Calculators
G10 program from a tool list
Turn a tool list with measured H lengths and D radii into a G10 program that loads the values into a machining center's offset table, with no typing at the machine. Everything runs in your browser; the tool list never leaves your computer.
| T | Description | H | Measured length | D | Remove row |
|---|
One tool a line. The first cell is the tool number; the next number is the length and the one after it the size; any other text is the description. Cells are split by tabs, commas or semicolons. For example:
3, END MILL 10, 118.550, 5.000
Reads every tool the program changes with M06, with the comment that names it and the H and D numbers the program calls. A tool that uses more than one H or D gets several rows. The lengths and sizes are for you to fill in after measuring, unless the program already has G10 lines.
This program overwrites the machine's offset table without asking. Check every line against the measurement sheet before running it, and check the machine's table after.
What it does
Tools measured on a tool presetter have to get into the machine's offset table. Typing each value at the machine is slow, and a value typed with a wrong digit, in the wrong row or for the wrong tool raises no alarm. This page turns the tool list into a program of G10 lines; the machine writes the values itself when the program runs.
- Choose the kind of offset table the machine has, and whether its D column holds a radius or a diameter. Look at the column names on the machine's offset screen.
- Type the tools, paste the rows from a spreadsheet or the presetter's export, or pull the tool list from the NC program that will use them, then fill in the measured values. If the size is left empty, the G10 program has only the line for that tool's H length; if the length is left empty, only the line for its D radius. A value with no line in the program keeps what the machine has.
- Download the program, load it into the machine, and run it once in MEM mode. No axis moves.
- Open the offset screen and compare some of the values with the measurement sheet.
The lines it writes
| Offset table | Line | Writes |
|---|---|---|
| Memory C | G10 L10 P_ R_ | Length geometry (H) |
| Memory C | G10 L11 P_ R_ | Length wear (H) |
| Memory C | G10 L12 P_ R_ | Radius geometry (D) |
| Memory C | G10 L13 P_ R_ | Radius wear (D) |
| Memory B | G10 L10 P_ R_ | Geometry of the row |
| Memory B | G10 L11 P_ R_ | Wear of the row |
| Memory A | G10 L11 P_ R_ | The single value of the row |
- P is the offset number and R the value.
- The program starts with
G90, so R replaces the value in the table. InG91it would be added to it. - On memory A and B, H and D share the same rows, so
H03andD03are one value. The page refuses a list that uses one number for both; give D its own numbers, such as D = T + 20. - The length is written as typed. Whether it is a true length from the gauge line, a machine position or a difference from a reference tool is up to the method the machine uses; all tools in one table must use the same method.
Limits
- Check the format against the control's manual first. The lines follow Fanuc machining center controls with offset memory A, B and C. Older controls and other makes may use other L numbers, and some take no L at all.
- Machining centers only. Lathe offsets (X, Z, nose radius and tip direction) use another format and are not written.
- Running the program again brings the old values back. If a tool was changed and measured at the machine afterwards, delete the program or make a new one.
- Setting wear to zero is right for newly measured tools. If only some tools were measured again, list only those, because every listed row loses its wear value.
- The program number may already be in the machine. Choose a number that is free.
- The file has LF line endings. If the machine does not take it, fix it with the NC file check.