Tool Numbering Scheme For Organizing Bits

Anyone have a good tool numbering organization scheme they like? I’m going to try and be more detailed about numbering my bits and I’d like it to be somewhat orderly, so I wanted to see if anyone had a numbering system they were using and liked.

For myself, I used 1-10 for end mills, 2-20 for v-bits, 3-30 for ball nose, 4-40 for tapered ball nose.

That would allow me to insert some new bits and still be inside a group.

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I have similar.

And, for example, all 1/4 bits have the same number regardless of up, down, compression or otherwise as i do not envision for example using two 1/4 endmills on the same job back to back.

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Now, there lies a problem. If you only have one 1/4" bit in Masso, but run one project with a 1/4" up-cut and the next with a 1/4" down-cut, Masso will not know this and will not prompt for a bit change.

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I know. But i dont do that so it is ok for me. If i did then i would have two 1/4 inch bits in masso.

Basically, i dont think it is always necessary to flood your tool numbering with every bit variant you have.

For me, i’m just not that organised, and syncing tool numbers across F360, Vcarve and Masso is an effort i wouldnt enjoy and would most likely get wrong.

Mise En Place: i’ve tried but its not me :slight_smile:

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The number doesn’t matter as long as it’s 1-100. You have the ability to name them on the f4 screen so when it’s time for a change it displays that meaningful name along with the number. You are limited on characters, and i like amana so i display their tool number, then a short description ex “46002 1/4 upcut endmill”

A numbering scheme is nothing more than personal preference, in which case use what works for you. Personally, i started in the tool library of my cad software at the top, and went down, then mirrored those settings in masso.

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After several disasters involved in using the auto touch probe, I’m back to manually zeroing. Because of that, there is no need for me to overthink the numbering, which can be fluid. In other words, I’m not entering tools in the MASSO. At first I wanted to organize in orderly blocks but I have too many bits and variations so my numbering ended up a little messy in places.

For me, the most important thing is to be able to find a bit when I need it. I used stickers to mark my bits as I numbered them. At first I was trying to use color codes, but even that didn’t work based on the qty of labels I had.

I was also hyper focused on physical storage, but I’m leaning more and more towards simple quadrants for grouping up/down/compression/O-flute, v-bit, etc.

I also used tool custom variables to capture the cutter attributes and map them to the name.

#{Tool Number} {Tool Type}({Diameter|F}{Units Short}) {c.Flute} {c.Direction}

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Maybe you are ready for your own AutoCrib…

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Ha ha. I need two of them.

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