Tormach to unveil cutting-edge real-time motion control in ROS at ROSCon 2023

Tormach, a US-based CNC machine and industrial robot manufacturer, will make its inaugural appearance at ROSCon 2023, taking place in New Orleans from October 18 to 20.

This year’s event will mark Tormach’s debut on the ROSCon stage, where the company will present its “groundbreaking fusion of real-time motion control within the Robot Operating System (ROS) ecosystem”, under the title: Real-Time Motion Control in ROS: Uniting HAL with Tormach’s ZA6 Robot.

Tormach’s presentation will explore how its expertise in CNC motion control has led to the integration of the MachineKit/LinuxCNC Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) with ROS, resulting in a seamless interface that empowers high-performance, real-time motion control.

This interface achieves control loops ranging from 1kHz up to 3MHz, opening new horizons for ROS applications in precision and real-time robotics.

Central to Tormach’s presentation will be an in-depth dive into the “open-source hal_ros_control” package, demonstrating its capabilities and potential applications within the ROS community.

In addition to the presentation, Tormach will have a booth at ROSCon, featuring live demos of the ZA6 robot. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to witness the ZA6 robot in action as it creates personalized drawings for participants to take home.

All Tormach’s machines, including the ZA6, operate on PathPilot, the company’s open-source control platform that spans their entire CNC machine and robot product line.

A standout feature of PathPilot is its accessibility, as it is offered completely free to users, differentiating Tormach within the industry and aligning with their mission to make CNC machining more affordable and accessible to more people.

At the Tormach booth, visitors will also get a preview of the upcoming prototype for the ZA2 robot arm. Designed to be compact and versatile, this robot arm is perfectly suited for educational purposes, enabling educators to teach students the fundamentals of robotics.

Tormach’s mission is clear: to provide affordable and accessible CNC machines and robots to hobbyists, researchers, businesses, and schools.

This commitment to democratizing CNC technology has been recently recognized, with Tormach earning the esteemed distinction of being honored as one of the Inc 5000 fastest-growing companies in America for 2023.