The problem that is limiting LCNC's wider use is that it is a very old design. It is definitely not what anyone would design today. And it is not what moderned users expect or want. Documentation i=will not change what it is.
Today, if this were being built again from scratch it would Run on any computer and not require some special real-time version of Linux. The user interface would be written in some portable way so it could be accessed even on a iPad or Andriod tablet or from macOS or Windows. This is possible. I proved it to myself just a few days ago. I have a 12 DOF robot here that is being driven by a Raspberry Pi and the user interface is web-based or X11 based and in theory, should work on other platforms. Should not need a real-time OS on the computer. The real-time stuff (al of it) goes in hardware, Leaving only not-t=real-time tasks to the PC/Mac/iPhone It would configure 100% with no need to edit a single file by hand. It would have a conversational system so that a user could do simple things with no need to write g-code. People care less about if it is free then if it acts like the above. What I would do is design some kind of real-time module. Perhaps that would be made of Mesa cards with different firmware or of microcontrollers like "Teensy" and each of these could handle some number of axies. Maybe four. Then you use multiple of these to drive a larger machine of a robot. The 1980's was 40 years ago. Yes it really has been that long. LCNC is using 1980s software technology and people today are expecting the 21st century and mostly getting what they expect. Think of a basic 3D printer. It is no different from a milling machine just mechanically lighter weight. The whole thing, g_code interpreter and all is a cheap package with a self-contained controller One does not need to hunt dumpsters for antique desktop PCs and then install specialist OSes on them. The controller is built-in and pre-programmed. That said. I use LCNC because it does what I want and uses the 40 years old (maybe 50 years old now) technology I'm familiar with. Yes it is that Old. I was a computer science student back when this wascutting edge and I'm retired now. Big goals for any new system should be 1) cross platform, especially mobile device friendly 2) zero file editing (zero, not just a small number) 3) modular, you can swap out parts and add parts as requirements change. 4) today we have "The Cloud" It could live at Amazon or in your own shop. Some prefer to let a big company manage things, others like to buy their own equipment is mess with it themselves. Either way should work. But a modern CNC system would run any number of mills and lathes and laser cutters and have any number of user interface screens and pendants. Jobs are moved and assigned to available shop equipment as needed. The cloud (local or remote, acts as a kind of NxM switch with storage and computation while the local controller talks to motors. Today, I expect "job persistence" as I move between screens that are on my Phone or in the office of the shop. The cloud connects running processes that are on a milling machine with the design files and operator screens while the microsecond-level real-time jobs are handled by any number of little controllers. TodayI'd add cameras to the system too. I decent model is "Octoprint". I can control or monitor prints from any screen. Any screen in the building or in my pocket could control any screen with no handoff required. Just sign-on and your work is there. The problem is that all of the above would take many man-years of development and there is no motivation to work on this for free. There needs to be some kind of business model. Some conly has to design they will develop this andthen make a living by consulting and hosts cloud processes. But without an changes LCNC will be using 60 year old tech inanother 10 years, then 70 and so on. It is already a non-starter in the eyes of many people. it will just get more and more that way. The market for this is huge. Some one could make millions but the up front effort and the existing big players will prevent that. On Fri, Dec 24, 2021 at 2:46 AM Jérémie Tarot <silopo...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi, > > Le jeu. 23 déc. 2021 à 20:05, John Dammeyer <jo...@autoartisans.com> a > écrit : > > > ... > > But I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea in the new year to develop a > > build thread that takes a beginner through conversion of a mill to LCNC > so > > it appears to be turnkey like the perhaps the ACORN CNC approach. > > > > Comments? > > > > > While working on docs translations migration and thinking about future > documentation work, "my" idea along this line would be to develop/document > a set of "reference implementations" to be used as plug and play recipes or > basis for adaptation. > > These would cover all the usual suspects of DIY CNC projects like router, > laser, plasma, mill, lathe builds/conversion/retrofits. > These docs may provide infos for the size sensitive components for the > reader to adapt. > > Another (complementary) approach would be to add to the docs a library of > well crafted howtos about the setup of the various subsystems like motion, > spindle/torch, coolant, limits, e-stop... Some kind of decision tree could > be provided to lead the implementor who'd find the appropriate support doc > for each choice he'd make. > > For those of us that like to tinker with machines anyway, LinuxCNC is > already just great... For the rest of the world that'd better have a > machine that they can use to make stuff, we need to provide setups that > "just work" in a way or another. > > Willing to work on this after docs migration and french translation is > done. I'm all in to bring LinuxCNC goodness to the masses without putting > the burden on the devs who I'd rather have working on fancier things for > the future... > > As I may be unable to build an actual machine for the foreseable future. I > plan to start building docs using vismach, then move to tabletop/lab setups > with small real components, etc... > > All these reference docs could have a category and a dedicated thread in > the forum to hold discussions, requests and criticisms. > > TY > Jérémie > > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > -- Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
