The Tool Crib
Introduction
The Tool Crib is comparable to the tool changer on a machine. It adds
two advantages to the CAM system. First, the Tool Crib can be loaded and
saved before you create machining features. When the feature operations
are created, the system automatically selects the appropriate tool from
the Tool Crib. Second, when selecting tools for feature operations,
the tool crib shows all tools that are currently defined. By having the
tools already defined, you can eliminate the need to search the Tool Library.
In order to load tools into the Tool Crib before creating features, you must create the tools in the Tool Library.
When tools are created in the Tool dialog box of a CAM wizard that
are not pre-loaded into the Tool Crib, they are automatically added.
The left side of the dialog box contains the All Tools list and the tools are grouped by Tool Category: Drill, Mill, Lathe, Laser, Plasma, or Waterjet. When a tool is selected from a tool category on the left, all pre-loaded tools for that tool type are displayed in the Tool Parameters list on the right side. You can also click All Tools.
Note: When the Tool Crib is accessed by clicking Tool Crib from a CAM Wizard Tool dialog box, the list automatically shows only the available tools for that operation type.
Navigation
To access the Tool Crib, do one of the following:
- In the CAMtree, under
Job
Folder (Milling Job, Turning Job, or Nesting Job), right-click 
Milling Tools or 
Turning Tools, and click Tool
Crib. For Mill Turn jobs, view the Mill
Turn Tool Crib.
Use this method to view all the tools currently loaded in the Tool Crib.
- In any CAM Wizard Tool dialog box, click Tool Crib.
This method lists only the tools that are available for the selected operation type. For example, clicking Tool Crib from a Profile operation Tool page lists end mills, and not threading tools.
The Dialog Box Parameters
View the
Tool Crib dialog box
When using the Tool Crib, select a category on the left side of the dialog box, and then select a tool type under that category. You can also click All Tools. The available tools are displayed in the Tool Parameters list on the right side. The Tool Parameters list shows the parameters of each tool as defined in the Tool Library.
Tool Parameters
-
Use automatic tool numbering
Select this check
box to allow the system to number the tools in the order they appear in
the posted NC program. This option ignores the tool numbers assigned in
the Tool Library.
Click to clear this
check box to manually number all of the tools for the program. Once the
check box is cleared, double-click the desired tool row. The tool number
box becomes available for you to type a new number. Renumbering tools
from this location does not change
the number of the tool stored in the Tool Library. With this option, any
tools from the Tool Library (called System Tools) use the number assigned
to the tool in the Tool Library. Be aware that if you create any tools
in a CAM Wizard (called Manual Tools), the software numbers them using
the next available tool number at the time created. You must confirm that
all tools are using the desired tool number before posting the final NC
program. Note that the software can't eliminate duplicate tool numbers
when using this method, it is your responsibility.
-
Import - displays the Open dialog box for you to navigate to and load a previously saved Tool Crib file (.mtcribs).
-
Save - displays the Save As dialog box for you to create and save all current tool information from the Tool Crib in a .mtcribs file.
-
Add From Tool Library - opens the Select Tool (Tool Library) dialog box for you to add tools. Select the desired tool from the Tool Parameters list on the right side of the dialog box and click OK. The selected tool is added to the Tool Crib.
-
Delete - removes the selected tool from the Tool Crib.