RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Windows PC as CNC controller

Again, thanks for the useful help. The good advice from stephen, John,
Keith, and Chris has modified my direction somewhat, and deferred the tough
part of the problem. This is the best part of belonging to these groups.
The hardest part for me will be to (choke) deal with Linux.

Indeed, probably Ubuntu with my software will best form the machine
controller. The interrupts are easily dealt with. And one of the step/dir
drivers will run the strut axes. My embedded background will fit in well.

For testing, and use by other hobby folk, this should boot directly into
cheap PC's, accept input from the serial port, and drive the motors via the
parallel port. Old PC's used are $10-30 these days. Great for hobby work.
And of course no Fees to Bill, even better.

Then EMC2 will provide much useful source code examples.

And I already have a w2k program to convert simple Gcode into something that
looks like Gcode, but drives the strut axes.

After the project hardware starts to work, I'll try to find a cooperative
soul to modify a window program to communicate out the serial port.

Food for thought. The typical design program works in "Part" space, and the
coordinates are of the actual surface of the part. Then an ideal Cam
program converts that into a toolpath, call that "tool tip" space. These
current programs also convert that into machine space. Now the easiest
machine is one that matches the typical coordinate systems, which exerts
force for the CNC machine designers to build "XYZ" 3 axis macines in order
not to deal with a CAM problem. Indeed, all of the plans which I have found
are exactly this type. Perhaps the tail and the dog?

How would you split up a CAM into A. Part space to tool tip space, and B.
Tool tip space to machine space?

Larry