[jeffrey001]

For me ( for the lathe)

1: Taper turning
2: G30 work for both X and Z, not only Z
3: Append to file ( could modify only a section of it and beeing able to append it to file to where it's suppose to be in the program) ( like make a chamfer bigger on the face of the part)
4: A programmed switch for security, like if the minus Z value is more than the value set into a variable, you get an alarm, like a reversed G30


Will try to add more.

Please add yours.

Jeff

[jttoner]

Plug-n play for Vista Pendants. I know, Tormach doesn't sell Vistas but maybe they should.

[C*H*U*D]

My requests are minor. I really like PathPilot but there are a few annoying quirks.

1. Tool description as well as just the length being displayed. I miss this from Mach3
2. Fix the shutdown screen. I know this is a minor issue but it looks very unprofessional to have white text that you can't read, being displayed over the white Tormach logo. Lower the text or remove the logo.
3. A better way to shut down the controller than hard booting the power button. This is archaic and again seems very unprofessional.

[toyshop]

Closed and one end open keyway cut function.

[jmosley]

Larger number of possible tools in the tool offset list.. I have created hundreds of tools in fusion but path pilot is limited in the number of tools in the offset library so I can't keep the tool numbers synced between the two very well.

I would like to be able to start gcode on the third or fourth tool operation in a long 8 tool program. I find it's difficult to skip down to the third tool because the search feature is only in the gcode editor. It would be nice to have button to skip to the next tool so I could start from the third tool operation for example..

A way to save conversational setups - so they can be recalled and tweaked..

[popspipes]

My requests are minor. I really like PathPilot but there are a few annoying quirks.

1. Tool description as well as just the length being displayed. I miss this from Mach3
2. Fix the shutdown screen. I know this is a minor issue but it looks very unprofessional to have white text that you can't read, being displayed over the white Tormach logo. Lower the text or remove the logo.
3. A better way to shut down the controller than hard booting the power button. This is archaic and again seems very unprofessional.

Ditto on number 2!

that has irritated me since day one.......
However the software doesnt screw up and I reallllllllly like that, so I can deal with it........

also a text center function for the Y axis. I usually use Rhino for text, but this would be handy at times if it had the center function on both x and y

also to be able to stop a program and change a tool and enter a new offset for it and restart

[C*H*U*D]

However the software doesnt screw up and I reallllllllly like that, so I can deal with it........

Have you seen my video in the PathPilot section :-) I'm beginning to think that's a hardware issue though.

I found one last night. When doing a conversational drill, it would be nice to be able to set the speed and feed for the center drill you're using. I change it in the code but that kind of defeats the purpose of it being conversational.

[tmarks11]

Make it so the file explorer shows detailed (text) view instead of icons.

Add more keyboard shortcuts (or just add back in the normal linux cnc ones).

[Mooser]

Home all button (that can go z then y then x or whatever order on it's own)

Click into the gcode window for a program and be able to arrow up or down to look over the code without the machine jogging

Step through the code in the window and see the progress in the toolpath window (it does this as the program runs so if they would allow it to simulate or when you step through the program using arrow keys)

Having it check for over-limit situations in the code other than only when it first loads the code.

Timer, operation or entire program

Just a few
M

[jeffrey001]

I hope some of the Tormach guys will look at this because those are great ideas.

Jeff

[popspipes]

Have you seen my video in the PathPilot section :-) I'm beginning to think that's a hardware issue though.

I found one last night. When doing a conversational drill, it would be nice to be able to set the speed and feed for the center drill you're using. I change it in the code but that kind of defeats the purpose of it being conversational.

I did read that post about the conversational pocketing bug, I have never had it screw up running code is what I was reffering to. Mach used to do strange things with no rhyme or reason for me, and for others have said they have no trouble with it at all.
PP does hesitate machining contours, I thought I had found a fix for that, it was suggested to put a P0 Q.001 in the start line, this worked for the hesitation but I later I found it had a detrimental effect on waterline roughing (gouging).

It definitely has a few quirks but has been dependable for me, I am confident over time it will get much better.

[rdsi]

We need a tool table import/export function using a something like a comma delimited file format. I realize we can backup/restore a tool table but that format is not really usable by external applications.

It would be awesome to have the ability to link the tool table to our CAM program.

[kstrauss]

Most of the tool table *IS* exported/imported in a space delimited format just as with LinuxCNC. The tool description portion of the tool table (something added in PP) is exported in a file called dump.rdb with an undocumented format. The two tool table files together with font files, threading info and LinuxCNC variables (as space delimited variable number/value pairs) are combined into a single archive for saving.

