Using the MachStdMill Lathe Support Extensions Release...Mach 3 Turn for lathe operations. This...

Using the MachStdMill Lathe Support Extensions

For MachStdMill (v2.0.xx and later)

Calypso Ventures, Inc. Dec 15th, 2017

Copyright © 2011-2018 Calypso Ventures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MachStdMill Turn and Mill-Turn Supplement Manual Revision 2.09

Copyright © 2011-2018 Calypso Ventures, Inc. Page 3

Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 9

1.1 Scope of the Manual........................................................................................................... 9 1.2 MachStdMill: Turn and Mill-Turn Extensions Status ....................................................... 9

1.2.1 MachStdMill Questions & Feedback ....................................................................... 10 1.2.1.1 Support ................................................................................................................. 10

1.2.2 Change Notice .......................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Glossary ........................................................................................................................... 10 1.4 Installing MachStdMill Lathe Option .............................................................................. 10

1.4.1 Mach Lathe Profile for Mill-Turn ............................................................................ 11 1.5 MachStdMill Editions ...................................................................................................... 11

1.5.1 MachStdMill Alpha & Beta Release Usage ............................................................. 12 2 MachStdMill User Interface Controls ...................................................................................... 13

2.1 Conventions and Common Controls ................................................................................ 13 2.1.1 Visual Consistency ................................................................................................... 13

2.1.1.1 MachStdMill Screen Set Resolutions................................................................... 13 2.1.1.2 Jogging Controls .................................................................................................. 13

2.1.1.2.1 Jog Keys ......................................................................................................... 14 2.1.1.2.2 Fly Out Jogging controls ................................................................................ 14

2.1.2 Hot keys ................................................................................................................... 15 3 MachStdMill Turn .................................................................................................................... 16

3.1 General Work Flow .......................................................................................................... 16 3.1.1 Starting the Mill ....................................................................................................... 16 3.1.2 Loading Code ........................................................................................................... 16

3.1.2.1 Tool Path Display Window .................................................................................. 17 3.1.2.2 Referencing the Axes ........................................................................................... 17 3.1.2.3 Loaded G-code ..................................................................................................... 19

3.1.3 Setting Work Coordinate Offsets ............................................................................. 19 3.1.3.1 Work Coordinate Offset Selection Panel ............................................................. 20 3.1.3.2 Work Coordinate Panel ........................................................................................ 21

3.1.4 Setting up Tools ....................................................................................................... 21 3.1.4.1 Current Tool Information Panel ........................................................................... 21 3.1.4.2 Tool Touch off ..................................................................................................... 22

3.1.4.2.1 Master Tool Mode OFF ................................................................................. 23 3.1.4.2.2 Master Tool Mode ON ................................................................................... 23 3.1.4.2.3 X Touch .......................................................................................................... 24 3.1.4.2.4 Z Touch .......................................................................................................... 24

3.1.5 Running G-code ....................................................................................................... 25 3.1.6 Run Page .................................................................................................................. 25

3.2 Tool Handling .................................................................................................................. 27 3.2.1 Intro to the Tooling Page.......................................................................................... 27 3.2.2 The current tool panel .............................................................................................. 28 3.2.3 The browse tool panel .............................................................................................. 29

3.2.3.1 Tool Edit dialog ................................................................................................... 30 3.2.4 Tool table loading & saving ..................................................................................... 32

3.2.4.1 Current Position Panel ......................................................................................... 32 3.2.4.2 TC Position Panel ................................................................................................. 32



3.2.4.2.1 Go TC Pos’n ................................................................................................... 32 3.2.4.3 TC Options & Master Tool Mode Panel .............................................................. 33

4 MachStdMill Mill-Turn ........................................................................................................... 35 4.1 General Work Flow .......................................................................................................... 35

4.1.1 Starting the Mill ....................................................................................................... 35 4.1.2 Loading Code ........................................................................................................... 35 4.1.3 Setting Work Coordinate Offsets ............................................................................. 36

4.1.3.1 Work Coordinate Panel ........................................................................................ 37 4.1.3.1.1 Tool Block Origin .......................................................................................... 38

4.1.4 Setting up Tools ....................................................................................................... 38 4.1.4.1 Current Tool Information Panel ........................................................................... 38

4.1.4.1.1 Turn Tool Type .............................................................................................. 39 4.1.4.1.2 Y Offset / turret .............................................................................................. 39

4.1.4.2 Single Turning Tool ............................................................................................. 39 4.1.4.2.1 Tool Touch off ............................................................................................... 41 4.1.4.2.2 Low vs. High .................................................................................................. 43 4.1.4.2.3 Aligning Y with the spindle axis center ......................................................... 45

4.1.5 Multiple Tools & Lathe Tooling Fixtures ................................................................ 46 4.1.5.1 Tool Block Fixtures ............................................................................................. 47

4.1.5.1.1 Single tool ...................................................................................................... 47 4.1.5.1.2 Quick Change (QC) tool post ......................................................................... 47 4.1.5.1.3 Gang Tooling block........................................................................................ 48 4.1.5.1.4 Combinations: ................................................................................................ 48

4.1.6 Setting the Tool Block Origin .................................................................................. 50 4.1.6.1 Caution: M30 Options .......................................................................................... 51

4.1.6.1.1 Perform G92.1 Option .................................................................................... 52 4.1.6.1.2 Remove Tool Offset Option ........................................................................... 52

4.1.6.2 Mill-Turn Probing Operations.............................................................................. 52 4.1.6.2.1 Mounting the Probe tool ................................................................................ 53 4.1.6.2.2 Block alignment and corner probing .............................................................. 53 4.1.6.2.3 Center Tool Location Probing ........................................................................ 57 4.1.6.2.4 Lathe Tool Offset Index ................................................................................. 57 4.1.6.2.5 Circular Pocket Probing ................................................................................. 58 4.1.6.2.6 Circular Post Probing ..................................................................................... 58

4.1.6.3 Y Offset Probing .................................................................................................. 58 4.1.6.4 Center Tool X Offsets. ......................................................................................... 59

4.1.7 Run Page: Running G-code ...................................................................................... 60 4.2 Tool Handling .................................................................................................................. 63

4.2.1 Intro to the Tooling Page.......................................................................................... 63 4.2.1.1 Current Position Panel ......................................................................................... 63 4.2.1.2 TC Position Panel ................................................................................................. 64

4.2.1.2.1 Go TC Pos’n ................................................................................................... 64 4.2.1.3 TC Options & Master Tool Mode Panel .............................................................. 64

5 MachStdMill Configuration Settings Page .............................................................................. 66 5.1 Settings Page .................................................................................................................... 66

5.1.1 Settings – Common .................................................................................................. 66 5.1.1.1 General Settings & Motion Settings Control Groups .......................................... 66 5.1.1.2 Lathe Configuration Group .................................................................................. 66



5.1.1.2.1 Probing Ver and Debug Setup buttons ........................................................... 67 5.1.1.2.2 S&W (Stop & Wait) M5 Option .................................................................... 67 5.1.1.2.3 Front / Rear Post ............................................................................................ 67 5.1.1.2.4 Home & TC Sequence ................................................................................... 67

5.1.1.3 Reference Point Settings ...................................................................................... 68 5.1.2 Settings - Spindle ..................................................................................................... 68

5.1.2.1 Rotating Spindle Pulley Panel .............................................................................. 68 5.2 Reference Page ................................................................................................................. 68

