(Yet) Another Option for CNC Control

[epineh]

Hi all, just to add to the confusion of DIY CNC, this is what I have decided to try on my 3D printer build. I am posting this to document for others what is involved.

What I am using is a Beagle Bone Black with a Xylotex add on board (or cape as they call it)

All I can say is that it is pretty awesome, I paid around $120.00 incuding postage to get the compete kit, which is the BeageBone, Xylotex DB25 card (which is configured to be the same pinout as a traditional p/port) and pre loaded sd card.

I have included a pic to give an idea of size, it is the bottom card in the pic, there are two G251's above it, if you have ever seen a G251 up close, you will appreciate how small the BeagleBone is.

Anyhoo, check it out if you are interested, there are plenty of options for CNC, I picked the Xylotex option as the DB25 output is pretty standard, and will retro fit into a standard parallel port machine.

Also, this is running Linux, so controller software is EMC...er i mean Linuxcnc as they now call it, you won't find a Windows based port of this. The processor is a 1GHz Arm Cortex chip with 512 Mb of DDR3 Ram.

Basically I have just got the machine jogging around and it works the same as a PC based controller, boot speed is fast, and I have been editing ini files without issue. That is about all I have had to do with it, everything worked out of the box, most of the issues I am having are machine based, the controller has been a breeze.

Cheers.

Russell.

[Smirkin]

Hi Russell

Where is the pic?

Oops, I didn't read to the end sorry.

Craig


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[epineh]

I can't upload it, keep getting an error, I shrunk it to under 500 by 500 and it is a jpg, don't know what else to do...

[Smirkin]

Did you ever get a new CNC router together? Is this 3D printer an extra?


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[epineh]

Not yet, that is still a work in progress, I had a few gecko's lying around and a few bits and pieces so thought I would launch into another build project...although in my defence I will use the printer to make parts for the new router and also mount encoders to a large VMC I am retrofitting.

[Smirkin]

I look forward to following your progress with this project.


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