Hi all,
I've been playing around with an idea for a "modular" system for the BBB, if anyone plays with them. Basically it consists of cape and 1 or 2 "satellite" boards to provide a way of doing the 3.3v to 5v translation.
Above is the cape to attach to the BBB
Above is one of the satellite boards, this one has 8 Outputs for Step & Direction, 5 Inputs for Estop & Home\Limits, and 4 additional Outputs (yes the groupings are the same as a std Parallel Port. I call this the Output Board.
Above is one of the satellite boards, this one has 8 Inputs say for a remote pendant with MPG, 5 Inputs for some buttons, and 4 additional Outputs (yes the groupings are the same as a std Parallel Port. I call this the Input Board.
The satellite boards connect to the cape via a 26 way ribbon cable. The Inputs & Outputs are very basic, only a choice of pullup or pulldown resistors. If you want they could be connected to an existing BOB. All components are thru hole, as to aid in home construction.
So far I have had an order of capes boards produced and output boards produced and tested. Hopefully the input board is due shortly. The thinking in doing it a modular way was to let others design their own boards, maybe satellite boards in other configurations. For those familiar with the BBB the groups of 8 outputs are connected to the PRU pins so the PRU can be used for step\dir. The Group of 8 inputs have 2 pins that can be used by the hardware encoder for a MPG.
The cape also brings out the I2C signals and the analog inputs with the analog ground......unfortunately I didn't bring out the ref pin for the analog.
The design files and some extra info is available at https://github.com/ozzyrob
Cheers
Rob