I’m almost afraid to put this out there but here goes nothing. I was given a Pentium 4 desktop that I installed Linux (debian I think) on. I was wondering how I could use this in conjunction with my MPCNC. Would I be able to replace my Rambo with it and also use it for Octoprint? I am going to attempt to install Inkscape ant ESTLCAM on it and see how that works. I am just getting my feet wet with Linux so plaese dont be afriad to point out the obvious to me.
Ubuntu is debian based, but a little more user friendly. You could try xubuntu or lubuntu which are a little lighter on your hardware. I’m a cheap bastard so I run a ton of old hardware, and my hardware seems to like either. Your biggest issue will be ram. If you’re running something that takes ddr2, you could by a laptop with 4gb of ram for cheaper than it would take to upgrade ram alone.
It’s kind of a wierd comparison, but if your machine can run a snes emulatorr, then you’d be fine using it as a controller (linuxCNC or cnc.js). If it cant do that, you might be better off donating it to the Goodwill. I’d be more than happy to mail you a pi zero and wifi adapter if you truly truly need something to drive your machine. I really don’t want your address or personal information tough. Maybe Ryan can middle man it…
Otto, That is very generous of you but not necessary. I have a pi Zero running JeffB3’s image of Octoprint right now. I am more interested in learning linuxCNC or cnc.js . If I can use the old desktop to run the MPCNC it would free up the Rambo1.4 for something else( like a ZenXY or a MP3DP). I attached a picture of the memory installed from the BIOS screen.
You wouldn’t be able to run the cnc directly from the computer, not without some additional hardware anyway.
I didnt think it would be that easy. How can I replace the Pi zero with the desktop? I know it is likely to be a fools errand . I am just curious.
That’s a wierd number for ram. That’s like 2.5gb(can’t visualize the sticks in my head) but it should be enough for processing gcode. Like Barry said you can’t directly control the machine out of the box with it, but you have some other fun options if you aren’t worried about power consumption.
I would personally turn it into a pihole/vpn server and install an smb server. It would be a VERY innecicient machine by today’s standards, but would allow you access to your network and files from anywhere you can get on the internet.
I’m currently doing the same thing with an hp mini 110 netbook.
Edit: looked a little higher in the picture and see the configuration right now. Sorry, I’ve been drinking
You wouldn’t be able to run the cnc directly from the computer, not without some additional hardware anyway
@Barry if the machine has a parallel port, what else would be needed. I’ve been kind of curious about linuxcnc myself, but it seems kind of redundant these days.
I am having a good time poking and prodding with it. It’s nice to know I cant break it. If I do, I can just reinstall the OS
http://pico-systems.com/univstep.html
Something like this, would plug into your parallel port, then the stepper drivers plug into this.
I use an old computer running Ubuntu to pilot my MPCNC. I use GRBL on an Arduino and CNC shield, and Universal Gcode Sender (the last version has cool features) to send the code. I create the gcode on my newer windows desktop PC using ESTLCAM. For the record I also power a 3D printer using repetier (well only for the manual control as I don’t have a LCD screen) from this linux computer, it means if you go the Marlin path, repetier will be an option for you on linux.
So here is a way to do it but I guess there are other ways that works just as well.
About ESTLCAM, there is no Linux version yet, so maybe using wine, but it is better if you can use directly from windows…
Arduino uno or nano and stepper shield or something like the protoneer would work. I currently run a Pi with bcnc because of the ease of probing, and also the built in CAM option so I don’t need to open anything to surface material, do cutouts/tabs, pockets, halftones, make boxes, etc.
I’m running two very old machines connected to Arduinos via USB, I wouldn’t think he’d need to jump through hoops unless his machine is prior to Win98r2.