[mikemaat]

Hey all, would just like to introduce you to a project I've been working on. In the next few weeks I will be releasing "Mach Pendant" which is an iOS (iPad, and later iPhone) pendant for Mach3 run machines. Basically, the iPad connects to the Mach3 computer through wifi and is able to control most major functions of Mach. The way it works, is a small server applet is installed on the mach pc and acts as a middle man for the communication. So far in testing it doesn't seem to take up much in terms of system resources. The Mach Pendant app also includes a webcam viewer that you can hook into a webcam stream to visually monitor your machine. Lastly, you can also load a gcode file straight to your mach machine from your iOS device (i.e. opening a gcode file in dropbox you can "send to" Mach Pendant which will ask if you want to load it into your mach machine).

My main motivation for building this application is so that I can sit upstairs and watch TV, while watching my mill at the same time. That being said, this app will be useful for many people - like guys with router/plasma tables, you could walk around your machine and jog the axis' without having a wired pendant. Or shop managers can monitor a mill from across the shop, etc.

Features include:
- Spindle speed DRO
- Increase & decrease spindle speed
- Spindle select CW or CCW
- Feed rate DRO
- Increase & decrease feed rate
- Tool number DRO
- Auto tool zero button
- Flood & mist buttons
- Step mode selection (continuous or step)
- Jog controls including "hold to jog" (X,Y,Z,A)
- Jog increment for step mode
- MDI input
- X,Y,Z,A DRO's with zero buttons
- Stop, cycle start, feed hold, reset buttons
- Send gcode file (dropbox, email, etc.) straight to mach and auto load it
- Watch machine through webcam stream

Anyway, im just finishing up on some bug checking, etc. I have intentions of releasing it sometime in the next couple weeks, stay tuned here for info. Also, although its under construction, here is the website im working on for it. http://www.machpendant.com

[diyengineer]

pretty awesome project!!

[Spinnetti]

Nice!

[bill south]

Looking forward to using this Mike!
Bill

[mike2768]

Wow this is great, please keep us up to date. I'll be in for sure.

[concombrefrais]

This is freaking awesome! I hope it works well...Can you give us a price range? And yes, an android app would be great. Android is growing fast and I personally prefers it to ios (though ios is less buggy)
C.

[mikemaat]

Coming along well, almost there. Thinking about whether I want to release iphone/ipad at the same time or just start with ipad. In order to recoup my time and costs for the apple developer subscription I'll have to charge a bit. I'm thinking maybe 10 bucks? Would that be acceptable?

[Dr.Fiero]

Coming along well, almost there. Thinking about whether I want to release iphone/ipad at the same time or just start with ipad. In order to recoup my time and costs for the apple developer subscription I'll have to charge a bit. I'm thinking maybe 10 bucks? Would that be acceptable?

iPad first is great in my eyes! More screen real estate to work with.

And $10 might seem high at first, but lets face it - it's a narrower market than the 10 million people who want to throw pigs at birds (or whatever that game entails.... sigh...) for $0.99.
Gotta make your time worthwhile. And be motivated enough to keep it updated etc.

Look forward to seeing it in action!

[derek]

Web page looks great so far.
Make sure you price it high enough that you will stay interested in development and bug fixes. I hate when someone comes out with something cool like this and then it dies off.

Will it be able to control multiple machines easily? Sometimes I have as many a 3 machines running at a time. Having one pendant for all three would be awesome. This could be a good revenue stream for you as well. Base price is one machine. Then in app purchase for additional modules. Make the video module separate as well. I don't think you need a lot of bells and whistles for the base model. I would much rather pay for the options I need.

How bad is the lag? I played around with a VNC server and client on my iphone and jogging was futile at best and occasionally down right scary. Not to be harsh but if you can't safely jog with it it's more of a monitoring device than a pendant.

Looks great and I hope it works out because I've been looking for a reason to buy an ipad and this would seal the deal!

Derek

[mikemaat]

Web page looks great so far.
Make sure you price it high enough that you will stay interested in development and bug fixes. I hate when someone comes out with something cool like this and then it dies off.

Will it be able to control multiple machines easily? Sometimes I have as many a 3 machines running at a time. Having one pendant for all three would be awesome. This could be a good revenue stream for you as well. Base price is one machine. Then in app purchase for additional modules. Make the video module separate as well. I don't think you need a lot of bells and whistles for the base model. I would much rather pay for the options I need.

How bad is the lag? I played around with a VNC server and client on my iphone and jogging was futile at best and occasionally down right scary. Not to be harsh but if you can't safely jog with it it's more of a monitoring device than a pendant.

Looks great and I hope it works out because I've been looking for a reason to buy an ipad and this would seal the deal!