[rdsi]

One can sort through “tool.tbl” easy enough to extract/import data but the “dump.rdb” file is actually a database type of file described at redis. It’s not really a text file & I’m not sure you could change it, then import it to update the tool table. It’s a memory snapshot of PathPilot variables so I suspect that it has a checksum value for corruption detection.

So I’m still wishing for a documented easier way ...

[kstrauss]

I agree that trying to decipher the dump file is probably far more effort than is reasonable. I've used G10 commands to transfer the tool lengths from other software but there is no obvious way to import the descriptions. It would be great if Tormach were to document an easy way to do it!

[petenc]

My requests are minor. I really like PathPilot but there are a few annoying quirks.

1. Tool description as well as just the length being displayed. I miss this from Mach3
2. Fix the shutdown screen. I know this is a minor issue but it looks very unprofessional to have white text that you can't read, being displayed over the white Tormach logo. Lower the text or remove the logo.
3. A better way to shut down the controller than hard booting the power button. This is archaic and again seems very unprofessional.

Lol... I thought I was the only one that had the shutdown screen text issue. That drove me nuts on day one and it got fixed on day 2. Ill dig it back up on how to change it if anybody else really cares lol.

Attachment 345360

[popspipes]

Lol... I thought I was the only one that had the shutdown screen text issue. That drove me nuts on day one and it got fixed on day 2. Ill dig it back up on how to change it if anybody else really cares lol.

Attachment 345360

I for one would be very interested in how to change it!!!

[rdsi]

PathPilot uses Plymouth to implement its splash screens during startup & shutdown. There is a script file that controls this behavior and you can change it’s content to whatever you like.

I think what’s happening is that during shutdown some vga/monitor combos switch into different modes and the script routine ends up calculating the wrong placement for the statement “It is now safe ...” and it ends up inside the Tormach logo instead of below.

Anyway, if you boot into the PP desktop & open up a terminal screen you can easily adjust this script file to suit your needs. Be warned there is little documentation about Plymouth and the functions it uses.

So, if you’ve got a terminal opened up you can edit this file using the command:

operator@tormach:~$ sudo nano /lib/plymouth/themes/simple/simple.script

Nano is a bit primitive, use the arrow keys to move around, make your changes, then “^O” (that’s the Ctrl Key+O) then “Enter” to write or save your results, “^X” to exit.

If you scroll down to the first line that reads:

message_sprite.y = logo_sprite.GetY() + logo_image.GetHeight();

Change it to add few more pixels (50 works for me) to push it down further on the screen like so:

message_sprite.y = logo_sprite.GetY() + logo_image.GetHeight() + 50;

If you push it down too far it will be off the screen bottom so just enough to get it below the logo.

If your real ambitious you can make this script do anything you want!

[petenc]

PathPilot uses Plymouth to implement its splash screens during startup & shutdown. There is a script file that controls this behavior and you can change it’s content to whatever you like.

I think what’s happening is that during shutdown some vga/monitor combos switch into different modes and the script routine ends up calculating the wrong placement for the statement “It is now safe ...” and it ends up inside the Tormach logo instead of below.

Anyway, if you boot into the PP desktop & open up a terminal screen you can easily adjust this script file to suit your needs. Be warned there is little documentation about Plymouth and the functions it uses.

So, if you’ve got a terminal opened up you can edit this file using the command:

operator@tormach:~$ sudo nano /lib/plymouth/themes/simple/simple.script

Nano is a bit primitive, use the arrow keys to move around, make your changes, then “^O” (that’s the Ctrl Key+O) then “Enter” to write or save your results, “^X” to exit.

If you scroll down to the first line that reads:

message_sprite.y = logo_sprite.GetY() + logo_image.GetHeight();

Change it to add few more pixels (50 works for me) to push it down further on the screen like so:

message_sprite.y = logo_sprite.GetY() + logo_image.GetHeight() + 50;

If you push it down too far it will be off the screen bottom so just enough to get it below the logo.

If your real ambitious you can make this script do anything you want!

Awesome I like that idea better. I am away from the control but from memory I opened it up with "sudo nautilus" from terminal and drove to that path. The command that outputs "It is now safe..." has a color function which I believe is set to 1,1,1 and I just changed it to 0,0,0 which is black. I could have it reversed.

[tmarks11]

Lol... I thought I was the only one that had the shutdown screen text issue.

I personally would rather they just commanded the computer to shut down. Having the computer close out of the operating system and then tell you "time to push power off" seems like the way computers operated in 1984. My computer is not plugged into the tormach control panel.