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  1. #1
    Member DrStein99's Avatar
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    Default itx motherboard advice

    I've been using linux cnc successfully to retrofit large mechanical outdated cnc machines, and very impressed with the whole system. I now want to build a very small compact system for desk / bench use, without lugging around large boxes that take up space.

    So I would like to us ITX motherboard. It just about fits into the mini tower case I have for the Gekko drivers, with everything else in the box. They are also small enough to have in a standalone box that I could take with me to do anything else with.

    Does anyone here use itx motherboard, and / or mini computer to run linuxcnc ? I know I have to find one with at least one pci slot, for the parallel port card. I will use parallel card since it has been so reliable with me in the past, and cost about $15 dollars to replace if something goes wrong. I see a few of them used for sale on eBay with an Atom dual-core processor, with 4gb of memory, AND on board parallel (that might work) for around $50.

    I don't know the class of Atom processors and how they compare to core I5, or dual-core I3. I know the Celeron class of processors is very weak, too slow for my preference. Linuxcnc doesn't need much since it was made and used way long before CORE I3 and CORE I5 processors were available. I would like to have a little overhead, in case I want to use a microscope camera, and possibly stream the output over network. But I don't want overkill since it's sole purpose is for linuxcnc, and would like to keep the budget under $100, for motherboard, memory, and the compact ITX DC power adapter.

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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    I imagine any of the Atom based ITX/mini ATX boards would do the job. A bigger problem is finding one with a parallel port (unless you're using a Mesa board?)
    You could check out the linuxcnc forums as it's a question that pops up there occasionally.



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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    I have an Intel D525MW that I got a few years back for running LinuxCNC. There was good feedback on it at the time. I ran it through various latency tests and didn't see any major issues. I ended up using it in another project so I don't have long term experience with it on LinuxCNC. It is a dual core atom board with a parallel port, pci port, and even a serial port. I just looked them up on eBay and they are definitely in your price range.

    Streaming cameras shouldn't take a lot of resources, the bigger concern is more if it would cause any latency spikes, especially when using software stepping through the parallel port. You could always use something like a raspberry pi for the streaming if you found the jitter was too bad when streaming. I have an original model B streaming an mjpeg supported camera and it uses little cpu resources.



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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    The d525mw has provided me with a good experience on a 3D printer . But it's movements are relatively slow. And I'm currently implementing one in a Cnc router.
    I would say it fits the bill for your needs.



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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    Well, after a week more of research. I found a bunch of "dell optiplex sff 790 I5" priced $110 on ebay, complete with memory and hard drives. It's 12" x 12" x 4" for the whole thing, case power supply and all. Takes a low profile PCI-E card, there are two slots. It's definitely the strongest machine I ever used for LinuxCNC, probably overkill. But for anything less then $100, wasn't really worth it - what was I going to save, like $50 to get a dual-core motherboard, then have to get the ram, and a power supply, then play around for a week to CRAM that all inside of an overstuffed box with Geko drivers and breakout boards? I would be back over $100 again, and it wouldn't be convenient to service in case I want to change around wires or swap something out. With a solid state drive, I turn this thing on cold boot, turn around and sneeze - by the time I re-open my eyes, LinuxCnc is loaded and ready to press "start".

    FritzGutten: Are ALL 3d printers were relatively slow? I thought there was a limit of time that head had to move, for the heat to cure in order to get a solid build. I KNOW Linux cnc can drive stepper motors faster than I can track with my eyes, I've seen them bounce back & fourth belt drive so fast it makes streaks. Just running from a 486 with 1gb of memory. There are like 5 factors that all make up how fast a CNC will move in rapid.

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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    Let us know the latency numbers when you get it installed. I am always on the look out for small pc's that run linuxcnc well.

    Quote Originally Posted by DrStein99 View Post
    Well, after a week more of research. I found a bunch of "dell optiplex sff 790 I5" priced $110 on ebay, complete with memory and hard drives. It's 12" x 12" x 4" for the whole thing, case power supply and all. Takes a low profile PCI-E card, there are two slots. It's definitely the strongest machine I ever used for LinuxCNC, probably overkill. But for anything less then $100, wasn't really worth it - what was I going to save, like $50 to get a dual-core motherboard, then have to get the ram, and a power supply, then play around for a week to CRAM that all inside of an overstuffed box with Geko drivers and breakout boards? I would be back over $100 again, and it wouldn't be convenient to service in case I want to change around wires or swap something out. With a solid state drive, I turn this thing on cold boot, turn around and sneeze - by the time I re-open my eyes, LinuxCnc is loaded and ready to press "start".

    FritzGutten: Are ALL 3d printers were relatively slow? I thought there was a limit of time that head had to move, for the heat to cure in order to get a solid build. I KNOW Linux cnc can drive stepper motors faster than I can track with my eyes, I've seen them bounce back & fourth belt drive so fast it makes streaks. Just running from a 486 with 1gb of memory. There are like 5 factors that all make up how fast a CNC will move in rapid.




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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    Hey DrStein, fdm printers use the heat contained in the melted extrusion to fuse the new layer to the previous, speed is not an issue. the usual problem is to keep the plastic flowing fast enough to keep up with the machine movements without "stripping" the plastic filament. so, at least on my machine, the step commands of the system are much lower than they are on my mill.

    make sure to post your results here, I'm interested in your latency results as well.



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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    I ran the latency test. Unfortunately, since I wasn't able to install GOOGLE CHROME on the version of linuxcnc I downloaded, from the ISO - since it's default is 32 BIT (but that's another conversation)... I will post the latency test in TEXT instead of a screen capture:

    Max interval max jitter last interval
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    servo thread 995857 8004 987900
    base thread 37060 12362 25000

    test 2 - after reboot

    Max interval max jitter last interval
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    servo thread 996088 8168 987000
    base thread 34848 10150 25000

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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    fter disabling onboard audio and all usb ports except rear 2 usb, numbers improved dramatically:

    Max interval max jitter last interval
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    servo thread 993917 6071 987xxx
    base thread 34804 10106 26xxx

    WWW.RAIDGEAR.NET - FFC cables, foam headset replacement parts, and other gadgets.


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    Default Re: itx motherboard advice

    after disabling turbo boost and speed boosting according to linuxcnc wiki I got an even greater performance.


    Max interval max jitter last interval
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    servo thread 988421 705 987xxx
    base thread 28747 4054 24xxx

    WWW.RAIDGEAR.NET - FFC cables, foam headset replacement parts, and other gadgets.


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