machineagency / tandem

Backend functionality for physical-digital notebooks

Tandem

Tandem is a system that implements all parts of a two-sided CNC milling workflow as a single program. This repository comprises Tandem's backend server which facilitates communication between several parts:

• The notebook programming interface, on the web and included in a separate repository.
• The AR Overlay, in overlay/,
• The notebook bridge, an add-in to run in Autodesk Fusion 360, in fusion360/,
• The Shopbot server, which communicates with the physical CNC mill, in a separate repository.

To use Tandem, install this backend and open up the notebook to begin following the workflow.

Note to Readers

To browse the notebook without acutally using its functionality, simply navigate to the notebook on Observable and follow the instructions there. No installation is required in that case. If you wish to replicate the process on your own setup, follow the instructions below.

Notebook frontend on Observable Notebooks

Project Page on the Machine Agency Website

Installation

Backend

1. In the root directory, run npm install.
2. Run npm run server to run the backend server, which should now be running on localhost:3000 or similar. You, the notebook interface, and everything else can now make requests to the backend.

AR Overlay

1. Navigate to overlay/ and run npm install.
2. Run npm run dev and the AR overlay web page should be running on localhost:5174 or similar.
3. Navigate to localhost:5174 in the browser to open the web page. This webpage should be directed to a projector over the CNC mill.

Notebook Bridge

1. Install Autodesk Fusion 360 on your system.
2. Go to "Manage Tools" and install the fusion360/toolLibrary/shopbotCamTool.json file.
3. In "Scripts and Add-Ins," run fusion360/notebook-bridge/. Important: make sure the backend server is running when you run the notebook bridge, otherwise Fusion360 will stall as it polls a non-existent server.
4. Alternatively, In "Scripts and Add-Ins", select edit, and in the VS Code window popup, select the run with debugger option.

Physical CNC Mill

To connect this backend to a physical CNC mill, you need to modify server.ts to send messages to the mill using your technology of choice.

For our implemenatation, we communicated with a Shopbot by: 1) running a server in the cloud that the backend could query, and 2) running a program on the computer that is physically connected to the Shopbot. See the accompanying repositories for more instructions on how to run these.

Then, change the line of code in server.ts

const url = "YOUR SERVER URL HERE";

to be the URL of the Shopbot server running in the cloud.

Projector Setup

1. Turn on your projector with the remote
2. Connect the projector to your device using an HDMI cable
3. Move the localhost overlay browser window to the projector (ensure that your computer settings treat the projector as a second screen)
4. In your browser's settings, change the browser to be full screen
5. Navigate to the notebook to calibrate the projector and test your connection

Communicating with a Clank CNC Mill Running a Duet2 (PCB Demo)

For the PCB demo, we used a much simpler setup where we connected directly to the Clank CNC mill's controller board (Duet 2) directly over Ethernet.

1. Make sure you've connected to the Duet page in the browser i.e. 192.168.1.2 and have that page open the whole time. See these instructions for an example of how to connect to the Duet over Ethernet.
2. Run npm run server to start the server, Ctrl-C to stop it.
3. While the server is running, make requests to localhost:3000 e.g. 192.168.1.2/rr_gcode?gcode=G0 X0 Y 10.

This approach would be more similar to most CNC mills, if you would like to use this approach as guidance for working with your own mill.