build userguide 02 - super tech · 12.10 motor power adjustments ... initially letting the spindle...

Machine Tool Control Program for USB CamPod. Direct CAD interface for

Desktop Computer Machine Motion Control Works with Window XP, Vista and Windows 7

Imports & Exports G & M CNC Ascii files Imports & Exports DXF Files

Imports & Exports HPGL Files Attached Machine follows center of the drawing lines

XYZ or XY Machine Motor Control Drawing and Edit Commands

Graphical Real Time Machine Animation

Super Tech & Associates 3313 East Hillery Drive

Phoenix, Arizona 85032 602-867-1755

Fax 602-867-1426 www.super-tech.com

Edition 04/13/2010 Copyright 2010 Dennis Bohlke

SuperCamXp User’s Guide

Table of Contents 1. Overview ................................................................................. 4 2. Main Screen ............................................................................ 6 2.1 Graphics area .............................................................. 7 2.2 Console Area............................................................... 7 2.3 Control Panel .............................................................. 8 2.4 Speeds Panel ............................................................... 8 2.5 Bottom Status Bar ...................................................... 9 2.6 Top Status Bar ............................................................ 10 2.7 Sidebar Menu .............................................................. 11 2.7.1 Spindle ............................................................ 11 2.7.2 XYZ Torch ..................................................... 12 2.7.3 XY Torch ........................................................ 13 2.8 Pull Down Menus....................................................... 14 2.8.1 Files ................................................................. 14 2.8.2 Display ............................................................ 14 2.8.3 Draw ................................................................ 15 2.8.4 Edit................................................................... 15 2.8.5 USB ................................................................. 16 2.8.6 Mconfig ........................................................... 16 2.8.7 Motors ............................................................. 16 2.8.8 Control ............................................................ 16 2.9 Function Keys ............................................................. 17 2.9.1 Shift and Control Function Keys ................ 17 2.9.2 Control Keys .................................................. 17 3. Machine Configuration Forms ............................................. 18 3.1 Speeds .......................................................................... 18 3.2 Delays........................................................................... 19 3.3 Limits ........................................................................... 20 3.4 Motors .......................................................................... 21 4. Machine Commands .............................................................. 22 4.1 Movement Interrupted ............................................... 23 4.2 Servo Fault .................................................................. 24 4.3 MoveTo Command .................................................... 24 4.4 Setting Material Surface............................................ 25 4.5 PlotBuff........................................................................ 26 4.6 PlotItem........................................................................ 27 4.7 PlotChar ....................................................................... 28 4.8 Home ............................................................................ 28 4.9 Homexy ........................................................................ 28 4.10 Homez ........................................................................ 28 4.11 SetXYLoc.................................................................. 28 4.12 Select .......................................................................... 28 4.13 Deselect ..................................................................... 28 4.14 ZMax .......................................................................... 29 4.15 Up ............................................................................... 29 4.16 Surface ....................................................................... 29 4.17 Down .......................................................................... 29 4.18 X, Y and Z Commands ........................................... 30 4.19 Machine Commands In Alphabetical Order........ 31 5. Display Commands................................................................ 32 5.1 Display Function Keys .............................................. 32 5.2 Pan View Port ............................................................. 33 5.3 Zoom Center ............................................................... 33 5.4 Zoom Limits of Machine .......................................... 34 5.5 Zoom Window ............................................................ 34 5.6 Zoom Previous............................................................ 35 5.7 Zoom Out..................................................................... 35

5.8 Zoom In........................................................................ 35 5.9 Redraw Graphics ........................................................ 35 5.10 Graphics Display Information ............................... 36 5.10.1 Color Settings .............................................. 36 5.10.2 3D Parameters ............................................. 37 5.10.3 Grid and Snap .............................................. 37 6. Drawing Commands .............................................................. 38 6.1 Arc ............................................................................... 38 6.2 Circle ............................................................................ 39 6.3 Line ............................................................................... 39 6.4 Offset ............................................................................ 40 6.5 Point.............................................................................. 40 6.6 Text .............................................................................. 41 6.7 TextCtr ......................................................................... 41 6.8 TextFit .......................................................................... 42 6.9 Font ............................................................................... 42 6.10 LeadIn ........................................................................ 43 6.11 LeadOut ..................................................................... 43 6.12 LineDwn .................................................................... 44 6.13 LineUp ....................................................................... 45 7. Edit Commands ...................................................................... 46 7.1 Clear Buffer................................................................. 46 7.2 Erase ............................................................................. 47 7.3 Copy ............................................................................. 47 7.4 Rotate ........................................................................... 48 7.5 Move............................................................................. 49 7.6 Scale ............................................................................. 50 7.7 Editi .............................................................................. 51 7.8 ListFrnt......................................................................... 52 7.9 ChgOrder ..................................................................... 53 7.10 List .............................................................................. 53 7.11 Join ............................................................................. 54 7.12 Trim ............................................................................ 55 7.13 SwapEnd.................................................................... 56 7.14 Extend ........................................................................ 56 7.15 Mirror ......................................................................... 57 7.16 Array .......................................................................... 57 7.17 ChgLine ..................................................................... 58 7.18 ChgLnDwn ................................................................ 59 7.19 ChgLnUp ................................................................... 59 7.20 Layers......................................................................... 60 7.21 Set Layer.................................................................... 60 8. File Commands....................................................................... 61 8.1 Cam............................................................................... 61 8.1.1 Open ................................................................ 61 8.1.2 Close ................................................................ 61 8.1.3 Save ................................................................. 61 8.1.4 Save As ........................................................... 61 8.2 BMP Command .......................................................... 62 8.3 DXF Files .................................................................... 64 8.3.1 DXF Import .................................................... 64 8.3.2 DXF Export .................................................... 64 8.3.3 DXF Settings.................................................. 64 8.4 HPGL Files.................................................................. 65 8.4.1 HPGL Import ................................................. 65 8.4.2 HPGL Export ................................................. 65 8.4.3 HPGL Settings ............................................... 65 8.5 G and M Code Files ................................................... 66 8.5.1 Gcode Reader................................................. 67 8.5.2 Machine Console........................................... 68 8.5.3 Import .............................................................. 69 8.5.3 G & M Codes Translated.................... 69

SuperCamXp Users Guide

4-13-2010 If you have questions in regard to using SuperCamXp feel free to give me a call or send me an email. Dennis Bohlke Phone: 602 867 1755 [email protected]

8.5.4 Edit and Execute............................................ 69 8.5.5 Settings............................................................ 70 8.5.6 Export .............................................................. 71 8.6 Background ................................................................. 72 8.7 Read Mconfig ............................................................. 72 8.8 Save Mconfig .............................................................. 72 8.9 Print .............................................................................. 72 8.10 Exit ............................................................................ 72 9. Miscellaneous Commands.................................................... 73 9.1 Undo and Redo ........................................................... 73 9.2 Camera ......................................................................... 73 9.3 Joystick ........................................................................ 73 9.4 In Development .......................................................... 73 9.5 Development Tools ................................................... 73 10. USB CamPod Control ......................................................... 73 10.1 Current Status ........................................................... 75 10.2 Pod Memory ............................................................. 75 10.3 Security ...................................................................... 75 10.4 Mechanism ................................................................ 76 10.5 Motion........................................................................ 76 10.6 USB IO ...................................................................... 77 10.7 CamPod Pin Signal Assignments .......................... 77 11. Installing SuperCamXp....................................................... 78 11.1 Installing USB Drivers............................................ 79 11.2 Removing SuperCamXp ......................................... 79 12. Machine Setup ...................................................................... 80 12.1 Machine Type ........................................................... 80 12.2 Motor Type ............................................................... 80 12.3 Step Sizes .................................................................. 80 12.3.1 Step Calculator ............................................ 80 12.3.2 Step Size Fine Tuning ................................ 80 12.4 Direction of Rotation............................................... 81 12.5 Home Limit Switches.............................................. 81 12.6 Maximum Starting steps per second..................... 81 12.7 Maximum Steps per second ................................... 81 12.8 Maximum Acceleration ......................................... 81 12.9 Machine Limits ........................................................ 81 12.10 Motor Power Adjustments .................................. 81 13. Glossary of Commands....................................................... 83 13.1 Commands In Alphabetical Order ........................ 83 14. Sample Files Included ......................................................... 88 14.1 Cam Files................................................................... 88 14.2 BMP Files.................................................................. 89 14.3 DXF Files .................................................................. 89 14.4 PLT Files ................................................................... 89 14.5 G & M Code Files.................................................... 89

1. Overview SuperCamXp SuperCamXp is a real time graphical operating system for machine tools. It imports HPGL, DXF, BMP and G-code files and directly controls the attached machine. G-code files can be imported and executed that are compatible with the Fanuc 6M controller. When using HPGL, DXF and BMP there is no translation to G-code files. The user either executes the complete drawing or can pick the graphic items individually and causes the machine to follow the path of the graphic item. The SuperCamXp is a CAD interface to the attached machine. It lets the user draw tool paths directly to the graphics area. There are seventeen fonts so it is often used for engraving ap-plications. The user can draw arcs, circles, lines, points or text. Graphic items can be moved, copied, scaled, rotated, mirrored, arrayed and erased. The order in which the graphic items are to be executed can be changed by the change order command. The direction of the cut can be changed by the swap ends com-

mand. There are also lead in and lead out commands for creating lines that attach to existing graphic items, this is for creating smooth transitions to items being cut on the machine. This is particu-larly useful with Plasma Torch tables. The SuperCamXp can be configured for 3 axis machines such as routers and milling machines or Plasma Torch, Flame cutters or Laser machines. The program automatically controls the relays depending on the machine that it is configured for. When a spindle type machine is attached the relay A is turned on at the beginning of the tool path execution and off when execution is completed. When the machine attached is using a Plasma Torch, Flame cutter or Laser the relay A is turned on at the beginning of each graphic item and off when the items tool path has been completed. There are configurable delays for initially letting the spindle spin up to speed or the air line to be cleared for a Plasma Torch. There are also configurable delays for piercing at the beginning of a cut and cut completion.

The graphical display can be either 2D or 3D, and is changed by keying the F6 function key. The F10 key switches the graphic display to a multi view port setup with four(4) different views being displayed simultaneously, each view port can be either 2D or 3D. This gives the user many different viewing options. The SuperCamXp does export G and M code files from im-ported HPGL, DXF and BMP files. When the attached machine in motion the graphical display is real time animated. That is the current machine’s carriage loca-tion is shown in the graphic area of the display. When the ma-chine is cutting, a circle is drawn corresponding to the size of the cutting tool. When the machine is above the surface of the material the machine’s carriage is represented by a small cross hair. Machine feed rates can be changed in the midst of a tool path execution by using the slider bars on the Speeds Panel. . Moving the machine around the work area is accomplished by the MoveTo command in which the user uses the mouse to point and click on where to place the machine’s carriage. This makes machine setup very easy. After the mouse pointer is clicked the machine moves the carriage to the coordinates specified by the mouse.

USB CamPod is the USB interface for Step and Direction mo-tor controllers.

Electronic Motor Controllers with embedded USB interface.

SuperCamXp is compatible with the Microsoft Windows XP and Vista operating system. SuperCamXp can import BMP image files and emboss the image on material with line width engraving or pixelized by drilling holes for each pixel to depths defined by darkness of each pixel. SuperCamXp works via the USB port and is a true multi-threaded application. It is possible to run multiple machines simultaneously from the same desktop computer as well as other applications while the attached machines are executing tool path movements. SuperCamXp works via the CamPod, which is USB to paral-lel, port adapter. It is a small box that has a USB connector on one end and a DB25 female connector on the other end. It is plug and play compatible with our line of motor controllers, and can be adapted to just about any of the existing parallel port controllers on the market. The PWB inside the CamPod has been made so pin signal assignments can be changed by cutting traces and attaching jumpers to different DB25 pins.

Taig Micro Mill with Servo Motors, Gecko Powered Controller and the USB CamPod.

2. Main Screen The main screen is the main user interface screen. This is the form that is presented as the main user interface. There are pull down menus, top status bar, bottom status bar, sidebar menu, console area, graphics area and control panel or speeds areas. The main form can be resized, minimized and maximized. The minimum size to show all of the controls is 844 by 722 pixels. The top caption displays the version date. This is the date the sources for the current program were put into the publishing folder for distribution. This date defines how up to date your program is. The graphics area of the screen is used to display drawings graphically. The machines current position is indicated with a

small cross hair icon. The console area is where the command prompt is displayed. When commands are executed the user is prompted here for the next required action. The mouse button action is display here to keep keyboard action at a minimum. The sidebar menu is list of commands that can be executed by clicking on them with the mouse. For each machine type there is a different sidebar menu. The pull down menus are lists of commands that can be exe-cuted by clicking on them with the mouse. Commands are categorized by function. There are pull downs for files, display, draw, edit, USB, machine configuration, motors and control. The top status bar displays information in regard to the graphics area of the screen. The panels can be clicked on to change the current settings. In particular the Items Selected panel will de-select all items selected if clicked on. The bottom status bar displays status information in regard to

the USB channel to the CamPod, the coordinates of the ma-chine carriage, the status of the controller and the current mo-tion status. The control panel is a tab on the Rolodex. The control panel displays a machine jog set of buttons, and buttons for toggling the relays. The altitude, surface and depth of cut setting are displayed in text boxes that can be edited. The Speeds tab has slider bars for controlling the machine mo-tion speeds. There is a stop button which will stop the ma-chines execution of a movement if clicked. Changing the slider bar position while the machine is executing a tool path will change the motion parameter for the subsequent machine mo-tion. 2.1 Graphics Area The graphics area of the screen is used to display drawings graphically. The machines current position is indicated with a small cross hair icon.

2.2 Console Area The console area is where the command prompt is displayed. When commands execute the user is prompted here for the next required action.

2.4 Speeds Panel The Speeds tab has slider bars for controlling the machine mo-tion speeds. If the machine is in motion, changing the slider bar position will effect the machine’s motion, for all subsequent moves that are not currently in the CamPod’s motion memory. The TSpeed slider bar controls the starting speed for rapid travel movements. The light green text box above it displays the current setting and can be edited. The TSlew slider bar controls the slew speed for rapid travel movements, which is the speed which it accelerates to deceler-ates from. The light green text box above it displays the current setting and can be edited. The CSpeed slider bar controls the starting speed for cutting movements. The light red text box above it displays the current setting and can be edited. The CSlew slider bar controls the slew speed for cutting move-ments, which is the speed which it accelerates to decelerates from. The light red text box above it displays the current set-ting or can be edited. The ZTSlew slider bar controls the slew speed for the Z axis rapid travel movements. The ZCSlew slider bar controls the slew speed for the Z axis with it is plunging into the material. There is a STOP button which will stop the machines execution of a movement if clicked.

2.3 Control Panel The Control Panel displays a machine jog set of buttons, and buttons for toggling the relays. By holding down the shift key and clicking on the jog button the machine will move until the shift key is lifted. The Altitude box in light blue, is the setting for how far above the surface of the material the tip of the cutting tool will move between cutting moves. The Surface box in yellow, is the what the current coordinate of the material surface is. The Cut Depth box in light red, is the depth which the graphic items will be cut at. The Cancel button will cancel any command in process. The Apply button will set any changes made to a text box. The Stop Motion button will interrupt machine motion.

2.5 Bottom Status Bar The bottom status bar displays status information in regard to the USB channel to the CamPod, the coordinates of the ma-chine carriage, the status of the controller and the current mo-tion status. The USB panel is the left most. It displays NO USB if the CamPod is not connected, USB OK if connected. Clicking on the panel causes the CamPod_Control form to be displayed. The USB Status panel is next to the leftmost. It displays the current status of the USB channel between the CamPod and the host computer.

The Relay A and Relay B panels display the current status of the relay control signals. If

the text is black the corresponding relay is engaged. If the text is gray the relay is not engaged. Clicking on the relay panels will toggle the state of the relay. The next three panels are X, Y and Z. If the text is black the corresponding home limit switch is engaged. If the text is gray the corresponding home limit switch is not engaged. The next panel is the machine coordinates panel. The current position of the machine’s carriage is displayed here as X, Y, Z coordinates. The next panel is the units and units of time that are going to be used for the machine motion parameters. The next panel displays the status of the motor controller. It will either be SELECTED or DESELECTED. Clicking on the panel will toggle the state. The next panel display the current motion status. It is either Stopped or Moving. The next and last panel displays the current status of the Z axis. It will display the current offset from the surface of the mate-rial. It will either say ABOVE or Cut Depth.

2.6 Top Status Bar The top status bar display information in regard to the graphics area of the screen. The most left panel displays the current display mode for the graphics area. It is either 2D or 3D. Clicking on the panel will toggle the display mode which will force a redraw of the graph-ics area of the screen. The Grid panel displays the current status of the grid. If the text is in black the grid is to be displayed in the graphics area. If the text is gray the grid is not to be displayed. Clicking on the panel will toggle the display of the grid on and off. The Snap panel displays the current status of the snap. If the text is in black the snap is used to translate mouse coordinates in the graphics area. If the text is gray the mouse coordinates are used raw. Clicking on the panel will toggle the display of the snap on and off. The Ortho panel displays the current status of the Ortho mode. If the text is in black the Ortho mode is enabled. If the text is gray the ortho mode is disabled. Clicking on the panel will toggle the Ortho mode on and off. When Ortho mode is en-abled the mouse offsets from a base point will be kept on one of the ninety(90) degree quadrants. The Coords panel’s text is always highlighted. Clicking on this panel while moving determining an offset point will cause the mouse coordinates to be displayed in different ways. The de-fault is to display as X and Y, if the panel is clicked once the mouse coordinates will be distance followed by the angle. Click again an the angle of the mouse from the base point will be displayed. Click again and the distance from the base point will be displayed. The Drag panel displays the current status of the drag mode. If the text is in black the drag mode is enabled. If the text is gray the drag mode is disabled. When drag mode is enabled, com-mands that change the graphic items position have the changes drawn in real time thus dragging the items around on the screen. This can at times be confusing when large numbers of items are being effected and it can be helpful to disable this feature. Next to the Drag panel is the Units Panel. Clicking on this panel changes the units of measurement. It can be Inches, MM or CM. The current drawing will change size but the machine limits will be converted into the new units of measurement. The Mouse Coordinates panel is in about the center of the top status bar. The background is a light yellow. The current coor-dinates of the mouse in the graphics area are displayed here. The File Name panel is used to display the current file name of the drawing being displayed. The Simulate panel displays the current status of the simulate mode. If the text is in black the Simulate mode is enabled. If the text is gray the Simulate mode is disabled. When the simu-

late mode is enabled, motion commands to the machine will be simulated and not executed. Clicking on the panel will toggle the Simulate mode on and off. The Items Selected panel it the furthermost right. If the text is in black there are items selected in the drawing. If the text is gray there are no items selected. Clicking on the items selected panel when items are selected will deselect all items selected. By the way a Shift-Backspace will deselect the last item se-lected.

