Console the Key Emulator Method

[rodm]

As I said in the main console thread I will start a thread for each type of console so it does not get confusing - for me that is

The easiest way to make a console is with a key emulator. The process is you make a panel with a heap of buttons and then through a keyboard emulator you make those buttons interact with the Mach3 screen. It could be argued by the purists that it is just a software control but let's face it Mach3 is a software machine controller and we trust that to start, stop and run jobs as well as monitor the state of limits and emergency stops. So at the very least you are not compromising the safety of your machine in any way and probably enhancing it because the controls on a console are easier and quicker to react to than through a keyboard or mouse.

There are many different brands of key emulators and I will cover that more when I get to that stage. For this exercise I am using a PoKey but only using the digital switches and not the MGP or other capabilities it has.

So the first step is to design and make the panel for the console. What features do you want on the console - eg Monitor, switches, MPG, keyboard, mouse, etc.
You have to decide how all this is going to be mounted eg on a swinging arm over the machine or in a trolley, etc. When you have decided on your final design my advise is to sit on it for a while and review your choices before commencing. The reason I say this is because on this console I forgot to put a "Reset" switch which is one of the most important switches it can have. Fortunately I ruined my first attempt at cutting out the console and had to remake it again which gave me the chance to include the "Rest" switch. When designing the placement of switches consider grouping them into functions. If you spend too much time trying to find a switch amongst forty others you may as well use the keyboard and standard Mach screens as it will be quicker.

There are heaps of variations and you must decide yourself on what you want and how it is to be configured. On this I will add that a console does give the opportunity to have your computer away from the firing line of swarf and dust and your interface (console) mounted in a convenient location to operate your machine.

Enough waffling and there is enough experience on this forum so that your ideas can be presented here and comment can be made if you happen to miss the obvious. A final point on design is the choice of materials. As this is a woodworking forum I expect that something like MDF would be a good choice of materials for a console with either masonite or better coloured acrylic sheet for the face. Each to their own here and there are other choices - I am going with 3mm aluminum panel and a folded sheetmetal enclosure.

[rodm]

Now to specifics of this console.

The console is for my BIL who owns Rodot a machine I built some time back and very similar to Sean's machine. After discussion with him it was decided that the console will have the following features
Twenty switches to operate the machining controls - now 21 with the Reset switch included.
A 17 inch LCD monitor because it was given to me but a 15 inch is a better choice for size. Smaller than 15 inch means you have to operate Mach3 in low resolution and I can tell you that a 12 inch touchscreen is not the best at 800 by 600 even with custom screens.
240 volt switches to control the spindles and driver board.
Emergency Mushroom panic switch.
No keyboard or mouse.
Cabling that needs to be connected to the box will be 240 volt, video cable, USB.

His choice was for something easy to operate so I have not overloaded the console with switches but the trade off is it will have less controls and gizmoes. Cost was also a consideration so an MPG’s has been replaced with individual axis switches. The Modio console will have MPG's and lots of gizmoes so it works out good that you get to see something different here.

To understand the design you need a picture of how he operates. He has a desk against the shed wall with the computer on it and the CNC machine is directly behind him as he sits at the desk. He swivels on a chair between the desk and machine as he needs to. The way he will operate is the designing will still be done at the desk and when he is ready to machine he can spin around and use the console to operate the machine. The console monitor will be connected to the video card on the desk computer. The console screen can be cloned to the desktop or with an extended desktop he can have something completely different to the computer screen. A few options with dual screens and I will cover that later.

The console panel was designed in Aspire and the aluminum sheet machined on Morphy. Care was taken to get the exact monitor cut-out as the mounting screws are very close to the edge. I removed the case of the monitor (not easy) and will fix the fascia and body of the monitor to the panel. I engraved all the switch labels with a 60 degree V bit and will colour those once I have deburred the panel.

The machining was done tonight – about three hours total due to a low feed rate because I was using a 3mm cutter to keep the corner radii tight.

See photos and to give perspective the panel is 505mm by 355mm. The panel has WD40 residue and a bit of swarf hanging around so it is a bit smeared in the photos. The aluminum sheet was from scrap so it is scratched up as you can see from the photo of the back. Some 1200 wet and dry and a bit of elbow grease revived the front to something more presentable. The 240 volt switches have been separated from the 5 volt momentary switches and all the swiches have been grouped by function and surrounded by engraved lines to make it easy to operate the panel. Once the engraving is coloured it will be easier to see the finer detail in a photo.

Sorry these are long posts but to be a tutorial it does need a lot of words to explain it. That’s enough for one night.

