Category Archives: Control Panel

May 6, 2012 update. Discussing the shape of glass in the buttons, and some screws to hold it in place.

April 18, 2012 update. A little more progress this week, on the SolidWorks (software) designing of mechanisms that will become moving 3D objects in the Control Panel.

After exploring a number of variations, we’re going back in time and re-focussing efforts on making the inside of the control panel better, with more space inside for rods and linkages.

For the proposed steampunk control panel, here’s a mechanical concept that would try to rotate 3 rows and 3 columns of buttons so they face toward the user, in a viewing window.

This page might become the description of a graphic arts design contest, with a good prize for the winner (How much? I’m still seeking advice, but at least $1000 prize, plus ongoing contract for iterative work to completion.). The goal … Continue reading →

Update June 1st. Received another revision of the concept for new graphical style for the Control Panel.

Update June 1st. Now trying out some ideas of fonts that could work in a steampunk theme. David sent plain font samples, and I added the emboss and drop-shadow, and posted them to give me time to stare at them … Continue reading →

Here’s an animated gif mockup of the new Control Panel look, made in photoshop, showing some features I’m hoping for.

Here’s an animated gif, showing a few Applets in the new Control Panel. ( In the old VB6 moose, they would have been “tabs”, but now they are rectangles).

This post will hold screenprints capturing how the Control Panel changes its appearance, as it’s look and WPF behaviors evolve, through a mixture of code and xaml.