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Hello!
I am working on linuxcnc(Raspberry pi) + EtherCAT. I have successfully install ethercat master on raspberry pi. I am able to detect slaves connected to raspberry pi. Now i want to run linuxcnc through EtherCAT. As I am new in this I need some steps to steps guidance. 

Can someone please help me?  

hmm the attached zip file contains an exe file.

your best bet is a mesa ethernet card or get an RPi4


Im sure your configuration issue isnt anything that difficult. Im sure the company, or other users could help you to figure it out. It is also beneficial long term to try and learn the HAL

Most setups require you to do something,, but a mesa ethernet board you can use the config program, or a flexihal ethernet thing comes without changing the config but you need to load new firmware probably
or contact byte2byte to ask them for assistance


But also for anyone else interested, this fellow in the Other Languages section, has made some kind of RPi GPIO config tool

forum.linuxcnc.org/37-international-linu...-cnc-software#286005

Well mate ya gunna be well outta luck.

It you want the easiest option a PC with a parallel port will just about get you there.

Or you can ask for help with the board you have.

Even a Mesa card will require you to at least have the firmware you require and setting of an IP address on the Ethernet side. There's no SPI support for the RPi5, despite what the blurb says. Trust me I think I've wasted money getting a Rpi5 for Linuxcnc.

To use the GPIO a driver has to be load and setup correctly. I don't even know if Linuxcnc supports a GPIO to serial adapter or what you mean. JT has a config tool for that floating around. Andy Pugh has the low down on how it works.

The thing is there are that many machines and combinations at at the least you ave to use at PCconf for mesa or stepconf for a parallel port setup for a PC.

We'll help but you'll have to put some effort in. If you don't want to put the effort in that's your loss.

But for a 2 axis milling machine and the level of effort you want to put in grbl might be a better option for you.

I tried the byte2bot board. Couldn't get it to work. Requires alteration of the HAL file that i don't understand. I'm looking for a combination of board and setup that doesn't require any changes to the HAL file. Will a Mesa board do that? If so which one and which setup?

Thanks

Unless the BoB provides 3.3 <> 5.0v translation you're gunna have a bad day.

I don't think there are any sim configs for the RPi, most config will need post config.

This may help you out....there is another user trying this out, juest recently

byte2bot.com/products/parallel-port-raspberry-pi-hat

forum.linuxcnc.org/9-installing-linuxcnc...i-5?start=180#297833

Then after that it's either DIY or Mesa.

Hi, this is Yathish. 
I'm trying to run a small Stepper Motor 42SHDC3025-24B using A4988 driver (just one axis). I'm finding it hard to set this up. I'm using raspberry pi 4 with 

• LinuxCNC 2.9.2  Raspberry Pi 4 OS based on Debian Bookworm  Raspberry Pi 4 Uspace compatible with Mesa Ethernet and SPI interface boards.

as my os. 
I'm finding it hard to go further. Whichever resources I refer online is of no use. 
Can anyone please help me out with the steps to proceed?

What's the easiest interface board for a new user to use
Parport bob is easy to use.
There are guides to set it up.

I setup a Raspberry PI5 using this download: 

• LinuxCNC 2.9.2  Raspberry Pi 5 OS based on Debian Bookworm Raspberry Pi 5 Uspace compatible with Mesa Ethernet and SPI interface boards.I have tried this a few times now trying to get a signal out of the GPIO pins and tried using a GPIO to Serial adapter but all have failed.  So, I did a fresh install of the operating system.  I have not run any configurations yet. Ultimately, I want to operate 2 stepper motors on an XY milling table.  The stepper motor, drive, and power supply are from Steppersonline:  www.omc-stepperonline.com/1-axis-stepper...ly-1-dm860i-s120From reading the online documentation and forum it seems I need some type on interface between the Raspberry PI5 and the stepper driver.The stepper drive seems simple enough, it needs a pulse and direction signal and the enable pulled low.  So, two questions: 1 What's the easiest interface board for a new user to use?2 Which software setup is easiest to use?  When you go to the menu structure Applications-->CNC-->LinuxCNC the window displays Sample Configurations-->sim / by_interface / by_machine / apps / atticWhich configuration will work with the above suggested hardware.I'm looking for some response like:  Use brand A Model B hardware board with Configuration C.  Something that doesn't require any post configuration.I would greatly appreciate a little guidance.  I think once I have and see one operating I'll get a better understanding of it then, I can advance it.Thanks, Mark  

