CANOpen and EMC

[Lee.Thornhill-at-Colorado.EDU]

Hello all,
I have a question about the EMC and CANOpen. I thought I'd ask if anyone has
dealt with the CAN network protocol. A crazy eBay purchase has resulted in me
owning 2 CANOpen based servo amplifiers. For those unfamiliar with CANOpen it is
a message based communication protocol, information is issued in packets similar
to the IP protocol. Under the CAN protocol the host controller issues
information packets over the network which then read and acted on by remote
processors (such as a closed loop servo controller). Over the last few weeks I
began to wonder about adapting the EMC to operate as a CAN network host.

I have been reading the existing EMC documentation but I have not taken a look
at the code. I also must admit that I haven't installed the package yet either,
however, I have plans to do so after the holidays. At this point I have no idea
how hard it may be to get the EMC to work with the CAN protocol but I thought it
wouldn't hurt to ask. :) My goal here is to learn more about machine control
than getting my servo controllers to work.

Since this is my first post to the list here's a little bit about me:
I am an instrument maker at JILA (jilawww.colorado.edu). I would eventually like
to build my own CNC mill but I am also very interested in the aspects of using
open source software for machine control. My previous experience with a lot of
control software in industry has left me a bit frustrated with respect to tweaks
and upgrades. It's always a shame to see good equpiment hamstrung by old software.


Thanks,
Lee Thornhill