Switching over from an older controller

Hi all,

Having recently gotten my old machine running with LinuxCNC, I wanted to ask the experienced members of the forum about good suggestions for replicating some of the programs I had.

What I used to do to layout multiple parts on a piece of sheet stock was to save my CAM generated toolpaths as macro files (this was the Philips 432 controller from the 1980s) that didn't use coordinate systems. The I would write a program that set a G54 coordinate system and call one file. After it finished milling, I set up a G code that moved the G54 coordinate system a specific distance to the right (X axis). Then I ran a code to repeat the last two lines, etc.

I could layout different files on one sheet or just one that was repeated a number of times that was based on the length of the stock on the table. This was way easier than creating multiple layouts in CAD/CAM (using Fusion 360), and also very light on memory use which was a huge issue on the old Philips control.

LinuxCNC is far more sophisticated in terms of programing options and I have 120GB of space for files, so that's no longer a limit. But I like my previous methodology of laying out parts using G code. What would be a good alternative in LinuxCNC, especially considering work offsets? The trouble I had with my previous method was that if a tool broke due to wear, I had to be very careful not to move the machine in the X and Y coordinates, because all the work offsets were calculated on the go. I had to pause the program, retract the spindle, change the tool and hit resume. If I did anything that affected the offsets, continuing the program would ruin the parts or stock.

I'd be happy to hear how you guys do that kind of stuff.

Glemigobles wrote:

Hi all,

Having recently gotten my old machine running with LinuxCNC, I wanted to ask the experienced members of the forum about good suggestions for replicating some of the programs I had.

What I used to do to layout multiple parts on a piece of sheet stock was to save my CAM generated toolpaths as macro files (this was the Philips 432 controller from the 1980s) that didn't use coordinate systems. The I would write a program that set a G54 coordinate system and call one file. After it finished milling, I set up a G code that moved the G54 coordinate system a specific distance to the right (X axis). Then I ran a code to repeat the last two lines, etc.

I could layout different files on one sheet or just one that was repeated a number of times that was based on the length of the stock on the table. This was way easier than creating multiple layouts in CAD/CAM (using Fusion 360), and also very light on memory use which was a huge issue on the old Philips control.

LinuxCNC is far more sophisticated in terms of programing options and I have 120GB of space for files, so that's no longer a limit. But I like my previous methodology of laying out parts using G code. What would be a good alternative in LinuxCNC, especially considering work offsets? The trouble I had with my previous method was that if a tool broke due to wear, I had to be very careful not to move the machine in the X and Y coordinates, because all the work offsets were calculated on the go. I had to pause the program, retract the spindle, change the tool and hit resume. If I did anything that affected the offsets, continuing the program would ruin the parts or stock.

I'd be happy to hear how you guys do that kind of stuff.

If I understand you correctly, you would just have to set different work coordinates re: G54, G55, G56, G57 etc...

And either switch in gcode file or when program done, run mdi G55 then start program.

Thanks John, that sounds very interesting for my application but when I try to watch the video youtube tells me it doesn't exist.

Bevins, the G54/5/6/7 solution is not a good one, I'd run out of offsets too quickly.

Glemigobles wrote:

Thanks John, that sounds very interesting for my application but when I try to watch the video youtube tells me it doesn't exist.

Bevins, the G54/5/6/7 solution is not a good one, I'd run out of offsets too quickly.

Works for me.

Thanks John, I seem to be having a weird error with your videos, they show up on your channel but then they "don't exist" when I click on them. No idea what's going on.

Could you maybe tell me at least if the GUI nesting thing is specific to your GUI or is a component that can be loaded into gmoccapy, for example?

I'm a real newbie with LinuxCNC and tbh I feel completely lost now that I managed to get my machine working with it. I thought the retrofit would be the hard part, but the hard part is having expensive stuff break because things don't work the way they did before.

I can and have watched the chicken and gator videos. I am in Poland.

That nesting thing sounds perfect. I'm not really tied to any particular GUI and was thinking about doing my own one at some point. I was just hoping I could get back to work with some sort of basic set up, it's probably better to use axis for that. I'm not too keen on touch screens, but I'm also lousy with electronics.

I crashed my high speed spindle first thing when running a CAM part and that's when I learned that the feed override slider doesn't work for rapid moves. But gmoccapy doesn't have a separate rapid slider like axis has by default. I used to be confident after running the Philips for nearly 2 years, now the damage has me real scared of doing anything.

Yet when I double check how things work, it appears that all the caution in the world is warranted, since everything works differently and changing it isn't something that a layman like me can do on the fly.

I need way more time and work to be a happy LCNC user.