5.2.1 Documentation Buttons ............................................................................................ 69 5.2.1.1 User Manual ......................................................................................................... 69 5.2.1.2 G&M Code Quick Ref ......................................................................................... 69 5.2.1.3 G-Code Manual .................................................................................................... 69

6 MachStdMill Operational Changes from Mach3 V3 with 1024.Lset turn screens .................. 70 6.1 Tool Changes ................................................................................................................... 70

6.1.1 Tool Changes & G-code Modes ............................................................................... 70 6.1.2 Tool Change Positioning .......................................................................................... 70

6.1.2.1 Auto TCP ............................................................................................................. 70 6.2 Profile Dependant M-Code Macros ................................................................................. 70

6.2.1 M-code Macro Updates ............................................................................................ 70 6.2.1.1 Profiles and screen sets ........................................................................................ 70

7 Customizing MachStdMill ....................................................................................................... 71



Table of Figures Figure 1: MSM-Lathe Install Option ............................................................................................... 11 Figure 2: Turn jog panel ................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 3: MSM Mill-Turn Jog Panel ............................................................................................... 14 Figure 4: XZ Only Fly Out Jog Arrows ........................................................................................... 15 Figure 5: MSM-Turn Fly out Jog buttons ........................................................................................ 15 Figure 6: Load Page on start up ....................................................................................................... 17 Figure 7: Tool Path Window and Buttons ....................................................................................... 17 Figure 8: MachStdMill-Lathe Program Extents panel ..................................................................... 17 Figure 9: Lathe Configuration Options ............................................................................................ 18 Figure 10: Sample G-Code loaded ................................................................................................... 19 Figure 11: Turn offset page .............................................................................................................. 20 Figure 12: WC selection panel ......................................................................................................... 20 Figure 13: WC offset detail panel .................................................................................................... 21 Figure 14: WC Offset Panel - Diameter Mode ................................................................................ 21 Figure 15: Current Tool Information Panel ..................................................................................... 22 Figure 16: XZ only Lathe touch off panel ....................................................................................... 23 Figure 17: X Touch .......................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 18: Z Touch........................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 19: XZ run page .................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 20: Big Path Run Page .......................................................................................................... 27 Figure 21: Tooling Page .................................................................................................................. 28 Figure 22: Current Tool Panel.......................................................................................................... 29 Figure 23: browse tool panel ............................................................................................................ 30 Figure 24: Tool Edit Dialog ............................................................................................................. 31 Figure 25: Front Tool Post Tip Types Figure 26: Rear Tool Post Tool Tip Types 31 Figure 27: XZ only Current Position panel ...................................................................................... 32 Figure 28: XZ only TC Position Panel ............................................................................................. 32 Figure 29: TC Options & Master Tool Mode Panel ........................................................................ 33 Figure 30: Auto XY Set warning for Turn ....................................................................................... 33 Figure 31: Load Page on start up ..................................................................................................... 36 Figure 32: Mill-turn Work Coordinate Offset - Touch Page ........................................................... 37 Figure 33: WC offset detail panel .................................................................................................... 37 Figure 34: WC Offset Panel - Diameter Mode ................................................................................ 38 Figure 35: Mill-Turn Current Tool Panel ........................................................................................ 39 Figure 36: Single turning tool mounted in vise ................................................................................ 40 Figure 37: Cutting Low leaves a Nub on a Manual Lathe ............................................................... 41 Figure 38: Cutting Low with Mill-Turn ........................................................................................... 41 Figure 39: Mill-Lathe Tool Offset panel .......................................................................................... 42 Figure 40: Front tool post, Cutting High ......................................................................................... 44 Figure 41: front tool post, cutting low ............................................................................................. 45 Figure 42: Move Tool to Y Center button ....................................................................................... 46 Figure 43:Cutting a Nub in Mill-Turn ............................................................................................. 46 Figure 44: Quick Change Tool Post fixture ..................................................................................... 48 Figure 45: Combination Tool Holder ............................................................................................... 49 Figure 46: Gang Tooling Plate ......................................................................................................... 49 Figure 47: Quick Change Tool Post fixture ..................................................................................... 51



Figure 48: M30 Options ................................................................................................................... 52 Figure 49: Mill-Turn Block Probe Operations ................................................................................. 53 Figure 50: Edge Probing Panel ........................................................................................................ 54 Figure 51: Tool Block Offsets Active Warning ............................................................................... 55 Figure 52: Tool Block Origin Example ........................................................................................... 55 Figure 53: Set TB zero button .......................................................................................................... 56 Figure 54: Mill-Turn Circular Pocket & Post Probing Page ........................................................... 57 Figure 55: Y Offset Probing ............................................................................................................. 58 Figure 56: Auto XY Set ................................................................................................................... 59 Figure 57: Center cutting Tool on QC post ...................................................................................... 60 Figure 58: Sample Program – XZY Run Page ................................................................................. 61 Figure 59: Mill-Turn Big Path Run Page ......................................................................................... 62 Figure 60: Tooling Page .................................................................................................................. 63 Figure 61: Current Position Panel .................................................................................................... 64 Figure 62: Tool Change Position Panel ........................................................................................... 64 Figure 63: TC Options & Master Tool Mode Panel ........................................................................ 65 Figure 64: Mill-Turn Settings Page.................................................................................................. 66 Figure 65: Lathe Configuration Options Group ............................................................................... 67 Figure 66: Main Reference page ...................................................................................................... 69



1 Introduction Welcome to MachStdMill turning extensions supplementary manual.

1.1 Scope of the Manual This manual describes the optional turning support extensions that can be installed with MachStdMill. It is assumed that the reader of this manual is already familiar with the use of Mach3 and MachStdMill for Mill operations. This manual is not intended to be a stand alone Lathe user manual. The reader is presumed to already be familiar with CNC lathe operations, and the use of Mach 3 Turn for lathe operations. This manual covers the MachStdMill Turn and MachStdMill Mill-Turn modes user interfaces and explains how to use the MachStdMill turning extensions. This manual is not intended to cover the following topics and assumes the reader already has a working familiarity with these subjects:

• G-code language and programming1. • The differences between CAD, CAM, Post Processors, CNC control software (e.g.

Mach3), and CNC control hardware. This manual does not cover technical details of the MachStdMill screen set implementation, the supporting macros which are bundled with the screen set, modifications of the screen set, or the use of the Mach3 script application programming interfaces (APIs).

1.2 MachStdMill: Turn and Mill-Turn Extensions Status After the release of the MachStdMill package, Calypso Ventures, Inc. began to get requests for a complimentary lathe package. The relatively few number of Mach3 lathe users prevented the project from getting significant development resources. In addition, CVI did not have or need a CNC lathe for internal operations. This later point actually helped this project come into existence – as eventually wanted to use the mill to perform some simple lathe operations… after quietly floating the idea of a Mill-Turn Extension for MSM, we began to suspect that there are many mill owners who would like this ability. CVI began a part time project for a MSM extension that would enable turning operations with a Mill. During the design work, we kept in mind that if this were done correctly, the requested lathe package should fall out as a subset of the Mill-Turn extensions. The result of the project is the MSM Turning option which this manual is a part of.

1 To learn G-code and it’s associated concepts, the reader is referred to books on G-code programming. One example is “CNC Programming Handbook” by Peter Smid.



