User:Zuhui//Prototyping/Virtual Plotter

Pen plotters

continuing from the virtual Linux

Terminal

inkscape

$ su
$ apt install inkscape
$ exit
$ inkscape 

🎉🎉

virtual Chiplotle3 install in Terminal

$ su

$ nano /etc/group
add user name at the end of 'dialout'

what does it do?

etc/groupfile is managing groups in your computer, it lists which users are belong to which groups

dialout is related to serial port or modem(?). to use the serial port, i need permission to access this group

$ su
go to desktop or wherever and make directory to virtualize

$ python3 -m venv . → message will pop up to suggest a command which is: 

$ apt install python3.11-venv
for some reason i had to do this again because the command below couldn't find the directory:
$ python3 -m venv .

$ source bin/activate

$ pip3 install Chiplotle3

connect the plotter
$ chiplotle3 → it will create its configuration file: /home/"username"/.chiplotle/config.py

then you have
chiplotle3>

plotter set up

when plotter is connected, go to 'devices → USB' select the plotter

you can check the portname at $cd dev → $ ls. this case it was "ttyUSB0", and the other one was "tty.usbserial-130"

$ nano /home/"username"/.chiplotle/config.py.

change the line “serial_port_to_plotter_map = None” → serial_port_to_plotter_map = {'dev/portname' : 'generic'}

go back to virtual folder
$ chiplotle3
chiplotle3>plotter = instantiate_plotters()[0]
select your plotter

take the hpgl file and put it into the virtual folder
$ plotter.write_file(“FILENAME.hpgl”)