Topics

31

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Where to get MachStdMill

« on: July 09, 2010, 08:56:04 PM »

Hi,

MachStdMill is available for download from the Calypso Ventures web site on the Dowloads - MachStdMill page:

MachStdMill Download

At that page you can download:

1) the MachStdMill Readme file.
2) the MachStdMill installer package
3) the User Maunal
4) the latest Release Notes

Dave

32

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / MachStdMill: Introductory information

« on: July 05, 2010, 04:09:07 PM »

Hi,
This is a little introductory information for those that may not have heard of MachStdMill before the start of the beta release of the package.

MachStdMill is a new screen set package developed by Calypso Ventures, Inc. The package was originally developed as a new user interface (UI), designed to support new features of the next version of Mach3 (V4).  

During the course of the project, we decided that we would create a version of the software for use with Mach3 V3.
The V3 version of the software has all the functionality which can be supported by Mach3 V3 and the package is available here:

MachStdMill Download

At that page you can download:

1) the MachStdMill Readme file.
2) the MachStdMill installer package
3) the User Maunal
4) the latest Release Notes

The software has been in development for about a year and has been in Alpha testing for the last few months, so we're reasonably confident in stability of the Beta release. However, the user should be aware that this is beta level software - which means it is probably not bug free.

MachStdMill makes use of enhancements and new interfaces which were added in recent versions of Mach3. Therefore MachStdMill requires a use of Mach3 3.43.xx. The package will refuse to run with earlier versions of Mach3.

In addition to supporting the functionality of the venerable 1024 screen set, MachStdMill provides support for significant additional new functionality.

The following are some of the enhancements included in the MachStdMill package:
    Updated User Interface (UI)
        New visual appearance.
            (See screen shots)
        Graphic controls consistency.
        Work flow driven functionality grouping.

    Integrated probing support for work coordinate offsets setting.

    Tool handling extensions
        RH (repeatable length tool) holders & NRH (non-repeatable length tool) holders
        Support for mixed usage of RH & NRH holders

    WCO (work coordinate offset) and TT (Tool table) handling extensions.
        WCO and TT can be saved to named disk files and reloaded.
        Reports of WCO & TT contents.
        MachStdMill WCO and TT tables will transfer to Mach3 v4.

    Enhanced support for optional hardware
        Monitors: both 10x7 (1024x768) & 12x9 (1280x1024) monitor resolutions are supported.
        Touch Plates: both “mobile” and TCP (tool change position) touch plates supported.
        Integrated support for 3D probes.

    Master tool mode
        MachStdMill now supports the use of a master tool TLO model.
        Master Too Mode includes support (with a TCP TP) for auto measurement of TLOs during a tool change.

    Full doc package included
        A full set of Mach3 manuals are installed with the package and are accessible from the reference page of the screen set.

        The MachStdMill package includes a new “Using Mach3” manual which covers MachStdMill use with Mach3 v3.

    User extensible
        Source package to be available (post beta).
        Including graphics source files – so you can easily modify the screen set.

MachStdMill is licensed software (it is not freeware) and you will need to agree to the license terms prior to installing and using the software.

Dave

33

CVI MachStdMill (MSM) / Welcome to the MachStdMill forum

« on: July 05, 2010, 03:39:54 PM »

Hi,

Support and discussion for MachStdMill has moved to another forum as part of the transition of MachStdMill into product release.

Please go here: MachStdMill User Group to find the MachStdMill user group.

Please feel free to post questions, comments & discussions of MachStdMill in the uer group forum.

The author of the MachStdMill package watches the user group forum and will try to assist with any issue that you may have.

Dave

34

VB and the development of wizards / Named script and #expand examples with Mach 3.43.6

« on: July 04, 2010, 10:57:00 AM »

Hi,
This topic came up in another thread and I thought I'd start a new thread to draw people's attention to new abilities added to the basic APIs with mach 3.43.6.

