Pro tip: I see a lot of folks ignoring their tool length offsets after a setup

I was running a batch of 500 aluminum brackets last week and kept getting a tiny burr on the bottom edge. My coworker in the next bay had the same issue. We finally realized we were both just trusting the tool setter and not actually checking the offset against the first part. A quick touch with an indicator showed we were off by about .002, which was enough to cause the problem. Anyone else double-check their offsets on the machine after setting tools?

3 comments

3 Comments

green.mason2mo agoTop Commenter

Josephs26 is right about the scrap cut. I've started doing that on the actual machine table with a piece of the same stock clamped down. It lets you check the offset and also verify your workholding and feeds before the real part runs.

fiona_murray8d ago

Respectfully, I don't see it the same way. Clamping scrap to the machine table is fine for checking your offset, but it doesn't really test your workholding setup for the actual part. If your fixture or clamps are different from what you're using on the scrap piece, you're not verifying the real setup at all. I prefer to run my test cut on a piece of scrap that's mounted exactly like the final stock, same fixture, same torque on the clamps, everything. That way you catch any issues with how the part is held, not just the tool path. Saves me from scrapping a real part because the workholding wasn't solid enough.

josephs262mo ago

Always run a test cut on scrap material to verify the offset before starting the batch.