Problem with indexpuls on spindle ,The reading on the imput 10 GPIO 22 for the indexpuls is 0.5 volt ac and the reading on input 11 GPIO 24 is 0.2 v ac , I dont know
the settings in HAL file for this and I need help to find the right values for correkt reading in the Hal file ,i dont know the right place to play with these numers , I can read the signal on the input at the chinese breakout bord and after that the signal disepere nothing in the Halmeter or Halscope. My set up is Raspberry pi 5 and this byte2bot.com/blogs/instructions/setting-...-the-pi-parallel-hat and this byte2bot.com/products/5-axis-cnc-interfa...tepper-motor-drivers


the HAL file

# Generated by stepconf 1.1 at Mon Mar 18 18:19:52 2024
# If you make changes to this file, they will be
# overwritten when you run stepconf again
loadrt [KINS]KINEMATICS
loadrt [EMCMOT]EMCMOT base_period_nsec=[EMCMOT]BASE_PERIOD servo_period_nsec=[EMCMOT]SERVO_PERIOD num_joints=[KINS]JOINTS
#loadrt hal_parport cfg="0 out"
#setp parport.0.reset-time 5000
loadrt stepgen step_type=0,0
loadrt encoder num_chan=4
loadrt abs count=1
loadrt scale count=1
loadrt lowpass count=1
loadrt near
loadrt pwmgen output_type=1
loadrt classicladder_rt numPhysInputs=15 numPhysOutputs=15 numS32in=10 numS32out=10 numFloatIn=10 numFloatOut=10
#loadrt charge_pump

#loadrt hal_pi_gpio dir=0x13407 exclude=0x1F64BF8

loadrt hal_gpio inputs=PIN22,PIN32,PIN33,PIN24,PIN26 outputs=PIN12,PIN37,PIN21,PIN19,PIN23,PIN29,PIN31,PIN35,PIN11,PIN16,PIN13,PIN18




#addf parport.0.read base-thread
addf stepgen.make-pulses base-thread
#loadrt sum2 count=1
#loadrt not count=1


addf encoder.update-counters base-thread
addf pwmgen.make-pulses base-thread
#addf parport.0.write base-thread
#addf parport.0.reset base-thread

addf stepgen.capture-position servo-thread
addf encoder.capture-position servo-thread
addf motion-command-handler servo-thread
addf motion-controller servo-thread
addf classicladder.0.refresh servo-thread
addf stepgen.update-freq servo-thread
addf pwmgen.update servo-thread
addf abs.0 servo-thread
addf scale.0 servo-thread
addf lowpass.0 servo-thread

addf hal_gpio.read base-thread
addf hal_gpio.write base-thread
addf near.0 servo-thread

net spindle-cmd-rpm => pwmgen.0.value
net spindle-on <= spindle.0.on => pwmgen.0.enable
net spindle-pwm <= pwmgen.0.pwm
setp pwmgen.0.pwm-freq 100.0
setp pwmgen.0.scale 1166.6666666666665
setp pwmgen.0.offset 0.11428571428571428
setp pwmgen.0.dither-pwm true
net spindle-cmd-rpm <= spindle.0.speed-out
net spindle-cmd-rpm-abs <= spindle.0.speed-out-abs
net spindle-cmd-rps <= spindle.0.speed-out-rps
net spindle-cmd-rps-abs <= spindle.0.speed-out-rps-abs
net spindle-at-speed => spindle.0.at-speed
net spindle-cw <= spindle.0.forward

################ Spindle index #########################
# Add the encoder to HAL and attach it to threads.
#loadrt encoder num_chan=4
#addf encoder.update-counters base-thread
#addf encoder.capture-position servo-thread

# Set the HAL encoder to 20 pulses per revolution.
setp encoder.3.position-scale 20

# Set the HAL encoder to non-quadrature simple counting using A only.
setp encoder.3.counter-mode true

# Connect the HAL encoder outputs to LinuxCNC.
net spindle-position encoder.3.position => spindle.0.revs
net spindle-velocity encoder.3.velocity => spindle.0.speed-in
net spindle-index-enable encoder.3.index-enable <=> spindle.0.index-enable

# Connect the HAL encoder inputs to the real encoder.
net spindle-phase-a encoder.3.phase-A # <= hal_gpio.PIN24-in
net spindle-phase-b encoder.3.phase-B
net spindle-index encoder.3.phase-Z # <= hal_gpio.PIN22-in-not
setp encoder.3.position-scale 20.000000 #
setp encoder.3.counter-mode 1 #

setp lowpass.0.gain 0.05

net spindle-position encoder.3.position => spindle.0.revs
#net spindle-velocity-feedback-rps encoder.3.velocity => spindle.0.speed-in
net spindle-index-enable encoder.3.index-enable <=> spindle.0.index-enable
net spindle-phase-a encoder.3.phase-A
net spindle-phase-b encoder.3.phase-B
net spindle-index encoder.3.phase-Z

#net estop-out => parport.0.pin-01-out
net xstep => hal_gpio.PIN21-out
#setp parport.0.pin-02-out-reset 1
net xdir => hal_gpio.PIN19-out
net ystep => hal_gpio.PIN23-out
#setp parport.0.pin-04-out-reset 1
net ydir => hal_gpio.PIN29-out
net zstep => hal_gpio.PIN31-out
#setp parport.0.pin-06-out-reset 1
net zdir => hal_gpio.PIN35-out
#net astep => hal_gpio.PIN11-out
#setp parport.0.pin-08-out-reset 1
#net adir => hal_gpio.PIN16-out
net spindle-cw => hal_gpio.PIN11-out
net spindle-pwm => hal_gpio.PIN16-out
net xenable => hal_gpio.PIN37-out
net spindle-index <= hal_gpio.PIN22-in
net spindle-phase-a <= hal_gpio.PIN24-in
net min-home-x <= hal_gpio.PIN26-in
net min-home-z <= hal_gpio.PIN33-in