Named macros are supported on v3 as of 3.43.6 - I'm making a lot of use of them for the new screen set.
You no longer have to put scripts in M codes. A script can be a disk file and it can be called from another script via the use of the RunScript API.

A significant number of new APIs were added to 3.43.6 many of which utilize or support the use of named scripts.
To quickly find the new APIs, get the latest v3 programmer's manual and search for "3.43" - that will find all the new ones (New calls are marked in the manual to tell what level of mach first implemented the API).


Here is a summary of new calls that are available as of mach 3.43.6:

Finding key files
    GetActiveProfileDir
    GetActiveProfileName

    GetActiveScreenSetName

    GetLoadedGCodeDir
    GetLoadedGCodeFileName

Named script execution
    RunScript

Windows interface
    GetMyWindowsHandle

Macro Pumps
    StartPeriodicScript
    StopPeriodicScript
    IsPeriodicScriptRunning

Mach configuration info
    GetSetupUnits
    IncludeTLOinZFromG31
    ProgramSafetyLockout

Touch Screen data entry
    NumberPad

People will also want to look at the section of the manual that describes pre-processing and #expand
A typical use of this is to keep source code in on place ( in a disk file) and include it in multiple scripts.
Fix a bug in the master file and it is now fixed in all scripts that include the file.

For the MachStdMill implementation, essentially no script code lives inside the .set file - instead all buttons simply use #expand to reference an external named script disk file.

Just so folks can see what can be done with the new facilities, here is the contents of the MSM history button:
    #expand <Scripts\All-History>

And this is the contents of All-History.m1s:

Option Explicit
'********DO NOT remove or change the expand line or the included file contents******************
'  MachStdMIll license terms REQUIRE that the copyright and License terms remain a part of this source file
#expand <Headers\CopyRightAndLicenseNotice>   
'**************************************************************************************

' code to open mach error history file
'
' we use the non-GCode editor for the history file.
' this leaves the user specified editor available for G-code editing
' we do this becuase many gcode editors reject plain text as invalid gcode syntax
'
#expand <Headers\MSMConstants>
#expand <Headers\MSMConfigFunctionNumbers>

Dim CmdString As String
Const FileName = "C:\Mach3\LastErrors.txt"

' set the menu bar state to the stored user preference
Call MSMRunScript("MSMCOnfig", MSMGetNGCEditorInfo)

' config info reloaded from file, FQFN in UserLabel
CmdString = """" & GetUserLabel(MSMNonGCodeEditorUserLabel) & """" & " " & """" & FileName & """"
'MsgBox "CS = " & cmdstring
Shell(CmdString)  
Exit sub   ' return from button Call

#Expand <Scripts\Common\MSMRunScript>

MSMRunScript is a wrapper I use for RunScript that adds simple parameter passing on top of run script. Here is it's contents:

'********DO NOT remove or change the expand line or the included file contents******************
'  MachStdMIll license terms REQUIRE that the copyright and License terms remain a part of this source file
#expand <Headers\CopyRightAndLicenseNotice>   
'**************************************************************************************

Sub MSMRunScript(ByVal MSMScriptName As String, ByVal P1 As Double)
   
   ' This is a wrapper that will allow one to replace the functionality of "Call M*********x Px".
   ' In fact this it is a bit more capable as the param is implemented as an Global MSM userspace DRO,
   ' so the script could actually put a value back in the param DRO if needed.
   ' This could also be expanded to more params, but MSM only was used one param to M********* macros.
   ' param type choices  where double DRO or LEDs - used DROs as the more flexible approach,
   ' LED parameters will be encoded within MSM as 0/1 value in the DRO.
   '
   
   Dim QFN As String
   
   SetUserDRO(MSMRunScriptParam1, P1)   ' stash the param value in the allocated Global DRO
   QFN = "ScreenSetMacros\" & GetActiveScreenSetName() & "\Scripts\Common\" & MSMScriptName
   
   'MsgBox "Script to run: " & Chr(13) & "    " & QFN & Chr(13) & "Param value = " & P1
   
