On Sat, 2011-10-29 at 22:07 +1100, Erik Christiansen wrote: > On 28.10.11 11:58, Kirk Wallace wrote: > > Currently, I am using Inkscape to lay out and graphically connect HAL > > component symbols. I edit my .hal file using the diagram as a reference. > > This is working well so far, but it would be much better if, for > > instance, the diagram connections would move with a component if I > > decide to move it, which Inkscape doesn't do, as far as I know. I > > started using gEDA, but this page: > > http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/emcinfo.pl?HalSchematicsUsingGschem > > Are there strong reasons for going with gEDA? (I looked at if for PCB > design, a few years ago, but found it a work in progress.) > > So long as the Eagle library of hal components is reasonably up to date, > then the existing eagle2hal process seems ideal for the graphical > presentation and editing of hal configurations. Connections naturally > move with a component, errors can be flagged if two outputs are > connected together, etc.
Yes, I like Eagle for the smarter connection behavior, the symbols look better, but to me, creating new symbols is downright painful and I seem to need to create more than a few for each new project. After about an hour of research, gEDA symbols are becoming fall-down easy. I would like to figure out how to make them look better. I think most lines and text are rendered as zero width lines or one pixel which don't look good. So far I have bumped the box lines up to 30. I suspect I'll find more features as I get more experience. > If new component macros are needed, they're pretty easy to make, whether > by editing an existing one, or from scratch. The Eagle on-line manual, > and tutorial, are pretty good. > > Having had PCB manufacturers accept Eagle files in lieu of Gerber files, > doing the CAM themselves, I'd find it convenient to use the same tool > for HAL. It's free for that use, and non-commercial PCB design. I'm hoping to engrave my own boards but I don't want glass fiber getting into my mill, so I need to make a small machine for that purpose. > While several decades as a programmer have left me cold on GUI tools for > procedural (lexical input) stuff, a schematic represented as a netlist > is gibberish to the human mind, I find. A good schematic editor is the > one graphical application I can't do without. > > Erik My experience with GUI tools is like watching a really bad movie, in the end I wonder why I didn't turn it off earlier. But my objection with GUI's is with them trying to be smarter than me and insisting on not giving me what I want, not with the graphics. -- Kirk Wallace http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ http://www.wallacecompany.com/E45/index.html California, USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get your Android app more play: Bring it to the BlackBerry PlayBook in minutes. BlackBerry App World™ now supports Android™ Apps for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™. Discover just how easy and simple it is! http://p.sf.net/sfu/android-dev2dev _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
