[keen]

New year greetings folks!

Was thinking over the break - would it be difficult to load Pathpilot slant pro software on my 1100 mill controller (beside, but separate from the current Pathpilot mill software)

It would be useful to check out the software, and also to use the conversational to produce code, that could be loaded via USB key into the mill Pathpilot.

Another option would be to just use an old XP computer if that is easier? But this would take up more space etc.

Keen

[cncbasher]

New year greetings folks!

Was thinking over the break - would it be difficult to load Pathpilot slant pro software on my 1100 mill controller (beside, but separate from the current Pathpilot mill software)

It would be useful to check out the software, and also to use the conversational to produce code, that could be loaded via USB key into the mill Pathpilot.

Another option would be to just use an old XP computer if that is easier? But this would take up more space etc.

Keen

as far as i am aware , their is no option to select an optional configuration , however , adding the config to the tmc/config folder & then changing the config_file.txt to suit
will allow you to swap , but then of course you would need to do the swap all over again , back to your origional .

beware iv'e not tried this , so this is just an observation at this time

[LeeWay]

When you do an update of Path Pilot on a Tormach controller, the controller is self aware and knows what it is. It only updates it config files. What CNC basher suggest might work. I would love to be able to prove Gcode on my desktop in the ioffice rather than having to do it on the lathe in the shop, but I have not been able to do that even with a linux computer.
It doesn't help that I don't know WTF I'm doing in Linux, so it may be possible.

[MichaelHenry]

I think that PathPilot may require a MESA card in your PC for the program to run. However, the Tormach controller has something like a 150 GB disk with the 1st 30 GB or so partitioned for PathPilot and the remainder unused. Going from memory there so the numbers could be off. In any event, there should be enough space for additional partitions in which you could install a PathPilot configured for one of the other Tormach machines, like the lathe. johnh here on the zone described a process whereby one could install multiple configurations of PP on the same controller and then switch between them with a utility. That was back on 10/15/2015 or so, according to my notes. After posting this response I'll look for his thread and link it here in an edit.

Here it is:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/tormac...-software.html

I followed the procedure and was able to create a backup of PP for my mill, but haven't done anything with it since.

[wtopace]

cncbasher is correct, the launch script (operator_login) reads from /home/operator/config_file.txt to determine which LCNC configuration to load (PCNC1100 / PCNC770 / SBL). You can edit this file to be the lathe (which won't work because it will try to communicate with the lathe, however, you CAN edit the config file to load the lathe simulator. I have virtual machines configured with both PCNC1100 and SBL lathe sims. I don't actually have a SBL, but it comes in handy for my 10hp Takisawa CNC lathe, even though my Fanuc controller is slightly different.

Backup your config file:
Attachment 302966

Edit your config file to switch to the lathe sim:
Attachment 302968

Reboot your controller to apply the changes.

To revert back, just copy your backup file over your lathe sim edited file and reboot again:
Attachment 302970

Make sure to backup any g-code in case you have to restore from disk at any point - that goes without saying though when you're tweaking settings on an appliance. I would suggest learning vi for editing (press i to enter insert mode, escape key to exit, :x to save and quit). Feel free to google a cheat sheet if you need one.

Note: Your screen might look slightly different than mine. These screenshots are from an SSH session connected to my TC-1 CNC lathe DNC box, which is running a heavily modified PathPilot OS (in case my mill controller takes a dive, I can move this over, reconfigure a few things and swap the Mesa card and be back up and running quickly). It also feeds g-code to my Fanuc controller via serial cable.

Note: PathPilot does not require a Mesa card when run in "sim" mode. Also note - this is almost guaranteed to not be a supported mode by Tormach =)

Another Note: PathPilot lathe and mill are the same software, just different configuration files. You actually have both installed already, but you are configured to launch it to control the mill.

One more note: There are no more notes ;-)

Good luck!

[keen]

Thanks guys.

When in simulation mode, can the conversationals be used to produce code and the code saved to USB key?

keen

[wtopace]

Great idea Keen! I actually haven't even tried it yet. Here is a screenshot from my lathe sim that I run inside of a virtual machine so I don't have to go to the shop for all of my sanity checks:

Attachment 303068

[keen]

Great idea Keen! I actually haven't even tried it yet. Here is a screenshot from my lathe sim that I run inside of a virtual machine so I don't have to go to the shop for all of my sanity checks:

Attachment 303068

Thanks for your input here. Let us know if you get a chance to try getting code to USB key from the coversationals.

Keen

[wtopace]

Thanks for your input here. Let us know if you get a chance to try getting code to USB key from the coversationals.

Keen

Yes, I successfully tested writing data both to local disk and to USB (this was a USB stick passed through to a virtual machine though, but I don't expect any problems with your physical hardware).

[adamvs]

When you do an update of Path Pilot on a Tormach controller, the controller is self aware and knows what it is. It only updates it config files. What CNC basher suggest might work. I would love to be able to prove Gcode on my desktop in the ioffice rather than having to do it on the lathe in the shop, but I have not been able to do that even with a linux computer.
It doesn't help that I don't know WTF I'm doing in Linux, so it may be possible.

Check out: NC Corrector .. it's pretty good

[wtopace]

When you do an update of Path Pilot on a Tormach controller, the controller is self aware and knows what it is. It only updates it config files. What CNC basher suggest might work. I would love to be able to prove Gcode on my desktop in the ioffice rather than having to do it on the lathe in the shop, but I have not been able to do that even with a linux computer.
It doesn't help that I don't know WTF I'm doing in Linux, so it may be possible.

PathPilot can be easily loaded into a VirtualBox VM for offline testing. Make sure you catch it on boot and reconfigure for sim mode though.

(Least Advanced)
Once in sim mode you can pass a physical USB device through to the virtual machine and output g-code to it. Then power off the VM and retrieve your g-code from the USB stick.

(More Advanced)
You can pass a shared directory through to the VM, mount it under /media (where PathPilot scans for "usb devices") and read / write to that directory to share files. You'll need to add this mount to /etc/fstab to have it automount on boot.

(Most advanced)
If you want full network support, you'll need to custom compile a kernel-mode driver for the virtualized NIC. I have done this in my environment and it works fine.

To test updates you can right-click on the powered off VM and clone it to a new VM, then install the update on the clone without breaking your original.

If none of this makes any sense - it might be best to load PathPilot on a spare computer you have and run sim mode inside the comfort of your house and bypass virtualization all together.

Good luck!!

[LeeWay]

I have ran win 95 in VM from XP before to operate some of my older software until I was ready to update. That has been awhile, but I can pick it back up easy enough I think.
I have a laptop here that I installed Ubuntu on already. It would not let me load the Tormach disc that I have. It was the latest version just after I got the lathe, so fairly up to date I think. I will look into again and add a bit of extra effort this time.
Thanks, Guys.