Re: dual processor for dual cnc machines

[Ray Henry <rehenry-at-up.net>]

At 10:44 AM 6/6/2000 -0400, Sphero wrote:
>
>At 02:48 AM 6/6/00 -0400, Jon wrote:
>>
>>The stepper systems need TWO parallel ports for ONE
>>machine.
>
>Is that because of the *speed* of the port or because more 
>than so many axis were used? 
>
>Best regards, 

I think that it's because there are a limited number of pins per port.
With the stepper stuff, NIST needed to run six motors so they could make
babyhex go.  So the stepper motor stuff defined 12 pins as step and
direction.  They then put the limits and homes on remaining pins.

The second parport comes from some of the older bridgeport work where the
pins are defined in the ini file and are all auxiliary IO.

Jon and Matt are working on an EPP system that will set a single parport
handle all of the outboard stuff.  Then we just have to build flexible
software to setup many different machines. 

Ray