System "Button"

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Overview

The SYSTEM button provides access to the joint system and configuration menu. The system menu provides system tools and information for diagnostic purposes. The configuration menu contains system and instance parameters that affect the overall functionality of TMAC. The availability of certain features and functions may vary based on permissions available to the active profile.

System Menu

The System Menu contains the following buttons:

  • Enable/Disable Part Re-cut: Enables part re-cut, ignoring undercut limits until Part Re-cut is disabled.
  • Monitor Enable/Disable: Disables all monitoring for the system
  • View System Log: Launches the TMAC Log Viewer
  • System Information: Launches a menu that displays various system information
  • Diagnostics: Launches a menu of tools and information for testing and diagnostic purposes

Part Re-Cut

The Part Re-cut feature disables the undercut alarm for a job or operation. When a part needs to be re-cut, the signal value does not exceed the normal levels for the operation. The undercut limit requires the signal value to exceed a certain threshold. It is likely during a part re-cut that a false undercut alarm will be generated by not satisfying the expected threshold. It is then advisable to disable the undercut alarm by turning on part re-cut mode.

Part Re-cut enabled (Purple Widget)

Enable Part Recut

To enable part re-cut use the following steps:

  1. Select the desired TMAC Instance from the System Summary
  2. click the SYSTEM button on the TMAC Action Bar
  3. click the ENABLE PART RE-CUT button
Part Re-cut

To disable Part Re-cut follow the steps above and click the Enable/Disable Part Re-cut button. Part Re-cut can also be disabled by clicking the RESET button or by sending a command to reset TMAC.

Monitor Disable

The Monitor Disable feature disables all monitoring for the selected TMAC Instance. When monitoring is disabled, the system does not perform any monitoring functions. The live graphs for all channels are light gray while in the disabled state.

Note: When TMAC is disabled, monitored operations are unprotected.

Setting Monitor Disable

To disable monitoring use the following steps:

  1. Select the desired TMAC Instance from the System Summary
  2. click the SYSTEM button on the TMAC Action Bar
  3. click Monitor Disable
  4. click TURN ON

This TMAC process remains disabled until monitoring is turned on with the Monitor DISABLE/ENABLE button or a command through the CNC.

Note: The Monitor Disable state persists through cycling power on the machine.

Monitor Disable

Log Viewer

Log Viewer


The TMAC Log Viewer displays a list of system events for diagnostic purposes. A log is created for each day the TMAC system is used for any purpose. This feature is primarily used by system integrators and supervisors for product support and diagnostics. The Log viewer is split into the following three sections:

  1. List of Log Files: List of logs for each day the system was used
  2. Output: List of events for the selected log. Each event displays a time stamp, level, process and a descriptive message.
  3. Filter Options: Use the drop-downs to select filters by level (All, Error, Critical, Warning, Notice, and Info) and process (All, Boot, EtherCAT, RS232, Rest API, Webserver, SSDP1, Websocket, Suprock_USB, tmac1, tmac1/commands, etc...)

System Information

Clicking the System Information button in the System Menu opens a menu containing general information about TMAC. The System Information window has the following tabs:

  • General
  • Profiles
  • Data Management
  • Notifications
  • Documents
  • Support
  • System Update

General Tab

System Information General Tab

The General tab displays the following information.

  • Software information
    • Date Installed
    • Software Version
    • Build Number
  • Machine information
    • Serial Number
    • Machine Name
    • Machine Description
  • License
    • Product
    • License Owner
    • Serial Number
    • Download - download a copy of the system's license
    • Update - update the system license
  • Display Options
    • Low Performance Mode
    • Single Window Mode
  • Time Settings
    • System Time Zone
    • System Time
Low Performance Mode

Some TMAC features and functions require a significant amount of CPU and GPU resources. Low Performance mode allows TMAC to operate more efficiently on low end PC hardware by limiting some resource intensive features of the user interface. When Low Performance mode is enabled, the following user interface changes occur:

  • Reduction of the use of animations (moving icons, flashing alarms, etc...)
  • Area under the curve data is displayed in similar manner to legacy soft- ware. (No shading under the curve, signal line changes color to display work in place of shading. )

Note: The TCU will still function normally in low performance mode. Only the HMI is impacted.

Single Window Mode

By default, TMAC opens a new window when opening the Event Log and Data Viewer. Enabling Single Window Mode prevents TMAC from opening new windows for the Event Log and Data Viewer.

