[SBC Cycle]

Possible??? The only thing I can't get working (and is so far a big obstacle) is right-click. Press and hold does the trick with all the other programs but it doesn't work in BCC. When I get a stylus that has a right click button I think it may actually work.

Why? Hell, I don't know. It sounded fun.

[mmoe]

It actually would have some merit and I've been thinking about it myself. Maybe not a tablet, but a touchscreen all-in-one because this will probably start to be the machine of choice for Mach 3 installs. I helped a friend install Mach 3 using a CSMIO IP-M (ethernet controller) and we used a $400 all-in-one with touchscreen for that. It's working great and other than a physical E-stop doesn't require any additional control panel buttons. The on-screen keyboard prevents a person from needing anything but the screen. What would be cool is that you could put the .bbcd file on a jumpdrive to bring to the machine along with the G-code, and if the you have a licensed version of Bobcad on the controller itself, you could make changes to the toolpaths right there when needed. For me, it's a bit of a trek to go back and forth from my workstation to my machine, so it would be a huge convenience to have it on the controller itself.

[SBC Cycle]

I'm also tiring of the Workstation to machine route. My original plan was to use the tablet as a remote control for the PC to initiate file transfers from Predator and make minor changes to the BBCD file without having to walk all the way back to the computer if something wasn't right. I was very surprised that BobCAD installed and ran right out of the gate in the Win 8.1 environment. Because of the right click problem I couldn't try toolpaths but drawing was easy and flawless in my short test.

This was a Dell Latitude 10 ST2. My next test is for Predator Editor and the full size USB port. I have a USB ----> RS232 adaptor. If I can store and send files to my machine from the tablet I'm going to be tickled.

In a few weeks I will have a Dell Venue 11 Pro to play with which is a much more capable device.

[Danthemann]

dont be discouraged if the transferdoesnt work with the usb to serial adaptor, they are known to have problems

[BurrMan]

Possible??? The only thing I can't get working (and is so far a big obstacle) is right-click. Press and hold does the trick with all the other programs but it doesn't work in BCC. .

Did you try press and tap?

[shred]

Did they bring press-and-tap back in 8.1? They took it out of 8 over my objections (for what I considered to be lame reasons). It was one of my favorite gestures.

Mach does well with a touch screen. I use one all the time on mine. Even with XP which is not a touch OS. You might want to be a bit careful if you use coolant and a modern consumer touch screen as water on the hands can throw them off.

[BurrMan]

I was thinking about the pen and touch settings dialogue too. Maybe change the rates for the press and hold, or you can make a custom flick Mapped to shift+F10 or something like that.

[SBC Cycle]

Tried the press and tap, double tap, triple tap, and all kinds of weird motions with my finger. Then I plugged in a mouse If I had done that a few hours ago I could have done a lot more with it.

I'm still running demo mode so I can't give a full report but with a mouse BobCAD appears to function normally. On a $500 tablet. That's crazy.

[SBC Cycle]

dont be discouraged if the transferdoesnt work with the usb to serial adaptor, they are known to have problems

You're right. It only works spotty on the desktop so I don't have extremely high hopes for it to work with the tablet.

[Danthemann]

You're right. It only works spotty on the desktop so I don't have extremely high hopes for it to work with the tablet.

what I ended up doing after exhausting the usb serial option was to use remote desktop connection to the tower in the office from my laptop on the floor and drip the files that way. havent had a problem yet after a week or two. cheers

[SBC Cycle]

Update:

I installed BobCAD V26 on my new Dell Venue 11 Pro. I had to install V24 to get the Predator Editor to work properly, otherwise it keeps coming up in Demo mode (this happened with my Dell Workstation as well so it's not a problem with the tablet).

Everything installed without a hitch and as I reported previously, with a USB mouse BobCAD works just like it would on a middle of the road laptop. Bigger models get a little flaky and the screen flashes a lot but otherwise it works fine. I bought a Stylus from Dell (that has two buttons on it) and now I can right click with the pen, eliminating the necessity of a mouse (it's still a lot harder to use with the pen, I don't recommend fooling with it as it is simply frustrating).

