In emc, there are lots of ways to interact with the running system besides using gcode.
These two ways are called NML and HAL. Using NML, for instance, any userspace program can retrieve the current position of the machine and lots of other details about it. Any information displayed in the AXIS GUI or in the "EMC Status" window comes from NML, and any action that AXIS takes when you press a key or click a button is achieved through NML. If you want to script a series of actions like those taken in the GUI (such as: home all axes, open gcode file, begin execution) then you want to write a program to send NML messages. Small examples of this in Python are in the included "mdi" script, or another script I called "jdi": http://axis.unpy.net/01167419757 Using HAL, you can read and write values such as hardware inputs and outputs. There are a large number of predefined realtime components (such as 'and', 'or', 'compare', 'limit', 'timedelay', 'oneshot') as well as ClassicLadder which allows you to draw ladder diagrams. The inputs can depend on such things as 'is a program running', 'is a tool-change requested', and so on. By writing a new userspace or realtime HAL component, then connecting it with a ".hal file", you can do a wide range of things. For instance, "hal_input" is a userspace HAL component written in python which makes any Linux-recognized input device into a series of HAL pins. With the proper .hal file, this allows you to jog your machine using a joypad, assign its buttons to "cycle start", and so on. If I had not already written hal_input and had it bundled with emc2, anybody else who had the idea and the exepertise could have too. The problem is not that emc is not customizable and extensible in a wide variety of ways -- the problem is a lack of documentation and examples that are accessible to the typical user. Jeff ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
