XEM (Xenetech Engraving Macro Language)

Transcription

1 XEM (Xenetech Engraving Macro Language) Xenetech Engraving Macro overview The.XEM file is an ASCII delimited text file that in its most basic form contains comments, "macro" instructions to load a Xenetech job save file (a template), positioning information for each of the engraved plates and the text to insert into the job template. Extra, optional macro instructions allow the macro to control whether the system will perform the "grid cutout" feature or not and when to start a "fresh sheet" of material. This last feature allows processing of more tags then can be engraved on one sheet of material - a batch process of multiple tags or plates engraved on a series of "master sheets". Alternately this same feature is useful when more than one process is required on a part or tag - text engraved and a hole cut - that will require a tool change. This is the reason for the GRID O and GRID OFF option which allow the macro to delay the grid cutout until the end of the batch process. Xenetech Engraving Macro format: 1. First four lines are comments, maximum of 64 characters to a line, delimited by a carriage return and a line feed (ASCII 13, ASCII 10 - HEX 0x0D, 0x0A). This is a default and must be there. The lines CA have nothing but CR/LF if necessary, but four lines for comments must be there. 2. ext Line (optionally) can be a command to turn the grid cut feature on or off (off is default). The sequence is semicolon, semicolon, Escape (ASCII 27, HEX 0x1B) followed by GRID O or GRID OFF then delimited by the CR/LF. An option to the Escape (ASCII 27) key is an '!' (exclamation symbol, ASCII 33, HEX 0x21). This is there because some word processors do not allow the operator to type in an ASCII 27. If you are using a program to generate the MACRO on the other hand, this does not present a problem. example: ;;<ESC>GRID OFF (ASCII 13, ASCII 10). 3. ext line gives job save name (Xenetech.XOT file) to use as template, done as semicolon, semicolon, job name again delimited by CR/LF. Please note that an <ESC> IS OT USED in this sequence and that the.xot file extension is OT present or required. example: ;;TAG1 (ASCII 13, ASCII 10). 4. ext line gives tag location on table. This refers to the upper left corner of the tag in absolute positioning and is given by an 'X' and 'Y' location. The numbers are standard decimal notation limited to 3 decimal places, separated by a space and is delimited by CR/LF. example: (ASCII 13, ASCII 10). This example would cause the plate described by item #3 to engrave with the upper left corner of the plate flush left and to the top of the sheet of material. 5. The next lines in the sequence are devoted to the TEXT to be engraved on the template. The number of lines present MUST represent the number of lines stored in the job format from item #3 of this document. If a line does not require any engraved text, a line still Xenetech Engraving Macro # 1

2 must be allowed for in the macro file containing a SPACE to "hold" the line for the software. 6. This sequence (#'s 3, 4 and 5) are repeated until finished or the sheet of material is filled. If more than 1 sheet is required, an extra command is available to to tell the Xenetech software to start a new sheet. This is semicolon, semicolon, escape, EXT SHEET, CR/LF. example ;;<ESC>EXT SHEET (ASCII 13, ASCII 10). The results of this command are that the engraver will return to the home position and turn the spindle motor off. The the grid cutout is "O", the next function will be the grid. After the grid is engraved, or if not required, the operator changes sheets of material on the table and starts the machine. Please note that the macro commands with the ;;<ESC> sequence are optional and can be located anywhere in the macro file. Because certain text editors do not allow an ASCII 27 to display, a "!" (ASCII 33) may be substituted as an alternative to the <ESC> ASCII 27. Please find below a typical XEM file: this is a test plate for the Xenetech engraving macro software ;;!GRID OFF top line Vert left Vert Right Bottom line.75,3.75 test 1 test 2 test 3 test 4 test 5 75,0 another tag more vert yet more another bottom 75,1.75 test 1 test 2 test 3 Xenetech Engraving Macro # 2

3 test ,1.75 different plate with different layout ert text more vert bottom line again ;;EXT SHEET ;;GRID O 75,0 75, , ,3.75 Enhanced Macro Commands Use the double front slash for a comments section. Any text found after the double front slash until a carriage return is considered as comments. ;;!MULTIPLE ;;!12,16 This command, just as listed, tells the Xenetech software to go into the normal "Multiple Plate" mode used within the software, engraving the specified plates on the size of material in the command ";;!12,16". The first plate will start at the upper left of the material and each proceeding plate will fill up the material, making best use of material. In the normal macro, your program would specify the X,Y location of the upper left corner of each plate to place the plate out in space. You will still need to account for this macro command to maintain the integrity of the file. Xenetech Engraving Macro # 3

4 However, any value placed here will be disregarded by the system. The macros we used here to test this generally contained for this item. ;;!BATCH This command tells the Xenetech software that each plate of the job will engrave out on one piece of material at the size specified in the.xot file. If you are linking a set of jobs together this way, each plate can be a different size. Another MACRO command that is useful is the COLOR command: This command causes Xenetech to display a warning dialog to inform the operator of a color or material change. The line () following the command is the text to display in the dialog. This text can be up to 255 characters long and must not contain any carriage returns (0x0d 0x0a). This command most often is placed after a "EXT SHEET" command. If you are using BATCH, the COLOR command can be placed immediately before each template name. A sample Macro file using the ;;!BATCH command might look like this: hello there this is a test to see the macro file at work. ;;!BATCH ;;!GRID O THIS IS LIE 1 this is line 2 AD THIS IS LIE 3 ;;!6x8 blue gravel ply Xenetech Engraving Macro # 4

5 THIS SHOULD BE PLATE 2 LIE 1 LIE 2 LIE 3 A sample Macro file using the ;;!MULTIPLE command might look like this: hello there this is a test to see the macro file at work. ;;!MULTIPLE ;;!12,16 ;;!GRID O THIS IS LIE 1 this is line 2 AD THIS IS LIE 3 THIS SHOULD BE PLATE 2 LIE 1 LIE 2 LIE 3 THIS SHOULD BE PLATE 3 LIE 1 LIE 2 LIE 3 THIS SHOULD BE PLATE 4 LIE 1 LIE 2 LIE 3 THIS SHOULD BE PLATE 5 LIE 1 LIE 2 LIE 3 Xenetech Engraving Macro # 5