   RunScript(QFN)   
   
End Sub

And to keep things legal, here is the copyright/license header file included in every MSM script file:
' This Source file is part of the MachStdMill screen set package for Mach3
'
' Copyright © 2010 Calypso Ventures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
' The author of the MachStdMill screen Set is Calypso Ventures, Inc.
'
' Redistribution And use In source And binary forms, With Or without modification, are permitted
' provided that the following conditions are met:'
'
' 1. Redistributions of the Screen Set And supporting Macro source code must retain the above copyright
' notice, this list of conditions And the following disclaimer.
'
' 2. Redistributions In binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions And the
' following disclaimer In the documentation And/Or other materials provided With the distribution.
'
' 3. The Name of the author may Not be used To endorse Or promote products derived from this software
' without specific prior written permission.
'
' THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY CALYPSO VENTURES, INC. "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
' INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
' PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
' INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
' NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR
' BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
' STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
' THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
'
'

Finally, the script editor in 3.43.6 was enhanced to support #expand etc - the E+ and E- buttons will expand / unexpand the #expand lines while you are in the editor.

And last, (but NOT least!) the editor also now has find and replace.

Anyhow, you can see that scripts can now get to looking rather different than prior to 3.43.6 <grin>
While the added tools are simple compared to most modern programming languages, they add a lot of functionality to mach's programing interfaces.

Dave

35

Mach Screens / MachStdMill screen set announcement

« on: June 19, 2010, 01:58:40 PM »

FYI - An announcement has been made for the new mach screen set which is being shown at the CNC workshop next week and expected to be released for use with Mach3 v3 the following week.

For more info see the thread on the main board

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,15150.0.html

Dave

36

General Mach Discussion / Announcement: MachStdMill screen set - release target

« on: June 19, 2010, 01:39:24 PM »

Hi,

You may have noticed mention of a new screen set being developed for Mach3 v4…  I've been working with Brian to develop a screen set to prototype and support Mach3 v4 functionality (on top of Mach3 v3).

I'm pleased to announce the screen set is called MachStdMill, and that Brian and I will be showing MachStdMill at the CNC workshop next week. Additionally, we've decided to pre-announce release of a v3 specific version of the screen set for use with Mach3 v3.

The v3 version of MachStdMill contains all off the package's functionality which is supported on Mach3 v3 (as of the recent 3.43.6 development release).

If all goes as planned, the MachStdMill screen set will be released for general beta testing the week following the CNC Workshop. The screen set effort started last year and has been in Alpha testing for the last few months, so we're confident that the Beta release of v3 MachStdMill is pretty stable.

In addition to supporting the functionality of the venerable 1024 screen set, MachStdMill provides support for significant additional functionality.

The following are some of the enhancements included in the MachStdMill package:
    Updated User Interface (UI)
        New visual appearance.
            (See screen shots)
        Graphic controls consistency.
        Work flow driven functionality grouping.

    Integrated probing support for work coordinate offsets setting.

    Tool handling extensions
        RH (repeatable length tool) holders & NRH (non-repeatable length tool) holders
        Support for mixed usage of RH & NRH holders

    WCO (work coordinate offset) and TT (Tool table) handling extensions.
        WCO and TT can be saved to named disk files and reloaded.
        Reports of WCO & TT contents.
        MachStdMill WCO and TT tables will transfer to Mach3 v4.

    Enhanced support for optional hardware
        Monitors: both 10x7 (1024x768) & 12x9 (1280x1024) monitor resolutions are supported.
        Touch Plates: both “mobile” and TCP (tool change position) touch plates supported.
        Integrated support for 3D probes.

    Master tool mode
        MachStdMill now supports the use of a master tool TLO model.
        Master Too Mode includes support (with a TCP TP) for auto measurement of TLOs during a tool change.

    Full doc package included
        A full set of Mach3 manuals are installed with the package and are accessible from the reference page of the screen set.

        The MachStdMill package includes a new “Using Mach3” manual which covers MachStdMill use with Mach3 v3.