Derek

Yea, its looking like 10 dollars might be the ticket. I probably won't recuperate my time and investment very quickly, but I really did build this app for myself, and it will be worth it.

Multiple machines is something ive thought about and will probably incorporate. I dont think ill allow the app to be connected to multiple machines, to save bandwidth and speed, but all you will need to do when switching between machines is click connect again. Im not a huge fan of paid add ons, so I will include all the features with the purchase price.

In testing, the lag is nearly none at all. Now of course, this will vary depending on how good your wifi single is, how fast your PC is, etc. But, because the app runs on wifi, and stays within the local network, it is quick. VNC is too slow for this kind of thing because a) it has to transfer ALOT of data (images of every time your screen changes), as well as transferring your "control" data back. and b) because VNC frequently needs to go to the external internet and then "come back in", leaving your connection to only be as quick as your internet service. With the way Mach Pendant is set up, you dont need an external internet service at all, just wifi. This also helps for those that are afraid of what the WAN might do to their machines. For those tech saavy and interested, the app talks to the server through a direct TCP stream - one stream for commands, and another stream for file transfer.

Jogging should not be a problem at all. Nor any of the other features. That being said, as always, don't ever DEPEND on a software emergency stop button - no matter if it's mach itself or this pendant.

[derek]

Sounds great.

One thing I would like is the ability to remote monitor via internet connection. I do a lot of pattern and mold work. 12 hour runs are fairly typical for me. To be able to log in to the machine to get an idea where it's at would be nice. Right now I aim an IP camera at the machine and keep tabs on it that way.

Any chance of a quick video?

[mikemaat]

Yep ill make a video when I get a free second. My machine is down right now, so Ill have to do it with a dummy mach install.

Although I havent tested it, I dont see a reason why you couldnt do this over the WAN (Internet Connection). The system allows you to specify a port and IP to connect to. As long as the port is opened in your router's firewall and you use the external IP address, you SHOULD be able to do this through the internet. Keep in mind, however, this hasnt been tested by me. Even if there is a snag though, id be more than happy to configure it differently until we could get it working, I think it would be cool to watch from outside the building.

[derek]

I'm really glad you posted this when you did. I was getting ready to play around with a 7" touch screen set up as a second monitor and use that as a pendant. This will save me a ton of time and money! I only stand at one machine at a time so having one pendant for all machines is a bonus.

This is why I think you can get more than 10.00 for it.

One thing I was thinking about on mine was a virtual mpg. It could be a section at the bottom where you slide your finger one way and it goes in the positive, the other in the negative. If it's near the edge of the tablet it would aid in guiding your finger. I don't know if this is feasible but it would be cool.

Thanks for doing this. My wife has an older Ipad 1 and it looks like she's in for an upgrade Is there any reason why it won't work on a first gen?

Derek

[mikemaat]

Virtual MPG is a good idea. Id like to get the app out there and test the real life performance first though.
Shouldnt be any reason it wont run on a 1st gen iPad as long as the OS is relatively up to date. Although, the iPad 1 in comparison even to a 2 is pretty slow.

[bill south]

Hey Mike;
Just thinking and gonna show my ignorance regarding networks! Will this work with machines that are using ethernet smoothsteppers? Hope this is not a stupid question.
Thx.
Bill

[mikemaat]

Not totally familiar with them, but I dont think it will be a problem as long as you have another ethernet port, wifi card, or wifi USB stick.

[FannBlade]

Looks like a good excuse for me to get an IPad!

[derek]

Well I just pulled the trigger on a refurbished ipad 2 from Apple. $319.00 plus tax free shipping and a 1 year warranty.

Looking forward to trying out the app.

Derek

[mikemaat]

Haha sounds great Derek, shouldn't be too long.

Today I was able to get the "multiple machine" feature set up. You can now set up an infinite number of machines and switch between them. Just need to create an icon for the app, a couple more images, and bug test the server applet a bit more and then I should be good to release it. One issue that I've encountered so far is that different versions of mach3 install differently, and different versions of windows makes a difference too. Some mach3 installs don't generate the registry files needed by the app, so I'm going to try to include them with my installation. Hopefully it will end up being relatively foolproof.

[derek]

More questions!

Are you using machs hot keys as your triggers. The reason I ask is you can( I have) change machs hot key settings. Also I think Turn has a few hot keys that don't match mach mill.

What about multiple screens that match some of the tabs on Mach. Offsets comes to mind. If I had the screen you have now and a screen for tool settings and work offsets I could pretty much use the ipad as a super pendant.

My problem is I'm tight on space. My monitor and keyboard are kind of in harms way if you know what I mean. I could use the keyboard and monitor for the initial setup in the morning and then run off the ipad after that.

I have a nice big estop button that I'm not afraid to use so I'm not worried about the safety aspect.

Oh god I'm a fanboi


Work faster

Derek