ETC makes lighting controllers-in fact the best ones in the US, and arguably the world for general purpose lighting boards.
ACN is meant to allow lighting boards to control (among other things) moving lights that have dozens of steppers ing them for things light Pan, Tilt, Color, Effects, and so on. It is meant to do this in a real time environment-a show where hundreds of control events may be happening simultaneuosly. Think about Cirque du Soleil. Your RT wifi is the most basic form of ethernet control communication, and probably should be supported in EMC. If you want to put more intelligence at the drive end of the data link, for encoders as you mention, then more is needed. If you want the ethernet to only carry the raw encoder pulses then a basic RT wrapper is fine. If you want the ethernet to carry position and velocity then you need a protocol designed to transport that data. The advantage of using the ACN structure is that you do not also have to use realtime transport. UDP works fine, and the data sequence and integrity are maintained by ACN. You can pack hundreds of step and direction commands (for example) into one packet, or you can simply send next position and have the drive tell you when it has gotten there. Actually, you can pack hundreds of positions into one packet and have the drive tell you when it has completed the sequence. That would really minimize network bandwidth consumption. Where do people want to go with this? A smart drive has been on my long term To-Do list, but it can move up. What level of integration do people want to see at the drive? Thanks, Javid ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kirk Wallace" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC)" <emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net> Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 9:27 PM Subject: Re: [Emc-users] Ethernet I/O > On Fri, 2007-10-26 at 20:37 -0500, Javid Butler wrote: >> The real problem is the endpoint device. There will have to be some way >> to >> decode the signals from the ethernet into the actual drives. It will >> probably be a while before cost effective drives are available with >> ethernet >> inputs. Until then we will have to use decoders that provide translation >> of >> the ethernet commands to individual bits such as are on the parallel >> port. > > I use OpenWRT for my neighborhood WiFi Internet. The GPIO pins on > OpenWRT devices have been re-purposed for memory cards, so if you > disregard the wireless and RTnet, could this be close to what is needed? > >> This is a project that I would be willing to undertake with some others >> who > ... snip >> If anyone wants to look at sample code for the streaming protocol >> mentioned >> above, go to http://www.etcconnect.com/product.downloads.asp?ID=20339 >> which >> is the download page. The standard has not been finished (still in public >> review cycles) but it is not likely to change much. >> >> Javid > > I visited the ETC site and it reminded me of lighting controllers. I am > a part time roadie for a friend's band, and at one time we were looking > at getting a dimmer for our lights. Cruising eBay, I found a lighting > controller, and with research found that it used standard sound cables > and I believe a serial protocol as an input. The band isn't successful > enough to afford a real lighting system, but maybe some day. It would be > fun to take apart ... I mean use one of these controllers. > > -- > Kirk Wallace (California, USA > http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ > Hardinge HNC lathe > Bridgeport mill conversion pending > Zubal lathe conversion pending) > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. > Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. > Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. > Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
