Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Raspberry Pi for CADCAM CNC?

Stephen Kandul wrote:

> Jon,
>
>
>
> Thanks for the tip on the board to look for. The issue of a parallel port
> (and there not being one on the R-Pi or Mk802) was one of the unstated
> hardware problems I did kinda intuit. From you email it sounds like you
> have been walking the linexCNC path for some time. Don't be surprised if I
> ping you with questions in the future.
>

Yes, I was the 2nd outside user from the original developers at NIST.
But, first,
I had bought an Allen-Bradley 7320 CNC control and got it working with an
ancient laptop simulating the paper tape reader. This worked, I got X and Y
axes on my old Bridgeport mill, and then used the 2-axis CNC to build the
Z axis hardware.
I utilized the CNC features to make parts with curves blended into
angles, etc.
for the Z motor mount. I ended up making my own servo amps as the A-B
controller didn't come with them, although the seller assured me they were
included.

Well, the A-B control had a number of breakdowns, and I was getting really
tired of it when the opportunity to try out the original EMC came about.
I started trying
to get it working on a 486 computer back in 1997, and finally found out
it actually
couldn't work on a 486, and had to go out and buy a Pentium.
I got it running, got the servo interface board they were using at
the time, and hooked it up. I found a few bugs, and went back to the
developers at NIST, and they fixed those, and I started making
parts. So, after a couple weeks, the A-B was unhooked and hasn't
been used since.

Since then, I've been making stepper and servo controller hardware for
EMC, then EMC2 and now LinuxCNC. A lot of features have been
added over time. Lathe threading, rigid tapping, some low-level
conversational programming, easy ability to hook up unusual
gadgets like pendant controls and so on.

There is a very active support group that can be joined through
the linuxcnc.org site, and a Wiki that can be browsed for hints
on how to do things.

Jon