Why not Nintendo CNC? (was Re: Palm CNC)

I've been considering reccyling my old pocket PC into a CNC
controller, actually. It's a little old Casio E-105, - nice spec
machine with a colour 16-bit touch screen display and 133Mhz
processor. You'd just slot the G-code files in on a compact-flash
memory card, or get the wirelessly through a Wifi network.

The only thing with all of these designs (PocketPC, Palm, GameBoy
etc.) is that all these small devices are only ever equipped with a
SERIAL connection, which means in addition to everything else you'll
need some kind of small dedicated Microcontroller to take serial
commands and direct the mill/lathe/spine-drilling robot/etc to do
something meaningful with the command. However, if you have a nice
(expensive) Roland Mill that already has a serial connection on it,
then you don't need much more than a simple terminal program that
streams commands and waits for a response before sending the next.

Otherwise you've got to do some work with a uController like the PIC.

> At 21:54 02/01/2003 +0000, you wrote:
> >Funny you should mention the Nintendo Game Boy for CNC, Singer has

a silly

> >looking little sewing machine that does embroidery that is

controlled by a

> >game boy. Check out http://www.sewandserge.com/s-izek.htm to see

this

> >little guy.
> >
> >John Guenther
> >'Ye Olde Pen Maker'
> >Sterling, Virginia
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Tony Jeffree [mailto:tony@j...]
> > > Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 14:10 PM
> > > To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com
> > > Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Why not Nintendo CNC? (was Re: Palm

CNC)

> > >
> > >
> > > At 18:51 02/01/2003 +0000, you wrote:
> > > >Thanks fella's.....
> > > >
> > > >keep your Ears "peeled". If you find something interesting, or

more that

> > > >is CNC palm related, please mention it. If the robotics guys

are so

> > > >heavy into it, It'll make it to the CNC arena as soon as a

programmer

> > > >type spends some time with it.
> > > >
> > > >I too saw some of the development proggys...... Very much like

VB. I

> > > >have only fiddled with VB mostly in Access, but understand its

methods

> > > >in a very limited way.
> > >
> > > Looking at the Nintendo "Game Boy"s that we finally gave in &

bought for

> > > our kids this Xmas, it struck me that one of those could form

the

> > > basis of
> > > an interesting controller, pendant, display unit or similar.

$100

> > > gets you
> > > a colour screen, a bunch of push buttons, a processor, plug-in

memory

> > > modules, and an external I/O port (used for multi-player games,

but no

> > > doubt could be used as a means of interfacing to the driver

stage

> > > of a CNC
> > > control).
> > >
> > > Has the added advantage that when you're done making swarf, you
> > > could plug
> > > in the latest "shoot-em-up" game too...
> > >
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Tony
>
> Regards,
> Tony