The controller consists of two parts. First, the Arduino Uno firmware, controlling stepper motors based on USB/COM port inputs. Second, desktop GUI, providing a workspace and high level abstraction of the controlled machine.
An old version of the machine in action can be seen on Youtube
In this section some of the interesting GUI features are presented.
A workspace overview. 4D wing aerofoils + a wing tip can be seen here.
4D shapes can be designed directly through the GUI and viewed in 3D with free rotation and zooming.
The workspace is synchronized with the machine, showing actuall head positions and remaining cutting time.
The GUI provides cutting coordinates interpolation from images, which makes producing of complex shapes very simple (no CAD editors required).
Drag&drop makes it easy to layout multiple shapes within a single cutting plan. The scaffold drawing is a useful feature for targeting the shapes' positions into small blocks of foam.