ZOOMI this will zoom in the view port. ZOOMO this will zoom out the view port. ZOOMW this will zoom the view port to the area specified by the user. ZOOMP this will zoom to the previous view port settings. LEADIN this is used to attach a lead in line to graphic items. LEADOUT this is use to attach lead out line to graphic items. ARC this is used to draw arcs in the graphic area. CIRCLE this is used to draw circles. LINE this is used to draw lines. POINT this is used to draw points. TEXT this is used to draw text. TEXTCTR this is used to draw text centered on a specified point. TEXTFIT this will create text drawn to fit in a specified area. FONT this is used to select another font for the text items in the drawing. LISTFRNT this will move the selected graphic item to the first position in the drawing buffer. CHGORDER this is used to change the order in the drawing buffer of the selected item. JOIN this is used to connect lines. EDITI this is used to edit the nodes in polylines. SWAPEND this is used to change the direction in which the tool path will be executed. TRIM this is used to trim lines with other lines. EXTEND this is use to extend lines to intersect with selected boundary lines. OFFSET this will create line offset from the selected graphic item. ERASE this is used to erase graphic items from the drawing buffer. LIST this is used to list parameters of a selected graphic item. Such as it’s position in the drawing buffer. MOVE this is used to move selected graphic items. COPY this is used to create a copy of selected graphic items. ROTATE this is used to rotate graphic items. SCALE this is used to change the size of graphic items.

2.7.1 Spindle Side Bar Menu This is the sidebar menu for three(3) axis machines that have a spinning spindle. Such as computer-ized routers, mills and engraving machines. Clicking on the SuperCamXp will cause a dialog form to be presented that displays the program’s serial number and the date of the DLL being used by the program. REDRAW will redraw the graphics area of the screen. SELECT will enable the motor controller. DESELECT will disable the motor controller. SETXYLOC is used to set the machines current X and Y coordinates to the coordinates of a mouse click in the graphics area. MOVETO is used to position the machines car-riage with a mouse click to the graphics area. SET SURF is used to define the coordinates of the surface of the stock material to be worked with. ZMAX will move the Z axis to the maximum posi-tion. UP this will move the Z axis to the up position. SURFACE this will move the Z axis so the tool tip is just touching the surface of the material. DOWN this will Z axis is cutting into the material, the Spindle motor will be automatically turned on. PLOTBUFF this will cause the whole of the drawing to be executed as a tool path. PLOTCHAR this will execute selected characters as tool paths. PLOTITEM this will execute selected graphic items either to depth of cut or progressively deeper. PAN this will pan the view point of the graphics area. ZOOMC this will zoom the view port to be centered on the spot picked by the user. ZOOML this will zoom the view port to the limits of the at-tached machine.

2.7 Side Bar Menu The sidebar menu is list of commands that can be executed by clicking on them with the mouse. There are different sidebar menus for each ma-chine type. Machine type is set in Mconfig|Motors|Mechanism Type.

EDITCNC this is used to edit and execute G-code files. EXPRTCNC this is used to export G-code files from the current drawing.

2.7.2 XYZ Torch This is the sidebar menu for three(3) axis machines that have a Torch or Laser as the cutting imple-ment. Such as computerized plasma tables, flame cutter and glue spreaders. Clicking on the SuperCamXp will cause a dialog form to be presented that displays the program’s serial number and the date of the DLL being used by the program. REDRAW will redraw the graphics area of the screen. ON will turn on the Torch. OFF will turn off the Torch. SELECT will enable the motor controller. DESELECT will disable the motor controller. SETXYLOC is used to set the machines current X and Y coordinates to the coordinates of a mouse click in the graphics area. MOVETO is used to position the machines car-riage with a mouse click to the graphics area. SETZ is used to set the coordinate for the Z Axis. SET SURF is used to define the coordinates of the surface of the stock material to be worked with. ZMAX will move the Z axis to the maximum position. UP this will move the Z axis to the up position. SURFACE this will move the Z axis so the tool tip is just touching the surface of the material. DOWN this will Z axis is cutting into the material, the Spindle motor will be automatically turned on. PLOTBUFF this will cause the whole of the drawing to be executed as a tool path. PLOTCHAR this will execute selected characters as tool paths.

PLOTITEM this will execute selected graphic items either to depth of cut or progressively deeper. GRID is used to set the grid spacing. SNAP is used to set the snap of mouse spacing. LEADIN this is used to attach a lead in line to graphic items. LEADOUT this is use to attach lead out line to graphic items. ARC this is used to draw arcs in the graphic area. CIRCLE this is used to draw circles. LINE this is used to draw lines. POINT this is used to draw points. TEXT this is used to draw text. TEXTCTR this is used to draw text centered on a specified point. TEXTFIT this will create text drawn to fit in a specified area. FONT this is used to select another font for the text items in the drawing. PAN this will pan the view point of the graphics area. ZOOMC this will zoom the view port to be centered on the spot picked by the user. ZOOML this will zoom the view port to the limits of the at-tached machine. ZOOMI this will zoom in the view port. ZOOMO this will zoom out the view port. ZOOMW this will zoom the view port to the area specified by the user. ZOOMP this will zoom to the previous view port settings. ERASE this is used to erase graphic items from the drawing buffer. LIST this is used to list parameters of a selected graphic item. Such as it’s position in the drawing buffer. MOVE this is used to move selected graphic items. COPY this is used to create a copy of selected graphic items. EDITCNC this is used to edit and execute G-code files. EXPRTCNC this is used to export G-code files from the cur-rent drawing.

2.7.3 XY Torch This is the sidebar menu for two(2) axis machines that have a Torch or Laser as the cutting imple-ment. Clicking on the SuperCamXp will cause a dialog form to be presented that displays the program’s serial number and the date of the DLL being used by the program. REDRAW will redraw the graphics area of the screen. ON will turn on the Torch. OFF will turn off the Torch. SELECT will enable the motor controller. DESELECT will disable the motor controller. SETXYLOC is used to set the machines current X and Y coordinates to the coordinates of a mouse click in the graphics area. MOVETO is used to position the machines car-riage with a mouse click to the graphics area. PLOTBUFF this will cause the whole of the draw-ing to be executed as a tool path. PLOTCHAR this will execute selected characters as tool paths. PLOTITEM this will execute selected graphic items either to depth of cut or progressively deeper. PAN this will pan the view point of the graphics area. ZOOMC this will zoom the view port to be cen-tered on the spot picked by the user. ZOOML this will zoom the view port to the limits of the at-tached machine. ZOOMI this will zoom in the view port. ZOOMO this will zoom out the view port. ZOOMW this will zoom the view port to the area specified by the user. ZOOMP this will zoom to the previous view port settings. LEADIN this is used to attach a lead in line to graphic items. LEADOUT this is use to attach lead out line to graphic items. ARC this is used to draw arcs in the graphic area. CIRCLE this is used to draw circles.

LINE this is used to draw lines. POINT this is used to draw points. TEXT this is used to draw text. TEXTCTR this is used to draw text centered on a specified point. TEXTFIT this will create text drawn to fit in a specified area. LISTFRNT this will move the selected graphic item to the first position in the drawing buffer. CHGORDER this is used to change the order in the drawing buffer of the selected item. JOIN this is used to connect lines. EDITI this is used to edit the nodes in polylines. SWAPEND this is used to change the direction in which the tool path will be executed. TRIM this is used to trim lines with other lines. EXTEND this is use to extend lines to intersect with selected boundary lines. OFFSET this will create line offset from the selected graphic item. ERASE this is used to erase graphic items from the drawing buffer. LIST this is used to list parameters of a selected graphic item. Such as it’s position in the drawing buffer. MOVE this is used to move selected graphic items. COPY this is used to create a copy of selected graphic items. ROTATE this is used to rotate graphic items. SCALE this is used to change the size of graphic items. EDITCNC this is used to edit and execute G-code files. EXPRTCNC this is used to export G-code files from the cur-rent drawing.

2.8 Pull Down Menus The pull down menus are lists of commands that can be exe-cuted by clicking on them with the mouse. Commands are categorized by function. There are pull downs for files, display, draw, edit, USB, machine configuration, mo-tors and control.

2.8.1 Files This pull down menu is for commands that apply to files. The first four entries, Open, Close, Save and Saveas, are for working with the de-fault .CAM formatted files. The G-Code, Dxf, Hpgl entries have sub menus. The BMP command is for importing and executing image files with the .BMP exten-sion. The Font command will load a font defini-tion file. The file extension is .scf. The BackGround command will load a .CAM file into the background. This is good for putting fixtures into the back-ground of the drawing area. The Read Mconfig and Save Mconfig commands are used for reading and saving machine configuration files. This makes it possible to have different configurations for different types and thickness’s of materials. The Print command will print the contents of the graphic area on the system printer. The Exit command is for terminating the program.

2.8.2 Display This pull down is for graphic display re-lated commands. ClearBuf clears the drawing buffer. Redraw does a repaint of the graphics area. Zoom Window is for zooming in on a section of the drawing. Zoom Previous is for viewing the previ-ous zoom parameters. Zoom Center is used to zoom the view port to a user defined center point and height. Zoom In will zoom in the graphics area of the screen. oom Out will zoom out and give you less detail but a larger viewing area. Zoom Limits will zoom the graphics area to include the whole working area of the attached machine. Maximize will enlarge the main form to the size of the host computers desktop area. Minimize will reduce the main form to the smallest it can get and yet see all the menu items. Graphics Info will bring up a dialog form for setting colors and viewing current graphics area parameters.

2.8.4 Edit This pull down is for commands that edit or change the current drawing graphic items. Change Line is used to change graphic line items to the line type of graphic item. Change LineDwn is use to change graphic line items to the linedwn type of graphic item. Change LineUp is used to change graphic line items to the lineup type of graphic item. Change Order is used to change the order in which graphic items will be executed as tool paths. First select the item to order change then the item you wish it to follow. Copy is used to create a copy graphic items selected. Editi is used to edit polyline nodes. Erase is used to erase graphic items from the drawing buffer. Extend is will extend lines to intersect with boundary lines. Join is used to connect lines together. List is used to list the parameters for the selected graphic item. List Front is used to move the selected item to the beginning of the list of graphic items. It becomes the first item’s tool path to be executed when a plotbuff command is executed. Mirror will create a mirror image of the selected graphic items. Move is for moving graphic items. Rotate is for rotating graphic items. Scale is for changing the size of graphic items. Swap End is used to change the direct in which the tool path will follow the graphic item. Trim is to trim lines by using other lines as cutting edges.

2.8.3 Draw This pull down is for commands that draw graphic items. Arc used for drawing arcs. Array used to create arrays of graphic items. Circle used to draw circles. Line used to draw lines. Line Down used to draw line down graphic items. Line Up used to draw line up graphic items. Offset this command will create an line offset from a selected line a distance specified. Point is used to create graphic items that can then be used as drill points. Text is use to create text graphic items. TextCntr is used to create text graphic items centered on a specified point coordinate. TextFit is use to create text that is fit within a specified area.

2.8.5 USB This pull down is for USB related com-mands. The CamPod Control command brings up a dialog form. The Joystick is a vestige of development and incomplete. The Camera command will present the view of the system video source to the screen. Diagnostic is used for setting the identification strings. This is so that multiple instances can be executed.

2.8.6 Mconfig This pull down menu is for setting machine configuration.

2.8.7 Motors This pull down is for motor related commands. Set X, Set Y and Set Z are used to set the current co-ordinates for the specified axis motor. Step X , Step Y and Step Z are used to move the speci-fied axis motor an amount relative to it’s current position. Step X To, Step Y To and Step Z To are used to move the specified axis motor to an absolute position.

2.8.8 Control This pull down menu is for commands that effect the attached ma-chine. Machine move-ment occurs when these commands are executed. The exception is the Zero Z, Zero XY and Origin commands. These commands set the machine axis coor-dinates be set to zero(0), depending on the command. Z Max raises the Z axis to it’s maximum position. Set Surface is used to set the coordinates of the material sur-face. Up will move the Z axis to the current up position, which will be the material surface plus the altitude amount. Surface will move the Z axis to the coordinates of the surface of the material. Down will move the Z axis to the cutting depth, which will be the material surface coordinate minus the cut depth amount. Zero Z this will set the current Z axis coordinate to zero(0). Zero XY this will set the current X and Y axis coordinates to zero(0). Origin this will set all axis coordinates to zero(0). XY to Zero this will cause the attached machine to move the X and Y axis to zero(0) position. Home Z this will cause the Z axis to move to engage the Z axis home limit switch. Then it will move the Z axis to the Home Go To coordinate for the Z axis. Home XY this will cause the X and Y axis to be moved to en-gage the home limit switches. Then it will move the X and Y axis motors to the Home Go To coordinates. Home this will cause all three(3) axis to be homed. First it moves the Z axis to engage the Z Home Limit Switch, then it move the X and Y axis to engage their respective Home Limit Switches. When all axis have engaged their respective Home Limit Switches the Z axis will be first move to the Home Go To coordinate then the X and Y axis will be move to the Home Go To coordinates.

2.9 Function Keys The function keys can be very useful tools. In particular the zoom and pan operations can be performed in the middle of most commands. F1 Clears the drawing area then redraws the drawing in t h e memory buffer. F2 Zoom window. Allows user to select an area of the screen to zoom in on. F3 Zoom Previous. F4 Zoom to limits of the attached XYZ Mechanism. If in 3D mode, each successive execution cause different viewpoint to be presented. F5 Pan the graphic view port. F6 Toggles main graphic display from 2D to 3D or visa versa. F7 Toggles Grid on|off. F8 Toggles Ortho Mode on|off. F9 Toggles Snap Mode on|off. F10 Toggles between single View Port or four(4) View Port main graphic display. 2.9.1 Shift and Control Function Keys Control-F1 Zoom In Shift-F1 Zoom Out Shift-F2 Draw Tool Path Toggle Shift-F3 Shift-F4 Simulate Toggle Shift-F5 Toggles Drag Mode on|off. Shift-F6 Zoom In Shift-F7 Zoom Out Shift-F8 Toggles the coordinate display mode. Shift-F9 Toggle the display of the graphic item nodes. Shift-F10 Multi View Port Toggle 2.9.2 Control Keys SpaceBar Will interrupt movement if the attached machine is moving Will repeat the last command if no keystrokes have been made since the command prompt was pre-sented ESC Escape key is special in that it will exit any command that is in progress. If there are graphic items selected and pro-gram at command prompt, the graphic items will

be deselected. If at the command prompt and no graphic items selected, the user will be prompted to if Su-perCamXp is to be terminated. Enter Repeats the last command if there were no previous keystrokes. Shift Backspace Deselects the last graphic item selected if any Control – D Brings up Movement Interrupted Form Control – F Brings up machine Speeds Form Control – Z Undo which reverses the effects of the previous command. Control – Q Redo, works with arrow keys and MoveTo and some of the graphics editing commands.

3.1 Speeds The Machine Configuration Speeds tab has the parameters for machine motion velocities. Control-F presents this form. The Z Altitude text box displays the distance above the mate-rial that rapid travel moves will occur. The Material Surface text box has the current coordinates for the material surface. The Z Depth text box has the distance below the surface of the material the tool will be driven on single pass cuts. The Dsp Tool Width text box displays the diameter of the cut-ting circle drawn during cutting movements. This is only a displayed circle for animation. Normally it is set to the diame-ter of the currently installed tool or the cutting kerf of the torch. The Units of Length text box displays the current unit of meas-urement. The Reference text box displays the current time reference. It can be either Seconds or Minutes. The Change Reference Units button will change reference and the units variables with each click. It cycles through all the possibilities. To the right of the text boxes pertaining to machine motion the maximum limit of input is displayed. The Travel Speed text box set how fast rapid travel motion begins at. The Travel Slew text box set what speed rapid travel motions will accelerate to and decelerate from. The Travel Ramp text box sets the rate of acceleration and deceleration for rapid travel moves. The Cut Speed text box set how fast cutting motion begins at. The Cut Slew text box set what speed cutting motions will ac-celerate to and decelerate from. The Cut Ramp text box sets the rate of acceleration and decel-

3. Machine Configuration Forms SuperCamXp can be configured for many different machines. The Mconfig pull down menu is where the machine configura-tion parameters are accessed. Control-F on the keyboard will also present the Machine Con-figuration Dialog rolodex. Machine configurations are saved in a .DAT file when Super-CamXp is terminated. The default file for the machine configuration is MCHNCTRL.DAT. There is a backup of the original configuration file, it’s name is ORIGINAL.DAT. The Files pull down menu has Read Mconfig and Save Mconfig entries for reading a pre saved configuration or to save the cur-rent configuration. The last configuration files saved will be read on program load. The name of the last configuration file saved is remembered in the SuperCamXp.ini file. This configuration file name is fixed.

Ramp Slopes Illustrated

.01

.001

.0001

.00001

eration for material cutting moves. The Z Travel Speed text box set how fast Z axis rapid travel motion begins at. The Z Travel Slew text box set what speed Z axis rapid travel motions will accelerate to and decelerate from. The Z Travel Ramp text box sets the rate of acceleration and deceleration for Z axis rapid travel moves. The Z Cut Speed text box sets how fast Z axis cutting motion begins at. The Z Cut Slew text box sets what speed Z axis cutting mo-tions will accelerate to and decelerate from. The Z Cut Ramp text box sets the rate of acceleration and de-celeration for material cutting Z axis moves. The Jog XY Incr text box displays the amount of movement will be performed for the jog commands for X and Y axis. The Jog Z Incr text box displays the amount of movement will be performed for the jog commands for Z axis. The Apply button will apply any changes made to the text boxes. The Close button will terminate and close the form.

3.2 Delays The Machine Configuration Delays tab deals with the inher-ent delays required to operate machine tools. The delays text boxes deal with preset delays for machine mo-tion. The time for each display is shown in milliseconds. A value of 1000 equates to a delay of one(1) second. The Initial Delay text box displays the current initial delay in milliseconds. The Down Delay text box displays the delays after the Z axis has finished plunging to the depth of cut. This is also the pierc-ing delay when using with a torch. The Up Delay text box displays the delay after the X and Y axis has reached the end of a cut tool path, it is a settling delay. The Ramp Period is the time in that velocity changes take place during ramped motion. It should be set to 0.01, which is 100 times a second. The Direction Delay text box displays the delay when a change in direction of movement occurs. This is to let heavy gantry’s settle down instead of being jerked in a different direction. The Direction Angle is the angle cosine at which a change in direction delay will occur.

The Servo Start Delay is how long it will hold the start output signal true to enable the servo drivers. This is Normally 1200 to 2000. The Servo Stop Delay is how long the stop servo output signal will be true. This is normally 300 to 500. The Motion Blender check is normally on. If is off no motion blending algorithms are applied. The Blend Frequencies check is normally on. Additional mo-tion blending algorithms are applied. The Reject Angle is displayed in degrees. Deviations in path angle greater than this angle causes the machine to ramp down and then up at the node. The bar to the right of the text box can be used to set the angle value. The Accumulate Small check is normally off, The Auto Size check is normally on. The Min Move Dist text box displays the minimum move dis-tance to be set to the CamPod. The Auto Start Dist text box displays the distance of machine travel that will be down loaded to the CamPod before a motion launch is begun. The Auto Relay B frame of checks define how the relay will be automatically turn on and off. With the Off checked there will be no automatic activity. With the Plunge Cut checked the relay B will be turned on at the beginning of the Z axis plunge motion and stay on until the cut path has been completed. With the Cut checked the relay B will be turned on at the beginning of the cutting motion and off at the end of it. With the Cut Slew checked the relay B will be turn on when the cutting motion has achieved slew speed and turned of when the cutting motion is decelerating. The Apply button will apply any changes made to the text boxes. The Close button will terminate and close the form.

