Galil DMC-1800 Creating Custom Software Interfaces, ActiveX Toolkit, DMCWin Programmers Toolkit

Creating Custom Software Interfaces

Galil provides programming tools so that users can develop their own custom software interfaces to a Galil controller. These tools include the ActiveX Toolkit and DMCWin.

ActiveX Toolkit

Galil's ActiveX Toolkit is useful for the programmer who wants to easily create a custom operator interface to a Galil controller. The ActiveX Toolkit includes a collection of ready-made ActiveX COM controls for use with Visual Basic, Visual C++, Delphi, LabVIEW and other ActiveX compatible programming tools. The most common environment is Visual Basic 6, but Visual Basic.NET, Visual C++, Wonderware, LabVIEW and HPVEE have all been tested by Galil to work with the .OCX controls.

The ActiveX Toolkit can be purchased from Galil at http://store.yahoo.com/galilmc/actoolsoffor.html

The ActiveX toolkit can save many hours of programming time. Built-in dialog boxes are provided for quick parameter setup, selection of color, size, location and text. The toolkit controls are easy to use and provide context sensitive help, making it ideal for even the novice programmer.

ActiveX Toolkit Includes:

•a terminal control for sending commands and editing programs

•a polling window for displaying responses from the controller such as position and speed

•a storage scope control for plotting real time trajectories such as position versus time or X versus Y

•a send file control for sending contour data or vector DMC files

•a continuous array capture control for data collection, and for teach and playback

•a graphical display control for monitoring a 2-D motion path

•a diagnostics control for capturing current configurations

•a display control for input and output status

•a vector motion control for tool offsets and corner speed control

For more detailed information on the ActiveX Toolkit, please refer to the user manual at

http://www.galilmc.com/support/manuals/activex.pdf.

DMCWin Programmers Toolkit

DMCWin is a programmer's toolkit for C/C++ and Visual Basic users. The toolkit includes header files for the Galil communications API, as well as source code and examples for developing Windows® programs that communicate to Galil Controllers. The Galil communications API includes functions to send commands, download programs, download/upload arrays, access the data record, etc. For a complete list of all the functions, refer to the DMCWin user manual at http://www.galilmc.com/support/manuals/dmcwin.pdf.

This software package is free for download and is available at http://www.galilmc.com/support/download.html.

Galil Communications API with C/C++

When programming in C/C++, the communications API can be used as included functions or through a class library. All Galil communications programs written in C must include the DMCCOM.H file and access the API functions through the declared routine calls. C++ programs can use the DMCCOM.H routines or use the class library defined in DMCWIN.H.

62 • Chapter 4 - Software Tools and Communications DMC-1700/1800