a blog of ideas and improvements
for tormach cnc mills
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This script will drill a series of pilot holes, at an on-center distance of your choosing, around the outline of your project, so your end mill isn't hogging out 100% material, especially at depth... |
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The following are notes on how to backup and restore Pathpilot without the $25 + shipping USB stick. RexManning's guide, here, [screenshot 1 and 2] was critical in helping me find Pathpilot Jesus. Tormach's official guide is here. Understand that I'm not trying tp screw Tormach out of $25 (no one reads this site anyhow), but I have bought more than TWO of these sticks, and lost them both. Also, your machine may be down RIGHT NOW, and you can't wait 2-5 days for delivery... |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQeADQI0xVM |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQDtVp7OWyI Open a website via the MDI line. Create a file with the following contents.... (click the link above) |
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Here is the edit to save time with the factory G37 ETS subroutine. The factory routine is much safer, but if you know what you're doing, this saves a lot of time. Step 1 will alter the initial move to the ETS so it doesn't climb to the very top of the machine, wasting time. Step 2 will alter the ending retract after you set a tool length, which also wastes time. You can do either or both steps. This will probably not survive PathPilot updates. Perhaps David Loomes can chime in with...(click the link above) |
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Inject audio confirmation anywhere in your gcode ("Program done", "Op 1 done", etc), with or without user intervention. |
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I
live in the city. In an American city. With presumably reliable electric
service. That I pay through the nose for. I also have not one, but two, gas generators, and because I went to the expense of putting in a bypass panel that allows me to run (most of) my house off those generators, we almost never lose power. In 13+ years, I've lost service maybe six times at this property and only once longer than a few minutes... |
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TIME REMAINING will append the time-remaining to every line in your file. It can also append the time-remaining until the next op begins. LINES REMAINING is the same idea and will append how many lines until the next op (or end of file) to each line in your program.
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A simple probing routine for bosses when you
want to (or can only) probe one axis. Similar to the A-axis probing routine, but
faster. Can easily be edited to an X BOSS probing routine.
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Temperature-controlled and RPM-adjustable fans
for your steppers / servos and a big ol' desk fan for the cabinet. Quieter when
running, silent when e-stopped and longer lasting components.
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One button Cycle Start? YES. Now that I have your attention: Are you ready to increase your workflow by an exponential amount? Are you ready to throw your mouse and touchscreen in the trash? Are you prepared to perform a mod so useful that you'll never be able to use your machine without it ever again??? In this article, I teach you how to write and bind hotkeys for every action imaginable. One-click zeroing? Yes. One-click probing? Yes. One-click whatever you want.
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Everyone wants to receive notifications via gcode, but no one has written a clear, concise guide. Until now. This is is a multi step
process, but none of it is too difficult, nor is it harmful to the controller.
But, you will be digging behind the scenes of the Pathpilot user interface.
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Upcoming articles:
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Historically, the arrow keys move your cursor
when editing text. Well, on a Tormach, they can also jog your machine. This is
both awesome and absolutely horrible.
On the MDI line? Want to change G0 to G1? You might use your arrow keys to move the cursor over a letter or two. Woops! The MDI line wasn't actually highlighted, so instead you jogged your machine. If your endmill happened to be next to your vise, oh well, it was only a $30 carbide bit. No biggie. Here's how to fix that. [ coming soon ] |
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So, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but
Tormach used to offer a foot pedal for the PDB and possibly still does if you
have an ATC. Well, I don't have an ATC, but I do have two feet and twenty tools to swap out. [ coming soon ] |
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By far, the hardest thing for me, and many
other aspiring prosumer machinists, to grasp, is how the HELL do you accurately
flip two-sided parts.
There are a lot of videos and guides out there. Some work, some don't. Some are intuitive, some aren't. Here's what I came up with that makes the most sense, and is simplest, for me. [ coming soon ] |
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My (probably wrong) opinion on why WD40 is an excellent choice for an excellent surface finish on both your work and your tools. [ coming soon ] |
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A couple ideas on monitoring your machine when
you're dumb enough to walk away from it. And how to log into the machine (and control it!) from another computer, or even your phone. [ coming soon ] |
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Tormachtips.com is an independent venture and not affiliated or funded by Tormach Inc in any way.