3.3 Limits The Machine Configuration Limits tab has parameters in re-gard to the limits of the machine. The Positive Direction buttons for each axis set which direc-tion the motors will turn to move that axis in a positive coordi-nate direction. When the button is clicked the legend will change to either CW or CCW, which is Clockwise or Counter

Clockwise. The Home Direction buttons for each axis determine which direction each axis motor will move to engage the home limit switched during the homing commands. When the button is clicked the legend will change to either INCR or DECR, which is either a incremental or decremental movement to the associ-ated axis coordinate. The Home Location text boxes define where the machine is when the home limit switches are engaged. The Home Go To text boxes define where the machine will go to after the limit switches have been engaged. The Limit Maximum text boxes define the maximum value for the associated axis. The Limit Minimum text boxes define the minimum value for the associated axis. The Compensation text boxes define the amount of backlash to be compensated for. This is applied if the Compensation check is on. The Switch Mode buttons determine what signal level of the associated home limit switch will be considered engaged. The legend on the buttons will be either Low or High, signifying the signal level considered as switch engaged. The Units of Length button sets the unit of measurement. The Enabled Limits check determines if the machines move-ment will be compared against the working area limits. The Apply button will apply any changes made to the text boxes. The Close button will terminate and close the form.

3.4 Motors The Machine Configuration Motors tab has parameters in regard to the motors for coordinate positioning of the machine. The Steps/Revolution text boxes for each axis defines the steps required for each motor to make one(1) revolution. The Movement/Revolution text boxes for each axis defines the distance required for each axis moves for one(1) revolution of the motor. The Step Sizes text boxes define the increment of movement for each axis for one(1) step. The Calculate Step Sizes button will calculate these values if the Step/Revolution and Move-ment/Revolution are set correctly. The Maximum Acceleration text boxes define how rapidly the axis motors can ramp up and down. These parameters set the maximum ramp values on the Speed tab. The Max Start Step/Sec text boxes define the maximum start-ing steps per second. These parameters set the maximum start-ing speeds on the Speed tab. The Maximum Steps/Sec text boxes defines the maximum steps per second. These parameters set the maximum slew speeds on the Speed tab. The Motor Type text box displays the current type of motor connected. The small button to the right of the text box will toggle the motor type mode. There are two options, Servo or Stepper. The Mechanism Type text box displays the current type of machine that is attached. Clicking on the text box will toggle through the three possible modes. The Apply button will apply any changes made to the text boxes. The Close button will terminate and close the form.

4. Machine Commands These commands control and cause machine movement. The most significant commands are select and deselect. In that if the controller is not selected the motors will have no holding torque and not move. An electronic signal is driven low to en-able the attached motor controllers. The bottom status bar has a panel that indicates the current status. Whether the controller is SELECTED or DESE-LECTED. Clicking on this panel with the mouse will toggle the status. The SELECT and DESELECT menu items on the sidebar also can be used to enable or disable the motor controller. When the motors are servos, there is a start delay that will en-able the attached driver modules to gain servo lock on the posi-tion. There is also a stop delay to insure attached servo motors are disabled. These delays are consistent with the requirements of the Geckodrive G320 motor drive module. The delays dialog form is used to set the delays that will be embedded in the tool path execution. The delays in the text boxes are in milliseconds, in that for a one(1) second delay the entry would be 1000. The Initial Delay occurs in the beginning of the tool path exe-cution. It occurs after the relay A is turned on and before the cutting motion starts. The Down Delay occurs at the beginning of each graphic item

being executed. The idea was to let the spindle head settle down at the bottom of the cut before taking off in a cutting movement. It also is used as the piercing delay necessary for using a Plasma Torch or Oxy/Acetylene Torch for metal cut-ting. The Up Delay occurs at the end of each graphic item. The idea was to let the spindle head settle down at the end of the cut be-fore being lifted up and out of the material. It is also useful when used in the torch machine configuration to insure the cut is completed. The Ramp Period delay is in unique in that the value entered is in seconds. It normally is and should remain set at 0.01. This is the interval of time between changes in the axis motors speed to facilitate ramping up and down. The Direction Delay is how many milliseconds of delay to embed when the tool path makes a change in direction of move-ment with an angle greater than the value of the Direction An-gle. By default the Direction Angle is set to 0.707 which is the cosine of thirty(30) degrees. This is implemented to let large mass machines settle down before making changes in direction of movement, it can take the clunks out of the sounds a machine makes following an intricate tool path. If the program is configured for servo motors the Servo Start Delay and Servo Stop Delay text boxes are also presented. These are delays required for the servo drive modules to gain lock on the attached motors and to insure the motors are dis-abled when deselected. The Motion Blender and Blender Frequencies checks should

BASIC MOTION CONTROL

0,0, will be at a point in the lower left corner of the table.

The Y axis runs from the front of the table to the back. Viewed on the screen it runs from bottom to top.

Y

The Z axis runs up and down, away from and towards the table surface. It is the machine cutter and is viewed on the screen as the blue crosshair.

Z

The X axis runs left and right across the table. Viewed on the screen is runs left and right.

X

4.1 Movement Interrupted The machines movement can be interrupted by hitting the space bar. Also a Control-D on the keyboard will bring up the form. The Movement Interrupted dialog form will be presented. At this point the movement parameters can be changed and the machine movement can be resumed, or the planned machine movement can be cancelled. The type of movement that was interrupted will have it’s text boxes flashed. The Apply button sets any changes made to the text boxes. The Resume button will cause the movement to be resumed. The Cancel button will cause the planned movement to be can-celed. The AT: text boxes for X, Y and Z display the machines cur-rent position. They can be edited and this will change the loca-tion coordinates of the attached machine. The Travel Speed text box set how fast rapid travel motion begins at. The Travel Slew text box set what speed rapid travel motions will accelerate to and decelerate from. The Travel Ramp text box sets the rate of acceleration and deceleration for rapid travel moves. The Cut Speed text box set how fast cutting motion begins at. The Cut Slew text box set what speed cutting motions will ac-celerate to and decelerate from. The Cut Ramp text box sets the rate of acceleration and decel-eration for material cutting moves. The Z Travel Speed text box set how fast Z axis rapid travel motion begins at.

The Z Travel Slew text box set what speed Z axis rapid travel motions will accelerate to and decelerate from. The Z Travel Ramp text box sets the rate of acceleration and deceleration for Z axis rapid travel moves. The Z Cut Speed text box sets how fast Z axis cutting motion begins at. The Z Cut Slew text box sets what speed Z axis cutting mo-tions will accelerate to and decelerate from. The Z Cut Ramp text box sets the rate of acceleration and de-celeration for material cutting Z axis moves. The Delays text boxes deal with preset delays for machine mo-tion. The time for each display is shown in milliseconds. A value of 1000 equates to a delay of one(1) second. The Initial text box displays the current initial delay in milli-seconds. The Down text box displays the delays after the Z axis has fin-ished plunging to the depth of cut. This is also the piercing delay when using with a torch. The Up text box displays the delay after the X and Y axis has reached the end of a cut tool path, it is a settling delay. The Direction text box displays the delay when a change in direction of movement occurs. This is to let heavy gantry’s settle down instead of being jerked in a different direction.

4.2 Servo Fault When the attached motors are servomotors and they do not move as expected a fault condition occurs. The Servo Fault! dialog for is presented. If the background is red, the fault condition is present. The Select button needs to be clicked to clear the fault condition. If the background is green the fault condition is no longer pre-sent. The Resume button click will resume the operation. The Exit button will remove the Servo Fault! Dialog form from the screen. It is recommended that a Home command be executed after each fault. A fault occurs be cause the position of the motors can no longer be guaranteed.

4.3 MoveTo Command The MoveTo Command move the machine to the coordinates of the mouse click in the graphics area. Keyboard input of coordinates is also possible. After completion, the right mouse click will repeat the com-mand and the machine can be moved again.

4.4 Setting Material Surface The SetMSurf command is used to set the coordinates for the material’s surface. The text box at the top displays the current coordinate for the material surface. The Set Surf button when clicked will cause the current Z axis coordinate to be used to set the surface coordinate of the mate-rial. The Exit button terminates the command without modifying the current material surface coordinate. The large slider bar’s button is set to the current Z axis position. By dragging it with the mouse the Z axis will me move to it’s relative position within it’s complete range of movement. The large slider bar is used for rough positioning of the Z axis. The small Fine slider bar at the bottom right is used for fine positioning of the Z axis. It can cause a total movement of 0.020 inches in either direction. The jog keys are also active during this command. The PageUp key will move the Z axis up one jog increment. The PageDown key will move the Z axis down one jog increment. The mouse keys will also affect movement on the Z axis, if the mouse cursor is in the graphics area. The left mouse key will move the Z axis down. The right mouse key will move the Z axis up. As the keys are held down longer the Z axis speed will increase. Single mouse clicks will cause single steps. The main screen’s control panel buttons are set to be used with the SetMSurf command. The Set Surface button will set the material sur-face coordinate to the current position of the Z axis. The Cancel button will cancel the SetMsurf command.

The Move To button will move the machine car-riage to a position specified either by a mouse click in the graphics area or coordinates entered on the keyboard. The SetMSurf button will prompt for the coordi-nate of the surface of the material to be set. The Z Up button will move the Z axis to the coor-dinate where rapid travels will occur. This is the surface plus the altitude parameter. The Z Surface button will move the Z axis to the coordinate of the surface of the material. The SetXYLoc button will prompt for a new co-ordinate set for the X and Y axis of the machine. This can be specified either by a mouse click in the graphics area or coordinates entered on the keyboard. The XYtoZero button will move both the X and Y axis to zero(0).

4.5 PlotBuff The PlotBuff command uses the all the items in the drawing buffer. It starts at the first item. The machine will follow the drawing. The depth of cut is the surface minus the depth. The Item Count text box displays the number of graphic items in the drawing buffer. The Execute button will cause the machine to follow the tool path described by the drawing. The Altitude text box displays the distance above the material that rapid travel moves will occur. The Surface text box has the current coordinates for the material surface. The Depth text box has the distance below the surface of the material the tool will be driven on single pass cuts. The Incr check determines if the tool path will will make multiple passes or not. If it is checked on the machine will make multiple passes until it reaches the final cut depth. The Final Cut text box displays the final cut depth below the surface of the material to be reached by a multiple pass cut. The Incr Cut text box displays the increment of cut taken to reach the final cut depth. The Apply button will apply changes made to the text boxes. The Exit button will terminate the command. The ZMax check if on will cause the Z axis to be moved automatically at the end of executing the tool path to the maximum coordinate position for the Z axis. The ZMax button will cause the Z axis to be move to the maxi-mum coordinate position.

4.6 PlotItem The PlotItem command will cause the machine to follow the selected graphic items. The items are followed in the order in which they have been selected. The Item Count text box displays the number of graphic items in the drawing buffer. The Peck check if on will cause the items selected to be cut progressively deeper until the cut depth reaches the final cut depth. The Execute button will cause the machine to follow the tool path described by the items se-lected. The Altitude text box displays the distance above the material that rapid travel moves will occur. The Surface text box has the current coordinates for the material surface. The Depth text box has the distance below the surface of the material the tool will be driven on single pass cuts. The Incr check determines if the tool path will will make multiple passes or not. If it is checked on the machine will make multiple passes until it reaches the final cut depth. The Final Cut text box displays the final cut depth below the surface of the material to be reached by a multiple pass cut. The Incr Cut text box displays the increment of cut taken to reach the final cut depth. The Apply button will apply changes made to the text boxes. The Exit button will terminate the command. The ZMax check if on will cause the Z axis to be moved automatically at the end of executing the tool path to the maximum coordinate position for the Z axis. The ZMax button will cause the Z axis to be move to the maxi-mum coordinate position. The Move To button will move the machine carriage to a posi-tion specified either by a mouse click in the graphics area or coordinates entered on the keyboard. The SetMSurf button will prompt for the coordinate of the sur-face of the material to be set. The Z Up button will move the Z axis to the coordinate where rapid travels will occur. This is the surface plus the altitude

parameter. The Z Surface button will move the Z axis to the coordinate of the surface of the material. The SetXYLoc button will prompt for a new co-ordinate set for the X and Y axis of the machine. This can be specified either by a mouse click in the graphics area or coordinates entered on the keyboard. The XYtoZero button will move both the X and Y axis to zero(0).

4.7 PlotChar The PlotChar command will permit the following of individual characters in line of text. This is a command for going over an engraved set of text.

4.13 Deselect The Deselect command disables the motor controller. This causes the motors to go limp. All motor holding torque is removed.

4.12 Select The Select command enables the motor controller. This engages the motors with a low current if they are stepper motors. Servo motors are selected and will maintain their loca-tion.

4.11 SetXYLoc The SetXYLoc command changes the X,Y coordinates of the machine.

4.10 Homez The Homez command recalibrates the Z axis to the coordinates specified by the Home Limit Switch. First it moves the Z axis until it engages the Home Limit Switch. Then it moves the Z axis to the Home Go To coordinate for the Z axis.

4.9 Homexy The Homexy command recalibrates the X and Y axis to the coordinates specified by the Home Limit Switches. Then it moves the X and Y axis until they engage there respective Home Limit Switches. Then it moves the X and Y axis to the Home Go To coordinates for the X and Y axis.

4.8 Home The Home command recalibrates the at-tached machine to the coordinates specified by the Home Limit Switches. First it moves the Z axis until it engages the Home Limit Switch. Then it moves the X and Y axis until they engage there respective Home Limit Switches. Then it moves the Z axis to the Home Go To coordinate for the Z axis. Then it moves the X and Y axis to the Home Go To coordinates for the X and Y axis.

4.17 Down The Down command moves the Z axis to the cut dept coordi-nate. The tool is driven into the material. The spindle relay is turned on before the tool is driven into the material.

4.16 Surface The Surface command moves the Z axis to the material surface coordinate. The tool tip should be just touching the surface.

4.15 Up The Up command moves the Z axis to the rapid travel coordi-nate above the material surface.

4.14 Zmax The ZMax command moves the Z axis to the maximum coordi-nate.

4.18 X, Y and Z Commands The X, Y and Z commands are single letter keyboard com-mands. They make it easy to quickly move the machine about. They are in the Motors pull down menu as Step X To, Step Y To and Step Z To. The ‘\’ key on the keyboard will zero the axis position. Type in a number and the axis will got to that coordinate. The left mouse button will move the axis in a minus direction. The right mouse button will move the axis in a positive direc-tion.

4.19 Machine Commands in Alphabetical Order delays - This command brings up a form for making changes to the delays generated for tool path execution. deselect - Disables the motors on the mechanism, letting them be freely moved. down - Moves Z axis to spindle down location, surface plus Z depth. home - Homes the attached mechanism, but it must be first selected. First it moves to engage the Z axis limit switch then the X & Y limit switches. The speed of movement is con-trolled by the setzmaxsss command for the Z axis and setx-maxsss command for the X & Y axis, the axis will move at maximum starting steps per second to find the table limits. Then moves to the location specified by the sethome command. homexy - Homes the attached X and Y mechanism. homez - Homes the attached Z axis mechanism. mconfig - This command brings up a form for making changes to the speeds. motors - This command brings up a form for making changes to the parameters defining the motors attached. moveto - Move X&Y to user specified coordinates can use mouse as pointer or keyboard entry. @diff<angle. moveto - Move X&Y to user specified coordinates can use mouse as pointer or keyboard entry. @diff<angle. off - Turns off port bit for Relay A. Controls Plasma Torch or spindle motor. offa - Turns off Relay A port bit. offb - Turns off Relay B port bit. on - Turns on port bit for Relay A. Which in turn turns on the Plasma Torch or Spindle motor. ona - Turns on Relay A port bit. onb - Turns on Relay B port bit. origin - Sets origin location for machine where the ma-chine is at, is from hence considered 0,0. plotbuff - Makes machine do all moves specified in list of items drawn. plotchar - Makes machine do moves required to com-plete the specified letter. plotitem - Makes machine do moves required by selected item. pwrhi - Sets motor current to high, used for setting up electronics. pwrlo - Sets motor current to low idle state. select - Enables stepper motors. setmsurf - Sets material surface offset from zero. Mouse buttons control movement, the left key increments and the right key decrements the Z axis position. Enter/Space/Escape exits command. setx - User can set X axis value for it's present location. sety - Sets Y axis value for it's present location. setz - User can specify Z axis value for it’s present loca-tion. speeds - This command brings up a form for making changes to the speeds used for tool path execution. stepx - Moves Y motor to offset from present location, keyboard entry only. stepxto - Steps X axis. Mouse left key increments, right key decrements, keyboard Enter/Space/Escape exits command. The setxmaxss controls how fast the X axis will speed up to. stepy - Moves Y motor to offset from present location, keyboard entry only.

stepyto - Steps Y axis. Mouse left key increments, right key decrements, keyboard Enter/Space/Escape exits command. The setymaxss controls how fast the Y axis will speed up to. stepz - Moves Z motor to offset from present location, keyboard entry only. stepzto - Steps Z axis. Mouse left key increments, right key decrements, keyboard Enter/Space/Escape exits command. surface - Moves Z axis to material surface offset from zero location. up - Moves the Z axis to spindle up at altitude location, just above the material to be cuts surface. x - Use the mouse keys to jog the carriage or keyboard to enter axis destination. The ‘\’ key will zero the axis. xyzero - Moves the machine’s X and Y axis to 0,0. y - Use the mouse keys to jog the carriage or keyboard to enter axis destination. The ‘\’ key will zero the axis. z - Use the mouse keys to jog the carriage or keyboard to enter axis destination. The ‘\’ key will zero the axis. zmax - Moves machine Z axis to full up position. zeroxy - Moves carriage to the X & Y zero location. zeroz - Sets the current Z axis location to be equal to zero coordinate position.

5. Display Commands These commands are concerned with the display of the graphics area of the main form. The grid is an equally spaced pattern of dots when the display is in 2D mode, it is a pattern of lines drawn at a preset Z coordi-nate when the display is in 3D mode. Clicking on the panels in the top status bar will effect the asso-ciated parameters. Deselecting items is accomplished by clicking on the Items Selected panel in the top status bar, the most right panel. The mouse cross hair cursor is displayed in two(2) different ways. The reticule cross hair is for selecting coordinates. The cross hair with a little box at the intersection is for selecting items.

5.1 Display Function Keys Function key commands can be executed in the midst of exe-cuting other commands. The F1 function key does three things. Redraw, Zoom Out, Zoom In. The F2 does a Zoom Window. The F3 does a Zoom Previous. The F4 does a Zoom to Limits of the machine. The F5 does a Pan command. The F6 toggles between 2D and 3D graphics display. The F7 toggles the displayed grid on and off. The F8 toggles Ortho mode on and off. The F9 toggles the mouse cursor Snap on and off. The F10 toggles the graphics area between single view and four(4) view ports.

