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Messages - brandonb

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1
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Transferring to a replacement computer.
« on: April 27, 2020, 04:25:44 PM »
2.  Can anyone recommend a good small-form-factor computer to be used as a dedicated computer for M4? 

Have a look at the Intel NUCs. They are quite powerful and handle Mach4 nicely.

2
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 on Windows XP version 4.2.0.4162
« on: April 27, 2020, 04:22:16 PM »
If you still need it, I can send you the original installer for the 4.2.0.4162 hobby edition. I happen to still have it on my thumb drive.

best regards

3
Most simple way would probably be to use Serial.print in the Arduino. Use it to send all the states of the inputs. Then connect the USB of the Arduino to the Mach4 Computer and create a lua script that does read from the COM port. Here is an example of reading data from the Arduino using c++ and Windows API:

https://playground.arduino.cc/Interfacing/CPPWindows/

You would just have to port it to lua. Just import the necessary API functions like here, parse it and use mcSignalSetState() to assign the states to the user signals of Mach4.

I wish one could add I/O Devices too, so they would appear in the Configure > Controls > Input/Putput Signals Tabs as Devices. Allowing you to assign the pins of the arduino to the various inputs/outputs in these tabs. But this is not possible as Mach4 only allows to do that via plugins. Only OEMs can have access to the Plugins and Devices API of Mach4.

4
I am not aware of a feature that you need.

I would create a "wizard" as wizards can create additional windows in Mach 4. The "wizards" are really just dialog windows that you can fully customize. The windows created by these wizards can be dragged across the desktop and are not bound to the main window. You can create them by using lua. You will likely use the
Code: [Select]
wx.wxFrame( ... ) function. In this function you can specify the coordinates and size of the window. If your secondary monitor is the left one and it has a resolution of 1920x1080 you would specify as position(-1920,0).

Whenever you start Mach4 launch the wizard. It should just be a normal function that you could call during startup.

I dont think that there is a screen editor for wizards yet, so you would have to program it yourself. Check out the samples. It is easy to place some buttons / number fields on these wizards.

Best regards

Brandon



5
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Settings not saving?
« on: January 25, 2020, 08:16:45 PM »
Hi,

Were you installing Mach4 to its default installation directory C:/Mach4Hobby/ ?

If not make sure that there are no spaces in the installation path. At first I installed it to C:/Program Files (x86)/Mach4Hobby/  but that causes many problems in regards to saving/loading files.

Best regards

Brandon

6
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Touch Screen Monitor with M4
« on: January 25, 2020, 08:12:08 PM »
Hi,

Yep I am running it on a 22" touch screen. I attached it to an Intel NUC. It can actually be considered an AIO solution as the NUC can be screwed directly to the VESA mount. It runs fine with windows 10. However it is a little annoying to use the virtual keyboard of windows 10 as Mach4 does not play nicely with it. The keyboard is always occluding large chunks of Mach4 so you have to open/drag/close it constantly. Although besides for MDI you should not need a virtual keyboard as you can enable a virtual numpad  for all numeric input fields in Mach4. However you must enable it for every single input field yourself.

Touch gestures are not supported either. And in the default screensets some buttons are too small for touch, so be ready to fix that yourself in the screen editor.

However the team is working on better touch support:

Feature Request: Better touch support

Larger touch screens are cheap these days and spares you from installing a keyboard/mouse. However Mach4 does not play well with touch.
1. It would be nice to be able to pan and scan the gcode viewer with touch gestures.
2. A default touchscreen friendly screenset would be nice. (larger buttons, virtual keyboard etc)

Maybe a setting that makes Mach4 not use the lower third of the screen so that there is enough space for a virtual keyboard. Or maybe it would be better to add a virtual keyboard in mach4 directly so that it pops up whenever we can type something (eg MDI gcodes)

My Matsuura MC-500V conversion uses a touch screen and it works perfectly.  So I don't know what you mean about Mach not playing well with touch screens.  We do NOT currently support gestures, if that is what you mean.  However, I can scroll the G code list by simply using the slider on the list. 

We are working on gesture support now.  It will be a while though because of other priorities. 

We already have popup screen keypads and keyboards.  You have to enable them on the controls you want.  Look for the "Editor" property in the properties of the controls when in the screen editor.  Then make sure "DRO Auto Calc" is checked in the Operator menu in the menu bar.  The MDI control is an exception at the moment.  I use an industrial keyboard for all of that. 

Making a default touchscreen screen set is probably not going to happen.  Because nobody will like it and it will not be to their satisfaction.  Luckily, we gave you the ability to roll your own!  :) 

Steve

best regards

Brandon

7
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: msvcp140.dll missing
« on: December 29, 2019, 04:37:20 PM »
   %1 is not a valid Win32 application."

Not sure if it helps, but this error typically means that something is trying to load a 64-bit DLL, while it is actually expecting a 32-bit one.

