Listening to the BOM, it seems that one cool feature of modern motion controllers is tool life metrics. Is there a way in Carbide Motion to implement a “time in the cut” display for any given standard tool? I love the value of C3D cutters, but on long jobs I’d love to have a proactive indicator that it is time to change out my endmills before they get dull and have issues.
Considering how little work they could put into it and get this functional (relatively to other ideas) I think it’s pretty solid!
I would think that this might be harder to do than you might think. First of all, we have to acknowledge that there are a fair number of variables that can play into the life of an endmill; everything from what materials are being cut, how well the endmill along with collet and collet nut are cleaned/maintained to proper tramming of the spindle and a whole variety of other varibles as well. Now even if you can address all the variables, say with dedicated mills for specific materials, and rigorous maintenance, etc.; then there is still the human factor, you would have to be dillegent in updating libraries when tools are replaced/added and not to mention accurate when selecting those tools (you might have 5 different 1/4" downcut each for specific material) if you select that wrong one by accident then you would be tracking time on the wrong mill.
Tracking metrics are far more complicated than one might first think especially in a flexible environment where circumstances change with each project.
Now you might be in workflow that is creating the same product repeating in mass, made from only one material type, in this case it is more conceivable to track tool metrics, but I think for the average hobbyist, variety is the reality and thus packed full of variables.
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Thank you @OneEyedDogLLC I agree that there are a lot of ways to make this more complicated and nuanced. First order answer though could be simple. If someone wanted to use a cutter for say Aluminum and wood then they could modify the tool number. I dunno, but aim simple first and add complexity later.
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