Gscreen - a GTK / Glade / Python based screen

cmorley,

I work at MPM Inc. and want to install this GUI on our G&L 4 axis machine. We have just upgraded it to Linux 10.4 and LinuxCNC 2.5 realese. Do you have an install guide for you new GUI?

Gscreen is not available for the 2.5 release - it uses many development changes that are only in master branch.

Using master is of course more risky for hidden bugs.
I do not have an install guide. There are sample configs though.
While I would love feedback from people using Gscreen please understand it is still in development and could have Bugs or be frustrating to get to work seamlessly it has had limited real-word testing.

What types of override/mpg real buttons do you wish to use?
Are you using linuxcnc now? If so what screen are you using?

Chris M

Hey is this Stuart S's shop?

I feel much better if it is, you guys understand what your getting into.

I will do what I can to help integrate any short comings.
But again only available in master.

Chris M

We are curently runing Axis and Touchy on different machines. I started here in the maintence department in April so LinuxCNC is still new to me. My bigest problem with LinuxCNC is the operator interface. From an operator stand point both touchy and Axis fall short. I have been working with Stuart and Kim Kirwin on the updates and to get this machine running. I was looking into different GUI's and ran across your gscreen and read the 30pages of posts. So, I have decided that we should use gscreen on the G&L. What will it take to make it work on 2.5?

BigJohnT wrote:

Just curious what is lacking in Touchy and Axis? I've not used Touchy but have Axis on all my machines at this point and have added PyVCP screens to all of them to give me what I want. One thing that holds me up from using Touchy is I love using ngcgui and it won't work on Touchy. So that is another project to make a Gtk Python replacement for ngcgui... never bored around here.

I've been working on a custom gui and have done some tutorials on rolling your own GUI to a point. For me it's all about focus and ease of use... I want to touch as little as possible but have my screen as intuitive as possible. My current thought is to have a base GUI that you can cut and paste in Glade what you want where and the underlying code just works... but that might be a ways off.

John

I am not bashing or trashing here I am just giving my opinion that was asked for. I am just the maintenance guy so I don't spend all day in front of one of these machine running parts. Off the top of my head and it has been a few days not using either GUI. Axis is cumbersome to use. Things just aren't where you think they should be. It might have all the right parts but if not in the right place its no good. The Axis tool path screen might be great for engraving but for actual parts it looks like a blob of color. Axis is not so touch screen friendly which means there has to be a keyboard and mouse of some sort. Touchy is for touch screens but for the most part is missing the needed features. Tool editor, program editor. button size and layout don't really work for me. We have several machines with different controls on them and I guess for me its about the show. I am not saying that either is bad and maybe I am just inexperienced but if using the control is not the best it can be then change it. When I walk up to a machine i expect to see a Fanuc control. Maybe not actually a Fanuc control but that is what my mind pictures so I start looking for screens and buttons that I recognize. The gscreen GUI gave me that feeling while looking at screen shots. From reading this post you are far more into this than just being a machine operator/machinist and that is where LinuxCNC falls short. If you back away from everything you know and just go back to being an operator/machinist you will see it in a different light. When Tech-schools train machinist they use the latest machines. They might start on manual controls but end up on high dollar CNC's with high dollar controls. I cant walk away from a CNC with a Fanuc 30i and use Touchy or Axis. I have been wanting to create a new GUI for LinuxCNC since April. I support and encourage the development of LinuxCNC and its GUI I am kind of at home base (MPM Inc.) I will be more than glade to talk to operators and get there opinions but I suspect it will not be far from mine.

andypugh wrote:

Perhaps we should start at the other end. If a professional machinist were to design a GUI, what would it look like?

Sory to highjack your thread cmorley. I created a new thread for Professional machinist GUI

Well I worked as a cnc lathe operator for a while but our Okuma didn't have a video display just 7 segment LEDs
It is a common and valid point that much of linuxcnc has been built from the eye of a programmer rather then a machinist.

With Gscreen I meant to lean more towards a 'normal operator screen' though its more based on a Heidenhain DRO that I used to use.
I am happy to have Gscreen evolve to more industrial style - that was it's purpose.
Even better is that Gscreen is very customisable. Originally I patched TOUCHY for custom glade files but that was rejected.
It has worked out though cause I think Gscreen takes the concept further.

To patch 2.5 for Gscreen would be possible but are you prepared for extra work of having a patched controller?
Each upgrade you must re-patch it. I started Gscreen in 2.5 then moved it to master, when I did that I was free to make many changes, mostly to gladevcp and gremlin.

Gscreen still requires a keyboard for MDI and editing of the Gcode. Numerical Entry can be done on screen.
We may be able to leverage 'onboard' (an on screen keyboard) to eliminate that.

John:
Gscreen allows completely custom screens. If you leverage gladeVCP HAL actions you can freely edit a screen to what ever you want.
If that doesn't get what you want you can use the handler file to make custom functions for regular widgets.
the sample gscreen-gaxis uses mostly HAL actions with just a couple added functions.
You now can even draw an image of a screen and add the widgets on top of it for a REALLY custom look.
Of course the fancier you get the more the work.

There is a wiki page for Gscreen:
wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Gscreen#Installation

This will be the docs untill Gscreen is well stabilized.
If there a particular questions please ask here or on the mail list and I will add then to the wiki if needed.

Chris M