LinuxCNC EtherCAT Introduction

This repo and its author(s?) aren't affiliated with LinuxCNC.

Why am I qualified to make this document?

I'm not. I started this document one week after I spun up my first LinuxCNC computer and started learning it. But I struggled a lot and I'm hoping I can consolidate a handful of resources to make it easier for others to learn.

Overview

This guide will focus on using Beckhoff hardware as that is what I have collected. However, I'll aim to make this generic where possible.

This guide also assumes you're familiar with linux both from a desktop environment and the command line.

I would also like to encourage you, yes you to contribute to this repo! Please point out mistakes, make suggestions, or even open pull requests!

Outline

• Resources
• Examples

Resources

Here are some great resources you should keep in mind when trying to learn or when you need to look something up

LinuxCNC Docs

I must say that the LinuxCNC docs page is glorious. As a beginner to LinuxCNC I found it nearly overwhelming, but as I've been learning it has become instrumental in my understanding of LinuxCNC.

LinuxCNC Ethercat Forum

This community has a ton of great people that go out of their way to help. I've found a ton of great information in the various posts and converasations.

LinuxCNC Ethercat Docs

While a little sparse, once you get off the ground you'll likely find these docs very helpful.

LinuxCNC Ethercat Repo

This repository also contains a ton of excellent documentation.

Examples

• Basic Digital Outputs
  • A demonstration of how to use a HAL config to control a digital output
• EL7041 Stepper Motor Example
  • A demonstration of how to configure the titular software linuxcnc to control a stepper motor

Credits / Thanks

• Rodw
• Hakan
• Grotius
• linuxcnc-ethercat devs
• exgif.com for making converting .mp4s into gifs easy