Control Panel / UCCNC

[Bad Wolf]

I am in the process of upgrading motors on my DIY CNC, and I have for some time been eyeing off the fancy control panels you get on expensive CNC machines. Since I need to wire up my new UC300ETH controller board and new closed loop stepper controllers, I am thinking it might be time to make a whole new control box.

I would like to do something with a screen / touch screen in the box as well and mount it off the side of my CNC on a pole. I have a couple of spare PCs kicking around and even a old Point Of Sale touch screen PC, but I am thinking it would be nice to have something that was a bit of a combo between a touch screen and buttons / jog wheel.

I am over dragging my laptop out to the shed. Has anyone attempted this on the cheap, interfacing it with the UCCNC software? Is it even doable?

I should add that I can program in VB.net and some C# and could probably manage some code for Arduino if it would be easier to have the buttons talk to an Arduino. Is there an API for the UCCNC software? That might make life a bit easier.

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[ger21]

Adding a touchscreen doesn't require you to do anything to make it work. You basically just swap monitors, and you can use UCCNC with the touchscreen.

Adding buttons is very simple in UCCNC. Just wire the buttons to your UC300ETH.
Using Input Triggers, you just enter the port and pin number of the button, and assign a function to it. No programming required.

An MPG is also easy to setup, as there are already settings in UCCNC for it.

[Bad Wolf]

Thanks for the info Gerry that should help. Also decided not to try swing the control panel off the CNC, but rather make a dedicated trolley controller since it suits my needs better. Thinking power supplies below and motherboard up top with UC300ETH for electrical isolation. Door on the back to keep the dust out better.

[dezsoe]

Of course, you can. You can make it as Gerry wrote or you can build your own. The latest stable version 1.2048 has an updated OSK plugin which also supports MDI input, not only numbers.

Also, you can write and build your own controller which is not using the UCxxx inputs and outputs, but then you have to write a plugin to do the communication. Some years ago I had an UC100 with no unused pins, so I built one:



(Now I'm working on an Arduino controlled version, but it's in an early state. I'm planning to release 2 versions: ethernet and wifi.)

[Bad Wolf]

After Gerry mentioned I could use a pendant, I dug mine out of a box a tried to get it working. I printed up some labels but I seem to be stuck on trying to get the wheel to work.

I don't know if I am just missing something, or if it is just not there. I can see where to set the X, Y, or Z axis (220, 221,222) and I have where to select continuous or step on the MPG (226, 227) and even a place to increase and decrease the jog rate (159, 160) but nowhere can I find a place where it tells the machine to jog positive on the selected axis or to jog negative on the selected axis.

All I can find is X+, X-, Y+, Y-, Z+, Z- but that means I need 6 buttons to do what I would like the wheel to do. Is there such a command? Otherwise selecting the X, Y or Z axis would seem pointless.

[ger21]

After Gerry mentioned I could use a pendant,

I didn't say "pendant", I said MPG.

You can't use a Shuttle Pro without writing a plugin for it.

You can wire an MPG like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-Eletroni...itleDesc=0%7C0
And your own buttons wired to the breakout board, but you can't use a USB device unless there's a plugin for it.

[ger21]

If yuo want a ready to use pendant, Vista CNC makes a variety with UCCNC plugins.
vistaCNC
And CNC Drive just released a new pendant for UCCNC.
CNCdrive - motion controls

[Bad Wolf]

I didn't say "pendant", I said MPG.

You can't use a Shuttle Pro without writing a plugin for it.

You can wire an MPG like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-Eletroni...itleDesc=0%7C0

And your own buttons wired to the breakout board, but you can't use a USB device unless there's a plugin for it.

Sorry my bad, I didn't realise there was a difference between an MPG and a pendant, I thought they were the same thing. If I understand correctly now the MPG is the rotary wheel, and the pendant is the whole thing including the buttons.

I also further realise that I have been comparing apples to oranges. The MPG is an infinite turning wheel where as the ShuttlePROV2 has only 7 shuttle positions left, a centre, and 7 positions right (and some transition positions). The centre wheel seems to have a infinite Jog Left and Right.

I can get all of the buttons on the ShuttlePro to work by simply mapping them to keyboard keys, and then mapping those same keys to functions in UCCNC software.

