Learn/GcodePilot/Running programs
Live Toolpath View
At a glance
- DRO sphere tracks the machine through every reported position — it follows the cut path, corners included
- Drag trails colored by move type: rapid, feed, cut/arc, and jog
- Toolpath preview moves when you zero an axis, so you see exactly where the cut will land
- Bounding-box overlay with X/Y/Z dimension readouts in the live display unit
- Executing line highlighted in the g-code editor as the program streams
The 3D view is machine space: the travel envelope, the loaded program's toolpath, and a DRO sphere sitting where the machine physically is. Controller status reports are sparse, so the sphere is walked through every confirmed position sample in order rather than lerped to the latest one — it follows the actual cut path through corners at a steady speed, and the trail tip always matches the sphere.
Drag trails
The trail behind the sphere is colored by move type — dashed rapids (on by default, toggleable), feed, cut/arc (torch or spindle on), and dashed jog moves. GRBL doesn't report whether it's executing a G0 or a G1, so each sample is classified against the nearest parsed toolpath segment — the exact move type from the program at the machine's position — which is why the rapid-to-feed color switch lands at the corner, not before it. The adjacent trash button wipes all trails and forces a full preview rebuild, the reliable fix if the preview ever looks out of sync with the live work offset.
The preview follows your zeros
Zeroing an axis changes the controller's work offset, and the rendered toolpath re-places itself on the next status report — so the preview always shows where the program will physically cut, not where it was drawn when loaded. The bounding box toggle adds a faint 3D box around the toolpath with camera-facing X/Y/Z dimension readouts in the live display unit; it measures cut moves only, so a park rapid can't inflate it.
Editor tracking
While a program streams, the executing line is highlighted in the g-code editor, and hovering works both ways — hover a toolpath segment to reveal its source line, or hover a line to light its geometry in the view. The highlight follows the last line the controller accepted into its planner, so it leads the physical tool slightly at deep look-ahead.