Re: Driver help

[Jon Elson <jmelson-at-artsci.wustl.edu>]

Ray wrote:

> Jon
>
> I'm afraid that I wouldn't be much help with creation but I'd sure be
> happy to help with testing and such.  If there is something for me let me
> know.

Just to let the list know what is going on --

Eric (eric <eek105-at-psu.edu>) has volunteered.  I didn't just let
anybody volunteer, I asked for his credentials, and they were not
only impressive, but also an extremely good match for the particular
pieces of knowledge required for this project.  He also plans to
use it to do a retrofit in the near future, so he is motivated, too!
Eric and I have been exchanging notes on hardware details and
eventual modifications to the way digital I/O is done in EMC, so
that all digital I/O can be funneled through a single parallel port.
The real-time driver for the motion control hardware would also
serialize access to the parallel port and transfer digital I/O for
the non-realtime components of EMC, such as spindle on/off,
coolant, and eventually extended things like tool changers.
I had some vague ideas about how this could be done, but Eric
has already figured out the main details and what needs to be
done to implement them.  So, things are moving along pretty
well for the Parallel Port Motion Control project.

Jon