I am no expert in electronics so would it be possible to explain in simple terms why it would be possible to hard wire an MPG to the UC300ETH and the jog on the ShuttlePRO can't be used if it mapped to keyboard keys?

Surely a separate MPG hardwired to the UC300ETH has to send a similar / same instruction to the UCCNC software in the form of a function?

I expect I am probably not getting how the MPG is supposed to work in UCCNC. I can map a button to turn on the MPG Cont button, and I can map a button to select the individual X,Y and Z axis. I can even increase / decrease the jog speed, but without a function in the UCCNC software to tell the software to go positive or go negative I can't see how any pendant can possibly work.

If possible can you please point out the obvious I am clearly not getting,

[ger21]

I've never used either, so I can't really explain how the shuttle works or should work.

[OlfCNC]

Sorry my bad, I didn't realise there was a difference between an MPG and a pendant, I thought they were the same thing. If I understand correctly now the MPG is the rotary wheel, and the pendant is the whole thing including the buttons.

I also further realise that I have been comparing apples to oranges. The MPG is an infinite turning wheel where as the ShuttlePROV2 has only 7 shuttle positions left, a centre, and 7 positions right (and some transition positions). The centre wheel seems to have a infinite Jog Left and Right.

I can get all of the buttons on the ShuttlePro to work by simply mapping them to keyboard keys, and then mapping those same keys to functions in UCCNC software.

I am no expert in electronics so would it be possible to explain in simple terms why it would be possible to hard wire an MPG to the UC300ETH and the jog on the ShuttlePRO can't be used if it mapped to keyboard keys?

Surely a separate MPG hardwired to the UC300ETH has to send a similar / same instruction to the UCCNC software in the form of a function?

I expect I am probably not getting how the MPG is supposed to work in UCCNC. I can map a button to turn on the MPG Cont button, and I can map a button to select the individual X,Y and Z axis. I can even increase / decrease the jog speed, but without a function in the UCCNC software to tell the software to go positive or go negative I can't see how any pendant can possibly work.

If possible can you please point out the obvious I am clearly not getting,

MPG stands for Manual Pulse Generator. It send the same signals (pulses) as an incremental encoder. A and B pulse stream when you rotating the wheel. You connect those 2 signals to 2 input pins on the UC300ETH.
You can exchange A with B in UCCNC configuration or the 2 wires physically to change the count direction. CW wheel rotation counts up or CW rotation counts down.

I have no clue about how the ShuttlePRO works if it's wheel is an MPG or not.

[spumco]

MPG - as OlfCNC said, the MPG is an incremental encoder. One pulse is sent to a pin on the BOB per encoder count for A, and one is sent for B. The motion controller senses the pulses and moves the selected axis one increment. Direction is determined by which signal is first (A leads B or B leads A). I'm not sure what signals are sent when different axis switches are selected or when different jog increments are chosen via selector switch. You could use any encoder for an MPG as you can program UCCNC with the encoder PPR, but regardless of the encoder count standard MPG's generally have 100 detents in the wheel so that the controller can be programmed to move in familiar steps. i.e. one click of detent = 1, .1, .01, .001, etc.

Shuttle - Think of the shuttle wheel as a single-axis joystick. There is a variable resistor with center off connected to the shuttle wheel. Center is 0 volts, and full left/right are +V and -V (or some other combination. Could be full left is 0 and full right is +Vmax with center at 1/2 maxV - depends on the shuttle. Or it's a PWM signal mimicing a true analog voltage signal.

In this case you need a plugin to interpret the analog (or PWM) signal and send UCCNC an appropriate command. The shuttle buttons are simple on/off that can be mapped as you've found out. It's the analog wheel signal that requires a plugin.

If you're dead set on using the shuttle, I suggest you get in touch with some of the folks who've written plugins for the X-box controller. They might be able to help you decipher the wheel signals and then come up with a plugin.

[Bad Wolf]

MPG stands for Manual Pulse Generator. It send the same signals (pulses) as an incremental encoder. A and B pulse stream when you rotating the wheel. You connect those 2 signals to 2 input pins on the UC300ETH.
You can exchange A with B in UCCNC configuration or the 2 wires physically to change the count direction. CW wheel rotation counts up or CW rotation counts down.