5.2 Pan View Port The Pan command changes graphic area display, it moves the view point around. The pan command can be executed: From the sidebar menu. From the Display pull down menu. By entering pan at the command prompt. By pressing F5 on the keyboard. The user selects a point in the graphics area and then selects where that point will be displayed after completion of pan com-mand. The size of graphic items do not change but their position in the graphics area is changed. First prompt: Pan Screen Viewpoint Base Point <Pick|Cancel>: Left click on the mouse will pick the base point in the graphics area. Right click on the mouse will cancel the command. Second prompt: Offset Point <Pick|Cancel>: Left click on the mouse will pick the offset point in the graphics area. Right click on the mouse will cancel the command. The distance and angle between the base point and the offset point is the distance and angle the graphics area of display is shifted. Control-Z will undo the pan command. F3 will restore the graphics area to the previous view.

5.3 Zoom Center This command allows zooming out to a distance beyond the cutting area or closer for more detail. Zoom center view-field to user specified height. The user selects the center of the next field of view, then selects the height of that view field. When selecting the zoomc command the command line prompts for a “point“. This point can be selected by keyboard entry of an x-y coordinate or by clicking the left mouse button anywhere inside the graphics window. The point selected de-termines the center of the graphics window when the command is completed. After the point selection the command line will display the distance that point is already being viewed from. To zoom in

closer a smaller positive number than the default must be en-tered. To zoom out a larger positive number must be entered. After entering the new value press ‘Enter’ on the keyboard or click the right mouse button. The zoomc command can also be selected from the Main menu sidebar found to the left of the graphics window or by entering “zoomc” on the command line.

5.4 Zoom Limits of Machine Selecting the zooml command will display the mechani-cal limits of the attached XYZ mechanism. Zoom limit displays area to machine limits. The blue edge in the graphics window is the maximum cutting area for the attached XYZ mechanism. The mechanical limits will not exceed this area. The zooml command can also be selected using ‘F4’ on the keyboard, from the Main menu sidebar found to the left of the graphics window, or by entering “zooml” on the command line.

5.5 Zoom Window Zoom window, sets the viewfield to a user specified win-dow, mouse or keyboard selects window. When selecting the zoomw command the command line prompts, “select viewfield“. Click the left mouse button in the graphics window. The command line will prompt, “select window“. Moving the mouse at an angle causes a red box to appear. The size of this box determines how much of the display will be zoomed in. When the box is at the desired size, click on the left mouse but-ton to end the command. The zoomw command can also be selected using ‘F2’ on the keyboard, from the Main menu sidebar found to the left of the graphics window, or by entering “zoomw” on the command line.

5.6 Zoom Previous The Zoom Previous will zoom to the previous view settings. F3 does a zoom Previous command. There is a memory of the sixteen(16) previous views.

5.7 Zoom Out The Zoom Out command will move the view point out thus making the drawing objects smaller. Shift-F1 does a Zoom Out.

5.8 Zoom In The Zoom In command will move the view. Control-F1 does a Zoom In.

5.9 Redraw Graphics Erases the drawing screen and then draws the contents of the item list in memory to the screen. The function key ‘F1’ performs the same operations. When working in a drawing, tic marks are left at selection points that can become numerous and make the drawing area look messy. Selecting the redraw command will clean up the drawing by redisplaying only what is contained in the buffer. The redraw command can also be selected by entering “redraw” on the command line.

5.10 Graphics Display Information The Display|Graphics Info menu selec-tion presents the Graphics Display In-formation dialog form. 5.10.1 Color Settings The Color Settings tab is the default tab. It is for changing the colors displayed in the graphics area. Different colors can be assigned to dif-ferent things. The Default Black Background button will set the colors for having a BLACK background to the graphics area. The Default White Background button sets the colors for hav-ing a WHITE background to the graphics area. The Apply button will apply changes made the current graphics area drawing. The Refresh button will refresh the graphics area of the main form. The Graphics Area Colors are the ones used in the graphics area. The Back Color is the background color. The Draw Color is the color that graphic items are drawn with. The DrawUp Color is the color used to draw tool movements between the graphic items. The High Light is the color used to draw items with when they are selected. The Drag Color is the color that items are drawn with when they are being dragged around the graphic area. The Cursor Color is the color of the mouse cursor. The Grid Color is the color the grid in the graphic area is drawn.

The Node Color is color the squares sig-nifying node on poly-lines is drawn with. The Tick Color is the that the mouse click tick marks are drawn with. The Window Color ’s are what the Zoom and Item Selection windows will be drawn with. The Left/Right color is the one used to draw the Item Selec-tion window border with when the mouse is making a selection from left to right. In this circumstance items completely within the border are selected. The Right/Left color is the one used to draw the Item Selection window border with when the mouse is making a selection from right to left. In this circumstance items within and touch-ing the border are selected. The Zoom color is the one used to draw the zoom window bor-der. The Spindle Colors are what the spindle icon is drawn with in the graphics area. Different circumstances are drawn with dif-ferent colors. The At Max color is what the spindle icon is drawn with when the Z axis is at maximum position. The Altitude color is what the spindle icon is drawn with when the Z axis at the rapid travel altitude position. The Surface color is what the spindle icon is drawn with when the Z axis is at the surface of the material. The Cutting color is what the spindle icon is drawn with when the Z axis is below the surface cutting material. The Cutter Circle color is the color used to draw a circle at the spindle icon of diameter specified by the Dsp Tool Width pa-rameter. To change a color click on the colored text box next to the la-bel. The color selection dialog form will be presented. Click on the color you want to use and then click on OK.

5.10.3 Grid and Snap The Grid and Snap tab have parameters related to drawing aids. The Snap Size text box displays the current snap size value. This is the increment of movement the mouse cursor will be forced into when the Snap mode is on. The Grid Size text box displays the current grid spacing value. The this value determines the distance between the dots in 2D mode and the cross lines in 3D mode. The Z Grid Coordinate text box displays the Z axis coordinate that the 3D grid pattern will be drawn at. Normally this is set at zero(0) or the base of coordinate of the material being worked with. The Display Arc Coords text box displays the number of arc segments are used when drawing arcs and circles to the graph-ics area. The Mechanism Arc Cords text box displays the number of arc segments are used when interpolating arcs and circles on the attached machine. This parameter has become to mean the minimum number of arc cord segments. The motion engine algorithm creates arc segment lengths equal to how far the ma-chine will move in 3/100ths of a second. The Snap Status text box displays the state of the snap mode. The Grid Status text box displays the state of the grid mode. The Zero Icon check when on will cause an icon be drawn at 0,0,0 in the graphics area. The Point Icon check when on will cause a tick icon to be drawn in the graphics area for point graphic items. The Apply button applies any changes made to the text boxes.

5.10.2 3D Parameters The 3D Parameters tab is of no common practical use. It is a vestige of developing the graphics display algorithms. Parameters are displayed in regard to rendering drawings in the graphics area of the screen. The View Wgx1, Wgy1 and Wgx2, Wgy2 are the twip coordi-nates for the graphics display area. The View PixSiz displays the physical size each pixel is in the graphics area of the screen. The View Pan X and View Pan Y are the coordinates of the bottom left most pixels. The 3D parameters that Look From, Look At , What’s Up, and View Angle determine the way the 3D image is rendered. The Apply button applies any changes made to the text boxes.

6. Drawing Commands These commands are concerned with creating graphic items in the drawing buffer. Draw commands create objects that are saved to a file with the .CAM extension or directly used as machine tool path in-structions. They are the basis for all subsequent tool move-ments. These commands cause items to be placed in the draw-ing buffer that resides in memory or is saved to a disk file for later recall. The sidebar menu is replaced during the execution of the com-mand with a control frame that has the Exit button on it. The Exit button will terminate the current command. The ESC key on the keyboard will also terminate the command in process. The display mode function keys are functional during the exe-cution of the command. This lets you zoom and pan the graph-ics display area. Mouse button activity message is displayed at the prompts for user input. Example: <Pick|Done> click on left mouse button to select point or click on right mouse button to terminate the command early. When parameters are entered with the keyboard the right mouse button will act as the Enter key on the keyboard. If there have been no keystrokes entered and the right mouse button is clicked, will cancel the command. At the command prompt with no keystrokes entered the Enter or the Spacebar will repeat the last command. A right click on the mouse will also repeat the last command. At the command prompt if there are keystrokes the right mouse button click will act as the Enter key on the keyboard.

The first prompt, Arc Center: <Pick|Done>: . A point defining the X,Y coordinate can be selected by left clicking the mouse in the graphics area The keyboard can be used to input the center X,Y coordi-nates. Then it prompts, Start Angle: <Pick|Done>: A point defining the starting angle can be selected in the graphics area using the left mouse key. The keyboard can be used to input the starting angle. Then it prompts, End Angle: <Pick|Done>: A point defining the ending angle of the arc can be se-lected in the graphics area using the left mouse key. The keyboard can be used to input the ending angle. The Last prompt, Radius: <Pick|Done>: A point defining the radius can be selected in the graphics area using the left mouse key. The keyboard can be used to input the radius. The arc is now drawn in the graphics area and the command is done, an arc graphic item is added to the end of the drawing list. The arc will be drawn in the direction (CW-clockwise or CCW

6.1 ARC The Arc command is used to draw arcs. The Arc command can also be selected from: The sidebar menu. The Draw pull down menu. By entering arc on the command line. The arc command prompts for input for the Center, Start An-gle, End Angle and Radius of the arc. Dimensions for the arc are prompted for in the console area, which is located below the graphics area. The dimensions for the arc can be entered by the keyboard or by selecting points in the graphics area with mouse clicks.

6.3 LINE Used to draw lines on screen. Prompts for the start and end of a line. Pressing ‘Enter’, ‘Space’ or ‘Escape ’ exits the com-mand. The mouse can be used as a pointer. When selecting the line command the command line prompts, “Line Start:“. This is an x-y coordinate for the start-ing point of the line. This coordinate can be selected by left clicking the mouse on a point in the graphics window or by keyboard entry. When using the keyboard entry method press-ing ‘Enter’ or right clicking on the mouse ends the selection. The command line will display the coordinates for Line Start and then prompt, “End:”, for the end point of the line. These coordinates are given the same as for the line start. After the end selection has been completed the line is drawn in the graphics window and the coordinates for End are displayed. The command line will prompt, “Next End:”. If a second line is desired another coordinate must be entered in the same manner as described above. This second line will be drawn with the start point at the same location as the end point of the previ-ous line. When prompted for the next end, the coordinates are actually the end point of the next line. The command line will

6.2 CIRCLE Circle command is used to draw circles. Circles can be used to bore holes larger than the diameter of the cutter. The Circle command can be selected from the sidebar menu or the Draw pull down menu or by entering circle at the command prompt. Prompts for the Center and Radius. The first prompt is for the circle Center:. The X,Y coordinates can be entered by left clicking the mouse on the desired point in the graphics area. The X,Y coordinates can be entered via the keyboard. The En-ter key or the right mouse button click enters the input. The command line will display the x-y coordinates of the circle center. Then prompt for the circle Radius:. This can be selected in the same manner as the selection of the circle center. The command line will display both the circle center and the radius, Circle Center: 5.125,3.063 Radius: 1.266.

-counterclockwise) that has already been selected with the se-tarcdir (set arc direction) command. Arc graphic items can be changed into polylines with the Editi command. The segment size is determined by the Cut Slew Speed when the conversion takes place. The segment will be how far the machine will travel in 3/100's of a second.

The command is done, the circle is drawn, a circle graphic item is added to the end of the drawing list.

6.5 POINT Used to draw single point, keyboard or mouse specified

location. The main use is to drill a series of holes in material. When selecting the point command the command line prompts, “point at:”. A point can be selected by left clicking the mouse in the graphics window or by entering an x-y coordi-nate via the keyboard. The point command is ended by pressing ‘Enter’, when using the keyboard entry method. The point command can also be selected from the Main menu sidebar to the right of the graphics window or by entering “point” on the command line.

6.4 OFFSET When selecting the offset command, the command line will prompt, “Offset Distance <0.0625>:”. The desired offset distance is a keyboard entry on the command line. The value of the offset is displayed in the brackets <>. If another value is desired, enter this new value using the key-board and then press the ‘Enter’ key or right click on the mouse. If the desired value of the offset is already displayed, then click the right mouse key or press ‘Enter’ on the key-board. The command line will now prompt, “Select Item to Off-set:”. The crosshair will display a small box at its intersection. Select the item by placing the small box over part of the object, then clicking the left mouse button. The object will highlight to red verifying it has been selected.

The command line will now prompt, “Side to Offset:”. The small box will disappear from the crosshair. Place the in-tersection of the crosshair on the side of the object for the offset to be drawn. On more complicated drawings the offset will take longer to be drawn. The way the Supercam program has been written, there is a very nice light show on these more complicated ob-jects until the offset is complete. When the offset is complete, the command line will prompt, “Select Item to Offset:”. Another item can be selected. The offset value will remain the same unless the command is ended and executed again. To end the command, click the right mouse button. The offset command can also be selected from the by entering “offset” on the command line. continue to prompt for next end until clicking the right mouse

or the ‘Enter’ key on the keyboard is pressed, thereby ending the line command. The coordinates will be displayed each time they are selected. The line command can also be selected from the Main menu sidebar to the right of the graphics window or by entering “line” on the command line.

6.7 TEXTCTR Used to draw text above a center point. The text height and width ratio can be specified by the user. When selecting the textctr command the command line prompts, “bottom center:”, for an x-y coordinate (the bottom of the text and where it will be centered). This coordinate can be entered by clicking the left mouse button anywhere in the graphics window, or by keyboard entry and pressing ‘Enter’ or clicking the right mouse button. The command line will then prompt, “bottom center: , height <0.400>“ (bottom center selected with the mouse), “bottom center: 3 ,4 height <0.400>“ (bottom center entered on keyboard). If the value in brackets < > is correct, right click on the mouse to set this value. If another value is desired it can be entered by the keyboard (this value must be a positive integer), then by clicking the right mouse button or pressing ‘Enter’ on the keyboard the value will be set. The height can also be se-lected by clicking the left mouse button in the graphics window above the bottom center selection. The distance from the start point is the desired height. The command line will now prompt, “bottom center: 3 ,4 height <0.400>, ratio <0.750>“, for a ratio of the width with respect to the height. The value given can be excepted by press-ing ‘Enter’ or clicking the right mouse button. If another value is desired it must be entered by the keyboard, then pressing ‘Enter’ to set the value.

6.6 TEXT Used to draw defined height text. Prompts for text start point, height and text . When selecting the text command the command line prompts, “text start point“, for an x-y coordinate. An x-y coor-dinate can be entered by the keyboard or clicking the mouse left button anywhere in the graphics window. When using the keyboard for input, press ‘Enter’ or click on the right mouse button to set the coordinate. The command line will then prompt, “text start point: , height <0.400>“ (start point selected with the mouse), “text start point: 3,4 height <0.400>“ (start point entered on key-board). If this value in brackets < > is correct, click on the right mouse button to set this value. If another value is desired it can be entered by the keyboard, then by clicking the right mouse button or pressing ‘Enter’ on the keyboard the value will be set. The height can also be selected by clicking the left mouse button in the graphics window. The distance from the start point is the desired height. The command line will now prompt, “text:”, for the text to be entered. Enter the text. The text is displayed in the graphics window when the ‘Enter’ key is pressed or by clicking the right mouse button. The text command can be selected from the Main menu sidebar to the right of the graphics window or by entering “text” on the command line.

6.8 TEXTFIT Draws text to fit in area specified by user. Prompts bot-tom left, top, right end and text. Text can be inputted back-wards and upside down. When selecting the textfit command, the command line prompts, “bottom left:”, for an x-y coordinate (the bottom of the text and where it will start). This coordinate can be entered by clicking the left mouse button in the graphics window, or by keyboard entry and pressing ‘Enter’ or clicking the right mouse button. The command line will then prompt, “bottom left: , top:” (bottom left selected with the mouse), “bottom left: 3 ,4 top:” (bottom left entered by the keyboard), for an x-y coordi-nate (the height of the text). This coordinate can be entered by clicking the left mouse button, at the desired height above the point selected for the bottom left coordinate, in the graphics

6.9 FONT Used to change the font that draws the text in the drawing buffer.

The command line will now prompt, “text:”, for the text to be entered. Enter the text. The text is displayed in the graphics window when the ‘Enter’ key is pressed or by clicking the right mouse button. The textctr command can be selected from the Main menu sidebar to the right of the graphics window or by entering “textctr” on the command line.

window. If choosing keyboard entry the x-y coordinate entered must still have a larger y value than the y value for the bottom left. Pressing the ‘Enter’ key will set this value. The command line will now prompt, “bottom left: , top: , end , :” (bottom left selected with the mouse), “bottom left: 3 ,4 top: 3 ,5 end , :”(bottom left selected with the mouse), for an x-y coordinate (where the text will end). This coordinate can be entered by clicking the left mouse button at the desired width, in the positive x direction, from the point selected for the bot-tom left coordinate. If choosing keyboard entry the x-y coordi-nate entered must still have a larger x value than the x value for the bottom left. The command line will now prompt, “text:”, for the text to be entered. Enter the text. The text is displayed in the graphics window when the ‘Enter’ key is pressed or by clicking the right mouse button. The textfit command can be selected from the Main menu sidebar to the right of the graphics window or by entering “textfit” on the command line.

6.10 LEADIN Used to attach a line to the beginning node of a polyline. The Leadin command can also be selected from: The sidebar menu. The Draw pull down menu. By entering leadin at the command prompt. First prompt Select Graphic Item to Attach Lead In To <Pick|Done>: Last prompt Position the Lead In <Click|Done>: Properly positions new line item in the drawing buffer.

6.11 LEADOUT Used to Attach a line to the ending node of a polyline The Leadout command can also be selected from: The sidebar menu. The Draw pull down menu. By entering leadout at the command prompt. First prompt Select Graphic Item to Attach Lead Out To <Pick|Done>: Last prompt Position the Lead Out <Click|Done>: Properly positions new line item in the drawing buffer.

6.12 LINEDWN Same as a line except that the tool starts at surface and ends at cut depth. Small circle indicates where tool will be at maximum depth. When a linedwn graphics object has been selected the cutting tool will start at the surface depth. The length of the line is calcu-lated within the program so that when the tool reaches the end of the linedwn graphics object it will be at the predetermined maxi-mum depth. The surface and maximum depth values determine the cutting depths from start to finish. If more than one line was drawn with the same linedwn command the cutting depth is calculated from the start of the first line to the end of the last line. When selecting the linedwn graphics object it will change color to red. A green box determines the start of the line and a red triangle the end. This determines the path of the cutting tool. When selecting the linedwn command the command line prompts, “LINEDWN Start:”. This is an x-y coordinate for the starting point of the line. This coordinate can be selected by left clicking the mouse on a point in the graphics window or by keyboard entry. When using the keyboard entry method press-ing ‘Enter’ or right clicking on the mouse ends the selection. The command line will display the x-y coordinate, “LINEDWN Start 5.000000,2.000000”, then prompt, “END:”. This is an x-y coordinate for the ending point of the line. These coordinates are given the same as for the linedwn start. After the END selection has been completed the command will display the x,y coordinate, “END: 4.000000,3.000000”. The line is drawn in the graphics window. The command line will now prompt, “NEXT END:“. If a second line is desired another coordinate must be entered in the same manner as described above. This second line will be

drawn with the start point at the same location as the end point of the previous line. Each time another line is drawn, the end coordinates will be displayed on the command line. The com-mand line will continue to prompt for next end until the right mouse or enter key on the keyboard is pressed, thereby ending the linedwn command. The linedwn command can also be selected from Main menu sidebar to the right of the graphics window or by entering “linedwn” on the command line.

