Which UI?
02 Jul 2022 19:46 #246459
by XYZgnomon
I use a Hermle C42U with a Heidenhain control at work, and it runs on XFCE Linux. Otherwise, I have little hands-on experience with Linux at all.
At home, I recently got an Avid Benchtop Pro CNC router, and I purposely did not include any electronics whatsoever in my order. Over the last few months, I have been trialing demo versions of various software controllers that run on Windows, and literally all of them are UI nightmares. Mach4 at least lets you edit the UI pretty deep, but I don't know that I would be happy with it until I have spent hundreds or even thousands of hours on it. The most disappointing thing is the virtual ghost town forums for these products, if one even exists at all. The fanboys are pretty thick, in more ways than one.
So here I am, considering LinuxCNC. I don't currently have a computer that runs Linux, so I have to rely on what I see on the internet. Directly searching for users' experiences on places like YouTube are not productive at all, but I want to see all of the different UI options for LinuxCNC IN DETAIL so I can make a value judgment about whether to go down this path. Barring that, I would consider even building a UI from scratch if I even knew where to start. I just need to see examples and it's been hard tracking them down. I'm looking for advice and LINKS!
I have a fair number of non-negotiables that make this a challenge:
1) Surface speed DRO
2) Feed per tooth DRO (requires flute count)
3) Simultaneous display of machine position, WCS position & distance to go
4) NO GRAPH
5) Touch optimized interface
Is there an existing UI that is capable of these? If not, can they be modified? If so, how?
At home, I recently got an Avid Benchtop Pro CNC router, and I purposely did not include any electronics whatsoever in my order. Over the last few months, I have been trialing demo versions of various software controllers that run on Windows, and literally all of them are UI nightmares. Mach4 at least lets you edit the UI pretty deep, but I don't know that I would be happy with it until I have spent hundreds or even thousands of hours on it. The most disappointing thing is the virtual ghost town forums for these products, if one even exists at all. The fanboys are pretty thick, in more ways than one.
So here I am, considering LinuxCNC. I don't currently have a computer that runs Linux, so I have to rely on what I see on the internet. Directly searching for users' experiences on places like YouTube are not productive at all, but I want to see all of the different UI options for LinuxCNC IN DETAIL so I can make a value judgment about whether to go down this path. Barring that, I would consider even building a UI from scratch if I even knew where to start. I just need to see examples and it's been hard tracking them down. I'm looking for advice and LINKS!
I have a fair number of non-negotiables that make this a challenge:
1) Surface speed DRO
2) Feed per tooth DRO (requires flute count)
3) Simultaneous display of machine position, WCS position & distance to go
4) NO GRAPH
5) Touch optimized interface
Is there an existing UI that is capable of these? If not, can they be modified? If so, how?
The following user(s) said Thank You: gernoff
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- tommylight
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02 Jul 2022 20:22 #246464
by tommylight
Replied by tommylight on topic Which UI?
Not sure if any of them have everything you need, but pretty sure it can be done.
Axis GUI is very simple on it's surface and can show DTG and offsets at all times on the main screen and on the tabs, VCP panels can be added for almost anything, and i personaly like it a lot.
GmoccaPy can also be modified, QtPyVCP and QtVCP look very nice and are easily editable and touch friendly, etc etc.
I will leave it to others with more experince to go into details, but i will say this, any sane person will not trust running a 15 ton machine under windows, then again there are a lot of not sane persons on this planet.
Axis GUI is very simple on it's surface and can show DTG and offsets at all times on the main screen and on the tabs, VCP panels can be added for almost anything, and i personaly like it a lot.
GmoccaPy can also be modified, QtPyVCP and QtVCP look very nice and are easily editable and touch friendly, etc etc.
I will leave it to others with more experince to go into details, but i will say this, any sane person will not trust running a 15 ton machine under windows, then again there are a lot of not sane persons on this planet.
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02 Jul 2022 23:12 #246477
by XYZgnomon
According to www.qtpyvcp.com/plugins/tool_table.html the tool table does not include a variable for flute count.QtPyVCP is a tool kit where you build exactly the GUI you want.
www.qtpyvcp.com/
JT
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03 Jul 2022 11:02 #246500
by andypugh
You could probably re-purpose the frontangle column for the purpose. (assuming you don't want to go as far as hooking up your own tool database, though that is an option)
Then you would need some handler code running somewhere to perform the calculations based on RPM, flute count, etc.
I don't know how hard this would be to create inside a widget, but that would be best. The way that I know would work would be a standalone python HAL component that made feed-per-tooth available on a HAL pin.
Between the two extremes would be to run the calculation in the GUI handler code.
According to www.qtpyvcp.com/plugins/tool_table.html the tool table does not include a variable for flute count.
You could probably re-purpose the frontangle column for the purpose. (assuming you don't want to go as far as hooking up your own tool database, though that is an option)
Then you would need some handler code running somewhere to perform the calculations based on RPM, flute count, etc.
I don't know how hard this would be to create inside a widget, but that would be best. The way that I know would work would be a standalone python HAL component that made feed-per-tooth available on a HAL pin.
Between the two extremes would be to run the calculation in the GUI handler code.
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03 Jul 2022 11:07 #246501
by andypugh
Actually, repurposing "orientation" might make more sense.
It would be even better if the python interface made the comments available:
linuxcnc.org/docs/2.6/html/common/python...xcnc_stat_attributes
But I think I might know why it isn't.
Though Python code could run off to the tool file and look for itself when it saw a toolchange happen. Then it could be pulled out of the comments by parsing for "flute" and a number.
It would be even better if the python interface made the comments available:
linuxcnc.org/docs/2.6/html/common/python...xcnc_stat_attributes
But I think I might know why it isn't.
Though Python code could run off to the tool file and look for itself when it saw a toolchange happen. Then it could be pulled out of the comments by parsing for "flute" and a number.
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04 Jul 2022 00:50 #246553
by cakeslob
User DL has made modification reguarting FPT and SFM (i think)....I know you said no graph but the concept is the same.
forum.linuxcnc.org/21-axis/29735-axis-mo...ions?start=20#226595
forum.linuxcnc.org/21-axis/29735-axis-mo...ions?start=20#226595
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