Toolpath calculation is surprisingly quick for such an underpowered device. I assume the speed comes from the ability to write quickly to the Solid State Hard Drive as I have heard others reporting performance gains when using an SSD.

The most important test was the Predator Editor test. I installed the driver for my Gigaware USB-A to Serial device to the tablet. The driver was for Vista but it appeared to install correctly in Win 8.1 (although I was warned that it did not install correctly, it did) In the Device Manager I was able to adjust the default settings for the Adapter and find the correct COM port to use (COM3). I opened Predator Editor and created a new template based off of the settings from my laptop, making sure it was pointed to the correct COM port.

Even with my laptop I must close Predator before plugging in the Gigaware Adapter. I haven't investigated this problem too deeply to figure out why, it's just the way it is. Anyway, I re-opened the Editor, selected the Fadal-USB template I just created and went straight to DNC ---> Receive. I hit the "Punch" on the Fadal and the code started whizzing over the line into my Tablet. I tried a 36,000 line G-Code file for good measure and the tablet received it the first time without a single hiccup. Saved the file, re-opened, and then went the other way with it. The Fadal spits out a Checksum code at the end of every file you send out on the wire so you can verify that you didn't lose any blocks during transmission. When sending the file back in, the Fadal runs the Checksum and compares it to the code appended to the end of the file. If you see a "TAPE IS GOOD" statement, you know you're golden.

7 minutes later the tablet finished sending the file and I got the all important "TAPE IS GOOD" statement! Nothing I ever try like this ever works like I expect it to but this went as easy as setting up a new laptop. Yes, I do realize that's what Windows 8 was intended for but after reading about all the complaints people have with Win 8 I expected it to be a lot harder or not work at all.

I am running under the 5 day FULL trial currently and I plan to test it as often as possible but I'm going to declare an early victory. The next step will be finding out how much BobCAD will charge me for a third seat. My plan is to be able to pull a file from the server on the tablet (including photos of the setup, Setup Sheet, etc.), open in V26, post the code right there at the machine, plug in, send G-code file, and machine away. It's looking very promising.

[SBC Cycle]

Just a couple screenshots from a complete test. I ripped a STP file from the server, opened in BobCAD, Stock Wizard, toolpath, open in Editor, send to the machine, make chips!

[Big Chips]

you are very lucky the usb to serial works...I have a microscribe 3dx that i cant find **** to work with it....on windows 7 or 8 or 8.1...vista is golden...

so to make the digitizer mobile i have a old laptop set up for mobile stuff...Win8 makes it clear they have no drivers for usb t serial adapters

[jrmach]

"Win8 makes it clear they have no drivers for usb t serial adapters"

You just got my attention.Does that mean a Windows 8 lap cannot load g-code in my 1998 model Haas thru preditor,,DNC ???Which I use/need a serial adapter for or have to go the floppy disc route.Or am I reading this out of context or confused?

[Big Chips]

some work and some dont...i really think it comes down to what is using what to talk to....just make sur eyou buy a adapter that has a chip in it for win8...Google...but there are still no guarantees. I know this after 3 tries...dont even try the Radio Shack stuff

[jrmach]

I have not heard anything good of Windows 8.I got Vista,and it sounds golden compared to 8.
I was wanting to upgrade this year,but I have heard no joy in doing so with 8.

[Big Chips]

i like win8.1 nothing wrong with it....bob works damn good on it...

[jrmach]

8.1,,is that better??

[Big Chips]

8.1 is the latest update and is more easy to get to certain comands tat we all were use to with win7

[BurrMan]

I have not heard anything good of Windows 8.I got Vista,and it sounds golden compared to 8.
I was wanting to upgrade this year,but I have heard no joy in doing so with 8.

Windows 8 is a better OS for "running the computer" for sure. It's process/memory management with all the latest stuff is far better. All the grumbles are with software and hardware that's not caught up, or with the "metro" in general. 8.1 made some moves to get some of the UI out of the way. Looking forward to what the next release produces.

BTW: "Vista?" Bad mem management all around. The "windows millennium" of the new architecture.

Win 7 is "Vista fixed".........