6.13 LINEUP The small circle at the start point indi-cates where the tool will be at the cut depth. The tool will evenly cut to the end of the lineup object reaching the surface at the end. When a lineup graphics object has been selected the cutting tool will start at the maximum depth. The length of the line is calculated within the program so that when the tool reaches the end of the lineup graph-ics object it will be at the predetermined surface. The maximum depth and surface values determine the cutting depths from start to finish. If more than one line was drawn with the same lineup command the cutting depth is calculated from the start of the first line to the end of the last line. When selecting the lineup graphics object it will change color to red. A green box determines the start of the line and a red triangle the end. This determines the path of the cutting tool. When selecting the lineup command, the command line prompts, “LINEUP Start:”. This is an x-y coordinate for the starting point of the line. This coordinate can be selected by left clicking the mouse on a point in the graphics window or by keyboard entry. When using the keyboard entry method, press-ing ‘Enter’ or right clicking on the mouse ends the selection. The command line will display the x-y coordinate, “LINEUP Start: 5.000000,2.000000”, then prompt, “END:”. This is an x-y coordinate for the ending point of the line. These coordinates are given the same as for the lineup start. After the end selection has been completed the command line will display the x-y coordinate, “END: 4.000000,3.000000”. The line is drawn in the graphics win-dow.

The command line will now prompt, “NEXT END:”. If a second line is desired another coordinate must be entered in the same manner as described above. This second line will be drawn with the start point at the same location as the end point of the previous line. Each time another line is drawn, the end coordinates will be displayed on the command line. The com-mand line will continue to prompt for next end until the right mouse or enter key on the keyboard is pressed, thereby ending the lineup command. The lineup command can also be selected from the Main menu sidebar to the right of the graphics window or by entering “lineup” on the command line.

7. Edit Commands These commands are concerned with the editing graphic items in the drawing buffer. The mouse cross hair cursor is displayed in two(2) different ways. The reticule cross hair is for selecting coordinates. The cross hair with a little box at the intersection is for selecting items. Deselecting items is accomplished by clicking on the Items Selected panel in the top status bar, the most right panel. If multiple items are selected, Shift-Backspace will deselect the last item selected. When using a window to select items there is a different selec-tion process if the mouse movement was left to right or right to left. When the select window is created by moving left to right items are selected if they are completely inside the select window’s border. When the select window is created by moving right to left items are selected if they are inside and or are touching the border of the select window. The select window is draw in different colors depending direc-tion of the windows creating mouse movements. Control-Z will undo the previous commands.

7.1 CLEARBUF Clearing the buffer deletes the file currently displayed in the graphics win-dow. When selecting the clearbuf com-mand the command line prompts, “clear drawing buffer! <N:Y>:”. Click the left or right mouse button for No or Yes re-spectively. For keyboard input, ‘N’ or ‘Y’ can be entered. If the drawing is a .cam file and acquired any changes without a save the command line will then prompt, “save c h a n g e s t o f i l e c :SUPERCAM\DEMO.cam <No, Yes>:”. Select ‘No’ or ‘Yes’ with the mouse or by keyboard input as described previously. Clearing the buffer deletes all work in a start from scratch, no file opened, no file saved graphics window. There is no prompt to save the drawing to a file. Other file types with other than a .cam extension will be deleted from the buffer as they are only copied from a file to the buffer and not an opened file. The clearbuf command can also be selected by entering “clearbuf” on the command line.

7.2 ERASE The Erase command deletes graphic items from the drawing buffer. The erase command can be selected from: The sidebar menu. The Edit pull down menu. By entering erase on the command line. The First prompt, Select Item to Erase <next|end>: Select the object to be erased with the left mouse button. Several objects can be selected by using the window method. Right click to end the selection process. The objects color will change to the highlight color signifying it has been selected. When all desired objects have been selected, right click the mouse button to end the selection process. The Last prompt, Erase # Selected Items <No|Yes>? Right click on the mouse will erase the selected items. Left click on the mouse will not erase the selected items. Control-Z will undo the Erase command.

7.3 COPY When selecting the copy command, the command line will prompt, “select item <nxt:end>:” Select an object using the left mouse button. Several objects can be selected by using the window method. The objects’ color will change to red sig-nifying it has been selected. The command line will prompt, “<nxt:end>“, for another selection. Repeating the selection command as before, other objects can be moved at the same time. To end the selection

click the right mouse button. The command line will prompt, “base point:”. This point can be anywhere in the graphics window. Where this point is selected could be very important. If the object is a circle, the center could be a snap to point. By selecting the center, the circle can be moved with more precision. The top bar, above the graphics window, dis-plays the coordinates of the cursor. To select the base point, click the left mouse button on the desired point in the graphics window. The drag mode can be turned off by holding down the ‘Shift’ key and pressing ‘F5‘ . “Shift-F5” toggles the drag mode on/off. This can be very helpful when complex graphic items are being dragged on the screen. The command line will prompt, “base point: 3.0000, 6.0000, offset point:”. The command line now displays the points selected for the base point. The selection gets copied and its color is green. The top bar, above the graphics window, will display the offset distance and offset angle as the selection is being dragged with the cursor. With the drag mode ‘ON’ the copied selection is shown with respect to the original position of the selection. The offset point is selected by dragging the selection to the desired coordinate and clicking the left mouse button. The selection is now copied to another location.

The coordinates for base point and offset point can be entered by the keyboard. The base point requires an x-y coordi-nate and the offset point has the format, @distance of move-ment<angle. The copy command can also be selected from the Main menu sidebar found to the right of the graphics window or by entering “copy” on the command line.

7.4 ROTATE When selecting the rotate command, the command line prompts, “rotate select item <nxt:end>“. Select an object using the left mouse button. Several objects can be selected by using the window method. The objects’ color will change to red sig-nifying it has been selected. The command line will prompt, “<nxt:end>“, for another selection. Repeating the selection command as before, other objects can be rotated at the same time. To end the selection click the right mouse button. The command line will prompt, “base point:”. This point can be anywhere in the graphics window. This point will deter-mine how the selection is rotated. The center of rotation is the base point and the selection will rotate around this point on the Z axis. Select the base point by clicking the left mouse button on the desired point or enter an x, y coordinate on the keyboard and press enter. When the base point is selected the selection is copied and is green. The original selection remains red. With the drag mode ‘ON’ the selection is shown rotating with respect to the original position of the selection. The drag mode can be turned off, by holding down the ‘Shift’ key and pressing ‘F5‘. ‘Shift-F5’ toggles the drag mode on/off. This can be very helpful when complex graphic items are being dragged on the screen. The command line now prompts, “base point: 3, 5: offset point:”. The top bar, above the graphics window, displays the distance and angle the cursor is from the base point selected. The distance is irrelevant for this command, but the angle is important if a specific angle of rotation is needed. The snap and ortho commands will affect the rotation of the selection, if ON. Having the original selection and a copy rotating, the angle of rotation is visible for mouse selection. To select the offset point , click the left mouse button on the desired point in the graphics window. The selection is now rotated and the original is erased. The command line displays the angle of rotation. The rotate command can also be selected by entering “rotate” on the command line.

7.5 MOVE The move command allows movement of objects or groups of objects to be relocated within a drawing. When selecting the move command the command line will prompt, “select item <nxt:end>:”. Select an object using the left mouse button. Several objects can be selected by using the window method. The objects’ color will change to red sig-nifying it has been selected. The command line will prompt, “<nxt:end>“, for another selection. Repeating the selection command as before, other objects can be moved at the same time. To end the selection click the right mouse button. The command line will prompt, “base point:”. This point can be anywhere in the graphics window. Where this point is selected could be very important. If the object is a circle, the center could be a snap to point. By selecting the center, the circle can be moved with more precision. The top bar, above the graphics window, displays the coordinates of the cursor. To select the base point, click the left mouse button on the desired point in the graphics window. The drag mode can be turned off by holding down the shift key and pressing F5. Shift-F5 toggles the drag mode on/off. This can be very helpful when complex graphic items are being dragged on the screen. The command line will prompt, “base point: 3.0000, 6.0000, offset point:”. The offset point is the distance from the base point to the offset point selected. The command line now displays the points selected for the base point . The selection gets copied and its color is green. The top bar will display the offset distance and offset angle as the selection is being dragged with the cursor. With the drag mode ON the selection can be seen, while dragging, with re-spect to the original position. Select the offset point by dragging the selection to the desired coordinate and clicking the left mouse button. The se-lection is now moved and the original is erased. The coordinates for the base point and offset point can be entered by the keyboard. The base point requires an x-y coordi-nate and the offset point has the form, @distance of move-ment<angle. The move command can also be selected from the Main menu sidebar found to the right of the graphics window or by entering “move” on the command line.

7.6 SCALE The scale command offers the ability to resize objects larger or smaller. When selecting the scale command, the command line prompts, “scale select item <nxt:end>“. Select and click the left mouse button. Several objects can be selected by using the window method. The objects’ color will change to red signify-ing it has been selected. The command line will prompt, “<nxt:end>“, for another selection. Repeating the selection command as before, other objects can be scaled at the same time. To end the selection, click the right mouse button. The command line will prompt, “base point:”. This point can be anywhere in the graphics window. This point will deter-mine where the selection is scaled from. If the base point is at a central location, it will scale in or out at an even ratio. When the base point is selected, for example, from the right of center, or totally off the selection to the right, it will scale in or out at the same ratios but towards the left of the base point. The end result will be in the opposite direction of the selected base point from center. The base point is selected by clicking the left mouse button on a point in the graphics win-dow. By moving the mouse it can be visually seen how the se-lection is being scaled. Watching the top bar, located above the graphics window, will also help, as it displays the distance the cursor is from the base point. If the distance is under one unit from the base point the selection becomes smaller than the original. If the distance is over one unit from the base point it becomes larger than the original. The drag mode can be turned off, by holding down the ‘Shift’ key and pressing ‘F5‘. ‘Shift-F5’ toggles the drag mode on/off. This can be very helpful when complex graphic items are being dragged on the screen. The command line will prompt, “base point: x ,y offset point:”, for an offset point. The distance from the base point determines the ratio between the original and the end result. Example: If the distance from the base point to the offset point is 1.5 units, then the scaling ratio is 1.5 larger than the original. With the drag mode ‘ON‘, the object being scaled with respect to the original size can be seen. To select an offset point, click the left mouse button when at the desired ratio, or enter by the keyboard the desired ratio and press ‘Enter‘. The scale command can also be selected by entering “scale” on the command line.

7.7 EDITI With the editi command, line objects are edited using the nodes as reference points. If a circle or an arc is selected to be edited the command line will prompt, “This is a (circle or arc), Would you like to convert it to a polyline? <Y:N>“. Click the left or right mouse button for ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ respectively. When converting circles and arcs to polylines they consist of many line segments. When selecting the editi command, the command line prompts, “Select Item to Edit:”. The selection must be a line graphics object. Select with the left mouse button. The selected item will change color to red, verifying selection. The command line will prompt, “Edit Item Line <Next, Previous>“. The crosshair will remain in the graphics window. There will be displayed, at the first node (start of the line ob-ject), an icon resembling a fish. This icon will point in the di-rection of the Next node. Clicking the left mouse button will move the icon to the next node. Clicking the right mouse but-ton will move the icon to the previous node. When this first line object is selected the Main menu side-bar to the right of the graphics window changes to accommo-date for editing. Coordinates will be displayed for the x, y loca-tions of specific nodes. These nodes are the PAST (previous), AT (node selected), and NEXT. The number in the box under NODE is the nodes’ position in the sequence of nodes from start to end of the line graphics object. SEGMENTS shows the number of line seg-ments in the line graphics object. There is also a list of com-mand buttons to choose from; START, NEXT, PREV, END, INSERT , BREAK, MOVE, DELETE, and END. The START button will select the first node of the line object. A green icon, resembling a fish will be on the first node. This icon will always point in the direction of the end node. When the icon is on the end node it will always point to 0,0. This is a default direction because there is not a next node. The NEXT button will move the icon one node in the di-rection it is pointing. By continually pressing the NEXT button the icon will move its way to the END of the line object one node at a time. The PREV (previous) button will move the icon in the direction of the start of the line object. The END button will put the icon on the last node at the end of the line object. The INSERT button will insert a node after the node that is selected. This new node will be placed at the midpoint of the selected node and the next node. The BREAK button will break the line object at the se-lected node. The line object that remains red (selected) is from the break to the end of the object. Only the selected line object that remains red can be edited further within this editi com-

7.8 LISTFRNT The listfrnt command moves a graphics object to the front (0 line item) which will become the first in the cutting order. When selecting the listfrnt command, the command line prompts, “listfrnt select item:”. Only one graphics object can be selected at a time. Select with the left mouse button. The execution of the listfrnt command is complete. The command line will display: Item # - line (various coordinates) Moved ITEM To Front of Drawing List Command: The listfrnt command can also be selected by entering “listfrnt” on the command line.

mand. The MOVE button allows the node selected to be dragged with the crosshair by moving the mouse. When at the desired location, click the left or right mouse button. The DELETE button will delete the selected node and join the NEXT and PREVIOUS nodes together with a line segment. The START and END nodes cannot be deleted. The END button ends any of the commands listed previously. The command line will then prompt, “Select Item to Edit:”. A new line object can be selected for editing without exiting the editi command. While in the editi command other com-mands can be utilized to enable movement in the graphics window. The commands available are; zoomw, zoomp, zooml , and pan. These com-mands can only be accessed through the function keys: Zoom window-F2 , zoom previous-F3, zoom limits-F4, and pan-F5. When the node for editing is selected, select the desired editing command button. The com-mands listed can be executed one after another until the editing is done to the selected line object. To select a new line object select the bottom END command button. Or if the node editing is done, select the bottom END button then click the right mouse button. By pressing the esc (escape) key will also end the node-editing mode. The next press of the escape key will then end the editi command and go back to the command line prompt. The editi command can be selected by enter-ing “editi” on the command line.

7.10 LIST The list command displays a window containing informa-tion on the properties for the selected object. The contents of the window will vary depending upon what graphics object has been selected. Changes to the objects’ properties cannot be made in this window, it is read only. When selecting the list command the command line prompts, “list items parameters, select:”. Select the object desired with the left mouse button. The objects’ color will change to red signifying it has been selected and the list win-dow will be displayed. The Cam Cmmd describes what type of graphics object has been selected. The different graphics objects are; arc, point, circle, line, lineup, linedwn, fill, offset, text, textctr , and textfit. The list window for a line, lineup and linedwn contain the parameters for start x and y, end x and y, line cnt , item line, buffer size and memory available. The list window for a circle has more information such as layer, center x , center y , and radius. The arc list window has all the parameters listed above plus start angle, end angle, and direction. The list window for text parameters is the same as for the line plus the layer and height . Textctr and textfit list windows have the same informa-tion as the text with one difference in each window. Textctr lists the width ratio and textfit lists the width. Start x, y is the x-y coordinate for the start of cut for that object and end x, y is the coordinate for end of cut for that ob-ject. Line cnt is the number of single objects in the drawing file. Item line is the number the object is in the cutting order. This parameter is very useful when changing the order in which objects are to be cut. Buffer size and memory available are the same in all the windows in a given file. The layer parameter is yet to be util-ized. Center x, y is the center point of the circle. The start an-gle for an arc is where the cut will start and the end angle is where it will end. The list command can also be selected from the Main menu sidebar found to the right of the graphics window or by entering “list” on the command line.

7.9 CHGORDER The chgorder command has two selection processes. The first selection is prompting for the object that is to be after the second object prompted for. When selecting the chgorder command, the command line prompts, “chgorder, CHANGE items ORDER, select:”. Only one graphics object can be selected at a time. Select with the left mouse button. The color of the selected object will change to red. The ‘SHIFT-F2’ function is useful using this command, as it toggles the draw up flag, which displays the tool path for the cutting order. When the draw up flag is ‘OFF‘, the start and end markers appear only on the first selected item. Having the draw up flag ‘ON’ the entire tool path is displayed with the start and end markers. After toggling the draw up flag, ‘F1’ (redraw function) must be pressed to see the change. The command line will prompt: “Item # , Enter new order <0-17>:”. The Item # is the order number the object is in the drawing. The numbers in the brackets <> are the number of graphics objects in the drawing with 0 being the first object in the cutting order. The object selected at this prompt will be placed before the first object selected. When this second selection is made the order has changed and the command is ended. If the draw up flag is ‘ON’ the tool path will be seen changing also. The chgorder command is useful to lessen the travel dis-tances between objects being cut. Also if certain objects must be cut first, for example; if cutting an “O”, the inside circle would need to be cut before cutting the outside. The chgorder command can be selected by entering “chgorder” on the command line.

7.11 JOIN Only one line graphics object can be selected at a time. Using the editi command, circles and arcs can be converted to line objects if joining is necessary. When selecting the join command, the command line prompts, “join, JOIN items, first line select:”. Select with the left mouse button. The line objects’ color will change to red. The command line will prompt, “JOIN to Select Item <0-4>:”. The numbers in brackets <> shows the number of graph-ics objects in the drawing with 0 being the first object in the cutting order. The selection process, of the line to join to, is the same as above described. This line objects’ color will also change to red. The line objects selected must touch at the ends for the join command to be executed. Line, lineup and linedwn graphics objects can be selected. When joining different line types, the joined lines default to the first line type selected. Example; If one type is a lineup and the other is a line, with the first line selected being the lineup, then the end result-ing line type will be a lineup. If at any time, during the selection of the line objects, the selection is not correct, clicking the right mouse button will end the join command. The command line will prompt, “JOIN selected lines <n:y>:”. Clicking the left mouse button will end the command without any changes. Clicking the right mouse button will join the two lines selected. The join command can also be selected by entering “join” on the command line.

7.12 TRIM The trim command allows the trimming of line objects to specified locations. When selecting the trim command, the command line prompts, “Select Trimming edge item:”. This first selection is a line graphics object where the trimming ends. Select with the left mouse button. The trimming edge item will change color to blue, verifying selection. The command line will now request for another trimming edge and prompt: “Select Trimming edge <nxt:end>:”. If an-other trimming edge is not desired, click on the right mouse button. More than one trimming edge may be selected, if the line(s) to be trimmed intersect more than one trimming edge. When all the trimming edge lines have been selected, click the right mouse button. The command line will now prompt: “Select Line item to Trim:”. The selected point on the line, to be trimmed, must be within the segment to be trimmed. The line to be trimmed is selected the same as the selection process for the trimming edge. The segment of the line to be trimmed will highlight to red. Only one line to trim can be trimmed at a time, but many can be trimmed within the same command. The command line will prompt: “Trim Highlighted Seg-ments <n:y>:”. If the highlighted segment is incorrect, click the left mouse button. The selection will not be executed and the command line will prompt for another selection. If the high-lighted segment is correct, click the right mouse button and the segment will be erased. The command line will prompt: “Select Line item to Trim:”. This is where another line can be selected to trim. If another line to trim is not desired, click the right mouse button and the trim command will end. If another line to trim is de-sired, repeat the selection process. The command line will again prompt: “Trim Highlighted Segments <n:y>:”. The last two command line prompts will repeat until no more trimming is desired. The trim command can also be selected by entering “trim” on the command line.

