real time

[Mr Bits]

Are there any plans to to make an EMC2 live cd using a linux other than ubuntu?

ubuntu is the only distro ive tried that dosent load properly on my sony viao fx-802 laptop.

Also now that real time is built into the kernel. will EMC2 be using it? because trying to install RTAI properly is beyond me, boy have i tried!

[cyclestart]

Have you considered trying BDI4emc ? The last time I tried bdi it was running on a Morphix live cd. Information on it's current state is hard to find but it is an active project afaik. What follows is partly guess work.

bdi is a complete distribution instead of a collection of packages. Based on the stable branch of Debian(?) It's a standard install cd as opposed to live.

The emc is not emc2. emc2 and axis can be installed according to the linuxcnc.org wiki. The instructions are a bit old so there may be new issues.

Running bdi will at least give you some idea how well realtime performs on that laptop.

[acondit]

Originally Posted by cyclestart Have you considered trying BDI4emc ? The last time I tried bdi it was running on a Morphix live cd. Information on it's current state is hard to find but it is an active project afaik. What follows is partly guess work. bdi is a complete distribution instead of a collection of packages. Based on the stable branch of Debian(?) It's a standard install cd as opposed to live. The emc is not emc2. emc2 and axis can be installed according to the linuxcnc.org wiki. The instructions are a bit old so there may be new issues. Running bdi will at least give you some idea how well realtime performs on that laptop.

BDI4emc is based on emc rather than emc2. I don't believe there is any active development taking place on emc, the development effort is taking place on emc2. There have been significant advances in emc2 over the last year and I for one would not even consider starting with emc rather than emc2.

Ubuntu is supported so why fight the battle of getting emc2 to work on an unsupported version of linux. Next time the linux version is updated, you would have to do all of the work yourself to bring your system up to date. I would rather spend my time once figuring how to get Ubuntu running on my machine. (I have it running on two machines now.)

Alan

[acondit]

Originally Posted by Mr Bits Are there any plans to to make an EMC2 live cd using a linux other than ubuntu? ubuntu is the only distro I've tried that doesn't load properly on my sony viao fx-802 laptop. Also now that real time is built into the kernel. will EMC2 be using it? because trying to install RTAI properly is beyond me, boy have i tried!

Mr Bits,

I don't believe the emc2 developers (as a group) have any plans to support emc2 on a different version of linux, although some individual developers have made information available about getting it to run on other versions of linux. The board has also welcomed the idea of anyone individually installing emc2 on different versions of linux and making the information about how to accomplish the same available on the linuxcnc website.

You shouldn't have to do anything to install RTAI, if you follow the scripts on the linuxcnc website. We also told you how to download the alternate text-based install CD that gives you more control over the initial installation. There are seven different mirror sites listed for Great Britain. So if you are having trouble with one, then try another. After getting Ubuntu installed successfully, the install of emc2 from binaries should take place without you having to specially install RTAI or compile anything.

The issue is not just real-time capability but the API that allows the program to interface to it.

I for one would like to see you succeed, I know that it has been a trial for you so far but I encourage you to hang in there. Do you have another machine that you could try installing emc2 on?

Alan

[cyclestart]

Originally Posted by acondit BDI4emc is based on emc rather than emc2. I don't believe there is any active development taking place on emc, the development effort is taking place on emc2. There have been significant advances in emc2 over the last year and I for one would not even consider starting with emc rather than emc2.

When I mentioned bdi being an active project it was in reference to the distribution. I have no knowledge whether any development work is being done on the interpretor as used by bdi..

I'm a big fan of the main emc project, with main being the linuxcnc.org team. As a member of the development team your point of view needs no guessing.

Possibly Mr Bits started this thread out of frustration and he wants to accept the Ubuntu help being offered in his other thread. otoh maybe bdi meets his needs. Sherline still supplies bdi with their machines afaik.

Looking through the package list for BDI 4.50 shows some nice touches such as including QCad and synergy-cad. The desktop seems to be kde which Mr Bits might prefer as it's the same used by PCLinuxOS.

Summing up, I'm not recommending BDI, simply suggesting it maybe a viable option. Using Ubuntu as the emc2 crew suggests is still the better option.

edit/ Forgot to mention emc2 is listed on BDI's included package list. Not sure what this means??!? Axis is not listed unfortunately.

[acondit]

Originally Posted by cyclestart Possibly Mr Bits started this thread out of frustration and he wants to accept the Ubuntu help being offered in his other thread. otoh maybe bdi meets his needs. Sherline still supplies bdi with their machines afaik. Summing up, I'm not recommending BDI, simply suggesting it maybe a viable option. Using Ubuntu as the emc2 crew suggests is still the better option.

I am generally in agreement with what you have said. I have never configured a machine to run under emc but from what I have read, it is much less flexible than emc2. So, my point was that if I were starting from scratch, I would definitely choose emc2 as a starting point. If I had a Sherline, I am not sure what I would do.

Mr. Bits has expressed his frustation with trying to get Ubuntu running on his machine and I keep hearing (reading) him thinking about giving up. So, I was just trying to point out that if he has not tried what Haugslett suggested on the other thread to please try it before giving up.

This afternoon I spent some time searching for info about installing Ubuntu on his machine and I was unable to locate anything helpful (but nothing unhelpful either). I did find some info about installs of emc2 on a couple of other versions of linux if he chooses to go that way.

If it proves impossible to successfully install Ubuntu on his machine, I suspect that he could buy a used desktop pc that would run Ubuntu for less than the cost of a Mach3 license.

Alan

[cyclestart]

Still out there Mr Bits or have you gone over to mach?

I installed BDI4.51 on a spare partition. Here's some findings.
The system is based on Debian Sarge.
The software is old.
The installer brings back bad memories of Red Hat 9. 128 ram should manage it in text mode.
Synergy is included but the CAM portion needs a key.
Axis interface is included.
Emc2 is not installed but is available through synaptic.
The sources list for synaptic is a mess.
Kde runs no lighter than Gnome afaict.
All-in-all it's rough around the edges.
What kind of support to expect is questionable.

I still maintain this is an option for someone who needs a controller. Otoh it's becoming clear why the main project chose Ubuntu. Imo development effort is better spent directly on emc2 rather than trying to maintain a distribution.

[Mr Bits]

I downloaded the ubuntu alternate cd and it installed and runs no problem.

Now i have to connect it to the net to do the rest , but i cannot connect to the net yet as i only have a BT Voyager 105 Winmodem. After xmas i will try to get connected.

[acondit]

Originally Posted by Mr Bits I downloaded the ubuntu alternate cd and it installed and runs no problem. Now i have to connect it to the net to do the rest , but i cannot connect to the net yet as i only have a BT Voyager 105 Winmodem. After xmas i will try to get connected.

Congratulations, I hope all the rest goes smoothly also.

Alan