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25-10-2015 #11
Thanks again everyone for the advice. Greatly appreciated.
At the moment I'm not 100% sure on which software route to go down. I'd probably shy aware from Linux at the moment as I have no experience with it. As CNC is new itself for me, I'd rather begin with an OS I know well.
The Planet CNC seems tempting to me currently as it looks like it could be a bit more beginner friendly.. what did you find was too basic about it?
The only thing is as mentioned, I'm not keen on not being to use other software with the board.. but maybe it's a price worth paying..
OK.. so if I go the planetCNC ethernet controller route.. what shall I do about the PC situation? Shall I build one using the Asus H61M-Pro I have coming or is the energy saving features going to make it completely unreliable? Or as I need a good PC there anyway, shall I just give it a go and if not then buy a cheap pentium 4 or something without the new features..? What would you do if you were me?
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25-10-2015 #12
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25-10-2015 #13
Does planet cnc do ethernet? Havent seen it on his website.
https://emvioeng.com
Machine tools and 3D printing supplies. Expanding constantly.
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25-10-2015 #14
MK3 does USB and Ethernet and is shown on the website under hardware
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25-10-2015 #15
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25-10-2015 #16
The problem with PC and PP is that every so often, the cpu goes off and does its own thing for a few milliseconds or so. That's fatal if you are generating a real-time pulse stream. However, if you are using an external motion controller, the PC sends a few seconds' worth of instructions which are then buffered in the external board. It doesn't matter if the PC pauses for a short while as it can catch up later while the motion controller is taking data from its own buffer. Cheap PC or even laptop (notorious for random pauses) should be fine. Buy or build PC - it's up to you.
Last edited by Neale; 25-10-2015 at 12:11 PM.
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25-10-2015 #17
Well I didn't like the layout much which is personal thing. The other issue is regards screens and custom scripts etc which I'm used to using in Mach3. It maybe different now has I haven't looked for long time but back then couldn't easily change screens or write custom macro's for things like ATC, lathe turrets, probesetc. The software let you do some these things but you had to do it the way set in software which isn't always what I want or is needed for retro-fits or one off custom machines etc.
Doesn't matter anymore if you use external motion controller. All you need to ensure is it meets the Spec the controller or software require.
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25-10-2015 #19
I stand corrected - I was thinking more of the "What do I do about a PC if I'm using Planet CNC or similar external motion controller?" question.
Whether or not LinuxCNC is truly a real-time operating system is one of those religious debates that go on endlessly. I'm happy to agree that, up to some reasonable pulse rate (and that rate is certainly sufficient for many machines) it works fine. I've been using it for more than three years with no observed problems. There are some random timing issues, which is why the LinuxCNC kit includes a latency tester which, in effect, measures how reliably the operating system can respond in "real-time" on some particular configuration of hardware but the answer is often hardware-dependent and there are some motherboards which just do not perform well. It's not related to raw CPU performance but even LCNC can't cope with some hardware. If you want to say that LCNC is truly real-time but is let down by the hardware, I can go with that
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25-10-2015 #20
Thanks so much again everyone! What a fantastic forum this is!
Ah ok so the controller takes some of the guesswork out of choosing a PC & parallel ports etc.. Seems the way forward then definitely to avoid that headache. In that case, I will build up a simple machine with the Asus H61M-Pro.. I've specced it at about £140.. but with the ability to upgrade at a later date to a 3770 when prices drop.. then it'd be a great machine..
Am also kind of set on Planet-CNC as it seems the best fit for me at this stage. (seems a little easier for a beginner)
PS. That Tiny Fox small PC looks great! Any links? I can't seem to find it via google.. only adorable foxes!
PPS. Is forum etiquette that if I have further questions regarding controllers or something, I should start a new thread in a more appropriate section? Or is it seen as more appropriate to continue on this thread?
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