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I wonder, is there a Raspberry HAT that can direct interface with a stepper driver ?

Thanks
Jonh.

I'm using a Raspberry Pi 4 to drive a Mesa 7i96.   For unknown (as yet) reasons, I can't reliably run without errors unless I bump SERVO_PERIOD to 2000000 (i.e., 2ms).

What affect will this have on machine operation?  I sort of understand what's scheduled to run in the base thread, which of course is largely (completely?) irrelevant now that I have the Mesa.  But I don't have a good mental model for what runs in the servo thread, so I don't have a good understanding of what happens to operation/performance if it only runs half as often as usual.  Where would the difference show up?

Until recently my mill maxed out at about 40ipm, so absolute performance wasn't really a consideration.  I've upgraded to a machine capable of at least 80ipm using Grbl, and initial tests with LinuxCNC and the Mesa card indicate 100ipm may be fine.  So now I'm wondering if I need to start worrying more about that servo thread.

paul

Dear linuxcnc users,
i want to introduce my new open source project based on the W5100S-EVB-PICO . ~10 USD (raspberry pico clone)

features:
1 to 8 step generator with 255KHz maximum output in this version, (possible higher freq) enough for 15m/min with 0.001mm
1 to 8 quadrature encoder counter with 12.5MHz theoretical maximum counting frequency.

current version in the github page is support 4 stepgen and 4 encoders
linuxcnc driver supports multiple instances
planned direct SPI communication with raspberry-pi4 (with normal pico)

github: stepgen-encoder

What about some souped-up Raspberry Pi?

(Max CPU, RAM, etc.)

What voltage does it run on?

You can get very inexpensive DC power supplies from Aliexpress or Digi-Key.

what do you all have against a raspberry pi?
it works well and there are all kinds of cases for it.
2. NIC via USB

Nah my images do work out the box, fark I can actually test them before releasing them in the wild, so far the zram issue has only affected one user. Which whilst I have wanted to put up a new image with the fix there has been push back.
The issue that seems to be with the RPi images is that users think that everything is the same as the images from Raspberry Pi, it's like they can't seperate the board from a particular OS.
The fact that I can run mine with either a 7c81 clone that I've put together myself or a Spartan 6 Dev board with an ethernet interface both running slightly modified hostmot2 firmware proves that it does work. Oh and the RPi platform is younger than the whole Linuxcnc project itself....
But an x86 platform is the best bang for buck, no 2 ways about it. You buy a PC and it's complete ready to go. An RPi5 will need a case, PSU a secondary board to run a NVMe drive or a SATA adaptor board if you want something more spritely than an SD card. The x86 platform is tried and true, it works, it's common, it's rugged and has been used it 54 billion installations by Tommy alone this month, as my estimates go.
The only advantage of the RPi platform is size, tho an Odroid H4 or the older H3 isn't much larger and maybe the SPI interface. The mini HDMI connectors are a pain. In saying that waveshare does do some nice boards that plugin to the existing HDMI, power and audio connectors to bring them out to the same side as the USB & ethernet, a nice NVMe adaptor and a aluminium case to suit.

There is a thread with a guy integrating a cm carrier board with a 7c81.
The RPi5 works but it's a very expensive option compared to an ex corporate PC. The only real advantage is size and that's about it. The RPi5 images work out of the box, but do require the zram fix mentioned in the big thread, it's not a game killer but can raise its head.
Having a RPi5 and 3rd Gen I5 running for testbeds the i5 is definitely the one I'd choose for a build.
For my mill I running a odroid H3 and can not fault it, this has been replaced by the H4.
As for pre-built control boxes, any that rely on the parallel port can be used with a 7i92 for an ethernet option or a 7c81 for SPI with a Raspberry Pi. Some of the issues I have with them is use of DB9 connectors for the Stepper motor connectors. Most of them are quite compact which raises issues of heat and airflow.
I prefer to build my own, lots of room for air flow, the ability to keep the mains and signal wiring well seperated, on side has all the mains, the other side has the low voltage signalling.
I guess if that isn't part of your skill set then an off the shelf control box might be the option if you have the funds.

Thank you for your answer! I like to dream big sometimes Of course having this for sale as a bundle would be epic, but even if I just managed to make a github repo with the whole config + BOM + CAD model of the control cabinet, I think that'd still be really helpful, right? Also, is Raspberry Pi really so bad for this goal? What are the disadvantages? I thought it's a pretty nice option given that it's quite compact and rugged.

aeth wrote:

... I want to make a truly badass solution with Raspberry Pi...

