Choosing the right Mesa Boards?

Thanks Tommy!

I would definitely like to go closed loop on the Linuxcnc side. Is there any advantage to say using 6i25 with a 7i76 over just using a 7i76E?

Type_Zero_Design wrote: Thanks Tommy!

I would definitely like to go closed loop on the Linuxcnc side. Is there any advantage to say using 6i25 with a 7i76 over just using a 7i76E?

Not that i noticed, ever. I only had one of each system and they are still working, never had a single issue with them.
I do have a lot of 5i25 and 6i25 and 7i92, several 7i77 and a lot more mesa boards, just here on this table in my bedroom i have a 6i25/7i77/THCAD wired and powered doing some configs for cnc Plasma cutters with THC, another 5i25 and a 7i92 and a 7i73 not wired waiting their turn.
Went off a bit there.....

They each have their advantages
The Ethernet cards have an advantage of isolation and wire distance. The pci and pcie have a theoretical speed advantage if you should need to run a faster than normal servo thread and are slightly simpler to configure. But for most machines the differences should not matter.

So it seems like if I were going to use a 7i85 for encoder feedback it would make the most sense to to go with a 7i92 rather than 7i76E beacuse the 7i92 supports two break out boards so if I understand correctly the 7i76E would still require a 7192, 5i25 or 6i25 to run the 7i85?

If thats so would a good option be 7i92 with 7i76 and 7i85?

I apologize for all the questions just want to make sure I do this right.

Type_Zero_Design wrote: So it seems like if I were going to use a 7i85 for encoder feedback it would make the most sense to to go with a 7i92 rather than 7i76E beacuse the 7i92 supports two break out boards so if I understand correctly the 7i76E would still require a 7192, 5i25 or 6i25 to run the 7i85?

If thats so would a good option be 7i92 with 7i76 and 7i85?

I apologize for all the questions just want to make sure I do this right.

7i76E has 2 more break out board connectors ( those connectors can be used for other stuff to, like 7i74 or anothe 7i76 or 7i77 or.... ).
You do not need anything else if you go with the 7i76E, it has everything needed and plenty of inputs and outputs, you might only need a 7i85 ( again check if this is the correct board for encoder feedback ) IF and only if you want to have the loop closed in Linuxcnc.

If you go to this link, it shows the firmware available, and how to load it, ( the supplier will probably load it for you if you request it). www.wiki.eusurplus.com/index.php?title=C...a_Interface#Firmware

www.mesanet.com/ has the manuals for each card. You should be able to work out what the cards are capable of with the manual and the pin allocation.
I've set up a test config for a lathe using 5i25/7i78 and 7i85S cards. I flashed the firmware to the 5i25, and had no problems. I think you will be very happy with the Mesa cards.