Messages

1291

Works in progress / Re: One More All-In-One Milling Screen

« on: February 27, 2009, 11:38:53 AM »

Oh, forgot to mention: clicking the center of the circle on the touch-off graphic does auto-center finding on holes and paockets.

Regards,
Ray L.

1292

Works in progress / Re: One More All-In-One Milling Screen

« on: February 27, 2009, 11:35:39 AM »

Here's another version, re-arranged some, with a 4th axis.

Regards,
Ray L.

1293

Works in progress / One More All-In-One Milling Screen

« on: February 27, 2009, 10:58:18 AM »

I'm making myself an all-in-one milling screenset, containing *all* the functionality I ever use in one screen.  The first very crude first "Mach-Up" of my screen is below.  Keep in mind, this is a quick mock-up, to get a feel for the functionality, and see how things fit, using existing graphics.  The real graphics will be completely different (and hopefully more pleasing...).  Where you see a colored ring around a button, that ring is an LED that lights up behind the button when the corresponding function is active, much like the yellow blinking ring around the Spindle CW button on the standard screen set.  The over-ride controls are sliders only right now.  That seems good enough to me.  The graphic in the lower left works like the one on the offsets screen, and invokes macros that, for me, will perform all the edge-finding and tool-touch-off functions through macros.

The functions included are:

Axis Information:
X/Y/Z DROs w/Red/Green Ref'd LEDs
X/Y/Z Zero
RefAll Home
X/Y/Z GoTo Zero
X/Y GoTo Zero
User/Machine Coordinate Select w/LED

Program Control:
Open G-Code
Close G-Code
Edit G-Code
Set Next Line
Stop
FeedHold
CycleStart
Rewind
Single Block
4 TBDs
Elapsed Time

Touch-Off Controls: (all handled through macros, via graphic buttons)
Edge-Find X+
Edge-Find X-
Edge-Find Y+
Edge-Find Y-
Tool Touch-Off

Spindle/Coolant Controls:
Spindle command (S-Word) DRO
Spindle Speed Over-ride DRO
Actual Spindle Speed DRO
Spindle OVR slider w/OVR LED
Spindle CW On/Off
Spindle CCW On/Off
Flood On/Off
Mist On/Off

Feedrate Controls:
Feedrate command (F-word) DRO
Feedrate OVR DRO
Actual Feedrate DRO
Feedrate OVR slider w/OVR LED
Feedrate OVR Reset

Toolchange Controls:
Tool Number DRO
Big-A$$ Blinking Toolchange LED
Set Toolchange Position
GoTo Toolchange Position

Other:
Reset
MDI (lower left of screen)
Status (lower right of screen)
Modes (not in there yet)
Config? (not in there yet)

So, what have I missed?  Any comments on the functionality, layout, sizing, etc?

Regards,
Ray L.

1294

General Mach Discussion / Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?

« on: February 27, 2009, 10:52:05 AM »

Looking good Ray. 

Might want to move this to the screens section, works in progress.

Brett

Brett,

Good idea.  I will do that.

Regards,
Ray L.

1295

General Mach Discussion / Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?

« on: February 27, 2009, 12:05:19 AM »

OK, very crude first "Mach-Up" of my screen attached.  Keep in mind, this is a quick mock-up, to get a feel for the functionality, and see how things fit, using existing graphics.  The real graphics will be completely different (and hopefully more pleasing...).  Where you see a colored ring around a button, that ring is an LED that lights up behind the button when the corresponding function is active, much like the yellow blinking ring around the Spindle CW button on the standard screen set.  The over-ride controls are sliders only right now.  That seems good enough to me.  The graphic in the lower left works like the one on the offsets screen, and invokes macros that, for me, will perform all the edge-finding and tool-touch-off functions through macros.

