Thoughts on Tormach pcnc-440?

[BGHansen]

You can also hit Tormach's web site and go to the "PathPilot HUB" link (at the top left). Create a user name and password and you are in. It gives you a virtual "seat" at your mill's controller. I use it all of the time when writing/debugging routines as my shop is 50 yards from the house. Smarter person would just buy a laptop and run CAD from it, but we have an HP workstation with a 24" monitor in the house, I like the big monitor.

You can transfer tool tables back and forth also. Go to the OFFSET tab in PathPilot and you'll see buttons for EXPORT and IMPORT. I'll add a tool in the shop (tool#, diameter and length), EXPORT the tool offset table to the PathPilot controller. Then copy it to a jump drive and IMPORT it to virtual PathPilot at the house. Very handy tool.

Bruce

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

Not sure all that made sense, but the logging into a virtual machine sounds like there could be applications for me at a later time.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

I am playing with different software, just downloaded Mach4. Does this REPLACE the PathPilot controller? Do you plug the parallel plug into the computer running Mach 4 and not use the Tormach computer at all? I was under the belief that the Tormach has it's own controller and you really are "stuck" with it. Sorry I know very little about CAM or control software and not 100% about the Tormach.

 

[RJSakowski]

When I bought my Tormach, it was running Mach 3 on a Win XP platform. PathPilot is based on LinuxCNC and runs on a Linux platform. In addition, PathPilot requires a special daughter board for the mesa interface and doesn't use the parallel port. Supposedly, the use of this board eliminates some conflicts that can arise when using the parallel port.

It is my understanding the PathPilot is superior to Mach4. I have no personal knowledge of that though. It is certainly superior to Mach 3. The only thing that I miss converting from Mach 3 to PathPilot is the loss of the Wizards. I loaded the old system on a second computer so I can access the Wizards. I configure them on the second computer and save the G code to a flash drive so I can load it into PathPilot.

You should be able to run Mach 4 on a second computer and just switch the cable. There is nothing in the 440 itself that I am aware of that would prevent that.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

Alright, so I really don't see a compelling reason to go with Mach4. I'm good with Fusion360 for designing and creating tool paths. SO there is my design and g-code, not really anything else needed. I will say, the guy I bought the 440 from had some crazy expensive software and he ran a design, I'll post a picture, but it was well over 100k lines of code, the finish it put on a complex shape with a flat, 4 flute end mill was crazy. All software (CAM particularly) are not created the same. I just cant do much with Path Pilot.
I needed to put axis/height lines on some 3d printed PLA blocks I made. I couldn't do it with the conversational software. Am I missing something? So I need to find that right software for CAD and CAM the learn it. I can't keep learning new ones...its too much for me. Being I don't really need controller software like Mach, that's one less I need to spend time on.

 

[RJSakowski]

I'm curious as to what your limitations with PathPilot are. IMO, the conversational part of PathPilot is limited to rather simple routines. For more complex parts, you really need to use a CAD program to create the solid model and a CAM program to create the g-code. It is not impossible to manually create g-code for a complex part but it is a tedious, error prone process. The real strength of CNC lies is its use of CAM derived g-code.

If you are reasonably proficient using Fusion for CAD, I would suggest using it for the CAM as well. I haven't used Fusion to create g-code myself (I still use the SprutCAM that I bought in 2011) but from what I have seen, it has some impressive routines.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

@RJSakowski Please remember I am NEW to this, that being said, I was simply trying to etch horizontal lines across a jig I made for work. The length of the part I made with 1.5mm spacing between the 5 lines. I could not figure out how to do that. It SEEMS if you were to make a flat part with a boss and a pocket, with a few holes, you could do it. Again, if I wanted to make...say a top tree of a motorcycle fork tube/handle bar, it's not terribly complex but I don't think its possible. I'm getting decent with F360, so that's good, I read you can import in a dxf file, I always just bring in g-code, but I'm curious what I do with that file instead. I will post that pic of the part the previous owner made while I watched. I gotta say, the final product is very impressive and I'm curious if I could do that with F360 with the same quality of final product.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

This was done with a 1/4” square end, 4 flute end mill...nothing else! About 10-15 minutes, the main roughing passes were shooting some impressive chips..
View attachment trim.593C5470-BCC7-4066-9E7A-76EEB9C43B68.MOV

 

[burtonbr]

thats a nice part, that wouldn’t be too difficult to CAM in Fusion360. finish could be as smooth as you’d like it depending on step down/stepover settings.
you could do straight lines engrave in PathPilot Like you talk about using face and the correct inputs then for more than one just input location of the second and append it to the first G-code file you saved and so on for how ever many you need, though it would be simpler in fusion It can be done as conversational.

 

[RJSakowski]

@RJSakowski Please remember I am NEW to this, that being said, I was simply trying to etch horizontal lines across a jig I made for work. The length of the part I made with 1.5mm spacing between the 5 lines. I could not figure out how to do that. It SEEMS if you were to make a flat part with a boss and a pocket, with a few holes, you could do it. Again, if I wanted to make...say a top tree of a motorcycle fork tube/handle bar, it's not terribly complex but I don't think its possible. I'm getting decent with F360, so that's good, I read you can import in a dxf file, I always just bring in g-code, but I'm curious what I do with that file instead. I will post that pic of the part the previous owner made while I watched. I gotta say, the final product is very impressive and I'm curious if I could do that with F360 with the same quality of final product.

The simplest way to engrave lines with the Tormach is to use the jog/shuttle. (assuming your lines are parallel to an axis) Truth ne known, mpost of the the work I do in my Tormach is with the jog shuttle. I do this because for simple cuts it is far easier than creating a model, importing into CAM and creating a g-code program. It is essentially the same as manual milling except that I am twisting a shuttle dial rather than turning a crank.

In your case, I would positing my engraving tool for the desired depth of cut and at a starting position collinear with the desired line and use the shuttle to cut the line. Next easiest is to write a small set of g-code instructions using the MDI. As you create the instructions line by line, they are retained in memory and can be recalled. The instruction F10G1 X0 Y0 Z-.02 will move the cutting tool to coordinates 0,0,-.02 at a speed of 10 inches/min. The command X2 will move the tool to coordinates 2,0,-.02 at 10 in/min. Assuming that your tool height was set at zero at the surface, you will have engraved a line .020" deep in your part.I would use this if I wanted to make a diagonal cut across x and y. For example,if the second line was X2 Y2, the cutting tool would make a diagonal pass at a45º angle from 0,0 to 2,2.

Where CAD/CAM comes into its own is when .you have a complex shape to machine. Here is an example. There were nearly a quarter of a million lines of g-code.