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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Stepper Project

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PhenixRising
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Joined: 07/11/2023
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1935
Posted: 05:49pm 01 Jun 2026
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The reason that I prefer capacitive touch is that they are resilient. I have been using MicroTouch (now 3M) since the eighties and the only reason they have ever been replaced is due to a dead CRT.

This is a Samsung TAB 2 that has been abused since 2015. It responds perfectly in spite of the mess. They can't even be bothered to wipe it down.

 
Volhout
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Joined: 05/03/2018
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 5898
Posted: 06:14pm 01 Jun 2026
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Phenix,

I do like the style and color of that UI. Might be a nice exercise to port that on a pico. You would need a higher resolution screen though, 320x240 wont do. But 640x480 would. No need for framebuffers, just blit elements to screen.

Volhout
Edited 2026-06-02 04:18 by Volhout
PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS
 
PhenixRising
Guru

Joined: 07/11/2023
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1935
Posted: 06:53pm 01 Jun 2026
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Hi Harm,

So I have matherp reading my mind re: PicoMite developments and now you are reading my mind re: GUI  

Yes, I'm thinking 640x480 and I have already been playing with blit  

CoolText

Button Factory
 
dddns
Guru

Joined: 20/09/2024
Location: Germany
Posts: 835
Posted: 07:25pm 01 Jun 2026
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On a 7" SSD1963 this could look exactly the same, non glare though but with nice touch ability. Blit would be very fast almost like HDMI
 
DaveJacko
Senior Member

Joined: 25/07/2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 103
Posted: 09:20pm 01 Jun 2026
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Just to say thanks to Mozzie, in answer to my question..

"It looks like if you issue STEPPER RUN while its already running it gets upset and stops."

As you say, using this line fixes it.

If Peek(stepper active)<>-1 Then Stepper close

You nailed it!    
Try swapping 2 and 3 over
 
Bryan1

Guru

Joined: 22/02/2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 2048
Posted: 10:27pm 01 Jun 2026
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Well still on my morning caffine intake and Lyle that new screen for the setup axis does look nice  

Anyway I checked the shipping for my LCD boards and Aussie post hasn't updated since last Thursday saying it's stuck in Melb   all approved but no updates.

Just thinking about the GUI numberbox it has been around for donkeys years and now the stepper code is nice and stable could I be bold enough to ask for a decimal point to be included in the number box which would simplify putting small cuts on in the stepper system.

I'm sure many will agree as the GUI has now grown onto VGA/HDMI having this option to go lower than 1 will serve many members besides myself.

Now I did put in my setup code Enable is GP0 on the Z axis and the enable is hard wired to the X and Y axis. Now when I start the code the stepper system stays in idle mode as indicated by my programmable power supply. When I take off the dupont connector for the enable the stepper system comes active.

Now a few times I have found after doing a few tests the power supply drops to 8 volts and the 1.8amp max current is reached also the red light on the power supply is indicating the error.

Do a reboot leaving the dupont enable disconnected and all is well then many times the touch stops working so I did a GUI test touch until it does respond.

Doing a Stepper Status on the command line does work great   now as the stepper system works in the background it would be nice if the commandline updates the stepper system which would go along way to debugging the code. Being able to see what is going on would go a long way with new users like myself and many others.

Now a task I need to do is load up the buffer with code so an explanation on how this can be done will be nice.

Regards Bryan
 
mozzie
Guru

Joined: 15/06/2020
Location: Australia
Posts: 360
Posted: 02:50am 02 Jun 2026
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G'day Bryan,
To load G-Code into the buffer you can type it at the command prompt as long as the stepper system is active in the background (run the program and then exit), there are 3 options:

STEPPER GC G1 X100 F100
STEPPER GCODE G1,X,100,F,100
STEPPER GS "G1 X100 F100"
OR
A$="G1 X100 F100"
STEPPER GS A$

This line from the original program does this:
Stepper GCODE G1,X,Peek(stepper X)+CtrlVal(XPOS),f,CtrlVal(XFPOS)

When you hit the JOG buttons.

The NUMBERBOX works with floating point, the decimal point is on the second page, hit the ALT key (bottom left) on the keypad and you'll find it.

The ENABLE for the steppers was deliberatly setup to disable the drivers when the system is not working, you can change this by changing the STEPPER INIT line to:

STEPPER INIT 0.05,150,GP22,1

So when you run the program the steppers will stay enabled (I hope)

Regards, Lyle.
 
mozzie
Guru

Joined: 15/06/2020
Location: Australia
Posts: 360
Posted: 03:01am 02 Jun 2026
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G'day Phenix,
That is one slick looking HMI  
I too hope we can do similar with a PicoMite soon.

Regards, Lyle.
 
mozzie
Guru

Joined: 15/06/2020
Location: Australia
Posts: 360
Posted: 03:05am 02 Jun 2026
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Hi Bryan,
If you want to enter G-Code at the prompt you will need to comment out STEPPER CLOSE from the program first.

Now back to work....

Regards, Lyle.

Edit: both programs need "STEPPER CLOSE" commented out.
Edited 2026-06-02 13:24 by mozzie
 
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