Turning operations are supported via Lathe specific screen sets (in both 10x7 and 12x9 resolutions). The Turn screen sets assume traditional XZ lathe axes. Mill-Turn operation is supported by via Mill-Turn specific screen sets which also incorporate Mill-Turn tool holding support including the use of Y axis offsets for Mill-Turn tooling. Mill-Turn operations assume a XYZ axes and also support both 10x7 and 12x9 resolutions.

1.2.1 MachStdMill Questions & Feedback

1.2.1.1 Support Comments about MachStdMill-Lathe should be directed to the MachStdMill forum in the Turn support board.

1.2.2 Change Notice Nothing in this document is to be interpreted as a commitment by Calypso Ventures, Inc.. Any and all information in this document, and any features and operations of MachStdMill are subject to change without notice.

1.3 Glossary Technical topics are prone to the use of abbreviations and Mach and MachStdMill are not exceptions to this tendency. The following is a list of some of the more common abbreviation used within this manual.

Mill A mill is a machine that typically operates in 3 axes and is used to performs milling operations. Lathe A lathe is a machine that typically operates in 2 axes and is used to perform turning operations.

MSM Turn Is the term used to describe the use of MSM to perform turning operations with a lathe. MSM Mill-Turn Is the term used to describe the use of MSM with a Mill to perform turning operations with a mill.

Also see the Glossary section of the MachStdMill User manual.

1.4 Installing MachStdMill Lathe Option When running the MachStdMill installer, you will see the Lathe Support option as shown below:



Figure 1: MSM-Lathe Install Option Check the option to install the Lathe support extensions. If you did not install the lathe support option, and want to do so later, just rerun the MSM installer and check the option to get the lathe support extensions installed. Also see the Lathe related notes in the readme that describe important lathe installation steps.

1.4.1 Mach Lathe Profile for Mill-Turn When installing the Lathe Option in order to run Mill-Turn on a Mill, it is important to realize that you will be using a Mach Lathe Profile to run Mill-Turn (and not a Mill Profile), even though the machine hardware is a mill. Running Mach with a lathe profile is what tells mach to interpret G-code using the Lathe G-code syntax rules, and thus a lather profile is required whenever lathe G-code is to be executed. Thus, users running MachStdMill on a mill will start Mach with a mill profile for milling operations, and will start Mach with a lathe profile for Mill-Turn operations. The set up process given in the README file creates the necessary lathe mode profile.

1.5 MachStdMill Editions The CVI MachStdMill product is now the only enhancement package for Mach3 which includes both Milling and Turning operation. The MachStdMill Personal Edition includes support for XZ turn operations. The MachStdMill Professional Edition now provides support for both Turn and Mill-Turn operation.



1.5.1 MachStdMill Alpha & Beta Release Usage MachStdMill Alpha releases will NOT run on an MSM trial installation. The PC must be activated with a valid MSM license to run an MSM Alpha release. MSM Beta releases will run on a trial installation. Currently, MSM Lathe development Alpha releases are set to expire 30 days from their release date and Beta releases are set to expire 60 days form their release date. Expired development releases will not load after their expiration dates. This prevents Development releases from hanging around and becoming ongoing support issues.



2 MachStdMill User Interface Controls 2.1 Conventions and Common Controls There are two MSM Turn screen sets: One for turning with a XZ lathe and one for XZY Mill-Turn use. You can select the screen in use via the Load screen button on the settings page (not via the mach view load screen menu!). The screen shots in this manual show both the Turn and Mill-Turn interfaces. In general, the Turn screens are a subset of the Mill-Turn screens. Straight lathe users do not see (and do not need) the Y axis information in the Mill-Turn screens.

2.1.1 Visual Consistency The MachStdMill Lathe screens follow all the conventions given in the MachStdMill user manual.

2.1.1.1 MachStdMill Screen Set Resolutions The MSM lathe screens are available as both 12x9 and 10x7 resolutions. The 12x9 screens are preferred and are the resolution used for this manual’s screen shots. The 10x7 have the same basic controls, but are more crowded (due to the smaller screen size) and for some pages have a slightly different arrangement of panels. In addition the same trade offs required by the Mill 10x7 screens have been applied to the lathe 10x7 screens (ex: no SRO or FRO slider on the run page, 10x7 users will have to use the fly-out).

2.1.1.2 Jogging Controls The jogging panel for MSM Turn has been enhanced to support two MPGs.

Figure 2: Turn jog panel Each MPG can be set to either the X or Z axis. For Mill-Turn use, the MPGs can also be set to control the Y axis.



Figure 3: MSM Mill-Turn Jog Panel The other Jog panel controls are as described in the MachStdMill user manual.

2.1.1.2.1 Jog Keys In MachStdMill the typical jog keys are:

Up-arrow and down-arrow for the Y axis Left-arrow and right-arrow for the X axis Pg-up and pg-down for the Z axis.

In Mach with the stock 1024 screen set, for a lathe the jog keys are: Up-arrow and down-arrow for the X axis Left-arrow and right-arrow for the Z axis

If MSM Turn used the mach turn jog keys, the jog key mapping to an axis would change whenever you went into the MSM Mill-Turn mode. That was found to be confusing and a bit dangerous since user habits tend to cause one to hit the wrong key to move an axis. Therefore, MSM uses the Mill jog keys in MSM Mill-Turn mode. The Mach turn hotkeys may make sense if you are running a separate CNC lathe, but they are trouble then doing turn ops on a mill. The jog keys are set via the mach config menus and are not constrained by MSM ; therefore you can set up whatever jog keys you prefer.

2.1.1.2.2 Fly Out Jogging controls When using a straight Turn mode (XZ only), the Fly Out panel has X and Z jogging arrows, arranged as seen for a front tool post lathe.



Figure 4: XZ Only Fly Out Jog Arrows When Using MSM turn in Mill-Turn mode, the operator is doing turning on the Mill and the Jog arrows are arranged as they are for the Mill so that key positions stay the same as when using the Mill.

Figure 5: MSM-Turn Fly out Jog buttons MSM Turn and Mill-Turn do not have jogging controls for the A-Axis.

2.1.2 Hot keys MSM Turn and Mill-Turn use the MachStdMill hot keys – see the MachStdMill User manual.



3 MachStdMill Turn 3.1 General Work Flow The MSM-Turn pages follow the MSM conventions and work flow ordering.

3.1.1 Starting the Mill When Mach3 starts, it loads the default/last loaded Screen set. If you have installed MachStdMill-Lathe previously and created a MSM Turn profile (see the readme for installation instructions), Mach should be set to load MachStdMill Turn upon start up. As with Mill mode, MachStdMill starts up on the Load page so that you are ready to reference the machine and load (or create) G-code.

3.1.2 Loading Code Below is the Load page as it will typically appear once the machine is running and taken out of E-stop.



Figure 6: Load Page on start up Many of the controls on the Load page have already been covered in the MachStdMill User manual. Let’s look at the MSM Turn specific controls on the Load page.

3.1.2.1 Tool Path Display Window On the right of the G-code Button Panel is the Tool Path display window and Tool Path control button panel.

Figure 7: Tool Path Window and Buttons The Tool Path window shows a plot of the G-code tool path and Tool tip Z height. The Tool Path window in MSM Turn is oriented to show typical lathe parts/paths (wider than tall). Note: the blank area below the tool path display on this page is intended for later expansion.

3.1.2.2 Referencing the Axes Like MachStdMill mill operations, MSM Turn requires a referenced machine for some operations. You are encouraged to install and use home switches with MSM Turn. The extents panel for MSM Turn shows only the X and Z axes as those are the only axes that will be in the g-code program.

