uh-oh... no tool change in EMC?

["Les Watts" <leswatts-at-rabun.net>]

Well, I have been running some programs from my new
Millwrite 2000. I have found that EMC blows right through an M6 tool change
command.

I desperately need a manual tool change routine. For things like signs it is
really needed.

I did an archive search and found that even manual tool changing is really
not implemented in EMC. I did find some work-arounds from Ray.

I think what I need is a manual tool change operation that a person with
minimal skills can
do. (like me?)In other words do the change and hit resume on Ray's gui or
flip a switch or something.

I see that switching to manual mode after a pause will cause a start from
the beginning
after a resume unless some menus are accessed and line numbers are marked.
This
is convoluted by the line number being sequential rather than the program
numbering
increment.

Ok so what to do?

I took a look at the rs274.ngc.cc and found some functions that point to (i
guess) plc
type code in memory. None of that must be implemented even for a manual
change.
The new tool number is acknowledged, but that seems to be about all.

I have limited post processing configuration in my cam program, but not
enough.

How is this for a workable manual tool change:

M6 Txx identifys the tool
G00 Zxx (Raise the z axis up high)
G00 Xxx Yxx (go to a convenient place to reach the spindle)
M00 (stop the program)
(after changing the tool and hitting single step)
G00 XxxYxx (go to the xy of the next commanded position in the original
program)
(now hit resume)
G01ZxxFxx (slowly drop the tool to the next commanded position in the
original program)
(and continue cutting)

Or something like that.
I could write a post processor that would replace a single M6 command with
this string that would compile in dos and prob Linux if I was careful. It
would operate
directly on the machine code text file.

So no manual jogging or line number confusion would be required.

Has anyone done this? Any thoughts? EMC is the better place to fix it, but
this
might work for the time being.

Les

P.S. Cam program posts that insert spindle off or coolant off code with tool
changes
seem to confuse EMC when those functions are not hooked up.


Leslie Watts
L M Watts Furniture
Tiger, Georgia USA
http://www.rabun.net/~leswatts/wattsfurniturewp.html
engineering page:
http://www.rabun.net/~leswatts/shop.html