7.13 SWAPEND Using the swapend command reverses the start and end of a line object. If reversing the direction of circles and arcs is necessary, the editi command can be used first to convert to line objects. When selecting the swapend command, the command line prompts, “swapend Select Item <nxt:end>:”. Select with the left mouse button. Several objects can be selected by using the window method. The objects’ color will change to red signify-ing it has been selected. The command line will now prompt, “Select Item <nxt:end>“, for more selections. Repeat selection process if more objects are desired. To complete the selection process, click the right mouse button. The command line will now prompt, “SWAPEND OK <N,Y>?”. To end the command without making any changes , click the left mouse button. To execute the command, click the right mouse button. The swapend command can also be selected by entering “swapend” on the command line.

7.14 EXTEND The extend command allows line objects to be extended to specific locations. When selecting the extend command, the command line prompts, “Select Edge to Extend too:”. This first selection is a line graphics object where the extension will end. Only one extension can be executed at a time. Select and click the left mouse button. The command line will now prompt, “Select Item to Ex-tend:”. The next selection is the line graphics object to be ex-tended. This selection is made the same as previously de-scribed. When this selection is complete the line will be ex-tended. When using the extend command, if the line selected to extend does not intersect where it is being extended to, the command will end. The extend command also can be selected by entering “extend” on the command line.

7.15 MIRROR This command makes a mirror image of the selected graphic items.

7.16 ARRAY This command makes an array of the selected graphic items. First prompt Select Item(s) to Array <Pick|Done>: Next prompt Enter Number of Rows <0>: Next prompt Enter Number of Columns <0>: Next prompt Enter Array Base Point <Pick|Done>: Next prompt Enter Row Offset Point <Pick|Done>:

7.17 CHGLINE The chgline command allows changing a lineup or linedown object to a line object. When selecting the chgline com-mand, the command line prompts, “CHANGE line to LINE cmmd, select line:”. Only one lineup or linedown object can be selected at a time. Select and click the left mouse button. The objects’ color will change to red signi-fying it has been selected. The command line will prompt, “CHANGE Lineup (or linedwn) to LINE command <n:y>:”. To end the command without changing anything, click the left mouse button. To select the line, click the right mouse button. The command line will display, “Yes changing to line” and the com-mand is done. With some versions of Supercam the message on the command line may display, “Yes changing to linedwn“. The command has changed the lineup or linedwn objects to a line. The chgline command can also be selected by entering “chgline” on the command line.

Next prompt Enter Column Offset Point <Pick|Done>: Displays Message Row Col n n Base x.xxx,y.yyy Row Offset x.xxx,y.yyy Column Offset x.xxx,y.yyy Last prompt Create the Array <No|Yes>:

7.18 CHGLNDWN The chglndwn command allows changing a line or lineup object to a linedwn object. Only one line or lineup object can be selected at a time. Circles and arcs can be converted to line objects if needed by using the editi command. When selecting the chglndwn command, the command line prompts, “CHANGE line to LINEDOWN cmmd, select line:”. Select with the left mouse button. The objects’ color will change to red signifying it has been selected. The command line will prompt, “CHANGE Line (or lineup) to LINEDWN command <n:y>:”. To end the command without changing anything, click the left mouse button. To select the line, click the right mouse button. The command line will display, “Yes changing to linedwn” and the command is done. The chglndwn command can also be selected by entering “chglndwn” on the command line.

7.19 CHGLNUP The chglnup command allows changing a line or linedown object to a lineup object. Only one line or linedown object can be selected at a time. Circles and arcs can be converted to line objects if needed by using the editi command. When selecting the chglnup command, the command line prompts, “CHANGE line to LINEUP cmmd, select line:”. Select with the left mouse button. The objects’ color will change to red signifying it has been selected. The command line will prompt, “CHANGE Line (or linedwn) to LINEUP command <n:y>:”. To end the command without changing any-thing, click the left mouse button. To select the line, click the right mouse button. The command line will display, “Yes changing to lineup” and the command is done. The chglnup command can also be selected by entering “chglnup” on the command line.

7.20 Layers The Layers brings up the Layers dialog form. With the Layers dialog window you can add and remove layers. Each layer can have it's own cutting speed and cut depth, it also can cut all items on it incrementally to a final cut depth. The titel character, '~', is important, if a textbox is set to contain this character the default settings will be used for that layer for that parameter. You also can set the layer color and the current layer. A layer can also be invisible or disabled. Setting the current layer is important because the items now are drawn on the current layer. Also the Set Layer lets you pick graphic items and thus put them on the current layer. 2D or 3D machine setups determine the forms content.

7.21 Set Layer The Set Layer is used to change graphic items layer pa-rameter. Thus changing it’s machine movement characteristics to match the layer that it is on. Set Layer lets you pick graphic items and thus put them on the current layer.

8. Files Commands These are the commands that relate to the use of files. background bmp close dxf editcnc exit exp_cnc expdxf exphpgl font gcode hpgl inp_cnc inp_dxf inp_hpgl print open readmcfg save saveas savemcfg

8.1 CAM Files These commands work with the native file format for Super-Cam. The native file format ends with the .cam extension. The files can be edited with a standard text editor application. The line length is unlimited which can pose a problem for some text editors. 8.1.1 Open These The File|Open command opens a file selection dialog form. If a file is already been opened and is being displayed, the drawing items will be appended. 8.1.2 Close The File|Close command effectively clears the drawing buffer. 8.1.3 Save The File|Save command save the current drawing buffer to the file last opened. 8.1.4 Save As The File|Saveas command saves the current drawing buffer to a file to be specified by presenting the file selection dialog form.

8.2 BMP Command This command is used for importing BMP files. The object is to emboss images in mate-rial with varying the Z axis depth of cut for each pixel in the image. The sidebar menu is replaced with a command control panel. At the very top is a thumbnail picture of the bmp file selected. Beneath is a text box that displays the current filename. The Select button opens a file select dia-log form. This is for selecting a different file to emboss. The Pixel Size text box display the current size to be assigned

to each pixel. If the contents are edited the image is redrawn in the graphic area. The Detent text box displays the detent parameter which is how far below the surface the WHITE pixel level should be. This can be changed by editing the text box and the image will be redrawn. This is to resolve issues with the tool skating on the surface of the material. The Max Depth text box displays the depth at which depth BLACK pixels will be cut to. This can be changed by editing the text box and the image will be redrawn. This parameter is determines the maximum depth the pixels will be cut at. The Bmp X and Bmp Y text boxes display the X and Y coordi-nates of the top left corner of where the BMP image will be embossed. These can be changed and the image will be re-drawn in it’s new location. The contents determine the location image placement in the machine work area in conjunction with the coordinate of the material surface.

The Rotate check determines if the image will be rotated ninety(90) degrees or not. By default the images are followed left to right. If the check is marked the image is followed bot-tom to top. The Clip check is used to determine if the image is to be clipped with a self centering eclipse. The Pixelize check determines which of two(2) methods will be used to emboss the image. If the check is off the Z axis fol-lows the amplitude of the pixel. If check is on the Z axis make a drill point at the center of each pixel with the depth of plunge dependent on the intensity of the pixel. The Locate button is used let the mouse coordinates be able to set the location of the image in the graphics area. Effectively you can drag image around in the graphics area. The Apply button is used to apply any changes made to the parameters. The Exit button is used to exit the command. The Execute button will cause the machine to been following the tool path described by the imported BMP image. The ma-chine takes off and goes to work. The if the Zmax check is on the Z axis will be raised to it’s maximum position at the end of executing the tool path opera-tions. If the check is off, the Z axis will be raised to altitude coordinate at the end of the tool path execution. The ZMax button will move the spindle axis to maximum po-sition. This is to help in the setup and material loading. The MoveTo button is used to move the attached machine around the work area. This is to help in the setup and material loading. The SetMSurf button permits setting the material serface coor-dinates, while a image is in memory. The surface coordinates determine where the images Z axis placement is going to be. The GenGcode button will create a G & M code file from the current parameters.

This is a screen shot of the test.bmp sample file viewed in 3D mode. The maximum depth is 0.125 inches and the pixel size is 0.050 inches. F6 toggles view mode between 2D and 3D. F5 lets you pan the view port around.

This is the same setup but with the Pixelize check on.

This is the same setup but in 2D display mode with the Pixelize check on. In 2D mode the images pixels are displayed in four(4) color grayscale.

8.3 DXF Files These commands are used for importing DXF files. DXF stands for drawing exchange file or some-thing like that. It is an AutoDesk defined file format, and has many different versions. Super-Cam probably works best with Version 14 DXF files.

8.3.1 DXF Import This command is used for importing DXF files into the drawing buffer.

8.3.3 DXF Settings This command is used for setting parameters in regard to im-porting DXF files into the drawing buffer. The DXF Path text box displays the path to the last DXF file imported. The Last File Name text box displays the last base file name. The XYZ Scale is the value that will be multiplied with all the coordinates imported. The Z Scale is the value of the multiplier applied only to the Z axis coordinates imported. The Mode button displays the current mode of translating the file. Normally this is set to 2D XY. The Swap button displays the current mode of translation. Nor-mally this is set to None. The Hidden button display the current mode of displaying 3D items. Normally this is set to Yes. The Arc’s button displays the current mode of translating arcs and circles in the DXF file. Normally this is set to Off, this cause arcs and circles to be imported as polylines. If this is set to On the arcs and circles are imported as arcs and circles. It is easier to edit polylines with the program features. Note: The segmentation of imported arcs and circles is deter-mined by the current cutting slew speed. The segment length will be how far the machine will move in 3/100’s of a second at that speed. The Line Width button displays the current mode of importing lines that have a width parameter. Normally this is set to Off which causes the width parameter to be ignored. If it is set to On the line width parameter will be used.

8.3.2 DXF Export This command is used for exporting DXF files from the draw-ing buffer.

8.4 HPGL Files These commands are used for importing HPGL files. These files normally have the PLT extension. CorelDraw created HPGL files are compatible with SuperCam.

8.4.3 HPGL Settings This command is used for setting parameters in regard to im-porting HPGL files into the drawing buffer. Normally these files have the PLT extension. The HPGL Path text box displays the path to the last HPGL file imported. The Last File Name text box displays the last base file name. The Scale text box displays the multiplier that will be applied to all coordinates imported. Normally this is set to 1.000. The Incr/Unit text box displays the number integers there are for one unit of measurement. Normally this is set to 1016 but for some applications it is different. The Rotate button displays the current mode of importing HPGL files. Normally it is set to NO which causes to rotation to occur. If it is set to YES the imported drawing will be ro-tated ninety(90) degrees.

8.4.2 HPGL Export This command is used for exporting HPGL files from the draw-ing buffer.

8.5 G and M Code Files These commands are used for G and M code files. Common CNC machine tool format-ted files. Post processor for Fanuc 6m, Maxnc. The Machine Console command is used to display a simplified user interface for read-ing, editing and exe-cute G & M Code files. The Import command is used to read and execute G & M Code

files. The Edit Execute command lets you edit the g-code file and execute it if you choose. The Export command is used to convert drawings in to G-code files. Complete drawings or you can pick item by item with varying parameters for each pick. The Settings command is used to make changes to the import parameters.

8.5.1 Gcode Reader The Gcode Reader command is used to read and execute very large G & M Code files. It reads directly from the file and caused the attached machine to follow the tool path described by the selected file. The command runs independent of the main form in that com-mands can be run to manipulate the machine such as the MoveTo command. The Run command starts reading from the beginning of the file. The STOP button will stop the execution of the file, the option is given to resume or cancel the execution of the tool path. The Start At button starts the execution of the file at the line number in the yellow text box. The Run Thru button will start the code at the red Start text box and stop at the blue End text box. The Select File button will enable selecting a different file to execute. The Read File button will read forward one line of text. The Rewind button will reset display and pointers back to the beginning of the file. The Set Zero button will zero all three axis. The Line Count button will count the number of text lines in the file and display the result in the console area of the main form.

8.5.2 Machine Console The Machine Console command is used to read and execute G & M Code files. The Mach command brings up the Machine Console form which is a simplified user interface to the attached machine. The intended purpose is to be used where repetitive executions of a G & M code file are used in a production environment. The Mach command is special in that if no other commands are entered that pertain to loading files, all the subsequent execu-tions of the SuperCamXp program will display the Machine Console as the main user interface. When the program loads the last used G & M code file will be loaded into an editable textbox. The loaded file text box can be Copied from and Pasted too. The currently loaded file's name is displayed in the form's caption at the top. The current XYZ coordinates of the attached machine are dis-played in editable textboxes. Changing the contents of the coor-dinate displays does change the machine's current position. The Apply button causes the changes made to the loaded file's text to be reflected in the machine's movement. The START button will begin execution of the G code file from where the cursor is currently in the loaded file. The Space-Bar or Escape key on the keyboard will act as an emergency stop when the machine is in motion. The Single Step button will execute one line of G code at the current cursor position in the loaded file. Then it will advance the cursor to the next line of code. The REWIND button will place the cursor at the beginning of the loaded file. The STOP button will stop the machine's movement and the execution of the tool path. The Interrupted Movement dialog window is presented. The user has the option of Resuming or Canceling the execution of the tool path. Should the Cancel option be chosen, the cursor is place in the loaded file at the line of code that was executed.

The Relay A and Relay B buttons will toggle the associated relay. The current status of the relay is displayed to the right of each button. The current status information is displayed to a textbox beneath the buttons, with the gray background. The background of the Machine Console form indicates the current status of the interface to the attached machine tool mo-tor controller. Normally the background color is RED this indi-cates that the machine is selected and ready to go. DARK BLUE this indicates the machine motor controller is Deselected. LIGHT BLUE this indicates simulation with the motor control-ler deselected. GREEN this indicates simulation of machine movements will occur. YELLOW there is a problem with the USB Channel. To make it so the Machine Console is not automatically present on each load of SuperCamXp, another file using command needs to used from the graphic user interface. Such as the Open command or importing a DXF file. Files Pull Down Menu Load File - Used to load another Gcode file. Save - Saves current contents of the Gcode textbox to the current filename. Save As - Saves the Gcode textbox contents to a file specified by user. CAD GUI - Displays the Cad Graphic User Interface and and make available all its capa-bilities or hide it if already displayed. Properties - Displays the properties of the currently loaded file, number of characters and lines in the file along with the filename in a message box. Exit - Exits from SuperCamXp if the Cad Graphic User Inter-face is not visible or closes the Machine Console and returns the user interface to the CAD GUI form. Display Pull Down Menu Settings - Brings up the Gcode Settings form. Scale and Offsets can be set for the execution of the code. Large Text - Sets the text size to large in the Gcode textbox. Medium Text - Sets the text size to me-dium in the Gcode textbox. Small Text - Sets the text size to small in the Gcode textbox. Control Pull Down Menu Deselect - Deselects the CNC Machines Motor Drivers. This permits manual manipulation of the axis mo-tors. The background color will turn to Blue. Select - Select enables the CNC Machine's Mo-tor Drivers. Placing the machine in a ready to go state. The background color will turn to Red.

8.5.3 Import The Import command is used to read and execute G & M Code files. If the controller is deselected the tool path is just drawn to the graphics area of the screen. If the controller is selected the tool path is executed.

8.5.4 Edit and Execute The Edit & Execute command is used to read and execute G & M Code files. The File text box displays the current file loaded into the code script text box. The Execute All button causes all of the g-code script to be followed. It starts interpreting at line one(1) and continues until it reaches the end of the text. The Execute At button causes the g-code script to be followed beginning at the current cursor position. The Save button will save the contents of the code script text box to the file specified by the File text box. The Refresh Video button redraws the graphics area. The Redraw Buffer button redraws the graphics area. The Offset text boxes have a yellow background, they display the value that will be added to each coordinate translated by the interpreter. By changing these values the placement of the tool path can changed. The Scale text boxes values will be used as multipliers for the coordinates translated by the interpreter. Adjusting these values will effect the size of the tool path.

The Apply button will set in place any changes made to the text boxes. The Feedrate button will display the current mode of setting the machine motion feed rates. If AUTO File the F parameters in the g-code file will be used to define the tool path motion ve-locities. If MENU the feed rates in the g-code file are ignored and the programs inherent motion speed settings will be used. The Copy button is for coping code text. The Move button is for moving code text. The Insert button is for inserting a block of text into the code text. The Reset button is for unknown purpose. The Exit button is to terminate the g-code editor.

8.5.3.1 G & M Codes Translated ; Comment Line F Feed rate follows G00 Rapid Travel Coordinates follow G01 Cutting Travel Speed Coordinates follow G02 Arc Clockwise G03 Arc Counter Clockwise G04 Dwell, the P number that follows is the delay in seconds. G90 Absolute Coordinates follow G91 Incremental Coordinates follow. M03 Relay A On. M04 Relay A Off. M08 Relay B On. M09 Relay B Off.

8.5.6 Export The Export command is used to create G & M Code files from items in the drawing buffer. This is for creating 2D and 2.5D code files. The Export G & M Codes dialog form is independent of the main form. It can be moved around and resized. While this command is in operation, the other commands can also be executed. Items can be drawn and edited all the while the Export G & M Codes form is operational. The File text box displays the current file name and path. Below that and making up the majority of the form is the text box for the script of the G & M Code file being created. The Exit button will terminate the command. The Save button will save the contents of the text box for the program script in the file specified by the File text box. The Export Setup button will bring up a dialog form for con-trolling the script generated by the command. The Export All button will create the G & M codes for all the items in the drawing buffer. The Export Items button will create G & M codes for the cur-rently selected graphic items. The code will be place starting where the character cursor is located in the script text box. The Altitude text box is for setting the distance above the sur-face of the material at which rapid travels will be performed by the machine. The Surface text box is for defining where the surface of the material to be worked with is at. The Cut Depth text box is for setting how deep below the sur-

8.5.5 Settings The Settings command is used to set the Import G & M Code parameters. It brings up the Graphics Display Information dialog form with the G-Code tab presented The G-Code Path text box displays the path to the last G code file imported. The Last File Name text box displays the last base file name. The Extension text box displays the file name extension. This is by default ‘cnc’, but ISO, TAP, MIL are also common. The SCALE parameters for each axis will be used as a multi-plier for the coordinates read from the script file. If this value is minus one(-1) the tool path will be mirrored for that axis. If the value is 0.5 the tool path will be scaled by half. The OFFSET parameters for each axis will be added to the coordinates read from the script file. This is useful for moving the tool path around or into the machines working area. The Single Step button does not work. The Feed Rate button is used to determine where the tool path execution feed rates are take from. If in AUTO mode the F parameters in the code script file are used. If in MENU mode the feed rate parameters are take from the current feed rate set-tings in the program. The Units button set what the feed rate, F parameters, unit of measurement will be. The Display button sets the type of information that will be displayed when the file is imported. The ROTATE button when set to YES will rotate the tool path execution by ninety(90) degrees.

face of the material the single pass cut depth will be. The Incremental check is for making multiple passes at ever increasing depths of cut. If it is checked the Cut Depth text box will be disabled and the Final Cut and Incremental Cut text boxes will become enabled. The Final Cut text box contents define how deep the final cut depth will be. The Incremental Cut text box contents define how much deeper each incremental cut will be until the final depth is reached. The Pecking check determines how the multiple pass cuts will be performed. If the check is on the code for each individual item will be cre-ated with the cut progressively deeper, completing the code for each item before moving on to the next one. If the check is off the code for all the items will be created with the cut at the incremental depth, then the depth will be in-creased and code for all the items will be created at the new depth of cut. This is repeated until the final depth of cut is reached.

