Centroid M400 - Setting up Tool Height Offsets

M-Series Operator’s Manual 4/9/15
5-4
Setting up Tool Height Offsets
NOTICE
Before manually jogging any probe to a position, make sure the machine Feedrate is turned
down (less than 10 in/min) or damage to the probe may result!!!
Using a Probe as the Reference Tool
Before you set the Z Reference, make sure the probe Tool # is entered into Parameter 12 on the Machine
Parameters screen. Make sure that Parameter 17 on the Machine Parameters screen contains a 0. Follow these steps
to probe Z Reference:
1. Load the probe into the machine.
2. Jog the probe over the desired reference surface and press F1 – Z Ref.
3. Press F3 and then CYCLE START; the probe will find the Z Reference.
At this point, the Z Reference is now entered into the Offset Library and is the reference height for all other tools.
Remove the probe and measure any other tool offsets manually as described earlier in this chapter.
Measuring Each Tool Offset Using a Fixed Detector
Before measuring any tool height, make sure you enter the probe or reference tool-measuring location. Do this by
entering a reference point number (1 or 2) into Parameter 17 and entering the detector position as the corresponding
Reference Return Point on the WCS Configuration screen. Otherwise, the machine may traverse to a location that
could damage the probe or reference tool. Also remember that if Parameter 17 is zero (0), the X and Y-axes will
not move before Z moves down. Also be sure that parameter 44 is set correctly. This is the input number for the
TT1. Now that a permanent location has been set, do the following:
Load reference tool (preferably the longest tool) and highlight its corresponding Height Offset # using the up or
down arrow keys.
Press F1 – Z Ref, then F3 – Auto Measure and then CYCLE START to set the Z reference using this tool. The X
and Y-axes will traverse to the preset location, and then Z will move down until the tool is detected and the Z
reference will be set.
Load the next tool.
Highlight the desired Height Offset # on screen using the up or down arrow keys.
Press F3 – Auto Measure and then CYCLE START. The X and Y-axes will traverse to the preset location, and
then Z will move down until the tool is detected. Once the detector is triggered, the tool offset will show on the
screen. A negative offset means the tool is shorter than the reference tool.
Once all of the tool offsets have been measured, press F10 - Save to save them. Otherwise, press ESC to cancel any
changes.