Programming Mach3 screens

**Lee Roberts** · 15-01-2009

Originally Posted by Smiler

Oh well, looks like another learning curve to climb

Did you ever get anywhere with programming your own mach3 screen Jeff?

I also found a guy showing how to make touch plates and i'm postive he also provides his own custom mach3 screens you can download and install.

Just wondering if they would help you as you could open them up and look at how he has made his?

**Smiler** · 15-01-2009

Originally Posted by Lee Roberts

Did you ever get anywhere with programming your own mach3 screen Jeff?

Well, yes and no. I haven't done anything more on the video zero'ing, I think I can modify the code for my touch probe to do what I need. However, I have been dabbling in modifying the default Mach screens and it is quite easy to do if not without glitches.

When my program calls for a tool change, the router could be in a very inconvenient place to actually change the tool so I wanted to have the router retract to Z0 (machine coords), move to a default point, wait for a tool change, return to where the M6 was called and then continue on. It turned out to be fairly easy to accomplish and I also added a manual button on the program run screen to change the tool manually if the machine is in a stop or idle condition. Mach needs a better screen designer desperately, Many times I had written code into a button, saved it, only to find it hadn't saved and the old code was still there or worse, nothing at all.

I'm having lots of fun getting further into Mach, it's a very powerful and flexible program.

Jeff.

**Robin Hewitt** · 16-01-2009

I have one of those cheap digital microscopes, the one with the focus ring. It has a very positive clip mount which I could put on as a permanent attachment.

It will superimpose a 640x480 24 bit colour windows bitmap but I'm having trouble making the background transparent. Cross hairs aren't a lot of good if you can't make the background transparent

The image pops up in a seperate window which would work fine positioning with the pendant.

This is the date off a 5p coin taken from a safe distance...

**Smiler** · 16-01-2009

That's a very crisp image Robin, never thought of using one of those microsopes:o

Mach superimposes the crosshairs on your video, you can also superimpose the tool diameter you will use too so you can calculate the offset. It's quite a clever system and would benefit from automating like the touch probe edge/centre-finder.

How much did you pay for the microscope if you don't mind me asking?

Jeff.