Hello Guest it is March 29, 2024, 11:06:39 AM

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - TomHubin

Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 »
51
Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: Next version of Video Probing Plugin
« on: January 24, 2009, 01:49:48 AM »
Hi Tom,

You can do ANYTHING that can be done in Mach VB Script (Cypress Enable) in a plugin by using the object model.  You need to use the script function 'Code(gcode string)' and the script function 'IsMoving()' (return a boolean).  If a function does not exist in the current implementation in the plugin tutorial it is pretty easy to add.

-James


Hello James,

What I really would like to do is run a c++ application like StillCap or a VB application like VBVidCap (http://www.shrinkwrapvb.com/vbvidcap.htm) and just use Mach3 to move the axes.

How do I make a Mach function like Code() or IsMoving() global enough to call it from a separate program? Or call a global function in a Mach3 plugin which, in turn, calls a function in Mach3?

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net


52
Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: Next version of Video Probing Plugin
« on: January 21, 2009, 06:00:30 PM »
Hello,

I am trying to make a plugin or a separate program that communicates with Mach3. I do plan to make this open source. I have requested help from the Mach SDK forum.

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=10043.0

In particular, I would like to start with a DirectX sample like StillCap and figure out how, from within Stillcap, to tell Mach3 or a Mach3 plugin the equivalent of a G01 Gcode and how to determine when motion is complete. 

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net


53
Mach SDK plugin questions and answers. / Re: Video
« on: January 21, 2009, 03:42:07 PM »
Hello,

A few days ago I attended Cabin Fever 2009 and the Mach Seminar on Plugins and other software. I brought up the issues with 3dVideo Probing and methods for doing this. Brian Barker, who led this seminar, suggested that the video could be run as a separate thread. I believe this is similar to what James Leonard has suggested to me.

I would like to start with the DirectX 9.0 StillCap sample and modify it to use Mach3 to execute Gcode, at least G01. I would also need a way to determine that motion has stopped so that I can take a snapshot and do the processing from within Stillcap.

Attached is the StillCap program from the DirectX 9.0 Samples.

I am using an old DOS version of PKzip so names are limited to 8 letters. StillCap.zip has all the files but three have shortened names.
Rename StillC~1.vcp to StillCap.vcproj, StillC~1.h to StillCapDlg.h, and StillC~1.cpp to StillCapDlg.cpp before compiling.

I don't think my old version of PKZip makes a directory named StillCap so please make such a directory then unzip into it.

I have also included StillCap.exe taken from the DirectX 9.0 samples bin/ directory. You should be able to execute that as-is to see what StillCap does.

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net

54
Mach SDK plugin questions and answers. / Re: Video
« on: January 09, 2009, 11:25:11 PM »
AMCap grabs an AVI stream.  That does not seem to be what you need.  There is a sample 'stillcap' in the 'editing' folder for DirectShow that gives single frames as BMP files.  How about this?

Hello James,

Thanx for the suggestion about Stillcap.

StillCap documentation and source code comments do make some reference to "spying" on the camera activity. I will have to study this a bit. Do you have any idea how a Mach3 plugin would fetch a bitmap snapshot from a program similar to (i.e. with some necessary modifications) StillCap?

Or maybe how to modify StillCap to actually be a Mach plugin?

Some of the bells and whistles in AmCap are not in StillCap. This will be a problem for the 3d Video Probe.

For example, it is essential that the AGC be set for short enough time that the camera sees nothing but the laser. It is also necessary that the laser not saturate the video but otherwise comes close to saturating. This involves setting the AGC to manage the exposure time according to the peak detected or for the user to manually set the exposure to a brief period (e.g. 1ms).

A few other features will be needed fairly soon into the development. Some of these would be the ability to rotate the image at 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees and possibly to mirror the image. This can be done after the image is captured but there may be driver settings that will handle that for me. 

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net

55
Hello James,

If all goes according to plan I will be doing a presentation on my 3d Video Probe at Cabin Fever on Saturday afternoon and attending the Sunday seminar to learn what I can about writing plugins.
 
Will you be attending Cabin Fever?

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net

56
Hello James,

Re: GUID

Your tutorial sent me to a separate program for assigning a GUID.

I notice that the compiler has "Create GUID" as a menu item under tools. This seems to accomplish the same thing. Wouldn't this be more convenient?

Is the GUID truly unique? If so, how is it guaranteed that a GUID created on your computer is different than a GUID created on my computer. Does it include a unique identifier for each computer?

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net

57
Hello James,

> I intend to make a video setup plugin

Have you made any progress with making a MACH video plugin using AMCAP or other free video methods?

Will you be attending Cabin Fever?

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net

58
Hello James,

> You can use DirectX or Video For Windows.

I found AMCap and PlayCap video capture source files in DirectX 9.0. I have started a new thread called simply "Video" with instructions for downloading, unzipping, and installing DirectX 9.0.

 I am having trouble figuring out how to use AMCap source as a model for a video based plugin like a video probe.

Can you take a look. Perhaps enhance your tutorial to include video preview and access to a single video frame on demand? Or perhaps modify AMCap just enough that it can run as a standalone and provide a single video frame chunk of memory to a Mach plugin on demand. 

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net

59
Mach SDK plugin questions and answers. / Video
« on: December 31, 2008, 04:13:07 PM »
Hello,

I have been messing around with video plugins. In particular, I am interested in 3d Video Probes.

I found the AMCAP camera viewer source files in the DirectX 9.0 SDK. I have not yet figured out how to use many of those features in a Mach plugin. Having a template that starts with this, or a simpler viewer like PlayCap, would be useful.

Downloaded DX9SDK.exe (225MB) from

<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=124552FF-8363-47FD-8F3B-36C226E04C85&displaylang=en>

This is a self unzipping file. The default for the unzip is a hidden directory. So I made a directory called DirectX9 and unzipped it there. These directories and files are probably what would be on an installation CD.

Easy to find and compile AMCAP and PLAYCAP and a few other capture related samples. No formal installation necessary. Just use the unzipped files.

On my second machine I ran Install.exe and it created another directory called DXSDK and copied most of the files from my temporary directory to that directory. Also did a lot of whatever Windows likes for a real install. So far, no visible benefit from doing the formal install.

Anybody know what benefits come with running the Install program?

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net

60
Video P*r*o*b*i*n*g / Re: Has this Topic Died?
« on: December 18, 2008, 04:48:54 PM »
>> Seems like this took off really well to begin with, did everyone loose interest?

The numbers of "times read" for these posts keeps going up. So there is still some interest.

I think we are just stalled at the moment. Not much progress can be made until the 3d Video Probe plugin is easier to use and more reliable. We also need a good set of DIY plans and some tutorials on how to make a 3d Video Probe and how to use one effectively.

Art is too busy to do much with his 3d Video Probe plugin. He has graciously passed his source code on to me, and possibly on to others. I  am slowly proceeding to learn from Art's method and evolve my own.

I am planning to attend the Mach seminar at Cabin Fever. However, health issues may prevent that. If I make it there I will show my probe whenever accessories are shown. Probably Saturday afternoon. I plan to attend Sunday when they will discuss advanced topics like plugins.

I also hope to have my probe running most of the weekend. But I need to line up a machine, preferably a Sherline mill with spindle and motor removed.

Tom Hubin
thubin@earthlink.net

Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 »