Anyone Load PathPilot yet?

[popspipes]

I looaded Pathpilot on an old dell and the dvd drive wouldnt work after loading the software, couldnt get the dvd back out of the drive.

[popspipes]

The DVD drive was disabled after loading the software.

MDI doesnt work unless a G00 or a G01 is entered first.

USB flash drive, needs a way to select list on the drive.

There are a few little quirks but overall I think it is going to be GREAT!

[shred]

Currently (as of my last beta anyway) all you get in the file picker window is icons. I think they are working on it as the early beta people also requested it, but if you want a listing (and I think there needs to be one), let Tormach know via the beta feedback.

[widget_maker]

Has anyone noticed the issue I had with the limit switches?

Seems like you can't manually run the axes into the limit switches as you could before, as Pathpilot stops at the ref points once they're set, but if you happen to be beyond the ref stop points(as I was prior to the install of PP) then it's very difficult to get the machine reset and manually off the limit switches which was easy before with Mach III.

[tmarks11]

... I'm a bit afraid. not that the software wont work, but because that there is no manual and I'm just learning

There is a draft copy of the manual that is more than sufficient to get started:
http://www.tormach.com/uploads/897/U...A_5-7-pdf.html

[popspipes]

Has anyone noticed the issue I had with the limit switches?

Seems like you can't manually run the axes into the limit switches as you could before, as Pathpilot stops at the ref points once they're set, but if you happen to be beyond the ref stop points(as I was prior to the install of PP) then it's very difficult to get the machine reset and manually off the limit switches which was easy before with Mach III.

I havent had the problem that you describe yet, I reference and the machine does its thing. I do like the soft limits though, as I seem to turn the jog wheel the wrong way most of the time, now it just does nothing rather than hits the limit switch again.

[shred]

Has anyone noticed the issue I had with the limit switches?

Seems like you can't manually run the axes into the limit switches as you could before, as Pathpilot stops at the ref points once they're set, but if you happen to be beyond the ref stop points(as I was prior to the install of PP) then it's very difficult to get the machine reset and manually off the limit switches which was easy before with Mach III.

You should be able to escape this by disabling the limits by in settings, jogging to the middle somewhere, re-enable the limits and then ref all the axis.

[bryanoates]

Got mine loaded this morning and had the DVD issue. restarted with the disk in and the DVD was working again. Removed the disk and canceled out of an install then restarted. Everything booted fine. I have run it through its paces and the only real issue I've found is it doesn't recognize m98/m99 as a valid m code. Also can't find a place to start a new file.

[popspipes]

I plugged in my memory stick that I normally use to transfer programs, on the second screen it shows up, then click the file you want and copy over to the left window and run it from there, by highlighting the file and click the button that says load file. There is a feature to copy one window to the other, different than windows thats for sure and will take a bit of time to get used to it.

Overall I really like it, especially the fact that it wont, on its own, decide to go down and chew the corners off the vise or some other glorious thing!

It seems to operate more smoothly as well, maybe my imagination??

[bryanoates]

Figured out the Subroutine. It's in the draft manual. It looks like they have rewritten the rules. m98/m99 no longer applies although it's still listed in the m codes as an option. CALL, SUB, ENDSUB as well as some others is now the commands. Cutter comp still has a little quirk too. When turning on comp in a straight line movement it still wants to move at an angle to complete the command. If you are dealing with a small area or need to move straight to avoid cutting unwanted material this is a problem.

One good thing is that cutter comp works within subroutines now. A major plus.

Overall I think it's a great improvement from MACH but still a ways to go.

[MFchief]

Two little things I noticed.

With Mach when you did a fast jog, by holding down shift, once it started moving you could release shift and it would keep moving at speed until you released the direction key. Don't know if I would call this a fault or not, probably safer this way.

Second one I hope they add in later, on the probing screens I like the new stuff, but I didn't see the routine for squaring your vice. I will miss that one. I hope someone will say it's there, and I just missed it.

Terry

[SomeWhatLost]

as I seem to turn the jog wheel the wrong way most of the time, now it just does nothing rather than hits the limit switch again.

I thought I was the only one who had that issue...

[samco]

You can initiate the cutter comp above the part too.. (If that solves the issue)

Cutter comp still has a little quirk too. When turning on comp in a straight line movement it still wants to move at an angle to complete the command. If you are dealing with a small area or need to move straight to avoid cutting unwanted material this is a problem.

Overall I think it's a great improvement from MACH but still a ways to go.

[bryanoates]

You can initiate the cutter comp above the part too.. (If that solves the issue)

Yes, this would work in most cases. One place it wouldn't work is if you are working in a T-slot type cut. I've been playing around with it and you can counter act the angle move by adding a movement in that direction with the g41

Example:
G1 G41 Y.5F10.
X-.5

this results in the tool moving in the y direction as well as the x- direction within the first line. To counter act the unwanted x movement I used

G1 G41 Y.5 X.3
X-.5

I just played with the x in the first line until I had a straight Y movement. Sure doesn't act like my HAAS

[choppero]

So far I'm bummed that the file selection from my thumb drive is alphabetical with no way to choose from date. I guess I'll have to get better at placing files in relivent folders. Or maybe these Unix guys have a way.

[tmallard450]

Dumb question here. I just got my disk today. Does the old mach 3 post i have in Sprut work just fine or do we need an updated post processor?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bryanoates]

Dumb question here. I just got my disk today. Does the old mach 3 post i have in Sprut work just fine or do we need an updated post processor?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I haven't tried to post any code yet but it should work just fine as far as I can see by the code I've written.

[popspipes]

So far I'm bummed that the file selection from my thumb drive is alphabetical with no way to choose from date. I guess I'll have to get better at placing files in relivent folders. Or maybe these Unix guys have a way.

mine shows up as icons and I prefer a list, the icons take up too much room in the window.
I am looking for cheap small thumb drives and use one for every part or few parts.

I ran an air cut on a long contour part, and no hiccup in the contour that I saw, Mach would stop and start at certain points during the long contour in a random fashion, each time it makes a small hickey in the finish of the part.

[kbmyers]

Swapped the dvd drive from the HP to the Tormach MC and it is booting!

How the heck can a dvd be READABLE on a machine yet not boot from it???

Oh well.

Mine did the same thing. Sounds like you fixed it but there is another solution as well. It isn't that the disk is bad, the problem is that your DVD drive can't read the brand of disk Tormach used to burn the DVDs. This was a fairly common problem in the early days of DVD readers and questionable DVD media. My main computer could read the disk fine, so I created an .ISO image with ImgBurn and then re-wrote it to a new disk. My controller had no problem reading that disk and I was up and running quickly, which was lucky since I didn't have a spare DVD drive handy.

I learn that trick a couple months ago when I needed to use the Tormach recovery disk after a hard drive failure. Same issue - I could read the disk but not boot from it.

Kent

[choppero]

mine shows up as icons and I prefer a list, the icons take up too much room in the window.
I am looking for cheap small thumb drives and use one for every part or few parts.

I ran an air cut on a long contour part, and no hiccup in the contour that I saw, Mach would stop and start at certain points during the long contour in a random fashion, each time it makes a small hickey in the finish of the part.

I am going to make new folders on my big thumb drive for the parts I'm going to run and won't have to keep track of a bunch of little drives. And label them alphabetic like a a1 a2 a3