    User extensible
        Source package to be available.
        Including graphics source files – so you can easily modify the screen set.

    Screen set package is licensed free of charge.
        License terms are “BSD like”.

   
Attached are a couple of screen shots to give an idea of the visual appearance of MachStdMill.

If you will be at the CNC workshop next week, please catch me and say hello.

Dave

37

Works in progress / Wanted: Graphic Designer assistance for Mach3 V4 screen set

« on: March 12, 2010, 02:05:04 PM »

Hi, this is an open call for some Graphic Design skill assistance.

We have a window of opportunity for someone from the Mach3 community to gain fame (well, a little bit anyhow) and fortune (uh, none actually, we’re seeking a volunteer)…   :-)

Project background:
I’ve been working with Artsoft to develop a new Mill/Router screen set for the V4 release of Mach3.  The screen set has been prototyped using Mach3 V3, is 99% functional, and the prototype (built on v3) is currently being alpha tested.  We anticipate starting the conversion of the screen set VB code from V3 VB calls to V4 VB calls soon.

As part of the project, I did graphics for the new screen set.  While (at least IMHO) they are a significant improvement over the 1024.set, some aspects are not quite of the professional quality level that I would really like to see in the new screen set.  I’m the first to admit that I am not a professional graphic designer.  I simply did what I could with the editing tool we choose to use for the project.  Now that the screen set functionality is pretty stable, this would be a good time to do some graphics tweaking. 

The graphics update task:
The task would be to take 12-20 graphic building blocks and “visually upgrade and clean up” the basic graphics components. 

The current screen set graphics are modular and are composed of groups of objects built from a relatively small number of base building blocks (Buttons in about 6 colors, LED images in 3-4 colors, background panels and a background image).  The base objects have then been used in different sizes within the screen set. 

We are not talking about designing a whole screen set or even a whole screen page (we are past the point in the project where that level of alteration is practical).  What I would like to do now, is to achieve some incremental visual improvement by updating the base button/LED components.  The current expectation is that this effort to “professionalize” the graphic components would not be large since it should only require the tweaking of around a dozen graphic objects.

What is desired is someone that I can talk to and say “I would like the buttons to be a bit more “X”, a bit less “Y” in appearance and we need it in 6 colors.  While I “know” what the desired visual result of the update is, and have some visual examples similar to the desired result, I don’t personally have the level of graphic design skills needed to translate the desire into “oh, to do that, you to do this, this, and that to the image – how’s this look?”

Project constraints:

Fame:
The reality is that this is not a project for which there are any funds available to pay for professional graphic design work.  The screen set and associated graphic sources will be made available to all and given away with the V4 release.  So, there is no fortune to be had here… but fame?  … Ah, that is another story!  I can offer credit in the screen set credits page for the graphic design work.  This could be your chance for “15 minutes of Mach3 Fame”!

Graphic Tool:
The project graphics are in RealDraw Pro source format.  An ideal volunteer would already be familiar with RD.  However, this is by no means a prerequisite as RD is pretty easy to learn (especially if you already know something like Photoshop).  RD has the ability to import Photoshop PSD files. 

Time Frame:
Ideally I would like to see this update fit into the time between now and the end of the month.  That would keep it from being an impact on the overall project schedule.  I think this is reasonable given (I’m guesstimating) that for someone with a graphic design background, the actual graphic work involved is in the ½-1 day range for the actual graphic work, + whatever time is needed to learn how to mess with RD + some time talking to get us on the same page re the goals for tweaking the graphics.


If you have good/professional graphic design skills and would be interested in contributing to the v4 screen set project, I’d really like to hear from you.

David Bagby

38

General Mach Discussion / Wanted: Graphic Designer assistance for Mach3 V4 screen set.

« on: March 12, 2010, 02:03:37 PM »

Hi, this is an open call for some Graphic Design skill assistance.

