Loading a tool library does not update existing tools.

[Hirudin]

I have Rhino 4.0 with the latest service release (5b) and am using RhinoCAM 2.0 Standard with the latest update (2,0,1,13).

I wrote a much longer post, but for now I'll keep it short...

When I load a tool library ("Tools.csv") into an existing drawing the tools DO NOT GET UPDATED.

Let me put it this way...
Lets say I have two drawings named "Part-a" and "Part-b". Lets also say I have two tools named "Ballmill" and "Endmill" in each of the drawings. OK, now imagine I'm working on Part-b and I realize my Ballmill tool is actually shorter than I had thought and I change it's length from 2.5 inches to 2.25 inches. If I save the (updated) tool library to "Tools.csv", then open Part-a, then load "Tools.csv", then check Ballmill the length will NOT be updated: it will still be set at 2.5 inches, which is wrong.

[MecSoft Support]

Hirudin,

The tools get updated once you update the tool library and select Load Tool Library.
Tools associated to a mop are not updated when a you re-load the tool library.

[Hirudin]

Thanks for the response!

Ah, I didn't think about that. I was only checking one tool, I don't remember if it was a tool that was currently being used in a MOp or not though. I'll double check next time I'm in Rhino.

Also, per one of my other issues, maybe saving/loading the tool library as a .vkb file instead of .csv will help.

[poptime]

So how do you unassociate the tools from a group of mops so you can load a new set?

[waywood]

As far as I've been able to tell, the only way to unassociate a tool from its MOp is to choose a different tool. In the past, if I updated a tool on the machine and then imported it into RhinoCAM I would have to go through this procedure: unassociate the redundant tool from all MOps in which it appeared by substituting a different tool, then deleting the redundant tool, then importing the new version of it, then reassigning the new version of the tool to all those MOps.

Needless to say, I soon got bored of all that! Now I take advantage of the fact that the tool name is the key field as far as RhinoCAM is concerned (rather than the number, which is what I and the machine use) and put a revision number into the name of the tool every time it is updated and is written into a library (I have managed to automate all this). That way, you can import the new tool even though the old version is still referenced in the MOps, and simply have to switch each relevant MOp to the new tool version.

I did ask some time ago for an enhancement to allow a tool library import to update tools in use, but it does not appear to have got to the top of anyone's list (yet at least). Please....

[MecSoft Support]

Ok, this is in the enhancement list. Thanks for the input.