Figure 8: MachStdMill-Lathe Program Extents panel



The actual axis sequence used to “ref all home” is controlled by a configuration option on the setting page. Because MSM Turn and Mill-Turn operations naturally want different axis sequences, you can select two different options. Please see the Settings page section for more details.

Figure 9: Lathe Configuration Options



3.1.2.3 Loaded G-code

Figure 10: Sample G-code loaded

3.1.3 Setting Work Coordinate Offsets Use the page navigation buttons at the bottom of the page to change to the WC Offset page.



Figure 11: Turn offset page Let’s briefly examine the key differences between MSM Mill and MSM Turn controls.

3.1.3.1 Work Coordinate Offset Selection Panel

Figure 12: WC selection panel Mach uses G55 in a special way to support rear tool posts. Therefore, a direct button for G55 is not provided in MSM Turn. This lowers the chance of you from using it and thereby conflicting



with Mach’s internal use of the G55 WC system. If you really want G55 for a special reason, you can select it from the MDI line.

3.1.3.2 Work Coordinate Panel This panel provides detailed information about the calculation of the current WC position from Machine Coordinates (MC). It also provides controls to set the WC zero of each axis.

Figure 13: WC offset detail panel The preceding figure, is what you see when Mach is in radius mode. If mach is in diameter mode , the panel will look like this:

Figure 14: WC Offset Panel - Diameter Mode In Diameter mode, the WC current position has to be divided by 2 to make the equation balance.

3.1.4 Setting up Tools All lathe tool offsets are set up relative to the machine coordinate origin. For turn (XZ) use, the origin will always be 0,0 in machine coordinates.

3.1.4.1 Current Tool Information Panel This panel shows information about the currently loaded tool.



Figure 15: Current Tool Information Panel A tool change for turn mode is done with G-code syntax Txxyy where xx is the tool number and yy is the offset number to use. The “xx” portion is shown in the current tool number DRO and the “yy” position is shown in the “Offset” DRO. The offsets shown are those from the tool table entry for tool “yy”. The Turret Angle value in the Mach tool table is not used by Mach (the Mach documentation says it was included for possible use by ATC scripts). MSM Mill-Turn uses this tool table entry to support mill-turn Y axis Offsets (See the mill-turn sections for more detail).

3.1.4.2 Tool Touch off MSM Turn supports touch off of lathe tools to set WC Offsets and/or Lathe Tool Geometry Offsets.



Figure 16: XZ only Lathe touch off panel Like MachStdMill Turn supports both regular tool and Master Tool Mode usage.

3.1.4.2.1 Master Tool Mode OFF To touch off a tool, set the touch DRO to the position of the tool tip (for X, typically the measured diameter/radius of a test cut; and for Z, usually 0 to set the WC Z0 point of the stock) and then click on one of the blue tool graphic buttons. When MSM is not in Master Tool Mode (MTM), a X/Z touch operation sets the corresponding WC Offset for the current WC system. The WCO is calculated by forcing the WC to become the value in the touch panel DRO. Note that the X DRO may is either a radius or a diameter value depending on the radius/diameter configuration of Mach.

3.1.4.2.2 Master Tool Mode ON When MSM has Master Tool Mode ON, the touch off actions depend on the tool that is being touched off.

3.1.4.2.2.1 Master Tool



In Master Tool Mode (MTM), touching off the master tool will set the X/Z WCO for the current WC system.

3.1.4.2.2.2 Non-Master Tool When using a non-master tool in MTM mode, the touch operation will set the Tool Offset for the tool to be relative to the master tool. This allows you to set all the tools (for example, in QC holders) and then use the master to set the X,Z stock zero points.

3.1.4.2.3 X Touch The following picture shows a shoulder having been turned and the Tool Tip on the turned diameter.

Figure 17: X Touch The shoulder diameter/radius would be entered in to the X touch DRO and the X Touch graphic arrow clicked to set the X Offset for the tool.

3.1.4.2.4 Z Touch The following picture shows the end having been faced off, and the Tool Tip touching the faced surface.

Z

X



Figure 18: Z Touch

If zero is entered into the Z touch DRO, and the Z Touch graphic arrow is clicked, the WC Z 0 point will be set to the faced surface.

3.1.5 Running G-code Next we will examine the page used to start, stop and control the running of G-code Programs.

3.1.6 Run Page Use the page navigation buttons at the bottom of the page to change to the Run page. All the controls on the MSM Turn run page are described in the MachStdMill User Manual. The layout of the page is designed to support lathe operations. Note: The turn run page is a subset of the mill-turn run page.



Figure 19: XZ run page There is also a “Big Path Window” version of the run page.



Figure 20: Big Path Run Page

3.2 Tool Handling The handling of tool changes is essentially similar to MSM. The MSM mill concepts of RH/NRH holder are not present for Turn (typical CNC lathe tools can be considered as being all “RH” by nature)2.

3.2.1 Intro to the Tooling Page Let’s take a look at the MSM Turn tooling page.

2 We don’t think that support of the concept of “NRH” (like a rocker tool post) makes a lot of sense for a CNC lathe.



Figure 21: Tooling Page The current and browse tool panels show the tool parameters for a lathe tool.

3.2.2 The current tool panel The current tool panel shows data for the currently active tool (the current tool # DRO) and the currently active tool offset (the Offset # DRO).



Figure 22: Current Tool Panel

3.2.3 The browse tool panel The Browse panel always shows the information for the tool table entry given by the Browse Tool Number DRO.



Figure 23: browse tool panel

3.2.3.1 Tool Edit dialog The Edit button will open the tool parameter edit dialog which is used to edit any of the available tool attributes.



Figure 24: Tool Edit Dialog The following figures show the Tool Type numbers for turning tools. The tool tip types are used by mach when cutter compensation is active.

Figure 25: Front Tool Post Tip Types Figure 26: Rear Tool Post Tool Tip Types

NOTE: The ability to edit the Front/Rear tool post attribute will only appear if the running Mach Version is 3.43.66 or later. Prior to that Mach Version, there were not any MACH APIs to access this attribute.

Type 1

Type 4

Type 8 Type 3

Type 5

Type 6

Type 7

Type 2



3.2.4 Tool table loading & saving The MSM tool table load/save to disk operations have been extended to include lathe tools.

NOTE: saving a tool table from MSM version that includes MSM Turn support will update the tool disk file to a new tool table file format (V3). MSM Mill + Turn releases can load older MSM tool tables (V2) or the new V3 format.

However, if you create a V3 tool table, then go back to a prior MSM mill only release version (before MSM Turn), the old MSM Mill version will not be able to load the V3 tool table from disk (as the table will contain information that was not invented when that version of MSM was implemented).

3.2.4.1 Current Position Panel This panel displays current position information.

Figure 27: XZ only Current Position panel

3.2.4.2 TC Position Panel

Figure 28: XZ only TC Position Panel

3.2.4.2.1 Go TC Pos’n



This button will move to the TCP shown in the TCP DROs. The axis sequence is determined by the “Hone and TC Sequence” controls on the Settings page.

3.2.4.3 TC Options & Master Tool Mode Panel This panel contains Tool Change and Master Tool Mode option controls. For turn only screens the panel has two primary functions:

a) To set the use of the Tool Change Position (TCP) option b) To control Master Tool Mode.

Figure 29: TC Options & Master Tool Mode Panel The panel has a “TC Auto TCP” option similar to what MSM mill operation has.

