Tool length probing and large facemills

[Analias]

Hi Dave,

One of the things I did to take advantage of MSM was installing a fixed tool probe. It's a half inch thick piece of 1.5" round mounted on top of a matching delrin base to insulate it from the table. Tonight I went to probe the length of my 2" facemill and realized that the inserts wound not come in contact with the probe. Only the center of the facemill would, causing the total tool length to be off by the length of the exposed inserts (~.10").

The right solution would to be to replace the probe with one that would handle the largest tool that I have. I can do this... eventually, but I was wondering if there is alternative approach that would all me to do the tool change and still capture the true length of the tool?

-Freeman

[DaveCVI]

Hi,

Hi Dave,

... but I was wondering if there is alternative approach that would all me to do the tool change and still capture the true length of the tool?

-Freeman

The only thing that comes to mind is to move the TCP X,Y location so that it is not in the center of the plate. Maybe that would get one of the inserts to to be over the plate? OF course too much shift may make a smaller diam tool miss the plate entirely...
This assumes that inserts are all exactly the same length - so that it does not matter which one touches first.
If one insert is a tad longer than the others, then the cut surface will be determined by the longest one and the TLO from the one that you touched off with.

I agree that a larger plate is the real solution.
Dave