Graphical View Display

A workspace with more than a handful of stored coordinates is much easier to work with when you can see it. The Graphical View displays the current workspace as a two-dimensional drawing: sub-datums, guides, and imported drawings are shown in their true positions, and the crosshairs follow the spindle in real time. Rather than picking coordinates out of a list, you can activate a point by tapping it on screen, and the automatic modes can select points and guides for you as the spindle approaches them, for completely hands-free operation.

It's possible to use the graphical view as a stand-alone display, but TouchDRO is at its best when used on a larger tablet mounted in portrait mode. The readouts show the numbers, the projection below them shows the part, and everyday operations such as activating a point, snapping to the nearest sub-datum, adding a guide, or flipping the cutter offset are a tap away, right at the machinist's fingertips.

TouchDRO main display in portrait orientation with the graphical view below the axis readouts — Fig. 1: The main TouchDRO display in portrait orientation, with the graphical view below the readouts

Screen Layout

Vertical Orientation

In vertical orientation, the graphical view occupies approximately the bottom half of the main TouchDRO display, below the axis readouts and the function strip, and takes up the full width of the screen, as shown in Fig. 1. The two halves work in tandem: tap a sub-datum or a guide in the projection, and the readouts above it start counting down to it.

Horizontal Orientation

When the tablet is in horizontal orientation, the main display has no room for the projection, so the graphical view becomes a stand-alone screen. To open it, tap the graphical view button, marked with a screen outline, near the upper-right corner of the main TouchDRO display. The screen is split into two sections: a wide left section that contains the projection view, and a narrower side panel with a compact axis readout display and the sub-datum list.

The same button appears on both screens and stays highlighted while the graphical view is up, so switching between the full readout display and the graphical view is a single tap in each direction.

TouchDRO graphical view display shows 2-dimensional projection view of the current workspace — Fig. 2: The stand-alone graphical view in horizontal orientation

Measuring in the Graphical View

The projection is also TouchDRO's measuring surface. In measurement mode, available in TouchDRO Plus on milling machine profiles, you can measure a part with a touch probe or a microscope instead of cutting one: the measuring functions line the left edge of this screen, and every point you capture and every circle TouchDRO fits is drawn on the canvas.

Guides belong to cutting. In measurement mode the guide layer and the guide-driven modes are set aside, and the view carries the sub-datums, the reference image, and the drawing.

The mode itself, the color changes, and the reference instrument are covered in the "Measurement Mode" page. The five measuring functions, the point-collection card, and the inspection log are covered in the "Measurement Functions" page.

User Interface Elements

The figure below names the parts of the stand-alone screen. Each one is covered in its own section, and most of them also appear in the projection under the main display's readouts.

The stand-alone graphical view with its parts labeled - the layout area, the quick access function buttons, the modal function buttons, the live readouts, the layers panel, and the button back to the readout view — Fig. 3: The parts of the stand-alone graphical view

Axis Readout Display

The axis readout display in the side panel is a stripped-down version of the readout on the main TouchDRO screen. It includes up to three linear axis readouts and the global zero set, absolute/incremental, and inch/millimeter buttons, which work identically to their counterparts in the main display's function strip. The readouts themselves are interactive: to open the "Axis Details" dialog, tap a readout; to open the "Set Dimension" dialog, long-press it.

Sub-Datum List

The side panel also holds a simplified version of the sub-datum list from the main display. The full panel and its controls are described in the "The Sub-Datum Panel" guide.

2D Projection View

The projection view displays a two-dimensional, top-down projection of the current workspace. The plane of projection depends on the machine type selected in the application settings: on a milling machine, vertical or horizontal, the projection shows the X/Y plane, and on a lathe, the Z/X plane. The direction of axis movement follows the convention where Z is in line with the axis of spindle rotation and the other two axes are laid out using the "right hand" rule, as described in the "DRO Coordinate Systems and Datums" guide.

User interface elements and symbology differ slightly between machine types; the differences are noted below.

The figure below names the symbols the projection draws. The sections that follow cover each one.

The projection canvas with its symbols labeled - the absolute origin, the current position, the cutter outline, a sub-datum, the active sub-datum, selected geometry, the pan lock indicator, and the view scale buttons — Fig. 4: The symbols on the projection canvas. The green circle is a selected drawing feature; the orange disc is the cutter.

Workspace Name

The current workspace name is shown in the header of the sub-datum list, in the side panel. It is also the control that switches workspaces: tap it to pick another workspace, as described in the "Sub-Datums and Workspaces" guide.

