Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Driving the parrallel port in WindowXP

Kory Hamzeh wrote:

> I have a CNC application that I would like to write and I need to decide
> it if should be DOS based or Windows. I would like to write it in
> Windows because I want the UI to be graphical, but I do have concerns
> about driving the parallel port reliably and consistently (timing wise).
> Are there any API's, docs, or tricks for this? Another option would be
> Linux, which I have a lot of experience with, but I'm not certain now
> many machinists use Linux for CNC.

Allow a year to get the parallel port working on windows - or use Mach3
and work on your application as a plugin for that. Even then the
parallel port can still be a little flaky.

While DOS is getting long in the tooth, it does still have a place, and
there are some good CAM packages that still use it.

The Linux work is based round EMC - now up to EMC2, and this again
provides a very good base from which to work. The difference between
EMC2 and Mach3 is that you get the full source code with EMC2 and you do
not have to pay any license fees - or for a copy of VisualStudio!

Not sure what you are planning, but I would recommend simply building on
what is already available rather than trying to start from scratch. Then
the choice is between Mach3 or EMC2 ;)

--
Lester Caine - G8HFL
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