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Software and Information for Machinists |
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G-Wizard User Guide
G-Wizard G-Code Editor
Overview
The G-Wizard G-Code Editor, "GWizardE" or just "GWE" from here on, is the second module in the G-Wizard series. The first was, of course, the G-Wizard Calculator.
GWizardE combines an editor for g-codes with a toolpath simulator so you can see what your g-codes are doing. It also includes some other tools designed to help you learn g-codes and to make it easier to edit and create new g-code programs. At this stage, it is not quite ready for Beta test. I've created this page to provide a sneak preview, and I expect the free Beta test (open to anyone who signs up) will be available in the next 30 to 60 days.
If you're using G-Wizard Calculator, you'll get a notification when GWizardE is available for test!
Click here to make sure you're on the Beta list if you're not already a G-Wizard Calculator user:
Meanwhile, this page will serve as a sort of blog to keep you in the loop on progress. Like a blog, more recent developments appear at the top.
Basic Screen Layout Revised
7/27/10
I've made a number of tweaks to the screen layout to make it better than the older prototype. In particular, the Line Gutter is new, the tabs and buttons are much more coherent, and there are various cosmetic touches. Below are a few details:
The different elements of GWE are called out in the screen shot above:
- Menus: Just what you'd expect. Tools is where you go for various transformations on the g-code, Backplot for special options on the graphical backplot, and Insert gives you menu equivalents for the Insert buttons on the G-Code tools. The File and Edit menus are standard fare. Many of the menu choices are not working yet and keyword shortcuts are scarce.
- Login Bar: This is the same component found in the G-Wizard Calculator. In fact, where possible, I am sharing components, which is cool because you learn how they work once and can use the functionality in all the products.
- Tool Bar: This is the standard sort of tools. I will likely add some less standard ones over time as the G-Code Tool Bar is nearly full with insert and simulator functionality.
- Views: There are a number of different kinds of Views that are accessible from these two tab clusters. The views on the right are different perspectives from which to view the backplot. On the left are different views of the G-Code Program. There is the text itself, under "G-Code", the Hints, and an overall Info view. More on each one below.
- Line Gutter: This is an important tool for providing concise additional information about each line, as well as to tell you what the overall line number is.
- Status Bar: A few bits of incidental information such as the Line Number (in case you're looking at some view other than the G-Code), and the cursor coordinates when it is over the Backplot.
Let's look at some of these different regions in a little more detail below.
Line Gutter
Beyond showing you the line numbers, the Line Gutter provides a couple of other kinds of interesting information:
Lines that have errors are highlighted in Red, so you can scan down the gutter and find them quickly...
Let your mouse cursor hover over a line, and a Tool Tip pops up giving you the Hint for the line. In this case, we can see quite a lot of info about Line 0013, including the fact that the Error is that G4 (Dwell) is not available. That just means GWE doesn't know what to do with it yet.
G-Code View
G-Code view is just a basic text editor. No surprises here!
Hints View
Hints View shows you a quick explanation of what the g-code does...
Hints View shows you a quick explanation of what the g-code on each line does. It's a great learning tool, as well as a way to see some deeper information about what's going on. Doesn't everyone learn to read G-Code pretty quickly? Sure, reading something like "G0 X0Y0" is pretty easy. But, what about that canned cycle you use once in a blue moon. What exactly where it's arguments again? With Hints View, you can be reminded instantly what's going on. Note that the Hint where the cursor in the G-Code view is gets a heavy black outline. If you're running the g-code simulator, you can leave Hints View up and the outline tells you which line is currently executing too.
Info View
Info View gives quick summary information about your G-Code program...
Info View gives quick summary information about your G-Code program:
- What are the maximum extents (travels) of the various axes? In the screen shot, the X-axis stays in the range from 0 to 11 inches.
- What ranges of spindle rpms and feedrates are used? In the example, the spindle runs at 1600 rpm the whole program, and the feedrate ranges from 3.5 to 7 IPM.
- The Code Types pane breaks down how many of each kind of code are encoded in the program. This program has 2 errors (we saw one up above), 185 G-codes of all kinds, 13 M-codes, 1241 XYZ moves of which the shortest was 0 distance (hmmm, have to look at that one), 858 arcs specified by IJK and no arcs specified with R (radius), and so on.
G-Code Wizards
Okay, let's say you're ready to write a g-code program. You can just start typing it in, or you can use the G-Code Wizards to help. You invoke the G-Code Wizards in one of 3 ways:
- Via the Insert Menu
- Via the Insert Buttons on the Tool Bar
- Via the keystroke shortcuts:
Ctrl + G for G-Codes
Ctrl + M for M-Codes
Ctrl + S for Speeds n' Feeds (Ctrl + F is Find/Replace)
Ctrl + T for Tool Change
Ctrl + 3 for a macro #-Variable or other macro help. Note that Ctrl+3 can be remembered as Ctrl+# for "#-var". Just don't try to use the Shift key!
The Wizards are set up so you can click along with a mouse, but if you close your eyes you can also really fly on the keyboard very naturally.
Let's look at each type of Wizard to see how they work.
G- and M-Code Wizards
The majority of your Wizard use will likely be with the G- and M-Code Wizards. Just hit Ctrl+G or Ctrl+M and up the Wizard pops:
The G- and M-Code Wizard...
There are several things going on in that screen shot. First, at the top, are a series of buttons to help you navigate through the long list of codes. You can switch between G- and M- codes in cases you started out with the wrong bunch or just want to double check that what you want isn't on the other list. You can then narrow down your search with the categories such as "Motion" or "Canned" G-Codes. Or you can scroll the the list and look at what's available.