8.5.6.1 Export Setup The Export Setup button brings up the Graphics Display In-formation dialog form with the Export tab presented. This is where the G & M Code creation parameters are dis-played and can be edited. The Select Tool text box displays the text to be put in the code

file for when a tool is to be selected. Which occurs at the be-ginning of the file. The Lead In text box displays the text to be put at the begin-ning of the code file. The Rapid Travel text box displays the text to be put in the file to indicate a rapid travel is to occur. This is normally G00. The Cutting text box displays the text to be put in the file to indicate a cutting feed rate is to occur. This is normally G01. The Point Drill text box displays the text to be put in the file to indicate a point drill is to occur. The Arc CW text box displays the text to be put in the file to indicate an arc clockwise is to occur. The Arc CCW text box displays the text to be put in the file to indicate an arc counter clockwise is to occur. The File Start text box displays the text to be put in the file at the very beginning, first line of text. This is normally ‘%’. The File End text box displays the text to be put in the file at the very end, last line of text. This is normally M30. The Spindle On text box displays the text to be put in the file when the spindle motor or torch is to be turned on. This is nor-mally M03. The Spindle Off text box displays the text to be put in the file when the spindle motor or torch is to be turned off. This is nor-mally M05. The Machine Type text box has a gray background, it displays the type of machine to be driven by the G & M Code script. Clicking on the text box will change the machine type, there are three(3) possibilities. The Line Numbers check if on will cause Nnnn line numbers to be added at the beginning of each line in the code script. The Verbose Comments check if on will cause extensive com-ment messages to be embedded in the code script.

8.6 Background The Background command loads or unloads a .CAM file into the background of the drawing. The drawing is placed on the same level as the grid. This is for putting fixtures or noting key parts of the attached machine. 8.7 Read Mconfig The reads a previously created configuration file. 8.7 Save Mconfig The saves the current machine configuration file. 8.7 Print The prints the graphics area of the screen on the printer. 8.10 Exit This command exits the program but before it does it saves supercamxp.ini and mchnctrl.dat configuration files.

The Apply button will make sure any changes made the text boxes will be applied to the program parameters. The Exit button at the top right of the form will terminate the command.

10. USB CamPod Control This is the main form for the thread that is controlling the USB interface. Ac-cess to this form is not normally re-quired. It is accessed by double clicking on the left most panel of the bottom status bar, the pull down USB|CamPod Control command. By moving or resizing the form for extended periods of time can interrupt machine motion. For that reason use should be limited to trouble shooting. Most if not all of the controls are vestiges from development. The HIDE button hides the form from display yet it remains active in the background.

9. Miscellaneous Commands 9.1 Undo and Redo The Undo and Redo commands are the same as Control-Z and Control-Q keystrokes. 9.2 Camera The camera command uses the system USB camera and dis-plays a form with the output of the camera displayed.

9.3 Joystick The pull down menu USB has the Joystick menu item. This will present the Joystick Control form. If a system joystick is installed the Status will indicate Present or Not Present if not present. Button 1 – Trigger, toggles the Relay A on/off. Button 2 – Toggles ortho mode Button 3 – Toggles Z axis only joystick control on/off Joystick position indicator is on the Control Panel, in the center of the Jog Buttons. The background is gray with out a joystick installed or en-abled. If a joystick is installed but not enabled the position indi-cator will be active. To enable the joystick click on the indicator. It will toggle joy-stick enable/disable. When the joystick is enabled the back-ground color will be Red, this indicates X&Y control. Clicking the Button #2 will toggle to Z axis control, the background will switch to Yellow. The circle indicates the center dead space. The Joystick Con-trol form has a text box that contains the current setting. By default this is set to 150 which is 15 % of the movement is not active. This value can be changed as per your need. The maxi-mum value is 1000. It is remembered between program loads. Joystick enable is also remembered between program loads. The Joystick will not cause machine movements if the machine is already in motion. But it will once the machine stops or

completes execution. The Joystick Control form can be resized to show the raw joy-stick data. Tested with Saitek ST90 and Logitech Attack3 joysticks. 9.4 In Development There are commands that are in development and not yet com-pleted. 9.5 Development Tools There are commands that are used to develop the program. The F12 key is used to display parameters. Keywords Dump and Debug are active and display program parameters.

10.1 Current Status This is the default tab, the main status of attached machine is displayed here. It shows the current coordinates for the X, Y and Z axis motors, and the status of the Home Limit Switches. The Deselect Button will toggle to Select if clicked. The A ON Button controls relay A, if clicked it will toggle the relay on and the button legend will change to A OFF. The B ON Button controls relay A, if clicked it will toggle the relay on and the button legend will change to B OFF. The Power button will toggle the state of the high power output signal. This can be used to set the high power current trim pots on the attached motor drivers. The Home Difference text boxes X Diff, Y Diff and Z Diff show the deviation between what was expected and what was found on the last home command. The Pod Tmr text box will be constantly counting up if there is no current machine motion. The Auto Relay B checks show the current status of the auto-matic relay mode state.

10.1.1 Benchmark Tests This is dialog form is presented when the Benchmark button is clicked on in the Current Status tab. It has control on the form for testing motors not attached to a machine. It is not to be used when the controller has the motors attached to a machine. The X, Y and Z slider bars will cause the associated motor to spin up or down. They control the revolutions per second of each motor. The text boxes across the top of the slider bars display the maximum steps per second for each axis motor. The default maximum is 32000. The text boxes at the bottom of the slider bars display the cur-rent integer position of the slider bar. The four(4) buttons at the bottom of the slider bars are used to finely make adjustments to the axis motor spinning speed. The Run button will cause the motors to spin at the speed de-scribed by the settings of the slider bars. The Stop button will cause the motors to stop spinning. The Test1Btn, TstSliderBtn and the TstSlider are incomplete implementations of maximum rate of ramp test. The Pod Counter text box displays the count of the master timer count from the CamPod. For each axis there is are text boxes that show the current fre-quency of steps per second, ticks of the CamPod reference fre-quency to create that frequency and the direction byte. The small button next to the direction byte will toggle the direction of movement for that axis. The Exit button will terminate the Benchmark dialog form.

10.2 Pod Memory This tab has multi line text box for monitoring interactions with the CamPod Control thread. The Clear Debug button clears this text box. The text box to the right of the Get CPU Frequency button will display the results of in cycles per second of the host com-puters clock. The Test Load Mem button test the USB interface by sending and receiving commands to the CamPod. Every 100th time it toggles the state of relay A. This is helpful for testing for elec-trical interference created when the relay A turns on an external device such as a torch or spindle motor. The Stop Pod button stops the test. The Test Pass Count text box with the yellow background keeps track of the number of time the test has been completed. The Relay Tests buttons TstA and TstB will toggle the associ-ated relay every period of milliseconds defined by the text box to the right of the buttons. The RDTSC button was used in development to determine the time certain functions were taking to execute. The Real Interval button was used to test the fidelity of the threads timer interrupts. The text box below these displays the file name and path were test motion sequences can be saved. The Read File All button will read the file. The Save File will save the control motion sequence buffer to the file. The Mem Run will execute the motions described in the con-trols buffer.

10.3 Security This tab shows the contents of the identifying text strings. The USB Description shows the description that was read from the USB IO device. The USB Serial # shows the serial number read from the USB IO device. This must match what is in the USB|Diagnostic|FTDI Serial Number text box. The DLLVer button will display the date and version of the DLL used to translate binary to and from for the CamPod. The FirmId button will get and display in the text box to it’s right the Firmware Identification string in the CamPod. The Password button will get and display the password from an attached Super Tech parallel port controller. The USB Serial# check determines if the USB serial numbers have to match. By default this is checked on program load. The FirmId Check determines if the firmware identification string has to match. By default this is checked on program load. The Pswd Test check determines if the attached controller’s password has to match.

10.5 Motion This tab shows the controls and settings related to the motion engine. The part of the thread that defines how the motion will be executed on the attached machine. The Blend Motion check is normally on. The Blend Frequency check is normally on. The Blend Angle text box displays the current sine or cosine of the angle of deflection in which motion blending stops. The Simulate flag displays the current state of the simulation mode parameter.

10.4 Mechanism This tab shows the controls and settings related to the attached mechanism. The Home Mode button will toggle the home mode output sig-nal, the text box to it’s right displays the current status. The HomeZ button will cause the Z axis to be homed. The HomeXY will cause the X and Y axis to be homed. The Home button will cause the Z axis to home then the X and Y axis will be homed. The HomeStop button will stop the homing process. The ServoStart button will cause the necessary signals to en-able servo motors if attached. The ServoStop button will cause the necessary signals to dis-able servo motors if attached. The JogX, JogY and JogZ buttons are there to test the jogging functions. The Mech_Type text box displays the current status of the ma-chine type parameter. The Motor Type text box displays the current status of the mo-tor type parameter. The button to the right of the text box will toggle the motor type parameter. The Limit Switch Modes text box display the parameters that determine if the home limit switches are sensed engaged when high or low signals. The buttons beneath the text boxes will toggle the mode. The Step Size text boxes display the current step size for each axis. The Step/Rev display the number of steps per revolution for each axis motor.

10.6 USB IO This shows the communications to via the USB channel to the CamPod. The text boxes with the yellow backgrounds are used to count the communication error situations. USB errors are counted for all types of errors. Byte Cnt errors are when the byte count received does not equal what it should be. TimeOuts occur when the CamPod does not respond in a timely manner. Data Error is incremented when the echoed data does not match the data sent. Retrys is incremented when ever a CamPod motion command is retried. Cmmd error is incremented when the echoed command charac-ter does not match the one sent. Send error is incremented when the function to send a com-mand string finds a bad USB IO status. The channel is then recycled and the command is sent again. The Driver Test button displays the version of the USB driver in the text area. The USB CyclePort button causes the USB channel to be closed and then opened. The Clear Display button clears the text area. The Pod Freq text box displays the frequency reference of the CamPod. This is normally 5529600. The Tmr Interval text box displays the interval in of time in milliseconds that the CamPod is polled for machine position and status. This is normally fifty(50). The Clock Divider text box displays the amount the frequency reference is divide by in the CamPod. This is normally one(1).

10.7 CamPod Pin Signal Assignments 1 - Output - Home Mode, High when Homing the Machine 2 - Output - X Step, Normally Low 3 - Output - X Direction 4 - Output - Y Step, Normally Low 5 - Output - Y Direction 6 - Output - Relay A, Normally Low 7 - Output - Relay B, Normally Low 8 - Output - Z Step, Normally Low 9 - Output - Z Direction 10 - Input - XXX 11 - Input - X limit 12 - Input - Y limit 13 - Input - Z limit 14 - Output - *Enable, Low enables the Motor Drivers 15 - Input - Status or Servo Fault 16 - Output - +5 Volts 17 - Output - Hi Power, High when High Power should be ap-plied to Motors 18 through 25 - Ground, Signal Return

The Auto Link check is normally on, which cause the thread to automatically attempt to link to the CamPod on load. The Auto Poll check is normally on and causes the CamPod Control to start automatically polling the CamPod. The KBD to USB check is normally off, when on the keyboard can be used to communicate with the firmware monitor in the CamPod. The Init Pod button click will attempt to initialize the CamPod communications. The Close button will close the USB channel of communica-tions. The Stop Poll button will stop the polling action. The Start Poll button will start the polling action. The Ping button will send a ping command to the CamPod firmware. These controls are vestiges of developing the USB to CamPod communications protocol and firmware monitor.

11. Installing SuperCamXp First install SuperCamXp program then plug in the USB Cam-Pod. If the demonstration version of SuperCamXp has been previ-ously installed on the computer it is required that it be unin-stalled. This is done by going into the control panel and then clicking on the add or remove programs icon. It takes a few moments to build the list of installed programs. The list is in alphabetical order, scroll down the list until you find Super-CamXp. Click on the row and then the Change/Remove button. Completely uninstall the previous version of SuperCamXp. Install the SuperCamXp CD in the drive. Use the Windows explorer to browse the files on the CD. Normally there are three files, double click on the Setup.exe file. You will be presented with a list of dialog windows. Answer the questions to install the program in the default location on the hard drive of C:\Program Files\SuperCamXp. Clicking on the default setup questions does this. Once SuperCamXp is installed there will be an entry in the Pro-grams list for SuperCamXp. To create a desktop shortcut right click on the SuperCamXp entry and drag and drop on to the Desktop. Select Create Shortcut from the list of options pre-sented. When SuperCamXp is installed it puts the USB drivers for the CamPod in the C:\Program Files\SuperCamXp\USB_Drivers folder. After the program has been installed is when you need to install the drivers for the USB CamPod. Often the USB CamPod installs as a USB Serial Converter. This is not the correct way to have it installed. If this happens go into the Control Panel and click on the System Icon then the Hardware Devices button. Then Update the USB Serial Con-verter with the a driver found in the SuperCamXp\USB_Driver folder. The objective is to install the driver for a FTDI FT8U2XX Device. When SuperCamXp is install along with the driver the bottom

11.1 Installing USB Drivers The drivers for the USB IO module are copied to a folder upon installation of SuperCamXp. They are at: C:\program files\SuperCamXp\USB Drivers\

11.2 Removing SuperCamXp The removing SuperCamXp requires using the system control panel then the Add or Remove Programs icon. Find SuperCamXp in the list and then click on it. Then click on the Change/Remove button. Before installing new updates it is required that you remove the older version.

The info command will present the initial flash screen. Dis-played is the information about the installed release version of SuperCamXp. Clicking on SuperCamXp at the top right of the sidebar menu will also display the SuperCamXp Information flash screen.

12. Machine Setup SuperCamXp can be configured for many different machines. The Mconfig pull down menu is where the machine configuration parameters are accessed. Control-F on the keyboard will also present the Machine Con-figuration Dialog rolodex. Machine configurations are saved in a .DAT file when Super-CamXp is terminated. The default file for the machine configuration is MCHNCTRL.DAT. There is a backup of the original configuration file, it’s name is ORIGINAL.DAT. The Files pull down menu has Read Mconfig and Save Mconfig entries for reading a pre saved configuration or to save the cur-rent configuration. The last configuration files saved will be read on program load. The name of the last configuration file saved is remembered in the SuperCamXp.ini file. This configuration file name is fixed. 12.1 Machine Type There are three types of machines that can be configured, Rotating Spindle XYZ Torch XY Torch The Relay A will act differently for each type of machine. For Rotating Spindle relay A turns on at the beginning of tool path execution and of at the end of it. For XYZ Torch or XY Torch machines the Relay A is turned on at the beginning of each graphic items tool path execution and off at the end of it. 12.2 Motor Type There can be two different types of motors, Stepper Servo

The main difference is that when the Servo type motors are used the Servo Fault line is monitored during machine motion. 12.3 Step sizes Depending on the type of mechanical configure is what sets the step size. The step size is how far the machine will move for each step or increment of the axis motor. 12.3.1 Step Calculator There is a built in calculator for determining the step size for each axis of the machine. The step size is the results of how far the axis moves in one revolution of the motor, divided by how many steps it takes to make the motor rotate one complete revolution. Set the Steps/Revolution and the Movement/Revolution. Then click on the Calculate Step Sizes Button. The Step Sizes parameters will be set. 12.3.2 Step Size Fine Tuning There are times when the step size calculator does not exactly work. This can be caused by rack and pinion gear setups that the gear is not seated in the linear gear rack at the mechanical diameter. Test the machines movement at the maximum distance of movement. Tell the machine to move a measure distance. Divide the distance it was expected to move by the step size. This creates a very large number. With this number, which is the number of steps the motors made, divide the distance the machine actually moved. The result is the true step size. Put the true step size in the step size text box and test the move-ment again. The test moves should only exercise one of the axis.

The keyboard commands setxsize, setysize and setzsize com-mands accept decimal values fifteen(15) places to the right of the decimal point. 12.4 Rotation Direction This were the direction of the axis motors rotation is set for positive direction of movement. There are buttons for each axis, CW or CCW are the two possi-bilities. A mouse click on the button will change the direction of rotation for that axis. CW is Clockwise, CCW is Counter Clockwise. 12.4.1 Home Direction This is direction each axis must travel in to engage the home limit switches during the execution of the home command. INCR stands for increment, go in the direction that the axis coordinates get bigger. DECR stands for decrement, go in the direction that the axis coordinates get smaller. 12.5 Home Limit Switch Polarity The signal polarity for when the Home Limit switches are en-gaged can be configured. By clicking on the button for each axis. High means the limit switch will be considered engaged when the status line for that axis is at +V, about 5 Volts. Low means the limit switch will be considered engaged when the status line for that axis is at Ground, about 0 Volts. 12.5.1 Home Limit Switch Coordinate This is the coordinates of machine when the home limit switches are engaged. 12.5.2 Home Go To This is the coordinates of where the machine will go to after the proper home limit switches are engaged. 12.6 Maximum Starting Steps Per Second This is the maximum starting steps per second. It defines the maximum speeds. These parameters also define the speed which the machine exe-cutes the home command motions. 12.7 Maximum Steps Per Second This is the maximum steps per second that each axis can be moved at. It defines the maximum slew speed possible. 12.8 Maximum Acceleration

This parameter defines the maximum ramp value allowed. 12.9 Machine Limits This is where the mechanical limits of the attached machine are defined. 12.10 Motor Power Adjustments There pwrhi command sets the HIPWR signal, pin 17 on CamPod’s DB25 connector, to the motor controllers true. This is for making adjustments to the motor driver electronics to set the stepper motor phase currents. This has no effect for servo motor drivers. The pwrlo command will reset the HIPWR signal to idle cur-rent mode, which is low. The pwrhi and pwrlo are keyboard only commands.

