Mach2 Customisation Guide All queries, comments and suggestions welcomed via [email protected] Mach Developers Network (MachDN) is currently hosted at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mach1mach2cnc/files/ © 2003/4 Art Fenerty and John Prentice Front cover: Brown & Sharpe Universal mill 1862 (with some "artistic" liberties) Back cover (if present): The old, gear, way of co-ordinating motion on mill table and a rotary axis For Mach2 Release 6.11 Manual Revision 6.11-A6 Contents Contents 1. Preface.............................................................................................1-1 2. Communication routes...................................................................2-1 2.1 Electrical connections.....................................................................................................2-1 2.2 Keystroke connections....................................................................................................2-1 2.2.1 Keystrokes........................................................................................................................2-1 2.2.2 Keystrokes and Shortcuts (Hotkeys)..................................................................................2-3 2.3 The KeyGrabber and profilers.......................................................................................2-3 2.4 VB Script connections.....................................................................................................2-4 2.4.1 VB Script program............................................................................................................2-4 2.4.2 Mach2 macro....................................................................................................................2-4 2.5 Windows' control............................................................................................................2-5 2.6 Other customisation........................................................................................................2-5 2.6.1 Global hotkeys..................................................................................................................2-5 3. Screen Designer..............................................................................3-1 3.1 Screen Designer basics....................................................................................................3-1 3.2 Try out the Designer.......................................................................................................3-1 3.3 Making the controls work...............................................................................................3-2 3.3.1 Key scan codes.................................................................................................................3-2 3.3.2 Defining function by G-code or VB Script.........................................................................3-3 3.3.3 Defining function by name................................................................................................3-4 3.3.4 Defining buttons by OEM code.........................................................................................3-4 3.4 Getting a tidy visual effect..............................................................................................3-4 3.4.1 Alignment icons................................................................................................................3-5 3.4.2 Sizing icons......................................................................................................................3-5 3.4.3 Spacing controls uniformly...............................................................................................3-5 3.5 Properties of other types of control................................................................................3-6 3.5.1 User LEDs and DROs.......................................................................................................3-6 3.5.2 Properties of Intelligent Labels..........................................................................................3-6 3.5.2.1 System labels.........................................................................................................3-6 3.5.2.2 User Labels/Tickers...............................................................................................3-6 3.5.3 DRO groups......................................................................................................................3-6 3.5.4 Use of Bitmaps.................................................................................................................3-7 3.5.4.1 Bitmap buttons.......................................................................................................3-7 3.5.4.2 Visual grouping with bitmaps.................................................................................3-7 3.5.4.3 Identifying controls by the background bitmap.......................................................3-7 3.5.4.4 Dynamic changes with bitmaps..............................................................................3-8 3.6 Advanced features for setting up controls......................................................................3-8 3.7 Colors..............................................................................................................................3-9 3.8 Implementing two levels of screen complexity................................................................3-9 4. Coding VB Script programs...........................................................4-1 4.1 A simple button script.....................................................................................................4-1 4.2 Sample macros................................................................................................................4-2 4.2.1 A simple macro.................................................................................................................4-2 4.2.2 More complex macro........................................................................................................4-2 Mach2 Customisation Guide ii Rev 6.11-A6 Contents 4.3 A common confusion with VB Script and a hint............................................................4-3 4.4 The Mach2 VB Script functions and subroutines...........................................................4-4 4.4.1 To execute G or M-codes from a script..............................................................................4-4 4.4.2 For accessing the screen controls.......................................................................................4-4 4.4.3 Interrogating Mach2 internal variable................................................................................4-6 4.4.4 Access to the machine G-code parameter block.................................................................4-6 4.4.5 Arguments of macro call...................................................................................................4-7 4.4.6 Information to and from the user.......................................................................................4-7 4.4.7 Handling files of Part Programs.........................................................................................4-8 4.4.8 Screen handling routines for wizards etc............................................................................4-9 4.4.9 Input/Output signals, a serial port and "foreign" ports........................................................4-9 4.4.10 Serial port.......................................................................................................................4-10 4.4.11 Foreign ports...................................................................................................................4-10 4.4.12 Waiting and system features............................................................................................4-10 4.4.13 A more complicated macro example................................................................................4-11 4.5 Script Snags and Hints..................................................................................................4-12 4.5.1 What Windows/Mach2 does with your macro..................................................................4-12 4.5.2 Script error reporting.......................................................................................................4-12 4.5.3 Stuck in a rut?.................................................................................................................4-13 4.5.4 Reporting errors to users.................................................................................................4-13 4.6 Legacy/System VB Script Functions.............................................................................4-14 5. Designing wizards...........................................................................5-1 5.1 What is a wizard?...........................................................................................................5-1 5.2 A wizard's working in a nutshell....................................................................................5-1 5.3 Worked example – the Digitize wizard explained..........................................................5-1 5.3.1 The first step.....................................................................................................................5-2 5.3.2 Making the wizard work...................................................................................................5-3 5.3.3 Making the wizard write a part program............................................................................5-4