[saily]

I have a CNC router running step and direction geckos 320s . Can I use Mesa and THC10 to convert to plasma cutting ? Is Linux cnc plasma directly controlling THC? I see all this reference to encoders.That why I ask.

[PCW_MESA]

I have a CNC router running step and direction geckos 320s . Can I use Mesa and THC10 to convert to plasma cutting ? Is Linux cnc plasma directly controlling THC? I see all this reference to encoders.That why I ask.

Yes, all the brains of the THC are done in LinuxCNC in real time.
The THCAD is just a high isolation V-F card to capture the plasma voltage

Encoders inputs are generally used to read the THCAD since they can
read frequency (and the THCAD outputs a frequency proportional to plasma voltage)

[saily]

Thanks

[saily]

Do I need any other boards to interface the messa THC10 to the computer. Can you point me in the right direction?

[PCW_MESA]

Do I need any other boards to interface the messa THC10 to the computer. Can you point me in the right direction?

You can use the THCAD-10 with a Parallel port LinuxCNC system but you will be somewhat limited in resolution/bandwidth

Normally the THCAD would be used with a LinuxCNC compatible step/dir/IO controller like a Mesa 7I96 that has a built in
encoder/frequency counter input.

[saily]

One last question ,... The Mesa 7I96 is Ethernet connected ? Can I use the Mesa 7i78 instead as I'm already set up using the printer port. Without the need for a 5i25 ? Just looking for a low cost combo. Don't want to order without understanding what works together. Thank You for your help.

[PCW_MESA]

One last question ,... The Mesa 7I96 is Ethernet connected ? Can I use the Mesa 7i78 instead as I'm already set up using the printer port. Without the need for a 5i25 ? Just looking for a low cost combo. Don't want to order without understanding what works together. Thank You for your help.

The 7I96 is Ethernet connected. This is an advantage in Plasma systems as it provides an additional level of noise isolation.

I don't think you can use a 7I78 with a parallel port, most Mesa daughtercards depend on the ability of the controller being able
to set the direction of all I/O pins on a pin-by-pin basis (something that parallel ports cannot do). Mesa FPGA cards can work
with standard parallel port breakouts, but in general Mesa daughtercards will not work with parallel ports.

Using a THCAD with common breakouts might be an issue also depending on how fast the inputs can be read.
Many cheap breakouts are limited to a few KHz on inputs due the Opto-coupler / associated
circuitry used. The THCAD has a nominal 1 MHz full scale output but this can be lowered to about 8 KHz full
scale by selecting the 1/128 mode, if the parallel port BOB can pass this signal to LinuxCNC, it should work

[saily]

Thanks