I have no clue about how the ShuttlePRO works if it's wheel is an MPG or not.

Thanks for that just spent about an hour with a friend to find out what you said in a few lines.
First thing I had to do was get my head around what the MPG did electrically. From what my friend said it was an optical switch with 100 windows that created a digital square wave of zeros and ones.

It needs the voltage to power the circuit to create the zeros or ones. The BoB then sends the signal back to the UCCNC software where it is configured to an input pin on the I/O Trigger page which is then mapped to a function. Which is all fine and great but again I am stuck trying to work out what function it is mapped to when there doesn't seem to be a matching function in the list of functions provided in the documentation section or in the list in the software.

If I not mistaken there are several ways to connect to the software (either a input pin or a mouse / key press) but whichever method is used they all seem to need to be mapped to a function in order for the software to do anything.

The ShuttlePRO has what appears to be an MPG on the inner circle (three finger indents) with large steps in between (so not really all that usable compared to a proper MPG) and the outside ring is a spring loaded rotating ring that has 7 positions either side on middle.

[OlfCNC]

In UCCNC there is MPG wheel function. It is in the Configuration and I/O setup and there is the MPG A and B input pins.
You connect the MPG wheel's A and B output signals to 2 inputs of the UCCNC, the MPG has those 2 outputs and in the UCCNC you configure them as the MPG A and B signals.
If you want to change the MPG count direction then you exchange the A with B pin in configuration or you exchanging the A wire with the B wire.

Other functions like axis to jog selection, step size and other pendant related functions you can connect the buttons to inputs and configure them in the Input triggers in the UCCNC.

[Bad Wolf]

MPG - as OlfCNC said, the MPG is an incremental encoder. One pulse is sent to a pin on the BOB per encoder count for A, and one is sent for B. The motion controller senses the pulses and moves the selected axis one increment. Direction is determined by which signal is first (A leads B or B leads A). I'm not sure what signals are sent when different axis switches are selected or when different jog increments are chosen via selector switch. You could use any encoder for an MPG as you can program UCCNC with the encoder PPR, but regardless of the encoder count standard MPG's generally have 100 detents in the wheel so that the controller can be programmed to move in familiar steps. i.e. one click of detent = 1, .1, .01, .001, etc.

Shuttle - Think of the shuttle wheel as a single-axis joystick. There is a variable resistor with center off connected to the shuttle wheel. Center is 0 volts, and full left/right are +V and -V (or some other combination. Could be full left is 0 and full right is +Vmax with center at 1/2 maxV - depends on the shuttle. Or it's a PWM signal mimicing a true analog voltage signal.

In this case you need a plugin to interpret the analog (or PWM) signal and send UCCNC an appropriate command. The shuttle buttons are simple on/off that can be mapped as you've found out. It's the analog wheel signal that requires a plugin.

If you're dead set on using the shuttle, I suggest you get in touch with some of the folks who've written plugins for the X-box controller. They might be able to help you decipher the wheel signals and then come up with a plugin.

Thanks for that, it pretty much lines up with what my friend said and makes a lot of sense now that I got the basics from him. On the Shuttle part of the ShuttlePRO each of the negative and positive positions can be mapped to a seperate key, so if there was a way to move positive and negative in the UCCNC software I could probably get it to work (even if I set all of the 7 positions to the same value). Problem is I can't find a function that simply does positive or negative steps without specifying the specific the axis i.e X+, Y-.

The more I look at it the less the ShuttlePRO looks feasible simply because it doesn't have the resolution of a proper MPG.

[Bad Wolf]

Thanks OlfCNC I found it. Now it makes sense why the MPG will work.

[OlfCNC]

No problem. Good to see that you now understand how it works.

[Bad Wolf]

I've started design work on a pendant / new control panel.

I'm working on the premise that I will only ever need the jog while using pendant, and if I need to use the jog while at the machine console I will still have the option to do so in the software, I just won't bother making console buttons for them. I still need to finish working on the console buttons but I think I have everything I need on the pendant. Thinking I will put an emergency stop on the end of the machine instead of the pendant.