool table set up with a separate tool for every material and thickness. 50 tools right now. It currently only programs one of the 8 available power/feed conditions, but that hasn't been a big issue. My issue is path rules... since every single material and thickness has different start and corner conditions so I would need 50 separate path rule sets as well. Which i guess would be okay if there isn't another option, but it would be awesome if the path rule set could be linked to each tool.
I wish I could do something like select a tool, path rule sets be tied to this tool, and then select a sub-tool for any one of the 8 cutting speeds or etch. This would actually be helpful to our plasma machine as well. I would imagine this tool method would mess up the mill side of sheetcam though.
Does anyone have any other thoughts?
The laser control interface handles all the corner controls, start controls, pierces, everything. I just need to make sheetcam mirror this so the report times will come out right. Each and every material and thickness we cut has 8 different power/feed settings as well as a pierce, a start, and two corner settings.
I currently have my tool table set up with a separate tool for every material and thickness. 50 tools right now. It currently only programs one of the 8 available power/feed conditions, but that hasn't been a big issue. My issue is path rules... since every single material and thickness has different start and corner conditions so I would need 50 separate path rule sets as well. Which i guess would be okay if there isn't another option, but it would be awesome if the path rule set could be linked to each tool.
I wish I could do something like select a tool, path rule sets be tied to this tool, and then select a sub-tool for any one of the 8 cutting speeds or etch. This would actually be helpful to our plasma machine as well. I would imagine this tool method would mess up the mill side of sheetcam though.
Does anyone have any other thoughts?