sudobob / matsuura_uploader

Matsuura-Yasnac Metal Mill Web-based Program Uploader

Matsuura Yasnac Uploader

The matsuura uploader provides a web-based file upload interface to send jobs to the Matsuura-Yasnac CNC mill

The Matsuura mill is controlled by a Yasnac controller. The Yasnac is equipped with an RS232 interface that accepts G-code files for upload

This application runs on a dedicated raspberry pi with a touch screen.

Basic Use

• On your PC, Navigate to https://matsuura.local
• Login with the appropriate username and password
• Upload your file
• Navigate to the SEND page
• Click on START

Installation

• We are using the raspbian buster desktop distro
• sudo raspi-config to set things like wifi network name and password. I typically enable ssh access and complete all setup via ssh. You'll also want to set Boot Options -> Auto Login Desktop
• if this is a new pi do a sudo apt-get upgrade and if this is not a brand new distro then a sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
• install this repo into /home/pi/matsuura_uploader and cd matsuura_uploader
• If this was a -lite distro like raspbian buster lite you'll need to do a sudo apt-get install lightdm xserver-xorg lxde chromium-browser gunicorn3 You should use doa a sudo raspi-config and select Boot Options -> Desktop/CLI -> Desktop Autologin Then reboot
• install python package installer pip3 sudo apt-get install python3-pip
• install python packages with sudo -H pip3 install -r requirements.txt Note since this is a dedicated raspi I don't see the need to use virtualenv
• install boot-time invocations of web server and serial uploader daemons

sudo ln -s /home/pi/matsuura_uploader/matsuura_uploader.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo ln -s /home/pi/matsuura_uploader/serial_sender.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl enable matsuura_uploader
sudo systemctl enable serial_sender

• configure the a browser instance to come up on the local touch screen in kiosk mode at boot time.

• LXDE will only start an application once the Raspian UI is up and running, so it avoids race conditions

• If a file already exists, rename it as below. If it does not exist, make the directories mv /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE/autostart /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE/autostart-

• Create directory if needed, and create link Lto the supplied autostart ln -s /home/pi/matsuura_uploader/autostart /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/

mkdir /home/pi/matsuura_uploader/uploads

- do a `mv .env-example .env` Edit .env and set the USERNAME and PASSWORD values
mv .env-example .env; vi .env
source .env

- You should start the flask application in the foreground initially to see if it is starting up ok with `dbg_start_web_app`
- Same for the serial sender with `dbg_start_sender`
- At this point you should be able to browse to http://YourRaspisIPaddr/ and upload and send files
- If all is well then reboot your pi and the processes should start at boot time via systemd, the browser should come up on the local touch screen

# Development Info
This app is written using the **python flask** framework for web applications. Main code is in the file `app.py` It relies on a separate process `serial_sender.py` to send the data to the serial ports. The Flask web app services html, css, and js to render the page. When the user commands an action to send a file or get status, their flask web server instance makes a tcp socket connection to the serial sender on port 1111 and issues a one line command. The seial sender returns a 1 line json-encoded response which is sent directly back to the client's web browser

## Handy development debugging commands
You will need to source the local environment variables from `.env`  with `source .env`

connect directly to serial usb dongle  0  `t0`

connect directly to serial usb dongle  1  `t1`

list all available serial ports  `lp`

stop system instance of web app  `sysctl_stop_web_app`

start system instance of web app   `sysctl_start_web_app`

stop system instance of uploader   `sysctl_stop_sender`

start system instace of uploader  `sysctl_start_sender`

start web app in foreground for debugging  `dbg_start_web_app`

start uploader in foreground for debugging  `dbg_start_sender`

# Docker
A simple dockerfile has been added for testing purposes.  This docker file is based on a Raspbian image built around Python 3.5.

To build the docker image, execute the following from the root of the repository directory:

docker build -t matsuura_uploader .

Once the Docker image has been created, you can create a docker container with the following command (replace '<container name>' with a custom name of your choice):

docker create -p 8080:80 -p 1111:1111 --name matsuura_uploader

Finally, the docker container can be used to test the system by intiating an interactive shell and executing the commands discussed elsewhere in this README file.  Namely:

docker exec -it /bin/bash source .env dbg_start_web_app

You should then be able to navigate to the url `http://localhost:8080` to see the web interface.

*Note: This is currently only working for debugging the web front end and the serial sender will not execute correctly.  This is due to Python version mis-matches which will be cleaned up shortly.