For MSM turn operation, the sequence is controlled by the “home & TC Sequence” settings on the settings page. The Auto XY Set tool change option should (probably) not be used for MSM Turn and should always be off. However, it is a common control with MSM Mill-Turn and is in the options panel for MSM Turn so that if the operator can see if this is active. IN MSM Turn, the button is Orange when on to indicate a warning to the operator, In MSM Mill-Turn the On state of the button is green.

Figure 30: Auto XY Set warning for Turn





4 MachStdMill Mill-Turn The MachStdMill Mill-Turn screens provide support for turning operations using a mill. Because of the 3 axis nature of a mill, the Mil-Turn support has to address how to deal with Y (and sometimes X) axis offsets. The general design approach for Mill-Turn was have the tool change operation handle all the Mill-Turn specific aspects of Tooling positioning. This reduces the runtime task to the standard XZ operation of a lathe. By using the MSM Mill-Turn package, you can run Lathe G-code on your mill.

4.1 General Work Flow The MSM Mill-Turn pages follow the MSM conventions and ordering. This section will describe the additional controls in the Mill-Turn screens which provide Mill-turn support.

4.1.1 Starting the Mill MachStdMill starts up on the Load page so that you are ready to reference the machine and load (or create) G-code.

4.1.2 Loading Code Below is the Load page as it will typically appear once the machine is running and taken out of E-stop.



Figure 31: Load Page on start up The controls on the MSM Mill-Turn load page have already been covered in the previous sections.

4.1.3 Setting Work Coordinate Offsets Use the page navigation buttons at the bottom of the page to change to the WC Offset page.



Figure 32: Mill-turn Work Coordinate Offset - Touch Page Let’s briefly examine the key differences between MSM Turn and Mill-Turn controls.

4.1.3.1 Work Coordinate Panel This panel provides detailed information about the calculation of the current WC from Machine Coordinates (MC). It also provides controls to set the WC zero of each axis.

Figure 33: WC offset detail panel Since MSM Mill-Turn can (and must) utilize Y for tool center line positioning, the WC panel shows X and Z axis rows and then the Y Axis row.



The Y row does not have the Tool Wear column (as the Y offset position will not “wear” as the tool is used). The Y offset is used by MSM Mill-Turn to position the tool on the Y center of the mill spindle Axis. The “Y offset” is “applied” manually by MSM since mach does not handle a Y offset calculation when in Turn mode. Therefore, the WC Y position of the Z Axis center line will be different for each tool when it is aligned with the spindle centerline (i.e. Y is not always = 0). The previous figure is what you see when Mach is in radius mode. If Mach is in diameter mode , the panel will look like this:

Figure 34: WC Offset Panel - Diameter Mode In Diameter mode, the WC current position has to be divided by 2 to make the equation balance.

4.1.3.1.1 Tool Block Origin For Mill-Turn use, Mach’s G52 functionality is used to position lathe tooling block in Machine coordinates. The G52 offsets are given in the “Tool Blk Offset” column. These DROs can be set from a Mill-Turn probing operation, or they can be manually set via the MDI line using G52 commands.

4.1.4 Setting up Tools With MSM Mill-Turn, the Tool Block Origin is used as the tooling reference point and all lathe tool offsets are set up relative to the tool block origin. If the TB Offsets are all = 0, the tool offsets will be relative to the machine’s MC zero point.

4.1.4.1 Current Tool Information Panel The current tool panel in MSM Mill-Turn has additional information that is not presented or used in the Turn only screens.



Figure 35: Mill-Turn Current Tool Panel The differences are along the bottom row of the panel.

4.1.4.1.1 Turn Tool Type An additional DRO is present in Mill-Turn: the Turn Tool Type DRO. This display indicates the type of the tool currently mounted. It values are: Turning, Center and Boring. A Turning tool is used to turn outside diameters A center tool is used to do spindle center line (ex: drilling ) operation on the stock mounted in the mill spindle. A boring tool is used to bore material from the inside of the stock. MSM Mill-turn uses this categorization of tool type to know how to position the different types of tool wrt to X&Y during a tool change.

4.1.4.1.2 Y Offset / turret The Turret Angle value in the Mach tool table is not used by Mach (the Mach documentation says it is intended for possible use by ATC scripts). MSM Mill-turn uses this tool table entry to store the Y Tool Geometry Offset for each tool. A Y offset value is necessary as the Y value is not physically fixed for Mill-Turn tools use as it is for tools on a simple Turn (XZ) lathe.

4.1.4.2 Single Turning Tool The simples approach to tooling is to clamp a lathe tool in a vise mounted to the mill bed.



Figure 36: Single turning tool mounted in vise To use this tool for a turning operation, we need to set up the offsets for the tool. For Mill-Turn, a front tool post arrangement (like that pictured) is the equivalent of a front tool post manual lathe. Think of the manual lathe as standing on end and the lathe spindle is now the mill spindle. The following figures illustrate the relationship between a manual lathe and MSM Mill-Turn.

Touch Y

Touch Y

Touch Y

Manual Lathe, Front tool post, looking at spindle from tail stock

Direction of stock rotation,Tool about on center line….If perfectly on center line,

there will be no nub

As we cut toward center,we see that we are not on

Center line. Diam is the result of a

combo of X and Y position.

Y

X

Once we are past X center, The nub diameter is only the

Result of Y offset.

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3



Figure 37: Cutting Low leaves a Nub on a Manual Lathe

Mill Turn, Front tool post, looking down at table,

FROM above spindle….

Direction of stock rotation,Tool about on center line….If perfectly on center line,

there will be no nub

As we cut toward center,we see that we are not on

Center line. Diam is the result of a

combo of X and Y position.

Y

X

Once we are past X center, The nub diameter is only the

Result of Y offset.

Touch Y

Touch Y

Touch Y

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3

Figure 38: Cutting Low with Mill-Turn

4.1.4.2.1 Tool Touch off MSM Mill-Turn supports touch off of lathe tools to set various offsets. The offsets involved will depend on whether you are using Master Tool Mode or not.



Figure 39: Mill-Lathe Tool Offset panel The touch off procedure for X and Z was covered in the MSM Turn section of this manual. For Mill-Turn operation, there is also a facility provided to “touch off” the Y position for a tool. Doing this will calculate a “Y Tool Offset” for the tool. The Y touch operation requires that the tool be positioned at a Y offset diameter which can be known. One procedure to do this is to face off the stock, intentionally leaving a (measureable) nub in the center: Set the Tool to cut “low” from the spindle center line and then, using a slow jogging feed rate, face the stock leaving a nub in the center (note that a slightly larger nub is easier to measure than a tiny nub). After cutting the nub, jog the tool out of the way first using the Z axis, then the X Axis. Do not move the Y axis while jogging Z and X. Now that the tool has been jogged out of way, measure the diameter of the nub and enter it into the “Y nub Diameter Adjustment” DRO. To set the Y Offset, click the “Touch Y” graphic button. MSM will set the Y axis WCO appropriately (depending on the state of Master Tool Mode) and calculate the Y Tool Offset value for the current tool.

4.1.4.2.1.1 Gang Tooling Offsets This panel also supports the ability to set a fixed offset value DRO for Y in Mill-Turn mode.



