I am interested in how 1F users handle tool changes, such as maybe adding a chamfer to an pocket without creating a new setup and file. I am using a free version of fusion 360 and wonder if the Gcode must to be manually edited or if this can happen automatically then resume after the tool change and re-zeroing the z height.
We highly recommend separate files for different tools.
With the free version Fusion 360 won’t create a single g-code file with multiple tools in it, you would need to edit together multiple files into one file and manually add the code to perform a probe operation. It’s probably easier overall to use multiple files.
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If you are new to Fusion here’s a helpful hint. There’s two ways to create G-code. The first is to use the tab above the word “ACTIONS”. If you do this (at least for me) it’ll just create all the G-code and assume that you are using the tool used in your first operation.
The other way is to left click on the list on the left. If you click on setup it’ll do the same. But if you click on each operation it’ll generate code for just that operation. That’s how I do it. What you can do is create code for each operation and then run each one back to back that uses the same tool. When complete you can manually change the tool zero the Z axis, and load the next set of codes for that tool.
I don’t bother trying to merge the G-codes since I’m not far away from it while it runs. At some point that’ll change but not until I have a couple cameras set up to watch the 1F run.
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Thank you for the tip, I think there is something I can work with in the setup (manual NC) to create stops and smooth out the process…
Alex - you can enable the new post processing function - it will let you create “control” files where you control the file name, the operations, etc. Then you can post all of them at the same time, generating multiple files in one go. I usually generate a single file for the any given bit (assuming the order matches) and minimize tool changes. Of course that is not always possible though.
-Tom
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I haven’t played much with editing G-code yet. But I will. I like multiple files using the same bit. If I’ve made a mistake it’s easier for me to figure out where. Also I want to add detailed comments on what the code I loaded is going to do and what tool it’s expecting.
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To expand on this, I generally create a different “setup” for each tool I want to use. However sometimes I just have one operation with a different tool under a single setup. In this case you can highlight all the paths with the same tool and post them together!
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