Topic: Help with supported file extentions

Tagged: Chilipeppr, cool term, gcode, sender

This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 7 months ago by fixxxer.

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

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April 23, 2018 at 10:22 pm #10966

fixxxer
Member

Hi all I’ve had my TinyG for a couple of years but have only recently had access to a 3 axis machine. I’m drawing in Fusion 360 which outputs Gcode as a .gcode file when I select tinyg as my device. When I go to open the file after selecting connection>send textfile within my terminal (coolterm), there are no files displayed even though the files exist and can be opened with a text editor. Does tinyg not support .gcode files or am I missing something else? Can’t seem to find any info on the github page or this forum. Thanks

April 23, 2018 at 11:38 pm #10967

Zootalaws
Member

That has nothing to do with TinyG – it only expects text code strings.

When you ‘open’ a file in Coolterm, its expecting a Coolterm connection file that tells Coolterm how to configure its ports, speeds, etc.

You need to use ‘send text file’ under ‘connections’.

April 23, 2018 at 11:55 pm #10968

SteveD
Member

Hi Fixxxer,
using Coolterm as the ‘sender’ works for simple, getting started type jobs. As the jobs become more complicated, involving more lines of gcode, you will eventually encounter problems and then you will need to debug them.

Sounds like you’re at the point where you need to start using a gcode sender program. This will allow much greater control over gcode execution. For example you get the ability to single step, pause for tool changes etc.

I suggest you look into something like Chilipeppr. The learning curve can be a little steep but it’s worth the effort.

Regards,
Stephen

April 24, 2018 at 7:02 am #10969

cmcgrath5035
Moderator

Fixxer
What PC OS are you running Coolterm On (Win 8, Win10, MACOS, Linux)?
Coolterm might run somewhat differently on each.

From you description so far, this sounds like a Coolterm issue.
Coolterm is a generic terminal emulation program for sending and displaying characters over serial links. As such, it is a good interface for getting started with the tinyG serial interface.
As SteveD points out, most users find CAM interfaces with CNC centric GUIs, such as Chilipeppr or CNC.js useful when running big jobs.

Are you able to interact with your tinyG from the Coolterm Command line?
Wiki references would be
https://github.com/synthetos/TinyG/wiki/Connecting-TinyG
and
https://github.com/synthetos/TinyG/wiki/Test-Drive-TinyG

April 25, 2018 at 8:50 pm #10970

fixxxer
Member

I figured it out…and yes I can interact with the tinyg from coolterm in line mode. Problem was file extension type. I resaved using a text editor as a .txt instead of .gcode and it worked fine. I’ve looked into Chilipeppr but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. Maybe now’s a good time to learn it. I have another question but I’ll create a new topic. Thanks for the responses.
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