Multiple Work Offsets in WinCNC?

[sgodding]

Haven't got my Stinger yet, but was reading through the comments here about setting up the recoil and it seemed like people were setting it up each time they used it. Does WinCNC support the concept of multiple saved work offsets? On my current Mach3 based machine, I have Y0 and Z0 permanently set up to the center of the indexer axis as Work Offset 6 (my machine wraps Y around X). When I want to do work on the indexer, I just change from Work Offset 1 to Work Offset 6, and then I only have to worry about where to set X0, and then only if I use a different work holding method than usual or want to move the work further down the indexer. This does require that you have some kind of touch-off method or know the tool length in order to make sure the machine knows where the end of the tool is. Just wondering how you guys do this so that you don't have a lot of set up each time you use the indexer.

[eandico]

Steve,
Yes you can set multiple home positions in wincnc as well.

I have one for my table home one for surfacing the spoil board and one for the rotary.

I could set more but I don't have anything else that is repetitive.

[de5]

Steve, I would also recommend starting each tap file with the home position it uses. If my file begins with G0 H2, it is going to be cut at home position 2, which is my rotary. I have taken it a step further and created a pp for each of my home positions. When I am saving toolpaths, I choose the appropriate pp (H1, H2, H3, etc) and it automatically adds the correct home position at the beginning of the file. The only time I ever have to think about where the file is going to be cut is when I am choosing the pp in artcam or aspire. Wincnc comes with 10 home positions, but you can add more with a quick edit of the ini file.

[Charlie_L]

Yes, you can set 10 home positions. In addition, some people set a home position for each project. In my case, I seldom place work in the same exact position on the table so every setup is a new home so to speak. I save the position, x0y0 just in case something goes wrong. Lets say for some reason I stop the cut and need to restart, maybe broke something. I can totally restart the machine, go back to the exact same home position, and do a restart to continue cutting. It is a really nice feature.

[Joey Jarrard]

You guys make me so proud.

[james mcgrew]

You can have more than ten positions,, this is just the default

[sgodding]

I really like the idea of having multiple named post-processors with the known home positions pre-coded in them. I also tend to move things around on the machine based on job size and this would make setup much more repeatable. Just need a white board with all the home positions written down so I don't forget them! This forum is great!

[james mcgrew]

Yes it is !! Yes it is

[rcrawford]

I'm not sure about the X3, but on my cobra ATC I set up a second set of 10 tools (same tool holders and tools, just different calibrations) specifically for my recoil (got the idea from Mick). So if I pick up tool 1 it is zero'd on the spoilboard. But tool 11 (same tool) is zero'd to the centre of the recoil. Tool 1 changes every time I surface the spoilboard. Tool 11 doesn't change ever. I set up new buttons on the WinCNC screen to measure each set of tools separately, or I can measure both sets at the same time. There are two settings for the calibration of the tool length measuring switch, one for the spoilboard and one for the recoil.

This, in combination with the home positions and separate post processors, makes working on the recoil effortless.