[thackman]

I've decided to take the plunge and switch my Series II 1100 over to PathPilot. The upgrade process went smoothly and I haven't had any issues getting everything up and running. What I'm struggling with now are the differences between how Mach and Pathpilot interpret gcode. Does anyone have a list of gcode differences between the two? I've been working through the issue one by one as PP complains about a line. If someone else has already gone through this process I'd appreciate any tips.

I eliminated the % at the start and end of the code. I'm not sure why the post was putting them in.

I noticed that my Mach3 post used G70 to set the units to inches but PathPilot required a G20. When I looked them up online it seems that they are synonomous.

For constant velovity mode my Mach 3 post used G65 without any parameters. It looks like PathPilot needs a P parameter like this "G64 P0.01 " but I can't find any reference to what the units for P are. I used 0.010 because i found it in some examples online but I can't imagine that its 0.010 inches. Does anyone know that P actually controlls?

PathPilot doesn't seem to be stopping for tool changes. In Mach the T1 M6 would pause for a manual tool change. fyi: I don't have the automatic tool changer upgrade.


Here is the first part of program to predrill some holes in UHMW for pocketing. If there are any gcode gurus out there can you look to see if there is anything obvious missing?

(Project: Square Pockets )
(PathPilot Post)
(= OFlute 0250)
(= Tool No 1 diam. = 0.25)
(..Segment = POCKET1)
(..Op = DRILL)
(====OFlute 0250=============================)
N60 G40 G49 G17 G80 G64 P0.01 G20 G90 G98
N65 G00
N70 T1 M6
N75 G00 Z1.0
N80 G00 X1.8258 Y2.8338 S5000 M03
N85 F18.75
N90 M08
N95 G43 H1 Z1.0
N100 Z0.1 (zrapid)
N105 G83 X1.8258 Y2.8338 G98 Z-0.6188 R1.0 Q0.25 F18.75 ( ABSdepth -0.6188 depth0.6188 zrapid1.0 zsurf0. absclear0.1 deep hole drill)
N110 G80
N115 Z1.0 (zrapid)
N120 X3.5758 (rapid)
N125 Z0.1 (zrapid)

[kstrauss]

The P parameter sets the maximum error, in inches, between the desired path and the actual path. See G Codes

I have found CNC Milling in the Workshop by Marcus Bowman useful for explaining many of the differences between the gcode accepted by Mach3 and by LinuxCNC.

[daniellyall]

are you using the pathpilot post from here Autodesk CAM | Post Library or from fusion cam post prossesor folder. or this one Direct Document and Software Download | Tormach Inc. providers of personal small CNC machines, CNC tooling, and many more CNC items., if problems still happen ask NYCCNC if you can have a copy of his

[thackman]

kstrauss, Thanks for the reply. I had read that section of the Linux CNC documentation and didn't see any reference to the units for the P parameter. They do have an example "G64 P0.015 (set path following to be within 0.015 of the actual path)" but I couldn't imagine anyone being satisfied with +-0.015" on a Tormach. But I did some more research it appears that you are correct. The Probotix documentation calls out using 0.010" for decorative carving and 0.001" for more precise parts. "While cutting a square at only 10IPM will be a near perfect square, cutting that same square at 100IPM will result in 3 extremely rounded corners. " Two things came to mind, one people with home build gantry routers might actually be happy with 0.015" tolerances and and some of the mentions that I saw online for P0.050 might have been users that work in metric mode.

daniellyall, I probably should have mentioned that this is just a hobby for me and I'm using a very old copy of FeatureCam that I bought off my last employer when they went out of business over a decade ago. I've experimented a bit with Fusion360 and I'd like to switch to it but I don't have any solid modeling experience and I haven't had much luck figuring it out. I'm going to download those posts and see if I can learn anything from them.

[popspipes]

I've decided to take the plunge and switch my Series II 1100 over to PathPilot. The upgrade process went smoothly and I haven't had any issues getting everything up and running. What I'm struggling with now are the differences between how Mach and Pathpilot interpret gcode. Does anyone have a list of gcode differences between the two? I've been working through the issue one by one as PP complains about a line. If someone else has already gone through this process I'd appreciate any tips.

I eliminated the % at the start and end of the code. I'm not sure why the post was putting them in.

I noticed that my Mach3 post used G70 to set the units to inches but PathPilot required a G20. When I looked them up online it seems that they are synonomous.

For constant velovity mode my Mach 3 post used G65 without any parameters. It looks like PathPilot needs a P parameter like this "G64 P0.01 " but I can't find any reference to what the units for P are. I used 0.010 because i found it in some examples online but I can't imagine that its 0.010 inches. Does anyone know that P actually controlls?

PathPilot doesn't seem to be stopping for tool changes. In Mach the T1 M6 would pause for a manual tool change. fyi: I don't have the automatic tool changer upgrade.


Here is the first part of program to predrill some holes in UHMW for pocketing. If there are any gcode gurus out there can you look to see if there is anything obvious missing?

(Project: Square Pockets )
(PathPilot Post)
(= OFlute 0250)
(= Tool No 1 diam. = 0.25)
(..Segment = POCKET1)
(..Op = DRILL)
(====OFlute 0250=============================)
N60 G40 G49 G17 G80 G64 P0.01 G20 G90 G98
N65 G00
N70 T1 M6
N75 G00 Z1.0
N80 G00 X1.8258 Y2.8338 S5000 M03
N85 F18.75
N90 M08
N95 G43 H1 Z1.0
N100 Z0.1 (zrapid)
N105 G83 X1.8258 Y2.8338 G98 Z-0.6188 R1.0 Q0.25 F18.75 ( ABSdepth -0.6188 depth0.6188 zrapid1.0 zsurf0. absclear0.1 deep hole drill)
N110 G80
N115 Z1.0 (zrapid)
N120 X3.5758 (rapid)
N125 Z0.1 (zrapid)

I add P.001 Q.001 to the startup line in my programs on the advice of a couple knowledgeable forum members. I was having trouble with the machine hesitating when cutting contours, this solved the problem for me.

A gcode expert, I am not.........