How to align the tool for CNC milling machines: In large-scale CNC machining, aligning the tool essentially means measuring the offset distance between the program origin and the machine origin, and setting the coordinates of the program origin in the machine coordinate system referenced by the tool tip. Tool alignment is a primary operation and an important skill in numerical control (NC) machining. Under certain conditions, the accuracy of tool alignment can determine the machining accuracy of parts, and the efficiency of tool alignment directly impacts the efficiency of NC machining. Simply knowing how to align the tool is not enough; one must also understand various tool alignment settings in the CNC system, as well as how these settings are invoked in machining programs. Additionally, it's important to know the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the application conditions, of different tool alignment methods.
Generally speaking, in large-scale CNC machining, the programming of parts and their actual machining on the machine tool are carried out separately. The CNC programmer selects a convenient coordinate system and its origin based on the design drawings of the part, which we call the program coordinate system and the program origin. The program origin usually coincides with the part's process reference or design reference, hence it is also called the workpiece origin.
In large-scale CNC turning centers, after power-on, a return-to-zero (reference point) operation must be performed. Its purpose is to establish a unified benchmark for position measurement, control, and display in the CNC turning center. This point is referred to as the machine origin, and its position is determined by the machine's position sensor. Since the position of the tool (tool tip) relative to the machine origin remains fixed after returning to zero, for convenience in tool alignment and machining, the position of the tool tip after the machine returns to zero can be considered as the machine origin. The programmer compiles the movement trajectory of the tool (tool tip) according to the coordinate data in the program coordinate system. Due to the existence of X-direction and Z-direction offset distances between the initial position of the tool tip (machine origin) and the program origin, there is a corresponding offset distance between the actual tool tip position and the position instructed by the program. Therefore, this distance must be measured and set into the CNC system so that the system adjusts the movement trajectory of the tool tip accordingly.
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