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Friday Facts 21: Python to Makelangelo
Makelangelo a great way to tinker with algorithmic art, procedural art, generative code, and more. Python is a popular language for building generative art. To send G-code to a Makelangelo plotter over a serial connection using Python, you can use the pyserial library. Here is an example script that demonstrates how to establish the connection and send G-code commands.
First make sure you have pyserial installed.
pip install pyserialThen, open a serial connection to a USB connected Makelangelo.
import serial
import time
def send_gcode(port, baudrate, commands):
try:
# Open the serial port
with serial.Serial(port, baudrate, timeout=1) as ser:
time.sleep(2) # Wait for the connection to establish
# Send each G-code command
for command in commands:
ser.write((command + '\n').encode('utf-8'))
time.sleep(0.1) # Short delay between commands
response = ser.readline().decode('utf-8').strip()
print(f"Response: {response}")
except serial.SerialException as e:
print(f"Serial error: {e}")
# Define the G-code commands to send
gcode_commands = [
"G28", # Home all axes
"G1 X10 Y10 Z0 F3000", # Move to (10, 10, 0) at 3000 mm/min
"G1 X20 Y20 Z0 F3000", # Move to (20, 20, 0) at 3000 mm/min
# Add more G-code commands as needed
]
# Send G-code commands to Makelangelo plotter
send_gcode('/dev/TTY0', 250000, gcode_commands)
Explanation
- Import
serialandtime: Import necessary modules for serial communication and timing. - Define
send_gcodefunction: This function takes the serial port, baudrate, and a list of G-code commands as arguments. It opens the serial port, sends the G-code commands one by one, and prints the responses from the plotter. - Open the serial port: Using a
withstatement to ensure the port is properly closed after use. - Send commands: Iterate through the list of G-code commands, send each command, and print the response from the plotter.
- Define G-code commands: A list of G-code commands to be sent to the plotter.
- Call
send_gcode: Pass the serial port, baudrate, and G-code commands to the function.
Ensure that the port (/dev/TTY0) and baudrate (250000) match your Makelangelo plotter’s configuration. Adjust the G-code commands as needed for your specific tasks.
Final thoughts
You might also be interested in related plotter projects like vpype and vsketch.
