Buttons on controlpanel vs. MPG vs. on-screen controls?

That looks quite nice and useable.

Next move is to make a wish-list of all the functions you want at your fingertips and see if 16 buttons (on the 4x4) is enough to make you happy.

Keep in mind that if you use a 7i73 - which can do all of the controls you modeled above - you can have a 4x8 matrix (or 8x8) in addition to the encoders or pots.  So that's 32 pushbuttons worth of inputs when you start your wish-list.

And the matrix doesn't have to be physically arranged in a grid.  Just electrically.

spumco wrote:

Next move is to make a wish-list of all the functions you want at your fingertips and see if 16 buttons (on the 4x4) is enough to make you happy.

Keep in mind that if you use a 7i73 - which can do all of the controls you modeled above - you can have a 4x8 matrix (or 8x8) in addition to the encoders or pots.  So that's 32 pushbuttons worth of inputs when you start your wish-list.

To be honest, i dont know what i want So i'm just going to wire them up and then i can assign them later on in software...ideas are welcome? What are your most beloved buttons on your machines? 

Unfortunately, i was apparently dropped on the floor as a child, because i thought it was a good idea to do this project using EtherCAT instead of just using MESA boards like all the other sane kids....and EtherCAT all the way...not sure i still think this was a good idea, but hey, here we are... So i have an EhterCAT bus coupler behind the keyboard to wire up all the controls in the panel...that is then connected back to the main IO modules in the control enclosure on the side of the machine, which also hosts all the servodrives with EtherCAT aswell....so all the buttons and their lights are going through a bunch of Beckhoff EL1859 (8x input + 8x outputs)...

/Thomas

No problem at all.  Matrix_kb.comp is flexible.

Assuming the drive or coupler outputs are fast enough, you can use the ins & outs to drive a matrix keyboard of whatever size you want.

linuxcnc.org/docs/devel/html/man/man9/matrix_kb.9.html

I think you'll want the scan-generation mode.  The default mode is for a 7i73.

My favorite button?  Easy.  It's the Go-Back-In-Time-Before-The Crash button.  No, I won't share my HAL config for that one.