Mesa Control Card Recommendation


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Thread: Mesa Control Card Recommendation

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    Thumbs up Mesa Control Card Recommendation

    Hey guys,

    I have put together a design for a machine that I am going to build, and have sorted most of the mechanical aspects.

    The main issue I am having at the moment is deciding on software & electronics, there seams to be so many options its hard to find the best option for my needs. I have done a lot of reading on the forum and the wiki pages and have come to the conclusion that a Mesa card is the best solution. I would quite like to run Linux CNC on a touchscreen laptop, which will be housed in a case similar to the Fanuc or Haas controls. For this reason the ethernet versions of the Mesa cards would be good.

    I really like the path-pilot screen but realise its a bit of a pain to install, so will probably get up and running on one of the standard screens and then update if needed later. I want a professional looking interface with the ability to include extra features, (external MPG & physical buttons - cycle start, feed hold, home etc.) and a robust and easy to setup environment. I feel LCNC is perfect for this.

    I will be running on stepper motors, (servos would be nice but I am on a budget) and am currently looking at the Mesa 7i76e. Is this the best card to buy, or are there any other options I should look at? I haven't really found anything that compares the many cards that Mesa produce, which is a little confusing sometimes!

    If somebody could give me a rundown of the best options for me that would be great! Thank you!

    Jack

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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Mesa Control Card Recommendation

    I'm just now to the point of connecting my touch screen control computer to my 7i92m and 7i77 (analog servos on my machine). I chose that combination based on a lot of research and by following the flow chart here. Mesa Electronics US

    I also went with Ethernet as a means to connect my computer to the 7i92m. I plan to use gmocopy user interface in linux cnc. I have a few pictures up on my Instagram @jodyolivent

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk



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    Default Re: Mesa Control Card Recommendation

    Jack, if you are running stepper motors, you really can't go wrong with a Mesa 7i76e. 5 x 10 Mhz stepgens, spindle control, 2 MPG inputs, some A-D inputs, 32 inputs and 16 outputs, not to mention 2 x 25 pin extension ports for standard breakout boards or Mesa daughter cards (fancy to add to more 7i76 cards for a total of 15 stepgens?) and Mesas' smart serial interface as well to add consoles and terminals and more IO ports.

    If you don't have a Tormach machine, the best advice I can give you is to not run Path pilot. It will not work with a Mesa ethernet card and it is designed for their machines and includes some proprietary software components. Mesa will tell you exactly the same thing.

    The Mesa ethernet cards require the Linux preemptive realtime kernel so the install is a bit more complicated but its now extremely well documented in a how to on the LinuxCNC forum where help is always at hand.

    I run my 7i76e from a tiny USFF PC which fits on the palm of your hand...





    Rod Webster
    www.vmn.com.au


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    Default Re: Mesa Control Card Recommendation

    I run my 7i76e from a tiny USFF PC which fits on the palm of your hand...
    Nice!! Can you elaborate on the PC. Specs, make/model, etc?



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    Default Re: Mesa Control Card Recommendation

    Quote Originally Posted by JackDavies View Post
    Hey guys,

    I have put together a design for a machine that I am going to build, and have sorted most of the mechanical aspects.

    The main issue I am having at the moment is deciding on software & electronics, there seams to be so many options its hard to find the best option for my needs. I have done a lot of reading on the forum and the wiki pages and have come to the conclusion that a Mesa card is the best solution. I would quite like to run Linux CNC on a touchscreen laptop, which will be housed in a case similar to the Fanuc or Haas controls. For this reason the ethernet versions of the Mesa cards would be good.

    I really like the path-pilot screen but realise its a bit of a pain to install, so will probably get up and running on one of the standard screens and then update if needed later. I want a professional looking interface with the ability to include extra features, (external MPG & physical buttons - cycle start, feed hold, home etc.) and a robust and easy to setup environment. I feel LCNC is perfect for this.

    I will be running on stepper motors, (servos would be nice but I am on a budget) and am currently looking at the Mesa 7i76e. Is this the best card to buy, or are there any other options I should look at? I haven't really found anything that compares the many cards that Mesa produce, which is a little confusing sometimes!

    If somebody could give me a rundown of the best options for me that would be great! Thank you!

    Jack
    It is strongly recomended that you do not use a laptop for linuxcnc. I would encourage you to pick up a small atom board instead.



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    Default Re: Mesa Control Card Recommendation

    Quote Originally Posted by 109jb View Post
    Nice!! Can you elaborate on the PC. Specs, make/model, etc?
    I'm using a Gigabyte Brix with N3160 CPU. The onboard wifi is useless as it causes high latency but a USB wifi fixes that. The Mesa cards need a dedicated Ethernet port. If I did it again I'd look for a dual NIC Celeron USFF 3150 or 3160 CPU. Zotec have one but I could not source it in Australia so went with the Brix. There are some dual NIC industrial USFF PC's on Alibaba that have perfect specs which is probably what I'd use next time.

    LinuxCNC does not need much in the way of hardware. Celeron with 4gb is all you need.

    Rod Webster
    www.vmn.com.au


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