Yesterday evening I had a very close call with the spindle starting unexpectedly during a tool change pause.
The machine is a 5.1 pro with carbide 3d vfd spindle. I was running a job with multiple tool changes and the bit setter disabled. Normally I run the machine with the bit setter enable so this particular scenario was new to me.
Here’s what happen:
At tool change the machined stopped, spindle retracted and the tool change window appeared as normal. I changed tool, installed bit zero collet magnet, and placed the bit zero on the work piece. I expected to have the ability to jog the machine closer to the bit zero to perform a probing cycle then continue on after the probing cycle was finished . I found that the jog button isn’t available during tool change pause. While holding the bit zero probing block with one hand and the mouse in the other hand I tried to exit the tool change window by clicking the “x” in the upper right hand corner. As soon as I clicked the x the spindle started and resumed executing program code. No different than if I clicked the okay button . The spindle started with my hand holding the bit zero close to the endmill . Fortunately the spindle moved away from by hand, not towards it.
In summery, I was performing a task that I wasn’t familiar with, I had my hands where they didn’t belong, fatigue was a factor, and the software interface could use some improvement.
Interesting, thanks for pointing this scenario out to us. I don’t have a bit zero, but this does tell me that I need to be careful when closing windows in the middle of the tool paths. Did you not press the spindle pause on the VFD control box when changing the bit? That’s the one thing that would have prevented the VFD restarting the spindle.
I did not use the vfd button. I should have. I got out of the habit of using the button during tool changes because its out of the way and sometimes I forget to turn it back on after tool change which causes damage to bits and or work pieces. I’m planning on opening up the vfd enclosure to see if I can remove the button and install it along with the estop and cycle pause button in a new 3 hole box. By doing this all the buttons are together and can be located in a more readily accessible location where they should be in the first place.
Hi. Just a question out of curiosity. What is the use case for disabling the Bit Setter for multi-tool carves and instead using the Bit Zero? I mean, isn’t this kind of efficiency just what the Bit Setter is designed for? Seems like more work the way you were doing it…
Good question. I disabled the bit setter because I needed to achieve a very tight z tolerance. The bit setter adds another measurement step and the opportunity for potential error. For this job I wanted all measurements referenced directly off the part to avoid any tolerance stack up. FOr whatever its worth 99% of the time I use the bit setter.