On 07.08.2013 16:28, Kent A. Reed wrote: > On 8/7/2013 8:26 AM, Paul Lacatus wrote: >> On 07.08.2013 15:03, Viesturs Lācis wrote: >>> 2013/8/7 Paul Lacatus <p...@paul-lacatus.ro> >>> >>>> Your idea is interesting but an Atom board is at a fraction of BB cost >>>> that is about 50 Euro ? And what about parallel ports on atom boards ? I >>>> will check. Thank you ! >>>> >>>> PS The BBW is just laying on my table ;) >>> BTW Beaglebone is much easier to mount somewhere in the electronics cabinet >>> The only thing that keeps me from using Beaglebone are the emails about >>> hdmi and pru fight for particular pins, so there were some difficulties >>> about them. I know that Charles has a working solution, but I do not know >>> any details. >>> Disabling hdmi and running the beaglebone headless is definitely a >>> solution, but I know that I am not that advanced to set up something like >>> that. >>> >> the BBW that I already have has no HDMI but has also low specifications >> ( comparable with RasPi that I also have 720MHz Cortex , 256 MB ) than >> BBB . I am prepared to use it headless with X11 server on other machine >> . That why I proposed Raspi for an X11 server. I like Axis toolpath >> preview and I don't want to loose it ;). On BBB I heard That is a >> "bridge cape" that is solving the pin problems. >> > Paul: > > Which are you---a machinist who wants to make chips fly or a computer > enthusiast who wants to play with new hardware/software combos? > > Please don't think I'm being snarky. > > A machinist who wants a solution which "just works" would either stick > with the oversize AT/ATX computer you already have or substitute a > downsized, presumably Intel Atom-equipped microATX board with an onboard > parallel port. The LinuxCNC wiki contains latency test data for some of > these boards. The archive of this list contains messages about the > headaches caused by the onboard graphics controllers of certain of these > boards. If you're willing to use a RPi as the Xserver for a BBW then you > should have no problem using it as well for any x86-based controller if > the onboard graphics don't work out. I'm actually a great fan of > separate Xserver terminals---what we used to call an Xterm, aka "thin > client", last century. The neat thing is, you can try this approach > right now to see if you like it, using your existing LinuxCNC as the > Xclient. > > A computer enthusiast, on the other hand, may well wish to wade into the > ARM world. There is furious activity on several levels in the LinuxCNC > community which tends to be reported in more detail on the companion > emc-developers mail list. I'm at the periphery of the developers, > helping more to test their work than to contribute to it. Impressive > gains have been made and there are some striking results (see for > example Charles Steinkuehler's YouTube videos of his 3d printing) but > I'd have to characterize the whole of the work as "not yet ready for > prime time" but "real soon now" from the standpoint of the common user. > Not only customized LinuxCNC software but also customized > capes/interface boards are emerging should you choose to play. > > If I had to compare the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the two > approaches as opposed to the first cost of the motherboard, I'd have to > say they are roughly equal, especially if one puts a dollar/euro/leu > value on one's time. [Please, gentle readers, don't start an email storm > over this observation. If you like, I'll restate it as "all hardware > approaches cost more than you expected."] > Excellent point of view Kent. I am more a computer "enthusiast" than a machinist. In any moment I can use my existing old faithful computer for machining ( mainly PCB and front panels) . But I will try also the BBW that I already have . I will also check the Xserver /client solution with the existing setup ( computer) in different server implementations ( Raspi vs. computer) . Also your proposal of Atom board is very interesting. I'll have to find a Atom MB with parallel port for tests. Finaly i think that the old computer should vanish for this hobby CNC and has to be replaced by a smart embedded solution with a large enough touchscreen , a jog wheel and for sure LinuxCNC is the solution in front of windows approaches.
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