2011/2/9 John L. Craddock <john.cradd...@xitech.com.au>:
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Jon Elson [mailto:el...@pico-systems.com]
>> Sent: 09 February 2011 13:09
>> To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC)
>> Subject: Re: [Emc-users] Ethernet with EMC2
>>
>> Viesturs La-cis wrote:
>> > Guys,
>> >
>> > what do You think about these two?
>> > http://www.enclustra.com/en/products/fpga-modules/mars-starter/
>> > http://www.enclustra.com/en/products/fpga-modules/mars-mx1/
>> >
>> >
>> So, that's $500 US to get an FPGA on the ethernet? Yishin is
>> right, expensive.
>>
>> Jon
>
> From what I can find out, etherCAT is a proprietary development of Beckhoff
> in Germany that only appears on the surface to be open.
> The catch is the requirement for special slave devices that come in the form
> of ASICs or node-limited IP cores for FPGAs.
> Seems odd to consider it for open-source EMC2. Please correct me if I am
> wrong.
Thanks for the opinions!
I totally agree that it is pricey, compared to other alternatives for
FPGA cards from Mesa or other sources. On the other hand, I do not
feel it that pricey, when the machine requires one such item to be
used with several servo-amps, costing the same amount for each of them
and also having several servo motors also costing approximately the
same. So cost of this thing is pretty small, when compared to cost of
all controls and motion hardware.
I am convinced that many of EMC users have hardware that cannot be
considered as opensource. Including my ServoStar 601 servo amps.
My personal feeling (not supported with any facts, numbers or other
data) is that also Mesa or Pico Systems products contain some
proprietary components.
So I do not see a problem here - if that solution is working and
delivering expected performance, then I consider the price to make
decision.
EMC is meant to be smart CNC controller to work on simple,
not-that-smart ("dumb") hardware, so
I think it is acceptable to have proprietary elements in hardware as
long as it is fully configurable to fit each particular machine and
situation.
Viesturs
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