On 5/9/25 22:55, Stefan Monnier wrote:
the entire argument about keeping antique hardware in operation on
ecological grounds makes no sense except in a hypothetical world where
only two machines exist.
Clearly, there's a limit beyond which it doesn't make any sense any
more, but it usually makes sense to keep operating old electronic
devices as long as they can do their job. That usually means at least
10 years.
No need for any hypothetical world. As a first approximation, every
machine you don't buy is another machine which is not produced.
Regardless if that machine you don't buy is new or used.
Now, the OP's situation seems quite different, since it doesn't seem
that the machine has been in use recently. So it's about reviving old
hardware. I suspect this falls squarely in the "retrocomputing"
category, which is a more like a sport: it's not expected to do anything
particularly useful other than provide a sense of achievement, and
opportunities to discuss your experience with like-minded weirdos.
Stefan "just another weirdo"
So am I stefan, but I'm now 90 yo. I would place the answer to the OP
question in a different light. Can it do the job in a power efficient way?
And from my garage I can offer such a perspective. Linuxcnc has been
around for about 40 years in one form or another as it was at one time a
NIST project, mainly running on wintel platforms that consume wattages
in the 200+ watt arena. But I got curious, CET's do wierd things, so
that should not surprise.
In my quest to build a cnc workshop for my entertainment after retiring
from the CE's chair at a mid-market tv station, I bought an 80 yo
Sheldon lathe to go with a small milling machine. Looking at the power
pig that ran the rest of my machines, I wondered if that job could be
done with a pi, then at the rpi3b stage. It worked but did stutter a bit
at times as the rpi3b ran it faster than the rpi3b could maintain. so it
got swapped out for a rpi4b when it came out, which had enough speed to
keep the lathe moving smoothly. I switch all power to the machine off
when linuxcnc isn't running. So while my 4 axis mills are using over 200
watts of power siting idle but not powered up, that lathe is doing the
same job, just as smoothly, on about 15 watts + 11 watts for its
operating monitor.
The rpi4b isn't exactly old, but the 7/1 difference in power consumption
is a difference I see in my power bill. That arm64 stuff doesn't waste
energy. Wintel stuff would not have been used for anything IF I had
cnc'd that lathe first. But the change in interfacing to convert the
others would be around $400 a machine now. At 90 yo & health failing, I
don't have enough time left to convert and see a net profit. The thought
however is convincing. The other power saver, only partially done, is
the conversion from normal steppers to closed loop stepper/servo's which
are about 5x more efficient. No more burnt hands from coming in contact
with the motors, also considerably more precise in their motions. That
closed loop in a 3d printer is dead stable. And runs 10x faster than OOTB.
My $0.02 on the matter.
.
Cheers, Gene Heskett, CET.
--
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author, 1940)
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
- Louis D. Brandeis
