how to setup a Mesa 7i80HD?

Reinhard wrote: The 7i73 looks really nice. I would like to go for one too. But how do I connect such a card to ... what? PC? or 7i80HD?
... what a mess!

The 7i73 connect to the main mesa card using the RS422 interface. Chop the end off an ethernet patch lead, plug the remaining end into the 7i73 and the other end gets wired to the RS422 pins

Ah - I see. Thanks.

Does the RS422-connection need special FPGA settings / .bit-files, or is it simply a kind of "digital I/O pass through"?

Reinhard wrote: How can I add support for spindle speed?

One way is the SPINX1
store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...id=205&search=spinx1
To use the SpinX1 you would need a bitfile that includes PWM, which is indicated by "sv" in the bitfile name.

Incidentally, You sound like you might be in the EU, and so you might want to use a local supplier.
eusurplus.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=63
www.shop.cncmonster.de/LinuxCNC/Interfac...SPINx1-PWM::375.html
www.duzi.cz/shop_cnc/index.php?main_page=index&language=cz

7i80HD could drive 3 daughterboards, right?

Anything between 0 and 24, actually.

The 7i73 looks really nice. I would like to go for one too. But how do I connect such a card to ... what? PC? or 7i80HD?

The 7i73 uses the Mesa "Smart Serial" protocol. 2 IO pins on the host FPGA (5i23, 7i89 etc) are allocated to each Smart-Serial channel, and you can have up to 8 SmartSerial cards per port. So 24 for a 7i80HD. Normally you would connect these through a 7i44 adaptor. For the 7i92 you would use the 7i74 adaptor instead.
The 7i76 and 7i77 cards are combination daughterboard and smart-serial card. They have straight-through connections for fast-IO such as step generators and encoder inputs, and then the GPIO on the board is a smart-serial device using only two FPGA pins.
The 7i76 (and 7i76E) also have a single Smart-Serial expansion port available on screw-terminals (this is the port that rodw is describing where you cut the end off of a patch-cable to connect it)
To use Smart-Serial you would need a bitfile with Smart serial, indicated by "ss" in the bitfile name. (The 7i76 bitfiles also have an SS port, but don't mention it in the filename).

... and if I use multiple daughterboards, I'll have to create my own .bit files too - right?

It depends on the combination. Most popular combos are covered by existing bitfiles. And Smart-Serial boards are self-configuring, as long as the bitfile has a sserial port, absolutely any sserial card will work on it.

I found two .bit files for the 7i80+7i52S: 7i80hd_16_svst6_6_7i52s.bit and 7i80hd_16_svst6_6_7i52sd.bit
What's the difference between them?
When I compare the PIN* files, some PLL registers apear in one, but no difference at pin configuration.

The D means "DPLL", this is a phase-locked-loop that the card uses to reduce or eliminate the effect of servo-thread jitter.
Peter reports that with DPLL activated you can run a 1kz servo thread with 500uS latency.

Is the xilinx design suite the only way to generate a .bit file?

Unfortuntately, yes. It isn't something that most users are expected to do. Most find a close-match bitfile for their daughterboard choice and work with that.

andypugh wrote: Incidentally, You sound like you might be in the EU, ...

Sure, but that's no problem. I you give me a link to mesanet I'll find the local dealers on my own.
So thank you for any link
_

andypugh wrote:

Reinhard wrote: How can I add support for spindle speed?

One way is the SPINX1

Ok, looks good. I guess that could be connected to a 7i73
_

andypugh wrote: To use the SpinX1 you would need a bitfile that includes PWM, which is indicated by "sv" in the bitfile name.

Ok, looks good
_

andypugh wrote:

Reinhard wrote: The 7i73 looks really nice. I would like to go for one too. But how do I connect such a card to ... what? PC? or 7i80HD?

The 7i73 uses the Mesa "Smart Serial" protocol. 2 IO pins on the host FPGA (5i23, 7i89 etc) are allocated to each Smart-Serial channel, and you can have up to 8 SmartSerial cards per port. So 24 for a 7i80HD. Normally you would connect these through a 7i44 adaptor. ... To use Smart-Serial you would need a bitfile with Smart serial, indicated by "ss" in the bitfile name.

