linuxcnc-esp32 Software Stepping over Ethernet Using ESP32

All of the Rpi, Opi, Bpi, esp32 etc boards are very low cost. The Mesa boards are also less than the cost of some of my tools or holders. With the recent prices for sheet metal the Mesa boards are around the price of an enclosure.

If you are building a tiny CNC router and are using a savaged spindle from an old router and also planning on just making artwork with it sitting on an old card table then maybe you can save a little bit of money using this.

Saving a $100-200 on some parts for a $10K+ in parts machine that has a collection of $10K in tooling, but costs me another $1k of my time to build might not be a good fit. Some of my multi-pin connectors cost more than a few esp32's. You still have to mount and wire all of this.

I see projects like this and Allwinner CNC and machinekit+ BBB as proof of concepts to be applied to unique applications or learning platforms.

Great point there Bari.
Tooling is the big cost. I’m only running a simple BF20, and only for my various hobbies, throw in. Decent vice and you’re a third to a half of your initial cost. Collets and cutters, dial gauges and indicators and it starts getting up there.
Why skimp on the controller hardware ?
A little Chinese desktop router might run fine with grbl, but for any serious stuff it’s not going to be cheap.
Whilst the Mesa products might look expensive at first, when you start looking at them, they are ready to hookup to a machine. All the fiddly stuff is sorted, isolation, voltage translation and the sort.
Ever looked at how much the plugin screw terminals are in small quantities are that Mesa use ? That’s once you have found them, especially the ones that will sit side by side.
I’d guess that the quantity used on the 7i76 would exceed the $100 mark from somewhere like RS or Farnells, don’t ask how I know.
Mesa are, as we say Down Under, bloody good bang for buck. And the firsthand support you get is the only thing that exceeds the product itself.
The BBB wasn’t all that bad when I used it with MK, but at the end of the day it lost out. Though I do have a tiny chinese desktop router......

BeagleBrainz wrote: Mesa are, as we say Down Under, bloody good bang for buck. And the firsthand support you get is the only thing that exceeds the product itself.

+1
But i might be biased as i have used over 60 or 70 of them by now ...
And before anyone gets any fuzzy idea, i did pay for ALL of them, even when i was offered some for free i politely declined.

Yes, i understand what your saying i have a Haas OM-2A, Tormach S3 1100, Multicam router, etc I have lots in looking. it's not that I'm trying to cheap out on a controller, I think LinuxCNC is great based on Pathpilot. i have a need for 100 controllers all set up the same. so coming up with a solution that fits the bill over the DDCSV is where I'm at. The RPi with SPI to an SKR board has everything a mesa has connectors, Opto's, even step drivers built-in wich are sized ok for my application. Im just trying to explore sustainable options when Mesa card are out of stock let alone 100 of them. My plan is to make a dedicated PCB for the RPI 4 Compute module with dedicated step gen processer whether its an LPC or STM32 etc

I’m pretty sure a commercial order of 100 pieces could be accommodated by Mesa by contacting them directly.

I'm testing the Mesa over PCI with the RPI v.s. SPI/ethernet, but this still would not fit the roll of a dedicated carrier board for the CM4 with built-in stepgen hardware. There is also the Teensy 4.1 with a few carriers boards already made and Hal file. but the cost comes out about the same as a mesa, the 7190HD over SPI to the rpi with a DB25 Bob would be a 59usd option.