SINUMERIK 840D sl Easy Screen Custom Dialog for Operator Input

SINUMERIK 840D sl Easy Screen Custom Dialog for Operator Input During NC Runtime

This reference covers the end-to-end configuration of an SINUMERIK 840D sl custom operator dialog using the Easy Screen (SINUMERIK Operate) programming interface. The use case is operator-entered variable data, typically a product identification string, captured at an M00 program stop, stored in a Global User Data (GUD) variable, and consumed by the standard engraving cycle CYCLE60 through the <TEXT,_VAR_TEXT> substitution mechanism.

1. Functional Overview

The workflow implemented by this configuration is:

1. The NC program reaches the engraving position and executes M00 (program stop).
2. An MMC(...) NC command invokes a dialog loaded from /user/sinumerik/hmi/proj/ or /oem/sinumerik/hmi/proj/.
3. The operator enters the product ID through an alphanumeric Edit field on the SINUMERIK Operate user interface.
4. On softkey OK, the dialog writes the string into a globally defined STRING[n] GUD or into a numeric REAL GUD.
5. The dialog closes, the M00 is acknowledged by NC Start, and the engraving cycle reads the variable via _VAR_TEXT.

Substitution of the dialog variable into the cycle call is performed in the NC source by replacing the literal text in the engraving block with the variable reference.

2. Prerequisites

3. Easy Screen File System Layout

Custom dialogs reside in the user or manufacturer (OEM) project tree. Two trees exist; loading precedence is OEM → USER → ADDON → SIEMENS, with OEM taking priority. Files must live under the /proj/ subdirectory of the project tree.

Each dialog consists of three logical file groups inside one dialog subfolder, for example /user/sinumerik/hmi/proj/EngraveDialog/:

• engravedlg.ini — Configuration file with screen definitions, softkey layout, and access level.
• engravedlg.com — (Optional) Internal placeholder, not required for purely textual dialogs.
• engravedlg.bmp / engravedlg.png / engravedlg.ico — Icon and background assets referenced from the .ini.

4. Registering the Dialog in regie.ini

Every dialog directory must be announced in the active configuration level of regie.ini. Without registration, the file is invisible to MMC(). Locate the relevant file at /user/sinumerik/hmi/cfg/system/configuration/configuration.xml (Operate < 4.9) or via the Operating Area Switchover setup. The classic text-based mechanism is reproduced below for legacy environments.

; regie.ini — register custom dialog directories
; File path: /user/sinumerik/hmi/cfg/system/regie.ini

[MMC]
;Engraving operator dialog (user scope)
EngraveDialog/engravedlg = "Engraving Dialog", ../../proj/EngraveDialog/engravedlg.ini, "*", "", "ICON"

Restart the HMI after editing the registration:

; Service shell restart (Operate)
> sudo /etc/init.d/sinumerik-hmi restart
; or via menu: Start-up → HMI → Restart

5. Dialog Configuration (.ini) Anatomy

The Easy Screen .ini file uses section keys, declarative screen definitions, and inline scripting. A complete reference for the legacy Easy Screen syntax is provided in the Commissioning Manual Base Software chapter "Programming in the .ini File". The working template below implements the engraving dialog.

; ===========================================================
; engravedlg.ini
; Path: /user/sinumerik/hmi/proj/EngraveDialog/engravedlg.ini
; Purpose: capture operator-entered product ID at M00 program stop
; ===========================================================

[SIZE]
Width=620
Height=320
; Logical pixels; the dialog auto-scales to panel resolution.

[TEXT]
Title=Engraving — Product Identification
Subtitle=Enter the unique product ID before NC Start
BackColor=light gray
BackPicture=engravedlg.bmp
; Picture must reside in the dialog folder.

[KEYS]
SK1=OK
SK2=Cancel
SK3=Help
SK4=Default
SK5=LastID
SK6=Clear
SK7=
SK8=

[ACCESS]
; Manufacturer-only on SK5, others end-user level
SK1.protection=0
SK5.protection=4

[DEFAULTS]
; Trigger default values on first load
Edit1=""
Num1=0
FlagOK=0

; ---------------------- Screen definition ----------------------

[Screen01]
Title="Product ID"

; Static label
Var1 = limitle("Enter product ID", "ALIGN_LEFT", 12, 0)

; Alphanumeric edit field, max 32 chars
Edit1 = input("Product ID", "ALIGN_LEFT", 12, "STRING", 32, 0, $SN, /640/262/280/30)

; Numeric edit field, optional secondary counter
Num1  = input("Quantity",   "ALIGN_LEFT", 12, "REAL",  10, 0, $RN, /640/305/200/30)

; Decorative line
Var2 = limith("────────────────────", 12, /10/345/620/2)

; Status line
Var3 = limit("Press OK to store, Cancel to abort", /10/360/620/30)

; --------------------- Variable declarations ------------------

[VAR]
; Local Easy Screen variables
DEF CHAR Edit1[32]
DEF REAL Num1
DEF INT  FlagOK = 0
DEF CHAR LastID[32] = ""

; --------------------- Procedural blocks ----------------------

[LOAD]
; Run once when dialog opens
LastID = ""
; Read last ID from GUD (string GUD is not natively supported;
; numeric alternative uses GUD _CHAR counter that the NC
; writes via STRING assignment).
DISPLAY "Ready for input."

