Manual Tool Change

[m_c]

Have you searched over on the Mach forums for code?

It's not something I've ever done in Mach 3, but standard macros only run at a 10Hz refresh rate, so if you're relying on the macro to start/stop motion depending on the touchplate/probe input, then it won't work. You have to use the specific probing commands, but I'm not sure how they work where macros are involved.

[Ger21]

It's not something I've ever done in Mach 3, but standard macros only run at a 10Hz refresh rate, so if you're relying on the macro to start/stop motion depending on the touchplate/probe input, then it won't work.

That info is incorrect. Macros run plenty fast enough, and in fact are used by thousands of people to auto zero there tools. The macro just calls the G31 move, and then retrieves the locations and sets the zero position.

[Neale]

Indeed, the g31 gcode command causes a probing operation (unless you are using a CSMIO controller which has its own version plus an odd gotcha). Cnczone has plenty of examples if you can wade through a lot of dross to find them. I wrote my own height probing macros based on what I found there; I would be happy to post them but I have modified them to work with a CSMIO so they are not useful for non-CSMIO machines as they stand. I have three in the set - simple tool-height set, set tool height and then touch off fixed plate, touch off fixed plate for second-tool operation. I also have a tweaked first-page of the standard screenset to assign these to buttons.

Or you could contact Gerry/ger21 and buy his reasonably-priced and well-regarded 2010 screenset which has all these functions and more already built in. I wrote my own because I wanted an excuse to play with a bit of macro coding and screenset tweaking, not because they are any better.

[m_c]

That info is incorrect. Macros run plenty fast enough, and in fact are used by thousands of people to auto zero there tools. The macro just calls the G31 move, and then retrieves the locations and sets the zero position.

It is correct. Mach 3 macro refresh rate is 10Hz. If you need to detect an input pulse less than 100ms, then it cannot be guaranteed that a macro will detect the change, which is why you had to use PLC for many commercial tool changers.

However, as I'm sure you're well aware, when you call G-code from a macro, that is then handled by the main motion engine, so is not restricted by the 10Hz refresh rate. The macro simply stalls until the motion is complete.