Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Pendant ?

"Rich D." wrote:

> Hi Gang,
> I'm in the middle of a muddle trying to think of what a pendant
> ought to have as a minimum plus some handy controls.
> I have sawed the numb key pad off an old 101 keyboard and will
> mount it in a panel with PB switches under, re-engraving the keytops.
> 1 thru 9 (may not use 5) Wide 0 and delete.
> ---- ---- ----
> | Hm | Y | Z |
> | |Rear| Up |
> ---- ---- ----
> | X | | X |
> | Lt | | Rt |
> ---- ---- ----
> | ? | Y | Z |
> | |Fwd | Dn |
> ---- ---- ----
> | Estop |Jog |
> | |Rate|
> --------- ----
> Besides the usual axis jogs:
> Estop.
> Home?
> Jog Rate? (push button cycle thru selection)
>
> Estop seems too easy to hit. I can rotate the pad 180°.
> What do the folks that use these everyday find as necessary?

Clearly jog buttons, and jog rate, and probably jog mode selection
(continuous/incremental). Then, I'd like to have buttons so you
could set the axis to some coordinate (like G92 X0.1 for use with
an edge finder). A cycle start button, and feed hold. This would
be pretty much the minimum, mostly for setting the coordinates.

Emergency stop should be a big button with a strong spring, like the
big mushroom switches. This should be wired into the real, hardware
E-stop logic, not as a computer key.

The pendants on commercial CNCs range from really minimal
(jog joystick or buttons, jog rate/feed override and E-stop and cycle start,
up to having the entire control panel as the pendant, with CRT,
spindle power meter, etc.)

Jon