The one thing I see people mess up with their tool length offsets

For years, I watched folks just touch off a tool and call it good, but that leaves you open to a big crash if the tool holder isn't seated perfectly. I learned this the hard way after a crash on a VF-2 that cost about $800 in parts and downtime. Now, I always touch off the tool, pull it out, re-seat it in the spindle, and touch it off a second time to check. If the numbers are more than 0.0005" apart, something is wrong. How do you guys double-check your offsets to stay safe?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade6182mo ago

Wait, you can just pull the tool out and put it back in to check? That seems so obvious now that you say it, but I never thought of doing that. Eight hundred bucks for a crash is a huge hit, way more than the few minutes it takes to double check. I'm going to start doing this on my next shift, because getting a tool holder seated wrong is such an easy mistake to make when you're tired. Your method of checking for that tiny difference makes total sense.

faith_smith8d ago

Oh man, I've totally been there too. Back when I was running a 5-axis at my old job, I started doing the pull-and-reinsert check after I had a tool holder that was just a hair off. It felt silly at first, like wasting time for nothing. But then I saw what a 30-second check could prevent - one time it saved me from a crash that would've trashed a $400 endmill and maybe a fixture. Now I do it every single time I load a new tool, even if I'm in a rush. It's just one of those little habits that pays off huge.

brown.susan2mo ago

Tell me about it, @jade618... I learned that trick the hard way after a crash that still makes me cringe.