That statement ... has issues!
Use a NUC or any small PC, not a RPI.
You should check the export regulations before jumping in, the biggest market for DIY is USA, then India, Europe is pretty far down that list. I checked for the same thing, it was not pretty. BTW, my country has the lowest tarifs for USA at 10% only! Does not fix much when sending anything there costs over 300$ for a small box.
This is not to discourage you, absolutely do try, just make sure you get informed beforehand.

I was recently wondering if there's a company or someone who builds 3 or 4 axis mill control boxes pre-configured with LinuxCNC. Most hobby and semi-professional machines rely on a very similar configuration with one, maybe 2 steppers per axis and it would be awesome if a properly built control box with Linux CNC was available pre-configured and off the shelf. Is anyone aware of a product like this? I know that CNC drive sells their control boxes with UCCNC and stuff like VFD, fuses, relays and stepper drivers preinstalled.
Ever since Ethercat was integrated into LinuxCNC, I want to make a truly badass solution with Raspberry Pi, hardware control panel (there's a Shenzen company producign Ethercat panels with feed/speed knobs and macro buttons!) and Leadshine CS3E closed loop stepper drivers and Delta MS300 VFD. A complete Linux CNC solution like this will cost around 2500 USD which is the price for just the Centroid Hicory mainboard + software that offers similar capabilities.
If there's nothing like this on the market and enough people are interested, I could partner with my friend in China who could help me get this stuff assembled there.

That dkms error is an error in the debian distribution, they included a raspberry package. Just delete it.Well I thought the secure boot would be an explanation but now I don't know.
Happy you can use it, anyway.

matn1 wrote:

Good day,
 Currently the Mesa is on a 5v3A wall plug

This is likely your problem. Replace with a Meanwell MDR-20-5 or similar.

Hello, everybody!

About 1.5 years ago I tried going the Remora route on my NVEM V2 with the STM32F207 and a Raspberry Pi 4. After a steep learning curve I finally managed to get the motors to turn, but experienced an issue where the motors would stutter, or skip steps, for some reason. Despite some kind peoples best effort to help, I was never successful in solving the issue and my PrintNC has been out of order since then.

I finally gathered some energy and wanted to give this another go, so I bought a mini-PC, a Lenovo M93p, mainly because I feel more comfortable using a real PC rather than a RasPi, and because it feels like there is more support for it.
Anyway, I followed all the same steps as the last time to get Remora up and running, but unfortunately the result is the same, the motors turn, but stutters.

1.5 years is a long time in the world of open source firmware development, so first of all I would like to ask if the Remora-NVEM repo is still the latest one for the NVEM V2? Or has the old NVEM V2 been integrated in another repo and has seen some updates since?

My next question would be, if it turns out that I simply can't get the NVEM to work properly, what is the board to buy nowadays? Is it the EC300?

Regards,
Christian

Yes, I understand that, but I still need some hardware that can do the following:
1. Interface with other peripherals such as relays, emergency stop button, endstops (unless I use sensorless homing), VFD
2. Have ethernet
3. Host a raspberry pi
4. Ideally offer photocouplers for some inputs

So I guess at the very least, I'd need some kind of a breakout board for Raspberry Pi that is known to also work with Linux CNC. Does it make sense? I'm really lost in this whole topic. Ideally it would be something proven that people have already tested in a similar configuration that I require. I just know that if you have something like Sinumerik controller or even Acorn Hicory, it's kinda what I wrote above, minus the Raspberry Pi and I thought I will need something similar to run LinuxCNC on and have the IO exposed.

Lately I started looking with great curiosity into LinuxCNC, because it seems to be one of the nicest and most affordable options to get EtherCAT and recently even s-curve acceleration control! In other words, as far as I know, it's the only solution on the market that offers such badass features as well as full configurability at a fraction of the price of other devices.
My current experience is with Mach 3 and UCCNC, but in both cases I was dissatisfied with motion planning where the machine would stutter a lot with complex toolpaths or with larger error allowance, it would run smoothly but it would mess with the surface finish.

My biggest hurdle right now is finding the right hardware. I saw countless solutions and configurations to get this done and I'm looking for something well proven that's not too hard to set up and doesn't look like spaghetti.
I was looking into Mesa boards, but even that got me a bit confused and I don't know what I should get. What's important for me is that the board offers screw terminals for interfacing with endstops and VFD and ideally it has its own computer - i.e. Raspberry Pi.
Could I ask someone for some recommendations?