EBEAM System Dashboard Software

1. Core Architecture and Flow

• High-level Design: The application is divided into several modules:
  • main.py: Entry point that initializes the COM port configuration and launches the dashboard
  • dashboard.py: Core dashboard class that sets up the main GUI layout and manages subsystems
  • instrumentctl/: Instrument-specific command libraries.
  • subsystem/: Contains classes and methods to manage individual hardware subsystems (e.g., VTRXSubsystem, EnvironmentalSubsystem).
  • utils.py: Utility functions and classes that support the main application (Logging, setup scripts, etc.).

flowchart TD
    Start([python main.py]) --> PortConfig[Show Port Configuration Dialog]
    PortConfig --> SaveConfig[Save Port Configuration]
    
    %% Main Dashboard Setup
    SaveConfig --> InitDash[Initialize Dashboard]
    InitDash --> SetupPane[Create Main Pane Structure]
    SetupPane --> LoadLayout[Load Saved Layout]
    LoadLayout --> CreateFrames[Create Frame Structure]
    
    %% Core Components
    CreateFrames --> Messages[Messages Frame]
    CreateFrames --> Controls[Main Controls]
    CreateFrames --> SubSystems[[Subsystem Initialization]]
    
    %% Subsystems Detail
    SubSystems --> Vacuum[Vacuum System]
    SubSystems --> Environmental[Environmental]
    SubSystems --> Gas[Gas Control]
    SubSystems --> Interlocks[Interlocks]
    SubSystems --> Oil[Oil System]
    SubSystems --> Cathode[Cathode Heating]
    
    %% Control Components
    Controls --> MainTab[Main Control Tab]
    Controls --> ConfigTab[Configuration Tab]
    
    %% Monitoring Loop
    CreateFrames --> Monitor[[Start COM Port Monitor Loop]]
    Monitor --> CheckChanges{Port Changes?}
    CheckChanges -->|Yes| UpdateSys[Update Affected Systems]
    UpdateSys --> CheckChanges
    CheckChanges -->|No| Continue[Continue Monitoring]
    Continue --> CheckChanges

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2. Application Controls

Shortcut	Action
F1	Help	Opens the keyboard shortcuts help window
F11	Toggle Fullscreen	Switch between fullscreen and windowed mode
Escape	Exit Fullscreen	Exit fullscreen mode
Ctrl + M	Toggle Maximize	Switch between maximized and normal window size
Ctrl + S	Help	Opens the keyboard shortcuts help window
Ctrl + Q	Quit	Close the application (with confirmation)
Ctrl + W	Quit (alternative)	Close the application (with confirmation)

All of these shortcuts are supported across different operating systems.

3. Dashboard (dashboard.py)

• EBEAMSystemDashboard Class: The main class that sets up the dashboard interface.
  • Implements a flexible, configurable layout system using Tkinter's PanedWindow container widget.
  • Allows users to arrange and resize different control sections at run-time.
  • Each subsystem occupies its own configurable space

4. Subsystems

• vtrx/vtrx.py:

  • Manages the VTRX system, including serial communication and error handling.
  • Displays pressure data and switch states, updating the GUI in real-time.
  • Logs messages and errors to the messages frame.

• environmental/environmental.py:

  • Monitors and displays temperature data from various thermometers.

• interlocks/interlocks.py:

  • Monitors the status of various safety critical interlocks (e.g., Vacuum, Water, Door sensors).
  • Updates GUI indicators based on interlock status.

• oil_system/oil_system.py:

  • Monitors and displays oil temperature and pressure.

• cathode_heating/cathode_heating.py:

  • Manages three independent cathode heating channels
  • Power supply control interface
  • Real-time temperature plotting with overtemp indication

• visualization_gas_control.py:

  • Controls the Argon bleed system via serial communication.
  • TBD

5. Utilities (utils.py)

• MessagesFrame Class:

  • A custom Tkinter frame for displaying messages and errors.
  • Supports logging messages with timestamps and trimming old messages to maintain a maximum number of lines.

• TextRedirector Class:

  • Redirects stdout to a Tkinter Text widget.
  • Ensures that all print statements in the application are displayed in the messages frame.

• SetupScripts Class:

  • Manages the selection and execution of configuration scripts.
  • Provides a GUI for selecting scripts from a dropdown menu and executing them.

6. Directory Structure:

EBEAM_DASHBOARD/
├── README.md
├── __init__.py 
├── dashboard.py
├── instrumentctl/
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── power_supply/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   └── power_supply_9014.py
│   ├── G9_driver/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   └── G9_driver.py
│   └── E5CN_modbus/
│       ├── README.md
│       └── E5CN_modbus.py
├── main.py
├── subsystem/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── cathode_heating/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   └── cathode_heating.py
│   ├── environmental/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   └── environmental.py
│   ├── interlocks/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   └── interlocks.py
│   ├── oil_system/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   └── oil_system.py
│   ├── visualization_gas_control/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   └── visualization_gas_control.py
│   └── vtrx/
│       ├── README.md
│       └── vtrx.py
└── utils.py

7. Development Workflow

Branching strategy

All code development intended to impact a future release is done on the latest develop branch. This applies to new instrument features, bug fixes, etc. The develop branch is not stable. The main branch contains the latest production code.

Development Process

Clone the repo to your machine.

git clone https://github.com/bwalkerMIR/EBEAM_dashboard.git

Navigate to your project directory:

cd EBEAM_dashboard

Create a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv

Activate the virtual environment (assuming on Windows)*:

venv\Scripts\activate

Install the requirements:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Run the main application:

python main.py

*Note: Due to the nature of the script, Windows may block execution, the following cmd is useful and should be run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Create a new branch from develop for your feature or bug fix:

git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

Make your changes and commit:

git add changedfile.py
git commit -m "Descriptive commit message"

Push your branch to GitHub:

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Create a "New pull request". Set the base branch to develop and compare branch to your feature branch. Fill in the PR template with a description of your changes, any related issues, and testing performed.

Assign reviewers to your PR. Merge.

6. Executable Build Instructions

python -m PyInstaller EBEAM_DASHBOARD.spec