Thanks for the positive feedback--I'm happy to contribute some value back into the community for a change!
In terms of platform, I'm going to stick with the Arduino until and unless I hit a wall that really compromises things. Right now, I'm working up a board that will have a 25-key matrix keypad, just basically maxing out the pins I have left after handling the LCD. Assuming it can handle that, then I think I'm in pretty good shape. For comparison, I looked at the keypad on a Haas control, and once you get rid of the keys for g-code editing, cursor movement, and the alphanumeric keys, you're left with around 40. Of those, some are for high-end VMC functions (i.e. spindle orient) and a good number could be compressed into modal keys. For instance, the jog-rate selector could easily be a single button that scrolls through the options (remember, I have the LCD to display the selection) rather than 4 individual keys as on the Haas. So I think it's very feasible to squeeze most of a real control into this (relative) toy. Assuming there's plenty of headroom, moving to an Arduino Mega would be easy enough for someone who wanted a lot more stuff, or even wanted to try integrating a full keypad like from a dead FANUC control or some such. In performance terms, the Arduino is definitely not the leader of the pack, but I've been in IT long enough to know the value of a large installed base. For one thing, a lot of people already have the boards laying around, which knocks $30 off the cost right there, and for anyone who wants to hack theirs, there's a ton of tutorials and resources out there to help them. And if nothing else, I am trying to keep the cost of this as far under $100 as I can. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Beautiful is writing same markup. Internet Explorer 9 supports standards for HTML5, CSS3, SVG 1.1, ECMAScript5, and DOM L2 & L3. Spend less time writing and rewriting code and more time creating great experiences on the web. Be a part of the beta today. http://p.sf.net/sfu/beautyoftheweb _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
