GearHeads Corner

Hi Guys:

  Version 4.87 is now online.
 
Thsi version is a bug fix on a couple fronts.

As of version 1.86 the way displays are done changed to a global
display list format which sped up the display from about 3fps to about 35fps
on my system under test. Unfortunately, this meant I have to delete and recreate
display lists when something changes. I failed to do that with the plating, so when
a plate changed, the project screen didnt reflect the change properly. It now does.

You can always check to see if a display is bugged by selecting wireframe mode, it should
look identical to non-wireframe mode just with lines instead of solids. Ill fix any I see
but let me know if you notice any object not updating properly.

Second, one person reported a display error when using VMWare, I cant find the issue, but
I did notice the display alpha was wrongly set. In your settings there is a default alpha,
and a selection alpha, ( alpha is transparentcy of objects). Make sure if you have a
problem in your display to set the alpha to zero, some openGL implementations do not
handle alphas well, so if this is the issue, setting it to zero will fix it.

Third, ( while I think of it), John T asked a question on plating as to why the minimum plate
tab width is .5" , it isnt really, but there is a limit, a tab must be twice the thickness
of the plate material, so a 1/2" plate will have a minimum tab size of 1" for example. This
is just a result of the way the tabs are generated algorithmically.

No other bug reports are active at the moment, so Im working on future option code with some 3d printing
capabilities, and Ive ordered a 3d printer ( Ive failed to make one that is as cheap or easy
as I wished, but Ive learned so much about the process of 3d printing that I decided to purchase
one to aid in building another one. :)

  To that end, and with knowledge of what 3d printer people face in terms of using the stl's and such
I make, and because I have so many requests for things like keyways and collars and such , Ive decided
to add another program to GM's folder. Ive begun a new program called "Gearotic Thoughts", to be used
to postprocess the output from GM. To allow perhaps engraving of gears, better spoking and such, manipulation
of the 3d objects, both GM's and 3d objects from elsewhere such as welding on collars, repairing issues with models
and converting models form one format to another. Gearotic Thoughts will likely not be out till end of year,
and will be free to all GM users ( of course).

 My reasons for making this a separate program is to keep GM as bug free as possible, and to allow me to
do much more complex manipulation than GM can allow at the moment. "Thoughts" will be a bit eclectic as I
intend in the end to put any ancillary type usage requests into the new program. I'll likely allow GM to send and
recieve data from a running "Thoughts" process as well. Hopefully, it will become a kind of CAD/CAM adjunct to
what we have and allow greater power in desgning mechanisms and printing or cuttting them. Thank you to all
the suggestions as to what the future should look like, I'll try to encompass them all over time.

Thx
Art

mine came up 4.87?

Sry bout that..4.87 is correct.

ARt

Curved spokes seem to be broken on the GTA panel - the easiest way to recreate it is to go the GTA panel, keep the default gears, then go to the spoking panel and select curved.  I get 4 tapered spokes, the same as when tapered is selected.  From a quick run through other spoke types appear correct.

The first time I started it after updating when selecting a panel (spur, spokes, gta, etc) the top part of the selected panel (create gears, gearspec, shaft in gta) would appear, then disappear as soon as something was clicked.  I exited and restarted to make sure I was getting the startup options, then they went back to normal.  A bit more poking around and I found the minimize ribbon option, which caused the same behavior - so the disappearing section must be the ribbon.  Perhaps it was a one-time anomaly after updating.  Strange.

Better 3D options/support will be great; what printer did you order?  Is it a kit or an assembled version?  Microcontroller electronics or Mach3?  Have fun!

Gearotic Thoughts (GT?  GTO?) should be more amazement.

Still hoping for tabs :)

Kirk

The screen problem I have been having is still there in 4.87. I have changed the alpha to 0 but it didn't have any effect (no change to the screen). The change also doesn't hold thru a restart-changing to 0 doesn't effect the screen, then after a restart the alpha value is back to .6. The screen colors (I changed them from 0, to .5 to 1) have no effect on the screen color, but they do hold thru a restart.

Looking back thru my gearotica work on this computer, the last project is dated 7/6/11 (I mostly do stuff on a real WinXP machine-the Mac is my laptop), which unfortunately seems to be as old as some late version 3, so that's not likely to help too much in tracking down what changed when.