Remote File System Mode

When enabled, TMAC may still access the file system for importing and exporting data to an external USB drive while in Single Window Mode

Editing Time Settings

Due to how the TMAC system is assembled and prepared prior to on site installation, there may be a discrepancy between the time setting on the TCU and the actual time settings on site. This can cause TMAC to store the incorrect time of system events in recording, system and event log data. It is recommended to update the time settings to remedy this discrepancy using the following steps:

  1. Press the EDIT button
  2. Press the check-boxes for Time Zone and Time
  3. Press the AUTO-DETECT buttons for Time Zone and Time. This automatically populates the fields based on the time settings of the PC being used to connect to TMAC.
  4. Press APPLY

Note: The Time setting may also be set manually, in place of using the auto-detect feature.

Editing Time Settings Step 1
Editing Time Settings Steps 2-3
Editing Time Settings Steps 4

Profiles Tab

The Profiles tab allows the following:

  • View, create, delete, and edit user profiles
  • Add Application Integrations allowing external applications to access TMAC data and settings

Access to this menu is dependent on the permissions of the active profile.

Profiles

Each profile has associated permissions that either restrict or expand access to features and settings in TMAC. These permissions can be changed for both user- created profiles and TMAC's default profiles.

To add a profile use the following steps:

  1. Click the +NEW button
  2. Enter a name and password for the profile. An optional description field is provided
  3. Set any desired system permissions by clicking the associated checkboxes.
  4. Click SAVE

Once a profile is created, it can be deleted by clicking the DELETE button to the right of the associated profile.

Creating a Profile
Editing Profiles

If the active profile has permissions to edit profiles, all profiles can be edited to change the following:

  • Name (user-created profiles only)
  • Description (user-created profiles only)
  • Password
  • Permissions

To edit a profile, click the EDIT button and make any desired changes.

Applications Integration

The TMAC Rest API allows 3rd party applications to access certain data and settings from the TMAC system. In order to establish access to TMAC through the Rest API, an application profile must be added. To add an application profile use the following steps:

To add a profile use the following steps:

  1. Click the +NEW button
  2. Enter a name for the 3rd party application
  3. Set any desired permissions by clicking the associated check-boxes.
  4. Click SAVE

Once an application profile is created, it can be deleted by clicking the DELETE button to the right of the associated profile.  

Data Management Tab

The Data Management tab provides access to the following:

  • Data Usage: A summary of storage statistics for the TMAC system. Users can view:
  1. Total space available and total space used in MB
  2. Percentage of space used by recordings, logs, and total usage and free space
  3. The number of system events, logs including line count, and recordings stored by the system
  • Data Purge: A utility to purge system data
  • Data Backup: A utility to create a backup of part or all of the TMAC system
Data Management Tab
Purging System Data

TMAC is capable of storing large amounts of data over time. Data Purge provides a fast and simple way to remove unwanted data stored on the database. The data purge tool can remove specific data types, data from a certain time frame, or all system data. When performing a data purge, the following options determine what data is purged:

  • Full Purge: Toggling this button sets the purge tool to remove all system events, logs, and recordings regardless of the time frame.
  • System Events: Mark this check box to set the purge tool to remove all system events
  • Logs: Mark this check box to set the purge tool to remove all system logs
  • Machine Recordings: Mark this check box to set the purge tool to remove all recordings local to the TMAC System
  • Imported Recordings: Mark this check box to set the purge tool to remove all recordings that have been imported in the Data Viewer
  • Reclaim Space: A certain amount of disk space is allocated for the database. When data is purged from the database, the data is removed, but the amount of space reserved for the database does not change. Marking this check-box allows TMAC to rewrite the database and free some of the space allocated to the database.

Note: This process can take some time and TMAC can not be used while reclaiming space. The reclaim space feature is typically used for maintenance and should be used as a last resort.

  • Preserve Data: This setting prevents the purge from removing data that occurred since a date set by the user. When a purge is performed and a time frame is picked, TMAC removes all data of the selected types (system events, logs, recordings etc...) excluding data that was stored since the selected date. Data is also kept for the date chosen.

To perform a data purge, select the desired purge options and click the purge button.

Data Purge Tool
Data Backup

Data Backup provides a simple interface to create a backup file of data stored on the database. The data backup tool can backup specific data types, data from a certain time frame, or all system data. Backup data must be directed to a external storage device connected to the TCU (USB drive, external hard drive, etc...). The data backup tool provides a list of eligible storage devices. When creating a data backup, the following options determine the content of the backup file:

  • Full Backup: Toggling on this button sets the backup tool to store all system events, logs, and recordings to the backup regardless of time frame.
  • System Events: Mark this check box to add system events to the backup file
  • Logs: Mark this check box to add system logs to the backup file
  • Machine Recordings: Mark this check box to add all local recordings to the backup file
  • Imported Recordings: Mark this check box to add all imported recordings to the backup file
  • Backup Time Frame: This setting restricts the data backup to data that occurred since a date set by the user. When a backup is performed and a time frame is picked, TMAC backs up all data of the selected types (system events, logs, recordings etc...) excluding data that was stored prior to the selected date. For example, selecting past week for a backup excludes all data older than one week from the backup.

