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Lcvette wrote:

Ok I see now, did you try just using a halbutton? If you just wanted color change I think that would work and be simple. Have to check, but I believe they are bidirectional.
 

No, it didn't occur to me to use a button as an indicator.  And I didn't want an on-screen button or control widget.

Ok I see now, did you try just using a halbutton? If you just wanted color change I think that would work and be simple. Have to check, but I believe they are bidirectional.

As I said earlier, the LED was just a first attempt.  When that didn't work out, I realized a label that acted like an LED could do double-duty and save screen space.

Just so we're on the same page, here are two screenshots of what I've got after Claude created new .py and .qss files



The red one is actually blinking, but you get the idea.

I'm not completely sure about the architecture, but it looks like that python file creates two hal pins per Qlabel instance.  And links the label to a .qss setting via the standard Qt Qlabel's dynamic settings.  Screenshot of the dynamic properties:



The rest of the indicators follow the same process.  Two hal pins are created per label, I link one of the pins in post-gui, set the dynamic properties to a color, and they all work.

I've attached the files in case you're interested in what's backstage.  And I think the status_tab.py was also modified - and is what I'm not supposed to touch (auto-updated when probe_basic.ui is open).

The above is what I was trying to do with HalLabel widget rules, but couldn't.

I agree with Tommy. Pointless adding additional failure points!

I would try and arrange the drives horizontallly as there is a risk the top drives overheat with the heat from the ones below. I have had this happen but at a lot more than 24 volts (which I think is too low, velocity and acceleration are king with plasma and you are limiting yours by the low voltage)

for reference here are the already linuxcnc exposed status items:

linuxcnc.org/docs/html/config/python-interface.html

you want the label now and not the led? the led you simply set the pin base name and then point to it in hal in the post gui hal file and when the net is active it will light up the led.

halLabels are for numerical values, not strings. there is not a really clean method to access the hal io layer digitally with strings. this is just a linuxcnc shortcoming, they expose certain things through python and they are determined through the linuxcnc repo and not qtpyvcp/probe basic. so if you need a status or setting that is in that python channel its easy if its a customized halpin not so much unless its something very basic like toggling a switch for an led or outputting an actual numerical value since that coding is present in the linuxcnc codebase.

you can get around this a few ways, the first being to make a hallabel that would display a value and make your other changable label display certain text based on that hallabel's current value: for example,

1 = air pressure LOW
2 = air pressure OK

its a bit hacky so you will need to determine if the hackiness is ok to achieve your goal, or maybe just use the led.

I can look at giving the user a default state color style for the halledindicator which could give you the ability to make it green default and red active.

Because I don't know how to make a hallabel change how it is displayed based on pin state without using the widget rules.

And I don't know how to make a non-hal Qlabel change based on a hal input state.

In the example  - thank you for that - you showed a screen button that changed display based on clicked (or not).  And an LED that changed from off to blinking when the button was clicked (the connection feature).  But the example wasn't tied to a hal pin - at least I didn't see that it was.

So how do I get a label - hal or not - to change state based on a hal pin state change?

Ok so you just need it active when the pin flips? What the issue then I'm confused

My reply was that i use parallel port on several machines (over 10 for sure) with RTAI kernel, and use RT-Preempt on new-ish PC's for parallel port and Mesa boards.
In total, easily over 50 machines.
-
I do have a PCI board that i have to spend some time with, got it from a friend so i have no clue where he got it, and another set of boards that was driving a 5 axis machine, from initial tests i did back then all are recognized by older kernels, but will probably need drivers and i am not in the mood of writing those.

Get rid of the relay boards, opto boards and the 5V rails, you do not need them and they will only add to stuff collecting interference, Mesa 7i96S has isolated inputs and outputs, just check what output to connect the torch on as there should be two types of outputs on it.
Put the Mesa board in the middle vertically with LAN side down, THCAD and power supplies to the right and drives as they are.

 On one of my builds I used a pass through ethernet port mounted on the panel to use a small ethernet cable to connect to my 7i76e. Its hard when you have limited access but I overcame the problem with a short ethernet cable inside the box.   

Lcvette wrote:

ok so blinking led is possible when active that functionality is already there. you can use signals and slots to connect widgets, not everything has to be done with rules, ie if you have a button you can run a signal and slot to an led to have it turn on and off, flash, stop in on state or stop in off state. perhaps this is what your looking for?

Not what I'm looking for, but the connection feature is interesting and I wasn't aware of it.

The LED was just a first stab at some sort of screen indicator.  After fiddling and thinking about it I realized a Qlabel can be better - an LED takes up more screen space because you also need a label for the LED.  Why not just make the label behave like the LED would?

To be specific, I have an air pressure sensor that interlocks the machine - can't start the machine without it.  Plenty of times I've tried to start the machine with the main air valve off ('cause leaks), couldn't start the machine and it took a minute to figure out the problem.

So I want an indicator that flashes red at me when the air sensor hal input is low, and I want it green when the hal pin is high.  If the label changes from AIR LOW to AIR OK, that's a bonus but unnecessary.

No screen button required or desired - just an indicator showing the two states of a hal pin.  I could have two labels or two leds, but that takes up room and looks hacky.

Unfortunately I have to keep the card and power on that side so I can get to Ethernet, on/off switch and estop. The way the table is set up I can only get to that side of the control box when in use.

Yes, here is the file. It might not be quite what you are looking for as we tried installing a little older version to try and get it going again, it acts almost the same with this version, now it stops when you hit pause, lifts up but nothing else. the FWD REV buttons come on momentarily then go away, it does not back up along cut path on its own but will not restart either, you have to hit stop and start all over. And once you have done that, the only way it will run a program is a program restart. If you run a program after fiddling with the pause it will only cut one pierce point, then raise the torch and sit until you hit stop, select the next point, run from line, etc etc. That was holes, I cant say whether or not it would do that on a nested drawing. 

Looks like its going to be a tidy control box. If it were my build I would put the 7I96S closer to the drives to shorten all the drive wiring, keep the THCAD2 and relays close to the 7I96S for the same reason.