Quote from custom2 on 16 June 2025, 23:06

Good Day Gents/Ladys

Since SimCNC does not have the ability to preview 4th Axis rotary toolpaths and because I desperately needed this functionality as a sanity check, I created a app that visualizes and animates a given tool path. (2.5D and 4th Axis rotary)

I added feed rate analysis by color coding the toolpath, PNG export and a couple of other functions.

The problem Im having is integrating it to SimCNC via maybe the load Gcode Button. Not replacing SimCNC functionality but just as a extra visual aid.

I was thinking of hooking on to Device.py as below but it seems not to have any gcode loading commands

import sys
import os

# Add debug information
print("Python version:", sys.version)
print("Current working directory:", os.getcwd())
print("Python path:", sys.path)

# Add the SimCNC scripts directory to the Python path
scripts_dir = os.path.join(os.environ["PROGRAMFILES"], "simCNC", "profiles", "RF45", "scripts")
if scripts_dir not in sys.path:
sys.path.append(scripts_dir)
print(f"Added to Python path: {scripts_dir}")

try:
import ___DEVICE as device_module # SimCNC device library (note the triple underscores)
print("___DEVICE module imported successfully")
print("Available classes/methods in ___DEVICE:", [method for method in dir(device_module) if not method.startswith('_')])

# Create a Device instance
d = device_module.Device()
print("Device instance created successfully")
print("Available methods in Device instance:", [method for method in dir(d) if not method.startswith('_')])

except ImportError as e:
print(f"Failed to import ___DEVICE module: {e}")
print("Available files in scripts directory:")
if os.path.exists(scripts_dir):
print(os.listdir(scripts_dir))
else:
print(f"Scripts directory does not exist: {scripts_dir}")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error creating Device instance: {e}")

# Update the HTML file path to reference the ToolpathViewer folder
html_file = os.path.join(os.environ["PROGRAMFILES"], "simCNC", "screens", "SmuQScreenV2", "ToolpathViewer", "NCViewer2.html")
print(f"HTML file path: {html_file}")

def open_html_view():
print(f"Attempting to open HTML file: {html_file}")
if os.path.exists(html_file):
print("HTML file exists, opening...")
os.system(f'start "{html_file}"') # Opens in default browser
else:
print("Error: HTML file not found!")
print("Files in ToolpathViewer directory:")
viewer_dir = os.path.dirname(html_file)
if os.path.exists(viewer_dir):
print(os.listdir(viewer_dir))

# Hook into G-code load event
def on_gcode_load():
print("G-code load event triggered")
open_html_view()

# Only attach function if ___DEVICE module was imported successfully
try:
if 'd' in locals():
print("Available methods in Device instance:", [method for method in dir(d) if not method.startswith('_')])
# Try different possible event hook methods
if hasattr(d, 'onGCodeLoad'):
d.onGCodeLoad(on_gcode_load)
print("Successfully attached to G-code load event using onGCodeLoad")
elif hasattr(d, 'on_gcode_load'):
d.on_gcode_load(on_gcode_load)
print("Successfully attached to G-code load event using on_gcode_load")
elif hasattr(d, 'setGCodeLoadCallback'):
d.setGCodeLoadCallback(on_gcode_load)
print("Successfully attached to G-code load event using setGCodeLoadCallback")
elif hasattr(d, 'addCallback'):
# Try generic callback registration
d.addCallback('gcode_load', on_gcode_load)
print("Successfully attached to G-code load event using addCallback")
else:
print("No known G-code load event method found. Manual trigger available.")
print("You can call on_gcode_load() manually to test the HTML viewer.")
# Test the HTML viewer manually
print("Testing HTML viewer...")
on_gcode_load()
else:
print("___DEVICE module not available, cannot attach to events")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error attaching to G-code load event: {e}")

print("Hook script initialization complete")

Any Idea how to go about automating the loading of the Gcode.

Any help would be apreciated.

Deon Gerber