This supports tooling fixtures where the turning tools are not mounted on a quick change tool post, but are mounted to a plate in the style of gang tooling. With fixtures like that, each turning tool would be at a different Y location. Typically this is used as follows: The master tool is used to determine the reference location. Each of the other tools might be spaced evenly along the tooling plate, for example 2.75” apart. When setting the Y offset of these tools, multiples of the 2.75” spacing needs to be added to the Y offset total to get the tool to go to Y center when the Y offset is applied. If the master tool were tool #1, and each of three additional tools were located at multiples of 2.75 inches (in Y ) from the master, then the fixed Y offset value for each tool would be: (tool # - 1) * 2.75” However, such geometric knowledge is not built into the Y touch off interface (there is no calculation done based on tool number) as this would build a tool fixture geometry into MSM. Instead the implementation is generalized and simple:

The value entered into the “Fixed Y Offset” DRO is added to the value calculated from the Y nub measurement and the total is entered into the tool table as the Y offset.

For turn tooling held in holders for a quick change post (an example shown in the MSM lathe manual) this DRO would typically be set = 0 (as all the holders are at the same general Y location and you can let the Y offset from the nub measurement handle differences from tool to tool (say for insert height).

4.1.4.2.2 Low vs. High The terms “cutting low” and “cutting high” are relative to the Y0 (spindle center line) of the stock in the mill spindle. The “Y+” direction is the one that would cause the tool to cut “higher” from center as Y increases. Going in the Y- direction causes the tool to “cut lower”. This is illustrated in the following picture:



Figure 40: Front tool post, Cutting High Cutting Low happens when the tool tip is off center in the Y- direction.

Y+ (higher)

Y- (Lower)



Figure 41: front tool post, cutting low You want to make the Y touch cut by cutting low (if you cut high, the tool thickness would have to cut thru the nub you want to leave). The preceding pictures illustrate the situation for front tool posts. Note: MSM will take care of adjusting the Y tool Offset between front and rear tool post configurations.

4.1.4.2.3 Aligning Y with the spindle axis center Once you have touched off Y, the system now has a Tool Offset for the Y axis. To apply the “Y offset” for a tool manually, you can use the “Move Tool to Y center” button to move the tool tip to the Y center of the spindle axis.

Y + Cutting High

Y- Cutting Low



Figure 42: Move Tool to Y Center button

Mill Turn, Front tool post, looking down at table,

FROM above spindle….We enter Y nub diameter

And click Touch YThe Y offset is calculated from the entered

Diameter.

Touch Y

Fig 3

Jog Tool in X to be away from Stock outer diam

Touch Y

Fig 4

The “Move Tool To Y Center” buttonMoves the tool tip to the center in Y (for me).

Touch Y

Fig 5

Y

X

Y

X

Figure 43:Cutting a Nub in Mill-Turn Note: If you are using stop & wait tool changes, you can also use the “Auto XY set” tool change option to move tools to the spindle center line as part of a tool change. This provides an automated way to apply the Y tool offset to each tool when it mounted.

4.1.5 Multiple Tools & Lathe Tooling Fixtures Of course, it is nice to be able to use multiple tools. MSM Mill-Turn supports multiple tool use via the Mach Stop&Wait tool change feature. Once the tool offsets are set for the lathe tools, the MSM Mill-turn tool change sequence can automatically adjust the XY position of a tool during the tool change.



The basic operational sequence is to mount a lathe tool holding block on the mill table (often in the mill vise, or on the mill’s bed). A corner of the Tool block is used as the fixture reference point and tool offsets are set relative to that corner point. You can use an MSM probing operation to locate and set the reference point of your lathe Tool Block. This allows you to set tool offsets once for the tools used with the fixture and to only need to find the fixture corner when mounting the Tool block. The MSM probing facilities have been enhanced to understand the Mill-Turn Tool Block concept; this can make locating the Tool Block reference point a single click probing operation.

4.1.5.1 Tool Block Fixtures If using more than one tool, it becomes necessary to utilize some type of tooling fixture to hold/mount tooling. There are many approaches you can take, some are described here. To use MSM mill-turn, you need to have a way to mount lathe tools on the mill. Example of ways to do this include:

1. A lathe tool simply clamped in a vise 2. A Quick Change tool post mounted to the mill bed. 3. A gang tooling plate.

MSM Mill-turn supports a single tool block. MSM Mill-turn does not support multiple physically separate lathe tooling plate each with an independent origin.

4.1.5.1.1 Single tool A previous section showed a single tool clamped in a mill vise.

4.1.5.1.2 Quick Change (QC) tool post A QC tool post can be mounted to the mill and used to hold lathe tools for Mill-Turn operations. If you have a manual mill, using the same size QC post will enable you to use your existing lathe tooling on the mill. A QC Tool Block fixture is used in many of the picture in this manual. Here is a picture of a QC Tool Block:



Figure 44: Quick Change Tool Post fixture

4.1.5.1.3 Gang Tooling block You can also create a gang tooling block that mounts multiple tools to the Block. Each tool has it’s own set of offsets and can be positioned for use during an Mill-Turn tool change.

4.1.5.1.4 Combinations: A QC post and other tools can be combined into a single fixture. Here is a picture of a Gang Block that incorporates both a QC post and additional Center tool locations:



Figure 45: Combination Tool Holder Here is the Tool Block mounted on a Bridgeport mill bed3:

Figure 46: Gang Tooling Plate

3 Tool Block pictures courtesy of Tom Hesselman



4.1.6 Setting the Tool Block Origin The QC tool post and the gang tooling plate are two examples of fixtures that can provide repeatable tooling locations (relative to the mill’s home position). To do that, you need to be able to locate the tooling fixture. MSM Mill-Turn supports the concept of a lathe “Tool Block”. The Tool Block is a fixture with which you can mount lathe tools on the mill at a known (or easily found) position each time the tool block is mounted. The TB Zero needs to be set once after the TB is mounted and MSM Mill-Turn is started.

Notes: 1) There is a Mach bug (or maybe it’s intentionally this way) that prevents offsets in turn from being persistent. Even if the Mach general config option for persistent DROs, and persistent tool selection are set, Mach does not appear to remember G52/G92 offsets or Lathe Tool Offsets from the last session when Mach is started.

2) Be aware that after Mach starts in turn mode, Tool offsets are not applied even when the current tool number is not 0. An initial tool change is required for Mach to apply tool offsets. 3) Mach has a configuration option under Config / General that will do a G92.1 at each program end or rewind. Since G92.1 is the command to reset all G92 and G52 offsets, this will cause Mach to clear the Tool Block zero offsets each time a program ends. For MSM Mill-turn use, we recommend that you turn this Mach option OFF.

If the Tool Block is moved, the Tool block reference corner will also need to be re-found and the TB Zero reset. This use of G52/92 in Mill-Turn enables the setting and use off Lathe Tool Offsets which are relative to the TB reference/origin point. Thus, tools can be set once and only the TB zero needs to be re-loaded whenever the TB is mounted (the Tool offset values are stored in the tool table, and they will be persistent as long as you either save the mach tool table and/or save the tool table to a named disk file using the MSM Save As button). The TB Zero should be done before touching off any tools so that the tool offsets will be relative to TB Zero rather than to the machine coordinates origin. This is a picture of a QC tool post fixture that is designed to be mounted in the mill vise:



Figure 47: Quick Change Tool Post fixture

4.1.6.1 Caution: M30 Options Mach provides several options for actions which happen when a M30 M-Code is executed. These options are set via the Mach General Config dialog:

Fixture Origin



Figure 48: M30 Options A couple of these options can cause havoc with Mill-turn operations and you probably want to check to make sure they are off.

