Exercise - Building a Complex Component
From Flowcode Help
Jump to navigationJump to search<sidebar>Sidebar: Flowcode Exercises:Ex3</sidebar> This exercise shows how to create a traffic cone with a double flashing lamp, using the 'newLED' component. The settings and dimensions given are found by trial-and-error, or by using the cursor and cursor position settings shown at the bottom of the System Panel.
Contents
Setting up the LED component
- Ensure that the System Panel is visible. If not use the View menu.
- The following assumes that you have built, and exported a LED component, as described in Exercise - Create an LED Component and Exercise - Exporting the LED Component.
- Open the 'Outputs' toolbox, where you stored the exported 'newLED' component.
- Locate the 'newLED' component, and use the down-arrow next to it to add it to the System Panel.
- Click on the LED to select it. Change the 'color' property to orange (e.g. 0x0080FF).
- Using the Panel Properties, with the LED still selected, set its 'Position' to X=0, Y=0, Z=10, and its 'Scale' to 'Wi...'=1, 'He...'=1, 'De...'=0.25.
- The component should resemble the picture opposite, (depending on the 'camera' zoom.)
Adding the second LED
- Click on the head of the vertical arrow, (green), to rotate the camera to give an 'edge-on' view.
- The LED should still be selected. If not, click on it. Right-click and select the 'Copy' option. Then right-click and select the 'Paste' option.
- A second identical LED appears.
- Set its 'Position' co-ordinates to X=0, Y=0, Z=-10, and the 'Rotation' settings to X=0, Y=180, Z=0.
- The System panel should now resemble the one shown opposite:
Mounting the LEDs
- Drag and drop a cube onto the System Panel.
- Select it, and set its 'Position' co-ordinates to X=0, Y=0, Z=0, and 'Scale' to 'Wi...'=32, 'He...'=12, 'De...'=32.
- Change its 'color' property to mid-grey (e.g. 0x5A5A5A).
- The System Panel looks like the one opposite:
Building the traffic cone
- Drag across all three shapes and group them by clicking on the 'Group' icon.
- Notice that the 'Component Handle' and 'Type' have changed to 'Group'. Rename the 'Handle' as "flasher".
- Click on the head of the vertical arrow, (blue), to rotate the camera back to the 'head-on' view.
- Drag and drop a cone onto System Panel.
- Select it, and set its 'Position' co-ordinates to X=0, Y=-12, Z=0, 'Scale' to 'Wi...'=45, 'He...'=45, 'De...'=120 and 'Rotation' to X=-90, Y=0, Z=0.
- Change its 'color' to red (e.g. 0x0000C0).
- View it from different 'camera' directions by clicking on the heads of the red, green and blue arrows. It should resemble the picture shown below:
- Revert to the original (left-hand side) view.
- Drag and drop a cylinder onto the System Panel.
- Give it the following settings:
- 'Position' - X=0, Y=-75, Z=0;
- 'Scale' -'Wi...'=60, 'He...'=60, 'De...'=10;
- 'Rotation' - X=-90, Y=0, Z=0.
- Change its 'color' to dark red (e.g. 0x000080).
The completed traffic cone
- Drag across all three shapes and group them by clicking on the 'Group' icon.
- The System Panel now looks like this:
Adding an interface
The next task is to make the cone do something - flash on and off.
- Click on 'Macro' and then 'New' to create a new macro.
- In the 'Create a New Macro dialogue box, name the new macro "flash" and click on 'OK'.
- On the 'flash' macro workspace:
- add an infinite loop, and inside the loop:
- drag and drop a 'Simulation macro' icon;
- double click on it. Rename it "Switch on". Click on the 'Simulation' tab, and on one of the 'LEDon' labels and click on 'OK'.
- drag and drop a 'Delay' icon.
- double click on it. Change its name to "One second delay". Change the units to 'seconds' and click on 'OK'.
- drag and drop a second 'Simulation macro' icon;
- double click on it. Rename it "Switch off". Click on the 'Simulation' tab, and on one of the 'LEDoff' labels and click on 'OK'.
- drag and drop a second 'Delay' icon, and configure it exactly as before.
The 'flash' flowchart now resembles the one shown below:
- In the 'Main' part of the flowchart, drag and drop a 'Macro' icon.
- Double click on it and then click on the 'flash' label.
- Test the component by simulating the program.
- See the Exercise - Simulating a Program
What next?
- The traffic cone component can now be exported in the usual way, see Exporting the Traffic Cone.