Re: Re: Instant EMC

Andrew Werby wrote:

>
> > [You don't want to drive your Humvee? Where in the world are you? I could
> > probably afford to fly you in from say, San Jose. (Do you like your
> > Gatorade warm or cold?) It's pretty nice here right now, but changeable. If
> > you really know your way around the guts of old milling machines, lets
> > talk. Then all I have to do is find someone to send me an EMC control
> > system that will take the place of its tiny little brain as seamlessly as
> > possible. Jon? Paul? ]
>
> Well, you probably don't want to fly me out from St. Louis. But, I'd be glad
> to make a clone of my 1 GB disk for you. That has RH 5.2, with the
> real-time patched 2.0.36 kernel, ethernet networking, XFree86, and a
> June 99 (I think) version of EMC. It would be no big deal to put in the
> latest version from NIST, especially if you will be using steppers.
>
> Jon
>
> [That sounds good- would this be on a CD or another hard disk? What issues
> would I face in trying to install this in an existing computer? Or would I
> be better off starting from scratch, getting all the EMC-recommended
> compatible parts? (Where's the list on all this stuff?) After all the
> horror stories I've heard about it rejecting video cards, etc, I'd like to
> play it safe. Actually, I've got a stepper project started, using a
> Camtronics board and those 650 oz/in Oriental motors, and I'd also like to
> use it on my servo-equipped mill, when I've got it sorted out. Does the
> latest NIST version have a problem with servos? How much would this cost?]

Well, I don't have a CD writer, yet. So, it would have to be a hard drive.
That is probably the easiest way to get a system up, unless you have a
network (which I do). Then, with the appropriate software on a floppy,
you could boot from floppy, and download all software by network.
(By this I mean an Ethernet between two machines, locally, as there is a LOT
of data to transfer.)

Give me a list of all the parts you have, and I'll see if there are any gotchas.
There is a compatibility list at Red Hat (www.redhat.com).
Oh, no, NIST is not going to disable servos. They might make it accept
cards in addition to Servo-to-Go, but servos are still very important.
(I will use no other, in motion control.) Steppers have their place, but
are a poor choice for motion control, for a bunch of pretty well-known
reasons.

How much would what cost? The disk cloning? I'm not sure, maybe
$50, with you providing the disk and covering shipping both ways.
I really wanted to do a whole package, with all the interface modules,
cables, breakout panels, etc., but it is WAY too early to price that.

Jon