Bad luck! There's no bitfile with 7i52S and ss in name
... and I guess, for the combination of 7i80HD, 7i52S and 7i44 I would need a bitfile with any of these in its name - additionally to sv and ss - there's no such bitfile
_

andypugh wrote:

Reinhard wrote: Is the xilinx design suite the only way to generate a .bit file?

Unfortuntately, yes. It isn't something that most users are expected to do. Most find a close-match bitfile for their daughterboard choice and work with that.

Ok, let me conclude: if I find an affordable combination that fits my needs, I won't go for individual bitfile, but if I have to create my own bitfile, I won't buy any daughtercard.

Currently it looks like I have to go for individual bitfile.

andypugh wrote:

Reinhard wrote: How can I add support for spindle speed?

One way is the SPINX1

Ok, looks good. I guess that could be connected to a 7i73[/quote]
Not easily, there is no PWM output from the 7i73.
www.mesanet.com/pdf/parallel/7i73man.pdf

(To get the manual for any Mesa card, just Google for the cardname + man, eg "7i80hdman")

Ok, let me conclude: if I find an affordable combination that fits my needs, I won't go for individual bitfile, but if I have to create my own bitfile, I won't buy any daughtercard.

PCW will often make a custom bitfile if asked. I used to be able to do it, but lost the VM I was using for the task.

Puh - find the right HW-combination is anything but easy
7i80HD + several daughter cards will become quite expensive ...

7i76E looks like a good choice, if I had only 5 step/dir channels.
Is it possible to add another step/dir channel to the 7i76 through expansion slot or terminal I/O?

andypugh wrote: PCW will often make a custom bitfile if asked.

@PCW: can you say something about your fees?

Reinhard wrote: 7i76E looks like a good choice, if I had only 5 step/dir channels.
Is it possible to add another step/dir channel to the 7i76 through expansion slot or terminal I/O?

I haven't managed to find a definitive pin definition for the 7i76E. But it has two 25-pin expansion connectors on the board.
I think that there is an alternative firmware for the card that allows you to connect a further two 7i76 (not-E) cards to the 7i76E for a total of 15 step generators.
With this firmware loaded on the 7i76E you would not have to actually use a 7i76 to connect to these pins, any other compatible card with the correct pin directions and voltages would work, or even a home-made adaptor (possibly even straight-through wiring to a drive, but the bare-IO is likely to be 3.3V and not very high-current. )

You _could_ use the software step-generator, but because the GPIO on the 7i76(E) is serially addressed (it's an on-board smart-serial device) your peak step-rate would be only 500Hz. So the expansion connectors are a better bet.

andypugh wrote: [
I haven't managed to find a definitive pin definition for the 7i76E. But it has two 25-pin expansion connectors on the board.

Not really a pinout, but the PDF on this thread tells you all you need to know about the 7i76e and outlines most of the pins
EDIT: Opps forgot the link:
forum.linuxcnc.org/27-driver-boards/3191...nnection-sheet#83914

rodw wrote: Not really a pinout, but the PDF on this thread tells you all you need to know about the 7i76e

Not really, it makes no mention of the functions on the expansion connector at all.

andypugh wrote:

Reinhard wrote: 7i76E looks like a good choice, if I had only 5 step/dir channels.
Is it possible to add another step/dir channel to the 7i76 through expansion slot or terminal I/O?

I haven't managed to find a definitive pin definition for the 7i76E. But it has two 25-pin expansion connectors on the board.
I think that there is an alternative firmware for the card that allows you to connect a further two 7i76 (not-E) cards to the 7i76E for a total of 15 step generators.

Yes, the 7i76E page does not provide any firmwares, but the archive from 7i80HD contains several bitfiles for 7i76E and one (!) pinfile for the 7i76E - so mofifying this file should do the trick?!?
I finally understand the difference between extension slot and terminal I/O. Thanks!