This is the beginning of a page detailing the manual pendent I am building. The design idea was presented to me by Mo. Basically the idea is to use the circuit board from cheap keyboard and to wire switches to the board to replace the keys for the commands you want. Then the new pendent circuit board is hooked to the computer and a socket is added to plug the original keyboard into. It is all hooked up through a double pole single throw that selects which keyboard is live to the computer.
I picked up a keyboard at Tech America for US$8.95. I got a project box to put it all in along with 30 pushbutton switches,
a 12 position rotary switch, a non-latching SPDT switch and a DIN socket for around US$20.00 at a local electronics surplus store.
So, my total out lay is aroung US$30.00
I plan to hook up
switches for the following functions:
manual movement of X, Y, Z
Run, Abort (maybe Pause and Step)
Manual, Auto
Jog Continuous, Jog Incremental
E-stop, Machine on
10, 20, 30, 40, 70, 80, 90, 100% speed override
Mist coolant
This is the keyboard I sacrificed shown from the back with the back cover removed. The little green rectangle in the to left corner is the circuit board I will use
Here is a close up of the circuit board.
This is the circuit board with the plastic sheet that has all the traces to the keys still attached.
This is the circuit board with some of the switched I am using in the pendent already attached.