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Author Topic: What is a G-rex?  (Read 7968 times)

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What is a G-rex?
« on: December 15, 2005, 07:48:25 PM »
Hello,
What exactly is a G-Rex, If I have already a control box with power supply, 3 201´s, campbells break out board and steppers, what benefits would a g-rex bring, what else is required to opperate?
Does this device incorporate the use of encoders with steppers? or is this the comented unstallable stepper?
Hope anyone can help
Regards
Fernando

ynneb

*
Re: What is a G-rex?
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2005, 11:31:30 PM »
I am sure others will know more about this than me, but from my understanding the G-rex is a circuit that enables your computer to control your steppers and servos much faster. Currently the computer can only send 45,000 pulses per axis per second. If you have a highly geared down and high resolution servo this limitation means the servos / steppers cant drive the machine as fast as it could be. I seem to remember reading a post where Art was running some steppers at 100k steps per second using the Grex. Also the GRex does a lot of the work the computer used to do. Art said in the same thread he was running an MP3 player and a host of other apps at the same time as running Mach4 ( The program to run Grex) without it causing any problems.

I am sure there are a lot of other features about Grex too. Hope this helps till somone in the know gives a full answer.
Re: What is a G-rex?
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2005, 02:35:48 AM »
Thanks for your reply,
I have read the G-Rex manual, and its a bit too technical for the average Joe, i Saw the video tutorial, and the only thing i could get from there is that it would let you run at more than 45KHz, and that you need something called a Rabbit?
Anyone else know more than we do?
Regards
Fernando
Re: What is a G-rex?
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2005, 08:56:21 AM »
The Rex is going to make a faster pulse rate and it has more I/O . The only time you are going to need it is if you need the I/O, read encoders, or need a vet fast pulse rate. This is going to be a more industrial version of mach3 in the end. So for doing hobby level it will not be needed...

Hope that helps
Brian
Fixing problems one post at a time ;)

www.newfangledsolutions.com
www.machsupport.com
Re: What is a G-rex?
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2005, 12:41:36 PM »
What about the use of steppers and encoders?
Re: What is a G-rex?
« Reply #5 on: December 16, 2005, 02:49:11 PM »
I think that will be added in the future but the first step is to get it running open loop:)
I would expect that to be added latter. (I should have one in a few weeks and I can tell you more after that)

Thank you and Very good questions
Brian
Fixing problems one post at a time ;)

www.newfangledsolutions.com
www.machsupport.com
Re: What is a G-rex?
« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2005, 04:39:32 PM »
Thanks for your reply,
that you need something called a Rabbit?

the rabbit is the cpu think i have the price right at 75 for it if someone flashes it for you or 200 for the software+rabbit, http://www.electromate.com/products/series.php?&series_id=101244 http://rabbitsemiconductor.com/products/rcm3750/index.shtml

Main problem for me is after everything will be around 600.00+- (but i might have this wrong? G101G +G102+rabbit+mach4(upgrade cost to pay for firmware last time i saw?)


But another good thing for some people is you will be able to load a program into the grex and not use a computer at all. So if you have a machine doing one thing every day this would be nice for you.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2005, 05:21:16 PM by sendkeys »