Hi Team,
I have a few non-Carbide 3D tools that I’ve added into the Tool Library however there are someone fields that I can’t figure out how to EDIT such as:
Geometry
-Flute Length
-Num Flutes
Is there a way for me to update these fields and if so how?
Thank you
John
There are a lot of fields that are there but are not used. If you want to edit them directly open CC and then the “Help” and “About” and click on “Open Data Directory” Once there open the Carbide Create directory and then tools. You will find your custom tools. Double click on the database you want to modify and it should open in a spreadsheet application. Modify as you want. Then save as a “.csv” file. Do not save in spreadsheet format because CC cannot read those files only .csv (Comma Separated Files). If CC is open close it and reopen so the new tool database is read.
I ran into this same issue yesterday. It’s kind of strange that something as necessary as flute count isn’t accessible through the UI. Maybe folks just don’t leverage custom tooling much 
(Or the ones who do leverage it just do the csv editing 
)
Odd user experience for sure though.
Flute length is not taken into consideration in the current 3D previewing/toolpath generation, so there is no need for a user to trouble over it for current versions.
That makes some sense I suppose, I just want the tool library to reflect the actual parameters of the tools. I might not have the tool on hand to verify flute length and flute count at design time/at my pc.
Having to modify such basic tool parameters via some post process seems like a weird bit of additional complexity.
I agree with Tyler about tooling having flute count and maybe length availability. If I am cutting plastics, I would want to know the number of flutes. Plastics seem to cut better with a single flute endmill. I may not remember the number I associated the single flute with because of how many other custom tools I have in my library. I have added around 60 custom tools. Also, some deeper 3D carvings one would want to know how much tool is sticking out of the collet along with the length of the cutting flutes for possible clearance purposes of material along side the cutter.
I also hate going into the tooling every time I am programming a design and having to change the parameters of the tooling with each time I add a toolpath, but it is a necessary evil of course. I do know that CCPro has dummied down the tooling feeds and speeds for conservative purposes, but I always change them to push the machine a bit with each tool. I think the Shapeoko 5 Pro can potentially do so much more and be pushed harder, but the limit is the stepper motors. They seem a bit undersized for the drive of the ball screws. But we work with what we got right?
Question for the audience: Does number of flutes actually matter to you when figuring out your cut settings? Create doesn’t provide any chip load calculation, so unless you’re resorting to a third party calculator or just winging an appropriately aggressive feedrate, number of flutes is more of just a feel-good placeholder.
It matters to me as a means of adjusting on the fly. My mental model for the spread of possible feeds and speeds depends on flute count to some extent.
I’m probably not going to deviate much from the recipe in the library for a single flute tool but if it’s a three flute I’m not as worried about breakage so I can play with it more. Little things like that
It’s also nice to be able to reference the library when one inevitably finds a random unmarked end mill rolling around on their desk…I imagine this isn’t a very common problem for most folks though 
So It’s not strictly a matter of “feel good placeholder” for me, but it’s also not terribly important either 
When it comes to cutting wood, chip load isn’t that big of a deal. Much of what we do is in wood. But when it comes to cutting plastics and metals, chip load is a bit more important. Plus I like to be able to pull up a tool and see in the tool list settings the number of flutes and maybe my own calculated chip load range for that individual tool. Might even be nice to be able to add the range of RPMs the individual tool is to be ran in. I don’t just run endmills of standard design of the upcuts and down cuts. I run corning endmills, I run round overs and reverse round overs. I have the insertable 2" surfacing mill. I have straight flute endmills in both one flute and two flutes.
Tooling I buy from C3D are all in my tooling list, but some of the many after market tooling is not in there as well. Maybe asking for flute count is just being too much and not a major concern, or even asking for the other ranges of things in there as well. I can deal with things if there isn’t a flute count or an option for chip load range, or RPMs ranges. I have been metal machining for 17+ years and have played all of my settings by ear. Plus, I can only use what the company owner will buy and sometimes he buys in the area of affordability, or there is a discount happening and he buys in this area. Some might be two flutes, three flutes, four flutes, or even five flutes, but we are also talking about endmills that can range from 1/4" all the way up to 1 1/2".
So, if no change is made to the tool list for these things, they wont be a deterrent for me in doing my programming and tooling. If you add them great. If you don’t add them, that will be fine as well. With me having around 80 to 90 tool bits for my machine, sometimes doing a program is a guessing game when it comes to RMPs and feed rates for tools I didn’t add, or couldn’t add the flute count, or the chip load, RPM ranges, etc.
Maybe just overthinking this one though.
I just add tools to my own user database. Edit the CSV so I have all the information set. I keep a list of my tools at the machine for reference since the Carbide3D tools are hardcoded into the man-readables at tool change, you don’t get that feature with custom tools. Hopefully they will update carbide motion in the near future to show the tool comments at tool change along with being able to restart the program at different tools.
Yeah, it would be nice to be able to restart the programs of different tools if a tool breaks, or there is a needed small adjustment. Having restart points at each tool would help instead of going in and altering the program by disabling certain toolpaths inn order to make the machine think the program is only that tool, etc.
On one of the metal machines I run, I write the programs by hand, meaning, I type them into the machine one code line at a time. The nice part about these Bigger CNC machines is that I can type in N-code line numbers and when I need to restart the machine at a particular tool, I just tell the machine to start running the program at a certain N line code number. Then cycle start the machine and it will start the program at that tool, then continue running through the rest of the program after that tool. But of course these machines are HAAS and run on Fanuc controllers. They are built into the machines main data base for programming on the machines themselves.
Keeping a tool list would be a great idea. Would help with remembering what tool number is designated to what tool and when Carbide Motion calls for a tool change on the number, I can see on the list exactly what tool it was. When I create a design, I don’t always run to the shop and run that design right away. If I design more before running the design before, I may not remember the tool list for that job.
