Warning: Tool height offset setup trick I learned the hard way

Old lead hand told me to always zero my Z off the part surface, not the vice jaws. I ignored him for 3 months until I crashed a $200 endmill on a job for a local aerospace shop. Changed that habit instantly, no crashes since.

3 comments

3 Comments

quinn60619d ago

That "always zero off the part surface" advice is gold. I bet most crashes happen because people trust the jaws instead of double checking the actual part height.

ivan_harris19d ago

Respectfully gotta disagree on this one. Most crashes I've seen come from guys not knowing where Z zero actually is after a tool change. People get lazy with their offsets and just assume the tool is the same length as last time. Zeroing off the part surface is great for finishing but if you're roughing with a big cutter and you bump that surface with a .010 offset you're still gonna wreck something. The real pro move is touching off the part every time you put a new tool in and using your offsets right. I'd rather trust my jaws and double check my numbers than trust my eyes on a spinning tool.

paul_ramirez19d ago

Hold on don't you usually touch off the part surface when you're setting up the job anyway? I thought that was standard practice for setting your Z zero before you even start cutting, not something you skip until finishing.