If you know the code, you can just type it and the list will scroll right to that code. Let's say I want a G73 drilling cycle. From the editor, I type Ctrl+G and then "73" and I'm there:
I'm still just looking at the G73 and neighboring codes. The "Notes" section gives me some more detail to think about, such as the idea that I might prefer G82 for deeper holes.
Next, I either hit <Enter> on the keyboard or click the "Insert" button to move ahead:
This is the parameter breakdown for G73, and this is where it starts to get interesting. So far, the Wizard has helped me to find the G-Code I want, but that's not that hard. Now I am getting full help on filling out the parameters for that code. I know which parameters it accepts, which ones are required, which ones are optional, and what they do. So I start entering some parameters:
As I enter parameters, they turn green to show which ones will actually be used. Last thing is to hit <Enter> or click "Insert" and I'm done:
G73 with a R(etract) and Q (Peck) inserted and the editor is ready for the next G-Code.
Speeds n' Feeds Wizard
Of course given G-Wizard Calculator, you'd expect the Speeds n' Feeds Wizard to be pretty cool, right? Actually, it starts out boring:
The goal on these Wizards is to get out of your way quickly if you know what you want, but to step up as needed. In this case, we have the "Calculator" button. Press it and here is what you'll get:
If you're a licensed G-Wizard Calculator user, you get the full Calculator Feeds and Speeds capabilities...
If you're a licensed G-Wizard Calculator user, you get the full Calculator Feeds and Speeds capabilities. This is one of many places where functionality from G-Wizard Calculator is made accessible in G-Wizard Editor. So, fill in your parameters for let's say a 1/4" endmill doing a full slot in some 6061 aluminum:
The parameters are in and fed through to the S and F words for a Feeds and Speeds code entry. Note that you can configure your machine profile with your machine's spindle HP, max rpm, max feedrate and so on, just like in the Calculator. In fact, if you configured the profile in the Calculator, the Editor will pick it up. At this point, we can hit <Enter> or click "Insert" and we'll see the code in the editor:
Pretty easy, eh?
Tool Change Wizard
The Tool Change Wizard, like Feeds and Speeds Wizard, takes advantage of some of the functionality that was built for the Calculator. It starts like this:
Note that the Wizard is ready to enter 4 different operations relating to the tool change:
- Tool Selection, with the "T" word.
- A comment describing the tool.
- The M06 that actually causes the Tool Changer to put the selected tool into the spindle.
- The G43 + "H" parameter needed for Tool Length compensation.
You can select your tool with the Numeric Stepper or by selecting from the Tool Crib. You can see what the G-Codes will look like in the preview (where it says, "Line 1:", etc.). And, you can turn each of the 4 components on or off with the check boxes if you don't want all of them.
The part that is borrowed from the Calculator is the Tool Crib function. Clicking "Choose from Crib" gives the following:
The list is drawn from the Tool Crib definitions you create in the Calculator, or from the Tool Crib defined in the Editor under the "Machine" button. Tool Crib definition looks identical in the Calculator and the Editor, and if you have both installed, the Cribs are shared between the two. You can define multiple Cribs, so it only makes sense to create one for what's in your toolchanger, one for what's in the cart next to the machine, and so on.
If we finish the selection, it looks like this:
Notice that the name from the Tool Crib is automatically inserted into the comment.
Macro Wizards
Macros are not going to be available in the early alpha versions of the Editor, so I won't spend time documenting them yet.
Spend a little time playing with the Wizards. Try bringing them up entirely from the keyboard as well as using the mouse. Notice how they guide you and try to save you some keystrokes.
First Video
6/12/10
I've been spending a lot of my programming time on it (though the Calculator continues to get new features too, watch for another one tomorrow!), and it is starting to bear fruit. Here is a very grainey early demo video of it that shows off a few of the basic features working:
G-Wizard G-Code Editor...
Sorry for the lousy quality of the video, I was having some problems matching the resolution of the screen capture against my machine and didn't have time to iron that all out. The Editor is not ready to release for testing yet. There are still too many bugs and not enough features. I like to make my software at least a little bit useful before I turn it loose on the unsuspecting world. But, I thought you might enjoy an early preview of what's coming!
The primary goal for the early version of the editor I will make available to testers will be basic g-code editing plus features that make it super easy for newcomers to learn G-Code. Towards that end, you can see things like the Hint view that translates the G-Code to simple English line by line. After this early version is available with solid simulation and education features, I'll start to add the power user features. I have some ideas for some very cool features that haven't been seen before that I think everyone will really like.
If you want to be sure not to miss the opportunity to try the G-Code editor, be sure to sign up for the Calculator Beta Test. Everyone there will get email telling them when the Editor is available for test and how to go about installing it.
First Screen Shots
6/1/10
Meanwhile, here are a few older screen shots to let you know what it's all about:
A nice flower toolpath generated by SpiroCNC from CNCZone. Red represents rapids movement (G0) while green is movement at cutting (feed) speeds...
A panel engraving toolpath for one of my projects showing the perspective view...
The Hints Tab is a unique feature of GWizardE. It gives you a human readable translation of what the rather cryptic g-codes are doing. Over time I'll add even more information to the hint (what are the coordinates of the circle center for that G02/03, for example). This should help newbies come up to speed on g-codes as well as help when you forget a seldom-used g-code. Note there is also a quick hint under the toolpath simulation. It shows the meaning of whatever line of g-code the cursor is on.
That's all for now folks. I'll keep you posted on progress!