Graphical View Display

When a workspace has more than a handful of stored coordinates, it is much easier to work with when you can see it. In the Graphical View, you can see the current workspace as a two-dimensional drawing, with the sub-datums, guides, and imported drawings in their true positions and the crosshairs following the spindle in real time. Instead of picking coordinates out of a list, you can activate a point by tapping it on the screen, or let the automatic modes select points and guides for you as the spindle approaches them, so you can keep your hands on the handwheels.

You can use the graphical view as a stand-alone screen, but it works best on a larger tablet mounted in portrait mode. That way the readouts show you the numbers and the projection below them shows you 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 one tap away.

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 you can switch between the full readout display and the graphical view with a single tap in each direction.

Measuring in the Graphical View

You can also use the projection to measure a part. In measurement mode, 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.

Note that guides are a cutting tool, so in measurement mode TouchDRO hides the guide layer and turns off the guide-driven modes, and you see only 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 seven measuring functions, the point-collection card, and the inspection log are covered in the "Measurement Functions" page.

User Interface Elements

Fig. 3 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.

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

In the side panel you will also find 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 profile's "machine type": 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.

Fig. 4 below names the symbols the projection draws. The sections that follow cover each one.

Workspace Name

The current workspace name is shown in the header of the sub-datum list, in the side panel. To switch to another workspace, tap the name, 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.

You can also lock the view 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 "Crosshairs" row of the "Display" panel. While the lock is on, TouchDRO shows a small padlock at the foot of the crosshairs' vertical arm. Note that the padlock only shows the state; to unlock the view, use the same row of the panel. You can still zoom with the pinch gesture or a double-tap, since the lock only keeps the view centered.

Cutter Position

On a milling machine, when a cutter is selected via the "Tool 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.

On a lathe, the projection displays the tool as a small orange dot at the position of the tool tip. If the applied tool has a cutter outline attached in the tool library, TouchDRO will draw the outline under the dot, filled and to scale, so you can see the whole cutter next to the part. The "Lathe Cutter Geometry" page explains how to attach an outline to a tool.

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

In the "Display" panel, you can show or hide each of the layers that make up the view: "Tool Shape", "Guides", "Crosshairs", "Sub-Datums", "Drawing", "Camera", and "Reference Image". Each layer has its own eye toggle, so you can pare a busy view down to what the current operation needs. To open the panel in the stand-alone graphical view, tap 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 "Crosshairs" row also has the view's pan lock, described in the "Cursor and Crosshairs" section above.

The "Tool Shape" and "Crosshairs" rows have a half-opacity button next to the eye toggle. On the "Tool Shape" row, the button switches the fill of the cutter between a dimmed state and a more solid one. This is useful with a large end mill or a lathe tool with an outline, since a dimmed cutter lets the guides, sub-datums, and drawing underneath show through. Note that the button only changes the fill; the edge of the cutter and the mark at the tool position stay at full strength. The cutter is dimmed by default, and TouchDRO stores the setting for each machine profile.

The last two rows are also where you load their layers. On the "Reference Image" row, you can take a reference photo with the camera button or pick an existing image with the folder button; both paths are covered in the "Reference Image Overlay" guide. On the "Drawing" row, you can import a DXF file or a drawing exported from SnapCAD with the folder button, as described in the "CAD Drawing Import" guide. Once an image or a drawing is loaded, the row shows three controls in place of the open buttons: the eye shows or hides the layer, the half-opacity button dims it so that the work underneath stays visible, and the clear button removes it from the workspace.

The "Camera" row has a settings button and a play button for the live video from a USB camera or microscope, covered in the "Live Camera Feed" guide. The row is dimmed until a camera is plugged in or has been set up.

To blank a whole group and bring it back without switching several rows by hand, long-press its eye toggle. Each long-press switches the group between fully shown and fully hidden.

Sub-Datum Tags and Drawing Layers in the Display Panel

Once there is something to break out, you can expand the "Sub-Datums" and "Drawing" rows into their own sub-lists: under "Sub-Datums" you will find every tag used in the workspace, and under "Drawing" every layer in the loaded drawing. Each nested row has its own eye, so you can show or hide a tag or a layer without leaving the graphical view.

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 in the sub-datum panel's filter, and both are cleared when you switch workspaces. The layer rows under "Drawing" come from the drawing itself and only appear when the drawing has more than one layer.

To show or hide all of the nested rows at once, long-press the eye on the "Sub-Datums" or "Drawing" row itself, the same shortcut described above.

Quick Access Function Buttons

The row of buttons in the upper-left corner of the projection gives you shortcuts to the functions you set a job up with, so you don't need to go back to the main display for the common setup moves. Which buttons you see depends on the machine type and the mode. On a milling machine in cutting mode, you get "Rotate Part", "Tool Compensation", and the "Indicate Workpiece" edge finder. On a lathe, you get "Tool Offsets" and "Arm thread cutting", which opens the thread cutting card described in the "Thread Cutting on a Lathe" guide.

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 to the measuring setup functions: 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. When you reverse the direction of travel, the selection switches to the guide ahead of you.
• Automatic tool offset, marked with an end mill approaching a line (milling machine only): when on and a cutter is selected via the "Tool 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 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. If you spot-drill a row of holes with this mode on, TouchDRO captures the whole pattern without a single tap.

On a lathe, when the function strip is not on screen, the column also has the "Compound Slide Angle Compensation" button. To open the dialog, tap it. The button is lit while the compensation is in force, and a long-press on the lit button clears it. The function is covered in "Compound Slide Angle Compensation".

Note that a mode is disabled while the layer it reads is hidden: 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 hidden.

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. TouchDRO recalculates every stored coordinate relative to it, and 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 "Align Sub-Datum to Tool (Z Only)" and "Align Sub-Datum to Tool (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.

Note that both points must define both axes of the projection plane, so a guide can't be half of a pair. If you long-press a second point while a guide is active, you get 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: you will find it in the sub-datum list under the name "Guide", and you activate it the same way as 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. With a drawing imported, you can also long-press one of its vertical or horizontal lines, and the "Shape Commands" dialog that opens puts a guide exactly on that line.

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