4.1.6.1.1 Perform G92.1 Option If this is checked, Mach will perform a G92.1 command for every M30 in the G-code. Since Mach uses common offsets registers to implement both G92 and G52 offsets, and G92.1 is the Mach command to clear G92 offsets, this option will also clear the G52 offsets. G52 offsets are used by MSM Mill-Turn to support the Tool Block Zero feature. If this M30 option is checked, at the end of every program, Mach will remove the offsets that determine where the Tool Block Zero is – and that can cause an unpleasant surprise when you go to run a lathe program a second time. To avoid loosing the Tool Block Zero location, double check your configuration options to make sure that the “Perform G92.1” M30 Option is NOT CHECKED.

4.1.6.1.2 Remove Tool Offset Option Another Option that can cause a similar surprise is the “Remove Tool Offset” option. This will turn off the tool offsets when a M30 is executed. In lathe mode, the only way to apply offsets is via the Txxyy tool change word. If you have this option set, you will need to remount the tool that was last used by a program to reply the tool’s offsets. Automatic removal of Tool offset on M30 may make sense for Mill programs, but it is not an option we advise using with MSM Mill-Turn.

4.1.6.2 Mill-Turn Probing Operations To locate the fixture, mount the tool block, and use the Mill-Turn probing operations to find the reference corner of the fixture; this sets the current WC origin to the tool block reference corner.



4.1.6.2.1 Mounting the Probe tool The probe tool is handled as a special tool within MSM Mill-Turn. To mount the probe tool, you MUST use a tool change command of the form Txxxx. The Offset index MUST be the same as the probe tool number. For example, if your probe tool is set to be tool #99, you mount the tool with MDI T9999. Since the probe tool is not a lathe tool, you can’t use arbitrary lathe XZ offsets with the probe tool. This is restriction is required for probe tool use in MSM while in Mill-Turn mode.

4.1.6.2.2 Block alignment and corner probing MSM Mill-Turn provides the full set of face and block probing routines. For a detailed description of probing setup and these routines, see the MachStdMill User Manual.

Figure 49: Mill-Turn Block Probe Operations The operator uses the probing routines to set the XYZ WC zero to the reference point on the Tool Block. The Tool Block edge probing routines are show in the following figure:



Figure 50: Edge Probing Panel The probing operations will operate whether there are Tool Block offsets active or not. Probing with Tool Block offsets active will result in WC offsets that are relative to the current Tool Block zero point. Since the primary use of this page is to find the Tool Block zero location, probing with Tool Block offsets already active is probably not what you intend to be doing. Therefore, a warning indicator is shown in the panel whenever the Tool Block Offsets are not zero.



Figure 51: Tool Block Offsets Active Warning

Figure 52: Tool Block Origin Example

Fixture Origin



The WC origin can then be used to set as the Tool Block offsets, by simply clicking the “Set TB Zero” button.

Figure 53: Set TB zero button A new button has been added to the MSM Mill Professional Edition Mill-Turn probing page. This is the “Set TB Zero” button. This button will store the current MC coordinate position of the Current WC origin as the TB Zero location. This button supports easy location of the Lathe tool holding block on the mill when running Mill-Turn. Now that the tool block corner is known to be the reference (zero) point, the QC post can be used to mount all the normal lathe tools for use in MSM Mill-Turn and the lathe tool offsets you set up will be relative to the Tool Block reference point.

“Set TB Zero” button



Figure 54: Mill-Turn Circular Pocket & Post Probing Page

4.1.6.2.3 Center Tool Location Probing On a lathe, center cutting tools are physically positioned on the X0 center line. With a manual lathe these tools are mounted in tail stock (which is on the center line), and for a CNC lathe the turret places center cutting tools on the spindle center line. When using a Mill, for tuning, center tools are not physically constrained to the spindle center line when they are mounted, yet they need to be positioned on the center line when they are used. MSM Mill-turn can use a probe to find the center of a cutting tool position and will then create the offsets necessary to position the tool on the spindle center line as part of the Mill-Turn tool change sequence.

4.1.6.2.4 Lathe Tool Offset Index



For each of the probing operation on this page, the probe operation will result in the offsets begin set for the tool number entered into the Lathe Toll Offset Index DRO. The position offsets are automatically entered for the tool as part of the probing operation. If you only want to find the tool location, but not set the offsets, turn on the “Probe Only” button.

4.1.6.2.5 Circular Pocket Probing See the MachStdMill User Manual for a detailed description of this probing operation. If you are mounting center cutting tools in bores in a Tool Block, this operation will find and set the tool’s location offsets.

4.1.6.2.6 Circular Post Probing See the MachStdMill User Manual for a detailed description of this probing operation. If you want to find the center of a tool mounted in a chuck (chuck jaws are generally not round in cross section), a simple technique is to mount a bar in the chuck, and use the post center probe routine to find the tool’s center coordinates.

4.1.6.3 Y Offset Probing The Probe Y+ arrow can also be used to find Y offsets for a tool. The sequence for this is illustrated in the following figure:

Using mill to probe for Lathe Tool Y offsetTop view (Looking toward Mill Z-) Side view (Looking toward Mill Y+)

Step 1: Jog probe tip center to Z ;eve; of Tool Tip

Step 3: Probe in Y+ direction finds Y offset for Tool Tip

Step 2: Jog probe in XY to be off of lathe tool tip

Figure 55: Y Offset Probing



It should be noted that the use of Y probing, may or may not result in as accurate a value for the Y offset as the Y touch off procedure. Depending on the geometry of the lathe tool, probing with a spherical probe tip to accurately find the point of the lathe tool cutting tip can be problematic. On the other hand, it may be an acceptable trade of between ease of setup and absolute accuracy. Many carbide inserts have a flat center area that is easy to find with the probe tip, and many carbide tool holders have a flat top surface. Both surfaces are often only slightly above the actual tool tip plane (by maybe 0.002” or so). This can result in a Y offset which causes the tool to cut at tad low – and cutting just low of center is common practice for a manual lathe. The operator will need to decide what Y offset option best suits their needs.

4.1.6.4 Center Tool X Offsets. The way MSM Mill-Turn handles tools during a tool change is dependent on the type of the tool being mounted. This is the purpose of the “Turn Tool Type” tool attribute. The Turn Tool Type attribute can have one of three possible values:

o Turning o Center o Boring

The Tool Change option “Auto XY Set” controls how MSM positions a tool during a tool change.

Figure 56: Auto XY Set When this option is off, no additional tool positioning is preformed. For regular turn operations (XZ axes only) this option will usually be off. When this option is on, the MSM tool change positioning actions are determined by the type of the tool.

If this option is on, all tool changes will adjust the lathe tool for Y offset to put the tool tip on the spindle Y center line.

The Probe tool special Case: No additional positioning is done when the probe tool is mounted.



Adjustment for X axis moves as part of the tool change is dependent on the TurnToolType. Type = Center: Tool is moved to X0 so that center tool will be on center line of the mill spindle Type = Turning or Boring: no X position adjustment is done

Here is an example of a center line tool mounted on a QC post which is aligned in X and Y after a tool change:

Figure 57: Center cutting Tool on QC post Note: In the picture above, the boring tool holder is for a 0.75” boring bar – which makes a convenient way to mount for a Tormach TTS holder with a small chuck (TTS holders happen to have a 0.75” diameter shank).

4.1.7 Run Page: Running G-code Next we will examine the page used to start, stop and control the running of G-code Programs.



