Making LinuxCNC more like Mach3 :-)

Well, I don't actually want LinuxCNC to be like Mach3, which is why I'm transitioning from the former to the latter latter to the former (doh).

But I'm accustomed to the default Mach3 UI and would like a LinuxCNC UI which has:

* +/- jog buttons for all (3) axes
* step/continuous jog
* 1, 0.1, 0.01 step size
* display of maximum and minimum x,y,z for the currently loaded g-code file (I know I can see this in the tool path preview, but it is hard to read)
* set current position as zero button for each axis
* enter current position for an axis
* move to zero button for each axis (mach3 doesn't have that, just move all axes to zero)

Is there an alternative GUI which gives me all/some of this, or do I need to build it myself (not a show stopper, as I will want to build my own GUI in due course, but a good starting position would be handy)

Thanks,
Tom

Well, I don't actually want LinuxCNC to be like Mach3

Good

+/- jog buttons for all (3) axes

Exists, just not 6 buttons, two buttons and axis selection radio buttons

step/continuous jog

Exists

1, 0.1, 0.01 step size

Exists, just change the ini file entry if that is not displayed, it is on the sim I opened

display of maximum and minimum x,y,z for the currently loaded g-code file (I know I can see this in the tool path preview, but it is hard to read)

Edit gremlin and change text size

set current position as zero button for each axis

enter current position for an axis

Exists - Touch off

move to zero button for each axis

G54 G00 X0 Y0 Z0
or
G28 for G53

GScreen or gmoccapy may give you some of these as buttons, but you can simply create a pyVCP panel which does what you want, if you can't stand to use the methods provided.
www.linuxcnc.org/docs/devel/html/hal/pyvcp.html

regards

I've seen several Mach 3 Ui's, maybe some are customized. Post a pic of the one you use. It's easy to write a custom GUI so give it a try.

* +/- jog buttons for all (3) axes
* step/continuous jog
* 1, 0.1, 0.01 step size
* display of maximum and minimum x,y,z for the currently loaded g-code file (I know I can see this in the tool path preview, but it is hard to read)
* set current position as zero button for each axis
* enter current position for an axis
* move to zero button for each axis (mach3 doesn't have that, just move all axes to zero)

gmoccapy offers
+ and - jog up to 4 axis on screen and external button
continuous and step jogging with on screen and external button
Selecting of step size on screen and external button
set current position to zero or any given value
move to zero or any position can be done using macros , pushing one button.

the missing option show limits of the workpiece could be added with a custom panel

So gmoccapy offers all you wished.

See WIKI Gmoccapy for more details.

Norbert

Tom ,

you could do no better than spend some time with Gmocappy , Norbert has spent some considerable time
to making gui's as easy as possble , and theirs more to follow .

Gmocapppy came about from Gscreen from an idea Chris had , and to a point gmocappy has grown into it's own and is now maturing into a gui builder in it's own right , so spend some time getting to know it , will be time well spent

Dave

tgdavies@gmail.com wrote:

Well, I don't actually want LinuxCNC to be like Mach3, which is why I'm transitioning from the former to the latter latter to the former (doh).

But I'm accustomed to the default Mach3 UI and would like a LinuxCNC UI which has:

* +/- jog buttons for all (3) axes

<> for X, ^ downarrow for Y, and page up, page down for Z. At least in the Axis
GUI, that has been there forever.

* step/continuous jog
* 1, 0.1, 0.01 step size

These are there, but it requires some button pushing to switch jog modes between
incremental and continuous jog. You have a slider for continuous jog rate, and a
selection of several incremental jog sizes.

* display of maximum and minimum x,y,z for the currently loaded g-code file (I know I can see this in the tool path preview, but it is hard to read)

The preview window can be scrolled, zoomed and rotated with the mouse buttons.
It requres a 3-button mouse to access all these modes. If you zoom it in a little, the
range of travel required is easy to see. If the machine has been homed, then it
also checks against the travel limits, so you may not even HAVE TO read the values.

* set current position as zero button for each axis
* enter current position for an axis

These two functions are done with the "touch off" button on the Axis GUI.

* move to zero button for each axis (mach3 doesn't have that, just move all axes to zero)

OK, we don't have this one, but I'll bet it could be whipped up in a pyvcp add-on
to Axis or other GUI pretty easily. It just needs to create a bit of MDI code (G0 X0.000)
and submit it for MDI processing.

Jon

tgdavies@gmail.com wrote:

* move to zero button for each axis (mach3 doesn't have that, just move all axes to zero)

I just created that last night and it works. Follow this and it will work. Adding a go to zero button

Thanks for all the responses.

I have installed gmoccapy and it looks good. I will need to figure out how to merge my stepconf generated config with the sample gmoccapy config.

Two questions:
- gmoccapy when installed according to the instructions on the wiki runs with linuxcnc 2.6.0 (or rather the tip of master, I suppose). Will it run with 2.5.x?
- Ubuntu's upgrade manager offers me a bunch of upgrades -- I realise I shouldn't upgrade wholesale to 12, but is it OK to do the individual package upgrades offered?

Thanks,
Tom

I have installed gmoccapy and it looks good. I will need to figure out how to merge my stepconf generated config with the sample gmoccapy config.

If you make your config in 2.5.3, you should than have a folder linuxcnc/config/my_Machine, if in master, it is located at linuxcnc-dev/configs/my_Machine.

Just take that folder and copy that one to linuxcnc-dev/configs

After doing that, start that config without any changes from a terminal after . ./scripts/rip-environment,
if it starts without errors, then just edit your INI according to the WIKI and you should not have problems.

HINTS:
- In early some configs there was a entry MAX_LINEAR_VELOCITY in [TRAJ] section, if it is there, please change that wrong
entry to be MAX_VELOCITY.
- Check the [HAL] section of the INI for manual_toolchange.hal, if it is there, just comment it out, as it is a AXIS relict. You will have to connect the iocontrol signals directly to the gmoccapy signals, please see the gmoccapy_postgui.hal file from the sim for details.

Two questions:
- gmoccapy when installed according to the instructions on the wiki runs with linuxcnc 2.6.0 (or rather the tip of master, I suppose). Will it run with 2.5.x?

No! It will only run on 2.6 (master) and I will never make it work under 2.5, as I do hope 2.6 to be released within this year.

- Ubuntu's upgrade manager offers me a bunch of upgrades -- I realise I shouldn't upgrade wholesale to 12, but is it OK to do the individual package upgrades offered?

Do not upgrade to 12.04 with the packet manager, or you will loose your real time kernel! But do update all the offered updates for 10.04.

If your hardware do requiere an update to 12.04, you will have to read the related threads for getting that with realtime kernel, linuxcnc and gmoccapy will work also with 12.04 with real time kernel.

Norbert

P.S. Hope to see you soon in the gmoccapy thread;-)