On Wed, 2009-03-04 at 22:12 -0700, Daniel Lee wrote: ... snip > I find that using a PC for stepping is fine for low speed stepping. I > need a device that can handle smooth stepping as well as servo > upgrades. The current EMC2 can not handle my needs of speed, smooth > stepping, expantion, as well as program loading and editing while the > machine is in operation. Harddrive, usb RS232 port operation and > video updates while running cause irregular stepping at high stepping > speeds with the current design. > > If this sounds like a project to start and to define the next > generation of EMC I would like to help. > > Daniel Lee
I think with more study of the hardware page: http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?EMC2_Supported_Hardware http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?Case_Studies you'll find that EMC2 with a hardware step generator (such as from Mesanet or Pico Systems) you can run steppers (maybe with a Gecko micro step drive, but check motor voltage) quite well at decent speeds and higher resolutions, while doing the other things you mentioned, program load, edit, hardrive and network access, etc. Because the motion control is done in realtime, there will be no interruption of motion due to userland processes. The user processes may slow down as the processing load goes up, but not the motion control. Most modest PC's, properly set up will work well. ---------- Kirk http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), March 24-25, 2009, San Francisco, CA -OSBC tackles the biggest issue in open source: Open Sourcing the Enterprise -Strategies to boost innovation and cut costs with open source participation -Receive a $600 discount off the registration fee with the source code: SFAD http://p.sf.net/sfu/XcvMzF8H _______________________________________________ Emc-developers mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-developers
