[Scott Riddle]

I have been playing around with GrblGru lathe 1.0 and 1.1 beta. I am getting more used to it and really like what it can do but I struggle with finding answers to questions I have. More in-depth tutorial videos would be great.
My main question is on setting up jobs. I import a DXF profile and it uses the default tool and makes a toolpath, to which I tweak to my specific needs for the tool and material used. Sometimes I want to use 1 tool to do part of the part and then another to do the rest. Like turn the OD down and then thread it with a threading tool. I don't know how to set that up and it would be great to see a video walking the user through that process. I would also like to create multiple jobs and have small differences between them. Like if I was going to use aluminum for 1 job and then steel for the next part. My feeds and speeds will be different. The problem I have is that it only lets me create 1 job. On the Mill version of GrblGru you can create multiple jobs but not on the lathe. Why? Or am I doing something wrong? I worked around it by saving the entire file twice but that seems wasteful and confusing in the long run.
One other quirk that I have been struggling with is the creation of tools. I pick a "V" style tool and I can edit 1 parameter and the picture shown changes but any additional changes don't change the picture. I did find that if I click a different tool and then come back to the "V" one it updates the picture. It would be nice to have better descriptions on the parameters for the tools. The one I struggled to figure out is how to rotate the whole insert. The description of that parameter, I forget the name, doesnt sounds like it is what I am looking for. It would be nice to indicate which direction CW/CCW and if you use a + or - to go that direction and where is zero starting from? Is it the 3 o'clock position or 12 or?
Something else that I would like to be able to do is setup multiple tools with different offsets. What I want to do is setup a linear gang of tools and then have a offset value for each. Plus be able to output in the G-code the tool number to use.
Spindle RPM is something else that doesn't get output. I checked the box to include it but I never see it. It would be nice to have the program add in spindle RPM and starts & stops automatically. An option for setting a surface speed and letting it calculate the RPM based on that setting and the dia would be nice also.
Inch/metric, I use inch primarily and it would be nice to be able to toggle between the 2.
Do you work with certain people to do testing and trials with?
For the most part though I have gotten around with it but see so much potential for it. Don't take my post as complaining. It is just questions and future enhancements that I see as beneficial.

Many thanks and keep up the great work.

Scott

[GrblGru]

Thank you very much for your feedback and the many good ideas for improving the program. Sorry for my late response.

To get a little understanding of the current state of the program, perhaps a little information first.
I have been working on the project alone in my free time for almost 10 years. Over time, so many new and different machines have been added that I decided some time ago to freeze the lathe part for the time being and remove it from the main program.
It is simply too time-consuming to check the influence on robots, lathes, milling machines etc. with every program change and to maintain their functionality.
I had always planned to incorporate the further developments of the main program into the lathe program at some point.
However, as new machine types, such as the FoamCutter, have been added recently, the timing of the merging will unfortunately be postponed further.

For this reason, I can only provide you with the current status at the moment.