Using a spreadsheet to edit tools

[cnc-guy]

Awesome ... Thanks

[Alex Cole]

I also wanted to say that if you are looking for features not included in this utility let me know and I may look into what it might take to impliment.

 

Alex

[Leandro]

Alex:

I check your soft but I had some problems to test it. May be inspite of the Spanish Windows.

But i don´t think that this is what I´m looking for.

I personally "imagine" a tool where I can load my TXT file in a Excel sheet. An with the Excel tools (Filter,Auto filter, replace and so on) I cann change values from more to one tool in one time.

 

Something like this. Ofcourse with all the datas. Could be also in different sheets. for example one sheet for drills, one for flat mills.

 

And than I coould replace all the values from one type of tool in one step.

for example If I want to change all the 1 Peck %dia values from all my drills now I had to edit one by one all the tools. This is not simple.

With a sheet like this I could changes all values just in one time.

 

Obviously that there are some values that don´t make any sens to changes. I think diameter.

 

After I changs that what I need I had to save to TXT and brin it back to Mastercam.

 

Thanks

 

Leandro

[Alex Cole]

The app was designed to allow you to quickly go from one tools data to another to modify values without having to close and open each tool.

 

I will look into adding a mass change command that will allow a user to change a value on all tools of a type or somthing.

 

As for the language issue. I have found this now in two of my utilities. It appears that one of the functions I am using is only able to process the data using the character set that the application was compiled in. I am looking into it but I cannot make any promises as this is not my main job. I just like to make little apps in an attempt to help some of you guys out there.

 

 

Alex

[Alex Cole]

To those of you running Vista. I have converted this utility over to the Vista platform. I do not have access to upload it to our server from here but I can in the morning. Until then if you would like a copy emailed to you send me an email at [email protected] and I will send you back the install files.

 

The install is smaller than 1Mb.

 

Alex

[peon]

Leandro, that is EXACTLY what I'm looking for! Very simple and easy to make fast changes.

[NeilJ]

Alex, I downloaded your utility and will try it this weekend. Thanks for making the effort to do something about this problem. Will your utility work with Open Office's Calc Spreadsheet?

 

http://www.openoffice.org/product/calc.html

[Alex Cole]

No. At this point is uses no spread sheet. I am going to look into adding the mass replace field option.

 

Thinking about this. some of the fields will not be able to mass change or the mass change needs to be confined to the tool type.

 

I will try to add some stuff to it. It will just take a little time.

 

Alex

[Leandro]

Alex:

Thank you very much for all your colaboration.

Of course I undertstand that you are not a full time programmer for Spanish windows applycations.

 

But I will try your apllication.

 

Again I thank you very much.

 

Leandro

[Alex Cole]

I just wanted to let everyone know that now the download in my msg above and the link to download in this msg will be downloading the newer version that will run on the Windows Vista platform.

 

Please let me know how this works for you.

 

Download: www.fastechinc.net/Tool_Manager_REL.zip

 

Alex

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Hello Alex,

 

I gave it a shot and encounterred an Unhandled Exception Error every time I tried to go from one tool to the next.

 

Running Windows XP, Installed and re-booted. The TXT file was from an X3 library. Any suggestions?

[Alex Cole]

CNC Apps Guy. Thank you for providing feedback. Can you email me the error details you received with your tool lib. [email protected]

 

What tool type was it on.. In the error details was it processing line 7 data or 8.

 

Last night I had some time to do more extensive testing. I found some new values being output ouside the ranges of what the header describes.

 

I have made some fixes to catch two of the issues. I will be uploading that version and replacing the download that is currently available. Give me a little while and I will post an announcement when the new download is available.

 

Alex

[Alex Cole]

Revision 3 is now available for download. I found in my testing that some tools in X3 are outputting different cut types.

 

I have tested this version of Tool Manager and I cannot break it on my system here. Please let me know of any issues you encounter.

 

Download: www.fastechinc.net/Tool_Manager_REL.zip

 

Alex

[Dave Ball]

I had the same issue running on Vista home premium and an X3 library. I don't remember the tool type but it was processing line 7. I will look at this more later and give you some better feedback.

[Alex Cole]

Dave, Try the new download. It should fix the issues with invalid range values.

 

Let me know how the new download works on your systems.

 

Alex

[Dave Ball]

Thanks Alex, I'll give it a whirl and let ya know.

[Leandro]

Alex I could not install you app.

I suppose the Spanish windows.

Anyway I thank you very much.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

I just grabbed it. I'll install later and give more feedback.

[Mike Mattera - TFM]

I guess I still dont get it

 

What is it that you would need to mass modify in a spread sheet that you couldn't mass modify in a .txt file? If you bring it into excel, you cant use formulas for the values without freezing the values before you export it out to a .txt file.

 

It's it certainly important to spend the time getting your tool library right. I'll agree with that. But once the bulk of the major changes are made, you'll only do single tools after that.

 

It's a testimony to the capability of the people of this forum, how quickly someone developed a solution to Neil's problem. Very impressive work guys.

 

Mike Mattera

[Thee Rickster ™]

Mike,

 

its always like that. Sometimes you get 3 or 4 great answers by the time you come back with a coffee

 

Rick

[Alex Cole]

Mike, It's nice to hear from you again.

 

Alex

[Namliek_J@TheeCircle™]

quote:

---

I was hopeing someone had already setup a spreadsheet to do this as I don't have time or the inclination to setup a spreadsheet myself for this purpose.

---

thats your problem right there. you dont want to do anything for yourself.

 

if you want something done your way, then do it yourself. otherwise stop complaining.

[X-L Engineering Corp]

Robert,

[X-L Engineering Corp]

Robert,

I also have Crib Master and would like to import that info into Mastercam, my problem is my IT guy is swamped and doesn’t have time and I'm not that well versed in that end of programming. If you could get me started in the right direction I would appreciate it?

[Zoober]

Ted, What version of CM do you have?

It will make a difference in how the export file is done.

First though - and most important step - you need to make custom fields in Cribmaster to store the values that mastercam needs, but CM does not have as standard fields. Check the previous page of this thread, as I have some screenshots that may help.

 

I have 47 custom fields that I use to hold values such as SFM, IPT, Tool#, etc that are not already in CM.

Some of my custom fields are not even related to tools, but are flags as to which tools to export when. I even have a field that holds the MCX file for the tool definition or custom tool MCX file. That way, when I select custom tools, I have the file for verify/backplot. Works sweet.

 

I have many cribs. Main cribs of course, but also, every machine we have is a crib. When we check tools out, they are actually transferred to the machine's crib. That way, once we import into MCX, we have tool libraries for every machine, and our main cribs, vending machines, toolboss, etc.

 

Say I am programming a job for machine 1. I go to the 1 tool library and can select tools that are already at that machine. Or I can select from any other library. My setup sheets reflect the location of the tool, and if it its already setup at the machine, or needs to be checked out from a crib.

 

Then, depending on the Cribmaster version you have (SQL, Access, MSDE) you create a custom report, formatted to the way Mastercam wants the info.

This report is IMO easiest in Crystal reports, thought if you have SQL, you can do custom query jobs. I use the location flags to determine what export file the data is written to, and all of my import files are created at once.

 

Either way, schedule your reports at intervals you like. I export 2 times a day. That seems to be a decent interval, but you could do it every minute if you wanted to, and have truly "Live" libraries.

Caveat: The report generation can be a network hog, depending on how many tools,cribs, and libraries you have. I export approx. 10,000 tools.

 

Here is a shot of a report in Crystal. The UDF fields are the custom fields.

Note the the upper definition stuff is in the report header, so it is output only once.

 

 

HTH