Tool numbering and selection (T word) in CNC Programming - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Tool Numbering and Selection (T word)

📖 Scenario: You are programming a CNC machine that uses different tools for cutting. Each tool has a number, and you need to tell the machine which tool to use by writing a command starting with the letter T followed by the tool number.For example, T01 means use tool number 1.

🎯 Goal: Write a simple CNC program that sets up a list of tool numbers, selects a tool based on a configuration, and outputs the correct T command to tell the machine which tool to use.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a list called tools with the exact tool numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Create a variable called selected_tool_index to choose which tool to use (index in the list)

Use the selected_tool_index to get the tool number from tools

Print the tool selection command in the format Txx where xx is the tool number with two digits

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

CNC machines need clear commands to know which tool to use for cutting. This project shows how to write those commands in a simple program.

💼 Career

Understanding tool selection commands is important for CNC programmers and operators to automate machining tasks safely and efficiently.

1

Create the list of tool numbers

Create a list called tools with these exact numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

CNC Programming

# Create the list of tool numbers
# Your code here

Hint

Use square brackets [] to make a list and separate numbers with commas.

2

Set the selected tool index

Create a variable called selected_tool_index and set it to 2 to select the third tool in the list

CNC Programming

tools = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
# Set the selected tool index
# Your code here

Hint

Remember that list indexes start at 0, so 2 means the third tool.

3

Get the selected tool number

Create a variable called selected_tool and set it to the tool number from tools at index selected_tool_index

CNC Programming

tools = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
selected_tool_index = 2
# Get the selected tool number
# Your code here

Hint

Use square brackets [] with the index to get the item from the list.

4

Print the tool selection command

Print the tool selection command in the format Txx where xx is the tool number with two digits, using selected_tool. For example, if selected_tool is 3, print T03

CNC Programming

tools = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
selected_tool_index = 2
selected_tool = tools[selected_tool_index]
# Print the tool selection command
# Your code here

Hint

Use an f-string with :02d to format the number with two digits.