On 6/4/2015 10:41 AM, Kirk Wallace wrote: > On 06/04/2015 07:13 AM, Ron Bean wrote: >>> If you need one computer to see the GUI and one for realtime >>> effects, why not just start out with a real computer and load Linux and >>> LinuxCNC on it? >> The problem I see is that, going forward, "real" computers that are >> graphics-capable are becoming less and less "real time capable". We can >> work around it for now by selecting motherboards that still work well >> with LinuxCNC, but they could become scarce in the future (see various >> threads here about selecting motherboards). Single-board computers like >> the BBB, which are specifically built for real-time and don't care about >> graphics, are the solution to that. >> >> I don't see any particular reason to run a GUI on the same machine (or >> at least, on the same CPU) as the motion controller. Although if you do, >> one solution might be something along the lines of the BBB, but two CPUs >> and a PCI slot for a GPU. Another solution might be something like a BBB >> that plugs into a PCI slot in a generic PC. Either one eliminates the >> USB connection, which is the real problem. > > I have wanted a two computer setup for quite a while. The idea is to > have the motion control computer on the back of the machine, so cable > runs to motors and sensors can be short. Then have the UI computer on > the front or wherever the operator needs to move it. This can be done > now by piping graphics and keyboard information between the two > computers. It seems to me that it would be more efficient to pipe just > status and UI commands. It also seems that each computer might be > optimized for their respective duties. So far, to me, the distance > between theory and practice has favored the single computer setup. >
I think that in the long term there will end up being a reliable version of Machinekit that will allow any generic device (tablet/phone, etc) to connect to the CNC controller via an app. There is at least one early version of that floating around right now. So for a lot of applications a "Sandy type" box and a tablet might be all you need in the future. Dave --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