8
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Unlicensed Mach4 on desktop?
« on: December 24, 2019, 07:06:30 AM »
Hi,
the thread I recall is this from CNCZone:

https://www.cnczone.com/forums/mach-4-a/393202-mach-4-pcid-changed.html

And the thread indentifies the licensing system to be Enigma Protector:

https://enigmaprotector.com/

Craig

Interesting. Thanks for the link Craig. That really brought some light on the license system.

PCID restrictions....really??? Have you used Mastercam or AutoCad latley? You want to talk restrictions then look to the CAD/CAM software market leaders.

Yes but you should compare not with CAD/CAM software but rather with software that controls hardware. PLC Software and such.

I am not really against making it bound to the PCID. I am against the fact that the PCID can change so unexpectedly and that you have to use an online service to renew it. But after reading the link you provided i am a little more relaxed. It seems that the computer name is the only software thing that influences the PCID. But why is that nowhere documented on the Mach 4 Websites?

Best regards

Brandon

9
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Unlicensed Mach4 on desktop?
« on: December 23, 2019, 06:37:38 PM »
Craig, I agree that pirates are indeed a problem especially for companies that mainly focus on software.

But let me ask who is impaired by the counter measures Mach4 implemented with the new PCID license restrictions? It's not the pirates as they use a cracked version anyway. They just continue to steal software, and they do not have to spend a single thought on PCID changes or license renewals. It's the honest and paying customers who are really impaired. People who use a cracked Mach 4 version can continue to use it even 20 years later, with no restrictions. They can change hardware however they like. However I as a paying customer have to cope with the restrictions and probably cannot use it 20 years later when the license renewal servers are discontinued or Mach5 is superseding Mach4.

What that means is that the honest customers are at a disadvantage compared to the dishonest customers. Making a cracked version more attractive to the customer than a legal version. I could imagine that now even more people change to a cracked version because of that.

Mach4 is the only software I am aware of that uses such license system. I have never encountered other software that required license renewals when changing hardware.

If we expect a 'professional level CNC software solution' then we must expect to contribute and abide the rules just as we would any other commercial
software vendor.

I agree but is the burden the customer has to carry now really a definite solution to piracy? I doubt so. Piracy is going to happen - no matter how many countermeasures are implemented. Other professional software vendors do not need such license system and others can continue to develop awesome features despite having a more customer-friendly license system. I mean there exist even open source software with awesome features that do not require license management at all (LinuxCNC, GRBL etc). I believe that there are better, more user-friendly anti-piracy measurements than the current license system.

However I just have the viewpoint of a semi-professional customer. It's not my business to decide how a company fights piracy. But after all it is my choice to use whatever software I like. I chose Mach 4 mainly because it is cheap and it was quick to get it working. I did not read much into the license system before my purchase. I already bought it so I continue to use Mach 4 for now. I mean i could live with the software bound to the PCID. But I was very dissappointed when I found out the PCID is changed by windows updates or by some simple settings in windows. Thus requiring me to tinker around with Mach 4 licenses and PCIDs. I am not sure that I would go along with Mach 4 in the future when retrofitting other machines. If I find other software that works as good/quick as Mach 4 I will most likely switch. My control manufacturer is even offering it's own CNC software. Maybe I will try that.

For Mach 4, I hope for at least more transparency of how the PCID is generated. That would at least remove some fear of it.

best regards

Brandon

10
Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Unlicensed Mach4 on desktop?
« on: December 23, 2019, 04:49:56 PM »
Tell me more, please. I had thought that the PC ID was a hardware thing, not a SW thing.

I do not really know exactly what changes the PCID. However one setting that changes the PCID that i am aware of is the network computer name.

Mind you, 7 changes per year for a total of 12 is an awful lot of dead PCs ...  So far, in 8 years, I have had one change of PC. 

I imagine that they are fed up with the Chinese pirates selling hacked versions of Mach3. I can sympathise.

Yes that is very generous. But consider that some windows updates or settings cause the PCID to change too. Thus your renewals consumption is not strictly bound to hardware failures.

I personally dislike the license system because it makes you depended on the Mach4 license service. Consider this: Machines last way longer than a companies' life. I have several machines in my shop whose manufacturer does not exist anymore. Machines older than 20 years, still running Windows 98. If i would have to renew a license via internet it would simply be not possible anymore. That's why I consider the license system of Mach4 a great pity. It's not a smart long term solution for me. Imagine in 3 years there will be Mach 5 or Mach 6. Will the Mach 4 license system always be available? I guess not as everything is discontinued at some point. I agree that they should and must do something against the pirates. But I dislike how they did it. Some competitors sell USB dongles which contain a license. Maybe that would have been a better solution. Besides that I do not think any software is uncrackable. Mayor software these days are cracked and some have a multi-million dollar budget to prevent cracking. When it happens ... it happens. Serving the paying customers with regular and great feature updates is the only real thing that can fight piracy in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, I use Mach4. It is great software and I can recommend it with good conscience if one is willing to accept the license restrictions.

best regards

Brandon

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