brachiograph.py

The BrachioGraph class

class BrachioGraph:

    def __init__(
        self,
        inner_arm=8,                # the lengths of the arms
        outer_arm=8,
        servo_1_centre=1500,        # shoulder motor centre pulse-width
        servo_2_centre=1500,        # elbow motor centre pulse-width
        servo_1_angle_pws=[],       # pulse-widths for various angles
        servo_2_angle_pws=[],
        servo_1_degree_ms=-10,      # milliseconds pulse-width per degree
        servo_2_degree_ms=10,       # reversed for the mounting of the elbow servo
        arm_1_centre=-60,
        arm_2_centre=90,
        hysteresis_correction_1=0,  # hardware error compensation
        hysteresis_correction_2=0,
        bounds=[-8, 4, 6, 13],      # the maximum rectangular drawing area
        wait=None,
        virtual_mode = False,
        pw_up=1500,                 # pulse-widths for pen up/down
        pw_down=1100,
    ):

BrachioGraph attributes

attribute	default	description
inner_arm, outer_arm	8	length of each arm in centimetres
servo_1_centre, servo_2_centre	1500	motor centre pulse-widths; ignored if the servo_<x>_angle_pws arguments (below) are provided
servo_1_angle_pws, servo_2_angle_pws	[]	a list of empirically-derived pulse-width/angle pairs; if provided, will be used to provide a function for calculating pulse-widths; see Advanced calibration
servo_1_degree_ms, servo_2_degree_ms	-10, 10	milliseconds pulse-width change per degree of motor movement; see Adjust pulse-width to movement factor
arm_1_centre	-60	angle in degrees of the shoulder motor’s centre of movement (i.e. at servo_1_centre) relative to the drawing grid; see Basic calibration
arm_2_centre	90	angle in degrees of the elbow motor’s centre of movement (i.e. at servo_2_centre) relative to the inner arm; see Basic calibration
hysteresis_correction_1, hysteresis_correction_2	0	empirically-derived hardware error compensation values, in mS; see Hysteresis compensation
bounds	[-8, 4, 6, 13]	the box within which the BrachioGraph will draw; see Understanding the plotter’s geometry
virtual_mode	False	runs the BrachioGraph without attached hardware
wait	None	a factor that influences the time before the next movement is commanded
pw_up, pw_down	1500, 1100	pulse width values at which the pen is in the up/down positions

Management methods

park()

Sends the arms to the parking position, with the inner arm at -90˚ and the outer arm at 90˚ to it. This corresponds to an x/y position:

• x: -inner_arm

• y: outer_arm

Image drawing methods

plot_file(image)

• image: path to image file

Drawing utility methods

box()

Draw a box marked out by the bounds.

grid_lines()

Draws a grid within the box area marked out by the bounds.

Reporting methods

report()

The BrachioGraph instance has four attributes, angles_used_1, angles_used_2, pulse_widths_used_1, pulse_widths_used_2. They are all Python sets. Each time the set_angles method is called, it records the angle and pulse-width recorded for each of the two arm servos.

This creates a running record of all the positions the arms have been in.

After the arm has finished drawing, you can find the minimums, maximums and mid-points:

>>> bg.report()
               min   max   mid    min   max   mid
      angles  -124     7   -59     43   154    99
pulse-widths   771  2048  1410   1047  2063  1555

In this case, it’s good to know that the mid-points in the range both servos have covered while plotting all over the paper are not too far from 1500ms - which means that their range is reasonably well centred.

The Pen class

A BrachioGraph instance has an instance of a Pen class, as BrachioGraph.pen.

class BrachioGraph:

    def __init__(
        self,
        bg,                         # the BrachioGraph instance to which the Pen is attached
        pw_up=1500, pw_down=1100,   # pen up and pen down pulse-widths
        pin=18,                     # the GPIO pin
        transition_time=0.25        # how long to wait for up/down movements
        ):