MiniMonster V1.0 machine | planning the control

That encoder might help me diagnose things, thanks.
But it could not go on the spindle during use.

I am not trying to rigid tape or get a precision reading, I just need to know if the spindle is bogging down or stalling to I can halt the program.

Quick check. The delta drives have 4 in and 2 out each. So 12/6 total.

Not too bad. Beckhoff has some beckhoff io is $50 for 8 inputs. Plus the ek1100. that's quite viable here.

ihavenofish wrote:

Weird, so the ms300 has an "actual speed" display, however in a cut that is clearly bogging down 15-20%, it is claiming a fixed frequency dead on the programmed one. Seems not to be an accurate speed... OR the audio is deceptive.

Get one of the cheap handheld  laser tachometers and see what it really is.  

Was just looking at those. the reviews say they are horrible and not accurate. gotta sift through to see which one is worth buying.
tomorrow

OK, spindle weirdnesses dealt with.

What should I use as a PC?
I want a mix of being small and reliable, as well as being cheap and easy to deal with if it dies on the customer end. So probably not some all in one pc box.

I guess we need at least 2 ethernet ports if we choose ethercat.

Anyone got a recommendation for a reliable cheap mini itx board that will work well with ethercat or mesa?

That might be the polar opposite of what i need, hahaha. well, unless you also want to play cyberpunk while you mill.

I found some refurb mini lenovos. $198 with win 10 pro lic. i can get plenty (hundreds) so stock is fine.

They only have one rj45, but they have wifi. Not hard to just buy one and try out the ethercat. JMC now has ethercat versions of their integrated drives (the ones on my prototype), so maybe also worth testing those too. Create a second control for the prototype mill basically and iron out the bugs without messing up the working machine.