MASSO Tool Setter Workflow

1

I just got around to setting up my toolsetter, and am about to use it for the first time. I have watched the linked Mitchells Woodwork video that Onefinity advises has the best description of the workflow. I still have a few questions, and I know people have some issues with this thing, so I thought I would post my planned setup.

I always take my tool out of the machine after my job, and store the bit with the rest of my bits. From what I read, the MASSO unit seems to want to leave the tool in all the time, even after shutdown. I know the machine will do an offset measurement as a part of the homing proceedure now, which is required on startup, so you have to have a tool inserted before turning on the machine and doing the initial home. My plan is to:

  1. Insert 1st tool used in the job I want to run before turning on my machine.
  2. Turn on machine, do initial home, and have it do the offset measurement.

Question 1: At this point, I’m not sure how to tell the machine which tool is in the machine. Is there a way to set this and do another offset touch off in the tool menu?

Question 2: Is there a way to just disable the initial offset measurement that is part of the homing procedure? This seems unnecessary. The machine home seems independent of the tool offset, so I’m not sure why this is done as part of the same procedure.

  1. Use touch probe to set XYZ for the material.
  2. Load job, and press cycle start.
  3. I’m not sure if there will be an initial tool change at this point. I suspect yes, and I can just press cycle start again, and it will do another offset touch off before running this tool’s paths.
  4. switch tool, press cycle start, tool touches off, performs tool paths. Repeat this for all tools in job
  5. After job has completed, I plan on removing the final tool. I know MASSO would prefer to keep this in there as It will save the last tool and offset in memory as part of the machine “state”. I prefer to have the bits all put away and organized though, so I hope to be able to rather painlessly clear out the machine as part of my proceedure.

How do these steps look?

3

You can either change your habits and leave the tool in the spindle and only change it when prompted, done!

Or you can make your life difficult and remove the tool before shutting down the machine and create a lot of problems.

Your choice. My recommendation: never change or remove the tool unless prompted.

If you want to change the tool open the MDI and type TxxM6, the xx stands for the tool number. After typing Masso will ask you to change the tool.

If you really still feel the urge to unload the tool before switching the machine off type TxxM6 and insert a tool number of a tool you do not have. At least the possibility of an error occurring when you use the 1F is minimized, because the Masso will ask for a tool change when you run the next program.

Or you can just leave the tool the spindle, switch off and be done.

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4

Well it went well. I think I’m just going to be doing a TXXM06 command as a part of my setup every time. I don’t want to rely on any “state” saved in the machine, as I think it will eventually get messed up, like after a software update.

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5

Must admit I find this tool setter frustrating as well and it’s not like I am a novice with tool setting I’ve been a CNC tool and die guy for 30 years.
Before switching the machine off I put a 1/4 (6mm) dowel pin in the collet as this is the main diameter of tool I use and I like to use it to set my X & Y rather than a cutter. I then put my cutter in, set the Z, and perform a homing then repeat that whole set Z, homing routine again or face the crash that follows.

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6

Again, your choice to make your life complicated.

If you follow the simple rule to never change a tool until prompted there will be no crash ever.

You can trigger the tool change by TxxM6.

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