saxi

# saxi ##### make plot good saxi is a tool for interacting with the [AxiDraw drawing machine](https://axidraw.com/) by Evil Mad Scientist. It comes with an easy-to-use interface, and is exactingly precise. - automatically scales & centers your drawing to fit on the paper - minimizes pen-up travel time by reordering & reversing paths - uses a custom motion planning algorithm (inspired by [axi](https://github.com/fogleman/axi)) that's smooth & fast - automatically splits apart layers based on SVG stroke colors or group IDs - has a web-based UI, so there's no need to muck around with installing X11 and Inkscape - can run on a Raspberry Pi or similar, so you don't need to be tethered to your plotter while it plots ![a screenshot of the saxi user interface](docs/saxi.png) ### Installation #### For Raspberry Pi 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 1. **Install Node.js (if not already installed):** ```bash $ curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash - $ sudo apt-get install -y nodejs ``` 2. **Install `saxi` globally:** ```bash $ sudo npm install -g saxi ``` If you encounter an `EACCES` error when installing the package globally, see [Resolving EACCES permissions errors when installing packages globally](https://docs.npmjs.com/resolving-eacces-permissions-errors-when-installing-packages-globally). --- #### For Raspberry Pi Zero / 1 (armv6l) The official Node.js builds don’t support armv6l. Use an unofficial build: 1. **Download and extract Node.js v20 for armv6l:** ```bash $ wget https://unofficial-builds.nodejs.org/download/release/v20.5.1/node-v20.5.1-linux-armv6l.tar.xz $ tar xf node-v*-armv6l.tar.xz $ export PATH=$PATH:$PWD/node-v*-linux-armv6l/ ``` 2. **Install `saxi`:** ```bash $ npm install -g saxi ``` If you encounter an `EACCES` error when installing the package globally, see [Resolving EACCES permissions errors when installing packages globally](https://docs.npmjs.com/resolving-eacces-permissions-errors-when-installing-packages-globally). --- ### Usage Start the `saxi` server from the terminal: ```bash $ saxi Server listening on http://0.0.0.0:9080 Connecting to EBB on /dev/tty.usbmodem1461 ``` Then open a web browser: Go to `http://localhost:9080` if you're using the same computer where saxi is running. Go to `http://<computer-ip>:9080` if you're on a different device. (You can find the IP address by running `hostname -I` on the computer running saxi.) --- ### Running `saxi` over SSH If you're connecting to your Raspberry Pi via SSH, it’s a good idea to keep the `saxi` server running inside a `tmux` session so it stays active even if your SSH session disconnects. #### Install `tmux` (if not installed) ```bash $ sudo apt-get install -y tmux ``` #### Start a `tmux` session and run `saxi` ```bash $ tmux new -s saxi $ saxi ``` To detach from the session (leaving it running), press: ``` Ctrl + b, then d ``` To reattach later: ```bash $ tmux attach -t saxi ``` To list sessions: ```bash $ tmux ls ``` To terminate session: ```bash $ tmux kill-session -t saxi ``` --- #### CORS If you want to connect to saxi from a web page that isn't served by saxi itself, you'll need to enable [CORS](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/CORS), otherwise GET/POST requests will be denied by the browser. CORS is disabled by default as a security precaution, but if you need it it's available. Just launch saxi with the `--enable-cors` flag. ### Info saxi makes use of the low-level `LM` command introduced in EBB firmware version 2.5.3 to carry out highly accurate constant-acceleration motion plans. If your AxiDraw is running an older version of the firmware, saxi will fall back to the less-accurate (but still pretty accurate) `XM` command. To check what version of the EBB firmware your AxiDraw is running, run `saxi --firmware-version`: ```bash $ saxi --firmware-version EBBv13_and_above EB Firmware Version 2.5.3 ``` To upgrade your AxiDraw's firmware, see [here](https://github.com/evil-mad/EggBot/tree/master/EBB_firmware). ### Developing To work on saxi, you can clone this repo and then run `npm start`: ```sh $ git clone https://github.com/alexrudd2/saxi $ cd saxi $ npm run start ``` This will not watch local files for changes. If you change the server code, you'll need to restart manually. ### Credits saxi's motion planning algorithm is heavily inspired by Michael Fogleman's [axi](https://github.com/fogleman/axi) project. saxi's UI would be an ugly mess if it weren't for [@kylestetz](https://github.com/kylestetz)'s discerning eye. Thanks to [Evil Mad Scientist](http://www.evilmadscientist.com/) for designing and building such a lovely machine! --- ## Made with saxi These images were plotted by folks using saxi. If you'd like to add something you've made here, [shoot me an email](mailto:nornagon@nornagon.net)! <table> <tbody> <tr> <td width=300> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9hFx9KFOwG/"><img width="272" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/172800/80814353-9760ce00-8b80-11ea-8a94-64e13c33a7bc.jpg" alt="Plotted image by @targz" /></a> <p>by <strong>Julien Terraz (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/targz/">@targz</a>)</strong></p> </td> <td width=300> <a href="https://github.com/abey79/vpype-explorations"><img width="272" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/172800/80814313-81530d80-8b80-11ea-963a-9ea337f2c6a2.jpg" alt="Plotted image by @abey79" /></a> <p>by <strong>Antoine Beyeler (<a href="https://twitter.com/abey79">@abey79</a>)</strong></p> </td> <td width=300> <a href="https://twitter.com/MAKIO135/status/1253334618243125256"><img width="272" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/172800/80814775-4ef5e000-8b81-11ea-896c-e7522d4c38d1.jpg" alt="Plotted image by @MAKIO135" /></a> <p>by <strong>Lionel Radisson (<a href="https://twitter.com/MAKIO135">@MAKIO135</a>)</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width=300> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4iixy7gDB9/"><img width="272" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/172800/80815693-faebfb00-8b82-11ea-81a3-24f825b405ce.jpg" alt="Plotted image by @daniel_feles" /></a> <p>by <strong>Daniel Feles (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/daniel_feles/">@daniel_feles</a>)</strong></p> </td> <td width=300> </td> <td width=300> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> ## SVG-IO For AI-Generated Images Use the [SVG IO](https://svg.io/) integration to generate images with AI using a text prompt. Enable it by passing the `--svgio-api-key` paremeter when running on the server: ```sh npm run build node cli.mjs --svgio-api-key <THE API KEY> ```