In getting to know Raspberry Pi5 etc I came across the RP2040 .
Just curious as to if anyone used it or have some knowledge on it?

 

i got bunch of RP2040zero. have not yet played with them much but it is a mighty little thing. i think i got 10 or so for the price of single Arduino Uno.so far only tried IO access, display, encoder etc. now plan to make a small and cheap EIP adapter (slave). already have that on RPI4 but want to shrink it.

 

In getting to know Raspberry Pi5 etc I came across the RP2040 .
Just curious as to if anyone used it or have some knowledge on it?

Yes, we use the 2040 chip. The product is a small data acquisition unit, with USB and PoE. Works great.

Here's the PCB.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1h73...0_A3.jpg?rlkey=3dx17aq025nyeypt0cko7f4rp&dl=0

We use the Wiznet 6100 ethernet chip.

 

Oeiginally my quest was to find a small processor for a sub miniature CNC system, I could not find a small/cheap enough system to run WIN3 & Mach3, so picked up a raspberry Pi5 to run Linux CNC, the Pi5 cannot do it evidentally due its I/O speed restrictions/handling and requires alternate I/O add on. method.
I was assured the RP2040 could, but I also need small/min CRT and KB, so going from here.

 

Max, have you looked at GRBL, I moved away from MACH3 on Windows a few years back because of its massive overheads. GRBL runs my lathe, mini-mill, 3D printer(s) and my laser cutter. I'm no expert but it's easy enough to get going, though, as always, YMMV.

 

What processor or host are you running it on?

 

Irv I got this from a search.
Yes, a Raspberry Pi 5 can be used to run a GRBL-based CNC system, but generally not by running the core, low-level GRBL firmware directly on the Pi's main CPU. Instead, it acts as a powerful host controller for a CNC machine.

 

What processor or host are you running it on?

A custom ESP32-S3 board I designed for another project that just happened to have the right interfaces. The main reason being wireless connectivity.

 

One of these ??

 

One of these ??

One of these modules, with 8Mb RAM, 16Mb Flash,on a custom board

 

One of these modules, with 8Mb RAM, 16Mb Flash,on a custom board

Does any of the custom boards come with KB and display interface?

 

No, as with the Arduino CNC Shield I use an old PC for KVM via USB or wirelessly.

 

ESP32 is a processor but this is something rarely seen as naked IC.

most of the time that processor is already surrounded by some peripherals and packaged into a module like in #10.

or... even more likely, that module is given even more peripherals /connection options and turned into a development kit... such as #9.
development kits are not hard to find:


several of them have displays:



https://www.waveshare.com/esp32-s3-...PRvcYE0XDDStWrwY-jveJnzrShvbO0-Uz1WX3RNmvouGq

one of flavours of ESP32 with display is so called CYD (Cheap Yellow Display).

The "Cheap Yellow Display" family has expanded beyond the original 2.8-inch board to include various dimensions and display technologies:

• 2.8-inch Standard (ESP32-2432S028): The most popular model featuring a resistive touchscreen and an ESP32-WROOM module.
  
  
• 1.2-inch Compact (ESP32-2424S012): A circular or very small square form factor using the ESP32-C3 chip, ideal for wearables or sensor dashboards.
• 1.9-inch Wide (ESP32-1732S019): An ESP32-S3 based board typically used for specialized UI applications.
• 2.4-inch Compact (ESP32-2432S024)
  : A slightly smaller version of the standard CYD, better suited for tight enclosures.
• 3.2-inch Extended (ESP32-2432S032)
  : A larger screen variant for projects that need more visual real estate.

the thing with CYD is that most of the IOs are tied to peripherals like SD card interface.

 

round display variant

 

one of flavours of ESP32 with display is so called CYD (Cheap Yellow Display).

The "Cheap Yellow Display" family has expanded beyond the original 2.8-inch board to include various dimensions and display technologies:

I've used a couple. They can be good value for money if the I/O limitations aren't an issue. I don't need/want SD Card ( usually built into most display boards but I don't connect it) so have a board that plugs into the standard SIL SPI connector on these displays which I most often use with a 4" 480 x 320 display. I have a 7" 800 x 600 but it was silly expensive to buy about 18mo back. I've not found a reasonably priced 7" or 10" SPI or I2C panel, which, given the proliferation of cheap 7" & 10" tablets is surprising.

Incidentally, the 2.4, 2.8 and 3.2 CYD variants are all 320 x 240 as per the "2432" digits in the part #.