Can't Add Tool to Database

[GollyRojer]

I can't seem to add a tool to my database. I'm using Aspire 10.021. Linked below is a recording of me trying to add a 1/32 ball nose to the database.

First I do it by copying the 1/16 ball nose and editing it to change the diameter to ‭0.03125‬. It lets me put this in the textbox, but the Apply button does not enable. So I tell it, 2 flutes, and that enables Apply, but sets the diameter back to ‭0.0625‬. So I correct it and click the button. But when I do, it sets the diameter back to ‭0.0625‬. Also, "Copy settings from" is gone and now there is a "Create settings" button, so I thought, maybe it wants me to use that. So click the button and Apply is enabled. Paste in the diameter value, hit Apply, and it resets the diameter value again.

So I give up on copying and start a new tool with "Add tool" down at the bottom. And I go through the same sequence of events with the same result.

Please tell me why it won't let me change the diameter.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/751yyww8uvqul ... 0.mp4?dl=0

[mtylerfl]

Hi,

Are you actually trying to enter a Straight Ballnose of only 1/32” diameter along the entire shaft? That is a tiny bit! Maybe you have a special application for just such a bit - I don’t know.

Perhaps you are meaning to enter a Tapered Ballnose with a 1/32” tip? That would be a more common bit anyway.

[GollyRojer]

I'm entering a round-nose end mill whose cutting tip is 1/32. The shaft is 1/8, but the cutting tip is the value i'm entering for diameter. That isn't relevant to the problem, though, as the same thing happens no matter what I'm trying to enter. It does it with a 3/16 drill bit I need to get in there, too.

Are you able to copy a bit and edit its diameter, and have the "Apply" button enable?

[mtylerfl]

No problem adding that at all (see screenshot). I first copied a 1/8" straight ballnose and made the changes to the description, bit diameter and settings. Worked like a champ, so I'm unsure why it's giving you problems at your end.

However, you should be entering your bit as a Tapered Ballnose since the shaft is 1/8" diameter and tapers down to 1/32" tip. For a Tapered Ballnose, you enter the Radius of the tip instead of the diameter of the tip. You also need to input the half angle (aka Side Angle) of the taper as part of the setup/entry of the new bit.

[adze_cnc]

Try these two things (2nd only if the first doesn’t work of course):

1. after typing in 0.03125 press the tab key; then click apply
2. enter 0.0313 then press the tab key; then click apply

On non-tapered cutters, shaft sizes mean nothing. I regularly use a 1/16” straight bit that has a 1/4” shaft size. I know that I can’t things deeper than 3/16” or so.

[mtylerfl]

True - if the cutter is actually a straight cutter, the shaft size is of no consequence (and SHOULD be added as a straight Ballnose, as in my example/Test).

[GollyRojer]

This is interesting. I had copied the text value from my calculator after dividing 1 by 32. Then each time I tried to change the diameter, I pasted it in. Aspire will let me change the value by pasting, but apparently it doesn't register that it has changed. adze_cnc said, "after typing in ‭0.03125‬..." and a little bell went off. So I typed it instead of pasting, and the "Apply" button lit up.

Assuming the same is true throughout the various textboxes, I'd say that's a bug. It's quite likely that someone (besides me) will try to use copy-and-paste, and may well wind up with incorrect values because they don't notice them changing back when "Apply" is hit.

Thanks for your help, guys, much appreciated.

[mtylerfl]

Hi,

You don’t need a separate calculator. The numeric input fields can do the calculation(s) for you.

For example, enter this into the input box for diameter: 1/32=

The input box result will be 0.03125 (automagically)

All other numeric field/boxes operate the same way. Type in a math formula, hit the equal sign, and the result is input for you. Very handy! (and no need for any copy/paste from elsewhere)