EL700 Tool offset ?

[park]

Hi. New to the forum. I have the DRO Pros EL700 installed on my mill - it's the smallest knee that Grizzly sold. I also have a CNC Masters CNC Max mill. Both sport some QC tooling. I've been trying to expand my DRO use beyond the lathe dimensions and milling offsets and center (really love that feature). For the lathe (Grizzly 13x30) I have the 2L DRO and just figured out how to use tool offsets which I think will be very handy.

Anyway, the question: For the EL700 Milling mode - I can create/edit tools. I can select tools (as per the top of the display). However absolutely nothing I enter has any effect on the readout. I would expect a tool change to change the current offset - in this case S (Z + U) or the Z axis tool offset. I can't actually find a use for the tool information at all. The manual only says how to edit/create a tool - which I have done. DRO Pros was unable to help me at all. I've searched the internet for quite some time, pulled up videos... nada. Perhaps it's just not possible. But it seems weird you can create a tool and not actually use it.

I have reasonably accurately measured each tool. I have a Haimer probe that I use. I created a holder for it using the Tormach TTS machinable holder and set it to be very very nearly exactly 5" when zeroed to Z (convenient, not necessary). I was hoping to then use that as the basis for other tooling, for example my 1/2" end mill. I know the difference between the Haimer and the end mill.

I've done tool changes on the CNC mill, that's a different beast altogether with the tool path reflecting the newly selected tool.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any pointers.

 

[3strucking]

I tried setting up the tool offsets on my 2L but it didnt go well. Would you mind posting how you did it?

 

[park]

Hi. I'll give it a try. First off, I used the video posted by This Old Tony as the starting point:

I set up a DTI on the lathe bed and picked a tool to become "Tool 1" in this case this is a double-ended Aloris, so it's both Tool 1 and Tool 2.

Starting with the X axis, pushed the DTI until it hit zero, and the DRO to zero for Tool 1.

Then mounted Tool 2 (did not switch tools on DRO) and again set the DTI to zero, recording the X-axis value from the DRO on a pad of paper.

Repeat for Tool 3.

Leaving the DTI, I switch to the Z-axis, mounted Tool 1 and pushed to the DTI zero along the Z axis.

Then mounted Tool 2, again pushed the DTI to zero, and recorded the Z-axis value from the DRO. Repeat for Tool 3, ...

I don't think this is necessary, but I moved the cross slide/carriage to 0:0 (the actual starting position was arbitrary).

Then selected Tool 3 on the DRO and clicked X - and manually entered the offset recorded above for Tool 3, pressed Ent. Clicked Z again manually entered the offset recorded above for Tool 3 - Z value.

In use. I switched back to Tool 1 on the DRO and mounted Tool 1. Took a slight skim cut on a piece of scrap stock. Measured the diameter and entered it in the DRO.

Mounted Tool 3 and selected Tool 3 on the DRO and the readout reflected the difference between the tools. Another skim cut on the scrap and the diameter was within .001.

That's the gist of what I've done so far.

Photo 1 - Tool 1 X-Axis setup
Photo 2 - DRO readout after a skim cut by Tool 1
Photo 3 - Skim cut by Tool 3 (Tool 1 in the background)
Photo 4 - DRO readout after using Tool 3
Photo 5 - Micrometer reading after using Tool 3 + Offset chart

 

[park]

The link to This Old Tony