[CHANGE]
; Fired whenever an input element is modified

[UNLOAD]
; Run once when dialog closes
DISPLAY "Dialog closed."

[DO]
; Bound to softkey presses; SKx selection via IF
IF $SK == 1 THEN
   ; OK — copy to GUD
   GUD _CH_PROD_ID[0] = Edit1
   GUD _CH_PROD_ID_LEN[0] = strlen(Edit1)
   GUD _RN_PROD_QTY[0]  = Num1
   DISPLAY "Stored product ID: " << Edit1
   FlagOK = 1
   EXIT
ENDIF

IF $SK == 2 THEN
   ; Cancel
   DISPLAY "Operator cancelled."
   FlagOK = 0
   EXIT
ENDIF

IF $SK == 5 THEN
   ; Recall previous ID
   Edit1 = LastID
   DISPLAY "Reusing last product ID: " << Edit1
ENDIF

IF $SK == 6 THEN
   ; Clear
   Edit1 = ""
   Num1  = 0
   DISPLAY "Cleared fields."
ENDIF

5.1 Element Primitives

5.2 Coordinate System

The logical origin (0,0) is the top-left corner of the dialog box. Y increases downward. The dialog is rendered inside a non-modal window on top of the active area. Resolution is logical pixels; the rendering engine rescales for HD panels (1920×1080) using the system DPI factor.

6. Global User Data (GUD) Definitions

GUD is the standard mechanism for persistent user variables accessible from both NC and HMI. They are defined in the NC through machine data NC_USER_DATA_R, NC_USER_DATA_INT, NC_USER_DATA_HEX and through free GUD definitions in _N_DEF_DIR/_N_GUD_DEF for newer controls.

; _N_GUD_DEF / _N_GUD_K1
; Stored in NC file system: /card/user/cfg/
DEF NCK INT  _CH_PROD_ID_LEN
DEF NCK CHAR _CH_PROD_ID[32]
DEF NCK REAL _RN_PROD_QTY

; Bit mask for tool/operator setup
DEF NCK INT  _IB_OP_FLAGS = 0

Activation requires an NCK reset (or PI_SERVICE _N_GUD_DEF on newer firmware with hot-reload). Verify with:

; On SINUMERIK Operate:
; Start-up → NC/PLC Variables → NCK → GUD
; Expected row count >= 4 (the three variables plus _IB_OP_FLAGS).

7. Machine Display Data for Softkey Visibility

Custom softkeys appear on the SINUMERIK Operate horizontal softkey bar only if the corresponding display MDs are set. Two registers are relevant:

Example: to enable a custom softkey Engrave Dialog in the Machine area horizontal bar, slot 6:

; mmc.ini — display machine data
; File: /user/sinumerik/hmi/cfg/system/mmc.ini

[MACHINE_AREA_SOFTKEYS6]
SK6 = "ENGRAVE", "", "" ; title, picture, tooltip
ACCESS = 0               ; access level 0 = user

Couple the softkey to a dialog using softkey.ini:

; softkey.ini
; File: /user/sinumerik/hmi/cfg/system/softkey.ini

[SOFTKEY_AREA_MACHINE_SK6]
TEXT = "ENGRAVE"
TASK = "MMCDIALOG(EngraveDialog/engravedlg)"
ACCESSLEVEL = 0

Access level 0 corresponds to manufacturer level. End-user accessible softkeys use level 7. Set the operator password (pass 1111 by default for end-user) before testing.

8. Triggering the Dialog from an NC Program

The MMC(...) NC command opens an .ini dialog by name. Syntax (see Programming Manual Job Planning, chapter "Additional Commands"):

MMC("Name", "Mode", "Scope", "Geometry", "Result")

Insert the dialog call immediately after M00:

; engraving.spf — engraving subprogram
PROC ENGRAVE(REAL _POS_X, REAL _POS_Y, STRING[32] _ID, INT _QS)

DEF REAL _RET

; Position to engraving point
G0 X_POS_X Y_POS_Y

; Stop for operator input
M0

; Open dialog; blocks until OK/Cancel pressed
MMC("EngraveDialog/engravedlg", "M", "S", "100,100,640,320", _RET)

