This interface has room to grow.:
I got used to the very large axis controls in the previous versions and it has taken some time to get used to the smaller controls in V5. But why oh why does the DRC need to be so big when they cannot even display numbers that big. It's like some one used a 100% on a table width and set each of the subsequent cells to also be 100% of the table. But I know in reality the table is the window and the column set to something like 50% and the cells are set to 100% of the Column width. Like there was nothing better to with the space so make it just fill up everything.
I don't mind a large estop:
Though it kinda should be on every window, as annoying as that would be. Any one who has ever used real commercial machines knows estop are put all over the machine. So there is always one in reach. Though like changes to many of the icons, I kinda liked the old one better. The new icon and many other feel too, cartoonish. All this said an Estop should always be visible and easy to reach, not hit by accident and not be obnoxious.
Other Buttons:
Really? We need more buttons? Well, maybe, yes. There are a few things we can do on command line that would be nice to have a as button instead. M122i Reset TMC drivers. M997 Reset Controller. M355 Disable/Enable Power Supply. M108 Abort Last M112 E-Stop
Lastly Soft Abort: Stop Print. Raise head to user defined safe height. Possible retract XY and or disable of Hot end.
I do this constantly while trying to figure out why a print fails. I am doing it even more in V5. Bing able to combine multiple steps into a single button on the control panel would, simplify things.
Tabbed Machine Control:
Firmware Configuration and Machine Profiles:
I never fully under stood why Firmware Configuration was set up in the FFF. But I kept it checked, and I made sure it was always configured. Just one of many weird tools in the Swiss Army knife. I was sure there was a good reason it was done like this and some day I might have a need for it. Maybe this is where code for a Enraged Rabbit feeder is injected? By switching between devices being controlled?
In the FFF, I would bet this could be reduced to a drop menu or a check box.
In Machine control window couple tabs at the top can give us access edit to any and all saved profiles. Move the Firmware Configure.
Expand this section to include what was removed as well as a few more that might need to be altered depending on the machine attached. Be it Mad Rabbit, FDM, Laser, etc.
Zero Axis:
While most of the time we don't need this these buttons. I can think of a few times they are valuable.
A: Printing directly onto something other than the build plate. Also means that the start up profile should be disabled. I haven't used the function this way yet.
B: Offsets are a typical mode of operation for CNC.
Axis speeds:
Previously I wrote a simple tool in excel to convert from mm/s the most common value in S3D to mm/min the actual F value on a move command to verify that things were happening as expected. I never expected that V5 would switch to mm/min on machine Control speeds. What makes it extra confusing is that NOTHING ELSE in S3D measures in mm/min. To be fair even Marlin mixes the measurement types, mm/s to in/min. Why not s/mm? I mean when determining motion what I really wan to know is how long it took to move a fixed distance, to complete a layer or draw a single line, not how far to move in a fix time span. But thats counter intuitive to the industry anyway.
CNC functions:
Spindle Power, Laser Power, Coolant Power
Advanced offset configuration for desktop CNC
This uses either a manual M92 offset,
or advanced leveling via command line to find the surface of a material that may not be level by default, ie sheet plastic, or wood.
This can also use data copied from a standard leveling and applied directly to the code. This offloads the MCU which would normaly need to run a compute for every z command untill the leveling is disabled. For FDM this is often 3 layers. But in CNc this may be the thickness of the part.
Movement Controls tab:
Over Ride settings:
Extrude Rate, Machine speed
Leveling functions:
Manual, advanced:
may include the old school leveling built into S3D, and or call on Firmwares built in leveling.
Get Temp:
Previously S3D would request the temp, but this could be turned off but not disabled. However as of V5, S3D requests Temp, and Print from SD status, and cannot be disabled or turned off. Both of these should be check boxes part of the Firmware/Machine Profiles.
Reason, no reason to send frivolous requests. The firmware is set up to send them automatically. So the extra requests are just noise over the serial terminal.
Stretch Right side:
I think the right side I think should be fixed scale, and the Entire left side governed by Serial Console and responsive to window sizing.
