1. WinMax Tool & Material Library Overview Mike Cope August 2007 Updated November 2007 by Robert Gorgol1

2. A Tool & Material Library for Shop Floor Programming
Better Tool Descriptions - There’s no guesswork on how to setup your tools with over 25 predefined tool types, standard tap definitions and custom tool descriptions. Detailed tool geometry lets you create a complete tool description. User and vendor notes make it easy to reorder tooling.
Material Library – Separate Roughing and Finishing feeds and speeds can be defined for any material type. Material types can be configured to the data base to customize the library to fit your shop needs.
Tool & Material Library Features

3. Tool & Material Library
Main Tool Setup screen is similar to UltiMax. Use the More tab to enter advanced tool settings.
Tool & Material Library

4. Tool & Material Library
The Diameter Field is carried over and additional tool geometry can be defined.
The tool drawing changes to illustrate the parameter that you are editing.
* Tool Geometry Settings are available only with Tool Library or Graphics Option
Advanced Tool Settings lets you define more Geometry settings, Feeds and Speeds, Supplier information, and additional Notes.
Tool & Material Library

5. Tool & Material Library
List of Defined Work Materials.
Set Values for Roughing or Finishing for different materials.
If no Finishing Values are set the Roughing values are used for finishing operations.
Feed & Speed data can be defined for different materials. Separate values can be defined for Roughing and Finishing Operations. When the tool is used to program a conversational feature, the appropriate set of feeds and speeds will automatically be applied when the tool is selected.
Tool & Material Library

6. Tool & Material Library
Entering supplier information makes it easier to reorder tooling.
The Supplier Tab lets you setup supplier information for reordering your tooling.
Tool & Material Library

7. Tool & Material Library
Tool templates can be organized into a data base and quickly selected when setting up tools or programming parts.
A tool template contains geometric information and feed and speed defaults that are automatically imported when a new tool is created using the template.
The Tool Database tab displays the types of tools that you may use in your shop. These are “descriptions” of tools and can be used to create instances of “actual” tools when you add them into the machine’s tool library and give them a tool number.
Tool & Material Library

8. Tool & Material Library
The Material Database displays a list of workpiece materials.
Pressing the Select Material For Part Program soft key will set the active program to use the selected material.
The Material Database tab displays the list of programmed workpiece materials.
Tool & Material Library 8

9. Tool & Material Library
Tool Management
The Manual Console Button followed by pressing F1 Tool Management Soft Key
Access to Manual and Automatic tools is available by pressing the Manual console button and selecting the F1 Tool Management soft key.
Tool & Material Library

10. Tool & Material Library
Insert Tool lets you create an actual tool using one of the templates from the Tool & Material Database.
You can add a new tool into the Manual tool list by selecting the Insert Tool soft key. This will provide a list of the templates in the Tool Database. The information from the selected template will be used as defaults for the new tool.
Tool & Material Library 10

11. Tool & Material Library
After selecting Insert Tool you can highlight a tool in the list and press the Create Tool Using Template soft key to add the tool to the Manual Tool list.
Pressing the Create Tool Using Template soft key will add the tool to the Manual Tool list and take you to the Tool Setup screen. Most information is provided in the template, requiring only the zero calibration to complete the setup.
Tool & Material Library 11

12. Tool & Material Library
Select Tool From List will display all tools in the Automatic Tool Changer, Manual Tool List and Tool & Material Library.
When creating Conversational data blocks you can select tools from the machine’s tool library by using the Select Tool From List Soft key.
Tool & Material Library 12

13. Tool & Material Library
You may also select a tool by entering the tool number. As you type the tool number the list of tools starting with that number appears.
As you continue to define the number the list automatically reduces to those that match the numbers you have typed.
You may also enter the tool number directly into the Tool field. When you do so the list of available tools starting with that number will appear.
Tool & Material Library 13

14. WinMax Mill Tool Matching

15. Tool & Material Library
When reading part programs into WinMax any tools in the part program that do not have a match in the Auto or Manual list can be automatically copied into the Manual list.
Use Tool Type Checking and Filtering to select only tools applicable to the operation being programmed.
(This is a standard feature.)
The Tool Utilities and Settings help automate tool loading and filtering.
Tool & Material Library

16. Tool & Material Library
You can choose to have existing tool zero calibration values overwritten by those read from the part program. This is similar to the way the Ultimax control functioned.
The Tool Utilities and Settings help automate tool loading and filtering.
Tool & Material Library 16

17. Importing programs – Tool Matching
Conversational part programs contain data blocks that describe part features to be machined. Within each data block a roughing and an optional finishing tool is defined that describes the type, geometry and feeds/speeds used to machine the feature.
This is more information than simply assigning a tool number to a data block and makes it possible to check that actual tools on the machine can be used to machine the feature.
The control maintains the tool descriptions for tools located in the Automatic Tool Changer, Manual Tools and Tool Library.
When reading Conversational part programs the control attempts to match the tools described in the data blocks with tools in the Automatic Tool Changer and the Manual Tool list.
We know that many shops have invested a lot of time and money into their existing part programs so we’ve made sure that we can support those existing programs.
We’ve also added the additional benefit of being able to use the tooling data from those programs to help them generate and update their tooling library data.
Why do tools need to be matched?
Importing programs – Tool Matching

18. Importing programs – Tool Matching
How Are
Tools Matched?
When reading any Conversational Program, HD3, HD5 or the new HWM file format, the control will attempt to match tools needed to machine the part with tools on the machine.
Load any Conversational Part Program. Winmax will automatically match an imported tool to a library tool if it is a unique tool of the same type with a diameter that is within the maximum difference set in Tool Utilities and Settings.
Importing programs – Tool Matching

19. Importing programs – Tool Matching
If the parameter for automatically loading unmatched tools as Manual is set to No tools that do not match will appear as Unmatched in the Tool Review screen.
Go to a tool matching screen and list possible but not exact matches.
Add the tool description to the Manual Tool list and assign it a tool number.
After loading the part program go to the Tool Review Screen to see tools that have not been matched.
Importing programs – Tool Matching

20. Importing programs – Tool Matching
If an imported tool has more than one exact type and diameter match in the library and the imported tool number does not match one of the library tools, the tool must be manually matched.
The prompt will inform the user that the tool is unmatched because there are multiple exact matches and not because there are no matches.
In the case that an imported tool has more than one exact type and diameter match in the library, the tool number will be compared to determine the correct match. If none of the library tools match by number, the tool must be manually matched.
Importing programs – Tool Matching

21. Importing programs – Tool Matching
Go to a tool matching screen and list possible but not exact matches.
If you choose to match tools you will be taken to a tool matching screen.
Importing programs – Tool Matching

22. Importing programs – Tool Matching
Highlight one of the possible matches and select Choose As Replacement.
The Closest Matches list, like the matching criteria, is based on diameter and type. The list of replacement tools displays the difference between the diameter of the imported tool and the potential replacement from the library.
Importing programs – Tool Matching

23. Importing programs – Tool Matching
You may alternatively add the unmatched tool as a manual tool.
You may enter a different tool number if you choose as long as that number is not already assigned to an existing tool.
If you choose instead to add an unmatched tool as a Manual Tool, the tool will automatically be assigned the next available tool number. You may override this tool number if you like.
Importing programs – Tool Matching

24. Tool Matching Summary Summary
Automatic Tool Matching simplifies the process of verifying the tools required in your Conversational part program.
Automatic Tool matching can be overridden to manually select a replacement tool.
You may choose to automatically have the control store unmatched tools in the Manual Tool list map.
Summary
Summary