Plotter

Plotter Tutorial

To add a live G-code plotter, add a QWidget or QFrame and name it plot_widget.

Controls

If you’re using a touch-screen, add pan, zoom, and rotate controls for the plotter

Display Controls

Control	Widget	Object Name
Rotate View Up	QPushButton	view_rotate_up_pb
Rotate View Down	QPushButton	view_rotate_down_pb
Rotate View Left	QPushButton	view_rotate_left_pb
Rotate View Right	QPushButton	view_rotate_right_pb
Pan View Up	QPushButton	view_pan_up_pb
Pan View Down	QPushButton	view_pan_down_pb
Pan View Left	QPushButton	view_pan_left_pb
Pan View Right	QPushButton	view_pan_right_pb
Zoom View In	QPushButton	view_zoom_in_pb
Zoom View Out	QPushButton	view_zoom_out_pb

The following controls set-predefined views

Display Views

Control	Widget	Object Name
View Perspective	QPushButton	view_p_pb
View X	QPushButton	view_x_pb
View Y	QPushButton	view_y_pb
View Y2	QPushButton	view_y2_pb
View Z	QPushButton	view_z_pb
View Z2	QPushButton	view_z2_pb

To clear the Live plot

Display Functions

Control	Widget	Name
Clear Live Plot	QPushButton	view_clear_pb

Display

The DRO overlaid onto the plotter can be customized by turning on or off various features. Use either a QCheckbox or a Menu to toggle these

Display Checkbox Options

Function	Widget	Object Name
View DRO	QCheckBox	view_dro_cb
View Machine Limits	QCheckBox	view_limits_cb
View Extents Option	QCheckBox	view_extents_option_cb
View Live Plot	QCheckBox	view_live_plot_cb
View Velocity	QCheckBox	view_velocity_cb
Use Metric Units	QCheckBox	view_metric_units_cb
View Program	QCheckBox	view_program_cb
View Rapids	QCheckBox	view_rapids_cb
View Tool	QCheckBox	view_tool_cb
View Lathe Radius	QCheckBox	view_lathe_radius_cb
View Distance to Go	QCheckBox	view_dtg_cb
View Offsets	QCheckBox	view_offsets_cb
View Overlay	QCheckBox	view_overlay_cb

Note

Don’t set the checked property to checked in Qt Designer as this is already handled in the code. Once you check an option it is remembered.

Menu

The following menu items can set display options. Menu Name is what you type when creating the Menu, then press enter. All the items are checkbox type menu items that stay coordinated with the checkbox of the same option.

Plot Menu Options

Function	Menu Name	Object Name
View DRO	DRO	actionDRO
View Machine Limits	Limits	actionLimits
View Extents Option	Extents Option	actionExtents_Option
View Live Plot	Live Plot	actionLive_Plot
View Velocity	Velocity	actionVelocity
Use Metric Units	Metric Units	actionMetric_Units
View Program	Program	actionProgram
View Rapids	Rapids	actionRapids
View Tool	Tool	actionTool
View Lathe Radius	Lathe Radius	actionLathe_Radius
View Distance to Go	DTG	actionDTG
View Offsets	Offsets	actionOffsets
View Overlay	Overlay	actionOverlay

Note

Once a view selection has been set, Flex GUI remembers it.

The live plot can be cleared from the menu with this menu item.

Plot Menu

Function	Menu Name	Object Name
Clear Live Plot	Clear Live Plot	actionClear_Live_Plot

DRO

The font size can be set in the ini file by adding in the [DISPLAY] section DRO_FONT_SIZE = n where n is an integer. The default size is 12.