Ron and I (Pete) were discussing a control box for the CNC Router that would sit near the router itself (possibly attached to the cross-beam that holds the router, but with the ability to be detached) that would contain a Teensy board and a bunch of buttons that would allow you to move the work table without having to reach for the computer keyboard. It would probably be most useful when finding the zero point before you start a job.

Ron also shared these links:

• http://www.texasmicrocircuits.com/
• http://www.texasmicrocircuits.com/Documents/DMArticlePart1.pdf
• http://www.texasmicrocircuits.com/MP2.htm
• http://www.edsjunk.net/Blog/EdsJunk/Blog/Entries/2011/12/21_Dedicated_Mach3_Control_Panel.html

And I'm dropping this here for reference:

• http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/usb_keyboard.html

Jason has a Teensy we can use (donated to the space from PJRC) and has also offered to supply some buttons. (Note: we should grab a Teensy from the President's desk.) I have a 10 foot USB cable on order.

Ron's first thought was that we would have these buttons:

1. X Left (left arrow key)
2. X Right (right arrow key)
3. Y Forward (down arrow key)
4. Y Back (up arrow key)
5. Z Up (page up key)
6. Z Down (page down key)
7. Single Step Toggle (CTRL key)
8. START (ALT-R)
9. STOP (ALT-S)
10. Zero X Axis (?)
11. Zero Y Axis (?)
12. Zero Z Axis (?)

• Assemble the materials.
• Measure the cross-beam to see what size box makes sense.
• Determine how to attach the box to the cross-beam. (Velcro? Magnets? Other?)
  • (the cross beam is carbon fiber– magnets are not likely to help)
  • (I've got a stack of really strong rare earth magnets, maybe we could just glue on a few?)
• Determine the layout of the buttons. (See Below)
• Create the box. (For fun, I think we should make it with the CNC Router.)
• Make a nice looking control panel. (Use the Laser Cutter to etch the labels?)
• Program the Teensy based on the keyboard commands we need to emulate.
• Test it out!

Idea for button layout:

• Ron Bean
• Pete Prodoehl
• Jason Gessner