Spent 6 hours trying to set up automatic tool offset on a Haas VF-2 and I still disagree with how the manual says to do it

I had a job last month running a batch of 200 aluminum brackets. The manual says to use the automatic tool presetter for Z offsets, but after 3 crashes and a broken 1/4 endmill, I just went back to using a 1-2-3 block and edge finder. It took me 6 hours of fiddling with parameters and resetting offsets before I gave up and did it my way. The machine runs fine now with manual offsets and I don't see why Haas pushes the automatic feature so hard. Anyone else ignore the automatic tool setter and just do it the old way?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenix_campbell881d ago

Hey, hold on now. Is it really that serious? I mean, yeah, it's frustrating when the machine fights you, but 6 hours and a broken endmill sounds like you kept trying to force something that just wasn't going to work in that moment. Sometimes you just have to step back and ask if the old way is actually broken. A 1-2-3 block and an edge finder have been getting parts made for decades, long before Haas put fancy presetters on their machines. If your parts come out right and the machine runs smooth, who cares what the manual says? The manual isn't the one paying for broken tools or lost time, you are. I'd rather spend that 6 hours making chips than fighting with settings nobody can prove are actually better.

caseys302d ago

idk man maybe it's just me but i think the whole automatic tool setter thing works better on newer machines with the right firmware version. i had a buddy who fought with his 2018 VF-4 for weeks then updated the control software and it worked perfect after that. could be worth checking before you write it off completely.