I apologize in advance. I’m sure this question has came up previously. I’ve tried looking through the R7 community, but haven’t found the answer, nor does it seem you can search this specific community for a specific term/subject.
I’m getting ready to run a VCarve 2 tool (swapping from End mill - Ball - back to End mill throughout the cutting. So, 3 different tool paths, 2 different tools.
How do I handle the tool change? What about the depth change between the tooling? How does Chilipeppr and the R7 handle this?
I’ve never ran anything but a single tool. This one will be strongly dependent upon being precise throughout the toolpath changes.
I’ve also setup VCarve (this time) to home to the spoiler board, in the corner, vs. surface of the work piece (corner).
I design the tool paths from a known point. After a tool change only the z-axis needs to be reset. I put the bit in Loose and lower the spindle pushing the bit in with the zero point. When I have the right protrusion I tighten the collet. It is important to have the servos energized while you tighten the collet. Then I reset the machine z axis zero point.
I make a new folder with the part name as folder name, and then individually save each tool path as a program. I name each program with the the number of operation and the tool needed. For example: 1pocket4mm_em meaning operation 1, pocket operation, using 4mm end mill.
Re zero each tool between program’s, always return to zero xy after your program has run
I use v carve as well, and doing this in chilipeppr was always scary because it would crash sometimes. If your doing this, turn off visualization and trust your machine to do what it is supposed to.
I switched to planet cnc, 100x easier, never crashed, and needs no internet connection
Thank you for all the suggestions and assistance. I think I’ve got an idea of what was described. I’ve decided I’m going to make a sample project with a few quick tool changes in it. I’ll run it before getting into the big(er) project I was planning.