There is a translation layer! | |
- You worry too much.
It goes with the territory -- I'm an anal retentive tech geek who happens to also be an uber-perfectionist.
Is it any wonder that so few of my projects see their completion? :-)
- Machine control software (gcode interpreter) such as TurboCNC, CNCpro, Mach 1 etc.
That's the layer I was talking about. (It could have been implemented in software or hardware, really, and placed in half a dozen different places) Something that takes generic g-code and turns it into instructions specifically for your setup. So, I guessed right!
A bit of hardware called a driver or controller card. Stepperworld, Gecko, Xylotex etc. It interfaces with your parallel port, and wires go to your motors
Based on an LM298 chip, probably... (I think that number is right) It just says that if pin (x) on your parallel port goes high, advance by 1 step. That sort of thing? Or is it more complicated than that?
If it's really that simple, then I can build my own controller with very little trouble.
-- Chuck Knight  |