Simple tool change question

[ps]

whats the best way to do a tool change. i need to run my design at half the depth then re run it the final half with a different finishing bit. ive havent used vector much so go easy on me. thanks guys.

[Wdyasq@yahoo.com]

I'm not really sure what and why you are changing bits. But, you stop the router, remove the bit and put the new one in. If the bit geometry is different, you will obviously need a new cutting file. You may need to re-register the machine.

In VECTOR, if I am 'roughing' and want to come back and do a 'clean-up' pass, I simply change the bit offset.

With the expense of bits, cheap in real world terms, I seldom change bits between 'roughing' and 'finishing' unless there is a lot of material to be removed and a large bit will save a lot of machine time.

Ron Brown - wdyasq@yahoo.com (mailto:wdyasq@yahoo.com)

If Stupidity got us into this mess,
then why can't it get us out? - Will Rogers

[dmdraper]

To pause a file for a bit change I use the following lines (in italics below) inserted into a Vector NC file prior to exporting as a .sbp (the reason I do it in Vector is because you can step through the NC file and watch on the location drawing file to make sure you are at a Z up position when you insert the lines). I also made a Vector macro that inserts the lines with one click of the mouse.

THIS METHOD ASSUMES THAT YOU HAVE A Z-ZERO CUSTOM CUT FILE NAMED "C1".

Use this method with caution because it does nothing remove power from the router (as in unplug!) while the bit is being changed - which is not the ultimately safe way of changing a bit :-)

'Change to ---- bit
Pause
C1
' Start the router!
Pause

Dave D.