; Branch on return code
IF _RET == 0 THEN
   ; Stored in GUD; pull into local string for cycle call
   ; Cycle 60 expects STRING address; bind via GUD indirectly
   _ID = _CH_PROD_ID
   _QS = _CH_PROD_ID_LEN
   CYCLE60("<TEXT,_VAR_TEXT>", _ID, _QS, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1)
ELSE
   MSG("Operator cancelled engraving — program halted")
   M0
ENDIF

RET

The cycle call passes the user-entered ID through the cycle's engraving string parameter using the variable substitution mechanism:

; Cycle 60 call form
CYCLE60("<TEXT,_VAR_TEXT>",
        "ENGRAVING",
        12,                  ; character count
        0.0, 0.0, 0.0,       ; X, Y, Z start offsets
        0.0, 0.0, 0.0,       ; X, Y, Z end offsets
        1)                   ; write on top

9. _VAR_TEXT Substitution

_VAR_TEXT is a placeholder recognized by CYCLE60. The cycle's engraving routine reads the string from the calling context. Direct STRING passing is supported in SINUMERIK 840D sl SW 4.7 SP3 and later when the cycle signature includes STRING[32] _VAR_TEXT. On older firmware, a synchronized action writes the string into the cycle's expected location:

; Pre-cycle assignment for legacy SW < 4.7 SP3
DEF STRING[32] _VAR_TEXT
DEF INT _VAR_TEXT_LEN
_VAR_TEXT      = _CH_PROD_ID
_VAR_TEXT_LEN  = _CH_PROD_ID_LEN

; Then call cycle with explicit char-buffer (CYCLE60 expects CHAR[])
CYCLE60("<TEXT, _VAR_TEXT>", _VAR_TEXT, _VAR_TEXT_LEN, ...)

10. STEP-by-STEP Commissioning Procedure

1. Validate the option. Verify the SINUMERIK Operate programming option is licensed via the license key in /card/system/license/keys.txt.
2. Create the GUD definition. Edit _N_GUD_DEF in /card/user/cfg/ and perform an NCK reset (RESET button on MCP, then NCK restart).
3. Create the dialog folder. On the CF card, create /user/sinumerik/hmi/proj/EngraveDialog/ with engravedlg.ini and optional engravedlg.bmp.
4. Register the dialog. Add the entry in /user/sinumerik/hmi/cfg/system/regie.ini as shown in section 4.
5. Configure softkey. Edit mmc.ini and softkey.ini to expose a user-area softkey with the dialog task.
6. Adapt the engraving subprogram. Edit the engraving .spf to insert M0 and MMC() before the cycle call.
7. Restart the HMI. Use the menu Start-up → HMI → Restart or the service command /etc/init.d/sinumerik-hmi restart.
8. Functional check from softkey. Press the softkey. The dialog opens. Enter "TEST123" and press OK. Verify the dialog closes.
9. Verify GUD write. Open Start-up → NC/PLC Variables → GUD. Confirm _CH_PROD_ID contains "TEST123" and _CH_PROD_ID_LEN equals 7.
10. Functional check from NC. Load a part program that calls ENGRAVE. Run with NC Start. Stop at M0. Enter an ID. Continue. Confirm the engraving is visible on the workpiece.
11. Reset and recovery test. Press Cancel in the dialog. Confirm _RET reads 1 and the program re-issues M0 instead of engraving.

11. Verification Checklist

12. Error Codes and Troubleshooting Matrix

13. Operator Workflow & Safety Considerations

The M0 stop point requires deliberate operator action. Confirm that:

• The spindle is halted and the tool is in a safe position before M0. Use M5 and coolant off where applicable.
• The dialog is positioned such that it cannot be obscured by panel glare or covered by the operator's body.
• The OK softkey is large enough to avoid accidental Cancel during gloved operation (≥ 90×60 logical pixels).
• The default softkey on first press is OK (SK1) so that Enter on the alphanumeric input triggers confirmation.
• If multiple operators share the cell, do not store the previous ID as default — require explicit re-entry to prevent mis-engraving.

14. Security and Audit Trail

For traceability, log the GUD write to a CSV on the CF card using a synchronized action or HMI logging directive:

; Log action — append to /card/user/log/engraving_audit.csv
DEF STRING[128] _LOG_LINE
DEF STRING[16] _TS

TS = ""
; Read NC time via $A_DAY, $A_HOUR, etc.
_LOG_LINE = _CH_PROD_ID << ";" << _RN_PROD_QTY << ";"
           << $A_DAY << "/" << $A_HOUR << ":" << $A_MINUTE << ":" << $A_SECOND

WRITE _LOG_LINE / "FILE:/card/user/log/engraving_audit.csv,APPEND"

15. Frequently Asked Questions