13. Glossary of Commands Most common commands are executed by menu selection. At the command prompt in the Console Area, the commands can also be executed by typing them in at the keyboard. Most commands present are not commonly used. The bulk of the commands are used for saving and restoring configuration parameters. All commands prompt the user when necessary for the next action in the Console Area of the main screen. Commands fall into categories. 13.1 Commands in Alphabetical Order accum - This command is used to save and restore pa-rameters of accumulating small segments of movement. arc - Used to draw arc. Prompts for center, start angle, end angle, radius of arc. ArcCw - This command is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for arcs with Clockwise tool movement. Normally G02. ArcCcw - This command is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for arcs with Clockwise tool movement. Normally G03. array - Creates columns and rows of selected graphic items. background - Loads or unloads background .CAM files. Drawing is same color as grid and untouchable. Drawings of tooling fixtures put in the background can be used to make ma-chine setup easier. background_filename - Filename of .CAM file to be loaded into drawings background.

background_path - Path of .CAM file to be loaded into drawings background.

benchmark - Information about the motors is saved to the configuration file filename.ext with this command.

bmp - This command is for working with Windows type bitmap image files with the .BMP extension

bmp_path - Filename of .BMP file last worked with. bmp_filename - Path of .BMP file last worked with. camera - This command brings up form showing output of USB camera if a system camera is installed. change - This is under development, not functional. chgline - Changes any type line to a line, starts and stops at cut depth. chglndwn - Changes any type line to linedwn , start at surface, ends at cut depth. Creates 3 axis movements. chglnup - Changes any type line to lineup, starts at cut depth, ends at surface. Creates 3 axis movements. chgorder - Changes order of items in the drawing list. Select item to change, then item that it will occur after. This command enables the user to control the order of movements the mechanism will make. circle - Used to draw circles, prompts for center and ra-dius. clearbuf - Clears list of drawing items, as well as the screen. close - Close file that was opened and clears screen. colors - This command brings up a form for making changes to the colors used to display graphic items.

configfile - This command is used to save and restore filename and path of the machine configuration data file, which has the .DAT extension. copy - Select item or window of items to copy. Then prompts base point and offset. Cutting - This command is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for when cut-ting tool movement. Normally G01. debug - This command used for development. delays - This command brings up a form for making changes to the delays generated for tool path execution. deselect - Disables the motors on the mechanism, letting them be freely moved. down - Moves Z axis to spindle down location, surface plus Z depth. dump - This command used for development. dxf - Imports .DXF files. editcnc - Edits CNC G and M tool path files. editi - Edits the nodes of 2D lines. Turns arcs and circles into polylines. erase - Selects item to be erased from list in drawing buffer. If the mouse button is held down and moved more than ten pixels, selection of items is via an encapsulating window. If any part of the item is outside of the window, it will not be se-lected. Items in the list are removed without disturbing the or-der of the remaining items. exit - Exits the program. exp_cnc - Creates CNC G and M code. All items in the drawing are converted to tool path codes or items selected. Pecking to depth tool paths are generated. expdxf - Creates DXF files with .DXF extension. All items in the drawing are exported. exphpgl - Creates HPGL files with .PLT extension. All items in the drawing are exported. extend - Extends 2D lines. FileEnd - This command is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for ending the file. FileStart - This command is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for starting the file. font - Used to change text font file. File must have .SCF extension. The font files that can be accessed are: romanc, ro-mans, romand, romant, gothice, gothici, scripts, scriptc, txt, complex, monotxt, simplex, italic, italicc, italict. fontpath - Sets the directory path for the font files. gcode - Homes the attached mechanism gcode_verbose - This command is used to save and restore parameter that controls verbose commenting of G and M codes generated. gcodenum - This command is used to save and restore the parameter that controls if line numbers are going to be in-cluded in G and M code files. graphics_info - This command brings up a form for making changes to the colors used to display graphic items. There are also tabs for changing 3D Parameters, Grid and Snap, DXF, HPGL, G-Code, Export parameters.

grid - Defines on screen increment in inches between grid dots. This command is used to set the spacing. home - Homes the attached mechanism, but it must be first selected. First it moves to engage the Z axis limit switch then the X & Y limit switches. The speed of movement is con-

trolled by the setzmaxsss command for the Z axis and setx-maxsss command for the X & Y axis, the axis will move at maximum starting steps per second to find the table limits. Then moves to the location specified by the sethome command. homexy - Homes the attached X and Y mechanism. homez - Homes the attached Z axis mechanism. hpgl - Imports HPGL files with the .PLT extension. info - Displays program serial number and version in the console area of the main screen. inp_cnc - Imports G and M file. inp_dxf - Imports DXF file inp_hpgl - Imports HPGL file join - Joins lines that connect into one polyline, first se-lections order does not change. joystick - This is under development, not functional. It brings up form that shows digital output of the joystick if at-tached. lastfilecmmd - This command is used to save and re-store the last file command executed. Use not fully imple-mented. leadin - Creates lead in line to graphic items beginning node. leadout - Creates lead out line to graphic items ending node. limits - This command brings up a form for making changes to the limits of the attached machine. line - Used to draw lines on screen. Automatically creates polylines. Prompts for start, end. Enter/Space/Escape exits the input cycle. linedwn - Tool starts movement at surface ends at cut depth specified, by the zdepth command. Small Circle at the end of line indicates the deepest cut end. lineup - Tool starts at maximum depth, specified by the zdepth command, and ends at the surface of the material. list - Prompts for item to be selected, then displays item attributes. listfrnt - Moves selected item to first location in list of drawing items. maxaccel This command is used to save and restore the maximum acceleration parameters for the attached motors. mem - This command used for development. mconfig - This command brings up a form for making changes to the speeds. mirror - Used to create mirrored graphic items. motors - This command brings up a form for making changes to the parameters defining the motors attached. move - Select item or items with window, to move in Cartesian world, prompts select item, base point, offset. moveto - Move X&Y to user specified coordinates can use mouse as pointer or keyboard entry. @diff<angle. nop - Does nothing command. off - Turns off port bit for Relay A. Controls Plasma Torch or spindle motor. offa - Turns off Relay A port bit. offb - Turns off Relay B port bit. offset - Creates tool offsets for 2D polylines, arcs, circles and points. on - Turns on port bit for Relay A. Which in turn turns on the Plasma Torch or Spindle motor. ona - Turns on Relay A port bit. onb - Turns on Relay B port bit.

open - Read and display operator specified file. File must have .CAM extension. File is in ASCII format. origin - Sets origin location for machine where the ma-chine is at, is from hence considered 0,0. pan - Pans the view field display, base point, offset. Es-sentially, user selects a point on the screen and then selects where that point will be displayed after completion of pan com-mand. password - This command saves and restores the serial number password for the Motor Driver Box. plotbuff - Makes machine do all moves specified in list of items drawn. plotchar - Makes machine do moves required to com-plete the specified letter. plotitem - Makes machine do moves required by selected item. point - Used to draw single point, can be used to drill a pattern of holes. point_icon - This command saves and restores parame-ter that determines if point graphic items are displayed with a icon or not. PointDrill - This command is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for point drill functions. Prefix - This command is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for beginning the file. print - This command prints the graphics area on the system printer. pswdusb - This command saves and restores the serial number password for the USB interface module. pwrhi - Sets motor current to high, used for setting up electronics. pwrlo - Sets motor current to low idle state. readmcfg - Read machine configuration file, specified by user. recdist_start - This command saves and restores the distance of movement that will be down loaded to the CamPod Control program before initiating machine movement. redo - This will redo what was undone if that’s possible. Jogs and moveto movements can be undone and redone. redraw - Redraws drawing buffer to the graphics area of the screen. rotate - Changes the orientation of selected drawing items by user specified amount. save - Save .CAM file to present sub-directory, uses de-fault filename. saveas - Save ram buffer as user specified filename. savemcfg - Saves machine configuration parameters to user specified file. Default filename is mchnctrl.dat scale - Changes the selected drawing items size by speci-fied amount. screen - Saves and restores the current screens parame-ters. screenmax - Sets the screen to maximum size possible. screenmin - Sets the screen to minimum size possible. select - Enables stepper motors. SelectTool - This command is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for selecting the tool to be used. setarcdir - Sets the direction of movement for arc or circle drawing items. CW|CCW

setblend - Saves and restores the current parameters for the motion blending functions. setcolor - Sets the color to be used to draw all graphic items and the background color and grid color. setcolors - Sets the color to be used to draw all graphic items and the background color and grid color. setcomp - Sets each axis’s backlash value, the distance it must move to begin moving the carriage after a change in direc-tion. setcompflag - Sets anti backlash compensation flag if flag is set it will take into account the backlash distance when-ever a change in direction of movement occurs if flag is not set it will not consider the backlash distance. setcords - Sets the number of slices of pie a circle or arc will be divided into. Circles and Arcs are combinations of short lines. setcramp - Sets cut rate increment for slewing up to maximum cut movement speed. This controls the movement profile when the tool is down and cutting. With each step this number is added to the next subsequent steps speed. This con-trols the movement profile for when the tool is down and cut-ting material. setcslew - Sets maximum cut speed, this is the speed the mechanism will ramp up to. setcut - Sets speed of X & Y when the spindle is down cutting material. Movement continues at this speed if the ramp rate is zero. setdirdwell - Sets the dwell time in milliseconds that the machine will wait before changing directions. setdrag - Sets the drag mode flag used when editing drawing items. F5 is the hot key to toggle the mode. setdrawup - Sets the drawup flag, determines whether rapid traveling tool paths will be displayed. Shift-F2 has the same effect. setdweld - Sets the dwell time before the X & Y move-ment begins after the Z axis has reached it’s destination. Can be up to 10,000 milliseconds. setdwelu - Sets dwell time before Z axis starts up move-ment, at the end of an X & Y movement. setfinalcut - Sets final cut depth variable for plotbuff, during loading mechanism configuration. setgrid - Sets grid mode. sethmdir - Sets direction of movement for mechanism’s axis motors to move toward the limit switches. This command is only used during mechanical configuration. sethmloc - Sets limit switch location. sethome - Specifies location mechanism moves to after engaging all the limit switches. setHPinc - Sets the increments per inch the inp_hpgl command uses when importing a plot file. This can be used to scale a plot file size. 985 for CorelDraw, 1016 for AutoCAD. 3277 for importing files from MAC running CorelDraw 6.0. setincrcut - Sets the amount of incremental cut for plot-buff command. This command is only used during loading of mechanism configuration file. setinitdly - Sets the initial delay for each plotbuff or plotitem. Up to 10 seconds, variable is entered in milliseconds. setjog - Sets the jog distance for XY axis arrow keys. setjogz - User controls the increment of movement ma-chine will move the Z axis for PgDn and PgUp keys. setldloc - Sets material load location. setlmtflg - Set limit flag on or off. With this flag turned,

the program has no regard for mechanical limitations. Care should be used when turning this flag off. setlmtmd - Set the limit switch sense level, either high (+5V) or low (0V) at limit switch sense inputs on the Printer Parallel Port. The Y axis variable must be set to HIGH, if not the two Y motors will not synchronize. setmanualz - Sets manual or auto Z axis flag. Useful if Z axis is manual such as with a mill. When this is set to manual, the operator is prompted before each up and down movement of the spindle. setmech - Sets the mechanism type variable. setmlmt - Sets mechanism limits, a blue line is drawn on the screen to reflect these values. setmsurf - Sets material surface offset from zero. Mouse buttons control movement, the left key increments and the right key decrements the Z axis position. Enter/Space/Escape exits command. setmtrtype - Sets the motor type parameter, it can be either stepper or servo type motors. setortho - Sets the ortho flag. F8 toggles the ortho flag. setpath - Sets the path to files to be opened or saved. setpathdat - Sets the path to machine configuration data files. setpathdxf - Sets the path to DXF files to be opened or saved. setpathgcode - Sets the path to G and M files to be opened or saved. setpathhpgl - Sets the path to HPGL files to be opened or saved. setpixel - Sets pixel size, determines display window parameters. setramptm – Set the ramp time interval, for accelerating or decelerating stepper motors, .01 second is a good setting. setsnap - Sets distance between snap locations. setstartdly - Sets the delay time for enabling servo mo-tor driver modules. setstopdly - Sets the delay time for disabling the servo motor driver modules. setsxact - Sets the parameter that determines if the limit switches will stop machine motion when engaged or not. settoolwdth - Sets tool width, corresponding red circle is displayed during cutting movements. settramp - Sets travel rate increment for slewing up to maximum speed. settrvl - Set starting travel speed for X & Y, when spin-dle is up not cutting. If travel ramp is set to zero, the travel rate remains constant. settslew - Sets travel slew rate, fastest travel speed in/sec. setupdly - Saves and restores the delay made just before raising Z axis at the end of a cut. setupdxf - Brings up a dialog form for setting parame-ters pertaining to the importing of DXF files. setupgcode- Brings up a dialog form for setting pa-rameters pertaining to the importing of G and M code files. setuphpgl - Brings up a dialog form for setting parame-ters pertaining to the importing of HPGL files, which have a .PLT extension. setx - User can set X axis value for it's present location. setxdiri - Set direction of X motor to increment. setxmaxss - Set X axis maximum steps per second for slew speed. This parameter determines the maximum speed of

linear movement for mechanism applied by the stepxto com-mand, if set to high the mechanism may jam on high speed movements. setxmaxsss - Set X axis maximum steps per second to start any movement. This parameter determines the maximum starting speed of movement. setxsize - Sets X axis step size per motor step. This is used to configure a mechanism to the software. The step size can be defined to 15 places to the right of the decimal point. setxyloc - User can specify machines location in rela-tionship to drawing. Care should be used when using this com-mand, the mechanical limits are no longer valid. sety - Sets Y axis value for it's present location. setydiri - Set direction of Y motor, clockwise or counter clockwise, to cause incremental movement. setymaxss - Set Y axis maximum steps per second for slew speed. This parameter determines the maximum speed of linear movement for mechanism applied by the stepyto com-mand. If set to high the mechanism may jam on high speed movements. setymaxsss - Set Y axis maximum steps per second to start any movement. This parameter determines the maximum starting speed of movement. setysize - Sets Y axis step size per motor step. This is used to configure a mechanism to the software. The step size can be defined to 15 places to the right of the decimal point. setz - User can specify Z axis value for it’s present loca-tion. setzalt - Sets the altitude of the spindle above material surface, during none cutting moves. setzcut - Sets Z axis material penetration speed, from material surface to cut depth. setzcutrmp setzcutslw setzdiri - Set direction of Z motor for incremental move-ments. setzdpth - Sets Z axis cut depth. This determines the depth of the tool penetration into the material. setzlmt - Sets Z axis maximum limit. setzmaxss - Set maximum steps per second for slew speed. setzmaxsss - Set maximum steps per second to start Z axis at. setzsize - Sets Z axis step size per motor step. This is used to configure a mechanism to the software. The step size can be defined to 15 places to the right of the decimal point. setztrvl - Sets Z axis travel speed, when above the mate-rial surface. setztrvlrmp - Sets Z axis travel ramp increment. setztrvlslw - Sets Z axis travel slew speed. simulate - Saves and restores the simulate on/off pa-rameter. snap - Defines snap increment in inches. speeds - This command brings up a form for making changes to the speeds used for tool path execution. SpindleOn - Thiscommand is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for turning the spindle on. SpindleOff - Thiscommand is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for turning the spindle off. status3D - Displays 3D view parameters.

stepx - Moves Y motor to offset from present location, keyboard entry only. stepxto - Steps X axis. Mouse left key increments, right key decrements, keyboard Enter/Space/Escape exits command. The setxmaxss controls how fast the X axis will speed up to. stepy - Moves Y motor to offset from present location, keyboard entry only. stepyto - Steps Y axis. Mouse left key increments, right key decrements, keyboard Enter/Space/Escape exits command. The setymaxss controls how fast the Y axis will speed up to. stepz - Moves Z motor to offset from present location, keyboard entry only. stepzto - Steps Z axis. Mouse left key increments, right key decrements, keyboard Enter/Space/Escape exits command. surface - Moves Z axis to material surface offset from zero location. swapend - Swaps start and end points on selected lines. This controls the direction of cut. text - Used to draw text. The text height can be specified by the user. textctr - Used to draw text above a center point. The text height and width ratio can be specified by the user. textfit - Used to draw text above a center point. The text height and width ratio can be specified by the user. Travel - - Thiscommand is used to save and restore the text that will be used in generating G-code files for making rapid travel moves. Normally G00. trim - This command uses graphic items to act as trim-ming edges for editing other graphic items. undo - Will undo the last command. The Control-z from the keyboard will do the samething. units - Sets measuring units, inches or mm, cm. Adjusts table setup for different size units. up - Moves the Z axis to spindle up at altitude location, just above the material to be cuts surface. viewmode - Saves and restores the view mode parame-ter, which determines if multi or single graphic views are pre-sented to the user. viewport1 - Saves and restores view port 1’s parameters. viewport2 - Saves and restores view port 1’s parameters. viewport3 - Saves and restores view port 1’s parameters. viewport4 - Saves and restores view port 1’s parameters. x - Use the mouse keys to jog the carriage or keyboard to enter axis destination. The ‘\’ key will zero the axis. xyzero - Moves the machine’s X and Y axis to 0,0. y - Use the mouse keys to jog the carriage or keyboard to enter axis destination. The ‘\’ key will zero the axis. z - Use the mouse keys to jog the carriage or keyboard to enter axis destination. The ‘\’ key will zero the axis. zmax - Moves machine Z axis to full up position. zeroxy - Moves carriage to the X & Y zero location. zeroz - Sets the current Z axis location to be equal to zero coordinate position. zoom - Saves and restores display parameters, displays current display settings on keyboard execution. zoomc - Zoom center view field to user specified height, the user selects the center of the next field of view, then selects the height of that view field. zoomi - Zooms in. zooml - Sets view port equal to the machine limits. zoomo - Zooms out.

zoomp - Zooms to previous view point parameters. zoomw - Zoom window, sets view field to user specified window.

14. Sample Files These are the files that are included with SuperCamXp upon installation. Sample files are installed at: C:\Program Files\SuperCamXp\Samples\

14.1 Cam Files Files in the SuperCam file format. Accessed by Files|Open. Angel1.cam Angel1a.cam Girl1.cam Noname.cam Test_Torch.cam Xyyb-t.cam

Angel1.cam Angel1a.cam

Girl1.cam Noname.cam

14.5 G & M Code Files NC files came from DeskProto and ArtCam. Perfume.cnc Torso3.cnc Torso.cnc

14.2 BMP Files Bit map image files. Windows type configuration. Access by Files|BMP Babe.bmp Pixel Size 0.025 Location X,Y 2.5,4.0 Detent .005 Max Depth 0.025 Rotate off Clip on Pixelize on Brit.bmp Pixel Size 0.04 Location X,Y 2.5,4.0 Detent .005 Max Depth 0.025 Rotate off Clip on Pixelize off Butts.bmp Pixel Size 0.04 Location X,Y 1.5,4.0 Detent .005 Max Depth 0.025 Rotate off Clip on Pixelize on Jesus01.bmp Pixel Size 0.035 Location X,Y 3.5,4.5 Detent .005 Max Depth 0.025 Rotate off Clip off Pixelize on Test.bmp Pixel Size 0.05 Location X,Y 5.5,3.0 Detent .005 Max Depth 0.125 Rotate off Clip off Pixelize off

14.3 DXF Files Drawing Exchange Files following AutoCad Format. Angel1.dxf Xyzgsd.dxf

14.4 PLT files HPGL files came from CorelDraw. Floral10.plt Girl.plt

Babe.cam

Brit.cam

Butts.cam

Jesus01.cam

test.cam

Angel1.dxf Xyzgsd.dxf

Floral10.plt Girl.plt

Perfume.cnc Torso3.cnc

Torso.cnc

build userguide 02 - super tech · 12.10 motor power adjustments ... initially letting the spindle...

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