Curious about Tool Length offsets

[rwskinner]

First, thanks for contributing these to us with Fadals! They look nice and clean.

Question, you mention that all tool length need to be positive. Aren't the Fadal defaults using negative offsets and positive Z on the fixture offset only? Just curious why?

[HypeSafety]

@aarongough/fadal_toolsetting_macros's repo explains the reasoning better than I could. When I transitioned to the probe I thought it made sense to keep it

    These macros are designed to make the built-in Fadal fixture and
    toolsetting routines more useful. The default routines both want 
    to output negative offsets (negative lengths for tools, negative 
    Z axis fixture offsets) which means they don't ever meet in the 
    middle like they should.
    
    The default fixture offset system also does not account for the 
    length of the  tool being used to set the offset, so it will always
    be incorrect by the length of the tool unless you adjust it manually.
    
    The macros in this package are designed to eliminate these issues and 
    make working with the control much easier.

    Benefits:
        - Tools only ever need to be measured once
        - Positive tool lengths measured from the spindle gage line
        - Negative Z fixture offsets measured from the spindle face at the Z 
        axis Cold Start position
        - All measurements happen on the machine
        - Tool lengths are portable and can also be measured offline using a  
        presetter
        - Ability to easily use a Haimer 3D sensor or other in-spindle 
        measurement tool
        - A wiggler, gage pin or simple electronic edge finder will work 
        perfectly as well

[rwskinner]

I kind of figured that's where it came from.  Nice work on them!

…

On 12/8/2025 2:46 PM, HypeSafety wrote: *HypeSafety* left a comment (HypeSafety/ProbeKit#1) <#1 (comment)> @aarongough/fadal_toolsetting_macros's repo explains the reasoning better than I could. When I transitioned to the probe I thought it made sense to keep it |These macros are designed to make the built-in Fadal fixture and toolsetting routines more useful. The default routines both want to output negative offsets (negative lengths for tools, negative Z axis fixture offsets) which means they don't ever meet in the middle like they should. The default fixture offset system also does not account for the length of the tool being used to set the offset, so it will always be incorrect by the length of the tool unless you adjust it manually. The macros in this package are designed to eliminate these issues and make working with the control much easier. Benefits: - Tools only ever need to be measured once - Positive tool lengths measured from the spindle gage line - Negative Z fixture offsets measured from the spindle face at the Z axis Cold Start position - All measurements happen on the machine - Tool lengths are portable and can also be measured offline using a presetter - Ability to easily use a Haimer 3D sensor or other in-spindle measurement tool - A wiggler, gage pin or simple electronic edge finder will work perfectly as well | — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ACNZB2UTENSMLBC27LPAY5L4AXPSBAVCNFSM6AAAAACNTZNYQOVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTMMRYHEZTKNJUG4>. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>