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System Overview

Motor Support

The RealTime CNC RTS-X series of CNC motion controllers are powerful, cost-effective solutions for a wide range of CNC machines and applications. There are two models of motion controllers.

  • The RTS-1 CNC controller supports open-loop stepper motors.
  • The RTS-2 CNC controller supports closed-loop steppers stepper systems.

RTOS

Both controllers incorporate an advanced embedded real-time operating system and share a common code base. This ensures that new features are always available on all controllers.

Real-Time Operating Systems

A real-time operating system (RTOS) is a specialized operating system designed to run code and process data with precise timing. They also excel at multitasking by efficiently managing and prioritizing multiple tasks.

In a CNC system, the RTOS can be configured to manage multiple complex, high-priority tasks such as accepting gcode, motion planning, controlling stepper motors and managing peripherals such as inputs, outputs, and spindles.

A RTOS provides predictability and determinism by ensuring that tasks are executed in a specific timeframe. Tasks can also be prioritized so that critical functions always execute when needed.

RTCNC has been designing and refining our customized RTOS to provide a robust, powerful, and flexible platform for CNC control.

Software and Firmware

The RTS-X platform is divided into software and firmware. The RTS-X software handles the high-level functions of the system such as the graphic user interface, managing user settings, 3D plotting, and file management. The RTS-X firmware is the real-time operating system mentioned above. It runs on the advanced 32-bit ARM processor in the controller hardware.

Software vs Firmware

Software and firmware operate at different levels in computer systems. One way to think about it is that software is what you typically interact with like applications on your phone or programs on your computer. Firmware is a specialized type of software that is more tightly coupled to the hardware of a system. Think of it as the "behind-the-scenes" code that makes the hardware work.

RTS-X software and firmware is closed source but updates are (and always will be) free for the life of the product.