Hi Kirk:

I had been holding off on a 3d printer because I didnt like the quality overall of them, but I recently saw
all the reviews of the "UP! Mini" , and I liked it. Its a good fit to my desktop, runs off USB if one wishes ( which
usualy means I can hook the driver directly if I have to ), and seems to have very decent quality as well as software.
So I have one on order. :)

The curved spokes are only available usually on round gears. I had turned them moff on non-circulars ( they revert to tapered
if selected) because the algorithm for them couldnt handle the non-circ nature.. but I do intend to turn them back on..

Thx
Art

Art:

My problem has been solved!

Turns out that turning off 3D graphic acceleration in the VMWare settings (and then setting colors to 1,1,1, alpha doesn't seem to matter, 0,0,0 is a black background) is the key.
According to the display info, VMWare uses Direct X 9.0c with shader model 3 and OpenGL 2.1 if that gives you any clue as to what's going on.

Thanks for your efforts and the wonderful program.

Hi:

  Great!. I expect that the OpenGL version is a bit behind, so that may explain the weirdness. OpenGL does vary across platforms and OS's, its one reason I try very hard to use vanilla type OpenGL code, to ensure maximum compatability.

  Great to hear thats the error fix, Ill remember that for future troubles in that area.

Thx
Art

ArtF wrote:I recently saw
all the reviews of the "UP! Mini" , and I liked it. Its a good fit to my desktop, runs off USB if one wishes ( which
usualy means I can hook the driver directly if I have to ), and seems to have very decent quality as well as software.
So I have one on order. :)

It should be interesting.  My Printrbot takes a lot of tinkering; it's pretty finicky about getting it's always moving home positions set properly.  I'm tinkering with a mod to use a Mitutoyo micrometer head found cheap on eBay to make it a bit easier, but it really needs a better home switch setup that uses the actual print surface position.  It's printing a dial gauge holder as I type to do a better job of leveling everything; maybe it'll help.  3D printers aren't quite ready for prime time.

Don't look at the current firmware source; you'll only want to rewrite it and that would take time away from GM  :)  Hopefully the newly appearing ARM controllers will provide a better platform.

FWIW I've been getting my filament from repraper.com (bad translation, good product).  They ship FedEx, takes only a few days from China but doubles the cost.  Still reasonably priced and I've been corresponding with the owner.

ArtF wrote:The curved spokes are only available usually on round gears. I had turned them moff on non-circulars ( they revert to tapered
if selected) because the algorithm for them couldnt handle the non-circ nature.. but I do intend to turn them back on..

I've been experimenting with spokes (onscreen only) based on David Roy's Labyrinth, must have only tried with spur gears before.  The zoom in/out problem reappeared a release or two back, but it's gone now.

Sure wish I had John T's time and skills...

Kirk

Hi Kirk:

  I agree, they arent quite ready.. The Up! Mini reviews say its about as close as you can get to ready.. Illl write a review when I get it to let you know. :)

Thx
Art

AVI output is blank. The frames are there but nothing in them!

Hi Nic:

  I have had that happen to a few people. It seems to be a matter of OpenGL implementation. Try various codec's, or try downloading a codec pack if your in WinXP. Try various ones form the list, usually one can be found that works for a troubleseom configuration.

Thx
Art

Nic Bwts;

AVI output does work for most users, however not for all.  This is due to the OpenGL implementation of your graphics card, can you try downloading the latest codec version for your video card and/or select a different video compression output from GM and retry. I just tried it here and it worked for me.

Cheers
Bob
:-\

OK will check out some new codecs... thanks

Hey Art,

I thought I would throw some info on here of my experiences.

Version 4.88 I get an error saying "An OpenGL error occurred: Invalid enumerant." This is done within VirtualBox 4.2.10 XP Guest OS. I know that OpenGL is an issue with this, since the graphics adapter is virtualized. Running on my host OS (Windows 7 x64 Pro) there is no such problem. Just an FYI. I've come to expect issues on some things with a virtual environment. :)

As for 3D printing. I have a MakerGear M2. Tricky to setup at first, but I love the machine. Mine happens to run a R.A.M.Bo. board. I'm using Slic3r and Pronterface on the software end. Inventor 2012 will export an stl for 3D printing that drops right into Slic3r no problems, so that works nice for me. I've recently tried running ABS vs PLA, not a fan. Prefer PLA.

Finally, to stop getting off topic of this thread. Possible future update to GM, allow for exporting vector paths. I've found vectors paths I make in Illustrator exported as .DXF files drop right into Inventor for extruding. If GM would export a file to bring into Illustrator that would be awesome!

J