Adding tools to a library

[Thad]

According to the help file, to create a new tool, right click, create new tool, fill out parameters page, and click OK. What is the "save to library" button for? If I just select OK, like the help file says, it saves the tool. If I select "save to library," after I compress the library, it now shows 2 copies of the tool. What's up with that? Is the "save to library" button really not needed?

 

Thad

[robk]

You have choices of multiple libraries...Unless all your machines are exactly the same, or you use MC to program just one machine, one library would be all you needed...Choices are great.

[P_Scott]

thad,

 

+1 robk. The "Save to Library" button, when selected, will give you a list of libraries to choose from so you can save the tool to any one of the supplied tool libraries, or a custom library. This is one way to create your own custom library of tools to be selected from whenever you are programming a job for a specific machine. Then you wouldn't have to go searching one of the supplied libraries for the tool you are looking for and adjust the parameters for length, diameter, speed or feed values. It's not necessary if you don't mind changing parameters of supplied tools. It could save you time if you have tools that have been customized for your own use. HTH

[Noel]

If you use the save tool to library. You have to make sure the library that you want the tool to go to is the last one you opened.

 

Noel

[Thad]

Thanks for the replies guys. I understand that I get the option of what library to save to. My question, which may not have been stated clearly originally, is why when I use the "save to library" button, do I get 2 copies of the tool (after I compress the library), and I only get 1 if I just click "OK"? It's as if "save to library" saves the tool and then clicking "OK" saves the tool again. Obviously, I only want one of each tool in my library. So....if clicking "save tool to library" will always give me 2 copies of the same tool and clicking "OK" will give me one tool, why would I ever select "save tool to library?" I see that I only gain the option of selecting a library to save it to, but only if I want to save it to a different library than the current one. But at the same time, I also gain the 'experience' of deleting the unwanted duplicate tool. Does that make sense or did I confuse the issue?

 

Thad

 

[ 05-12-2003, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: thad ]

[Thad]

I believe this to be a bug. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

If you select "save to library," you get 2 copies of the tool you just created (after you compress your library). If you just click "OK" when done, you get one tool, as desired.

 

Thad

[Chris Rizzo]

I know what your talking about Thad, so your not crazy...or maybe we both are. I've found it happen to me when I select a tool, and then decide to make some changes to the tool parameters. I want to of course "save" the changes for that particular tool, but doing so gives me a duplicate in my tool library...

 

I just assumed that I was doing something incorrectly (not an uncommon occurence)...

[PBpaul]

Thanks, Thad. It might be a bug, but I appreciate that you've pointed out a way to save changes to a tool without getting duplicate tools. That's been happening to me since day one.

Paul

[Thad]

I just figured it out. I had to create a new tool. When creating a new tool by right clicking in the white box in the tool parameters page (as opposed to the Tools Manager which can be accessed by NC Utils, def tools, library and select the library), clicking OK does not save the tool to the library. It only saves the tool for use in your program. In that case, clicking 'save to library' is what you want if you want to permanantly save the tool. And best of all, this will only save the tool once!

 

What have I learned from all this?

1) Only use the 'save to library' button if I'm creating a new tool for my job AND I want to save it to my library.

2) Clicking 'save to library' in the Tools Manager will cause duplicate tools in my library.

3) Just click OK when in the Tools Manager

 

Thad

 

[ 05-15-2003, 01:14 AM: Message edited by: thad ]

[Chris Rizzo]

Ok, now say your on a fresh job....

 

Right click in the white area > get tool from library. You select the tool from your library.

 

However after opening the tool parameters, you decide to change it's feed...(or spindle speed, length offset, coolant, whatever.) After you make those changes, you would like to save those changes permanently. >Save to Library.

 

Now you've got two copies of the tool. One with the original parameters, and one with your new parameters. All that you wanted to do was "update" the tool parameters in your library, but in doing so created another tool.

 

Did someone figure this out already, and did I just miss it? Thad, it seems like you kind of solved the problem, but what if you wanted to save your changes to a library, and not just alter it temporarily for a operation? I think you would end up with two tools?

[Thad]

cmr,

 

Well, I solved my "problem," but I didn't think of your "problem."

 

I believe you are correct. Edits must be made from the Tools Manager (clicking OK only) in order to avoid duplicate tools. At first I thought it would be a good idea to eliminate the 'save to library' button in the Tools Manager, but then I realized that wasn't the answer either. It seems that there isn't one answer for all occasions.

 

Thad

[Oppiz]

Since we’re on this subject, is there a way to extract a few tools out of and existing library and save to a new library? For instance, can select certain tools out of the default library and save them to a newly name one. The only way I found to do this is selecting each tool individually and saving it.

[Travis_Buchanan]

1) copy tools.tl9 to oldtools.tl9

2) open mastercam

3) nc utilites - def. tools - library

4) keep the ones you want, delete the ones you don't.

 

All this works if you use tools.tl9 as your default tool library.

[Rekd™]

quote:

---

All that you wanted to do was "update" the tool parameters in your library, but in doing so created another tool.

---

When you have an operation that you're going to change a tool on, open it inside the operation. Make your adjustments to the tool geometry or other parameters, close the tool but don't save it. Now right click where you would to select a tool or create a tool, but instead select Speed Feed Calculator. (Click just next to the tool)

 

Make any other adjustments to the speeds/feeds and click Update. This should save the tool's new parameters without duplicating it.

 

'Rekd teh could be way off base..