V3.4 z axis control improvements, selectable baud rate, dwell/coolant…

… fix, decimal precision reduction to fit grbl line buffer and many other changes

GcodeSenderGUIthreads.pro

@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ SOURCES += main.cpp\
     lineitem.cpp \
     itemtobase.cpp \
     arcitem.cpp \
-    pointitem.cpp
+    pointitem.cpp \
+    controlparams.cpp
 
 HEADERS  += mainwindow.h \
     rs232.h \
@@ -50,7 +51,8 @@ HEADERS  += mainwindow.h \
     itemtobase.h \
     arcitem.h \
     pointitem.h \
-    termiosext.h
+    termiosext.h \
+    controlparams.h
 
 FORMS    += mainwindow.ui \
     options.ui \

GrblController.iss

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 ; SEE THE DOCUMENTATION FOR DETAILS ON CREATING INNO SETUP SCRIPT FILES!
 
 #define MyAppName "Grbl Controller"
-#define MyAppVersion "3.3.9"
+#define MyAppVersion "3.4"
 #define MyAppPublisher "Zapmaker"
 #define MyAppURL "http://zapmaker.org"
 #define MyAppExeName "GrblController.exe"
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ AllowNoIcons=yes
 LicenseFile=C:\dev\github\GrblHoming\winlicense.txt
 InfoBeforeFile=C:\dev\github\GrblHoming\wininfobefore.txt
 InfoAfterFile=C:\dev\github\GrblHoming\wininfoafter.txt
-OutputBaseFilename=GrblController339Setup
+OutputBaseFilename=GrblController34Setup
 Compression=lzma
 SolidCompression=yes
 

README

@@ -20,6 +20,40 @@ build from source.
 Details on how to do this can be found here:
 http://zapmaker.org/
 
+V3.4
+Enhancements
+- Z-axis slider now allows rapid control of Z-axis positioning. This feature is still
+  being evaluated for proper behavior due to some user-interface issues.
+  If you run into trouble, please report a bug.
+- All axis control buttons have been permanently enabled regardless of whether or not an
+  axis command is in progress - this allows more rapid updating. Note - there is no error
+  checking for the case of entering too many commands for the Grbl buffer. This is unlikely
+  but possible.
+- Now supports setting of baud rates from 9600 to 115200
+- Aggressive preload enabled is now the default. If the user upgraded from an older 
+  Grbl Controller and had it disabled, a popup will warn them that it is being enabled. 
+  They still have the option to disable, if desired
+- Logging is turned on by default (only for new installs)
+- All detected errors are collected and displayed after a file is run in the status view
+- If filtering unsupported commands, all commands filtered out are listed after the file
+  is run.
+- Logging now gives the line number of each command sent from the file and the corresponding
+  ok or error also contains the line number.
+- An option has been provided to reduce the precision of lines that exceed Grbl's line buffer,
+  which by default is 50 characters. The code removes the arguments with the greatest precision
+  first and ending with at least one decimal place of precision. Errors are generated if it 
+  cannot remove sufficient precision for the available buffer space. The buffer size on Grbl
+  is configurable in the options, as older Grbls have 50 characters and newer have 70.
+
+Bug Fixes
+- If Grbl stops responding (waiting for an ok), Soft Reset Grbl now functions correctly 
+  (so you can soft reset without having to restart Grbl Controller). This affects aggressive
+  preload mode only.
+- Commands to start/stop coolant coupled with dwell commands and aggressive preload cause
+  Grbl's modal logic to stop sending OK responses (on purpose). This was solved by waiting
+  for the OK of the coolant off before sending additional commands. It is not clear whether
+  this fixes all possible such modal problems, so use carefully and report any anomalies.
+
 V3.3.9
 Enhancement
 - We now are able to remember and restore ports that are not visible to QextSerialEnumerator

TODO

@@ -1,25 +1,21 @@
 This file contains enhancements the developer and user community would like to see:
 