To perform a backup, select the storage device and data to include, then click the backup button.

Data Backup Tool

Notification Tab

In the Notifications tab, users may enable and disable system notifications. System notifications appear under the Notifications button on the TMAC Toolbar. The following notifications can be enabled or disabled:

  • System Update: Notifies if an update becomes available
  • License Status: Notifies if license is invalid
  • Data Purge: Notifies of data purge progression and completion
  • System Backup: Notifies if storage levels cross preset threshold or become full
  • Storage Levels: Notifies if storage usage levels cross preset threshold or become full
  • Miscellaneous: Notifications that don't fit into one of the above categories
Notifications Tab

Email Notifications

TMAC is capable of sending system notifications via email. This requires network access from the TCU to the outgoing mail server. To enable email notifications, the TCU must have either:

  • external internet access or,
  • access to a local-network SMTP server

Network administrators should determine the best solution for email notification setup. Establishing an internet connection on the TCU requires changes to the system configuration and should be completed by a system integrator or network administrator.

Setting up the Outgoing Mail Server

The following fields need to be set to allow TMAC to send email notifications:

  • Protocol: This is the protocol used to communicate with the email provider. Options are:
    • SMTP: This protocol is considered less secure.
    • SMTPS: Many email providers require SMTPS for it's increased security
  • Server Name: The URL or IP address of the email provider's outgoing mail server. Example - smtp.gmail.com
  • Port Number: The remote port used for communication with the email provider's mail server. Examples - 25, 465 or 587
  • Username: The username used to authenticate outgoing messages. Many email providers require a full email address in this field. Example - <user- name>@gmail.com
  • Password: The password used to authenticate outgoing messages. Many providers require configuring secure "app passwords" to use in this field in place of an actual account password
  • SMTP and SMTPS settings vary per email provider and are publicly available information.
Outgoing Mail Server Settings
Message Options

The following message options must be set for email notifications:

  • From: The email address that notifications will be sent from
  • To: The email address that is to receive notifications
  • Cc: Any additional emails that need to receive notifications; Multiple emails must be separated by a comma
  • Reduced Message Size: Send a smaller notification message. Useful for notifications sent to SMS recipients
Outgoing Mail Server Settings

Note: The SEND TEST MESSAGE button will send an alarm notification message to the email addresses or phone number configured in the message options. This feature tests that email notifications are operating as intended.

Document Tab

In the Documents tab, users may view the following information:

  • Release Notes: Select the version from the drop-down menu to view that version's release notes. Release notes contain new features and bug fixes that were applied for the version.
  • EULA: Read the Caron Engineering End User License Agreement
Documents Tab

Support Tab

The Support tab provides a support package utility that bundles specific system information useful for support. This information includes but is not limited to the following:

  • System Events
  • Logs
  • System Configuration
  • Jobs

To download a support package, click the DOWNLOAD SUPPORT PACKAGE button and choose a file location to save to. Support packages are saved as a .zip file.

Note: The support package should be saved on the PC; that is being used to view the HMI.

Support Tab

System Update Tab

The System Update tab displays the following:

  • Current version number
  • Latest version number
  • Date the system was last updated

If the system is not up to date, an update button is available. To update the system, simply click the UPDATE SYSTEM button.

Note: This UPDATE SYSTEM button is only available when using the TMAC Explorer.

System Update Tab

Diagnostics

The diagnostics window provides system information primarily used for support and testing of the system. In general, the features and information available only need to be accessed by system integrators and supervisors. The following information is available:

  • Channels: View channel data including Min Scale, Max Scale, and cur- rent value for each channel. Channels are organized by type (primary, spindle, coolant and passive channels).
  • Inputs/Outputs: View and test system inputs and outputs. Outputs can be turned on and off from the TMAC Explorer for testing.
  • Processes: View and restart any TMAC process. CPU and memory use are displayed for each process
Diagnostics Window

System Menu: Configuration Sub-Menu

The Configuration Menu contains the following buttons:

  • Instance Parameters: A menu of settings specific to each instance of the TMAC System
  • System Configuration: This section is used to configure the TMAC system and should only be accessed by integrators. Refer to the system integrators manual for more information.
Instance Parameters

Instance Parameters

Instance parameters apply to specific instances in the TMAC system. A TMAC system may include several instances depending on the machine and CNC that TMAC is integrated with. This settings menu has the following tabs:

