Debate: Manual offsets vs tool presetters on a tight deadline

Last Thursday I was running a job on my Haas VF-2, a batch of 50 aluminum brackets for a local shop. I had a tool offset that was off by 0.003" and it scraped the first part. I usually set offsets manually with a edge finder, but my buddy swears by using a tool presetter to avoid this. I pulled the part, re-zeroed everything by hand, and salvaged the rest of the run but lost about 20 minutes. So which way do you go when the clock is ticking and a part is on the line? Has anyone else had a similar call on the spot?

2 comments

2 Comments

anderson.spencer8d ago

Man that's rough. Lost a stainless job once because I bumped a tool while setting offsets manually. 0.005" off threw the whole bore out of spec. Took way longer than 20 minutes to get back on track. Tool presetter sounds nice but manual is all I trust when I'm already behind.

barnes.jamie8d ago

Only trust manual" until you bump it again right?