Cursor and Crosshairs

The current spindle position on a milling machine, or the tool position on a lathe, is marked by the crosshairs. By default, the view is in the auto-center mode: the crosshairs span the full width and height of the projection view and stay centered, while the workspace moves in response to the spindle movement. Depending on the selected units, the crosshairs are graduated in inches or millimeters.

Panning the view deactivates the auto-center mode. The crosshairs are replaced by a smaller cursor that moves across the now-stationary workspace; the size of the cursor represents 2 inches in imperial mode and 20 mm in metric mode. To return to the auto-center mode, tap the "RE-CENTER" button.

The view can also be locked against panning, so that a stray drag can't move it while you are tapping sub-datums or collecting points. To lock it, tap the lock on the "Cross Hairs" row of the "Display" panel. While the lock is on, TouchDRO shows a small padlock at the foot of the crosshairs' vertical arm; the badge only reports the state, and the panel row is the control. Zooming stays available, with the pinch gesture and the double-tap alike, since the lock is there to keep the center, not the magnification.

Cutter Position

On a milling machine, when a cutter is selected via the "Cutter Radius Compensation" function, the projection displays the cutter as an orange circle with small crosshairs in the middle. The position of the circle depends on the selected offset direction, and its size is proportional to the tool diameter.

To change the position of the cutter relative to the workpiece, tap inside the circle and pick the new direction from the offset selection widget. Each cell shows the cutter against the edge it will be measured to, with the current selection highlighted; the center cell puts the readout back on the cutter's centerline. To clear the compensation, long-press inside the circle.

Fig. 5: The offset selection widget, with the lower-right position selected

On a lathe, there is no equivalent function, since tool offsets work fundamentally differently there.

Display Scale Buttons

The three display scale buttons in the lower-right corner of the projection view switch the display scale between 5:1, 1:1, and 1:5. The display can also be scaled with a two-finger pinch gesture, between 10:1 and 1:10, and double-tapping the screen scales and pans the display so the whole workspace fits on screen.

At the 1:1 scale, TouchDRO attempts to size the display so that one inch on screen corresponds to one inch of machine travel. Some devices don't report their screen size correctly, which can throw this scale off.

Display Panel

The "Display" panel lists the layers that make up the view: "Tool Shape", "Guides", "Sub-Datums", "Reference Image", and "Drawing". Each layer can be shown or hidden independently with its eye toggle, so a busy view can be pared down to what the current operation needs. In the stand-alone graphical view, the panel opens from the "Display" tab on the right edge of the screen; in vertical orientation, tap the button marked with stacked layers in the lower-right corner of the projection view. The "Cross Hairs" row also carries the view's pan lock, described in the "Cursor and Crosshairs" section above.

The last two rows also hold the entry points for their layers. On the "Reference Image" row, the camera button takes a reference photo and the folder button picks an existing image; both paths are covered in the "Reference Image Overlay" guide. On the "Drawing" row, the folder button imports a CAD drawing, as described in the "CAD Drawing Import" guide. Once an image or a drawing is loaded, its row replaces the open buttons with three controls: the eye button shows or hides the layer, the half-opacity button dims it so the work underneath stays visible, and the clear button removes it from the workspace.

Fig. 6: The Display Panel with all layers visible

Long-pressing an eye toggle rotates its group between fully shown and fully hidden, which is faster than switching several rows by hand when you want to blank a whole group and bring it back.

Sub-Datum Tags and Drawing Layers in the Display Panel

The "Sub-Datums" and "Drawing" rows expand into their own sub-lists once there's something to break out: the "Sub-Datums" row lists every tag used in the workspace, and the "Drawing" row lists every layer carried by the loaded drawing. Each nested row has its own eye, so a tag or a layer can be shown or hidden without leaving the graphical view.

Fig. 7: The Sub-Datums row expanded by tag, and the Drawing row expanded by layer, with the drawing dimmed to half opacity

The tag rows under "Sub-Datums" are the same tags described in the "Sub-Datum Tags and Filtering" guide, including the tags a drawing import creates when extracting sub-datums; hiding a tag here has the same effect as hiding it from the sub-datum panel's filter, and either one clears when the workspace is switched. The layer rows under "Drawing" come from the drawing itself and only appear for a drawing that carries more than one layer.

Long-pressing the "Sub-Datums" or "Drawing" row's own eye rotates every one of its nested rows between shown and hidden together, the same shortcut described above for a single group.

Quick Access Function Buttons

The row of buttons in the upper-left corner of the projection is a set of shortcuts to the functions you set a job up with, so the common setup moves don't require a trip back to the main display. Which buttons appear follows the machine type and the mode. On a milling machine in cutting mode, the row carries "Rotate Part", "Cutter Radius Compensation", and the "Indicate Workpiece" edge finder.

