i have used every available pin on my 57E. i have a hydraulic tool changer,  warning lights , many input buttons and other devices connected. Of course i use the ExBus and the Matrix Keyboard. i noticed that the 57CNC has lost many 'user' pins.   I am concerned about making a smooth transition to a 57CNC with Mach4 , so here are some questions.

First i tried using the pokeys 'demo' app , I selected  the '57CNC'   , BUT the program let me see/set any key i wanted
(1) is this an oversight on the demo function ?
(2) can i use lua code to change state off the relays,SSR and other new outputs on the 57CNC ?
(3) are there api calls to the 'pulse engine' outputs and inputs. can i hijack the signals ?
(4) can i assign the any of above pins in the mach configure dialog to 'borrow' them from the pulse engine ?
(5) how do i send a value to the analog output with Mach 4.
(6) does poblocks work with the CNC. ?
(7) is there any hope of a 'upgrade' in the future to allow more user control of output / input assignments ?
( can i use both devices at the same time in Mach4
(9) would using dual devices impact Mach4 performance ?

I am not expecting every question to be answered , but any info would be useful

I'm new to the 57CNC and getting senile so take these answers with skepticism.

(1) BUT the program let me see/set any key i wanted. is this an oversight on the demo function ?
Not sure in a pokey app but certainly not true with Mach4 using the pulse engine (PE).  Very few pins are left and all are specific types.  They will inevitably be on far flung connectors.
(2) can i use lua code to change state off the relays,SSR and other new outputs on the 57CNC ?
yes
(3) are there api calls to the 'pulse engine' outputs and inputs. can i hijack the signals ?
not sure about hijack, if you mean change them, but you can look at them and do lua code with them.
(4) can i assign the any of above pins in the mach configure dialog to 'borrow' them from the pulse engine ?
no
(5) how do i send a value to the analog output with Mach 4.
look at spindle speed control examples
(6) does poblocks work with the CNC. ?
yes, sort of, you use poblocks to 'write' a routine that gets stored and runs on the 57CNC at the same time as the PE.  However, only Mach 4 or Pokey can use 57CNC at a time.
(7) is there any hope of a 'upgrade' in the future to allow more user control of output / input assignments ?
I hope not, the pins are confusing enough as is !
( can i use both devices at the same time in Mach4
yes
(9) would using dual devices impact Mach4 performance ?
probably not much, it's a pretty efficient communication setup

Hi,
may not be a big problem.

Got involved in a thread a while back where a guy was using an ESS as motion controller but had nowhere near enuf pins for the remote control
station he wanted to build. As it turns out it was simple just assign a 57E as an input board now he had the remaining pins of the ESS and all the 57E
pins.

Mach4 can only co-ordinate movement across axes which are operating under the same motion controller but inputs could come from anywhere...indeed
some inputs are from the motion board but others maybe Modbus, serial or TCP/IP from another board altogether.

Craig

Thanks bicycleguy  and joeaverage, for the all the info.  I am thinking that the simplest path is to just use both for now.

quite a few people have a 57E or U as a board to just take inputs for their control panel and another board to run the machine

Minor dredge, but thought it might be better than starting a new topic!!

It seems from reading here that I could use a 57E in my panel and a 57CNC in the control box for running the machine. So 2 PoKeys devices at the same time. Is that correct?

Thanks, and (slightly) sorry for the dredge!!

Tom

Hi Tom,
with Mach4 it is certainly possible. One device, probably the 57CNC, is used as your one and only motion controller and the second, the 57E becomes a data IO
board.

I think its possible to do the same thing with Mach3 but I have not tried or confirmed it myself.

Craig

It is possible in mach3 hossmachine had a pokeys as a io board and a c10 I think it was as his motion control, he moved to M4 and keeped it all the same. there's a few videos on his youtube chanell of his setup