Learn/GcodePilot/Positioning & offsets
Tool Library
At a glance
- Per-machine T0…Tn tools with name, diameter, and X/Y offsets
- X/Y offsets position multi-head setups — e.g. a pneumatic engraver beside the plasma torch, one program for both
- Optional M6 tool-change subroutine: rack changers, manual prompts, or post-change probing
- T badge shows the active tool and follows T words in a running program
Each machine carries its own tool table — T0 up to the configured slot count (a machine setting,
default 10) — with a name, diameter, and X/Y offsets per tool. Tools are 0-based, so T0 is the first
(typically the torch). The T badge on the DRO shows the active tool by number and name; click it to
pick a tool, clear it, or open the editor. Diameter is reference information for now. Tool length is
the separate H system — see Tool Height Offsets.
X/Y offsets: one program, two heads
The X/Y offsets exist for multi-head machines — a pneumatic engraver mounted beside the plasma torch,
say — where one posted program engraves and then cuts the same part. Activating a tool applies its
offset as a G92 layer over the active work offset, so the DRO reads the position of that tool's tip
and Zero X/Y composes correctly, while the toolpath preview stays in part coordinates: the offset only
positions the right physical head over the same geometry. A Measure button captures the current
work X/Y as the offset, the same touch-off shape as measuring a height offset.
T words and M6 in a program
A T word in a running program switches the active tool: the engine drains the stream at the change
and applies the offset out-of-band, so it never contaminates the program or the preview. M6 is off by
default (the offset alone covers fixed multi-head setups) — enabling tool changes (M6) in the
machine settings picks a subroutine that runs at each change, called with the tool number, X/Y offsets,
and diameter as arguments. Because it runs through the full
RS274NGC engine against the live machine, one mechanism covers rack
and carousel changers, a manual swap prompt, or a post-change probe that sets the new tool's height
offset.