| It is very difficult to make accurate tool offset measurements without the aid of a tool setting microscope. |
| For the Emco Compact 5PC and 5CNC lathes, Emco supply a suitable microscope. If you have one, use it. The WELturn software assumes this. In the offset setting routine in WELturn for the Emco machines, there is a picture of this microscope attached to a lathe. Also shown are images of tools as they appear when viewed through the microscope. The big snag is that, if you don't have one, this microscope costs £236 plus carriage and VAT (April 2001 prices). |
| An alternative to the expensive Emco microscope is to buy the DM1 microscope detailed below. Buy the standard microscope but with a cross-hair graticule fitted to the eyepiece. One axis of the graticule is graduated from 0 to 10 and is very useful in ensuring the accurate setting of tools, such as the neutral tool, as explained on the next page. The graduations cover 5mm on a viewed object. |
| Other items required are listed and are available from Tilgear or other tool merchants. The key item is a heavy duty magnetic base. The Borman magnetic base has a 12mm diameter column and is said to have a 60 kg pull. The 14mm diameter silver steel is for the manufacture of a replacement column suitable for the DM1 microscope body to run on. The dimensions of the column are given in the drawing. The result is a better tool than the Emco microscope and one which can be used for other purposes, too. |
| Use of the DM1 Microscope |
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| Note: use the viewed images of the tools shown below and NOT the ones shown in WELturn. |
| WELedit Users and Others: |
| WELedit users and those entering code directly via the Emco Compact 5CNC lathe keypad will find this microscope helpful. |
| On the lathe keypad, use manual axis control to align the right hand tool tip under the microscope and then press the DEL key. This zeros the X and Z co-ordinate readout thus establishing a datum point. This is the only time the DEL key is pressed during the measurement operation. |
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Now change from the right hand tool to the tool whose offset is to be measured. Use manual axis control to align the tool tip under the microscope. Read and note on paper the X and Z values from the co-ordinate display. Repeat this procedure to measure the offsets of any other tools. Do not press the DEL key between tools: as mentioned above, it is only pressed after the right hand tool is aligned in order to establish a datum. The noted X and Z values are the offset values which must be included in NC code when the measured tools are used for machining. Give careful thought as to whether or not the values included in the code should be positive or negative. Always do a dry run of the code to make sure things are correct. When it comes to machining, keep a hand near the emergency stop button – just in case! |
| All the information above is given in good faith but you must assess it and take full responsibility for any use you make of it. |
| Take Care: |
| Once measurement has begun, take care not to move the magnetic base, the body of the microscope on the column, the microscope head, the eyepiece or the fine focus adjustment. If movement happens or is suspected, start the measurement process from the beginning to ensure accuracy. |
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Viewed images of tools (DM1 microscope) |
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Go to Page 2, Ensuring Accuracy |
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