Look for suggestions/advices Hybrid metal 3d printer w/ Tormach machine/linuxcnc

Hi folks! 

This is my very first post here. I'm just getting started with linuxcnc and am still going through the linuxcnc documentations. Before I dive deeper, I just wanted make sure I'm on the right path.

Basically I'm trying to build a hybrid milling machine + direct energy deposition 3d printer for our lab. The key components are:

• Laser deposition head (comes with it's own controller, not sure what but it supports remote control via ethernet cable. I need to control its on/off and power strength. I'm guessing this is similar to a plasma gun?)
• Powder feeder (use Siemens S7-1500 PLC and PROFINET. I also need to control its on/off and the feeding rate.)
• CNC (Considering Tormach 1100mx)

First of all, is it possible to integrate everything to Tormach's control PC without any extra hardware (by hardware I mean things like NI DAQ, ADC etc)?
Do you think I can integrate everything by modifying .hal for PilotPath? Or do I need to overwrite PolitPath and configure a new Linuxcnc?

I don't have a strong background in control systems so it's very likely that I'm illustrating something silly. Any insights would be very welcomed and helpful!

Thank you,
Xiao

I think that Pathpilot is probably a bit too locked-down to customise as you will need. But LinuxCNC should slot straight in.

I am not sure if anyone has used Profinet with LinuxCNC. I can only suggest searching this forum for mentions of it.
It would also help to know what protocol the deposition head is using.

But is sounds like a fun project.

Thanks for your reply! Yes I'll definitely do some search within the forum to see if anyone has experience. I was also told by the manufacturer they might be able to provide a alternate solution. I hope I can keep updating the post on how it is going.