I also was trying to get an edge finding probe working on the machine. I believe I have it wired correctly but when I plug it in to the DIN accessory port on the control box I can’t get it to light up. Couldn’t find the key to the box to see if that port is actually connected to anything or if I just have the wrong pins wired. Anyone have any guidance on this?
I’ll send you a PM about the key @jimbojsb. I was trying to double check something in there after we moved the tormach during work day, but I couldn’t get the cabinet open for the life of me and ended up giving up. WD40 didn’t help, and it’s definitely the right key, so be careful not to break it off in the lock.
Curious to hear how well the probe works with pathpilot. Did you get one of the tormach probes or an alternative?
I got a $100 one off amazon. It works very well just standalone with USB power and jogging the mill until it lights up. I would say it’s easily >.005 more accurate than using paper and a wobbler. But, obviously, getting path pilot to probe it is the desire. As far as I can tell from various forum posts online, it should work, as there’s nothing magical about the Torch ones except the price. Just plain old circuit-break or circuit-connect 3-wire stuff. I’ll definitely post a video if I can get it working. If it turns out to be a reliable thing I’ll write up some directions and leave it for everyone to use.
Update - got a probe working. Some quality time with a DIN pigtail and a multimeter were required. The pinout is not what’s documented in various forum posts I found. I’ll diagram it and post it for posterity. This probe seems to be repeatable within .0003” which is more than good enough.
I didn’t video it, but I did confirm this will find hole centers as well.
Based on this it would be very easy to get a “cheap Amazon tool setter” and connect it up the same way. I have my own set of TTS holders so that’s of less interest to me, as I don’t need to reset tools that often.
Very nice! Thanks for testing that out. Just FYI, the Tormach has not been re-leveled yet after it was moved on work day, so if you’re trying to make any tight tolerance parts keep that in mind.