The buttons work the way their function-strip counterparts do, staying lit while their function is in force, and each is covered on its function's own page. In measurement mode, the row changes over to the measuring setup: the reference instrument, axis alignment, and the inspection log.

Mode Toggle Buttons

Along the left edge of the projection view, there is a column of buttons that turn the automatic modes on and off. The buttons are icon-only, so this manual refers to each one by its icon:

Point snap, marked with a magnet pointing at a point: when on, TouchDRO automatically activates the sub-datum nearest to the spindle as it moves. The activation distance is 0.25 in / 6.35 mm. Tapping any sub-datum by hand turns the mode off, so an automatic selection never overrides a manual one.
Guide snap, marked with a magnet pointing at a line: when on, TouchDRO watches the direction of travel and activates the guide the spindle is heading toward, so the readout is always counting down to the next boundary. Reversing the direction of travel switches the selection. Guide snap is available in TouchDRO Plus.
Automatic tool offset, marked with an end mill approaching a line (milling machine only): when on and a cutter is selected via the "Cutter Radius Compensation" function, activating a guide switches the tool offset direction so that the readout shows the position of the edge of the cutter nearest to the guide.
Automatic proximity warning, marked with a speaker: when on, activating a guide arms the near-zero warning for the guide's axis, targeted at the guide. The warning itself works identically to the one in the "Axis Details" dialog and disarms when the guide is deactivated.
Auto zero, marked with a drill and a check mark (milling machine only): when on, TouchDRO watches the Z axis for a drilling motion. When the spindle plunges and retracts without moving in X or Y, the X and Y incremental readouts are zeroed at that position. Auto zero is available in TouchDRO Plus.
Auto sub-datum, marked with a drill and a plus sign (milling machine only): uses the same drilling trigger, but instead of zeroing the readout, it stores the position into sub-datum memory. Spot-drill a row of holes with this mode on, and the whole pattern is captured without a single tap. Auto sub-datum is available in TouchDRO Plus.

A mode that reads a hidden layer is disabled: point snap is dimmed while the sub-datum layer is hidden in the "Display" panel, and the guide modes are dimmed while the guide layer is.

Sub-Datums

Sub-datums are displayed as circles, about 0.25 in / 6.35 mm in diameter, with crosshairs that mark their centers. The active sub-datum is drawn in the same color as the primary readout display, yellow-green by default, and the rest are white.

To activate or deactivate a sub-datum, tap it. To see the commands available for a sub-datum, long-press it; this opens the "Sub-Datum Commands" dialog:

"Edit Sub-Datum" opens the edit dialog described in the "Workspaces and Coordinate Entry" guide.
"Delete Sub-Datum" deletes the point after a confirmation.
"Align Absolute Origin to Sub-Datum" makes the pressed point the absolute zero. Every stored coordinate is renumbered to measure from it; nothing physically moves.
"Align Sub-Datum to Spindle", or "Align Sub-Datum to Tool" on a lathe, moves the whole workspace so that the pressed point lands at the current position. On a lathe, when the point defines both axes, separate "Z Only" and "X Only" rows commit one axis at a time.
"Add Horizontal Guide Here" and "Add Vertical Guide Here" add a guide that crosses the pressed point.

The two align commands are covered in the "Workspace Commands" guide.

Sub-Datum Pair Commands

The projection view also has a gesture for working with two sub-datums at once: tap the first point to activate it, then long-press the second one. This opens the "Sub-Datum Pair Commands" dialog, with the active point as "A" and the pressed point as "B".

The top of the dialog shows the X and Y differences between the two points, the straight-line distance, and the angle of the line between them. Below the readouts are the "Align A to B" and "Align B to Spindle (Pivot A)" commands, described in the "Workspace Commands" guide.

Both points must define both axes of the projection plane, so a guide cannot be half of a pair; long-pressing a second point with a guide active opens the regular "Sub-Datum Commands" dialog instead.

Guides

Guides are red lines that span the whole width or height of the projection view. A guide is a one-axis sub-datum: it lives in the sub-datum list under the name "Guide", and activating it works just like activating a sub-datum, except that only one axis is affected. When a guide is active, its line is drawn brighter and thicker, the relevant axis readout counts down to it, and deactivating the guide returns the readout to its previous state.

To activate or deactivate a guide, tap it. To delete a guide, long-press it and confirm the deletion. To create one, long-press an empty area of the projection view, or use the "Add Horizontal Guide Here" and "Add Vertical Guide Here" commands described above.

Guides drive the guide snap, automatic tool offset, and automatic proximity warning modes described in the "Mode Toggle Buttons" section above. Creating guides and putting them to work is covered in the "Working with Guides" guide.