PC

[superpot]

Hi everyone, I am in the process of putting a new acorn controlled system onto my Prototrak machine and am thinking of having the intel NUC computer inside of the control box as I have seen a lot of builds done this way. Can anyone advise if its a good thing to do or not and if the PC is inside the box how do I turn the PC on without opening the box? Sorry if it seems a silly question but maybe I have had too many vinos over this festive season.

[Chaz]

You could this but personally Id keep it outside. Dont want electrical / noise / interference to impact the control PC. Mine is mounted behind my monitor and then Ethernet to Acorn.

[Black Forest]

If you do decide to mount your PC in the control cabinet it is quite easy to configure the PC to automatically boot when the power is turned on.

[martyscncgarage]

Either or, I have done both.
Just get a USB bulk head connector so you can use the USB port conveniently.

Marty

[Centroid_Liviu]

NUCs are a great option. Lots of power in a little package.

[Richards]

I'm trying a NUC8i3BEH that I bought for a customer for another purpose. He doesn't need it until after New Years, so I'm trying in on one of my Acorn test benches. I've placed the NUC in various positions near various components and have had no problem with electrical noise. Granted, an open test bench is not the same as a closed enclosure, but if I had room in an enclosure and if I had ferrite beads for the video cable, I would try the NUC inside the enclosure. If there was a problem, I would be simple enough to use the mounting plate that comes with the NUCs to mount the NUC outside the enclosure.

[martyscncgarage]

Basically most any Intel processor running at 3.0ghz or better will work.
Even a Celeron or Pentium.
Here is a link to the minimum PC Requirements:
https://www.centroidcnc.com/cnc_pc_perf ... ments.html

Just check the processor model number against the single thread requirement list:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

[Centroid_Liviu]

I'm trying a NUC8i3BEH that I bought for a customer for another purpose. He doesn't need it until after New Years, so I'm trying in on one of my Acorn test benches. I've placed the NUC in various positions near various components and have had no problem with electrical noise. Granted, an open test bench is not the same as a closed enclosure, but if I had room in an enclosure and if I had ferrite beads for the video cable, I would try the NUC inside the enclosure. If there was a problem, I would be simple enough to use the mounting plate that comes with the NUCs to mount the NUC outside the enclosure.

Every situation is different, but we regularly put the NUC in our electrical cabinets. Of course following proper grounding and other wiring practices is key no matter if there is a NUC in the cabinet or not.