We have a window of opportunity for someone from the Mach3 community to gain fame (well, a little bit anyhow) and fortune (uh, none actually, we’re seeking a volunteer)…   :-)

Project background:
I’ve been working with Artsoft to develop a new Mill/Router screen set for the V4 release of Mach3.  The screen set has been prototyped using Mach3 V3, is 99% functional, and the prototype (built on v3) is currently being alpha tested.  We anticipate starting the conversion of the screen set VB code from V3 VB calls to V4 VB calls soon.

As part of the project, I did graphics for the new screen set.  While (at least IMHO) they are a significant improvement over the 1024.set, some aspects are not quite of the professional quality level that I would really like to see in the new screen set.  I’m the first to admit that I am not a professional graphic designer.  I simply did what I could with the editing tool we choose to use for the project.  Now that the screen set functionality is pretty stable, this would be a good time to do some graphics tweaking. 

The graphics update task:
The task would be to take 12-20 graphic building blocks and “visually upgrade and clean up” the basic graphics components. 

The current screen set graphics are modular and are composed of groups of objects built from a relatively small number of base building blocks (Buttons in about 6 colors, LED images in 3-4 colors, background panels and a background image).  The base objects have then been used in different sizes within the screen set. 

We are not talking about designing a whole screen set or even a whole screen page (we are past the point in the project where that level of alteration is practical).  What I would like to do now, is to achieve some incremental visual improvement by updating the base button/LED components.  The current expectation is that this effort to “professionalize” the graphic components would not be large since it should only require the tweaking of around a dozen graphic objects.

What is desired is someone that I can talk to and say “I would like the buttons to be a bit more “X”, a bit less “Y” in appearance and we need it in 6 colors.  While I “know” what the desired visual result of the update is, and have some visual examples similar to the desired result, I don’t personally have the level of graphic design skills needed to translate the desire into “oh, to do that, you to do this, this, and that to the image – how’s this look?”

Project constraints:

Fame:
The reality is that this is not a project for which there are any funds available to pay for professional graphic design work.  The screen set and associated graphic sources will be made available to all and given away with the V4 release.  So, there is no fortune to be had here… but fame?  … Ah, that is another story!  I can offer credit in the screen set credits page for the graphic design work.  This could be your chance for “15 minutes of Mach3 Fame”!

Graphic Tool:
The project graphics are in RealDraw Pro source format.  An ideal volunteer would already be familiar with RD.  However, this is by no means a prerequisite as RD is pretty easy to learn (especially if you already know something like Photoshop).  RD has the ability to import Photoshop PSD files. 

Time Frame:
Ideally I would like to see this update fit into the time between now and the end of the month.  That would keep it from being an impact on the overall project schedule.  I think this is reasonable given (I’m guesstimating) that for someone with a graphic design background, the actual graphic work involved is in the ½-1 day range for the actual graphic work, + whatever time is needed to learn how to mess with RD + some time talking to get us on the same page re the goals for tweaking the graphics.


If you have good/professional graphic design skills and would be interested in contributing to the v4 screen set project, I’d really like to hear from you.

David Bagby

39

VB and the development of wizards / get name of profile in VB?

« on: March 05, 2010, 04:51:32 PM »

Does anyone know how to get the name of the loaded profile from a VB script?

I know that there is a magic smart label that will display the profile name on a screen, but I don't see a way to either get the contents of that smart label into a string in VB, or a specific call to get the profile name.

Dave

40

Machscreen Screen Designer / external editor

« on: February 12, 2010, 12:46:50 PM »

Klaus,
Thank you so much for adding this feature!
This is making editing so much nicer - now when I edit code in a button, it opens in my preferred editor and I can see syntax highlighting etc - very nice. and cut and paste buffers work better with other programs also.

One suggestion for a tweak - I suspect that the file name you pass to the editor either does not have an extension or is something other than .m1s.  Many editors select language highlights etc based on extension. In my editor, the passed file opens as plain text, so I figure it was .txt or no extension that was passed.

Would you set the extension of the passed temp file to .m1s?

Dave