Re: A Modest Proposal!

The processor demands of driving steppers is relatively modest. Even the curve look-ahead and other multi axis interpolation is pretty simple. The RepRap machines have their G-Code interpreter in a small Arduino board but they never planned for a user interface or OS though they can spool jobs from an SD card.

However servo motor feedback loops may be something to consider in terms of CPU resources and RTOS latency. From a quick look at the RasberryPi it looks like the IO pins are all the spare processor pins, the functions are multiplexed but I don't think the actual pins are. Even if the pins were multiplexed a suitable driver will be able to toggle them plenty fast enough to cope with real world hardware, if one planned to run scanners for a laserMAME setup that might also pose a problem.

> And, of course, the REAL question is, after getting a suitable RT
> kernel, would LinuxCNC
> actually run acceptably on a Beagle Board or similar machine? Memory is
> a bit
> limited, CPU speed may or may not be a problem (hard to compare such
> different
> CPU architectures) would the OMAP I/O architecture actually perform OK in
> an R/T environement.