#############################################################
setp stepgen.0.position-scale [JOINT_0]SCALE
setp stepgen.0.steplen 1
setp stepgen.0.stepspace 0
setp stepgen.0.dirhold 35000
setp stepgen.0.dirsetup 35000
setp stepgen.0.maxaccel [JOINT_0]STEPGEN_MAXACCEL
net xpos-cmd joint.0.motor-pos-cmd => stepgen.0.position-cmd
net xpos-fb stepgen.0.position-fb => joint.0.motor-pos-fb
net xstep <= stepgen.0.step
net xdir <= stepgen.0.dir
net xenable joint.0.amp-enable-out => stepgen.0.enable

net min-home-x => joint.0.home-sw-in
net min-home-x => joint.0.neg-lim-sw-in
net min-home-x => joint.0.pos-lim-sw-in

setp stepgen.1.position-scale [JOINT_1]SCALE
setp stepgen.1.steplen 1
setp stepgen.1.stepspace 0
setp stepgen.1.dirhold 35000
setp stepgen.1.dirsetup 35000
setp stepgen.1.maxaccel [JOINT_1]STEPGEN_MAXACCEL
net zpos-cmd joint.1.motor-pos-cmd => stepgen.1.position-cmd
net zpos-fb stepgen.1.position-fb => joint.1.motor-pos-fb
net zstep <= stepgen.1.step
net zdir <= stepgen.1.dir
net zenable joint.1.amp-enable-out => stepgen.1.enable
net min-home-z => joint.1.home-sw-in
net min-home-z => joint.1.neg-lim-sw-in
net min-home-z => joint.1.pos-lim-sw-in

net estop-out <= iocontrol.0.user-enable-out
net estop-out => iocontrol.0.emc-enable-in

loadusr -W hal_manualtoolchange
net tool-change iocontrol.0.tool-change => hal_manualtoolchange.change
net tool-changed iocontrol.0.tool-changed <= hal_manualtoolchange.changed
net tool-number iocontrol.0.tool-prep-number => hal_manualtoolchange.number
net tool-prepare-loopback iocontrol.0.tool-prepare => iocontrol.0.tool-prepared

# Load Classicladder without GUI (can reload LADDER GUI in AXIS GUI
loadusr classicladder --nogui custom.clp

LinuxCNC just running a servo-thread only runs  a single Realtime thread. By definition thats gunna run on a single core as you observed. Maybe the base thread runs on a second core but i have never used a base thread.

When you run a ethernet connected device, machine latency is no longer important, its the network latency that limits performance. I think this means we should review how we evaluate PC suitability for LinuxCNC. latancy-histogram gives better results with multiple isolated cores but does that matter at all?

 

I give up.

@cornholio:
Thank you for the reply.
"Have you tried htop when running gcode and actually running a machine ?"
No, so far I only did "dry-tests".
I plan to retrofit a EMCO F1 CNC Woodworker. For this machine I bought a Benezan Tripple Beast ( a long time ago...). My plan is to set up LinuxCNC on a Raspberry Pi 5 to control the Tripplebeast.
My last machine was a portal router (DIY) that was (still is) controlled by DC-Servos with UHU3.0-controllers that I build (also a very long time ago)

Regarding the RP5: I hope I can find time to test the setup on the bench next week.
When I have news, I'll post them here.

Than you for your help.

Don't worry about it.

Everything will work fine when running a machine.

Have you tried htop when running gcode and actually running a machine ?

You can modify the isolcpu parameter, it's under the /boot folder in a subfolder, mind tho the boot folder has a different structure to the standard RPi one. It's been a while since I've used my RPi5 since helping Rod put the image together (due to the lack of a SPI driver for Mesa hardware).

Long story short latency will suffer without isolation. And depending how cache is shared between the cores there can be a performance hit by isolating the incorrect pair of CPUs (this was from a long forgotten paper). At the end of the day it's not outright performance this is vital with Linuxcnc but latency. Having a responsive interface and more importantly having latency within spec is all that matters. It's not as if you'll using the machine as a desktop whilst running a machine. Remember it's a single use computer, not a desktop.

Play around with isolating CPUs run some latency tests and see how you go. BTW what hardware are you using to control your machine.

Even on a multi core machine with no cpus isolated if the load doesn't require it you will have cores that are more or less idle.

The third CPU (Number "2") of the Raspberry is not running.
LinuxCNC ("realtime stuff") only uses Core Number 3 (the fourth)

Is there something that can be done to use both Cores (Number 2 and 3 = third and fourth) for LinuxCNC?