The functions included are:

Axis Information:
X/Y/Z DROs w/Red/Green Ref'd LEDs
X/Y/Z Zero
RefAll Home
X/Y/Z GoTo Zero
X/Y GoTo Zero
User/Machine Coordinate Select w/LED

Program Control:
Open G-Code
Close G-Code
Edit G-Code
Set Next Line
Stop
FeedHold
CycleStart
Rewind
Single Block
4 TBDs
Elapsed Time

Touch-Off Controls: (all handled through macros, via graphic buttons)
Edge-Find X+
Edge-Find X-
Edge-Find Y+
Edge-Find Y-
Tool Touch-Off

Spindle/Coolant Controls:
Spindle command (S-Word) DRO
Spindle Speed Over-ride DRO
Actual Spindle Speed DRO
Spindle OVR slider w/OVR LED
Spindle CW On/Off
Spindle CCW On/Off
Flood On/Off
Mist On/Off

Feedrate Controls:
Feedrate command (F-word) DRO
Feedrate OVR DRO
Actual Feedrate DRO
Feedrate OVR slider w/OVR LED
Feedrate OVR Reset

Toolchange Controls:
Tool Number DRO
Big-A$$ Blinking Toolchange LED
Set Toolchange Position
GoTo Toolchange Position

Other:
Reset
MDI (lower left of screen)
Status (lower right of screen)
Modes (not in there yet)
Config? (not in there yet)

So, what have I missed?  Any comments on the functionality, layout, sizing, etc?

Regards,
Ray L.

1296

General Mach Discussion / Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?

« on: February 26, 2009, 08:34:47 PM »

Gimp works very nicely for this.  It handles all the different formats, and can transform from one to another.  I'm able to take existing graphic bits and modify them, by re-sizing, changing colors, adding text, etc.  That's really good, because I SUCK at drawing this kind of stuff.  This is going to be pretty easy, I think.

Regards,
Ray L.

1297

General Mach Discussion / Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?

« on: February 26, 2009, 07:13:46 PM »

You might want to try Gimp. I haven't tried it, but it looks very Photoshop like, and it's free.

http://www.gimp.org/

Gerry,

Actually, I had installed Gimp about 6 months ago (can't even remember why....), and forgot I had it!  I just re-discovered it about an hour ago, and it does indeed seem to do exactly what I need.

Regards,
Ray L.

1298

General Mach Discussion / Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?

« on: February 26, 2009, 05:56:51 PM »

Ray L.,

 Is this for mouse use or a touch screen? I'm finding the mouse to be a pain too if you get in a bit of a rush, but the expense or trouble building a dedicated panel for Mach is probably too far to go. Looks like the customized screen as you are going about is the way to go - but then there's still that mouse. I thought about, and found in my junk, a track ball but it wouldn't take much to botch that mechanism up in a shop.

Bill C.

Bill,

    Heopfully, it will work with either.  I don't currently have a touch screen, but I'm trying to make all the controls big enough to work well with a touch screen when I eventually get one.

Regards,
Ray L.

1299

General Mach Discussion / Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?

« on: February 26, 2009, 02:53:26 PM »

Sounds good Ray, I hope it all fits.
Anxious to see it.
Thanks,
RC

RC,

Surprisingly, I'm having to make things bigger than I though I woudl be able to!  I have TOO MUCH room!  :-)

Regards,
Ray L.

1300

General Mach Discussion / Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?

« on: February 26, 2009, 02:39:20 PM »

Can't help you with your problem Ray, but when you get it done I hope you will share it with us.
Sounds like a neat screen.

Thanks,
RC

I will do that.  I'm actually looking forward to getting this done.  I've always found myself flipping from screen to screen while working, which is a PITA.  I'd go from Program Run, to MDI (usually just to do one move), and to Offsets (to do edge-finding, etc.).  I've now got touch probes and macros to do all the touch-offs and set DROs (tool length, edge finding in X+/X-/Y+/Y-, and center-finding on circles and pockets).  All of that will now be on the one page, along with much larger DROs, G-code and toolpath displays, spindle, coolant and feedrate controls and over-rides, and more.  The buttons will all be nice and large, so it should work well with a touch screen.  My hope is that this one screen will provide every function I need for 99% of my day-to-day work.  I will probably just put this into the 1024.set screenset in place of the standard Program Run screen, so all the functionality on the other screens will still be there when/if needed.

Once you've figured out how to deal with scream4 (which is quirky, to say the least...) actually creating the screen is really not difficult, nor does it take terribly long.  The time-consuming part is going to be creating all the many, many necessary bit-mapped graphic elements it is constructed with.  This is something I have about zero experience with, so it'll be a learning experience.

Regards,
Ray L.