Help! Probe seems satified, but Z offset not correct.

u00mem9 said:

Hi Guys-

I'm very new at this, so bear with me. I have a <1yr old VF2 with the WIPS probe. After using the probe successfully several times, I am now suddenly having a problem setting a correct work offset via the probe for the Z. I'm using the single-surface probing routine. (I've tried both IPS and the offsets page with the same result)

In short, It returns a Z offset of ~-3.7 inch for my work which is roughly 5 in off the table. Since the table height is around ~-15 in, I should be getting something around -9 or -10 in.

I've tried a bunch of things, and nothing seems to get the correct value. It's very consistent, and the probe is happy with it's performance . I verified that the problem is real by drilling a hole in mid-air Could there be a current command that is hiding there causing it to add the probe length or something. (probe length seems to approximate the error)

If there is any other info that would help, let me know
TIA
Matt

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u00mem9 said:

Thanks for the help guys! I'm not sure how, but the Tool offset value for the table was -5.xx. I'm sure user error was involved, although I'm not exactly sure how I managed that. In any event, per the suggestion, I have probed the probe with the tool setter, and everything seems to be back to normal. Thanks!
Matt

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Larry Dickman said:

Better -5 than +5, eh?

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haastec said:

+1 and glad it was something simple.

I still recommend a full calibration from time to time. Depending on use, I have seen spindle probes develop runout and the tool setter is no longer flat. I have a dedicated calibration tool, so all it takes is a quick check with an indicator then run the calibration cycles. Goes real fast with a bit of practice.

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