Bridgeport Boss 3 upgrade
I don't know that I'm technically a newbie, I have been automating machinery for years. But I have not used Linux at all and have only recently become interested in EMC2.
I have a Bridgeport Boss 3 Series I mill. I have read the articles in Home Shop Machinist that go through the steps of removing the old controls and preparing the machine for new electronics. I am at the stage where I am cleaning all the goo and grime from the machine.
I have Compumotor Zeta Stepper Motor drivers and have 'exercised' the axes using a single axis indexer. This way I have confirmed that I know how to wire the motors and they work.
A computer has been ordered and should be here in about a week.
I am wondering about a Break Out Board and how much 'extra' controls I can get. If this works well, I have another application that will need as many as six or eight relays (or equivalent) controlled with M codes.
I have seen the ModIO products at Homann Designs and I am confused as to what ModIO is and how it is connected to the computer.
Can someone give me a primer on controlling I/O with EMC2, BOBs, etc?
Oh, and a little background on me... I am a mechanical engineer, mold maker, owner of a small machine shop and sometimes an electronics technician. I understand stepper motors well (I used to design and build them when I worked for Compumotor about 30 years ago). I am fairly well versed in things computer (Windoze though) and am just ignorant in the realm of Linux, EMC2 and I/O control.
I appreciate any help you may have!
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900 - 1944)