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Hello,
I'm currently in the process of creating a new module for the 7i80 FPGA, and realizing that I also need to add a driver on the LinuxCNC side. Since the module is pretty niche, I'm trying to avoid modifying the entire Hostmot2 driver (and then worry about having to maintain my local copy against master every time there's a version change), so I was wondering if it was possible to write a driver for Hostmot2 as an external comp. I've seen the mesa_7i65.comp and mesa_uart.comp examples, but I'm more interested in the low level register access (eg. how the inmux driver communicates with the inmux module on the FPGA).
Thanks,
James H.

You probably need to follow my guide
docs.google.com/document/d/1jeV_4VKzVmOI.../edit?usp=drive_link

I still use a Gigbyte Brix J1900 and its fine if you follow my Bookworm guide.
docs.google.com/document/d/1jeV_4VKzVmOI.../edit?usp=drive_link
You will have a Realtek NIC so be sure to install the dkms driver as I describe.

Use a new SSD.
Bookworm is pretty good with UEFI but I think I would try installing Trixie to get any later enhancements now there is a beta ISO release
You should be able to install Linuxcnc with:The dev package installs halcompile etc
 

Thanks Todd,

It was actually much simpler. When watching the HAL tutorial from The Feral Engineer I noticed he had the following line at the top of his HAL file:

That solved this issue for me.

What are the results of:

sudo chrt ping -i .001 -q -c 60000 10.10.10.10
(takes 1 minute)

and

lspci | grep -i eth

 

I'm getting the error 5 times today.
joint 0 following error
Unexpected realtime delay on task 0 with period 1000000...
Could the delay be due to an electrical noise problem?

 

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The old Linuxcnc version would have been based on running a 32-bit version of Debian 7 (Wheezy) and depending on your hardware likely running the RTAI real time patched kernel. This worked well with many slower CPUs.

The latest versions of Linuxcnc's ISOs are based on 64-bit Debian 12 (Bookworm) and comes with a Preempt RT patched real time kernel. This system generally does not give good latency with slower CPUs. You may need to try to install an RTAI version. (I have not tried to get a current release of Linuxcnc running with RTAI so I can't be of much help there other than to point you to the documentation.)
linuxcnc.org/docs/stable/html/getting-st...#cha:Installing-RTAI

I think you might be missing some essential entries in the [TRAJ] section of your ini file and one that's there may be named wrong.

You have:

Try changing it to:

Would be grate to get a driver update to 64bit i have done the job so so rush for me, once done i can test it out
because as i see it even if i reduce for half on the count , will only give 180 turns, twise as many parts output.

Okay, then I'll look for this post.

The other terminals, e.g. the EL7041 terminals, work straight away. Only the ProfiBus does not start straight away after a Koppler restart.

I have the current TC3 project here again. I have changed the file extension tnzip to zip so that I can upload it.

 

Retrofit: Maho MH400E naar LinuxCNC

Hi everyone,

I’ve recently started converting my Maho MH400E to LinuxCNC, and I’d like to share my progress here. I was inspired by RotarySMP—his posts gave me the courage to take on this project. Initially, I tried to get the original Philips control system working, but unfortunately, I couldn't get it to function. That led me to take the plunge and retrofit the machine with LinuxCNC.

Understanding the machine
To better understand how everything works, I fully translated the original manual into English. This has made it much easier to follow, especially when cross-referencing signals and system behavior.
Additionally, I’ve been diving into the control cabinet wiring and schematics, making sense of the machine's logic and how it all ties together.

Mesa hardware choices
RotarySMP used PCI-based Mesa cards, but since those are becoming outdated, I went with a different setup. After some research and trial and error, I decided on the following Mesa cards:
✅ 7i94T (Ethernet FPGA card)
✅ 7i77 (Analog servo interface)
✅ 7i84 (I/O expander)

So far, this combination seems to be working well, though I'm still troubleshooting some issues.

Current LinuxCNC setup
For now, I'm running LinuxCNC on an old laptop. It works, but eventually, I plan to upgrade to a dedicated PC.
As for the user interface, I’m currently leaning towards QtDragon, but that choice is still open for discussion.

What has been done so far:
1️⃣ Completely cleaned the machine (it was necessary!).
2️⃣ Organized the wiring in the control cabinet—technically not needed, but very satisfying.
3️⃣ Removed the original Philips CNC controller and monitor.
4️⃣ Translated the full machine manual into English.
5️⃣ Started analyzing the control cabinet logic and making sense of the schematics.

Current status of the Mesa cards/LinuxCNC setup:
✔️ I successfully established a connection with the 7i94T, which is in turn connected to the 7i77 via ribbon cable.
⚠️ However, I’m currently facing an issue, for which I have an open question on the forum.

I’ll be adding some photos of the machine and the Mesa cards soon. Looking forward to sharing more progress and learning from the community!

Did you figure it out? I want to use a Rust library in my VCP, but I only know how to install it as a package in a virtual environment.