I did add one. The wiring was pretty easy, but i have been super lazy about modifying the mach4 screenset & macros to take advantage of it. Right now it is pretty much hard coded to just set z zero to the surface of my spoilboard.
Did you have a particular question? I’d be happy to share the 3d printed mount or other hardware questions I looked at. I’m bit too embarrassed about my software to want to share that though.
Mainly looking for someone with a working macro that utilizes a tool length sensor that I can use as a reference. I’ve found plenty of posts on various forums where people ask for help but it never seems to get resolved.
It seems like this kind of setup should be an existing feature in Mach 4 that users simply enable and configure. It seams to be that way with the Masso G3.
The problem is that it isn’t just a simple on/off switch in Mach4. They support things like have tool length offsets stored for every tool. However if you try to just turn that on, you will find those numbers aren’t used by the default screensets avid ships with. So more likely than not if you just to the simple thing you will find yourself driving the tool right into your spoilboard.
I do think if you described what you want to do with your setter you might get lucky and have someone who already has a script that does that chime in. But since most people don’t really want to do tech support you might need to write your own code.
You might try looking in the github of another one of the users here corbin dunn. I think the code is more about automatic tool changer usage, but some of the same concepts are used for a height setter.
Ya…I was oversimplifying the the setup like a checkbox because that’s all I’m looking for. I just want the most basic operation with a tool length sensor. Manual tool change > measure with the tool length sensor > change the offset > resume program.
Thanks for providing the github link. I’ll check it out!
Sounds like you are after the ftc function on camaster routers, they work that way without an atc. There is a screenset from ger21 over on cnczone that I believe works like you are after. Its his 2010 screenset for mach 3, dont know if he has anything for mach 4.
In the standard Mach4 (not AvidCNC’s screen sets) there are already pre built functions for all probing and tool setter functions. Some will require you to disable Warp9’s “Probe Failure Disables Mach” function but I would start there before using other people’s scripts that won’t be around to help you after a crash.
For more info on Warp9’s probe no-strike disabling Mach is here;
https://documentation.warp9td.com/Shared/Mach4/Probing/Probing.htm
Also, do visit Newfangled’s forum for more info and example scripts for Mach. The very limited feature set AvidCNC offers on their OEM screen set doesn’t mean the Mach you have is somehow missing these features.
Did you ever get this solved? It would be awesome to compare notes.
Also is anyone else looking to do the same thing? If there was demand I could be convinced to write up how to copy what I did. Personally I find that automatic Z height setting takes a substantial portion of the pain out of manual tool changes.
You cannot run a ATC system in a safe and effective manner without a tool height sensor, period.
When the CNC picks up the tool it should check the offset to make sure it matches the tool specified in the tool table. Humans can stick tools in any pocket at any time which is a real hassle for CNC machines.
You can also have it set the offset if the tool has a “zero” for its offset, meaning it hasn’t been set up yet. Only the master tool is zero offset. That way you can throw in a new tool and the process the first time it picks it up is to measure the offset and store that.
The CNC then checks the tool before returning it. This is referred to as “breakage” because its making sure the tool didn’t break AND you didn’t lose steps before it tries to dock the tool and break something that is expensive to replace.
Question: Why the “master tool” method and not some other method like reference all tools to the spoilboard/fixture plate instead? (by way of using a fixed touch off plate)
That would be your lovely Mach4.
To be fair, that is a FANUC practice and Mach4 is a FANUC clone… well, sort of.
Even FANUC has probe functions from this century unlike Mach4 
More Info:
T23 M6
G43 H23
So the H23 offset value in Mach4 will be calculated as the “difference” from T1.
Which is why the folks who get those numbers in their tool table and then use the touch off script button in the UI will experience their tool diving into the table as oppose to lifting after strike.
Their tool is longer than T1 and thus 20mm above the touch plate is in fact negative once that G43 H23 is reset.
In my case, The “master tool” is the one I do touch-offs with, so it’s the “zero” I’m aiming for with all other tools. I measure the master tool with a toolsetter and record it’s absolute Z, and each time I change tools, I measure their absolute Z and apply the difference to the tool offset.
There’s no way to guarantee that the toolsetter is the same Z height as the spoilboard. The master tool is how you measure that difference.
The master tool is also a known diameter for all the X/Y touch-off scripts.
I just wanted to say thanks for all the advice you have given here. I don’t think I would have gotten mine working without it.
Yep! I forget to mention that part and it is very import.
I get how the master tool works. To me it makes more sense on a mill, but on a router aren’t you always after getting your tool zero to be the top of your spoilboard?
On some of the other machines I’ve built I took that approach… rather than “wasting” a tool holder on a master tool, I just used the tool setter to measure to the spoilboard. If I planed off the spoilboard I’d re-measure all tools.
Yes, you could use the absolute position of the toolsetter “hit” to measure the tool. However, you still need the master tool for touching off anyway. In my case, the master tool is just a bit of 1/4" drill rod, but the master tool could be a 3D taster or haimer. You measure the part’s origin and the toolsetter, and after that, each tool measures the toolsetter to know where the part’s origin is.
My Z-0 is not always the spoilboard; if I’m working off a fixture, it’s the surface of the fixture And if I"m routing a full sheet of plywood, there’s no access to the spoilboard anyway.
If you’re doing everything manually, you don’t need a master tool - just touch off each new tool on the spoilboard (or whatever your z-0 is) and use one of your 1/4" router bits for X/Y. With an ATC you need a way to do this automatically, and the ATC can’t put the Avid touch plate in a convenient spot all the time. That’s what the toolsetter is for, but the ATC can’t assume the toolsetter is at Z-0.
And you assume that the operator put the right tool in that pocket 
If you’re desperate, your master tool could be one of your 1/4" router bits, although touching off X/Y requires an additional step.
Just switch to LinuxCNC already
Then it’s whatever you want 
but the tradition is the gauge line of the spindle. This always give you consistent numbers.
In Mach4 you can end up with negative and positive numbers which gets hard to understand and causes weirdness like the touchoff scripts driving into the table.
UPDATE: Ok, it won’t stop the diving, sorry my bad 
hardcoding offsets on CNC machines isn’t wise…