Product category:
Stepper and Servo Drives, Motors, Controls
News Release from: Baldor UK | Subject: Mint HPGL interpreter
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 02 August 2004
Interpreter speeds 2D motion
applications
Baldor has released a free HPGL (Hewlett Packard Graphics Language) interpreter for its range of motion controllers.
Baldor has released a free HPGL (Hewlett Packard Graphics Language) interpreter for its range of motion controllers The utility - which is written in the high-level Mint motion language - reduces the development time of machinery for processing two-dimensional shapes
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 5 Mar 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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The Mint HPGL interpreter converts HPGL commands on-the-fly into moves and commands for real-time motion control hardware.
As HPGL is an industry-standard protocol used in plotters and printers - and widely supported by low-cost graphics and CAD software - the utility gives users a very economical basis for creating machinery for applications such as cutting, routing, engraving, etching, sign-making and glue-laying.
The interpreter is written using the high level Mint motion language, and provided as source code - allowing users to adapt the software easily for application-specific needs such as adapting the control of the pen or z-axis to accommodate a tool like a laser cutting head or a driven axis such as a tangential knife blade.
To aid system integrators and automation engineers, the areas of the code that can be modified are documented with searchable comments.
The utility runs on motion controllers from the NextMove family, which offers users a choice of five different platforms ranging from low-cost board-level controllers, to ready-to-use, panel-mounting modules.
The NextMove range includes motion controllers with standard serial ports or USB ports for interfacing to hosts.
NextMove controllers will accept HPGL programs of any length.
The interpreter is optimised for fast operation, and users can also set the size of the memory for buffering HPGL commands - providing a further means of tuning performance for any application.
"This software release demonstrates the real-time programming power of the Mint language, which provides a complete machine control and communications environment", notes Mark Crocker of Baldor, who developed the code.
"Traditionally, a utility like this might require code developed using an embedded language such as assembler or C, in order to obtain the necessary speed of execution".
The new software complements Baldor's recent MintNC software introduction, which provides a complete toolkit for PC-hosted contouring/profiling machinery, that will import information in industry-standard CAD formats including G-code, HPGL and DXF. Request a free brochure from Baldor UK ...
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