Introduction to Rapid Z (0:00-1:12)
0:01-0:35: “Hey, hey, welcome to another training video. Today we’re gonna show how to optimize the touch off procedure for the smart tool pad. This is also known as the Rapid Z setting, and we’re gonna show with, we’re gonna show this process, um, taking place with the Rapid Z turned off and the Rapid Z turned on. We also need to understand when to use it and how to use it so we’re not accidentally running our longer cutters into our smart tool pad plate during the touch off routine. So let’s show you here on the controller where we can activate and manage our rapid Z parameters.”
0:38-1:14: “Okay, so in any of the workstations, um, this can take place on any procedure that we’re using the smart tool pad. So it could be the turning workstation, the vertical, or the horizontal. It does not matter. We’re gonna go back to our smart tool display screen. And here, um, we, we did some training videos that showed how to use the multi-tool touch off procedures and single tool touch off procedures. But right next to this, we can see right here it’s called Rapid Z, and we have a rapid Z activation button. We can click on that to activate it or to turn it off. And we have a procedure. This is a set of procedure, um, to set the parameter”
Touch Off Procedure with Rapid Z Off (1:12-3:01)
1:10-1:42: “This is a set of procedure, um, to set the parameter of the rapid Z based on our cutter lengths. So let’s see what the cutter looks like as it’s touching off the smart tool pad. If we have the Rapid Z turned off. So when it touches off the smart tool pad, it starts at a high Z axis parameter safety clearance, and then it’s gonna slowly plunge the entire way when there’s no rapid, uh, z activated. And it’s gonna continue on until it touches off our smart tool pad.”
1:52-2:44: “So with no Rapid Z, we would see that same sequence take place for every single cutter. It would simply come to the safety clearance at the top of the Z-axis stroke and then slowly work its way down until it finally touches off the smart tool pad. So this can accommodate any cutter length for any scenario. Um, it’s the safest way to run your smart tool touch off sequence. Um, however, it’s not the most efficient or fastest way of doing so. You can see we had a lot of air time waiting for the cutters to touch off that pad. So let’s show you the difference if we activate the Rapid Z using that same cutter with the, with the setting set for this tool length. So back in the controller, if we simply activate the Rapid Z and I have already taken the time to set the rapid Z for this inch and a quarter surface and cutter, we’ll show how to do that in just a moment. But let’s see the difference when it’s touching off the cutter.”
2:58-3:01: “That was a big difference. It still repeated the same sequence”
Touch Off Procedure with Rapid Z On (3:01-4:59)
2:59-5:01: “It still repeated the same sequence where it started at a high Z clearance, but instead of moving down at a slow speed, it rapidly came down until it was just above the smart tool pad and then went into that slow probing speed to touch off the smart tool pads, um, itself. Now let’s go into how to set the Rapid Z settings, uh, so that if I wanted to use a longer cutter, I’m not accidentally running a longer tool into my smart tool pad because my smart tool, rapid Z parameters are set for this shorter surfacing cutter and not for a longer tool. So the process of setting up your Rapid Z comes down to choosing the longest tool that you’re going to use throughout your program. And this could be done as a standard protocol. Just go grab the longest tool that you have in your shop, set your Rapid Z, and then it will accommodate all the cutters that you’re gonna be using, um, um, here in the future. But if, if you wanna be more efficient, you would only do that per program. So you would take, let’s say the program that takes three cutters. I would take the longest tool and I would use that as the tool to touch and measure to set our rapid Z for that entire program. This would then be repeated for every time we go set up a program itself. If you don’t wanna have to remember that step of setting up your Rapid Z, then you can just turn the rapid Z setting off right there in the controller and you never have to worry about it. But if you do want to step, step up your game and be a little more efficient, then we’re gonna set up a rapid Z as an additional step. Um, when setting up our tools here in the machine for this scenario, I have a surfacing cutter that’s a inch and a quarter surfacing cutter as tool number one already in the spindle. And I have a second cutter, which is a really long taper ball cutter in tool number two. Now for auto tool change, I’m going to be placing those tools in the tool rack for manual tool change. You just need to have those cutters ready to be placed into the machine when called upon. So let’s show you how to set up the rapid Z for”
Setting Up Rapid Z Parameters (4:59-6:25)
4:58-5:47: “So let’s show you how to set up the rapid Z for that second cutter that really long cutter in in this scenario, if we go back to our controller, um, and, and again here I’m in the horizontal screen for this program specifically, um, in my smart tool display screen, right under rapid Z activation where I can turn it on and off, I have set rapid Z. Now, when I press this, it’s going to ask which tool number I want to use for setting up this rapid Z parameter. So if I click on this, it’s gonna ask us which tool number do we want to use. Now in this scenario, I decided to use tool number two, which is the long taper ball cutter. So if I click on the number, change this to two and enter, and now push play, the machine being auto tool change is automatically gonna go drop off tool number one and grab tool number two.”
6:09-6:24: “And now it’s gonna use that same cutter and it’s slowly gonna plunge down the entire length until it touches off the tip of this cutter on the smart tool pad. And what it’s gonna do is it’s gonna add a small distance after that touch off to this, um, length”
Conclusion and Best Practices (6:25-7:36)
6:25-6:34: “that it has traveled. So now when we do another, um, touch off procedure with the Rapid Z activated, let’s see what that looks like for this longer cutter.”
6:48-7:36: “And that finishes the Rapid Z process of setting it up. Uh, now when we go to touch off all the cutters, um, in the middle of the program, um, as we’re running this part, it’s gonna now be optimized to be as fast and efficient as possible, uh, because it’s not gonna waste that time probing down the entire length for every single cutter. Just remember that when you are setting up this rapid Z you need to use the longest tool that you have in the program so that you don’t accidentally, um, take the longer cutter and it runs into the smart tool pad before it goes to that probing speed. So if you don’t wanna have to worry about this, you can always just turn the rapid Z parameter off in the smart tool display screen. But again, if you wanna make yourself more efficient, this is how we set it up.”
