Tried a new way to set up my work offsets on a big run of 6061 parts

Honestly, I was always taught to touch off each tool on the part itself for every new setup. Last week, I had a job for 200 pieces and decided to try using a 1-2-3 block on the table as a fixed reference point for all my tools instead. Ngl, it cut my setup time in half, maybe more. I just set my work offset from the block once, then touched off every tool to the same spot on the block. The big difference was consistency; every part came out exactly the same because my tool lengths weren't changing with each new piece of stock. Has anyone else switched to a method like this for production runs, or do you stick with touching off on the part?

3 comments

3 Comments

claire_davis312mo ago

That bit about consistency is the real win. I read a shop manual that pushed hard for a master tool setter for any run over fifty pieces. It argued the time you save on the first job pays for the block on the second.

pat7812mo ago

My first job over fifty pieces taught me that lesson the hard way.

leo_black762mo ago

Yeah, I learned that one by making fifty bad pieces first.