The ToolType is the representation of a tool. Tools are exchangeable components used in a machine tool to execute the production process and may for example be drills, ball milling heads, cutting inserts, pinching tools and so forth. It may also be a non-contact tool, for example a processing laser.

The ToolType is formally defined in Table 50.

Table 50 – ToolType Definition

Attribute

Value

BrowseName

ToolType

IsAbstract

False

References

Node Class

BrowseName

DataType

TypeDefinition

Other

Subtype of the BaseToolType defined in 8.5.3 i.e. inheriting the InstanceDeclarations of that Node.

0:HasComponent

Variable

ControlIdentifier1

0:UInt32

0:BaseDataVariableType

M, RO

0:HasComponent

Variable

ControlIdentifier2

0:UInt32

0:BaseDataVariableType

O, RO

0:HasComponent

Variable

ControlIdentifierInterpretation

ToolManagement

0:BaseDataVariableType

M, RO

0:HasComponent

Variable

LastUsage

0:UtcTime

0:BaseDataVariableType

O, RO

0:HasComponent

Variable

Locked

0:Boolean

0:BaseDataVariableType

M, RO

0:HasComponent

Variable

PlannedForOperating

0:Boolean

0:BaseDataVariableType

O, RO

0:HasComponent

Object

ToolLife

0:BaseObjectType

O

The components of the ToolType have additional references which are defined in Table 51.

Table 51 – ToolType Additional Subcomponents

Source Path

References

NodeClass

BrowseName

DataType

TypeDefinition

Others

Locked

0:HasProperty

Variable

ReasonForLocking

ToolLocked

0:PropertyType

M, RO

ToolLife

0:HasComponent

Variable

<ToolLifeEntry>

0:Number

ToolLifeType

MP, RO

The two components ControlIdentifier1, ControlIdentifier2 are to be interpreted depending on ControlIdentifierInterpretation (refer to 12.10). This reflects the main methods which CNC-based tool management approaches use. In a ToolNumberBased approach, only ControlIdentifier1 is provided and sufficient to identify the tool. In a system with a ToolGroupBasedManagemet, tools are identified by a group and an indexing number inside this group, which are provided as ControlIdentifier1 and ControlIdentifier2 respectively. Should yet another approach be present in a given system, this is indicated by the ControlIdentifierInterpretation being reported as custom. It shall be noted that this identification data is used to identify the tool in the reference frame of the tool management system inside the machine. In many applications the machine control system uses these identifiers to handle multiple tools which are equivalent and present in the machine as spares. For an identification of the tool inside the NC program or globally, independent of the machine management view, the properties Name and Identifier are provided by the BaseToolType.

LastUsage is the time, were the specific tool was the active tool on a tool carrier for the last time, while the machine was operating in an automatic mode (e.g. for CNC controllers: in Mdi- or Automatic-mode).

The property Locked represents whether the tool was locked from use in processing. If True, the tool was locked. It has an additional property as seen in Table 51, ReasonForLocking. ReasonForLocking is defined in 12.8.

The component PlannedForOperating marks tools which the machine tool control can already mark as being needed for the running NC program or process when being True.

The ToolLife reports on how the tool use and tool life is being currently managed and how far the use of the tool has progressed. If more than one measurement is provided as <ToolLifeEntry >, they shall show the same value as if only one entry was provided, so they shall not be accumulated by a Client.