User`s manual

For nearly 30 years, Darex has been
making precision cutting tool sharpeners
for use in shops of all sizes, from
leading manufacturers such as Ford, GM,
and Boeing down to simple one-person
sharpening services.
When the Oregon-based company decided
to develop a new automated drill
sharpener with touchscreen programming,
president Gary Varney sent his engineering
team shopping for a display interface
that would be both cost effective and
easy to use.
After evaluating several options, Darex
chose Z•World’s OP7100 Smart Screen to
serve as the operator interface for the
new XPS-16 Drill Sharpener. The Smart
Screen’s graphical keypad options,
abundant memory, and “intelligent” LCD
controller provide the flexibility and
functionality required for almost any
application. Meanwhile, the display’s low
price and integrated programming envi-
ronment help save on production and
development costs.
Keep It Simple
In building the XPS-16, which is
designed to serve high-production
machines, Darex sought to avoid the
expense and complexity that characterize
most other computer numerical control
(CNC) sharpeners. “Before we began,”
says Varney, “we looked at our
competitors’ sharpeners and asked:
‘Must cutting tool sharpeners be compli-
cated? Why must affordability come at
the expense of accuracy?’”
Z•World’s Smart Screen
gives Darex a user-friendly
operator interface that
won’t break the budget.
“We were very much
price-driven during devel-
opment,” says research
and development manager
Dennis Sobolik. “We
looked at the per-unit
cost and capabilities of
the Smart Screen and felt
like it was the best fit for
our application, not only in terms of
price but also in terms of the open
architecture, the programming language,
the number of I/O ports we could talk
through, and the onboard storage
capacity.”
Darex was also swayed by the OP7100’s
ability to simplify the new sharpener’s
demanding tasks. “We wanted to be
able to handle high-performance drills,
which require a lot of different angles
and geometries that we can’t generate
manually,” says Varney. “So we needed
to have control, and we wanted to make
it simple.”
One way Varney sought to make the
XPS-16 easy to use was by minimizing
text and using clear, unmistakable
onscreen icons to convey commands.
Because the XPS-16 is marketed and
sold internationally, Darex wanted the
touchscreen to be almost entirely picture
driven. “The whole idea was to make a
machine that would do complicated
sharpening but would be simple for the
operator to use,” says Varney. “In order
to do that, we had to become very
graphical. The less text we have, the
easier it is for the operator and the
fewer translations we have to make.”
“Max” Factor
The Smart Screen is designed to store a
substantial number of images in Flash
memory for immediate recall (the
OP7100 features 2 x 256K Flash, one
OP7100 Smart Screen Makes Darex the “Sharp” Choice
Intelligent touchscreen a key component of affordable automated drill sharpener
each for code and data/image storage).
Darex has effectively maximized graphics
storage on the OP7100, installing 120
images onboard.
Z•World’s integrated Dynamic C® devel-
opment software allows users to create
their own images in familiar graphics
applications. “All of our graphics are
created in [Microsoft] Paintbrush and
then converted to usable format via
a simple utility in Dynamic C,” says
Jennifer Hanson, Darex’s computer
information systems and programming
specialist.
Darex also utilizes the OP7100 to store
files and settings and update code on
the sharpener’s own computer. “We really
max out this LCD,” says Hanson. “We
connect the Smart Screen’s RS-232 port
to a PC Windows platform, and we down-
load information such as user files and
calibration settings for the sharpener to
and from the LCD. We also update code
for the sharpener by sticking the new
code on the OP7100’s second Flash—
then we transfer it from the Flash
to the sharpener.”
When the operator boots up the
XPS-16, the sharpener’s computer will
tell the OP7100 if it doesn’t have good
code, in which case the OP7100 auto-
matically begins sending the sharpener
new code. “We use a download manager
[a sample program in Dynamic C] to
automatically update the software in the
LCD,” says Hanson. “The user presses a
button on the screen and transfers the
new code from the PC to the sharpener
with a software program written espe-
cially for the XPS. After transfer, the new
code will automatically execute and the
user is up and running again.”
With touchscreen programming and one-
touch set up, the XPS-16 requires very
little user effort. Shop personnel simply
insert the drill, select the point type
from the graphics on the LCD, and push
the start button. Less than a minute
later, the drill is sharp and ready for work.
continued on page 4
In Control • Fall 2001 • www.zworld.com
3