Running G-Code from Windows based PDA

[rnprasad]

Hello everyone,

I am planning to build a CNC machine for fun, but have plans to implement these ideas for a bigger machine for our granite tile processing facility. As most of the work done by these machines is very redundant, I thought running the G-code from PDA may be more economical and also takes less space in the factory.

So I am just wondering if anyone has ideas on this. I thought of 2 limitations in this aspect.

1. Hardware: How to connect the PDA to the Servo/stepper controller board? Most PDAs have USB conectors and most of the stepper boards I saw on this forum and other places have parallel ports? Anyway to connect these two?


2. Software: How to run the G-code on the PDA? As for the code generation, I think it is possible to develop the G-code on the desktop. But Pocket PC needs to have some program to run the G-code. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Any thought on this topic are greatly appreciated.

Prasad
rnprasad@hotmail.com

[abasir]

Hello everyone,
1. Hardware: How to connect the PDA to the Servo/stepper controller board? Most PDAs have USB conectors and most of the stepper boards I saw on this forum and other places have parallel ports? Anyway to connect these two?
2. Software: How to run the G-code on the PDA? As for the code generation, I think it is possible to develop the G-code on the desktop. But Pocket PC needs to have some program to run the G-code. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Most PDA connects to PC USB, as client. I'm yet to find PDA with USB Host capability. Even if you can find CF-to-parallel adaptor, new software is needed. IMHO, your best bet would be:-
1. Get CNC controller with serial interface (DeskCNC or similar).
2. Get/use serial interface for your PDA.
3. Talk/email to the controller manufacturer on the communication protocol.
4. Write simple comm program to send the G-Code to the controller.

If size is your main concern, get an industrial PC with LCD screen. It should be not much larger than you PDA with all the addon.

[rnprasad]

Most PDA connects to PC USB, as client. I'm yet to find PDA with USB Host capability. Even if you can find CF-to-parallel adaptor, new software is needed. IMHO, your best bet would be:-
1. Get CNC controller with serial interface (DeskCNC or similar).
2. Get/use serial interface for your PDA.
3. Talk/email to the controller manufacturer on the communication protocol.
4. Write simple comm program to send the G-Code to the controller.

If size is your main concern, get an industrial PC with LCD screen. It should be not much larger than you PDA with all the addon.

Thanks for the suggestions. Need to check on the serial interface for the PDA. sounds doable. My brother is a software engineed and probably he can help with some simple codes etc.

What is an industial PC? Any links for manufacturers? How do they compare with PDAs for pricing? As for choosing the PDA option, I was thinking of both size and also the cost. I am planning to buy a lot of used PDAs from ebay or something like that. As Windows based PDAs are very similar to desktops for functionality and programming I though I can generate the G-code on the desktop and then load to PDA easily.


Prasad

[Al_The_Man]

There is already a thread in this forum on this subject if you do a search.
Al.

[PaulH]

There is already a thread in this forum on this subject if you do a search.

If you alrady know about it, how about providing a link to the thread?

[Al_The_Man]

Searched http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread...&highlight=pda

[RotarySMP]

There used to be a web site of some moron who had used a PDA to make a CNC Tattoo machine, and then used his own arm for trial purposes. Wasn't pretty. prooved that it was possible to perform motion control from a PDA (at some level).

I read once there were Linux distro's for PDA's, so the first requirement of motion control (get rid of or under Windows and take control of the interupts) must be possible.

[PaulH]

Windows CE has had RTOS capabilities for quite a while now. It should be possible to create a G-Code interpreter that sends motion commands to a controller.

However, to get a PDA that has a fast enough processor and is rugged enough to be in that environment won't be cheap. Also as noted above, you may have trouble finding a PDA that acts as a USB host. You'd probably be better off getting an inexpensive laptop through eBay and running Windows 2000 or XP on it. You'd have all the ports you need, a much nicer monitor, and built-in networking.

If you're worried about someone hacking a laptop through your internet router remember two things: First, if the router has any kind of firewall built in, then it's probably not even an issue. Second, you can always give the laptop an IP address outside of your normal netmask, then create a static route to it from the computer that hosts your CAD/CAM software.

[hall woo]

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