[Zoot]

Rod,
Looking good and your descriptions are at a pace that my alcohol addled mind can absorb most of what you are saying!
I note that you are not including any keyboard or mouse in this console. What about when you need to change a DRO value? I suppose that this could be done from the "design desk".
I like the idea of running the 2 screens from the computer ... something I had not thought of, but it makes a lot of sense to be doing the design work away from the swarf.
Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

Alan

[rodm]

Hi Alan,
I am working with what my BIL wants and as you have said he will swing around in his chair and use the design computer for keyboard entries. Easy to add a keyboard and mouse if he changes his mind as I'll put a 4 port USB hub inside the console and hook a keyboard and mouse on a tray underneath. You can run mutliple keyboards in Windows.
I did some tests last weekend on VGA cables and had 6 metres of piggy backed cable working without any problem so it seems you can have a second monitor a fair distance from the main computer. I won't need 6 metres but it was an interesting exrecise to do. As a reference USB can be 5 metres away from the computer and if you need more distance there are other options.

[snowyskiesau]

If the VGA cable length does cause signal degradation, you can get VGA/XGA video repeaters quite cheaply.
You can run much further distances over cat5 (network) cable but the extenders are much more expensive.

[rodm]

Hi Geoff,
Thanks that is handy information to have on this thread.
Do you know what is needed to extend USB to longer distances?
Also thougths on wireless or bluetooth keyboard/mouse around a CNC machine environment - big ask on that one unless you have worked in an electrically noisy site.

[snowyskiesau]

Hi Rod,
There are a number of USB extenders available for both USB 1.1 and 2.0.

A KVM switch is an option that combines the lot (keyboard, video, mouse). These can work over dedicated CAT5 cable or IP based over a network. KVM's for CAT5 or IP tend to be expensive but could be handy if (for some unfathomable reason) you wanted to control your CNC device from a remote location. The ones using dedicated CAT5 are cheaper and would be more applicable for the CNC console application.
The IP based devices are for remote adminiistration of computers in, for example, unmanned data centres

I should point out that I haven't used any of the devices I've linked, they're just examples from local suppliers.

[I'll make up a list of the various USB/video extenders as these would cover most requirements]

[rodm]

No waffle tonight just a photo.

[rodm]

A little waffle tonight.
Cut and folded the case from 0.7mm galv sheet - trying to keep it as light as possible.
Popped a bit of 6mm ally skid plate in the back so that I can mount the box through it. I am going to use one of those LCD TV arms - cheap on ebay and seem to be good for the purpose.
Used a hole saw backed with a bit of hardwood to cut the fan holes - 57mm diam.
A bit more work to do then on to the wiring.

[rodm]

Only a bit more done today.
Just a couple of thoughts on how to mount the panel and make it serviceable later. I am sure that there will be some that can add to what I am about to say or better still show me the errors of my way.

It is no good knocking up an enclosure if you have to disconnect all the wires to open the box up. At the same time you need to think how you are going to run the wring so it is neat and you don't for example have 240 volt running parallel and next to the low voltage wiring.
Not really thinking a lot about this until now I needed to mount the Pokey board on the front panel. This way I just have to disconnect the USB cable and leave the fourty wires to the switches attached to the panel.

I didn't have room so I made an additional panel over the monitor. See photos.

I have lots of soldering to do now so see you in a couple of days when that is finished.

[rodm]

Switches have all been soldered and tested in Pokeys panel. A common ground was looped to all the switches and individual wires on the other side of the switch went to the numbered ports of the Pokeys. I will write up more of this later.

[snowyskiesau]

Looks good. I see you use the same colour coding scheme for wiring that I use (or are there labels on the wires?)

What's the circuit board just below the monitor for - a touch screen?

[rodm]

I have green for the earth and 20 shades of black for the signal wires.

No need to be organised here unless you are that way inclined as the Pokeys has a panel that shows you each button as you press it. I tested all this before I started the wiring so knowing that, I didn't order the switches in any way and they came out scrambled on the Pokeys. I'll document this without re-writing the Pokey manual this week.

I try hard to make the wiring neat but there are tricks to it that I have not mastered yet.

I have removed the plastic case from the monitor to mount it so you are seeing the back of the monitor buttons there -brightness, contrast, etc.

[WillyInBris]

Looking good Rod did you say you were going to make one with a MPG as well?

or am I just going MAD

[rodm]

You are sane by my standards but that isn't saying much.

Yeah this was going to have an MPG but my BIL wants it to be simple. The Pokeys allows for heaps of MPG's so no problem hooking one up therefore this project will not show the full potential of the Pokeys. I might have to lash up an MPG to show how it can be done.
If people haven't used a console before they don't understand convenience of having all the controls of Mach3 and the machine switches in one easy to operate panel.

The next project, the Modio Console, will definately have all the bells and whistles as that will be for Morphy. I am toying with a wrap around console and maybe even dual monitors on the console - maybe getting carried away a bit but like to think of all the options.

One thing I am discovering and worth mentioning now is that the 240 volt switch controls should be on a separate panel to the software switch panel. It makes it so much easier to wire and service inside the box later. My first console had that and I didn't even think about it with this one.

I made quite a bit of progress last night and should have it finished or very close to it tonight.