Use the page navigation buttons at the bottom of the page to change to the Run page.

Figure 58: Sample Program – XZY Run Page All the controls on the MSM-Lathe run page are described in the MachStdMill User Manual. The layout of the page is designed to support mill-turn operations. Note: We wanted to create a load and run page that had the tool path rotated vertically to match how you would see the path on a Mill – however, mach does not currently provide a way to rotate the tool path window. There is also a “Big Path Window” version of the run page:



Figure 59: Mill-Turn Big Path Run Page



4.2 Tool Handling

4.2.1 Intro to the Tooling Page Let’s take a look at the MachStdMill Mill-Turn tooling page.

Figure 60: Tooling Page

4.2.1.1 Current Position Panel This panel displays current position information.



Figure 61: Current Position Panel

4.2.1.2 TC Position Panel

Figure 62: Tool Change Position Panel The MSM Mill-Turn page includes a Y position for the TCP.

4.2.1.2.1 Go TC Pos’n This button will move to the TCP shown in the TCP DROs. The sequence is determined by controls on the settings page.

4.2.1.3 TC Options & Master Tool Mode Panel This panel contains Tool Change and Master Tool Mode option controls. The panel has two primary functions:

a) To set TC options b) To control Master Tool Mode.



Figure 63: TC Options & Master Tool Mode Panel The panel has the “TC Auto TCP” option previously described. With Mill-Turn and the TC Auto TCP option is ON, you can also select the “Auto XY Set” option as part of a tool change. Since mach does not handle a Y offset for a tool in lathe mode, MSM Mill-Turn does this. The convention is that when setting up tools for mill-turn use, you also set up a Y Tool Offset in the tool table. Then, during the tool change, the tool holding block will be moved to a known position (the TCP) away from the stock. After the tool is physically changed, and the “stop & wait” tool change sequence is continued by the operator, MSM will then adjust the Y axis position to account for the new tool’s Y Offset. This has the effect of placing all tools on the Y center line of the spindle when the tool is mounted. MSM Mill-Turn will also adjust the X position for Center tools during a tool change so that the tool is aligned to X0 (so drilling tools are positioned on center). The net result is that the variations in XY location that comes from Mill-turn operation is removed at tool change time and lathe programs can run without having any knowledge of the Mill-Turn axis offset settings.



5 MachStdMill Configuration Settings Page Previous sections have covered the MachStdMill pages used to load, setup and execute G-code programs. This section covers the remaining Turn specific page: The Settings page.

5.1 Settings Page

5.1.1 Settings – Common This page contains the MachStdMill Turn and Mill-Turn configuration settings.

Figure 64: Mill-Turn Settings Page

5.1.1.1 General Settings & Motion Settings Control Groups These controls are the same as the description in the MSM User manual.

5.1.1.2 Lathe Configuration Group These settings are specific to Turn and Mill-Turn operation.



Figure 65: Lathe Configuration Options Group

5.1.1.2.1 Probing Ver and Debug Setup buttons These buttons are only present in the Professional Edition Mill-Turn screens, they function as described in the MSM Mill user manual.

5.1.1.2.2 S&W (Stop & Wait) M5 Option When in Lathe mode, and the Stop & Wait Tool Change Mach option is selected, Mach does not actually stop the spindle as part of the tool change sequence. This is consistent with the way some industrial CNC lathe controls work. For CNC lathes with tool changers that action makes sense. However, for lathes without tool changers that action requires the operator to go into the machines work envelope while the spindle is running and that can be dangerous. For Mill-Turn operations, operators are used to having mach stop the spindle as part of the tool change sequence. To enable Mach’s lathe mode to behave analogously to Mach’s mill mode, MSM adds the option to have the tool change sequence stop the spindle at the start of a Stop & Wait tool change. Additionally, this option will restore the spindle state at the end of the tool change sequence (so that the spindle is in the state expected by the G-code after the tool change is completed).

5.1.1.2.3 Front / Rear Post The front/rear button selects front / rear tool post mode in Mach. Note that the Mach turn manual strongly recommends NOT to change between front and rear tool posts dynamically! The “F to R Dist” DRO sets the distance between the front and rear tool posts.

5.1.1.2.4 Home & TC Sequence



These (mutually exclusive) buttons control the Homing and go to Tool Change Position axis sequences. For straight lathes (MSM Turn), the usual selection is “X Z (Y)”. This will first move the tool away form the stock in X, then Z and finally it will move Y (If the Y axis is enabled). For Mill-Turn operation, the usual selection is “Z (Y) X”. This will first move Z, then the Y axis (if enabled) and finally the X axis.

5.1.1.3 Reference Point Settings These operate as described in the MSM User manual.

5.1.2 Settings - Spindle In MachStdMill Mill screens this is on a separate tab page. For MSM Turn and Mill-Turn, it is on the main settings page.

5.1.2.1 Rotating Spindle Pulley Panel This panel allows you to set the current (in use) pulley number and the minimum and maximum RPM for the pulley.

5.2 Reference Page The MachStdMill reference pages provide access to Mach3 and MachStdMill documentation and manuals, as well as quick reference information. These pages also provide information about the MachStdMill license terms and information about the installed MachStdMill license.



Figure 66: Main Reference page

5.2.1 Documentation Buttons Documentation buttons open the specified document using the PDF reader (configured via the Settings-Common page).

5.2.1.1 User Manual This button opens the MachStdMill LATHE User Supplement Manual (this document).

5.2.1.2 G&M Code Quick Ref This button opens the Mach3 LATHE G&M Code Quick reference document.

5.2.1.3 G-code Manual This button opens the Mach3 LATHE G-code manual.



6 MachStdMill Operational Changes from Mach3 V3 with 1024.Lset turn screens

6.1 Tool Changes

6.1.1 Tool Changes & G-code Modes Tool changes will change G-code modal states. In particular, with MachStdMill, at the end of the tool change sequence the machine will be in G90, G00 modes.

6.1.2 Tool Change Positioning

6.1.2.1 Auto TCP If the Auto TC Position button is on during a tool change, the tool will be taken to the defined tool change position as part of the tool change sequence. All tool change operations are done in G53 (machine) coordinates. Warning: Like most things CNC, if you set TCP to a bad location, you can crash the machine. Make sure you are happy with the TCP position before selecting the Auto TCP option.

6.2 Profile Dependant M-Code Macros

6.2.1 M-code Macro Updates MachStdMill Lathe support incorporates custom scripts into several M-code macros to integrate spindle control and tool change sequencing with MachStdMill Turn and Mill-Turn. These Macros are stored in profile dependant locations. In order to operate correctly, MSM will update the M-Codes of any profile that loads a MSM screen set.

6.2.1.1 Profiles and screen sets It is strongly recommended that you do not use multiple different screen sets with a single Mach3 profile. Using separate profiles, avoids the mixing of the MSM specific M-Codes with mach std M-Ccodes. Using mismatched M-Codes and screen sets can result in runtime errors and/or machine crashes. ALWAYS set up a separate profile to run MSM Turn or Mill-Turn and keep the profile separate form the profile you use to run other screen sets (e.g. Mach turn1024).



7 Customizing MachStdMill The same techniques described in the MSM user manual are applicable to MSM Turn and Mill-Turn. One caveat: Do not use screen4 to edit lset files, use Machscreen instead. A combination of Screen4 editing actions and bugs in Mach are likely to cause a lset file edited with screen4 to not render pages correctly. See the MSM release notes for more details.

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