The way some guys ignore tool offsets is driving me crazy

I was at a shop in Denver last week helping a buddy with his Haas. This kid comes over to check his part and it's off by like 0.015. He just tweaks the program instead of checking his tool offset. I see this all the time now. Why would you mess with code when the offset is right there? It takes 30 seconds to touch off a tool properly. Has anyone else noticed how many guys skip the basics and chase their tail all day?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylan_ward10d ago

Man I had a buddy out in Phoenix who chased a 0.008 error for three hours straight. Rewrote half the program, adjusted feeds, the whole nine yards. Turns out his kid had bumped the tool setter during a cleanup and it shifted like half a thou. All he had to do was re touch off his endmill and he would have been done in five minutes. Stuff like that makes me want to pull my hair out.

coleman.hannah10d ago

Gotta disagree a little there, three hours on a 0.008 error feels like overthinking it. First thing I'd check is always the basics like offsets or tool geometry before diving into program rewrites lol.

hernandez.gavin10d ago

You ever have one of those moments where you realize you been making things way harder than they need to be? I used to be the type to tear into the program first too, thought I was being thorough. But after a similar deal where I spent a whole afternoon chasing a 0.008 and it was just a loose set screw on the holder, I learned to check the simple stuff first. Now I walk through the machine with a flashlight before I even open the CAM.