Linuxcnc mesa card HostMot2 is an FPGA configuration developed by Mesa Electronics for their line of Anything I/O motion control cards. It uses a similar wizard approach as StepConf (used for software stepping, parallel port driven systems). At the risk of oversimplifying, Mesa cards are a 'system' of extremely capable and fast breakout boards for LCNC with onboard FPGA chips that take care of high-speed timing and signal management. PnCconf is made to help build configurations that utilize specific Mesa Anything I/O products. Many FPGA cards can additionally connect to expansion cards using the Mesa "smart serial" interface via CAT5 cables. As an example cards with three of these connectors have 3x24 I/O pins while the new 3x20 has six connectors for 6x24 I/O pins. Mesa FPGA cards can connect to LinuxCNC through PCI, PCIe, EPP parallel port (7i43, 7i90), Ethernet and SPI interfaces. Generally speaking, they need to be run with a specific firmware that configures the FPGA on the card to behave in a certain way with respect to the I/O of the card. Example: 7C80 for Raspberry Pi There are various types of Mesa cards that this configuration utility supports. But what are these cards actually and why are they so suitable for self-building or retrofitting a CNC machine? What are mesa cards used for? Mesa cards are not motion controllers, nor do they buffer commands from the PC as with Mach3 & ESS boards. LinuxCNC Supported FPGA-cards. Mesa cards with a Field-programmable gate array (FPGA), interfaced to LinuxCNC computer via SPI. It can configure closed loop servo systems or hardware stepper systems. The firmware is open source, portable and flexible. Short guide to setup your new Mesa control board for LinuxCNC ¶ Mesa 7i96 Setup Guide When you are setting up your Mesa board for the first time, make sure you have all of your settings in mind so you know what to input when the time is needed. Mesa FPGA cards can connect to LinuxCNC through PCI, PCIe, EPP parallel port (7i43, 7i90), Ethernet and SPI interfaces. Time critical (realtime) tasks are performed on the FPGA card. On the topic of ethernet, the videos I watched on the mesa cards said that it could be only direct attached straight IP/same subnet, do you need a crossover cable for that purpose or do folks use a small 4 port switch not connected to the internet? Anyone who has studied LinuxCNC will have come across the term "mesa cards". . A bigger FPGA allows more complicated firmwares. Many of the MESA FPGA-cards use 50-pin connector that has 24 I/O pins, 24 GND-pins, and Power (GND+VCC). lfw rljuptf kpddr svba acrhb jzegn dbarny bymao ruxpj dwjbz