Virtual tools - resources?

[ecnerwal]

I've been out of touch while my shop has been abuilding and my 'bot was in peices.

I'm struck by the similarity between the new virtual tools in the new windows software and many of the .sbp part file programs I wrote between 1997 and 1999 (departed to pay the backup gods).

For instance: a program I wrote to tackle a shutter job, but which I wrote to be flexible so that one entered the bit size, slat size, angle, spacing, and it cut what you asked for - so it would do shutter slots, but it would also do shelves, if you told it to do 0 degrees and whatever shelf spacing/size you wanted.

A program to make clock faces, with various options. You can just tell the drill press to drill 12 holes in a circle (or 12 big ones and 60 tiny ones, or 4 big ones, 12 medium ones, and 60 tiny ones), but there's so much else you can do...

A cribbage board program. etc...

So I'm interested in what resources are available to help in building "3rd party virtual tools". I need to rewrite most of my programs anyway, and if I could rewrite them as virtual tools, that might be a good thing....

[bill.young]

Hey Lawrence,

Most of the Virtual tools started out just that way...they were ShopBot files with inputs for variables that defined the bits and pieces. We just added a "Windows-y" front end to them to make it easier to do the inputs. Since the ShopBot language is so similar to the BASIC programming language, all the Virtual Tools so far have been written in Visual Basic but could be written in any language that lets you write text files and create a user interface.

We're working along on developers information, but it's a slow process and there are lots of things ahead of it on the list. In the next version of the Windows software there will be a "Developers Tools" folder that will have a couple of programs that might be helpful. We're also trying to setup a "Programming Camp" that will cover Part file programming, creating Virtual Tools, and creating projects for the new Project Wizard. If you (or anyone else) are interested, please send me an email...if there's enough interest we'll set something up.

Sorry to be so vague at this point but feel free to email me with questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

Bill

[Brady Watson]

Bill,
I'd definately be interested in helping and learning about the development process. I used VB professionally for 6 years, so I may be able to offer some help there. I have several tools for the mill and plasma cutter that I would like to develop. If we could somehow create a template for custom programming, that would be awesome for everyone.

Let me know if something like this comes together. I'd like to be on the project.

Thanks!
-Brady