PRIME MOTION— Help

Getting started › Connecting to your machine

Connecting to your machine

Two things have to be true before the machine will do anything: Prime Motion must know what machine it is, and it must be connected to it.

First, a profile

A profile describes your machine — travel, homing corner, spindle, accessories. Without one the app cannot check anything, so it does not pretend to.

Wizards → Machine Setup creates one. See Machine profiles and the setup wizard.

Then, connect

Plug the machine's controller into the tablet's USB port. Settings → Connection — the status line reports what you are attached to.

Settings → Connection — the machine profile's travel, tool change and serial settings in one place
Settings → Connection — the machine profile's travel, tool change and serial settings in one place

If it does not connect, work through Connecting to a machine — cable, power, baud rate, in that order.

Then, home

Homing is what makes every coordinate mean something. Jog → Home, and the rest of the app comes up.

No machine yet?

You can still do most of the work. The Design tab is never gated — design a part, generate toolpaths, and post a program with no machine connected at all. Connecting and homing are only needed when it is time to cut.