MTConnect Python library cannot parse real Haas probe.xml device files

[zachfrey]

Problem

The mtconnect Python library (PyPI package) cannot parse device XML files fetched directly from real Haas CNC machines via the /probe endpoint. This prevents using authentic machine configurations.

Error

ValueError: Missing required id for MTC

Root Cause

xmlhelper.py has two limitations:

1. No XML namespace support

Real Haas probe responses use MTConnect 1.2 namespaces:

<MTConnectDevices xmlns="urn:mtconnect.org:MTConnectDevices:1.2" ...>

The library uses simple element.find("Device") calls. With namespaces, tags become {urn:mtconnect.org:MTConnectDevices:1.2}Device, so find("Device") returns None.

2. Assumes Device elements are direct children of root

Real probe responses have a

and wrapper:

<MTConnectDevices>
    <Header .../>
    <Devices>
        <Device id="dev1" ...>

The library iterates list(root), expecting Device elements. Instead it gets Header (no id attribute) and Devices (wrapper, also no id), triggering the error.

Workaround

Use a manually created XML without namespaces and without the wrapper.

Proposed Fix

Patch xmlhelper.py to:

Strip XML namespaces from element tags
Skip <Header> elements
Unwrap <Devices> container to find actual Device elements