Acu-Rite CNC 3500i user manual General Operating Guidelines, Main Operating Modes

1.2 Visual Display Unit

General Operating Guidelines

The following provides the general operating guidelines for the 3500i.

Mode specific function buttons are always located on the left vertical edge of the screen.

Scroll bars automatically appear when the window information does not completely fit into the current window size.

The active operating mode is highlighted in blue in the top menu bar. The activated key in the side bar will highlight in blue also. More than one key may be activated at a time depending on the action being taken. Available selection keys for the current activity are highlighted. Non-available keys are grayed out.

Use the Context Sensitive Help feature when assistance is desired. This is an intuitive feature that aids the user by going directly to the section in the manual in relation to the feature, or button that you select to obtain assistance with.

It is important to understand that this manual is written with the assumption that the user is using the touch screen.

A USB pointing device e.g. mouse, trackball, etc. may also be used. If a device is being used, the action of clicking on a screen key corresponds to the same action as if the user is touching the screen. A USB keyboard can also be used.

Main Operating Modes

The ACU-RITE 3500i has three main operating modes: Manual Data Input (MDI), Program Management, and Program Run. These are accessed with the large rectangular buttons at the top of the screen.

Manual Data Input allows data input for simple machining operations. Manual operation, single step operation, and single commands can be entered. See "Manual Data Input Menu Bar" on page 40 for a complete description.

8 1 Introduction