Automatic sorting tool database

[Mark Bolton]

Is there a way to automatically sort the contents of the database or groups in the database? For instance you setup all your endmills by diameter, or part number, or whatever, is your only option to have to sit there and manually drag and drop things around?

[Mark Bolton]

Looking through this am I correct (using V10.5) the sorting happens via the name format settings?

[adze_cnc]

If there was automatic sorting I'd petition to have it removed:

• Ball End 1/16"
• Ball End 1/8"
• Ball End 1/4"
• Ball End 1/2"

is what I want. Not (if automatically sorted):

• Ball End 1/16"
• Ball End 1/2"
• Ball End 1/4"
• Ball End 1/8"

Is there an option to have it sorted? Not as far as I know but v10.x might be different.

[Mark Bolton]

Adze,
Thats just a matter of your labeling format. We have gig's of customer files sorted in a format that is alphanumeric, date, and customer/job sorted all in the file name. It'd be no different in the tool database. But it seems even if I input our own format the database doesnt sort the tools so you now have to manually go in and drag/drop each tool/ So if you have 15 3/8" tools arranged by cut parameters you have to manually arrange them in the list.

Its super easy to come up with a simple sortable numerical or alphanumerical format. We do it in excel every day. Once you get use to it your brain just scans down the list ripping fast to pick. Now you have to look and re-look to make sure your picking the correct tool.

[Mark Bolton]

Our "ball ends" are already in a folder "ball end" so thats gone, then its just .0625, .0125, .1875, .250, etc.. Tapered BN's are in their folder.. end mills are sorted by up cut, down cut, hogger, and so on, then by size.. but again, you may have a half dozen tools in the DB that use the same tool, different materials, cut strategies, feeds and speeds, step overs, and so on. Then likely a base tool that you set the parameters for on the fly..

Was just wondering if there was a "sort"/"arrange" option for a labeling format that was conducive to sorting.

[Adrian]

Are you making use of the material settings in the database? If you have 15 bits of the same geometry presumably the different parameters are then because you use them with different materials?

[Mark Bolton]

Adrian,
Not using materials in the database. Different tools, different materials, same material/job with different cut strategies on various operations. I would use materials for very specific material-tools but was still looking for a way to sort the groups numerically or alphanumerically same as you do in a spreadsheet.

[Adrian]

Only way I can think of is to access the database directly (it's an sqlite database) and sort by creating intermediate tables and moving back or export/clear/sort externally/import.

I'm not aware of any method of sorting directly. Generally I only have a handful of tools as I went the route of using toolpath templates way before the current database format. All my different cutting parameters are defined directly in the tool definition within the toolpath templates rather than being stored in the database.

[Mark Bolton]

Thanks Adrian,
We've been following your lead on the toolpath templates since we started with Vcarve and reading you referencing that several times but still a constant refinement process