Guidance Requested for Creating a New Touchscreen GUI

Hello! 

Myself and two other engineering students used LinuxCNC to develop a CNC for our senior design project (2021-2022). We used axis for our first prototype, and now we are designing "Mach One" which we hope to take to market. We previously used the Axis GUI, but since one of our primary goals for this next version is the user experience, we'd like to have a much cleaner GUI which also has custom features. We're considering creating a GUI from scratch, but there are also some features of Axis/Touchy/Gscreen/etc. that I'd like to reuse. 

My first impression on the best way to accomplish the GUI we have have in mind is to use a combination of Glade and Python according to  link1  and  link2 . I'm taking the lead on developing the GUI which we may need to outsource if it becomes too complex, right now LinuxCNC is installed on a Pi that I have access to via SSH and/or VNC. I have the ability to create Glade files on my Windows computer after installing GTK per  gtkWindowsInstall . I have a ton to learn about Glade and the interactions between Glade/Python/LinuxCNC but I wanted to get some opinions on my plan so far before I waste time learning UI design through Glade. First and foremost I don't believe I currently have access to the Hal Widgets package for Glade on my PC where I'm going to try to create the Glade program so that would be a great place to start. 

Additionally, my understanding is that Glade will generate all the geometry of buttons/windows/tabs etc. but some additional coding will be required in Python if I want to add something like a geometry viewer/manipulator or live feed to a camera. Is it safe to assume that it is possible to achieve just about anything within reason by adjusting the python code? Also, I have a top level design in Figma, and I'd like to use it as a reference as much as possible. I know there is a way to convert Figma->Tkinter->Python, and I know that Axis is a Tkinter GUI, however I haven't found any resource that convert a Figma file to GTK and idk if that would even be useful in this case since the Hal widgets are the driving incentive to use Glade. 

Looking forward to hearing from y'all, please let me know if I can clarify anything! 

-Josh Cooper

What is your target version of linuxcnc?

Currently version 2.9.0~pre0

Can u send a Screenshot of top level design and functionality.
I did a mod to axis for touchscreen and works well for a few users.

forum.linuxcnc.org/21-axis/40659-axis-2-...ersion-of-old-friend

it is a rehash of axis in tcl