Modify Tool Offset SetX Set Z

Is it possible to modify the functionality of the SetX and SetZ button page in the Lathe code? The UI in the Lathe has an input cell for the diameter of the tool set location (analogous to the block height for the mill code) from which the tool offset is calculated. Is it possible to add a cell for the Z height of the tool set location as well? Rarely do necessarily want the tool set station location to be Z0. This would be equivalent to having both Diameter and Block Height as input variables on the UI. The most generalized solution of course would be to allow the operator to enter the set station offset in each coordinate that is active (five offsets for a five axis machine, etc.)

I am assuming the answer is no, so does anyone else have any nice solution to this problem?

There is a way to change the functionality of the buttons with Designer, but I think you want columns added for instance Geometric Tool Offsets vs Tool Z Length vs Cut Comp and Wear. Now the registry can be modify to display and make use of additional columns. You can add the geometric for XY for sure, but if you want additional buttons they would need to be added with Designer.

Example: These 2 entries control what gets displayed in the Tools Page.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PMAC\Device0\Nc0\NCUI 32\Tool Offsets]

"toolOfsAxis"="ZZWWRR"

"toolOfsAxisType"="010147"

Z Axis - ZZ -> 0=Geometry 1=Wear

W Axis - WW -> 0=Geometry 1=Wear

Cut Comp - RR -> 4=Diameter/Radius 7=Wear

Example 2: Spindle w 90 degree 23 (12 X & 12 Y) head multi-drill common drill point in corner offset from spindle center line. Common drill point entered as a Geometric Tool Offset on the Tools page.

The OFFSET pages has all the axis buttons defined and those get turned ON/OFF with the registry also though there is one slight issue with the order that can be confusing, but easy to work around.

Is it possible to modify the functionality of the SetX and SetZ button page in the Lathe code? The UI in the Lathe has an input cell for the diameter of the tool set location (analogous to the block height for the mill code) from which the tool offset is calculated. Is it possible to add a cell for the Z height of the tool set location as well? Rarely do necessarily want the tool set station location to be Z0. This would be equivalent to having both Diameter and Block Height as input variables on the UI. The most generalized solution of course would be to allow the operator to enter the set station offset in each coordinate that is active (five offsets for a five axis machine, etc.)

 

I am assuming the answer is no, so does anyone else have any nice solution to this problem?

Thanks for the reply. Just so I am being clear, we have all of the tool offsets that we need (columns in the tool table) defined, but I am talking about using buttons to set the data. For example, in Lathe code the operator has a cell in the Tools page where he can enter the diameter of the "touch off" point. When you hit SetX, the correct tool offset for X Geometry gets taking the diameter of the "touch off" point into consideration. In the Mill code, you have Block Height, where the operator enters the height of the "touch off" block and when you hit SetZ it uses this data.

I am looking to have both entries available on the lathe code, so the operator can enter both the diameter and the height of the "touch off" point and then when SetX and SetZ are pushed, the respective data are used in the calculation of the zero point for the offsets.

The reason I want to do this is probably obvious, put it is because the tool set station is shifted in both X and Z from the desired tool origin point on ths spindle. The "standard" lathe code only lets the operator enter the diameter (just like the standard mill code lets the operator enter the block height).

Is there a way to add a cell for the operator to enter this data, or does one have to create some hack to do this? One possible "hack" that we use now is to enter the set station Z offset as a "wear" offset value, but then we lose the advantage of having a pure wear offset.