The PathPilot robot control is able to connect to multiple PathPilot CNC controllers, allowing the user to easily create robot programs that interact with CNC machines. When properly set up, the CNC machine model is brought into the robot control, providing collision avoidance. The following documentation demonstrates connecting to a PathPilot CNC machine and setting up the machine offsets that will ensure collision-free programming. The documentation uses an 1100M as an example, but the connection works with all Tormach mills, the 24R router, 1300PL plasma, the 15L and 8L lathes, and all Tormach milling machines.
Machine tool software update
You must first update the software on your milling machine control computer to connect it to the robot. Download the following .tgp file and install it as an update on the mill controller but using the Update button on the Settings tab:
Network connections
For the robot’s PathPilot controller to talk to the mill’s PathPilot controller, both must be connected to a local area network. While this could be done over wifi, a wired network connection is recommended. Both robot and mill controllers use the native Ethernet port for machine control, so connecting to a LAN over Ethernet requires a USB-Ethernet adapter similar to https://tormach.com/usb-3-0-to-gigabit-ethernet-network-adapter-39133.html.
Connecting both controllers to a LAN with internet access will give additional functionality like the ability to receive automatic network updates, use Dropbox for file transfer, or to use robot programs to connect with the outside world with, for example, text messaging (Send SMS messages from a robot program )
When both controllers have been network-connected, verify internet access using a web browser or similar method.
Discovering, naming, selecting a CNC machine in the robot interface
On the settings screen, any available PathPilot CNC controller that has not yet been connected will appear as a discovered instance:
Click the Add button to add a discovered machine. You will be prompted to name the machine.
You may type in any name you like. After naming the machine it will (assuming it’s still powered on and connected to the network) appear as an available machine. The green LED next to the name you chose indicates whether the machine is online:
Changing the machine geometry offsets to match your physical setup
After adding and naming the PathPilot CNC controller the machine tool will appear in the main window along with the robot. Until you offset the machine’s position, the robot and the machine tool will share a zero location, meaning they will overlap in the visualization:
To offset the machine to match the physical set up of your robot and machine tool, use the machine offsets tab of the offsets tab:
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