PRIME MOTIONTool changes
Most parts need more than one cutter. When a program reaches a tool change (M6), Prime Motion pauses the job, makes the machine safe to reach into, and waits for you.
What happens
- The program reaches
M6. The spindle is stopped and Z rises to the Safe Z Height set in Settings → Connection. - The Tool Change — Tn drawer opens. Until the machine is secured it says, in amber, Machine is stopping — stand clear until it is secured.
- Once secured it says The spindle is stopped and Z is at safe height., with the instruction to insert the tool, such as Insert tool T2, then confirm.
- Fit the tool and tap Tool Changed — Continue.
- With a toolsetter set to measure on every tool change, the machine measures the new tool now. Then the job continues.
The drawer lists the tool the program declares: Tool, Diameter, Spindle Speed and Feed Rate, with a drawing of the cutter. A program that declares no tool says This programme does not declare a tool — check the tool by hand before continuing.
Cancel Job ends the job instead. Tool Changed — Continue waits until the machine reports itself secured, so you cannot continue a machine that is still moving.
The check at Start
When the machine has a reference tool, Start checks every tool declared by the program before sending it. If a declared tool has no stored measurement and the machine will not measure it at the change, the job is refused with the reason and the setting that needs your attention. Measure the tool in Settings → Tooling, or enable the fitted toolsetter and the appropriate measurement mode, then try again. A program using measured tools starts normally.
The check also runs again at the tool change, in case a measurement was forgotten after Start. See Settings → Tooling for the reference tool and stored measurements.
The part that needs your care: Z
A new tool is a different length. X and Y are unaffected; Z zero is not.
| Your machine | What happens |
|---|---|
| Has a toolsetter, with Measure on tool change set to Every tool change | The new tool is measured after you continue, and Z follows the difference |
| Has a toolsetter and Only when asked | Measure in the tool-change drawer measures before continuing; Continue uses the stored length |
| Has none, or measurement is set to Never | You must set Z again with the new tool before continuing |
Setting Z by hand during a tool change
The job is paused while the drawer is open, so jogging is not available from it. On a machine without a toolsetter, the safe routine is to give each tool its own program: post or split the job so that each file uses one tool, run the first, fit the next tool, set Z again on the Location card, then run the next file. A project posted from Prime Motion is grouped this way already; see Projects.
Automatic measurement
A fixed toolsetter on the table lets Prime Motion measure each tool's length. To use one:
- Turn on BitSetter (Carbide 3D) or Automatic Tool Measurement in Settings → Connection, and set the toolsetter's position there.
- In Settings → Tooling, set Measure on tool change to Every tool change.
- Zero Z once on the stock with the first tool. That zero also measures the tool, and every later tool is measured against it.
While a tool is being measured, Run Information shows Measuring tool Tn and the step under way.