-Planned for 3.4:
-- Detect machine state at end of run and display it properly (i.e. "transitioning" when it is still moving)
-- Make aggressive preload default. Tell user if not using it to offer to switch over.
+
+Planned for 3.4.1:
+- Qt5 builds
+
+Planned for 3.5:
+- (What is the problem here? Run is shown, then Idle when stopped) Detect machine state at end of run and display it properly (i.e. "transitioning" when it is still moving)
 - Every second or so, if not scrolled to bottom, scroll to bottom of status
 - Allow reload of same file from same location
-- Collect all detected errors and display them at the end after a file run, including line that caused error
 - After a run, suppress $$ output with a single line
 - Report system settings at beginning of log file. Include OS.
-- Turn log on by default
 - Can't see drill holes under axis, move axes under toolpaths?
 - Create test plan (i.e. verify all text appears correctly on all platforms)
 - Display detected version of Grbl
-- Faster jog button-to-motion response
-- Allow stacking jog actions
-- Support other baud rates
 - Speed limit for X and Y like the Z speed limit
-- Trim excess precision when line length maxes out at 50 characters (make it an option)
-- Allow manual entry of port number
 
-Planned for 3.5:
+Planned for 3.6:
 - Implement support for Grbl 0.8c "homing" feature (using limit switches)
 - UI support for homing limit switches
 - Restore "Tool change" feature, including popup dialog
@@ -29,7 +25,7 @@ Planned for 3.5:
 - Analyze file ahead of time and determine if it will go beyond extents
 - Update manual since 3.3
 
-Planned for 3.6
+Planned for 3.7
 - Switch to compiling using Qt 5
 - Auto-scale widgets to full screen size
 - Localization ready code

controlparams.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#include "controlparams.h"
+
+ControlParams::ControlParams()
+    :    waitTime(LONG_WAIT_SEC), zJogRate(DEFAULT_Z_JOG_RATE),
+            useMm(true), zRateLimit(false), zRateLimitAmount(DEFAULT_Z_LIMIT_RATE),
+            xyRateAmount(DEFAULT_XY_RATE),
+            useAggressivePreload(false), filterFileCommands(false),
+            reducePrecision(false), grblLineBufferLen(DEFAULT_GRBL_LINE_BUFFER_LEN)
+{
+}

controlparams.h

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#ifndef CONTROLPARAMS_H
+#define CONTROLPARAMS_H
+
+#include "definitions.h"
+
+#define SHORT_WAIT_SEC 2
+#define LONG_WAIT_SEC  100
+
+class ControlParams
+{
+public:
+    ControlParams();
+
+public:
+    int waitTime;
+    double zJogRate;
+    bool useMm;
+    bool zRateLimit;
+    double zRateLimitAmount;
+    double xyRateAmount;
+    bool useAggressivePreload;
+    bool filterFileCommands;
+    bool reducePrecision;
+    int grblLineBufferLen;
+};
+
+#endif // CONTROLPARAMS_H

coord3d.cpp

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "coord3d.h"
 
 Coord3D::Coord3D()
-    : x(0.0), y(0.0), z(0.0)
+    : x(0.0), y(0.0), z(0.0), stoppedZ(true), sliderZIndex(0)
 {
 }
 

coord3d.h

@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ class Coord3D
     float x;
     float y;
     float z;
+    bool stoppedZ;
+    int sliderZIndex;
 };
 
 Q_DECLARE_METATYPE ( Coord3D )

definitions.h

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 #define DEFAULT_Z_LIMIT_RATE    100.0
 #define DEFAULT_XY_RATE         2000.0
 
+#define DEFAULT_GRBL_LINE_BUFFER_LEN    50
+
 #define MM_IN_AN_INCH           25.4
 #define PRE_HOME_Z_ADJ_MM       5.0
 
@@ -35,7 +37,7 @@
 #define OPEN_BUTTON_TEXT                "Open"
 #define CLOSE_BUTTON_TEXT               "Close / Reset"
 
-#define GRBL_CONTROLLER_NAME_AND_VERSION    "Grbl Controller 3.3.9"
+#define GRBL_CONTROLLER_NAME_AND_VERSION    "Grbl Controller 3.4"
 
 #define LOG_MSG_TYPE_DIAG       "DIAG"
 #define LOG_MSG_TYPE_STATUS     "STATUS"