  • General
  • Channels
  • Alarms
  • Data Storage
  • Custom Events

General Tab

The settings on the General tab allow labels to be set to differentiate between instances. The following settings can be changed or set:

  • Instance Color: Select an accent color for the user interface specific to the instance. This also changes the color of elements in the HMI throughout the software to help differentiate between instances.
  • Serial ID: Set a serial identifier to the Event log and recordings associated with the instance
  • Part ID: Set a part identifier to the Event log and recordings associated with the instance

Channels Tab

The Channels tab displays a list of channels and channel information. Channels are organized by channel class (Primary, Spindle, Coolant, and Passive). The following channel information is displayed for each channel:

  • Channel Name: This parameter is set in the configuration and can not be changed here.
  • Min Scale Range: This parameter is set in the configuration and can not be changed here.
  • Max Scale Range:This parameter is set in the configuration and can not be changed here.
  • Learn Scale: The scale used by TMAC during a learn operation. This parameter must be set for each primary channel in each TMAC instance

Note: If any passive channels are configured, TMAC automatically collects passive channel data with a start monitor. This feature is on by default, but can be turned off by toggling the Auto start passive channels switch on the passive channels panel.

Channels Tab
Channel Groups

In addition to viewing channel data, the channels tab allows for the creation of channel groups. A channel group is a collection of user specified channels. Issuing a command to a channel group issues the command to all channels in the group. Channel groups availability is dependent on the permissions of the active profile.

Example: If a channel group consists of three channels, a single start command can be issued for the channel group and TMAC will issue start commands to all three channels simultaneously.

Use the following steps to create a channel group

  1. Click ADD GROUP
  2. Enter Channel Group information
    1. Group Name:
    2. Group ID:
    3. Group Description:
  3. Click Apply
  4. Click Add Channel
  5. Select channels for the group
  6. Click Add

Channels can be added and removed from the channel group at any time.

Alarms Tab

The alarms tab allows TMAC alarms to be mapped to specific alarm bits. Alarm bits are generally mapped during system integration.

Alarms Tab

In addition to the ability to map alarm bits, the following Tap parameters are programmable:

  • Tap Extreme Delay
  • Output Off Delay
  • Adaptive ON Follows Tap
Email Notification

When a system is configured to send email notifications, TMAC emails a preconfigured alarm message each time an alarm occurs. The alarm message email notifications can be disabled by alarm category per instance. For example, an instance could be set up to only send email notifications for critical alarms.

Instance Parameters - Email Notifications

Data Storage Tab

The Data Storage tab allows storage limits to be set for Data Viewer recordings and system events.

The following data storage parameters are available for recordings:

  • Save Alarm Files Only: If checked, TMAC only saves recordings for operations that contain alarm events
  • Limit Recording Count: Users can limit the amount of recordings saved
    • # of Recordings: TMAC keeps a number of recordings based on user input. Once the user inputted number of recordings is reached, any new recording deletes the oldest recording.
    • # of Days: TMAC deletes all recordings older than the number of days set

The following data storage parameters are available for system events:

  • Enable System Events: If checked, TMAC saves system events for view- ing in the Event Log
  • Limit Event Count: Users can limit the number of events saved by TMAC
    • # of Events: TMAC keeps a number of system events based on user input. Once the number of events is reached, any new event deletes the oldest event.
    • # of Days: TMAC deletes all events older than the number of days set
Data Storage Tab

Custom Events

A Custom event is a user created event. Custom events allow the user to mark events in the Event Log or chart data. Additionally, machine and system data can be passed with the custom event, allowing additional data to be stored and reviewed in the Data Viewer and Event log.

For example, a custom event could be created to pass the spindle speed of the machine at a certain point in a part program. To do this, the user would create the custom event and add a call in the part program at the desired time. After the part program is executed, the custom event is stored with the associated chart data. The custom event appears on the recording as a vertical line. The event on the recording is labeled with the name and color assigned to the custom event at creation.

Adding a Custom Event

Use the following steps to create a custom event:

  1. Click the ADD EVENT button
  2. Enter Event Information:
    1. Event Type: System or Channel. The event type determines where the custom event is viewable. System events appear in the event log and channel events appear in chart data recordings for associated operations.
    2. Event ID: This is a unique identifier for the event. It is used to add the event to the system event log or chart data based on the custom event type.
    3. Event Name: Set an event name to easily identify the event in the Event Log or Data Viewer
    4. Description: Provides a brief description of the purpose of the custom event.
    5. Event Color: Customize the color of the event as it appears in the Event log or Data Viewer. Setting a color helps distinguish between custom events and other standard system events that occur.
  3. Click Apply
Creating a Custom Event
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