Which Mesa card should I buy?

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07 Jun 2023 19:59 #273103 by JeanMartin31
Hi everyone, 
I am very new in the universe of Linux CNC and programming a CNC. So I have a few question about this.

Recently, I learn that I need a Mesa Card to make a CNC. I was wondering why I need that part and which one should I pick ? Because in the pncconf, there are quite a few card that I can use. 

Thank you !

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07 Jun 2023 20:46 #273112 by tommylight
You do not need a Mesa card, you can happily run even an industrial machine with a parallel port, i know i did :)
Find a used PC with a parallel port and wire stuff up, make it work, then see if you need or want to upgrade.
Parallel port has it's limitations, but it is perfect for plenty of stuff, there are still parallel port cards on sale, new, but some are "software emulation" so will not work for machine control, some do work, just plug in and boot.
Mesa cards are a different beast, although some can do parallel port stuff/pinout, but at a much, much faster rate. Oh and each Mesa has at least 2 of those very fast parallel ports, and is not limited on what pins can do as the parallel port is, Mesa can do anything on any port at ridiculously high speeds.
The Mesa combo boards are a treat also for wiring, makes everything simple and not "spaghetti monster"
And can be upgraded and extended and combined.... and...
The following user(s) said Thank You: dbravo13

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07 Jun 2023 20:49 #273113 by PCW
Replied by PCW on topic Which Mesa card should I buy?
You do not need a Mesa card to run LinuxCNC, its is one of many options.
The simplest is perhaps a parallel port.

What hardware is appropriate depends on what machine you wish to
control, what performance you expect, and how much time you are
willing to devote to setting up the controller.

What kind of machine and motor drives do you have?

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07 Jun 2023 21:57 #273120 by JeanMartin31
Thanks for the answer!
At this moment, I think I will choose the option of a parallel port.

Do you know where I can find this part? I am using a Raspberry Pi 4 model b with a digital stepper driver DM556T. It's a 3 axis machine with 4 motor and 4 drive. 2 of them are use for one axis.

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07 Jun 2023 22:03 #273121 by JeanMartin31
Thanks for the answer !

Its woodworking CNC machine. I am using a Raspberry Pi 4 model b with a digital stepper driver DM556T. It's a 3 axis machine with 4 motor and 4 drive. 2 of them are use for one axis. Those motors are stepper motor 4.2A 3N.m

I don't expect any big performance. It's my first one, so it will be great that is a reliable one.

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12 Jun 2023 06:22 #273370 by zz912
Replied by zz912 on topic Which Mesa card should I buy?
If your financial possibilities allow you to buy Mesa. Buy a Mesa 7i96s. I lost a year of my life trying to find a suitable computer with a parallel port. I ended up buying a Mesa and the machine started working reliably. I don't use Mesa for their performance, but for their reliability. When there is a problem with Mesa, the machine stops and gives you a message about what is happening. When there is a problem with the parallel port, the machine produces a scrap and does not tell you anything.

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21 Jul 2023 04:28 #275929 by Ruddy
I would like to build 5 Axis TCP that cut soft metal.
I will use Rasp PI 4 4gb.
which ethernet Mesa board is best for me ?
I know nothing about linuxcnc.

need advice pls...
thank you

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21 Jul 2023 05:50 #275933 by zz912
Do you use STEP/DIR driver?
Do you need some tandem Axis? (How many drivers are you plan?)

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21 Jul 2023 06:52 #275935 by Ruddy
XYZ AB.
Step motor, 5 drivers.
No tandem

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21 Jul 2023 07:06 - 21 Jul 2023 07:08 #275937 by cornholio
I just picked up from the side of the kerb a Lenovo M72E tower (not the SFF one). Had a G2020 which produced reasonable base & servo latency with 1 core isolated (Dedian Bookworm install with a RT-Preempt kernel).
Whilst it does have a parallel port header on board you'll need the lenovo cable, without it the Parallel Port doesn't show in the BIOS (I can confirm from first hand experience). Although it would be interesting to dissect it, apparently one of ground pins doesn't go to ground but goes to a GPIO pin on the Super I\O chip to enable the on board PP.
It does have 2 x1 PCIe slots that can each take a Parallel Port adapter card and a x16 slot.
The beauty with these is that a 3rd Gen i3/i5/i7 will run (can confirm i5 3470). If you want to run a dedicated GPU you will need to upgrade the PSU.
From one of the boxes in "The Cupboard Of I'll Need That Later" I grabbed a GPU and an SSD & Adapter I forgot I had.
So despite what some may say there still are PC with PP that you can get decent performance from.


Or you could just buy ALL the Mesa cards you can get your hands on...cos we know "He who exits this mortal coil with the most Mesa cards wins" hahaha

On a serious note this dude has some interesting stuff
www.youtube.com/channel/UCOKskywuQDlnV8yIkv67Gfw
Last edit: 21 Jul 2023 07:08 by cornholio.

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